Rather Than Be Taken, I Will Take - Chapter 24

Tall stature, a lean yet solid body clearly visible through the well-fitted suit.

His jet-black hair, slicked back with pomade, gleamed with luster, and his sun-red eyes, staring straight ahead, exuded confidence.

His golden-proportioned features formed a perfect symmetry, eliciting admiration even from other men.

“Welcome, Duke Cardia.”

Duke Blatnik greeted Cabelased as he leisurely walked into the hall.

Count Frederick stared intently at Cabelased.

“It’s been a while, Duke Blatnik.”

Amid the many gazes directed at him, Cabelased noticed one that was slightly different.

It wasn’t just women who expressed admiration for a handsome man.

In male society, hierarchy was determined by various factors like status, wealth, and power, but appearance also played a significant role.

He had experienced dirty gazes that seemed to lick him before.

But Cabelased, without frowning once, turned his head towards the one giving him a penetrating look.

Contrary to his expectation that it would be the usual pederast, the person staring at him intently was an unexpected figure.

‘Count Frederick…… I suppose.’

Cabelased immediately recognized the identity of the young man with handsome features who was staring at him.

Although he was attending today because of the upcoming Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony, Cabelased rarely visited this place.

Moreover, as this was a gathering of the Empire’s top power groups, young people like Cabelased were rarely seen.

Unless a son had inherited the family due to the early death of the previous head.

So he had already become acquainted with the main figures of the gathering, and it was quite possible to predict that the unfamiliar young man would be Count Frederick.

“You must be Duke Cardia.”

Count Frederick addressed him first, looking straight into his eyes.

“I believe this is our first meeting?”

“Yes, it’s the first time I’m seeing you up close. I’ve seen you from afar a few times elsewhere.”

Cabelased searched his memory to find any connection with Count Frederick.

‘He says he’s seen me elsewhere…’

After a moment of recollection, Cabelased remembered seeing Count Frederick hovering around Princess Trinity.

Princess Trinity, who was mentioned as the next Emperor, was a very calm and responsible person.

While some nobles didn’t view this favorably, the general atmosphere was welcoming, considering it the ideal image of an Emperor.

At that time, Cabelased’s assessment of Princess Trinity herself wasn’t particularly negative.

But at some point, Princess Trinity changed.

She began to enjoy nightlife and started associating with nobles of questionable quality.

Whether it was her corruption that attracted unsavory characters or vice versa, the reason for her change was unknown, but she changed suddenly.

Of course, there were those who welcomed this change.

While mocking her as befitting the daughter of a tyrant Emperor who had murdered his own brother to usurp the throne, some secretly wanted to place her on the throne.

An Emperor who wasted time in pleasure and neglected state affairs was perfect as a puppet for the Empire’s power groups.

It was undoubtedly an ideal situation for securing their own interests by putting such an Emperor at the forefront.

Count Frederick was among the many who hovered around Princess Trinity.

Of course, he had never once attended a meeting to defend Princess Trinity.

Not just Cabelased, but other nobles as well would not have found any connection between Princess Trinity and Count Frederick.

This was because, according to his known reputation, Count Frederick was not the type to clean up after others if he could be in a superior position himself.

At that time, Cabelased remembered wondering why Count Frederick was associating with an abandoned princess who had no protective maternal relatives.

Although Princess Trinity seemed likely to become the next Emperor at the time, there were also many pessimistic views.

Cabelased was one of those who viewed it pessimistically.

This was because the princess had no suitable force to protect her.

The previous Empress had died early, and her family had suddenly left high society after her death.

And the current Empress, who succeeded the deceased previous Empress, soon gave birth to a son.

If not for the prophecy that the Emperor’s first child would be a son who would overthrow his father, it would have been natural for Joshua to become the next Emperor.

Of course, Joshua wasn’t the first child, but he was the first son, which was why the Emperor still remained wary of the prophecy.

But the fact that the Empress had a firm grip on the affairs of the Imperial Palace was already a source of anxiety for Princess Trinity.

So for Princess Trinity, surviving in the palace was a priority before even becoming Emperor.

Although she eventually died in enemy territory.

‘Love… perhaps?’

This was the conclusion reached after speculating about the relationship between Count Frederick and Princess Trinity.

In reality, the Frederick family was a long-established one, and it was clear who he should align with to protect his family.

He should never have stood behind Princess Trinity.

Hence, the only conclusion that could be drawn was love.

Cabelased stared intently at Count Frederick as he organized these thoughts.

‘Then what’s his relationship with Duke Amaterasu’s daughter?’

Meanwhile, Count Frederick wondered about Cabelased’s piercing gaze directed at him.

‘It feels like he’s going to bore holes in my face…’

Why was he staring so intently? Trying to find the reason, Count Frederick recalled memories related to Duke Cardia.

‘Hmm…’

But no particular connection with Duke Cardia came to mind.

Then suddenly, the face of a clear-eyed woman flashed in his mind.

Duke Amaterasu’s daughter.

Why her face suddenly came to mind at this moment, and why specifically Jieselgrante’s, he couldn’t understand.

But he couldn’t think of anyone else related to Duke Cardia besides her.

‘Does he know about Duke Amaterasu’s daughter recently tailing me?’

Or about going together to visit Baroness Oppenheimer?

‘It would be best to find out.’

As Count Frederick reached this decision, Duke Blatnik, the chairman of this gathering, spoke.

“It seems everyone has gathered, so let’s begin the demonstration.”

With those words, the servants of the Blatnik ducal family began to move busily.

As he quietly observed this, one of Count Frederick’s eyebrows raised.

‘Could it be? I don’t want to have it, but it’s too precious to give to others, is that it….’

Count Frederick glanced at Duke Cardia with a slightly contemptuous look.

But unaware of Count Frederick’s thoughts, Duke Cardia simply stared straight ahead with an expressionless gaze.

It was when Jieselgrante was sipping fragrant tea with rising steam, sitting in the garden of the ducal residence under the warm sunlight.

“My lady, a letter has arrived for you.”

Recently, some noble houses had begun sending invitations for tea parties and balls.

Jieselgrante had them brought to her occasionally, all at once.

So, bringing a letter to her while she was resting could be interpreted as something slightly special.

As she turned her gaze towards the letter, the butler continued speaking.

“It seems to be from the Imperial Palace.”

“The Imperial Palace……”

Jieselgrante opened the envelope and took out the letter.

A few flower petals, seemingly freshly dried, fell out.

From this alone, Jieselgrante knew who had sent this letter.

‘It must be the Empress.’

After reading the not-so-long letter, the butler asked.

“What is the content that makes you react so?”

His voice was laden with worry.

Only then realizing that her expression had been unpleasant throughout reading the Empress’s letter, she hurriedly put on a smile.

“Lady Jiesel, is it unfavorable content?”

The butler asked again, observing her closely.

He seemed curious about the contents of the letter from the Imperial Palace. And he would need to know to report to Duke Amaterasu as well.

“Her Majesty the Empress has sent me an invitation to a tea party.”

“……”

For a moment, the butler’s expression became complex.

After the death of Duke Amaterasu’s wife, the Duke and the young Duke had been living quietly in the Amaterasu duchy.

Unless it was an annual event like the New Year’s Festival or the Founding Day celebration, they rarely came to the Imperial Capital, and naturally, visits to the Imperial Palace were few and far between.

As the position of the mistress of the Amaterasu ducal house was currently vacant, Jieselgrante would normally have taken on that role, but she had hidden away in the Amaterasu duchy after being greatly embarrassed at a social gathering.

It was only natural that her staying in the Imperial Capital, on the occasion of attending Princess Trinity’s memorial service, would become a major point of interest in the Empire’s social circles.

But……

“I want to organize my thoughts alone. I’ll call if I need help.”

“Ah, understood.”

The butler bowed deeply and turned towards the mansion.

However, his brow was slightly furrowed.

‘He’ll report this to Duke Amaterasu, won’t he?’

Jieselgrante watched the retreating figure of the butler before lowering her gaze.

And she lowered her gaze to the letter bearing the Empress’s seal.

‘She’s quite impatient.’

From the moment she started frequenting Countess Tarel’s salon, she had expected this day would come.

The timing was just a little earlier than she had anticipated.

‘I wonder what business our Empress has called me for.’

The corners of Jieselgrante’s lips curled up pleasantly.

The thought of facing the Empress who had taken everything from her already made her fingertips tremble.

It was a pleasant trembling coming from pure excitement, not fear or nervousness.

Like when drawing a bowstring taut towards prey.

Jieselgrante downed the remaining tea in one gulp and rose from her seat.

Then she hurried to prepare for going out. Before attending the Empress’s tea party, there was somewhere she needed to visit first.