As the emperor suddenly made his appearance, everyone was shocked.

“Your… Your Majesty?”

Hister was also the same. Just this morning, he had gone to see the emperor. Although his condition had improved, the emperor was still unconscious at that time.

But in just a few hours, he had become well enough to even move around like this?

Of course, the emperor, who was being supported by a knight, still looked ill and not fully recovered. But absurdly, his mind seemed very clear.

This was impossible.

“…I was the one who approved the marriage vow between Prince Sinclair and Princess Consort Elaina.”

And the emperor, who had come close to the brothers, slowly turned around, looked down at the people, and began to speak.

“Even if the prince wished to marry Elaina Aswald, if she was not suitable for the position of princess consort, I would not have granted the prince’s wish.”

…What on earth was the emperor talking about now?

“The prince is right. The scandal surrounding the princess consort is nothing but a fabricated lie, and Elaina Butler has now officially become a member of the imperial family.”

Hister, unable to even maintain his expression properly, gaped and stared at his father’s back.

“So if there are those who spread false words about Elaina Butler, they will be immediately punished for insulting the imperial family. No matter who they are.”

‘Unless that damn old man has lost his mind, how can he say such a thing!’

Hister’s gaze, grinding his teeth, naturally turned to Sinclair, who was sitting right next to him.

“……”

To Hister, who was glaring at him as if to kill, Sinclair said nothing. He merely smirked with his characteristic mocking smile.

And Hister realized.

Sinclair’s words that ‘everything is already going according to his will’ were not a vain bluff.

“Your Majesty, despite your ill health, I express my infinite gratitude and respect for your presence to provide an explanation.”

Duke Heswin, who had been listening to the emperor’s words, paid his respects very politely. The other nobles standing behind him were all the same.

Of course, everyone, including Duke Heswin, still had a dumbfounded expression on their faces.

After all, they could not believe the fact that the emperor was directly intervening to this extent, protecting the princess consort and the prince.

Moreover, siding with the prince and princess consort now meant that they had turned against Crown Prince Hister, didn’t it?

“……”

With their heads bowed, the nobles’ eyes, which quickly moved back and forth between each other, were filled with confusion.

…The fact that the emperor was now siding with Sinclair, not Hister Butler, whom he had cherished so much, was no different from the fact that the prospect of the next emperor was being overturned.

“Then, if I may humbly ask, do you know who the culprit of the recent attack was?”

“……”

“I mean the one who attacked Your Majesty in the sacred temple.”

At Duke Heswin’s words, the emperor was silent for a moment.

Between his wrinkled eyes, only his golden pupils, which the brothers took after, were shining with various emotions…

“…Your Majesty.”

And the one who broke the heavy silence like lead was Hister.

“Don’t you know best, Your Majesty? Who in the shining Edenbell Imperial Family could have ill feelings towards you?”

Damn old man.

Even though you’re on the verge of death, how dare you side with Sinclair?

“I am deeply sorry to say this to Your Majesty, who should be focusing on recovery, but various speculations continue to run rampant.”

Hister’s eyes flashed and shone.

“If Your Majesty names the culprit now, I will order their immediate execution. Isn’t that necessary to preserve the prestige and authority of the imperial family?”

“……”

“Also, only then can we more firmly protect Your Majesty’s safety. There is no guarantee that the one who dared to commit such an act in the sacred temple will not do the same in the imperial palace.”

At first glance, it sounded like a reasonable statement, but Hister’s words were laced with subtle pressure.

The meaning of ‘there is no guarantee that the one who committed such an act will not do the same in the imperial palace’ was that it would not be strange at all if the emperor were to be attacked again, just like this time.

However, depending on the emperor’s answer, ‘the one who committed such an act’ would be slightly different.

It would be Hister himself.

“……”

Instead of any answer, the emperor slowly turned around. Then he looked down at Hister, who was glaring at him.

And he remained still for a long time.

“…Please tell us, Your Majesty.”

“The Crown Prince is right. We must completely uproot it this time.”

The voices of the nobles, buzzing and adding weight to Hister’s words, echoed throughout the wide hall like an echo.

‘People already think that either Sinclair or Hister is the culprit anyway.’

Elaina, biting her lip slightly, thought as she secretly clenched her fist with her sweat-soaked hand under her long sleeves.

‘I don’t know why he even intervened directly to protect us… but the emperor must know. The fact that the one who attacked was Sinclair.’

Whose hand will the emperor hold?

Between the two sons standing in front of the quagmire, which one will he pull up?

It was no exaggeration to say that the entire future depended on his answer.

Elaina looked at Sinclair with tension-filled eyes, but Sinclair was still looking at the emperor with a calm expression.

As if urging him to answer quickly.

“The one behind the attack…”

And after a considerable time had passed, the emperor finally closed his eyes tightly and parted his dry lips with a hoarse voice.

“…has nothing to do with the Edenbell Imperial Family.”

‘What?’

Elaina flinched greatly.

Of course, Hister was the same.

If Elaina was surprised, Hister seemed dumbfounded. He frowned as if he had been hit hard on the back of his head with a blunt weapon, but the emperor continued to speak.

“It has absolutely nothing to do with the Crown Prince… or the Prince.”

“Your Majesty, but didn’t the high priest who was loyal to the imperial family also die? If it was truly an incident unrelated to the imperial family, why the high priest…!”

“It’s a scheme of the enemy nation!”

The emperor’s voice, which sounded as if it was filled with phlegm, mercilessly cut off Hister’s words.

“I saw it clearly with these two eyes. Are you saying you can’t believe my words, the very person who was attacked, Hister!”

Something was wrong.

Otherwise, there was no way the emperor would act like this.

…Sinclair.

Surely, that bastard, to that crazy old man…

Between Hister’s tightly clenched lips, the sound of grinding teeth was heard.

“My knights have begun a separate investigation, so the imperial family and nobles should never mention this matter again!”

“……”

“And… the absurd scandal about the princess consort as well!”

That was the end. As soon as he finished speaking, the emperor began to cough heavily and leaned on the knight who was supporting him.

“Your Majesty still needs absolute rest. So, as you just said, do not do anything that would dare to go against your will.”

The old knight summarized the situation in a resolute tone and gestured in front of him.

Soon, as if they had come together, a few other knights approached and helped the emperor move, and the emperor left the main hall without even looking back.

“I hope you all heard the words of our respected Emperor well.”

Sinclair, who had also slowly risen from his seat, said, looking down at everyone.

“From now on, I hope such unfortunate incidents will not occur again. So that you all can continue to hold these pointless parties.”

Right?

Sinclair smiled brightly and held out his hand to Elaina.

It meant that now that everything was over, they should return to the imperial palace.

Elaina, who held his hand, carefully got up and began to descend the stairs with Sinclair.

The nobles did not even dare to think of blocking their way, parting like a stream of water to make way for them.

But Sinclair stopped for a moment and looked at Shuler, who was waiting at the door.

“Shuler, bring what you prepared.”

“Yes.”

As soon as the order was given, Shuler approached Sinclair with a rather large jewel box.

“It’s supposed to be a birthday party, so I should at least give a gift.”

Duke Heswin, who had been standing at a distance, belatedly realized that Sinclair’s words were directed at him and carefully looked at Sinclair as he took steps forward.

As Duke Heswin approached him, Sinclair held out the box as if to tell him to take it quickly.

“Happy birthday, Heswin. I sincerely congratulate you.”

“…Thank you, Your Highness.”

“And…”

Sinclair, bringing his face close to Heswin’s ear, continued in a very low voice.

“I am different from my grandfather.”

Heswin flinched greatly.

“If you make the wrong choice this time too, you will have to pay a much bigger price. A price that cannot even be compared to this.”

“……”

“I look forward to your wise decision.”

Having finished speaking, Sinclair turned his head with a smile on his face as if nothing had happened, and holding Elaina’s hand tightly, he began to leave the main hall.

Heswin, who stood in a daze for a long time even after they left, carefully opened the box he was holding.

What was inside the box was…

‘Saplings…’

The land in the southern region of Edenbell.

It had a port that could go to any empire, and the land was fertile and the environment was good, so it was also suitable for exploiting many serfs.

But due to a wrong choice, it became a golden land that belonged to the imperial family.

They were saplings of a variety that only grew there.

Feeling the implication of Sinclair’s gift all too clearly, Heswin closed the box with a stiff expression.

Then, with a slightly nauseated face, he silently stared at the path Sinclair had walked.