Episode 30

Episode 30. Are You Telling Me to Win the Emperor’s Heart?

“Where have you been wandering around at such a critical time?”

The Duke of Hastings’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

The gentle smile he’d worn just moments ago while the maids were present had vanished without a trace. The drastic shift in attitude made my skin crawl.

No—more precisely, it was Helena’s body that reacted instinctively. After all, he was Helena’s father, not mine. There was no reason I should feel such visceral fear just because he was angry.

Regardless, I couldn’t help but wonder why the Duke was so furious.

‘Usually Helena’s memories would come in handy at times like this.’

I didn’t lack access to her memories completely; they typically surfaced when I encountered someone important. But strangely, when it came to the Duke of Hastings, not even a faint trace remained.

All I felt was a suffocating, unpleasant sensation—like being stuck in a bog.

“I’m curious why you’re angry. Did I do something wrong?”

If I had recently bullied Fay, I could understand him coming to chastise his daughter’s wicked behavior. But I hadn’t done anything of the sort lately, so his fury made even less sense.

Why was he this enraged?

“Are you seriously asking me that?”

The Duke’s brow furrowed tightly.

Yes. I am seriously asking. So maybe stop glaring and just explain already, Father-in-name-only.

“Rumors are running wild inside and outside the Empire that the Empress has taken a lover. And you still act like you don’t understand?”

Ah. So that’s what this is about.

He must’ve caught wind of the gossip surrounding me and Leonard.

Well, I suppose it’s slightly more understandable now. If I heard that my daughter had suddenly taken a lover, I’d be stunned too.

“What the hell have you been doing in my absence for such scandalous rumors to spread like this?”

“You’re talking about Sir Leonard, right? It seems the rumors you heard were… exaggerated.”

“Exaggerated? Are you saying there’s no truth to this talk of a lover?”

“Something did happen… but it was just a light-hearted joke. It wasn’t anything serious like people are claiming.”

“Tsk.”

Despite my explanation, the Duke’s expression didn’t soften. If anything, he clicked his tongue and revealed even more open disdain.

“Clearly, you conducted yourself poorly. ‘A lover’? That’s not the kind of thing people joke about.”

“……”

“And in front of the Emperor, no less? You must have given them reason to say such things.”

“……”

“After all the effort that went into securing your place as Empress… You fool.”

Fool.

Just that one word was enough to send a shiver through my entire body.

No matter how hard I tried to will it still, my limbs trembled.

‘Why am I so afraid of him?’

I gripped the hem of my dress tightly to hide the shaking.

Helena, this is your father. The so-called doting dad.

Though frankly, after meeting him in person, he hardly seems like one.

Still, he is your father.

Then why… why are you so terrified?

“Helena.”

His sharp voice pierced the air. Before I realized it, the Duke had stepped right up to me, lowering his head and resting a hand on my shoulder.

“Why did you push away all the people I sent to you? Just what is it you’re dissatisfied with?”

“The people you sent…?”

“I don’t know what nonsense is filling your head, but get it together. Don’t forget what you’re supposed to be doing. Understood?”

“…And what exactly am I supposed to be doing?”

“Did I not tell you to win the Emperor’s heart? That’s why I went to such lengths to place all those people around you.”

“……!”

My eyes widened in shock.

So all those people who blindly followed Helena…

They were sent by him?

“You foolish girl. I don’t care what your personal relationship with that man is. Just do your job. Stop stirring up ridiculous rumors.”

“Are you telling me to win the Emperor’s heart?”

“That would be ideal. But even if you don’t, it doesn’t matter.”

The Duke straightened up, his voice colder than ever.

“Understood, Helena? Don’t forget why you were made Empress.”

The Duke of Hastings’s visit had been like a violent storm.

His sudden appearance—and the way he acted—was a complete deviation from the original story.

And when he left the Empress’s Palace, he even turned to the maids and said,

—“Please take good care of my daughter.”

—“She seems to have lost quite a bit of weight. I’m truly worried.”

“Excuse me? Take good care of your daughter?”

She lost weight?

Have you considered that maybe she lost weight while talking to you?

I don’t care how much sugar you coat it with—nothing he said was even remotely sincere.

Knowing his true nature made his words all the more revolting.

—“Don’t worry, Duke.”

—“We’ll take excellent care of Her Majesty.”

—“You really are concerned for the Empress above all else.”

But it seemed none of the maids knew his real character either.

He was apparently a born performer—his affectionate act had everyone fooled.

The man’s dual nature was dizzying.

I ended up lying in bed just to get a grip.

Not that I could sleep.

The Duke’s words kept echoing through my head:

—After all the effort that went into making you Empress. Fool.

—Why did you push away all the people I sent you? What are you unhappy about?

—Don’t forget why you were made Empress.

That short conversation had revealed a lot about Helena.

First, her father was not the doting dad the original story described.

He was, in fact, an oppressive and cruel man.

‘In that sense, I suppose I’m better off than Helena.’

Before I possessed this body, my own father hadn’t been anyone important—but at least he was a decent person.

Second: the people who supported Helena in and out of the palace?

They weren’t her allies by choice.

They were people placed there by her father—the Duke of Hastings.

No wonder it had always felt far too elaborate for a girl her age to pull off alone.

Turns out, it had all been orchestrated by the Duke.

“Of course. That man has the power to do it.”

As the head of House Schwaben, one of the Empire’s three great noble families, the Duke wielded immense influence both within and beyond imperial borders.

And lastly:

‘The Duke of Hastings wants something from Helena.’

Unfortunately, I hadn’t learned the details.

I wanted to ask more, but pushing him would’ve only drawn suspicion.

Still, one thing was clear.

He harbored a strong dislike for Emperor Jerome.

That much was in line with the original novel.

In the source material, the Duke and the Emperor had a famously hostile relationship.

Though the reasons differed.

In the original, Jerome tried to punish Helena for bullying Fay, and the doting father came to his daughter’s defense.

“I wonder… does Jerome know any of this?”

Suddenly, I thought of him.

Could this be why Jerome kept his distance from the Empress?

Maybe his actions, too, had changed because of this deeper political backdrop.

“…I have to ask him.”

No use stewing over it alone.

If I asked Jerome directly, I’d get a clearer answer.

And I didn’t need to go out of my way to find him either.

There were predetermined days when the Emperor and Empress were required to dine together.

“His Majesty won’t be joining us for the meal?”

I blinked at the Countess of Chloe’s words.

According to palace protocol, the Emperor and Empress were obligated to dine together on certain days.

Normally, I would’ve been thrilled to hear Jerome wasn’t joining me.

Honestly, I would’ve celebrated.

But today was different.

I had something important to ask—about the Duke of Hastings.

And just when I’d been waiting for the perfect moment, I was told Jerome wouldn’t be attending.

“Why the sudden cancellation? Is something wrong?”

“It seems the Imperial Concubine is unwell. His Majesty said he’ll be dining in her palace for the time being.”

“The Imperial Concubine?”

The gentle and delicate female lead, sick again?

Well, I suppose it made sense that Jerome would be concerned.

In the novel, Fay was frequently ill, which kept the male lead on constant edge.

“If that’s the situation, there’s nothing I can do.”

For a moment, I considered visiting the Imperial Concubine’s Palace to speak with Jerome directly.

But I decided against it.

She’s sick—would he really take the time to see me?

Unlikely. He’d probably just give me the cold shoulder and ask why I even came.

It’s fine. She’ll recover in a few days, and then I’ll ask him.

But contrary to my expectations, no matter how much time passed… I never found another chance to speak with Jerome.