Chapter 31

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: An Imperial Summons
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The old door creaked open with a timid sound. My father hesitated as he stepped out, looking up at Diego, who was as tall as the doorframe.

When Diego grinned, my father immediately lowered his gaze to the floor. Rotan, who had been watching the scene with a blank expression, gestured to a seat with a nod of his head.

“Please sit here.”

It was between Rotan and Diego. Rotan had shifted over one seat to make space for him. Of course, it wasn't a gesture of courtesy.

Across from him, Michele rested her chin on one hand, giving him a sideways glance. Senon, sitting beside her, said nothing, but he couldn't hide the faint contempt and displeasure on his face.

‘Still, it wasn't this bad before.’

The knights had disliked my father for a long time. They hadn't been fond of my mother either, but they had always treated her with respect as the prince's wet nurse.

But after my mother's death, they began to show their loathing for my father, and it had reached its peak since our recent return to the capital. Since they were Cesare’s most trusted aides, they knew full well what had transpired.

Including the time I had nearly been sold off to a foreign country...

The more I thought about it, the more I felt like a fool for worrying about my father's meal. No one said a word, but I wondered how exasperating they must find me.

‘Still, he's my father.’

No matter how much I resented him, how could I simply cut off my own flesh and blood? Aileen listlessly fiddled with her fork.

Then, sensing that Senon, who was sitting nearby, was watching her, she quickly put on a smile. Having invited guests over, she couldn't create a gloomy atmosphere.

“You must all be hungry. Let's eat.”

“Thank you for the meal.”

With that expression of thanks, dinner began in earnest. Chicken cooked in wine, venison generously seasoned with spices, partridge stuffed plump with rice, dishes of herring and trout, a stew brimming with assorted seafood...

Had this been a banquet in a noble house, they would have been bound by complex etiquette, but as it was a gathering of close companions, they ate freely without such formalities.

While everyone else ate at ease, Senon alone observed the proper etiquette. He had lived as a soldier for a long time, but at his core, he was a nobleman.

At the table laden with food, everyone laughed and conversed in a friendly atmosphere as they ate. Everyone except for one person.

My father clattered his utensils with a gloomy face. If his elbow so much as brushed against the large men flanking him, he was quick to grovel and apologize.

“I-I'm sorry.”

“Enjoy your meal. You'll need to eat a lot if you want to keep your strength up.”

Diego jeered in a tone that made it unclear whether he was telling him to eat or not. But when his eyes met Aileen's, he seemed to catch himself and corrected his tone.

“Please, eat your fill, Baron.”

My father, his face deathly pale, chewed his food with painstaking slowness. But since the knights didn't pressure him any further, he eventually began to use his utensils more comfortably.

It seemed his tension was slowly easing as his stomach filled. The wine, which was starting to go to his head, likely helped as well. My father, who must have been quite famished, had been wolfing down food and wine. He took a bite of an arancini drizzled with tomato sauce and asked abruptly.

“Did you make this?”

When Aileen said yes, my father clicked his tongue.

“No wonder it tastes rather…”

He hadn't even finished his sentence. *Bang!* A thunderous crash echoed through the room. Michele had slammed her fork-wielding fist down on the table. My father gasped, dropping his utensils with a clatter.

“I thought it tasted diHarry Potta. Perhaps the Baron will only appreciate it once he's in heaven? Shall I send you there myself?”

“Michele.”

Rotan immediately called her name in a stern voice. Senon also gripped Michele's arm, which was resting on the table.

“Ah, yes. My apologies.”

Michele offered a cursory apology and pouted. Her attitude showed not the slightest hint of remorse, but Rotan said nothing more and let it be.

But the defiant Michele began to mumble when her eyes met Aileen's.

“Well, I suppose everyone has their own tastes… I, for one, think it's delicious.”

Seeing how things were, I decided it would be best for everyone if my father left quickly. Aileen threw a lifeline to her father, who was fidgeting as if sitting on a bed of nails.

“Speaking of which, didn't you say you had an appointment today?”

“Ah, that's right! I did, I have an appointment.”

My father hurriedly got up from his seat. He stood so quickly that the chair, pushed back by the force, nearly toppled over. Rotan and Diego reached out from either side to catch it.

“Thank you. I-It was a pleasant meal. I have an appointment with a friend, so I'll be going…”

After a flustered farewell, my father beat a hasty retreat. After he disappeared as if escaping from the brick house, the atmosphere became much warmer.

After finishing the meal, they had a drink and talked. The conversation centered on light topics and personal anecdotes rather than tales from the battlefield. They had just heard that Diego had decided to adopt a cat he'd found on the street.

“Lady Aileen.”

Rotan began to speak in a rather serious tone. Sensing that something was amiss, everyone fell silent.

“His Majesty the Emperor wishes to see you.”

Aileen froze for a moment, then reacted with a start a beat later.

“…His Majesty!?”

“Yes. He wishes to have a private audience with you, Lady Aileen, without informing His Excellency the Grand Duke.”

Rotan calmly continued his explanation, saying that His Majesty had secretly requested this of him. Michele, who had been listening quietly, shot her hand up.

“Hey, wait. His Majesty asked you to keep it a secret, so why are you telling us here?”

Rotan replied with a deadpan expression.

“Because I can't be the only one scolded by His Excellency.”

The other three, hopelessly ensnared in Rotan's scheme, let out cries of despair. Michele pointed a finger at Rotan and shouted.

“You, you, you clever bastard…!”

She couldn't bring herself to curse properly in front of Aileen, so she let her glare do the talking. Diego and Senon were the same. Instead of grabbing Rotan by the collar, Diego clenched his fist at nothing, while Senon pressed a hand to his forehead and heaved a long, deep sigh.

While the knights despaired in their own ways, Aileen struggled to process what she had just been told.

‘So… it's finally happened.’

Though she was shocked enough to faint, a part of her felt this was inevitable. She had already met Cesare's older brother, Leone, several times. Her frequent visits to the princes' palace meant she'd naturally spent time with Leone as well.

Cesare and Leone were twins, but they were different in many ways. Unlike Cesare, who had sharp, handsome features, Leone's features were softer.

The corners of his eyes drooped slightly, and his build was somewhat slender. His personality was also the complete opposite of the cold and rational Cesare; he had an emotional and delicate side.

When they occasionally met at the palace, Leone would give Aileen sweet snacks and play with her.

But after the previous emperor died and the struggle for the throne began in earnest, they hadn't met. If they were to have a private audience now, it would be the first time she had seen him in a very long time.

The reason he would insist on meeting secretly, just the two of them, was probably…

‘Because of my marriage to His Excellency the Grand Duke.’

Aileen swallowed hard. Her heart was already pounding with tension.

Leone had doted on her when she was young, but that was only because she was the ‘child’ his younger brother cherished. It was questionable whether he would still be so kind now that she was to become his brother's ‘wife.’

But she could not refuse the emperor's summons. Aileen replied, feeling like she wanted to cry.

“I'll go to the palace, Sir Rotan.”

***

It was already night when she had entered the Imperial Palace for the victory banquet. At that time, she had been so nervous she couldn't even properly take in her surroundings.

Of course, today was not much different from the day of the banquet. Aileen followed Rotan stiffly, like a wooden doll.

The path Rotan led her down was a place only the imperial family and a few permitted individuals could use. Thanks to that, Aileen was able to avoid encountering any other nobles.

After walking for some time, they finally arrived at the audience chamber.

‘We're here…’

She had hoped the corridor would go on forever, but cruelly, the path was too short.

When the doors to the audience chamber opened, she saw a man standing bathed in the sunlight pouring from a large window. He, who had been pacing with a slightly anxious air, smiled warmly when he saw Aileen.

“Lady Elorde.”

The door closed behind her. Now in a private audience with the emperor, Aileen scraped together all the imperial etiquette she could remember and paid her respects.

“I-I greet you, Imperator.”

She was so nervous that she stuttered a little, but she hadn't made a mistake. Hearing her voice trembling with nervousness, Leone burst out laughing.

“There's no need to be so frightened. First, have a seat.”

However, as soon as Aileen sat down, Leone began to say things that were indeed frightening.

“Do you, perhaps, hold any resentment toward the Traon Empire?”

Before Aileen could even react, he asked again.

“And you haven't, by any chance, asked Cesare to kill half the citizens of the Empire?”

“…What?!”