Chapter 41
One evening, the mansion was stirred with sudden tension.
“There’s a letter from the royal family,” the butler’s voice echoed through the hall.
My heart dropped.
Royal family?
I ran to the study. Carlos was already opening the envelope. His brows tightened as he read the contents.
“…What does it say?”
Carlos handed me the letter.
[It announces that, in three days, a royal envoy will visit the Grand Duke’s residence.]
[They will discuss the return of Princess Lorea Frige.]
My fingers went cold.
Return.
It meant they were coming to take me.
“Three days…” I muttered.
“They’re rushing it,” Carlos said, placing the letter on the desk.
It was more than a warning—it was practically an order. First, they blocked correspondence through the temple, and now they were sending an envoy.
I don’t like this feeling.
Exactly three days later, just as the letter had warned, a royal envoy arrived at the Grand Duke’s residence.
A man stepped down from the carriage. He looked to be in his early forties, with neatly combed hair and sharp, commanding features.
His ceremonial uniform bore the royal emblem. At his waist was a ceremonial sword.
He raised his head to look at the mansion with an arrogant gaze, as if he owned the place.
That face…
I remembered. Before my reincarnation, I had met him several times at the royal palace. He was one of the Emperor’s close aides, handling diplomatic affairs. But what was his name…?
“Greetings to the Grand Duke, Carter,” the man said, bowing in front of Carlos.
His posture was polite, but his voice carried pressure—smiling with eyes that didn’t smile.
“I come on His Majesty’s orders to request the return of Princess Lorea Frige,” he said.
He said “request,” not “demand.”
A careful choice of words. Within the Grand Duchy, the royal family could only request, not command. But his tone was unmistakably an order.
Carlos spoke first.
“Thank you for traveling such a long way.”
“It is natural, for it is the Emperor’s order.”
“Yes, the Emperor’s order,” Carlos said with a short laugh. Cold in his eyes.
“The Emperor’s order… To come boldly into the Grand Duchy and demand a thing. So that’s what they call an order these days, huh?”
The envoy’s eyelids twitched, but he didn’t step back. People like him were shameless by nature.
“The Grand Duke may feel displeased, but Princess Lorea is part of the royal family. It is only natural that His Majesty wishes for her return,” the envoy continued.
“Natural?” Carlos narrowed his eyes.
“How many months has the princess been here? Not a single greeting, and now you come to take her?”
“And you send an envoy? Shouldn’t a parent come themselves? Ah… I remember, propriety isn’t something His Majesty worries about.”
The envoy’s expression stiffened, but he quickly recovered.
“The Grand Duke may feel certain emotions, but that is a separate matter,” he said.
“Separate?”
“The princess belongs to the royal family. The Duchy’s extraterritorial rights do not change her allegiance.”
Carlos stayed silent. The envoy advanced further, confident he had the upper hand.
“Princess Lorea is His Majesty’s child. It is unnatural for a child to remain apart from their parent. The Emperor is very concerned.”
Concerned?
I sneered inwardly. The same hand that once offered me poisoned tea—was that now a “concerned” father’s hand?
“I am here only to convey His Majesty’s will. If the Grand Duke wishes to send me away, you must give a satisfactory answer.”
“A satisfactory answer?”
Carlos crossed his arms.
“What if the answer is unsatisfactory?”
“I cannot leave until His Majesty’s will is fulfilled.”
A brazen declaration. He would stay until the request was accepted. Harming a royal envoy would be equivalent to declaring war. There was nothing Carlos could do.
“…Bold,” Carlos muttered.
“I’ll take it as a compliment,” the envoy replied with a sly, snake-like smile.
The envoy boldly settled into the mansion. He took a guest room and began pressing Carlos every morning for an “answer.” Carlos ignored him. But ignoring him did not make him disappear.
The mansion grew tense.
The maids bowed and hurried past him. Damian glared openly. Mia paced outside my room, worried.
Naturally, I stayed in my room, not wanting to encounter him.
One day, through Mia, I heard that Carlos wanted to see me.
Curious, I went to his office, where Damian was already leaning against the window, arms crossed.
“Sit,” Carlos said, gesturing at the sofa.
I hesitated, then sat. Damian joined me. He studied my face, now gaunt from the past few days.
“Are you eating?”
“…Yes.”
“Doesn’t look like it. You’ve lost all your chubby cheeks.”
Thirteen-year-old cheeks disappearing… how much thinner could I get?
“Quiet,” Carlos’s low voice cut through. We both fell silent.
“You know the situation,” he said, looking out the window.
“The envoy has been here five days. We can’t force him out, but we can’t hand over the princess either.”
“Father,” Damian interrupted.
“Can’t we just kick him out? Isn’t the Duchy extraterritorial?”
“Extraterritorial doesn’t mean you can kill anyone. He is an official envoy acting on the Emperor’s authority. Touch him, and it’s basically a declaration of war.”
Damian shut his mouth. Carlos sighed.
“The royal family cannot enforce laws in the Duchy. But the princess still belongs to them, so a request is allowed. And the envoy plans to stay until that request is accepted.”
“So what do we do…?”
“Well… if we had a reason to expel him, that would help.”
Carlos rubbed his tired eyes.
“He didn’t enter without permission and brought the imperial decree, so he can claim a legitimate visit. It’s troublesome.”
At that moment, an idea struck me.
“Wait.” I raised my hand without thinking.
Carlos and Damian looked at me simultaneously.
“When the royal letter arrived, did the Grand Duke send a response granting permission?”
“…No.”
“Then when the envoy arrived, were they welcomed?”
“Did it look like it?”
Of course not. I had acted like I’d seen a ghost.
Suddenly, everything clicked. My heart raced.
“Doesn’t the Imperial Constitution have a clause about extraterritorial rights? About how long outsiders can stay without permission…?”
Carlos stared at me.
“It’s an old clause. I don’t remember exactly.”
“We need to check.”
I jumped up. Damian followed, puzzled.
“What’s going on?”
“We’re going to the library. We need to find the Imperial Code.”
“Huh?”
“Quickly!”
I grabbed Damian’s wrist and pulled him toward the library, almost bursting through the doors.
“We need to find the Imperial Code. The clause about extraterritorial rights, specifically the rules about unauthorized stays.”
“Do you expect me to know that?”
“You grew up here!”
“I didn’t grow up reading law books!”
Damian grumbled but ran between the shelves. I searched the other side. Dusty, old books—history of the Duchy, law summaries, legal cases.
“Is this it?” Damian held up a thick book with a worn circular emblem—marking it as the Empire’s law code. My eyes widened.
“This is it!”
I snatched it and flipped through the pages, scanning rapidly. Extraterritorial clause… special exceptions… provisions…
“…Found it.”
My hand froze.
