Chapter 21
Arthur placed a single sheet of paper on a corner of the table. Marcella narrowed her eyes, glaring at the paper, half-squinting. It was written in tiny, neat handwriting.
“It’s a list I compiled after staying up all night thinking about the benefits you’d gain by becoming Empress.”
“Lord Digory, I believe I’ve told you I will not become Empress.”
“Yes, and that’s precisely why I’m making this effort to persuade you.”
Arthur was unapologetic. No, he was shameless. He smiled with a face that said, ‘Do I really have to explain even this?’ and read the first line.
“First, you gain the power of the Empress.”
“Do you think I need that, sir?”
“Of course you do, my lady. If you become Empress, you could even sentence to death the eldest son of the Crabunka family, who spews nonsense about you sullying the face of the eastern nobility.”
Was he talking about Donner? However annoying and unpleasant Donner was, she didn’t want him dead to that extent.
As Marcella looked at him incredulously, Arthur moved on to the next line. Nell silently listened to the conversation between his aide and Marcella.
“Second, material abundance.”
As Arthur proudly wiggled a finger, a servant waiting ten paces away brought over a thick stack of paper and placed it on the table. It was a stack as thick as a palm held vertically.
“This is a list of things you would receive upon becoming Empress. Of course, it’s a compilation of items already owned by the Imperial Household, not including new gifts. If you see anything you’d like, you can buy anything else you desire as long as the national treasury permits.”
Marcella stared blankly at the stack. Even presenting a list this thick felt unreal.
“You would amass a fortune that even I dare not covet. Isn’t it amazing?”
“…Is that truly a fortune *I* would amass?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m asking if that would really be a fortune *I* would amass.”
“I don’t quite understand what you’re saying, my lady. Could you elaborate?”
Marcella looked at Arthur’s face, which genuinely seemed not to understand. Was this a lie or not?
“Ownership of all these things is originally in the name of Her Majesty the Empress. Since the position is currently vacant, they have no owner. If Lady Marcella becomes Empress…”
“Isn’t there a reason the Empress position is vacant?”
“Well, yes. Because His Majesty showed no interest in any woman and never stepped forward to marry. But now, that very His Majesty is interested in Lady Marcella!”
“No, the Empress position was vacant before that too.”
Finally seeming to grasp what Marcella was getting at, Arthur closed his mouth, which had been cheerfully and shamelessly chattering away.
“How many Empresses did the late Emperor take?”
“…Five.”
“Where are they all now? Are they amassing fortunes?”
No, they all died. They all met terrible ends at the hands of that mad Emperor who killed every wife he had.
“His Majesty is different from the deposed late Emperor.”
He must be different from others. But wasn’t Nell that Emperor’s son? Though she didn’t say it out loud, Marcella inwardly scoffed at Arthur.
Like father, like son. While replacing five Empresses one after another, the late Emperor had quite a few children. Where did all those children, except for Nell who became Emperor, go?
Was he going to say the late Emperor killed them all, like the Empresses? But Arthur Digory surely knew well that wasn’t the case.
Even Marcella, who had only been in Morris territory, within Morris Castle, had heard rumors about what Nell did to them.
“My lady! You are different from them. You are the only one His Majesty has ever taken an interest in!”
Arthur said this as if it were very romantic, but Marcella thought differently.
“The late Emperor must have taken an interest too. Or are you going to say they were women he married against his will, out of dislike?”
And yet, not a single one survived.
Last night, Marcella thought about why Arthur Digory was so determined to keep her here. After thinking all night, she could only reach one conclusion.
There are ladies from families suitable for the Empress position. Ladies from families and with power that make perfect sense.
That’s how it used to be. But after the late Emperor ruthlessly executed his 4th Empress, no lady wanted to become Empress anymore. Of course not. It was obvious they’d meet a dog’s death.
Because of that, the late Emperor’s 5th Empress was said to be a lady from a minor family who was somewhat pretty.
A powerless family that, when told by the Emperor to become Empress, couldn’t refuse, and even if their daughter died by his son-in-law’s hand, lacked the power to hold him accountable.
I may not know for sure, but the current situation is probably similar. No father from any family would want to send his daughter to Nell Haire. But what about me?
Marcella Morris, younger sister of the late Count Morris.
Her parents passed away long ago. Her older sister, who succeeded them, was also now gone. Her niece, Tella, would inherit next.
She’s just too young right now, so her brother-in-law, Theon, is acting as Count Regent until his daughter comes of age.
Even if I were to die by the Emperor’s hand, could Tella hold the Emperor accountable? Theon, who is merely a regent?
The Morris family was similar to the family of the 5th Empress, who died by the Emperor’s hand.
“Third, Morris’s standing becomes stronger.”
Marcella read the third line on the paper Arthur had written.
A laugh escaped her. ‘Standing becomes stronger.’ If the dead 5th Empress heard that, she’d rise from her grave and slap Arthur Digory’s cheek.
“I didn’t know Lord Digory was so concerned about Morris’s standing.”
Arthur Digory probably had a sister around Nell’s age too. If he were to marry an Empress, he should marry that lady from the original Ducal family.
But not wanting to take the risk of sacrificing his own sister, and needing to get the Emperor married, it read as nothing but a scheme to use the Morris family, who seemed unlikely to make a fuss even if something happened.
“I clearly refused, and His Majesty said he would no longer propose. So, Lord Digory.”
Marcella pressed the paper with her finger and pushed it back toward Arthur. Take it back.
“You’ve wasted your precious time.”
“…I see. Your resolve is firmer than I thought, my lady. A regrettable matter, but there’s also something fortunate.”
Arthur looked straight at Marcella and smiled brightly.
“Just understanding why you are so firmly refusing is a great harvest for today. I only thought you refused because you found His Majesty utterly detestable, thinking, ‘Marriage? How dreadful.'”
Nell is different from the late Emperor. That was something Arthur Digory, who made Nell Emperor, could guarantee.
He looked at Marcella with a confident smile.
“But my lady, don’t you think it’s unfair?”
“Unfair?”
Marcella flared up. Unfair! That was the last thing she wanted to hear from this swindler.
“Refusing is your choice, but isn’t trying to stop the proposal itself going too far?”
“I—”
“Ah, of course, I understand your firm desire not to become Empress. His Majesty has already said he won’t propose anymore, so it’s not like I’m blaming you now for being excessive.”
Then what on earth did he want to say…?
As Marcella stared at Arthur with a puzzled face, Arthur smiled brightly.
“What I mean is, well, trying to stop a person’s heart is not only unfair, but even if you try to stop it, you can’t. If hearts were something you could stop by trying to stop them, why have so many conflicts occurred since time immemorial?”
Arthur smiled brightly, tapping the rolled-up paper in one hand against his other palm.
“Understanding your will, I won’t ask you to become Empress anymore from now on. I promise, on my name.”
“Given how well you lie, sir, I cannot trust you.”
“I’d like to deny it, but you wouldn’t believe me, would you? Yes, I lie very well. When necessary, I even tell lies about lies.”
“And yet you say you’ll promise?”
“I don’t lie because I like to. I lie because it’s necessary, my lady.”
Arthur smiled brightly, clasping his hands together.
“You’re scaring me with that glare. I, too, would have preferred not to lie to you and not to get caught. The situation simply left no choice.”
“That just sounds like an excuse.”
“I’ll hope for the day you understand my sincerity. Anyway, my lady, the important thing is not me.”
He turned his head and smiled brightly at Nell. Under normal circumstances, this was a person who would be uninterested, lost in other thoughts, or just blankly staring, but he was listening quite attentively to the others’ conversation.
“The important thing is, you may stop His Majesty from proposing, but you cannot stop him from confessing his feelings.”
Now, I’ve set the table this much, so His Majesty should open his mouth. Arthur smiled brightly, pointing his eyes at Marcella.
Nell’s eyes, which had been blankly staring at Arthur, turned toward Marcella. Her face was neither pale nor red. Instead, she looked confused.
“You refused the proposal, but you wouldn’t refuse a confession, would you?”
What’s the difference between a proposal and a confession?
While Marcella thought Arthur was spinning sophistry, she couldn’t find the words to refute him. As he said, the heart is something you cannot stop even if you try.
“Refusing is, as Lord Digory said, my own will, so I will refuse.”
Arthur Digory had laid a clever trap, and Marcella had fallen into it, feeling caught in a very fine net.
Marcella struggled with all her might.
“Alright.”
Even though she said she would refuse, Nell didn’t look particularly sad or flustered.
“So, you’ll refuse but won’t forbid it, is that it?”
“You can’t. Because that wouldn’t be fair.”
Arthur said the word ‘fair’ with emphasis.
Even when Marcella glared at him, he just smiled brightly with a look that asked, ‘Why are you like this?’
