Liselotte carefully retraced her memories.
If it was something the original Liselotte knew, she should certainly remember it.
Especially since she had believed herself to be the only powerless one among the Imperial Family, had she not longed for a divine authority more than anyone?
Liselotte stared quietly at her beer mug and rummaged through her memories.
But nothing at all came to mind regarding the Emperor’s power.
‘That’s strange. No matter how bad their relationship was, wouldn’t his divine authority be something worth remembering?’
She remembered even the tiniest details of trivial luxuries, down to a single thread, so why was it that only the Emperor’s power was missing from her memory?
‘It wasn’t as though I often saw him use his divine authority right in front of me, but still…’
Given how distant their relationship as father and daughter had been, there was no chance of any affectionate encounters.
In her memories, the Emperor was nothing more than someone who smiled gently and softly warned her whenever she caused trouble.
Before going to the temple to receive her authority. Her memories of early childhood remained only faintly.
“Lise.”
The Imperial Palace garden.
The Emperor called out gently to the very young girl, buried among the flowers.
The scene of him placing a flower crown on her head was the only fragmentary childhood memory that remained.
‘So they got along well before it was announced that I was powerless.’
But that was all the memory amounted to.
After failing to receive an authority at the temple, Liselotte became sensitive whenever divine authority was even mentioned.
Because of that, it seemed that talk about divine authority gradually became taboo around her.
Even her father, the Emperor, was someone so busy that she hardly ever saw him, so it seemed he had been erased from her memory as easily as a forgotten birthday.
The only memory that remained vividly was the moment he forcibly notified her of her marriage to Eren.
‘She must really have hated that arranged marriage.’
Perhaps the arranged marriage had suppressed her inferiority complex regarding divine authority.
Liselotte subtly shifted only her gaze, scanning around the table.
Taebon quietly returning the food Virki had stolen back to its place, Hedmilton doing nothing but drinking one cup after another, and Ail seemingly talking about work with Hedmilton.
It was an atmosphere that made it anything but easy to suddenly ask about the Emperor’s divine authority.
‘Naturally. Naturally.’
Liselotte drained the rest of her beer in one go, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and opened her mouth.
“How much does Father know?”
“I only told him the hearing date. What is it? Do you think I ran straight to him and tattled?”
Valen frowned and shot her a sideways look.
The more he did, the more Liselotte widened her eyes innocently and replied gently.
“No. You just seemed to be moving more cautiously than usual, Brother. I was wondering if it was Father’s instruction. You were a huge help at the trial.”
“Ahem, if that’s all.”
She had felt this for a while now, but he was terrible at reading the room. He was even weak to praise.
He seems to have sharpened up just a little lately, though.
Worried he might notice the provocation, Liselotte clinked her empty cup lightly against his.
Valen averted his gaze for no particular reason and downed his beer.
“He’s going to see all the reports submitted to the Senate anyway. There isn’t really any reason to hide it.”
“Ah, so he looks through all the cases that are raised. I thought, given how many there are, he would only review the important ones.”
“Father put a lot of effort into the Central Court. Even though he can travel using his divine authority, the reason he installed teleportation magic stones all across the continent was because of that. It has to be easy to go back and forth.”
For that, teleportation magic stones are ridiculously expensive.
The urge to retort rose all the way to Liselotte’s throat, but she forcibly swallowed it down. Now was not the time.
Was his power related to teleportation magic stones?
Liselotte’s tone grew even gentler.
“Oh, I see! Why is that? Father has his authority, after all.”
The moment Valen reached for a fruit, Virki whisked the bowl away with magic.
Valen’s hand trembled awkwardly in midair, and he clenched his fist, answering as if trying to act unfazed.
“Are you really asking because you don’t know? With Father’s teleportation power, he can only transport one person at a time. Magic stones can handle multiple people.”
So it was a teleportation authority.
Being able to move without magic stones was certainly a powerful ability.
More than anything else, planting the image that the Emperor could appear anywhere, watching at any time, was advantageous for ruling a vast continent.
“Why couldn’t I remember an authority like this?”
Liselotte covered her embarrassment with a smile.
“I suppose it has been so long since I last saw Father’s power that I forgot.”
“Really? You must have seen it quite often when you were young. Until you were five, Father practically carried you around every day.”
It was something she was hearing for the first time.
For some reason, it felt unfamiliar to Liselotte.
Why would he have cast aside a daughter he doted on to that extent, so coldly?
When Taebon refilled the empty beer mug, Valen shook his head and let out a deep sigh.
“Maybe you just don’t remember because you were too young.”
At that, Virki immediately put strength into his eyes.
Perhaps Valen really was frightening, because with tears welling at the corners of his eyes, he shouted.
“I, I don’t remember much from when I was little either. Who remembers everything from hundreds of years ago!”
“I apologize, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Please forgive the rudeness.”
Taebon bowed in his stead, but Virki’s mouth didn’t stop.
“Lise’s enemies are my enemies too. My friend looks like she’s in trouble. So do better, okay? Do better!”
Sniff. Wiping away his tears with the back of his hand, Virki glared at Valen.
For some reason, it looked as though Valen had made him cry, and people wandering through the night market glanced over.
“My goodness, did someone make Commander Taebon’s friend cry?”
“Oh dear, what reason is there to bully someone so delicate like that?”
This was Lergo Village. The place closest to the Magic Tower, and Taebon’s hometown.
In a rural village like this, people even know how many spoons their neighbors own.
As those who knew Taebon well whispered while looking at Virki with pitying eyes, Valen stared, mouth agape.
“This is ridiculous.”
Perhaps his insides were burning, because Valen kept drinking beer, muttering with his tongue slightly slurred.
“Anyway, I’ve never liked you. You got even stranger as you grew up, but ever since we were young, you always turned everyone to your side and made me the bad one. Do you know how annoying you were? Father was strict with me, but no matter what you did, he let it slide.”
Compared to Liselotte’s bad reputation, the Emperor’s treatment really was lenient.
He let her indulge in luxuries, and even when she ruined banquets, he merely stood by.
Liselotte asked Valen, whose eyes were gradually losing focus.
“Then why did he marry me off to Eren? Do you know, Brother?”
“Hm… Well, that… the Grand Duke would know better, wouldn’t he…?”
It was hard to make out the words properly because of his muttering.
Liselotte shook his shoulder, but he kept downing beer.
It seemed that continuous drinking was his habit when drunk.
Instead, a low voice beside her answered in his place.
“His Majesty gave me the order.”
When she turned her head, a composed yet cold face came into view.
Even in this relaxed atmosphere, Eren looked particularly solid and unyielding.
His clear gaze fixed itself on Liselotte.
“He said that in the Capital, you were constantly compared to others and criticized for every little action, so it might be better for you to live freely in the North.”
At the time, it hadn’t felt like consideration at all to Liselotte, but she could understand the meaning now.
Finding a match for the notorious troublemaking Princess was no easy task.
She constantly clashed with Diana, the Crown Prince’s fiancée, and the one who always ended up hurting herself was Liselotte.
Perhaps he had hoped that she would rely on and support one another with Eren, who was subjected to similar scrutiny.
From the perspective of a parent who genuinely cared for their child, it was a reasonable choice.
She could understand it intellectually, yet something still felt off.
‘Right now, things are fine because I managed to straighten them out, but in the original story, I died by Eren’s hand…’
Could all of the Emperor’s intentions really be reduced to love for Liselotte?
“I should go see Father soon.”
At her words, Eren’s eyelids trembled faintly.
“…Are you angry?”
Oh no. It was still too early to bring up divorce.
There was still the lawsuit against House Gloria.
The compensation was substantial enough that it would be perfect to secure a sizable share in a divorce settlement.
Liselotte hurriedly waved both hands.
“No, no! I’m not angry because of the marriage!”
So flustered that she tilted back, her body toppled over the long bench with no backrest.
Eren hurriedly reached out and caught her back with one arm.
