Chapter 98

She wasn’t sure exactly when he finished the investigation, but he pinpointed the specific transgressions of the servants—citing them as problematic—and had them expelled from the imperial palace. Among them were those who had stolen from nobles in the past, those who had committed adultery, and several who had sold imperial information for money.

All of that information had originated from the ducal house.

New people began to fill the vacancies. Including the newcomers, even those who had originally followed Rishana’s orders now felt strangely more inclined to advocate for Bastien.

As the woman at the highest peak of social circles, there was no way Rishana could have failed to notice this.

At first, she watched with a generous heart. However, she gradually felt the situation turning strange. It felt more like her own hands and feet were being severed.

Rishana flung the door open.

“Bastien! Is this your doing?”

“Mother? What brings you here?”

“Count Peralt. No—that man who has now been demoted to a Baron!”

“Ah, are you speaking of that man? Yes, you are right.”

Rishana grew furious at Bastien’s nonchalant admission. If he had been caught by any chance, it would have been a disaster!

“It is fortunate he complied with the proposal! There was a possibility he could have betrayed us and sided with the Duke!”

There was a high probability that Hedeis held a grudge against Rishana for abandoning him, and he might not have taken her son’s proposal kindly. If he had gone to the Duke, it would have been catastrophic.

“Why did you do such a thing? If something had gone wrong…”

“I simply thought he would be just like me or you, Mother. Did you not tell me? That it is only natural to aim for the top. Even if it means eliminating those who stand above you.”

“You…”

“Thanks to you, Mother, I have come to realize what it is I truly desire. I suppose blood doesn’t lie. I hesitated until the moment I sent the letter to Count Peralt, wondering if this was truly what I wanted.”

Bastien recalled the moment he made his decision. In Rishana’s eyes, which used to goad him, there had always dwelt a long-festering greed.

“You told me, Mother. That the Emperor’s seat is a position where you can have anything you desire if you want it. I thought about it carefully, and you were right.”

Rishana looked at Bastien with a furrowed brow as he wore a peculiar smile. His aura had definitely changed. He was no longer the man of the past who appeared calm on the outside but stifled within. Instead, with a face that looked almost relieved, he whispered lowly to Rishana.

“There are too many interfering elements. I was foolish in the past. I kept telling myself that your actions were incorrect and tried not to take the wrong path. But wouldn’t it be my loss if I let what I want slip through my fingers in the process?”

Bastien’s lips curled into a smile. He didn’t want to let go of the throne, nor her. The throne had been his since childhood, a seat he had worked his whole life to obtain.

And Lepina was the first person who had ever caught his eye. The person who pulled him out of hiding. That was likely why everyone around her cherished her so much. He regretted not recognizing it sooner. Furthermore, he felt she was someone he could truly trust and lean on.

“It is rare for me to be greedy. I must have what I want.”

There was nothing he could be certain was his own. He acted because he saw the necessity to change from his past self, who had leisurely delegated everything to Rishana.

While the throne could be considered a certainty, using the status of Emperor to seat Lepina as Empress was uncertain. To satisfy both conditions, the existence that had to disappear was the ducal house.

“I feel sorry for Evan, but the ducal house is a significant nuisance. In politics, there is nothing more foolish than bringing up friendship when today’s ally becomes tomorrow’s enemy.”

“…You have thought well. That conviction will serve as your driving force.”

It should have been a good thing that Bastien, who hadn’t been active in recruiting nobles, was making such a declaration… yet his words felt strangely unsettling.

Rishana had always said the Emperor’s seat was a noble one. She told him that once he ascended, no one would harm him, and he alone would be the master of the realm.

“However… I was worried that even you, Mother, might become a bit of a nuisance to me.”

“…What?”

All this time, Rishana had worked to make Bastien Emperor. She had moved in whatever direction would secure the throne, even if it meant trampling over Bastien’s own opinions. There was no guarantee that wouldn’t continue after he became Emperor.

Rishana was speechless. She was happy for Bastien’s growth, but she hadn’t intended to turn him into someone who would ignore her and try to seize her power. A vein throbbed in Rishana’s forehead.

“Are you ignoring your mother’s efforts? After everything I have done for you…!”

“I know. Your desire, Mother, was for your son to become the one and only Emperor. Perfectly. Am I not saying I will achieve that for you? Should the one who is to be Emperor be swayed by his mother’s words?”

“…!”

“Mother. I am the Emperor. That does not mean I am ignoring you. I will ensure you have as much power and wealth as one can enjoy within the palace as the Dowager Empress. However, you must never covet the authority of the Emperor.”

Bastien then dismissed her, telling her it was time to leave.

Their positions had completely flipped. It had always been her who gave unilateral notifications. She let out a hollow laugh, but no one stopped him.

He was the man who would be Emperor, and he had expressed his will to be independent of the Empress. It was a move to align with future power.

Ultimately, Rishana had no choice but to back down.

***

Fedeshar was summoned by the Emperor.

He knew full well why he was being called. Taking a slight sigh in front of the Emperor’s office, Fedeshar knocked quietly. From beyond the door, he heard the booming voice of a man shouting for him to enter.

As soon as Fedeshar stepped inside, a great roar erupted.

“Just what did you do there! All I hear about are stories of Bastien, Young Lord Weiss, and Young Lady Clies!!”

Looking at the Emperor, whose face had turned a mottled red and purple, Fedeshar sneered inwardly. Was it not obvious? He had done nothing there. He had used all his strength to support them with the mana in his body, but his story had vanished. He was forgotten because his contribution was minor. People tend to go wild for greater feats.

“Father, did I not tell you? Even if I went there, the things I could do were limited—!”

“Shut up! You should have considered my position, having declared I would name you Crown Prince after you came of age! By any means necessary, you should have stood out more than Bastien!”

Fedeshar often wondered why those in the Imperial Palace loved the phrase “by any means necessary.”

Everyone whispered that he, born as a prince, could only find his reason for existing by taking the Emperor’s seat. It was a story he had heard since he was a child—that he had to surpass Bastien and that the seat belonged to him.

“I am sorry.”

“Is ‘sorry’ going to fix this! Do you want to lose the throne?”

‘I never once said I coveted the throne.’

It was useless to say he didn’t want it. Fedeshar swallowed a sigh and spoke.

The Emperor, in Fedeshar’s mind, was simple: a man who couldn’t admit the Empress was superior to him or that he was helped by her; a man who barely held onto his position by finding faults, like refusing to condone the killing of brothers; and a man who sought compensation for all of it through his child.

‘A man who would have died if not for the Empress.’

The Emperor’s hands might not have been stained with blood, but his mind, clumped together with ugly inferiority complexes, was filthy.

Facing such a person every day made Count Peralt’s actions easy to read. It was a bit surprising that Bastien harbored feelings for Lepina, but even that was flowing in a direction advantageous to him.

However, it was a bit bittersweet. Though he had guessed it, it confirmed that Bastien and the Empress shared similar natures.

“The Duke won’t come over to my side either. He is incredibly firm. Of all things, his son is a Sword Master… Ha, I suppose this is fate too. The fortunate part is that rumors are spreading that the Duke will hand over his position to the young Lord and retire. That means I need to win over the young Lord’s heart… and to win him over, it would be best to bring the Young Lady into this.”

“How about using Young Lady Clies? Grant her a reward.”

“A reward? Why is there a need to grant a reward? And the Young Lady has a history of refusing my rewards.”

He was referring to the time she had saved Fedeshar.

“Since she refused once, it will be hard to refuse a second time. And if she receives something, won’t she feel a debt of gratitude? I believe it is better than sitting idly by.”

“That makes sense. There’s nothing wrong with giving a reward.”

As the Emperor seemed to agree, Fedeshar tried to withdraw quietly. But the Emperor beckoned him again.

“Your fiancée has been decided.”

“…I see.”

“For some reason, Rishana hasn’t decided on a fiancée for Bastien. I have attached the most beautiful and reputable young lady at this current time. She is the daughter of Marquis Aphilius.”

Without a word, Fedeshar took the profile the Emperor handed him. He had never even heard the name. It was an engagement solely for the Emperor’s benefit.

“Treat her well.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Fedeshar left the office and crumpled the paper in his hand.

He vowed to himself that he had to end this business quickly.