[CHAPTER 66]
Dianu Ortensa realized that when someone was too shocked, they did not even have the presence of mind to step back.
The same seemed to apply to Rision Catalos e Catalos.
There was a robe right beside him that he could have used to cover himself, but he did not reach for it.
He simply stared at Dianu Ortensa with his eyes wide open.
“Why…”
She might have intended to ask a rational question, such as why he was here wearing only his trousers.
Dianu Ortensa trailed off instead.
Her gaze drifted downward on its own, as if bound to a pulley called instinct.
As she took in the body that had always been carefully hidden beneath the Emperor’s garments, Dianu Ortensa thought blankly.
So the statues were not exaggerated after all…
Everything Dianu Ortensa knew about a man’s naked body came from works of art or books.
She had assumed that the vivid muscles shaped so carefully by painters and sculptors involved a certain degree of artistic exaggeration.
But the body before her told her she was wrong.
Rision Catalos e Catalos’s calm voice reached her ears just as Dianu Ortensa was helplessly admiring his sharply defined abdomen.
“If you want to keep looking, it would be better to close the door.”
It was as if she had been struck by lightning, and her senses snapped back into place.
Dianu Ortensa spun around so quickly that she nearly lost her balance.
Her ears burned red, and she felt as though her entire body might turn to ash.
She covered her face with both hands and muttered in a panic.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t think you would be here—”
“…”
“I absolutely wasn’t trying to stare, I was just so surprised, so—”
“Dianu.”
“I’ll forget everything.”
Even as she said it, she knew it was a lie.
She would never forget what she had just seen, not for a very long time.
Dianu Ortensa decided that no matter what happened later, she needed to run out of the study first.
That was when she felt a warm presence behind her back.
A scream rose to her throat.
Rision Catalos e Catalos had approached without a sound and half embraced her from behind as he reached out to close the study door.
When his hand brushed past her stiffened neck, Dianu Ortensa flailed like a fish struck by a harpoon.
“Why did you come here?”
“…”
“Dianu?”
“To look for alcohol…”
“Alcohol?”
“His Highness the Crown Prince said there would be alcohol here…”
As she stumbled through her explanation, Dianu Ortensa’s eyes widened.
That man did it on purpose!
Ravelan Arasas, who had gone to look for the head butler, must have heard that Rision Catalos e Catalos was here.
He might even have known that Rision was not properly dressed.
Rision Catalos e Catalos let out a chuckling sigh.
“Ravelan played a nasty prank. There doesn’t seem to be any alcohol here.”
“…”
“But half of it is my fault. Even Ravelan probably didn’t know I was in this state.”
He asked Dianu Ortensa to wait for a moment.
As the sound of his footsteps faded away, her tension eased, yet a strange sense of regret crept in at the same time.
Regret? About what? Am I insane?
She clutched her chest and took rapid, shallow breaths when Rision Catalos e Catalos suddenly tapped her shoulder.
“You can turn around now.”
“…”
“I mean it.”
Dianu Ortensa slowly turned around.
Seeing him wearing a robe that was a little small for his frame, she hurriedly lifted her gaze to meet his eyes.
It was not the shocking display of bare skin from before, but seeing him in such intimate attire was still unfamiliar and embarrassing.
An awkward silence followed.
After fidgeting with her hands behind her back for a long while, Dianu Ortensa finally spoke.
“What about Princess Elpenlira…?”
“She stepped out briefly to adjust her appearance. She will return with the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess.”
“I see…”
There were dozens of things she should have asked, but her tongue felt frozen.
Rision Catalos e Catalos explained gently, as if considering her state of mind.
“…Ah, it’s nothing! Shall we return to the reception room now?”
If everyone found out what had happened beyond this door, she really might turn to ash on the spot.
Grand Duchess Ellaris Erbinjel and Erin Erbinjel headed calmly toward the reception room.
Only Princess Elpenlira narrowed her eyes, glancing back and forth between the study door and Dianu Ortensa.
* * *
Rision Catalos e Catalos soon returned to the reception room, and thankfully for Dianu Ortensa’s heart, he was now properly dressed.
At last, all the chairs were filled.
Grand Duchess Ellaris Erbinjel and Erin Erbinjel sat side by side, while Ravelan Arasas and Princess Elpenlira sat across from them.
Perhaps there had been a change of heart, but Princess Elpenlira showed no dissatisfaction with this meaningful seating arrangement.
As Dianu Ortensa watched Princess Elpenlira’s reaction, her eyes suddenly met Ravelan Arasas’s.
When he mischievously winked one eye, she had to suppress the urge to stick out her tongue at him.
The central seat of honor naturally belonged to Rision Catalos e Catalos.
The problem was that he casually seated Dianu Ortensa beside him.
No one except Dianu Ortensa herself seemed flustered by this.
Finally, Sir Edric Loisen stood behind Rision Catalos e Catalos, and the reason this peculiar group had gathered was revealed.
“Now, let us get to the point.”
Everyone turned their attention to him.
Even knowing that she was not the focus, Dianu Ortensa felt a little tense.
“I—no, we.”
As he corrected himself, Rision Catalos e Catalos’s gaze shifted to Princess Elpenlira.
“We will punish the traitor of the Catalos Empire who assassinated Edric Loisen, the Emperor’s proxy, who has continuously defied the Emperor’s will for personal gain, and who has grown fat in collusion with the Arasas Ambassador.”
Princess Elpenlira stared intently at his mouth, as if she did not want to miss a single word.
As though he understood his sister’s feelings, Rision Catalos e Catalos continued while keeping his eyes on her.
“With your help, I intend to pass judgment on the Belua Duke, Roderick.”
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Dianu Ortensa quietly rolled her eyes to observe the others.
As expected, Grand Duchess Ellaris Erbinjel, Erin Erbinjel, and Sir Edric Loisen did not look surprised.
Ravelan Arasas raised an eyebrow as if thinking, then nodded as though he understood.
The problem was Princess Elpenlira.
Among those gathered, she was likely the only one who had never even suspected that the Belua Duke was the true culprit behind Edric’s death.
Princess Elpenlira opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again several times.
Rision Catalos e Catalos waited patiently.
When she finally spoke, her voice was half hoarse.
“…Does Adelaisa Belua know about this as well?”
Rision Catalos e Catalos shook his head.
“She will not know the details. But she knows better than anyone that her father is disloyal.”
Princess Elpenlira lowered her head.
Dianu Ortensa knew well that Princess Elpenlira and Adelaisa Belua were close.
Aside from Adelaisa Belua, she had never seen anyone who could be called Princess Elpenlira’s personal friend frequent Oak Palace.
“If that man—”
Princess Elpenlira spoke with an expression as if she were chewing on something dreadful.
“If the Belua Duke is punished, what will happen to Adelaisa?”
That was something Dianu Ortensa also wanted to know.
If the Belua Duke were judged by the Emperor as a traitor, his family would not escape unscathed.
Although the laws of the Catalos Empire did not recognize collective punishment, blood ties and honor were as important as the law among noble families.
The direct blood relatives of the Belua Duke would never again be able to show their faces in high society.
For the still unmarried Adelaisa Belua, her prospects for marriage would effectively be sealed forever.
Yet the Belua Duke had to be punished.
Would Rision Catalos e Catalos really treat an innocent young lady, someone he personally respected, as mere collateral damage for the greater cause?
Dianu Ortensa was not sure.
As Countess Ornin had once said, Rision Catalos e Catalos was strict with the strong and generous to the weak.
At the same time, Dianu Ortensa was gradually realizing that he possessed the mindset of a ruler.
And a ruler’s way of thinking was clearly different from that of an ordinary person like her.
Rision Catalos e Catalos glanced at Dianu Ortensa, who was watching him anxiously, and smiled with an unreadable expression.
“That part will require Ravelan’s help.”
He turned to his close friend, who had been listening quietly.
“Once we secure grounds to judge the Belua Duke, I would like the Arasas side to protect the Duke’s daughter before things move into full motion.”
“I see. To prevent suspicion that she was involved in her father’s crimes?”
“That, and once the Duke is executed as a traitor, Adelaisa Belua will no longer be able to live as she did before. I intend to advise her to go to Arasas beforehand and marry a suitable man.”
In theory, it was a good plan.
By marrying into Arasas high society, Adelaisa Belua would effectively free herself from the shadow of the Belua Duke.
It would be a new beginning for her.
Ravelan Arasas rested his chin on his hand, unimpressed.
“Why go that far? I have more younger brothers than I know what to do with. She can simply choose one she likes. Even in a foreign land, the title of Grand Duchess would serve as a fine shield.”
He began counting on his fingers.
“The second is the most useful as a man, but he swore a vow of celibacy, so he’s out. The third or fourth wouldn’t be bad. The fifth looks decent enough, but he’s rather dull, so Lady Belua might find him frustrating.”
Rision Catalos e Catalos nodded as if it were a fine idea.
Grand Duchess Ellaris Erbinjel added mildly that an Arasas prince would be more than sufficient for Lady Belua.
It seemed that the only ones who found this conversation strange were Dianu Ortensa and Princess Elpenlira, who frowned as she looked at her.
Are these people serious?
I know, right?
After exchanging that look with Princess Elpenlira, Dianu Ortensa finally spoke carefully.
“Your Highness… shouldn’t you ask your younger brothers for their opinions as well?”
Ravelan Arasas looked at her as if surprised.
“My brothers do as I tell them.”
“Ah… I see.”
The world of royalty was truly full of things she could never understand.
“If Adelaisa Belua goes to Arasas, it will also be a great comfort to Elpenlira later.”
With those words, Adelaisa Belua’s fate was decided in her absence.
And as if it were merely a minor issue among many, the conversation smoothly moved on to the next topic.
Then Dianu Ortensa noticed something strange.
Sir Edric Loisen, who had been standing behind Rision Catalos e Catalos and listening silently, looked visibly darkened.
His lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but he soon lowered his head as though he had given up.
Could it be…?
Dianu Ortensa forcefully shook away the uneasy thought creeping up on her.
No, that can’t be it. If it were true, Sir Edric Loisen would be too pitiful.
Some suspicions were better left unexamined.
