Strategic Marriage with the Mad Villain - Chapter 24

Teron was still lively and playful. Thanks to him, Reus found out how he had suffered such a mishap in the Silent Forest.

“That curse requires the caster’s life as a price? So if you get caught by it, you’re as good as dead. But it seems that fellow wasn’t fated to die. Seeing how you appeared right at that moment and saved his life. Of course, if he didn’t have monstrous regenerative abilities−.”

“That’s enough.”

Reus abruptly cut off Teron’s words. Despite the chilly response, Teron just laughed brightly without backing down.

After talking about this and that for a while, Teron soon left his seat. He said he was originally only going to greet briefly today.

Anyway, through the short conversation with Teron, the full story of what happened in the Silent Forest was revealed.

I don’t know what they were looking for, but the two of them were searching the Silent Forest, dividing the area. In the process, Reus was attacked by some group, and fortunately, I appeared right at that moment.

‘Some time later, Teron, who arrived late, belatedly discovered me from a distance and immediately revealed my identity the next day….’

But those people who attacked Reus and even resorted to forbidden black magic…

‘From the way they talked, it didn’t seem like they had only encountered each other once or twice.’

The Silent Forest was clearly a land that the ducal family had completely abandoned. But the empire’s grand duke, the Anas Guild’s leader, and even a group of unknown identity….

What was happening in that forest that I firmly believed to be abandoned?

‘Wait a minute. Then could it be that Uncle Haven also knew and pretended not to?’

We had known each other for a long time, and I had given him my heart to the point of relying on him and liking him even more than my father. If he had deliberately deceived me… Honestly, I would be disappointed.

Even if he had deceived me, it would be better not to know that fact, but after agonizing over it, I finally asked about Uncle.

“Reus… There’s something I want to ask. Uncle Haven… Ah, the person you saw when you woke up that day. When he was with me, he seemed to have no idea about you, Reus. Could it be that Uncle was also just pretending not to know…?”

“Just as the people of the grand duke’s castle don’t know of Teron’s existence, neither do the members of the Anas Guild. So that person really doesn’t know me.”

If his reaction after learning Reus’s identity had been an act, I would have been truly disappointed for a long time.

After a brief silence, Reus naturally changed the subject.

“Rather than that, Roel. An invitation from the imperial palace will arrive soon.”

‘Invitation?’

Just as I was about to ask what the invitation was for, it occurred to me.

‘Ah, that’s right.’

In the original work, Iris’s birthday banquet was held around this time too. Indeed. Even if I married Reus, the fact that Iris is an imperial princess wouldn’t change….

If the original work doesn’t change much, there will be many predictable events for the time being, which is a good thing, but this time, it wasn’t quite a pleasant news.

To be precise, it wasn’t for me, but for the protagonist Iris.

* * *

Finally, the day of Iris’s birthday banquet arrived.

The banquet starts from late afternoon, but we arrived at the imperial palace earlier than other nobles. There was a message from the emperor saying that he wanted to have a conversation with us as a couple.

“Your Majesty. His Highness the Grand Duke of Rochester and Her Highness the Grand Duchess of Rochester have arrived.”

Not long after the aide announced our arrival, the heavy doors opened, revealing a middle-aged man.

The man possessing hair and eyes of a more splendid golden hue than any of the gold decorations in the Asilith Imperial Palace was the Emperor of the Asilith Empire, Den Aren Asilith.

I greeted the emperor, who had a gentle smile on his face, with proper etiquette.

“Greetings to Your Majesty the Emperor.”

“It’s nice to meet you. I believe this is our first time meeting like this. You were the eldest daughter of the Everle family, I heard.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It is an honor to meet you in person.”

As I was about to bow my head again, the emperor gestured as if to say that the greetings were enough and to sit down.

“The empire has been abuzz with the news of your marriage recently? Well, I was surprised too. Even though he always acted as if he had no intention of getting married, I never thought he would suddenly hold a wedding like this.”

“I apologize for not informing you in advance.”

“It’s fine. It’s my fault for losing a close friend early. If Ricasen were here, I would have been the first to know about the marriage…”

There was a tone of longing for Ricasen and a slight hint of reproach towards Reus. Reus continued the conversation calmly and naturally as if he was used to this situation.

He really didn’t look like someone who was secretly plotting a rebellion behind the scenes.

‘He’s so seamless, I tell you…’

Surprisingly, in the past, Emperor Den and Reus’s father were very close friends.

How close were they? As soon as the emperor ascended to the throne, the first thing he did was grant Reus’s father, Ricasen, the title of grand duke without properly going through the procedures.

The story of how the emperor was unable to properly handle state affairs for several days due to grief when the Grand Duke and Duchess of Rochester passed away in a carriage accident was also famous enough to be still talked about.

So I always wondered why the leader of the rebellion was Reus of all people.

The emperor continued to support the Rochester ducal family unchanged even after the previous grand duke, Ricasen, passed away, and vice versa.

Whenever something happened to the emperor, no matter what it was, Reus was the one who helped the emperor without hesitation.

‘In the past, I vaguely thought that Reus would be someone with a strong desire for power since birth…’

Now, my thoughts have completely changed.

Although I haven’t been with him for a long time, from what I’ve observed, Reus doesn’t seem like someone who would start a rebellion just because he can’t control his desire for power.

‘In the first place, Reus didn’t seem like the type to be obsessed with power.’

The desire for power is usually not hidden. I could definitely distinguish that much, having grown up watching my father, but Reus really didn’t seem to be that kind of person.

In fact, that could be easily known just by looking at the grand duke’s castle.

Unlike the Everle family’s castle, which always had an atmosphere of precarious tension, the Rochester ducal castle generally maintained a free and peaceful atmosphere.

It means that I didn’t feel any fear or hatred towards Reus in the eyes and behavior of the servants. Rather, if I felt anything, it was a bit of hesitation. Difficulty. Respect.

I glanced at Reus’s face as he conversed with the emperor. There was not a hint of resentment to be found on that face looking at the emperor now.

I don’t know what history he has with the emperor, but if Reus has been secretly nurturing anger towards the emperor…

I couldn’t even imagine how far that anger extended and how long he had endured the time of suffering to hide it.

I had been curious about the Silent Forest and the reason for the rebellion, but from now on, it seemed better to reduce unnecessary interest.

‘I should be careful not to let him find out that I know about his plans for rebellion…’

At that moment, the emperor turned his attention to me.

“It must be hard for you. That fellow is a stiff one in many ways. I sometimes doubt if he’s really Ricasen’s son. Ricasen wasn’t such a rigid fellow.”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“Hm? Does he not treat you coldly?”

“No. He’s kind to me.”

Even I could see that Reus was far from being kind… But it wasn’t a forcefully made-up statement either.

‘Compared to the image of the original villain in my memory, he’s very kind…’

Ah. It’s the same when other people’s gazes are directed at us.

“…I’m glad he treats you well, but.”

The emperor ended his words in a disgruntled manner, as if he found it hard to put Reus and the word ‘kind’ on the same level no matter how much he thought about it.

“That’s… quite an unexpected fact…”

* * *

Despite the tension, the conversation with the emperor went very smoothly.

When the emperor asked about this and that, Reus and I would respond appropriately, and that was it. None of the questions were difficult, rude, or anything like that.

After the very ordinary conversation with the emperor ended, we arrived at the Britian Palace, where Iris’s birthday banquet was being held today.

That palace, boasting the epitome of splendor even from afar, was the palace that the emperor had bestowed upon Abinoa, who was Iris’s mother and the third empress, now gone from this world.

The Britian Palace was famous in many ways. The huge cost invested in building the palace and its high aesthetic perfection from any angle could be the reasons, but the biggest reason was the lake attached to the Britian Palace.

That fairly large lake could only be seen inside the Britian Palace.

Befitting a palace famous for its lake, the banquet hall was also set up outdoors centered around the lake. I gazed at the lake where the image of the palace, smeared with all sorts of lights and expensive decorations, was reflected.

Oddly enough, the feeling I felt while looking at the lake, where the image of the palace that could blind one’s eyes with its splendor was captured, was a sense of unease.

Now, with the emperor’s affection being the only thing she had in the imperial family, I knew that Iris would not gain any joy from this banquet today.

“Is there a problem?”

When I came to my senses, I realized that Reus had also stopped on the awkward roadside because of me.

“…No. It’s just that the lake is so pretty.”

I quickly moved my feet and headed towards the banquet hall again. Upon arriving at the banquet hall, it was filled with people who had arrived. Befitting the good day, the atmosphere was harmonious.

‘I see many familiar faces.’

The problem was that, just like in the novel, most of the nobles occupying the banquet hall were pro-empress.

The orchestra began to play. The bustling atmosphere among the nobles and my uneasiness were naturally buried under the gentle melody.