Chapter 2. Summit Meeting Between Two Empires
The atmosphere in the conference room was terrible.
Needless to say, no minister wanted to get involved in the emperor’s personal matters unless they were mad.
What did it matter if the emperor had an immoral and unethical relationship with a concubine as long as it didn’t negatively impact state affairs?
It was an unspoken rule that the empress should not make snide remarks about a concubine the emperor cherished, no matter how unfair or angry she felt.
If he took in a concubine, so be it.
While it was rare for the supreme ruler’s favor to last until old age, wasn’t the position of empress eternal?
In the first place, since the marriage between the emperor and empress was largely for political purposes, there was no reason for the empress to be unable to endure the emperor’s love.
However, on the other hand, there was also an unspoken ‘extent’ to all of that.
If the empress condoned the emperor and his lover for the sake of peace in the palace, the emperor should also at least not engage in acts of love in front of the empress.
What reason was there to humiliate the other party like that?
“Many distinguished guests will be attending this summit. I intend to have both the welcome banquet and farewell banquet hosted by the empress’s palace.”
Therefore, the catastrophe that unfolded in the conference room before the meeting began was a very troublesome issue.
If only the affairs of the world could be cut cleanly like with a knife, but the heart was not like that.
Moreover, it was common knowledge that Empress Leonarda was tolerating more than usual out of love for the emperor and to avoid being hated… and he showed acts of love in front of her?
“I have been deeply ill and the holy maiden has been helping with many things.”
The emperor exuding a cold chill, the holy maiden glancing around looking troubled, and the empress maintaining an elegant smile as if nothing was wrong.
They were all dangerous individuals at the moment.
The nobles who had eyes and ears planted in the imperial palace knew the origin of this icy atmosphere and remained silent.
There was nothing good about stepping forward.
“I will fulfill my duties as empress from now on, so please give me your assistance.”
Finally, when the empress declared that, the emperor openly expressed his discomfort.
It wasn’t bad for the empress to do the empress’s work. There was no justification to oppose it either. However, the pro-emperor nobles seated here had to oppose it for the sake of the emperor’s mood.
But if they did that, they would be marked by the empress whose mood would be very bad.
‘Have you heard from Duke Ahilo?’
‘I have not.’
‘Then the empress moved arbitrarily?’
‘For now, it seems His Majesty the Emperor is also unaware…’
‘Could it be that the empress is suddenly saying this out of anger because His Majesty did that… ahem, in the conference room?’
The imperial court meeting was held at a large round table.
The nobles who were able to sit far from the emperor were busy communicating through eye gestures.
On the other hand, the high-ranking nobles sitting close to the emperor were in a very awkward position.
Someone had to answer…
The gazes converged on one spot.
The savior was Duke Ahilo.
“I’m not saying this because she’s my daughter. Originally, hosting banquets is something the empress should do. Until now, the holy maiden has shared that role, but if the empress has the will… I believe it is right for the empress to do it.”
Once he broached the subject like that, the emperor spoke slowly.
“Are you saying the empress suddenly became healthy?”
“It seems she has become healthy enough to attend the imperial court meeting.”
“Indeed. In the past, she couldn’t even sit in the conference room, but today she even came to find me first for some reason.”
The corners of the emperor’s mouth twisted.
The emperor clearly disliked the empress. He didn’t even hide that fact.
In the end, a couple of pro-emperor nobles spoke up slyly.
“Ahem, since they are taking the trouble to come here from over there, we must receive them without a single flaw on our side.”
“That… ahem, how about starting by hosting smaller scale banquets first… Hosting such a large banquet from the beginning is a bit…”
When distinguished guests came from abroad, the two most important banquets were:
The welcome banquet to convey the greatness and wealth of the Nix Empire and dampen the spirits of foreigners. And the farewell banquet.
As it was a matter of displaying the empire’s national prestige, these two banquets were considered the light and salt among the numerous palace banquets, that’s how important they were.
So the pro-emperor nobles desperately hoped the empress would concede this and start with something else first.
Until now, the empress had stepped back for health reasons, and thanks to that, the imperial palace had been functioning properly.
The temple faction led by the holy maiden Helene. The noble faction led by Duke Ahilo, the empress’s biological father.
The emperor faction loyal only to the emperor. And the other neutral families.
These four powers were in sharp confrontation, which paradoxically led to a peaceful state.
But if things turned out like this, it would be a different story.
The empress’s illness was a necessary factor for the peace of the domestic political situation. But if she stepped forward like this, the temple faction could be suppressed and the noble faction could gain power.
Then the emperor faction would have no choice but to join hands with the temple faction, even if only temporarily.
So that the noble faction wouldn’t grow too large.
“Your words are excessive!”
“Isn’t it the law of the imperial family for the empress to host important banquets?”
“Or do you think the empress will naturally be unable to do it?”
Viscounts and marquises belonging to the noble faction sternly rebuked.
In fact, the pro-emperor nobles wanted to stop the empress due to political issues, but they knew what was right, so they had nothing more to say.
They wanted to step up more, but there was no justification since the empress hadn’t ruined anything yet.
“I believe the right the empress is trying to exercise is proper.”
“I agree.”
“Since childhood, the empress has learned many things growing up as a young lady of a ducal family. She simply hasn’t had the opportunity to demonstrate her capabilities.”
Justification was a very important thing.
Because the side with justification could raise their voice loudly.
“I approve of the empress hosting the banquet.”
The emperor, who had been silent for a long time, finally raised the white flag.
A change was blowing through the imperial palace of the Nix Empire.
[This is the timeline separator]‘What? Approve? A-pprove?’
Ha!
After returning to the empress’s palace, I distorted my picture-perfect smiling face and let out a cold, empty laugh.
I was reminded of a shepherd who promised to make something delicious, saying he would go to the market and buy potatoes and eggs.
His innocent face, saddened and apologetic for burning everything because he didn’t know how to cook well, followed.
The image of ‘Emperor Enrique’ arrogantly babbling about approving hosting the banquet was superimposed over the appearances I had loved, the ones I couldn’t bear not loving.
‘Can a person change like that? His acting skills are amazing. At this point, it’s not that I’m stupid for being fooled.’
Chewing on my lower lip, I tried to erase the Enrique that still remained within me.
Him smiling brightly at me. Him narrowing his eyes in pleasure when I stroked his head. Him blushing shyly when I kissed him.
My shepherd, who smelled of the freshness of freshly cut grass, the scent of the wind, and the sweet scent of sheep’s milk, was gone now.
He was gone.
“Your Majesty, here is honey water.”
Derek bowed his large body and held out a mug to me. The concern condensed in those words comforted my heart.
“What happened inside the conference room?”
A knight bearing a sword cannot enter the conference room. So Derek couldn’t know.
But I didn’t want to reveal everything that had happened in there.
“I just felt like an obstacle. The villainess interfering with their fateful love.”
“That’s not true. How can you say such a thing.”
“That’s the truth. The emperor didn’t even want to look at my face.”
A sneer escaped.
Indeed, throughout the entire meeting, Enrique didn’t look straight at me even once.
It seemed like he was looking at me, but his gaze always strayed to my nose or ears, never my eyes. And he was ostentatiously holding hands with the holy maiden he had seated to his left.
It was so infuriating.
From my perspective, it was the first time I was properly meeting Enrique in a long while.
But from the beginning, he showed up with disheveled attire, and throughout the meeting, his actions were excessive.
During the meeting, Enrique stroked the back of Helene’s hand exactly five times. At the end, Helene interlocked fingers with him.
Anyone could see they were in the midst of a love for the ages.
“Uh, Your Majesty. Duke Ahilo has arrived.”
“As expected. Show him to the drawing room. Serve him tea with a calming effect.”
After giving brief instructions to Mrs. Bertolt, I took off all the jewels I had put on to attend the imperial court meeting.
As my body became lighter, I could finally breathe.
Looking into my eyes in the mirror, the number ‘200’ came to mind.
200 days of life.
That was all I had now.
‘I wonder if that child returned safely to his country.’
When trying to calm down from anger, it’s good to think of something completely different.
Fiddling with the bracelet the boy left behind while thinking of him whose name I didn’t even know, I flinched and stopped my hand.
‘Wait a minute. But why did the desert empire request a summit?’
Since they requested it, they would come here.
If Nix had requested it, I would probably be heading to the desert with Enrique by now.
It wasn’t easy for the emperors and empresses of two great powers to meet, and it was even rarer for those with the bloodline of the sun god to leave the desert.
But for what reason did the great emperor of the desert take the heavy step?
“Father.”
“Your Majesty the Empress.”
The only one who could provide that answer at this point was Duke Ahilo.
Duke Ahilo was the kind of person you could tell was the empress’s biological father even if you looked at him backwards.
A middle-aged man with deep blonde hair and a well-groomed mustache. He didn’t have a protruding belly, likely from regular exercise, and had a good appearance.
Above all, he had a considerable aura of power. Just like the lion, the symbol of the family.
“Do you have a way to win?”
I liked his straightforward personality, not beating around the bush. I nodded and sat down. And just as I was about to start talking.
“Sorry to interrupt your conversation. The holy maiden has requested a visit.”
An unwelcome guest appeared.
__________
The Merman is a Love-Obsessed Brain (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”