“You will march right away, you say!”
It was late at night in the Imperial Palace.
The atmosphere in the audience chamber was utter chaos.
“Your Highness, I understand your feelings, but it’s too dangerous. Even if Hister has indeed fled to the western region, right now…”
Duke Rockford sighed, unable to finish his sentence, and Annelie, who had been quietly listening to him, also began to speak.
“It has barely been a few days since you cleared your name and drove Hister away. I apologize for my words, Your Highness, but it would be safest not to leave the palace for the time being.”
“…”
“The fact that Hister has fled also means that he could attack the palace at any time with his private soldiers. Not to mention if they move their forces in a dispersed manner.”
Despite the urgent words of Rockford and Annelie, Sinclair showed no reaction. He simply sat at the head of the table with a slanted posture, his fingers pressed against his temple, and a cold expression as he looked at everyone.
Duke Heswin, who had been observing the situation without giving any opinion, let out a heavy sigh just as Duke Rockford had.
“…Lady Annelie is right. Your Highness, please reconsider your decision a little more.”
He then moved his lips with a very cautious voice.
“Of course, I understand Your Highness’s feelings… but now, when not only the imperial family but also the people of the empire are all shaken, leaving the palace would not be a wise choice.”
“…”
“I’m sure Count Wilter will also… understand. Isn’t that right, Count?”
Count Wilter, who had been sitting still with a pale face, only made a strange sound that could be an answer or a groan. It was as if his intestines had been cut.
“I…”
I, I…
Count Wilter kept muttering to himself, unable to find the right words.
It was unavoidable from his position. The Wilter family had lost Chaz overnight.
They couldn’t even properly confirm whether he was dead or alive, so no matter how loyal Count Wilter was to Sinclair, he couldn’t express the same opinion as Annelie, Heswin, and Rockford, who had lost nothing.
In the end, only those who had lost someone precious to them kept silent.
And unfortunately, Sinclair had lost all his precious ones.
Thus, a cold and uncomfortable silence filled the audience chamber. Everyone was sitting in their seats, looking only at Sinclair.
“…I.”
After a long time had passed, Sinclair slowly parted his lips in a very low voice.
“My mind remains unchanged.”
“Your Highness…!”
“I don’t care what you say. I intend to take all the soldiers except those needed to guard the palace and march straight to the west.”
“…Now is not the time to be swayed by emotions, Your Highness. So please, once again…”
“The Emperor’s seal…”
Count Wilter interrupted Annelie’s words in a deep voice, uncharacteristically daring.
“E-Everyone knows, don’t they? To inherit the throne in Edenbell, the first and foremost thing… is a document stamped with the previous Emperor’s seal.”
“So what about that!”
Annelie shouted in an irritated voice.
“The Emperor has already been killed by Hister’s hand. Hister’s document is a forgery!”
“Yes, that’s right. But given the circumstances, if I may be so bold, Your Highness Sinclair cannot inherit the throne through the first method.”
Count Wilter hurriedly continued.
“Since everyone saw the video, no one can deny the fact that Hister killed the Emperor. Hister’s document is also a forgery, so it has no effect, and at the same time, Hister has been stripped of his status as a member of the imperial family.”
“What are you trying to say now, Count?”
Duke Heswin asked.
“So I’m saying… there is a second method.”
“Ha…”
Annelie, who had figured out Count Wilter’s ulterior motive, made a small sound as if she couldn’t believe it.
“In a situation where succession according to the will of the previous Emperor is impossible, for the next Emperor to be crowned, all the current contenders for the throne must agree.”
Count Wilter was right. It was a very long-standing custom in Edenbell.
In other words, to put it differently…
“If there is a clear agreement from Prince Chaz, Your Highness Sinclair will be able to seize the imperial authority without much further noise.”
“Count Wilter!”
“Of course, Prince Chaz and our Wilter family will naturally support Your Highness Sinclair. And as everyone has said, it is indeed quite dangerous to march to the western region right now. But… even thinking rationally, it is also something of definite value.”
“Didn’t you just say it yourself, Count! Anyway, Prince Chaz and the Wilter family…”
“But isn’t the situation different to say it’s the opinion of Prince Chaz, who isn’t even here! Lady Annelie, please, I beg you to…”
“Everyone, calm down. There’s no need for us to argue among ourselves like this now!”
It was the very moment when the quarrel between Annelie and Count Wilter, and the words of Duke Heswin trying to mediate between them, were all tangled up and filling the audience chamber.
“Your Highness!”
Schuler barged in with an extremely urgent face.
“We found Ravi, Prince Chaz’s escort knight.”
“What?”
Count Wilter was the most surprised by Schuler’s words. He jumped up from his seat as if he had been burned by fire, and Schuler turned around and gestured.
“Count… Wilter…”
And Ravi, who had been supported by Rex, collapsed to the floor, revealing himself.
“Wh-What is going on! Ravi!”
The startled Count Wilter rushed over and checked Ravi’s condition.
“…It’s a miracle that he’s still breathing.”
Duke Rockford, who had approached Count Wilter at some point, muttered while shaking his head.
In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that Ravi’s condition was half-dead. There was not a single unharmed spot on his body, and his clothes were torn here and there, stained with blood.
“Prince Chaz… gave me an errand to run.”
“E-Errand?”
“So I left the palace, and saw a few people I had never seen before. Feeling uneasy, I immediately returned to Prince Chaz, but…”
Ravi continued, spitting out the words with a sigh.
“…He was already gone. I succeeded in finding someone who was still staying in the palace, but ended up like this while pursuing him. I apologize.”
“The region! Which region was it!”
“It was clearly a path heading west.”
In the end, Sinclair’s guess had been correct. Count Wilter looked at Sinclair urgently, but Ravi let go of his hand and stood up from his spot, staggering.
“This…”
Then, he stumbled over to Sinclair and took something out of his chest, holding it out.
“He said it was for Your Highness.”
“…”
“I don’t know what it is either. I’m just sorry for being late.”
Without giving any answer, Sinclair grasped what Ravi had offered.
What Chaz had instructed Ravi to deliver was a document neatly folded and sealed.
Drip.
Sinclair opened the document sealed with a seal and looked down at the contents written on the paper with a dry face.
“…”
At the end of the carefully written sentences, Chaz’s seal was stamped very clearly.
Annelie, who had been watching Sinclair silently looking at the document, quietly stood up from her seat.
“…Although Prince Chaz has grown up without receiving proper treatment, he is a proper member of the imperial family.”
Then she parted her lips towards Count Wilter.
“Seeing that he even asked Ravi to deliver it separately, Count Wilter, it seems to be related to the matter you were worried about.”
“T-That’s…”
Thud.
Sinclair placed the document he had been holding on the table. Annelie turned her head slightly as if to check the contents of the document, then began to speak again in a dry voice.
“There is no problem with the succession of the imperial authority now.”
“…”
“So, Your Highness…!”
Your Highness.
Before Annelie could even finish her words, Sinclair stood up from his seat with a face that had grown cold.
“If it is as you say, I will be able to ascend to the position of Emperor without any objection or noise.”
What is he trying to say again all of a sudden? Annelie stared at Sinclair with a face full of tension, and…
“Then let me make it clear once more.”
Sinclair glared at everyone with his brightly shining golden eyes and parted his lips.
“If you have a problem with me moving the private soldiers and military, I will gladly leave them in the palace and move alone.”
“Wh-What do you mean by that…!”
“But you should all know this. If something happens to me, it will directly affect your safety as well. Especially if Hister is still alive.”
Annelie had a look of shock on her face, and Duke Heswin closed his eyes tightly. Duke Rockford looked around nervously with a terrified expression, and Count Wilter stared at Sinclair with tears streaming down his face.
“Now, it’s time to choose.”
And Sinclair said, looking directly at Annelie with a face where only anger was evident.
“Will you cooperate with me obediently, or will you stay locked up here and seek your own safety?”
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
