Bellius Imperial Palace.
Within the Empress’s residence, there was a small garden. It had been personally cultivated by Empress Tigria herself, who missed the thick greenery of the West.
The sumr flowers were just beginning to bloom, and the air was filled with their sweet fragrance.
The colorful, flourishing sumr garden was the pride of the Empress’s quarters.
And in that very place—
“The Duke’s child?”
Snip.
Empress Tigria frowned with clear displeasure as she clipped the sumr blossoms blooming in the garden with her own hands.
The sunlight caught her silver hair, which was tied up, leaving the nape of her pale neck completely exposed.
“What exactly is [N O V E L I G H T] your intention in asking that question?”
Empress Tigria handed the trimd flowers and the garden shears to the maid standing beside her.
The maid received them and neatly placed them on a nearby table.
“Your Majesty?”
When Emperor Subiteo gave no response, Empress Tigria finally turned around.
The Emperor, who had been silently gazing at the back of the Empress’s pale neck, let out a dry, awkward cough.
The Empress’s neatly shaped eyebrows furrowed.
She had thought she might finally enjoy so peace after finishing her duties—only to be interrupted like this.
Empress Tigria made no effort to conceal her irritation.
And with good reason.
Behind the Emperor stood four knights and countless attendants lined up in procession.
Just to visit one person, he had brought along such a crowd.
Only to make himself appear more important.
“Still, Empress, you’re on friendly terms with Duke Voreoti, are you not?”
“Friendly terms?”
“Yes. I heard you were acquainted before our marriage.”
“Acquaintance doesn’t equate to friendship.”
Turning fully, Empress Tigria faced the Emperor.
The man standing before her had a respectable appearance, but inside, he was a petty man too foolish to even understand his own station.
Duke Voreoti had never spared him a glance, yet the Emperor flailed about in a cloud of inferiority, trying desperately to surpass him.
At this point, she wasn’t even angry anymore—she pitied him.
“Your Majesty the Emperor.”
Empress Tigria finally spoke, barely keeping her composure.
“I am sorry, but I, too, know nothing about the Duke—much less that illegitimate little girl. In truth, I only hear rumors brought in by my maids.”
“You don’t know anything about the one presud to be the child’s mother?”
As Emperor Subiteo pressed her further, Empress Tigria snorted.
“If there’s one thing Duke Voreoti is known for, it’s being clean in such matters.”
Unlike you.
The Emperor, recognizing the blatant implication, grew enraged.
“Empress! How dare you say such a thing to !”
Though her words had struck a nerve, it was the Empress he raised his voice at.
“There is a limit to how much I will tolerate your insolence!”
If anyone were to witness this, they would see the Emperor in a rage—head shaking, body trembling.
His figure, at least, looked dignified.
“When have I ever been insolent toward Your Majesty?”
But to Empress Tigria, there was nothing frightening about him at all.
How could she possibly fear a man who couldn’t even control his own emotions?
“Then what was that remark just now!”
“I ant exactly what I said. The Duke of Voreoti has never been embroiled in any private scandals.”
Though of course, the daughter he now holds so close gives her so pause.
Truthfully, the Empress was sowhat disappointed in Ferio.
But for an unmarried man to take in an illegitimate child and truly care for her—that was certainly unexpected.
At the very least, it made him far more admirable than an emperor who blatantly favored his own offspring.
“And besides, Your Majesty.”
The mont the Empress opened her mouth—
Plop, a yellow rose fell onto her hair.
At the sa ti, the hem of her dress swayed as if caught by a gust of wind.
Even though it was a cloudless day with no breeze at all.
“...Ugh!”
Emperor Subiteo instinctively stepped back. The knights behind him quickly moved forward to shield him.
But even they were visibly tense, their muscles stiffened, making it hard to move.
“Your Majesty the Empress.”
Only the maid standing silently behind Empress Tigria moved with ease.
“You have a visitor.”
“...A visitor?”
Only then did the Empress withdraw the ora she had begun to release.
“I apologize, Your Majesty. I’m still lacking in control, it seems, and failed to suppress my ora properly. But surely, the rciful Emperor will understand, yes?”
Empress Tigria wasn’t actually expecting a response.
She found it laughable that the emperor of a nation had cowered before a re hint of her ora.
He was not soone worthy of respect.
“Who has co? There were no scheduled visits today...”
“Your Majesty the Empress!”
From a distance ca a voice dripping with sweetness and charm. The corners of Empress Tigria’s lips twitched.
“Oho, my Empress!”
In contrast, the Emperor broke into a broad grin, laughing heartily. The fear he’d shown just monts ago had vanished without a trace.
Empress Tigria was so dumbfounded she didn’t even bother snorting.
“Oh! His Majesty the Emperor is here too!”
Consort Usia covered her mouth with her hand, feigning complete surprise.
“What were the two of you talking about?”
Even in the sweltering heat, Consort Usia had let her green hair fall freely around her shoulders, her innocent expression paired with a playful crinkle of the eyes.
At her coy smile, the Emperor returned a warm grin.
‘Now that’s how a woman should be.’
Far more pleasing than an Empress who acted high and mighty, flaunting her strength—was a woman like this: sweet, innocent, and brimming with charm.
“It wasn’t anything important. I just had a question about Duke Voreoti.”
“Duke Voreoti?”
Tilting her head curiously, Consort Usia suddenly exclaid, “Oh! You an his illegitimate child!”
“Consort, even so—”
“But you know!”
Before Empress Tigria could chide her for using the term illegitimate child, Consort Usia grabbed the Emperor’s hand and clung to it with pleading eyes.
“I’ve been curious too. Couldn’t I see the child just once?”
“Consort!”
“But His Majesty the Emperor can do anything, can’t he?”
At the Empress’s stern rebuke, Consort Usia drooped sadly, then looked up at the Emperor with shining eyes.
And then she smiled sweetly.
“There’s a banquet coming up soon, isn’t there?”
She gently poked the Emperor’s chest with her finger, hinting that the girl could be invited then.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
***
“...That concludes the general report.”
Lupe swallowed dryly after finishing.
“......”
Ferio remained silent.
And yet, the atmosphere in the office was so tense, it felt as if the room had been buried in ice.
Outside, it was the height of sumr—but in here, it was a frigid winter.
‘Has the Emperor truly gone mad?’
Lupe recalled the absurd contents of the invitation.
[His Majesty the Emperor expresses concern for Duke Voreoti. He sincerely requests your visit along with your cherished daughter, so that His Majesty’s heartfelt worries may be eased.]
It went beyond rude—it was practically a provocation.
When Lupe first heard about the invitation, he had thought he’d misheard.
No sane Imperial court would ask soone to bring a child to a banquet.
‘You need to protest this imdiately!’
Carnis, who had been present at the ti, had insisted on going straight to the palace.
‘They’re trying to make your daughter a spectacle!’
Lupe had agreed completely. The intent was far too malicious.
The Imperial family ant to put the Duke’s rumored illegitimate child on display before the nobility to intimidate others.
At the sa ti, it was a clear move to keep Ferio in check.
Of course, Ferio had every right to object—and should.
“Leo.”
Ferio, who had remained quiet until now, finally spoke.
“What do you want to do?”
“...Hmm.”
Leonia, who was resting in his arms, mumbled indifferently as Ferio leaned back slightly in his chair.
In her small hand, she held the invitation in question.
“What should I do?”
Leonia tapped the invitation against the desk with a soft thunk thunk.
Each tap seed to chill the office even further.
In truth, the biting tension filling the room ca not from Ferio—but from Leonia’s sour mood.
‘She’s seriously the Duke’s double...!’
Lupe cried out internally.
The little beast cub was growing to resemble the father beast more and more with each passing day.
The way she stared at the invitation with those cold eyes—just like Ferio, who always looked down on others—was downright eerie.
She was becoming a true Black Beast.
“Alright.”
After a brief pause, Leonia placed the invitation down on the desk.
“I’ll go.”
“Young Lady!”
Lupe’s concern was imdiate, his voice betraying how worried he was.
Even if Leonia acted like a precocious little adult, the banquet hall was no place for a child. Not by any stretch.
“I agree with Lupe this ti.”
Ferio, too, sided with Lupe.
A luxurious and elegant banquet was never as beautiful as it appeared.
It was a battlefield—one without weapons, but filled with malice, jealousy, and power plays.
He didn’t want to bring his young daughter into such a place.
“Oh, co on.”
Leonia, on the other hand, was thoroughly disappointed with the two adults.
She exaggerated her gestures, shrugging her shoulders and raising her hands in disbelief.
“I’m a Voreoti.”
She snorted arrogantly and folded her arms, crossing her legs with flair.
Unfortunately, her legs weren’t quite long enough yet, and they slipped down with a little shuffle.
Lupe had to bite down on his lip to keep from laughing.
“When soone picks a fight, you’ve got to answer.”
Right?
She grinned and looked up at Ferio behind her.
Ferio still didn’t look pleased.
“Who could stop your stubbornness?”
But in the end, he let out a quiet smirk.
“...It is, after all, an occasion to introduce my successor. That much is fitting.”
“Great! No need to arrange so formal debut, then!”
“Seriously, where do you get that cheek from?”
Feeling more at ease, Ferio gently pinched Leonia’s cheek.
***
News that Leonia would be attending the upcoming banquet spread like wildfire.
The reactions split into two clear camps.
“My goodness, this is just cruel.”
“She’s still just a young girl, no matter what.”
One side believed the Imperial family had gone too far.
“I an, let’s be honest—everyone’s curious.”
“They say she looks just like the Duke, don’t they?”
The other side was secretly excited.
With things playing out like this, the banquet itself began drawing enormous attention.
It was already significant as the first major event since the late emperor’s passing—but now, it had beco the first official appearance of the Duke’s rumored daughter.
And to prepare for that day, Abipher arrived at the Duke’s estate.
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