Chapter 7
“If there’s anything I can help with, anything at all, just tell me.”
Teus’s words made my heart waver for a moment.
If I had even a little romantic interest in him, dating and eventually marrying him wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
But I couldn’t propose a fake relationship just to escape my current troubles.
Even if he would help me if I asked, I didn’t want to use Teus like that.
He was too precious a friend to me.
Besides, it was about a future that hadn’t even happened yet, so no matter how I brought it up, it would sound ridiculous to the listener.
Most of all, I couldn’t take the easy route of using a friend without even trying to solve the problem on my own first.
“I’ll try on my own first… If I fail, I’ll ask for your help then.”
“Alright. If it’s your request, I’ll do anything. Just tell me anytime.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re someone very precious to me. You know that, right?”
“Of course! Same here. I hope our friendship never changes.”
At my words, a shadow briefly passed over Teus’s face.
But he quickly returned to his usual expression, making me wonder if I’d imagined it.
Empress Aska set down her teacup and glared at her husband.
“I told you never to bring that up again, didn’t I?”
“Well, isn’t it better to have two candidates instead of one?”
The candidates the Emperor was referring to were potential brides for the Crown Prince, Tirzen.
The two most powerful dukedoms in the Netor Empire—Duke Mares and Duke Shiton—each had a candidate: Elisia from the Mares family and Delina from the Shiton family.
“Elisia is absolutely not acceptable!”
“You dislike Lady Shiton, so why are you objecting to Elisia?”
“I object to both of them.”
The Empress spoke firmly, making it clear she didn’t want to discuss it further.
She opposed both women as Crown Princess candidates, but for entirely opposite reasons.
The real reason the imperial couple had no children was the Emperor himself, Tabio.
If the problem had been with Empress Aska, the ministers would’ve pressured her daily to take in concubines.
Regardless of the reason, the Empress couldn’t bear an heir, and she alone bore the shame and hardship.
Leading the charge in tormenting her was none other than Duke Shiton.
The previous head of the Shiton family had been an incompetent man.
Everything he touched ended in failure, and the family declined rapidly—until they were saved thanks to Elisia’s grandfather from the Mares family.
Even when Elisia’s father took over, the Shiton family hadn’t regained much of their power.
But after her parents died in an accident, and a missing uncle reappeared to inherit the title, things changed.
It was around then that the powerless Shiton family began to revive.
He stirred up attention by attacking Empress Aska and gradually expanded his influence.
“I still tremble with rage when I think of the humiliation I suffered at Duke Shiton’s hands.”
“Haha, isn’t that all in the past now?”
Emperor Tabio gently patted his wife’s hand.
They could laugh about it now, but getting to this point had taken many painful years.
To ease his wife’s suffering, the Emperor had transferred much of his authority to her.
To be honest, he also preferred having fun over dealing with politics.
“Why do you oppose Elisia? You dote on her more than the Duke of Berato, who you plan to adopt as a son.”
“I’m against it because she’s precious.”
“Do you have a better match in mind for her than the Crown Princess position?”
“What’s so good about a hollow title? Do you really think the Duke of Berato would make a good husband?”
Empress Aska immediately glared.
Tirzen Berato was a perfect man to be Emperor—but the odds of him being a loving husband were worse than zero.
“Arena said she wished Elisia could live a normal, happy life. If she knew her daughter was marrying a cold, heartless man, she’d rise from her grave in protest.”
“Hmm… the Mares couple really did have a deep bond. Such a shame they passed away so early…”
The Emperor clicked his tongue in regret.
The memory of her late friend brought tears to Empress Aska’s eyes.
When her friend died suddenly in an accident, Aska had been fighting to secure her own position as Empress.
By the time everything settled down and she wanted to care for Elisia, the girl had already grown into a fine young lady.
Thankfully, her adoptive uncle and aunt seemed to love her dearly, so that was some comfort.
When I returned home, Ortega came out to greet me.
“Did you find the horse?”
“Yes, my lady. Please come to the stable.”
I followed Ortega to the stables, where all the stablehands were gathered.
The horse I had ridden was tied off to one side, surrounded by people guarding it.
When they saw me, the stablehands stepped aside to let me through.
I went up to the horse and inspected the reins.
“What do you think, Ortega?”
I raised the broken reins to a height slightly above eye level so he could get a good look.
The tack was new, a recent gift from Teus.
Only the broken area was frayed and worn, as if it had been deliberately scraped against something rough. The rest was intact.
“It looks like someone cut it on purpose.”
“Right?”
I swept my gaze across the stablehands standing nearby.
Only one of them would be guilty, but they all looked tense.
Probably because of the sharp aura I was giving off.
I deliberately hardened my eyes and lips, putting on the sternest face they had ever seen.
It seemed Ortega had already prepped them with a warning beforehand.
“I’ll investigate thoroughly.”
“Good. Don’t let this incident leak outside the stables.”
“You mean to conduct the investigation in secret?”
“There’s nothing good that comes from rumors about a killer inside the household. Just deal with the person responsible and keep things quiet. Make sure no one talks.”
I also made sure to send a chilling warning with my eyes—those who ran their mouths would pay the price.
I deliberately made eye contact with each servant, giving them a dangerous smile.
“Understood, my lady.”
“I’m counting on you.”
As I left the stable, I heard a collective sigh of relief behind me.
I knew we wouldn’t find the real culprit.
The whole point wasn’t to catch someone—but to send a message.
To show them that I was no longer the meek and obedient Elisia they could push around.
Brickt, the butler, brought a stack of letters to Tirzen’s study.
Wherever Tirzen went, Kaise was usually nearby, and today was no exception.
“Your Grace, a letter has arrived from the Kingdom of Khan.”
“From Ronster?”
Kaise, who had been sitting on the sofa, jumped up and took the letter from Brickt.
The seal of the Khan royal family was stamped on the envelope.
“He never sends me even one letter, yet he writes to you regularly. Is that how friends act?”
“He’s not a friend. Don’t expect too much from someone who only moves for profit.”
Tirzen accepted the letter and gave a realistic reply.
Back when Prince Ronster had come to study in the Netor Empire, the three of them had become close.
Although they were friendly, their friendship wasn’t pure.
Ronster had wanted a deeper alliance between Khan and Netor—by arranging a royal marriage between his sister, Princess Risha, and Tirzen.
“Is it that proposal again?”
Kaise already knew all about Ronster’s desperate pleas for his sister’s hand in marriage.
“This time there’s something different.”
Tirzen handed the letter to Kaise.
Reading the final line, Kaise’s eyes widened.
“He says he’s coming to visit Netor with Princess Risha? Are you going to host them?”
“If he insists on coming, who could stop him?”
“But he asks if they can stay in your residence.”
“Tell His Majesty the Emperor to assign them a palace annex.”
Tirzen’s response clearly wasn’t what Ronster hoped for.
Kaise, having expected this, just nodded.
“Seems like Ronster is determined to push the marriage proposal with Princess Risha this time.”
“Having a Crown Princess from outside the empire might not be a bad thing.”
“Do you even know the rumors about Princess Risha?”
Tirzen wasn’t the type to care about gossip, so he might not have heard of her eccentricities.
The tales of Princess Risha’s outrageous behavior were well known even in Netor.
No matter how much the Khan royal family tried to silence them, word always got out.
“They say even her royal parents have given up on her!”
“Since she has no powerful family to back her, that’s a flaw we can overlook.”
“Well… I guess it’s true that the Khan royal family wouldn’t meddle in our politics…”
Kaise couldn’t tell if Tirzen was serious about the marriage or just joking.
‘Tirzen’s not the joking type… so I guess he’s serious?’
“Elisia, are you going out again today?”
As I stepped out, dressed for an outing, Letisa stood by the door.
She must have heard someone from the Empress’s palace had come for me—but she feigned ignorance.
Letisa had a habit of following me wherever I went.
“I heard you met Teus yesterday?”
“Yeah.”
“I haven’t seen him in so long. I wish I’d gone too.”
Her tone was full of fake regret—not because she missed Teus, but because she missed the gifts he gave when I brought her along.
“It’s not like Calix is around, so why would you need to see Teus?”
“What are you saying? We’re all friends, aren’t we?”
“Then reach out to him yourself.”
“…”
Letisa had gotten to know Teus while chasing after Calix. She often tagged along when I visited him.
But the two were never close enough to call friends.
“I should go now. Her Majesty is waiting.”
“Oh… Her Majesty called you!”
Letisa’s eyes glistened with a mixture of awe and envy. She looked so pitiful.
After my parents died, I had once visited the Empress with Letisa.
She treated us both kindly—but before we left, she called me aside and asked that I not bring Letisa to the palace again.
Since then, I had never gone with her.
“You’re lucky… Have a good time.”
I knew exactly what she wanted.
Every time I visited the Empress, she would give me the sad-puppy look and try to get a gift out of it.
Today, I had a different kind of present in mind for her.
