Chapter 163

* * *

Lamenting the tragedy that has befallen the House of Ruthius, I shall fulfill the final wish of my longtime friend and loyal subject, the late Duke Ruthius.

I hereby declare the marriage of Crown Prince Dante Ryuna Taikan and Princess Astell Ruthius.

News of my marriage to Dante spread throughout the capital in half a day. The impact was immense, so much so that it even overshadowed the news of Duke Ruthius’s death.

All morning, letters of condolence and flower baskets congratulating the marriage arrived.

This was despite the announcement that the estate would be temporarily sealed off to find the arsonist and murderer.

Dressed in black, I sat on the drawing room sofa, sipping my tea.

Alex, dressed in formal black attire like me, slammed his hand on the table.

“How could they announce a wedding the moment Father passed away? They should at least give us time to mourn!”

“Why would the Emperor wait? He just got rid of his biggest obstacle, the Duke.”

“You think I’m just going to stand by and do nothing?”

“You’re about to be swamped, aren’t you? You have to succeed the Duke and lead the family. Pushing the marriage through now makes it easier for him to get his hands on it.”

“Get his hands on what?”

“The Guardian.”

“…Damn it!”

The Emperor was rushing the wedding. An order came down to begin preparations immediately after Duke Ruthius’s funeral.

It’s only natural that I’d neglect the Guardian while preparing for a wedding. And once I marry and move into the palace, going to work at the Guardian will become even more difficult.

There could be no better pretext for the Emperor to swallow the Guardian whole.

“Alex, where will the funeral be held?”

Alex, who had been cursing the Emperor, answered curtly.

“The Central Temple. Normally, a noble’s funeral is held within the family estate, but there’s an exception for a Duke. He’s entitled to a funeral on par with that of royalty.”

“Good location. The date?”

“Three days from now……. Wait, is this really the time to be talking about this? What are you going to do about the wedding?!”

“Why are you so worked up? I’m not getting married. I won’t do it.”

Though who knows about later…….

“You think this is something you can just decide on your own? You may be a Guildmaster, but you’re also a noble with a duty to be loyal to the Emperor! Especially in a case like this, involving a royal marriage, a noble has no right to refuse!”

“…So if the Emperor orders me to marry, I have to obey unconditionally?”

“Yes! Do you get it now? Do you see how serious this is?”

I hadn’t thought that far. I naturally assumed I could refuse if I wanted to.

“Astell, you have to talk to His Highness. The only way to stop this marriage is if he refuses.”

Would Dante really grant my request?

‘I don’t think so….’

The Emperor didn’t punish Dante, even though he’d ruined Igrid.

He even chose Dante as the Crown Prince. The very person he’d despised so much…

No matter that Dante was the only heir left, it was an incomprehensible attitude.

The Emperor is in his late forties. He’s still of an age where he could produce another heir.

Considering his cruel nature, it would have been more in character for him to cast aside both Igrid and Dante and produce a new heir through a concubine. He was more than capable of such a thing.

And yet, he chose Dante as the Crown Prince. Obviously, it must be because it was more advantageous for him.

There must have been some kind of deal between Dante and the Emperor. And I was likely involved in that deal.

‘Because he loves me.’

I know Dante’s heart. I’ve felt it even more keenly ever since I became aware of my own feelings for him.

‘But there’s one thing that bothers me….’

Until now, he has never forced his feelings on me.

Although he refused to terminate our contract, he promised he would let me go when the time came.

It wasn’t a demand that I accept his feelings. It felt more like he was pleading with me to stay by his side just a little longer.

Dante seemed to be satisfied with just that, as if simply being near me was enough.

That’s why I couldn’t help but be moved. He was so much like Shinwoo.

Who could be satisfied with just quietly being by someone’s side while suppressing their own feelings? It wasn’t something just anyone could do.

Even I, in my past life, had thought of confessing the moment I realized my feelings for Shinwoo.

‘But to suddenly propose marriage….’

It was out of character for Dante. That is, if he had made a deal with the Emperor over me, as I suspected.

Has his heart changed? Is he no longer satisfied with just being by my side?

“…”

I lifted my teacup to cover my mouth. I felt a smile about to break through.

I didn’t dislike this situation, where Dante was being greedy for me.

“Haven’t you ever thought that you might die doing that?”

“You don’t have to struggle so hard. Things will go the way you want them to. I’ll make sure of it.”

“So stop. If you get hurt, I’ll want to give everything up and start over.”

The moment I heard those words, my heart had pounded fiercely.

Honestly, I was happy. No one had ever gotten that angry for fear of me getting hurt.

Of course, Duke Ruthius and Alex worried about me, too. But they were family.

Besides my family, Dante was the only one who worried about me.

Even Johan, who claimed to love me, was more concerned about the crisis facing Akron than about me.

My heart began to pound again. For no reason at all, I wanted to see Dante.

Was this what love was? Did it grow uncontrollably the moment you acknowledged it?

Just then, Alex asked with a strange expression.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“…What do you mean?”

“You have a weird look on your face.”

“Why are you picking a fight again?”

“And your face is red.”

“…It’s a little warm in here.”

I cleared my throat and set down my teacup.

“There’s nothing to worry about. As long as the Emperor is on the throne, I have no intention of getting married.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed.

“What if the Emperor wasn’t around? Would you go through with the marriage then?”

“Marriage is a bit premature. We haven’t even dated properly yet.”

“Hey!”

Alex yelled. I winced and rubbed my ear.

“When I said I would face the Dark Knight, His Highness was the only one who objected. Even you chose to remain neutral, but he was the only one who worried about me. You said it yourself, didn’t you? That he seemed like a decent person.”

“Hey, that was—!”

Alex, who had flared up, soon mumbled dejectedly.

“That… is true.”

“Whatever the Emperor does, it’ll all be over in a few days if we just endure it. There’s no need for us to make the first move and provoke him.”

Just in case the Emperor grew suspicious about Duke Ruthius’s death.

“Alex, let’s just wait quietly until the funeral is over. Got it?”

As if reading my intentions perfectly, Alex nodded, then suddenly asked.

“But the Emperor is going to send people to start the wedding preparations right away. Will that be okay?”

“Did you forget the estate is sealed? No one can get in.”

“I doubt the lockdown will matter to them… Well, if they have any conscience, they’ll wait until after the funeral. Alright, I get it.”

Alex and I drank our tea, feeling a little lighter.

At that moment, I had no idea what was about to happen.

* * *

Right after lunch, Zenia announced visitors.

“The estate is sealed. Send them away.”

“Well… they’ve come on His Majesty’s orders.”

The lockdown was meaningless in the face of the Emperor’s command. I had no choice but to receive the visitors.

A group of noblewomen, clad in luxurious dresses and wearing haughty expressions like shields. The drawing room filled with the scent of various perfumes.

I asked insolently from my seat on the sofa.

“What is this about?”

The ladies sighed as if they found me absurd.

“They said she’d learned no manners whatsoever. It seems it was true.”

“We have a long road ahead of us. There was a reason His Majesty was in such a hurry.”

A noblewoman in a beige dress stepped forward and curtsied.

“Good day, Your Grace. I am Countess Courtney Roma. His Majesty has appointed me to be in charge of your education.”

I thought she looked familiar. She must be Elaine Roma’s mother.

“What are you going to teach me?”

“Starting today, we will be teaching you the essential virtues of a Crown Princess. First, let us move to a more suitable location. Your bedchamber or study would be better than the drawing room.”

“The Duke’s funeral hasn’t even been held yet. What are you talking about? Leave.”

Countess Roma was a formidable opponent. I expected her to get angry, but instead, she simply smiled and sat down on the sofa.

“We are aware that this is impolite, but we must hurry to keep to the schedule. His Majesty gave us special orders.”

“…”

“Since we arrived without prior notice, we shall begin here for today. I have brought the necessary materials, so you need not worry. Now, ladies, please be seated.”

“Yes, my lady.”

At Countess Roma’s word, the noblewomen occupied the drawing room.

“Now, then, let us begin. Chapter One: The Definition of a Crown Princess.”

Countess Roma began to read from a book. The drawing room had turned into a seminar on being a Crown Princess.

Not even five minutes in, I was already getting restless. It was so boring my ears felt like they were bleeding. I was dying with envy for Alex, who had fled the moment the ladies appeared.

Forcibly dragging out the noblewomen who were here on the Emperor’s orders wouldn’t solve the problem.

It would only give them reason to find fault with me, and even more of them would storm the place tomorrow.

If I had known this would happen, I would have gone to the Guardian.

As the lecture dragged on for over an hour, I became deeply conflicted. Should I pull out Arondight and perform a sword dance, or pretend to go to the washroom and make a run for it?

Just then, Zenia opened the drawing room door and entered.

“Your Grace, you have a visitor.”

Why are so many people visiting a sealed-off estate? It feels like we have more visitors now than before the lockdown.

“Send them….”

I started to answer in annoyance, but stopped.

I can’t send them away. This could be my ticket out of here. How could I turn them away?

“Show them—.”

Just as I was about to answer with a brightened expression, Countess Roma coldly rebuked the maid.

“Can you not see we are in the middle of a lesson? Be gone.”

“It is a high-ranking official from Akron. They came all the way here because Your Grace was not at the Guardian. I was concerned it might escalate into an international issue if we simply turned them away.”

“…”

Countess Roma was speechless at Zenia’s polite explanation. It seemed she found it difficult to act rashly when a high-ranking official from Akron was involved.

‘Zenia is so quick-witted. Seeing that I was in trouble, she fabricated an escape route for me.’

Zenia asked again, her expression perfectly natural.

“Your Grace, what shall I do? A Ms. Miyorn Pwen is waiting.”

“Huh? Miyorn?”

Miyorn really came?

As I stood up in surprise, Zenia swung the drawing room door wide open.

Miyorn, who had been pacing anxiously outside, saw me and immediately dropped to her knees.

“Guildmaster, please help Akron. I beg of you.”

At her servile display, no one in the drawing room could speak. The noblewomen just stared, wide-eyed, shifting their gazes between Miyorn and me.

I had expected Akron, currently facing the Dark Knight, to ask for help. I just didn’t think it would be this soon.

‘There wouldn’t be any problem if they just left it alone…. Surely the elders didn’t all rush in together, did they?’

I quickly rushed over, took Miyorn by the shoulders, and helped her up.

“Oh dear, you must be having such a hard time. Please, get up.”

“Yes…? Ah, yes, thank you.”

“How are things in Akron? Is it the worst-case scenario?”

“For now, thankfully, there’s a lull—.”

“Of course it’s the worst-case scenario. We should probably leave right away, shouldn’t we?”

“W-Well, that would be wonderful for us, but… you’ll help us?”

“People’s lives are at stake. Of course, I have to help. Let’s go.”

“…Th-Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Miyorn’s eyes welled with tears. She seemed deeply moved that I would so readily agree to help, even after the humiliation she’d suffered at the hands of the elders.

‘I’m moved, too. By your timing.’

I patted her on the back and turned to the noblewomen.

“As you can see, I have to go save Akron right away. We’ll have to postpone the lesson.”

Of course, that day will never come.