MFWSP 37

Chapter 37

“I greet the Sun of the Empire!”

The voices of a dozen people echoed in the central hall of the royal palace.

Aside from Morve and the other two, everyone present were either from the Aphellemion or Penton families—employees, the head butler and his deputy, and finally, Bartol, summoned by the captain of the guards.

I turned my head slightly while kneeling on one knee.

Bartol seemed confused, rolling his eyes as if he didn’t understand why he was there.

“Stand behind me, Iris. Whatever happens, we’ll handle it.”

Looking up at the high throne, Morve waved his hand behind him.

Though I hadn’t expected to rely on them, I felt a warmth in my heart.

Morve, Aken, and Jurik were like family to me—people I had known since I was thirteen years old.

They were the only ones who still remembered the nicknames I had given them when I was five, still saw me as a child.

They were the legacy my father had left me, something Julius had failed to steal from me.

It was likely because of them that the Penton couple hadn’t gone as far as threatening my life, and that they hadn’t yet forced me to marry Bartol before I came of age.

How long had it been since I last saw them?

I hadn’t seen them since I was thirteen.

In both my first and second lives, I had heard that they came looking for me after I left the royal palace, but I had never visited them.

In my first life, I had wanted to build something of my own to surpass what Julius had taken from me.

In my second life, I didn’t want them to be dragged into the curse placed on my family and me.

So, in my third life, I wasn’t about to let go of the chance to reclaim my family and live under the affection of my uncles.

For that, the royal family was a mountain I had to climb.

Though I sometimes felt it was a bit rushed, I quickly shook my head.

The test had already been completed.

Anthony’s confession had unintentionally given me the opportunity to see how the Aphellemion family was viewed among the nobility.

If Anthony thought he could win Aphellemion over, it meant that others didn’t see the family as fully under Julius’s control.

Anyone could have seen that—including me.

“Rise.”

At the attendant’s gesture, the dozen or so of us slowly straightened up and looked at the emperor’s face.

Hrk!

Emperor Aleik IV coughed, his face showing the wear of a man not even fifty, though he looked at least ten years older than his age. His health had already declined significantly.

In stark contrast to Queen Lienne, who had maintained the same appearance for twenty years despite being of similar age.

As though she knew this, the Queen gently tapped the Emperor’s hand to comfort him.

I sighed inwardly.

The Aleik IV in my memory wasn’t evil, but he was weak.

He cared deeply about justification and always tried to do what was ‘right.’ I heard he had been idealistic in his youth.

But as his health worsened, he began to seek only comfort for himself, and eventually, what he considered ‘right’ became ‘things that kept me comfortable and didn’t bring immediate problems.’

And yet, he still carried the pride of being an upright ruler, which, unfortunately, led to him turning a blind eye to the Queen’s excesses.

It was said that he had betrayed his first love and married the former empress because of the late empress’s wishes, and he couldn’t shake the debt of the betrayal. He became a subject of ridicule for abandoning his first love.

It was rumored that his subsequent acquiescence to the Queen’s wishes was because he believed it was his duty as a man.

Beyond this, the only things the emperor cared about were his reputation and the imperial family’s dignity.

“…?”

As I was looking at the emperor and empress, I noticed another person sitting beside them and turned my gaze.

Why is he here…?

Sitting on a golden throne slightly lower than the emperor and empress was none other than Balthazar.

I turned to look again, wondering if it was part of some royal training, but as I did, he glanced toward me and flashed a smile.

How irritating.

Objectively, he was handsome and even resembled Karsiel, but from head to toe, everything about him was unpleasant.

His blood-red violet eyes, much like the last time I saw him at the banquet, were glaring at me as if he wanted to devour me.

“…So, there’s a dispute over the proxy rights?”

Emperor Aleik IV asked after hearing the captain of the guards’ explanation.

“It seems quite urgent if it led to a physical altercation.”

Queen Lienne clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“Do you have no dignity as nobles? Is the name of your family not embarrassing?”

The Queen, who was the daughter of the Marquess of Rudes and had once been considered a rival of the Aphellemion family, spoke in a tone as though trying to subtly suppress them.

But there was no real blow to me. The Aphellemion family’s name had already been tarnished long ago. What was urgent now was to reclaim everything and restore it.

“Julius Penton, speak.”

Without the Emperor’s permission, the Queen gave the order.

None of the attendants found this odd, so it must have been the usual way things were done.

Julius distorted the facts and explained his position.

In summary, he claimed that he had been appointed legally as the Duke’s proxy and had merely been carrying out his duties. He asked for harsh punishment against the three vassals who had suddenly intruded into the mansion.

“There’s nothing changed! The princess is eighteen now, of age. She can receive a title on her own.”

Morve interjected, and Julius immediately rebutted.

“The imperial edict stamped by the royal family says ‘until she comes of age,’ not ‘until the heir can take over the position.’”

In the mansion, Julius and Lucilla, who had been trembling in fear, now looked much more confident after arriving at the royal palace and seeing the Queen’s face.

It seemed that Lucilla had given the Queen another large diamond recently.

“The princess is just eighteen, frail, with no experience in social circles or business. She is too young to be the head of the Aphellemion family, the largest estate in the empire.”

“Nonsense! Did you not grow up in a small estate, planning to take the role of proxy without any experience?”

Aken shouted while pointing his finger, and Julius instinctively shrank back.

“What is this commotion, with the Emperor present?”

The Queen reprimanded, and the room instantly fell silent.

“Eighteen is indeed considered adulthood, but there are many young lords in the empire. If they aren’t married, many still have proxies until they are twenty-five.”

The Queen’s words caused a proud smile to spread across Lucilla’s face.

“But the Baron Penton does not qualify to be the proxy of the Duke.”

Jurik spoke up, and the Queen raised an eyebrow.

“Are you implying that the royal edict is insufficient to confer qualification? Is this not a challenge to the royal family?”

Even the Emperor frowned and looked down at Jurik.

“If the actions taken after receiving the royal edict are immoral, the royal family must strip the qualifications. Failing to properly carry out the assigned duties is a challenge to the royal family, don’t you think?”

Jurik didn’t seem intimidated as he continued speaking.

“We have many witnesses who will testify that the Baron mistreated the princess.”

He gestured to the witnesses, including the maids, who began to repeat their testimonies from the mansion.

“I see.”

The Queen nodded gracefully after hearing all the testimonies.

“But I don’t think common maids would know much about the affairs of the family.”

“What? But Your Majesty!”

“The young niece is quite well-known, isn’t she? It’s normal for the proxy to restrict the princess’s contact or discipline her for the family’s benefit. Last time, a daughter from the Barony of Dekan had a secret affair and got pregnant, and she was only eighteen.”

The Queen casually continued, resting her face in one hand. It was clear that from the beginning, she had already decided which side she was on.

“Moreover, the princess doesn’t look like someone who’s been starving.”

I closed my eyes tightly, having no excuse. The kitchen staff had baked strawberry tarts this morning, and I couldn’t help but resent them a little.

“Your Majesty, please judge this fairly!”

Morve shouted, but it only irritated the Queen.

“Do you doubt my fairness, Your Majesty? Aphellemion is the pillar of the empire.”

She said, her tone serious.

“We can’t just remove a family’s proxy because the princess grew up. Unless there’s clear evidence that the family has caused harm…”

“That’s correct!”

Julius smiled broadly, then turned to the Emperor.

The Queen turned to the Emperor.

The Emperor looked at me with an apologetic expression for a moment, but then nodded.