A Blend of Romance and Fantasy - Chapter 103

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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103.
Beneath a thousand chandeliers in the Reception Hall, Emperor Yukal burned with rage for the first time in ages.
Though he had lost his power, he remained the Emperor of the Great Empire.
Yet here was a princess from a petty kingdom—barely one-hundredth of Blake’s territory—demanding a public apology from him.
“…Are you truly asking the Emperor to apologize before all the nobility?”
Emperor Yukal shifted his gaze toward Leonard Blake.
He was far more furious with his son for allowing this princess to be so insolent than with the princess herself.
I am the Emperor. We forged an alliance where I would make you Emperor. Yet you dare allow your wife to insult me?
His eyes blazed with cold fury as they fixed upon Leonard Blake.
“What’s there to apologize for?”
A clear, melodious voice recaptured the Emperor’s attention.
“You insulted me before all the nobility, calling me the mastermind behind the Yeom-mun-seol.”
Charlotte stepped forward, blocking Leonard Blake’s path, her gaze steady and unwavering.
Emperor Yukal let out a derisive laugh.
“Isn’t it the truth?”
“Do you have proof?”
“The Duke’s departure toward the Holy Knight Order is that proof.”
“That is mere suspicion, not direct evidence. And ‘seol’ means rumor, does it not?”
Her words were precise, and for a moment, he found himself at a loss for a rebuttal.
At his silence, Charlotte smiled faintly.
“How amusing—to think the Emperor of the Great Empire would be swayed by mere gossip.”
“…Suspicion is also a form of evidence. There must be something troubling him if he departed.”
“That was merely the Duke’s consideration to prevent further scandal befalling Sincester and Blake.”
Charlotte bowed her head quietly.
“But surely that is not something Your Majesty should point out? Rather, as one of the same ilk, you should have covered for him.”
“…!!”
In that instant, the air in the Reception Hall rippled like waves.
For she had alluded to the countless rumors that had plagued Emperor Yukal himself.
“Such insolence!! How dare you mock the Emperor twice over!”
“If I am insolent, then Your Majesty is discourteous!”
Even in the heavy silence, Charlotte raised her voice.
“No—the reason I am insolent is because Your Majesty was discourteous first. I was never taught to smile before those who despise me!”
“Your Highness!”
“Why? Is it forbidden for a consort to contradict the Emperor?”
As Emperor Yukal faltered, her bold gaze turned toward the Empress.
“You have always told me I am the nation’s mother, have you not?”
“W-well, yes.”
Confronted with this sharp side of her for the first time, the Empress was taken aback.
“Yet Your Majesty insulted your son’s wife and brought shame upon others. Even beasts protect their young—how much more should a nation’s mother?”
“That was to teach the consort a lesson!”
The Empress’s voice pierced upward sharply.
“How is teaching my daughter-in-law a disgrace?”
“It is a public humiliation!”
“Only by suffering shame before others will she learn not to repeat such behavior.”
“Even when the facts are uncertain?”
“It is merely a reminder to mind one’s conduct!”
The harsh words fell like cold water upon the Reception Hall, and silence descended.
The Empress glanced at Leonard Blake with an air of triumph.
“Ah—perhaps, being the Sixth Prince’s Consort, you are unfamiliar with such propriety?”
“…!”
“After all, your station is lowly. Birds of a feather flock together.”
Her added words were barely audible, yet they reached Charlotte’s ears with crystalline clarity.
As the Emperor cleared his throat, the Empress smiled faintly.
“No.”
Then Charlotte spoke quietly, almost to herself.
“I have never learned such propriety, nor do I wish to.”
Charlotte straightened her posture with dignity.
“Your Majesties, it seems you wish for me to bow. I have no intention of doing so. In Sincester, I was taught differently than you.”
The Emperor’s expression twisted.
Yet Charlotte advanced calmly, one step closer.
“One must not speak carelessly of uncertain matters.
Before insulting another, one must examine oneself.
To diminish others by their station is a shameful act.”
Each word resonated throughout the Reception Hall.
“Furthermore, regardless of who the other person is, one does not yield to accusations of wrongs one has not committed.”
Charlotte then pointed her finger at the Emperor’s crown.
“A person cannot choose their parents at birth. Perhaps that crown, too, is something one might wear from the moment of birth.”
“Nonsense! This was seized through my own efforts!”
“Then.”
Charlotte cut off the Emperor’s words sharply.
“Should you not understand its weight? If you seized it, then all the more must you comprehend your duty!”
“…!”
“Your Majesties, I dare ask.”
The moment the Emperor stepped back, Charlotte delivered her final words.
“Is that imperial crown meant to oppress and humiliate those beneath you, or to embrace and protect them?”
“….”
After that, neither the Emperor nor the Empress spoke.
The silence that followed was as heavy as a tomb.
And far away, William, who had witnessed this entire scene, thought to himself.
‘Are those words truly sincere, coming from that Princess?’
Anyone can speak grandly about anything they wish.
Perhaps she had chosen her words carefully in that moment, all to humiliate the Emperor.
But if her words were sincere.
And if she truly intended to realize them, then I was willing to offer her my unwavering loyalty.
Because those words represented the very foundation of the ideal empire I had always dreamed of.
Blake—an empire flowing with the greedy blood of the Dragon Clan.
Here, the strong were justice itself, and thus conflict never ceased.
But could those who tore at each other over the throne truly be called worthy rulers?
Throughout history, it was empires driven by peace, stability, and love for their people that seized dominion over the continent.
I stood here now for a ruler who would truly love the empire.
For a ruler who could end the endless cycle of murder that had plagued our history.
I found myself instinctively looking toward the master I had chosen.
‘What would the Sixth Prince’s reaction be…?’
He approached Charlotte and whispered something to her, then suddenly seized her wrist.
And immediately turned to leave.
Without so much as a bow to the Emperor and Empress, the two of them departed the Reception Hall.
Between the parting crowd like a Red Sea, I could see the two of them smiling softly, and I found myself at a loss for words.
* * *
Our laughter echoed through the corridor leading from the Imperial Palace to the bedroom.
I still remembered what he had said.
-Let’s leave quickly, like a youth drama.
The moment Leonard Blake seized my wrist, the Emperor’s expression—his mouth agape—remained vivid in my memory.
I laughed so hard that I clutched my aching stomach.
“Leonard Blake, haven’t you been watching too many dramas?”
“Since it’s already beyond repair, I wished both of them would have collapsed, clutching the back of their necks.”
But that didn’t happen.
Leonard Blake still held my wrist. When I stared at it, he finally released his grip.
“So what now? Your alliance with the Emperor seems completely ruined.”
“An ally who doesn’t respect my marriage partner isn’t worth keeping. It’s better to sever such ties.”
“But can we win the First Succession Trial? The Emperor is one of the judges, after all.”
At my question, Leonard Blake’s eyes widened.
“You’re asking that now, after we’ve already burned all our bridges? I really did choose my ally poorly.”
For someone speaking so coldly, he was still smiling, so I couldn’t help but laugh again.
When our laughter finally subsided, he spoke calmly.
“If you hadn’t done it, I would have. Backing down in that situation would have been far more foolish.”
….
“The fortunate thing is that we still have the Second and Third Trials. If we lose the first, we can win the second.”
Leonard Blake squeezed my hand tightly. The warmth seeping between our fingers was comforting.
That was when it happened.
“That was a wise decision, Your Highness.”
I heard William Lawrence’s voice. It had been such a long time.
“Lord Lawrence?”
“You may simply call me William.”
He bowed his head to me, then smiled softly.
“If what you said just now spreads among the handmaidens and knights, His Highness’s favorability among the Empire’s people will surely rise.”
“What I said just now?”
“A crown exists to protect those beneath it.”
My face grew warm as those words flowed from William’s lips.
“I merely spoke on impulse….”
“Nevertheless, the impact will be considerable. Not only the courage to stand firm against both the Empress and the Emperor, but also——”
William gazed at the handmaidens standing in a line behind me.
“The most important thing in the Empire is neither the previous Emperor nor the Aristocratic Elders. It is the people of the Empire. After all, without the people, there is no Empire.”
“…Is this something like approval ratings?”
“Pardon?”
Since I had made such a cringeworthy remark, William looked at me with a peculiar expression.
I laughed awkwardly.
“…It was a joke. But what truly matters is demonstrating that your words are not mere words alone, wouldn’t you agree?”
In my past life, I had despised politicians who made grand campaign promises and never kept them.
“A most wise observation.”
With William smiling once more, I turned away.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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