Chapter 12
At my words, the corners of the Emperor’s mouth, which had been turned up to the heavens, plummeted straight down in an instant.
“Ah, right. There was that.”
Stroking his beard with a complicated expression, he soon let out a low sigh.
“As a matter of fact, I already ordered an investigation into that incident on my way here. However, since it happened so long ago, it looks like it’s going to take some time.”
“……”
When I stayed silent with a hardened expression, the Pope spoke up instead.
“That is quite troublesome. It seems the Goddess Hedel’s heart has only just begun to soften, so if dealing with the culprit drags on… I fear we might incur the Goddess’s wrath all over again.”
“But what can I do? We’re talking about punishing a duke of the empire. I can’t exactly proceed without evidence.”
“You make a valid point, Your Majesty, yet I worry for the citizens. They must all believe that the disasters have ended with the appearance of the Saintess. If another calamity were to strike, just imagine how heartbroken everyone would be…”
At the Pope’s worried words, the Emperor furrowed his brow as if he had a massive headache.
‘And here I thought things were finally going to get comfortable.’
The moment the Saintess descended, the hundreds of petitions flying in every day had abruptly stopped, and the citizens’ grievances that used to seep all the way into the Imperial Palace had died down.
It had only been half a day, yet that half-day was the first spring he had seen in thirteen years.
‘And now I have to go back to those miserable days!’
Reading his true feelings, which were written all over his face, I clicked my tongue inwardly.
‘And they call that an emperor.’
With someone who only cared about his own comfort even in the middle of all this sitting on the throne, the future of Catalon looked bleak.
However, as things stood for me right now, the Emperor’s selfish nature was more than welcome.
Drooping the corners of my eyes, I egged on his selfishness.
“The citizens are one thing, Your Majesty, but I’m actually more worried about you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Just as His Holiness said, if the disasters start up again, the unrest among the people will only get worse. If it had just kept going without stopping, that would be one thing, but having it stop once and then start again will double their sense of loss. They’ll probably go crazy trying to find the culprit.”
“…I suppose they would.”
“And it won’t take long at all for that culprit to be exposed. Countless people heard my statement on the cliff—that the mastermind who provoked the Goddess’s wrath is none other than the current Duke Veloce. In fact, word might have already spread across the entire empire.”
“……”
“Eventually, the people will petition for Duke Veloce’s punishment. And if Your Majesty delays it on the grounds of insufficient evidence, all of their resentment will be directed straight at you.”
Lowering my head with a look of sheer dismay, I lifted my gaze once more.
“They’ll all shout in unison.”
Then, after taking a deep breath, I looked the Emperor dead in the eye.
“What an incompetent Emperor!”
“W-what?”
“A total moron who can’t even solve a problem when the cause is staring him right in the face!”
“A m-moron?”
“A parasite who does nothing but suck up the citizens’ taxes!”
“A p-parasite…”
With every single word I spat out, the Emperor’s face turned paler and paler.
Ignoring him, I unloaded everything I had been bottling up inside.
“A useless human being who only knows how to eat and shit!”
“A pathetic emperor who hasn’t achieved a single accomplishment in his forty years on the throne!”
“The biggest blockhead in the history of Catalon!”
“The shame of the empire!”
“A literal piece of human garbage!”
“You’d be doing everyone a favor by biting your tongue and dying!”
“Just abdicate to your son and hurry up and drop—”
“S-stop! Stop it!”
By the end, I wasn’t even filtering what should or shouldn’t be said, just spewing insults as they came to mind, until the Emperor clapped both hands over his ears and shouted.
“T-those last two lines sounded like you were just venting your own personal feelings… Surely that’s not what the Saintess truly thinks, right?”
The Emperor asked, looking at me with watery eyes.
‘…He’s sharp.’
Realizing my slip, I subtly pulled back my index finger, which had somehow popped out to point right at him, and shook my head.
“Of course not. I’m only saying this out of genuine concern for you.”
“…Really?”
“Naturally. Just think of all the blame Your Majesty has had to endure over the years. Duke Veloce is the one who committed the crime, so why should someone as wise and great as Your Majesty have to hear such awful things…”
As I dabbed at my tears with my sleeve and pleaded with him, the Emperor ground his teeth together.
“You’re right. When I think about how I became the punching bag for the entire empire for thirteen years because of that bastard…!”
For a moment, his whole body trembled as if reliving those hellish past years, before he suddenly went limp and let out a sigh.
“Still, I have no idea how we’re supposed to prove his guilt. It happened a whole thirteen years ago, after all. Even if we investigate now, will there even be any evidence left?”
The Emperor stroked his chin, looking completely frustrated.
Not letting the opportunity slip away, I spoke up.
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. I, Shaen Veloce, received a revelation from the Goddess just a moment ago.”
“What? A revelation?”
“Is that true, Saintess?”
The Emperor and the Pope asked back, their eyes widening in shock, and I nodded with a meaningful smile.
‘So get to work, you piece of crap.’
Trying to sleep soundly with his feet kicked up after nearly getting me killed—as if I’d let that happen.
Meanwhile, around the same time.
Duke Veloce was heading back to the ducal mansion in his carriage alongside Melina, who had met up with him outside.
“Ha, what? I’m an illegitimate child? I killed my own father? Where did that bitch get the nerve to spout such absolute nonsense?”
Still fuming over what had happened at the cliff, the Duke could barely contain his rage.
“Ah, and why are we going so damn slow? Are the horses crawling or what?”
“My apologies, Your Grace. Because such a massive crowd gathered for the Young Lady’s ceremony, it’s rather difficult to pick up speed.”
When the Duke threw open the window connecting to the coachman’s box and roared at him, the coachman panicked and stammered out an excuse.
However, that only seemed to rub the Duke the wrong way even more.
“Young Lady? What a load of crap! I have no such daughter! What kind of wretched girl frames her own father with such ridiculous lies! Don’t you ever attach the title of ‘Young Lady’ to that wench’s name again!”
“Y-yes, yes! Forgive me, Your Grace.”
Sweating bullets, the coachman begged for forgiveness.
Even so, the Duke’s anger didn’t subside, his nostrils flaring repeatedly.
“Please calm down, Father. I’m worried you might ruin your health getting worked up like this.”
Putting on a worried expression, Melina slid over to the Duke’s side and held out a silver canteen.
“Here, have some water, Father.”
“Right, right. Truly, you’re the only one who cares about your old man, Melina.”
Gulping down the water to wet his throat, the Duke looked at Melina and clicked his tongue.
“How wonderful it would be if I could put you in the Young Lady’s place instead of that wicked girl. You’re my own flesh and blood, yet you aren’t getting the treatment you rightfully deserve. I have no face to look at you, my dear.”
“Please don’t say that, Father. I’m already more than happy just being able to live with you like this.”
Shaking her head with a bright smile, Melina suddenly lowered her gaze with a gloomy look.
“You have no idea how hard it was back when it was just Mother and me. Even when the village kids teased me for being a bastard without a father, I couldn’t even talk back…”
“What?! Those despicable little brats! Who dared to mock you?! I’ll hunt them down and make them pay dearly!”
“Oh, it’s all in the past now. Everyone knows I have such a loving father looking out for me, so it’s fine. Please calm down, Father.”
“Oh, you poor thing. If it hadn’t been for your grandfather’s opposition, I would have brought you into the family long ago and let you enjoy everything. If he was going to allow it eventually anyway, why did he have to drag things out for so long…”
The Duke sighed heavily, looking deeply regretful.
Gently stroking his arm as if to comfort him, Melina asked,
“By the way, Father, what if my sister really is the Saintess? She seems to have a huge misunderstanding about us, so what if she tries to retaliate…”
“Hmph, Saintess my foot. She was just terrified of dying, ran away in a panic, and made up a lie to cover her tracks.”
The Duke snorted in derision.
“Don’t worry. I don’t know how she managed to trick the Goddess’s messenger, but there’s no way she’ll ever pass the Pope’s verification.”
“I suppose you’re right. Still, I’m worried about what happens even after the truth comes out. Since she impersonated the Saintess, the Imperial Family and the Temple are going to punish her severely…”
Watching Melina fidget with her clasped hands and hang her head sullenly, the Duke clicked his tongue.
“You’re still worrying about that wench? Have you already forgotten all the nasty things she said to you?”
“Even so, she’s the only sister I have…”
“Good grief, how are you going to survive in this harsh world when you’re so kindhearted?”
The Duke stroked Melina’s hair with an affectionate hand.
Giggling happily at his warm touch, Melina soon put on a concerned expression and asked,
“But what are we going to do going forward?”
“What do you mean?”
“Sister donated our entire fortune behind your back. Is there any way we can get our wealth back?”
Groan.
The Duke clutched his head, looking thoroughly stressed.
‘Canceling it, huh…’
It wouldn’t be easy.
The donation pledge definitely had the ducal family’s seal stamped on it.
‘I should have taken that seal back from that wench by any means necessary a long time ago!’
Leaving all the authority to Shaen simply because he found it bothersome was now the biggest regret of his life.
‘No, there’s still some wiggle room.’
Even if Shaen held full authority over the ducal household, he was still the head of the family.
Since the donation was made without his consent, he could at least try to argue for its cancellation.
“Don’t worry. Your father will take care of everything.”
Relieved by the Duke’s confident tone, Melina nodded with a pretty smile.
Just as the father and daughter were smiling at each other, the carriage, which had been racing non-stop, gradually came to a halt.
“Looks like we’re here, Father. Let’s get out.”
“Yes, let’s.”
It was the exact moment the two stepped down from the carriage, holding hands affectionately.
“Mushi! What took you so long? Something terrible has happened!”
A woman came running toward him, her face completely drained of color.
