Chapter 37
The Emperor’s thick brows twitched.
In truth, there was nothing wrong with Duke Bobonsher’s words.
This was not merely a broken marriage between children.
Bobonsher had quietly guarded the South for years without causing any major trouble.
And now this vast, friendly power had been stained with an irreparable disgrace.
By the successor he himself had chosen!
‘Gobard, that wretched fool…!’
The Emperor had, in his own way, cherished Gobard.
Though he felt little parental affection toward his children, he did feel attachment to them as fellow Lornods.
Gobard was the only legitimate heir. He did not covet power beyond necessity and generally handled the duties given to him well. If nothing extraordinary happened, the Emperor had intended to pass the throne to him, since his foundation was already secure.
More than anything, the Emperor himself had once gone mad with obsession over a single woman in his youth. Because of that, he had wanted to defend Gobard as much as possible.
For an Emperor, it was an exceedingly lenient thought.
‘But this is the limit.’
Duke Bobonsher had come out far stronger than the Emperor anticipated.
Judging by that look in his eyes, he seemed prepared even to break with the imperial house.
“Haah—.”
The Lornod Empire was vast.
How much blood had been shed to unify this immense land and establish a centralized system?
He could not allow the great sacrifices of his ancestors to collapse in his own generation.
‘If I ignore Bobonsher’s demands and this resentment festers into a declaration of independence…’
Civil war must always be considered conservatively.
A single miscalculation could cause chaos worse than deposing the Crown Prince.
In the end, the Emperor yielded a step.
“State clearly what you wish, Duke Bobonsher.”
There was a trace of fatigue in his voice.
Without hesitation, the Duke declared:
“Depose the irresponsible Gobard Ruim Lornod from the position of Crown Prince. If you do so, we of Bobonsher will not demand any additional compensation beyond the return of our original dowry fleet of seventeen ships.”
“Yes, the dowry must be returned.”
Though he answered calmly, the Emperor’s instincts stirred.
‘Strange.’
When Duke Bobonsher grew furious, he usually acted recklessly, without regard for consequences.
Knowing this flaw well, the Emperor had deliberately excluded him from today’s noble council list.
It had also been the Emperor himself who sent word to Bobonsher’s estate only after the meeting had begun.
‘So that he would storm in at the height of his anger.’
Yet the moment he entered, the Duke had spoken coolly and immediately raised the issue of the fleet. No one in the hall likely realized how startled the Emperor had been at that moment.
‘I thought, as a father who cherishes his daughter, he would appeal emotionally above all else.’
Just as the Emperor was scrutinizing the Duke’s unexpected composure, Count Zelauer, who had been watching for the right moment, calmly entered the fray.
“The Duke of Bobonsher speaks rightly. Once a lord betrays a great noble house, it becomes difficult for other nobles to place their trust in him.”
Once again outpaced, Marquess Eogal hurriedly raised his voice.
“That is correct, Your Majesty. Please make your decision swiftly!”
“Your Majesty!”
“Depose the irresponsible Crown Prince and restore the dignity of Lornod!”
“Your Majesty—!”
The anti–Crown Prince faction raised their voices in unison.
The Crown Prince’s closest allies protested desperately—saying such a thing could not be done, that the Emperor could not abandon the Empress’s eldest son—but it was too late.
The nobles calling for Gobard’s deposition had united as one.
The Emperor’s plan to engage in strategic back-and-forth with Bobonsher now meant nothing.
After closing his eyes briefly, the Emperor made his decision.
“From this moment forward, the competition among the imperial princes shall begin.”
At those words, the expressions of the two factions split sharply.
After leaving the central palace, Duke Bobonsher let out a deep sigh.
He had escalated the matter out of pain for his daughter and betrayal toward Gobard, but now that it was over, his strength drained away.
The private conversation the Emperor had requested after the noble council left him even more exhausted.
—A pity. Had a woman as meticulous as the Lady of Bobonsher become Crown Princess, she would have guided the inner palace well.
—Your Majesty?
—Do you think I do not know you? You must have been so consumed by anger toward Gobard that you could see nothing else.
That was true.
When he heard that the noble council had convened earlier than planned, Duke Bobonsher had nearly exploded with fury.
When he rushed toward the imperial palace, he had not been thinking about the dowry at all—only about confronting the present injustice.
—Was it not your daughter who advised you in your stead? Even while wounded and distressed, she carefully ensured her family’s interests. I find it both pitiful and admirable. That fool Gobard has no eye for people. Understandable.
—Ah…
—Hmm. Is there something more you wish to say, Duke?
At that moment, the Emperor’s eyes sharpened.
Under that gaze, Duke Bobonsher instinctively felt he must not reveal his inner thoughts.
So he carefully evaded the matter.
—No, Your Majesty. As you said, Abwa is thoughtful. At times, even more so than her father.
—…I see.
After that, they conversed as if nothing had happened before parting.
As he trudged toward his carriage, the Duke sighed again.
‘Perhaps I should have spoken honestly.’
This will not cause disadvantage to my Abwa, will it?
As he worried, someone called out behind him.
“Duke!”
It was a voice like the clear ringing of a small bell.
Turning around, he saw a woman with skin like white jade and eyes like molten gold.
“Did your conversation with His Majesty conclude well?”
“Princess Neroli.”
It was the most beautiful woman in the Empire—Princess Neroli Mivan Lornod.
Seeing her radiant beauty, the Duke bowed his head.
“I did not expect Your Highness to still be here, now that the sun is setting.”
“I couldn’t simply return. I was worried about Lady Abwa… and your expression when we met earlier did not look well at all.”
Looking up at him with a troubled expression, Neroli seemed hesitant.
“So I found myself unable to leave from near Bobonsher’s carriage. If that was presumptuous, I apologize.”
Seeing her sorrowful face, the Duke gave a quiet sigh of admiration.
She looked exactly like the late Fourth Consort, Tilia.
‘That woman captivated countless men with that face.’
Whether she intended to or not.
Her fragile air and breathtaking beauty were more than enough to make a man’s heart tremble.
Embarrassingly enough, Duke Bobonsher had once been one of those suitors in his youth.
‘In the end, I lost to the most powerful man in the Empire.’
And now before him stood the finest marriage prospect in the Empire—born with Tilia’s beauty and the imperial bloodline.
‘Even Count Zelauer must find it regrettable.’
In high society, Count Zelauer had been considered a strong candidate as Princess Neroli’s fiancé.
Though the rank of count was not ideal for a direct imperial princess, Princess Neroli had a very low chance of inheriting the throne.
Furthermore, her maternal family was nearly ruined. And the Emperor held Count Zelauer’s personal abilities in high regard.
Because of these factors, nobles had quietly regarded him as a serious candidate.
‘Had Tilia Mivan Lornod not died, their engagement might have proceeded without trouble.’
The Duke dismissed the thought.
In any case, it was good for him that such a person was on friendly terms with his daughter.
“No, Your Highness. Rather, I wish to express my gratitude to you.”
“To me?”
“Thanks to you, I was able to regain some measure of reason. I am grateful.”
A few hours earlier, when Duke Bobonsher had been hurrying toward the grand conference hall—
He had run directly into Neroli, who was visiting the central palace.
—Oh! Duke Bobonsher! It’s our first meeting since the wedding!
Neroli had greeted him first, but preoccupied as he was, he had only given a curt greeting and tried to move on.
However, her next words made him pause.
—Is Lady Abwa well? Actually, I borrowed this from the central palace library in case it might help her even a little!
Neroli showed him the book she was holding.
The Duke’s eyes widened.
—That book…
—I heard from Lady Abwa! She said the precedent recorded in this law code from Imperial Year 574 was what finalized this wedding! But since things turned out like this… I thought I should look for other precedents that might help!
—Yes, there was a dowry and corresponding compensation.
—That’s right! According to the precedent Lady Abwa mentioned, the imperial house could owe Bobonsher up to eighty-five ships—but realistically, that’s impossible! So I plan to look for other practical examples!
As Neroli continued speaking, the Duke felt the rage clouding his mind begin to clear.
Good heavens, how could I have forgotten?
The greatest leverage to pressure the Emperor and Crown Prince!
—I apologize, Your Highness! I must hurry to the meeting!
—Oh?
Leaving Neroli looking puzzled, the Duke rushed off to the conference hall.
That was how he had barely regained his composure.
When his anger had reached its peak, he had intended to appeal solely to the Emperor about Bobonsher’s loyalty.
But thanks to Neroli, he had decided not to rely only on emotion.
‘His Majesty never does anything that results in his own loss.’
Therefore, if he wished to reclaim what rightfully belonged to Bobonsher, he needed more than fury—he needed resolve.
The resolve to imply that failing to depose the Crown Prince would result in greater loss.
Because of that resolve, he had achieved meaningful results in the meeting.
“The foundation of negotiation is composure. I was able to recover it thanks to Your Highness.”
“Hmm? Was that really thanks to me?”
With a tilted head and an expression that clearly said, What did I do?, Neroli looked up at him.
The Duke let out a warm chuckle.
