Chapter – 11
Even if his memory were intact, he couldn’t be certain.
Because he was aware that he had forgotten something, Ascel couldn’t rule out the possibility that something requiring responsibility might have happened between him and Lora.
“For now, I’ll just watch.”
The person in question had flatly denied it, but since it was Lora, he couldn’t even trust that denial.
“If she really is carrying my child…”
He absolutely could not leave it in Lora’s hands.
After all, the temple was falling apart. Was it really an appropriate environment to raise a child?
Ascel thought that regardless of how he felt about Lora, he had to look after the child. The child had done nothing wrong.
Of course, this was only if it were confirmed that the child was truly Ascel’s blood.
“Now is not the right time for a paternity test.”
Ascel had multiple urgent matters to deal with besides overseeing the state on behalf of his comatose father.
One of them was the return of Princess Luizi, who had married into the neighboring Mortum Kingdom.
“The fact that my aunt is returning isn’t the problem.”
The issue was that her arrival gave an excuse for his uncle, the Grand Duke, to enter the capital.
Why hadn’t the Grand Duke entered the capital until now?
According to the imperial succession law, royals who could not inherit the throne had to leave the capital.
This law had been established over generations of bloody history surrounding succession struggles.
However, royals were still human; those competing for the throne were still siblings. For this reason, emperors couldn’t be completely merciless.
Ascel’s father was no different.
They had created an exception clause. It allowed royals to enter the capital if they had a legitimate reason.
Of course, what counted as a legitimate reason changed whenever a new emperor came to power.
And now, with the emperor comatose, the Grand Duke would enter the capital under the pretext of visiting his sister.
No, he was definitely coming. Reports confirmed that the Grand Duke was making a move.
“But I can’t stop him.”
With the empire in disarray following the recent deposition of the empress, Ascel aimed to absorb the neutral faction into his own power instead of joining either of the two competing sides.
It wouldn’t be easy. The reason the neutral faction stayed neutral was precisely because they avoided high-risk political struggles like succession disputes.
In exchange for avoiding such risks, they also stayed away from any of the scraps left behind.
They were cautious and prudent—or bluntly put, just scared. To win them over, Ascel had to show that he was rational and generous enough to extend goodwill outside his own sphere of power.
Drawing a sword to indiscriminately eliminate the Grand Duke would be a huge political risk.
But could he just leave the Grand Duke alone?
Absolutely not.
Even though he hadn’t acted openly, the Grand Duke had shady dealings. Around the time the emperor fell into a coma and his health declined rapidly, several palace attendants and knights had disappeared. All of them were indirectly or directly connected to the Grand Duke.
It was suspected that the Grand Duke used them to manipulate situations and silence anyone who could expose him.
“In such times, it’s better to use someone like Lora, whose situation is already understood, than bring in an unknown person. It minimizes additional risk.”
Above all, Lora already had some experience in what was expected of an empress. In other words, she was a professional.
Still, the concern remained: did Lora have some other hidden motive?
But Ascel did not make decisions unilaterally. He was a ruler who actively consulted his close aides whenever he had concerns.
The most reliable person in such cases was Angel, his long-time personal guard.
“Eh? You mean that person?”
Initially, Angel had shown disgust at the mention of Lora’s name.
But as Ascel explained, his expression grew serious, and by the end, he nodded several times.
“In that case, why not ask Pell?”
Pell was Ascel’s aide, responsible for administrative duties—a classic bureaucrat.
“Since Pell isn’t someone who forms prejudices against others, he can give an objective opinion.”
Pell had zero interest in social circles or rumors.
What mattered to him was work and efficiency.
That was why he held no biases; he judged people purely by competence, with no other value judgments involved.
Seeing sense in this, Ascel sought Pell out.
“Immediate hiring. Prioritize talented individuals. Extremely capable.”
Pell replied without hesitation.
He had already made his judgment based on the documents Lora had left at the palace.
“I understand what you mean… but can you at least speak in full sentences? Must you talk like that in front of His Majesty?”
Angel complained.
“I prioritize efficiency. Even brief statements convey meaning.”
“For our sake, please allow yourself to be inefficient. How hard is it to speak a little longer?”
“You are inefficient. Waste of time.”
“Ugh!”
Angel, who had tried to argue, even grabbed Pell by the collar.
“Blocking my view.”
But for Pell, the ultimate efficiency fanatic, it had no effect. Dealing with someone obsessed was beyond normal handling.
Ascel ignored their bickering. He knew it was purely a personality clash; when it came to work, each respected the other’s domain.
“What about Princess Marien?”
“Waste of land. Incompetent. Disappointing.”
Pell responded immediately again.
Pell placed Marien’s report on his desk, avoiding overlap with Lora’s documents.
Since Marien was from a foreign kingdom, Pell shouldn’t be able to evaluate her work. That became possible because she had submitted documents upon entering the empire.
Even if she harbored other motives, on the surface she had come to negotiate a customs integration treaty, so she submitted documents appropriate to that purpose.
Neither the kingdom nor Marien cared about the treaty, so her report, when it reached Pell, was a mess.
The format was wrong, the content sloppy, and even the cited references were unclear.
At the end of the long report, she optimistically concluded that the treaty would benefit both nations, without explaining how she reached that conclusion.
“Environmental pollution. Trees require penance.”
Normally, Pell would have discarded such a report after skimming the first page. But since the author was a princess representing her kingdom, he had to read it all.
He hoped for a hidden twist, but in the end, realized he had wasted his time.
“Headache worsening. Requesting paid leave.”
“You are requesting paid leave for what you’ve done? This is unacceptable. You should consult someone else—”
“No, it’s fine.”
Even if Ascel limited consultation to his closest aides, involving more people risked information leaking.
Above all, after talking with Pell, Ascel had made up his mind.
“I still can’t fully trust Lora… but she’s better than Princess Marien.”
Objectively, comparing conditions alone, it was clear.
It was better to have someone competent but flawed in personality than someone incompetent and morally questionable.
Having made his decision, Ascel went to the abandoned temple.
However…
“Did you know I would come?”
Not only had Lora come to greet him, she had prepared tea and refreshments in the empty room.
“Your Majesty, you want to preemptively neutralize potential threats, right? To do that, it’s better to make our relationship public before the Grand Duke enters the capital. You can use the upcoming welcoming feast for Princess Marien’s visit as an opportunity.”
Allowing for the time it took to prepare everything…
“Even if you decide at a leisurely pace, I think you’ll need to give your answer today.”
At that moment, Ascel…
“Yes… indeed.”
He couldn’t deny it.
This woman had changed.
