Celebrity Lady - Chapter 69

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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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Celebrity Lady
Episode 69
[Yes. You.]
“I’m doing well. I really like it here. You know how I said before that I’d love a house outside the Imperial Territory? The mountains are beautiful, the water is clean, the air is fresh—it’s exactly the kind of place I’d always hoped for.”
[I’m glad.]
“Um… by the way, are you drinking?”
[Not anymore. I don’t even think about it now.]
“Good. What about smoking?”
[I don’t. You threw it all away anyway.]
“You could always get more if you wanted.”
[Why do you have so little faith in me?]
“Ha. Just teasing. I believe you……”
[…….]
The conversation faltered for a moment. That strange, unsettled feeling beneath my chest remained.
As I fidgeted with my toes, I felt Wisht beside me stifle a laugh.
“It’s getting cold. Wrap this up soon and head inside.”
He tapped my shoulder lightly and withdrew.
“……I didn’t know such a useful Spirit existed. I really should thank the Crown Prince later. Hearing that he was more worried about you than about me……”
[Don’t praise the Crown Prince to me.]
“Huh? Is something between the two of you?”
[No. I just don’t like it.]
“Come on. The Crown Prince is genuinely a good person.”
[…….]
What? I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel his displeasure in the silence.
I leaned lightly against a wooden pillar and sat down.
“Actually… to be honest, once I arrived I’ve been so busy with everything that I haven’t really thought about you much.”
[…….]
“But hearing your voice after so long… I think I’ve been missing you.”
[If you’re missing me, then you’re missing me. What’s this ‘I think I’ve been missing’ nonsense?]
“You’re right. I’ve been missing you.”
[…….]
After a brief silence, Father spoke.
[Me too.]
So that strange feeling I’d been carrying all this time was familial love. It was longing.
Even when I was Juliet Karerina, I’d felt something like it before—I could be certain of that.
With a schedule that left almost no room to breathe, I hadn’t seen Mother’s face in over a year. Whenever I managed a call after so long, I’d weep.
“It’s strange……”
[What is.]
I’ve absorbed Rubetria’s memories and emotions in full, but I’m still Juliet.
Unmistakably a different person who lived a different life in a different world.
And yet… to feel this way toward someone I’ve known less than a year, practically a stranger to me……”
“I’ve been missing you, Father.”
[……? Of course you should miss me. Why would that be strange?]
“They said visits will be possible starting next week. Will you come? It must still be hard for you to go out, isn’t it?”
[I’ll come. Don’t worry.]
“Mm. Yes. I’ll be waiting.”
[Good.]
“I’ll call again soon.”
[Answer right away if I call first.]
“Ha, all right.”
[Sleep well. Don’t skip meals.]
“……Yes.”
The call ended with that characteristically curt goodbye, yet I felt a sadness settle over me and couldn’t bring myself to leave right away.
I’d thought of it as an Isolated Form arrangement—practically next door, like a trip I could take casually—but……
A year of being apart like this, unable to see Father’s face, suddenly felt very long indeed.
* * *
Imperial Palace.
The moment the Nobility council adjourned, Lark received a summons from the Emperor.
When he arrived, the Empress was present as well. It seemed they were having tea time; half-full teacups sat between them.
“Mother, you’re here too.”
“Yes, Crown Prince. Your father says he has something urgent to discuss.”
The Empress, who had barely eaten or drunk anything for nearly a month due to the scandal caused by her own daughter Lizbeth, now showed a complexion that was at least somewhat improved.
“Let’s talk. I’ll step out of the way.”
“Do try to relax that expression, Empress.”
“That’s my choice, Your Majesty.”
The Empress replied tersely, turning to the Emperor. As she was about to leave, she placed a hand on Lark’s shoulder and spoke quietly.
“That Marriage Law amendment you drafted—I think it’s genuinely good. No matter what your father says, push back and insist on it.”
“……I’ll do my best.”
Lark gave a small smile in reply.
Once the Empress had left, the Emperor gestured toward a document folder on the table.
“Let me hear what you’re thinking.”
It was the record of today’s Nobility council, submitted by the court recorder. The imperial marriage proposal that Lark had put forth would surely have been reported.
“This incident with Lizbeth has surely caused you to feel something, Your Majesty. The struggle over the Imperial Throne within the Imperial Family has become excessive, and the animosity between blood siblings is severe.”
“And so? What does that have to do with your proposal? You want to abolish the Emperor’s system of multiple consorts?”
“The number of imperial relatives with succession rights is excessive. To end a succession struggle where they have no choice but to shed blood, we must apply the Monogamy law to the Emperor himself—”
“To reduce the headcount of imperial relatives?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand. You’re no fool, yet you say this. Is there another reason?”
“…….”
“Producing as many imperial relatives as possible is the Emperor’s duty and the will of our ancestors. What do you think is the greatest reason we can govern the empire with such stability?”
“Spirits, Your Majesty.”
“Right. There are many Spirits, but you know better than anyone that not all Spirits are equal.”
“…….”
“Without a Contractor of a High-Level Spirit, one can never establish imperial dignity as an Emperor, nor maintain the power of the imperial household.”
Countless imperial relatives. And far more Spirits than their number—so many we cannot even count them all.
But High-Level Spirits are rare. Every Emperor in the history of the Decard Empire has been a Contractor of a High-Level Spirit.
“Surely our ancestors were aware of the problem of succession struggles. Yet they had no choice but to produce as many imperial relatives as possible. Do you truly not know why?”
He knew. After a lifetime as a member of the Imperial Family, Lark could not fail to understand.
A single consort produces relatively few children. Among them, the probability of a High-Level Contractor emerging is slim.
That was why Emperors of the Decard Empire took at least five consorts and produced as many children as possible.
“I understand.”
“Then why?”
“If I may speak truthfully, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor stiffened at that unfamiliar form of address—one Lark had not used since early childhood.
“The reason is deeply personal, and I apologize for it, but taking five consorts is… inconvenient.”
The Emperor’s eyes widened.
“What did you say?”
“Taking five consorts—”
“No, wait.”
The Emperor rose abruptly and stepped closer to Lark. He looked genuinely shocked.
“You are destined to become this empire’s leader. What have I taught you your entire life?”
“……To live a life of sacrifice for the empire, Your Majesty.”
“Exactly. You were born to be Emperor, and you have a duty to give yourself to the empire. Personal reasons? Individual inconvenience? These have no place in the virtues of a true leader.”
“Didn’t you yourself, during your time as heir, once request a Marriage Law amendment?”
“That was foolishness from my youth.”
The Emperor cut off the conversation coldly, and Lark spoke with regret in his voice.
“In the end, you took multiple consorts and clashed with Mother……”
“Lark.”
The Emperor gripped Lark’s shoulders.
“In this incident with Lizbeth, the Diolus princess became entangled. Hearing that you were passionate about her commutation, I thought—just as I always knew you would be—that it was a worthy choice on your part.”
“…….”
“At this juncture, there is no better match for you than that family’s daughter. I understood, and even forgave, why you had been delaying your marriage.”
“I didn’t help the princess out of any ulterior motive. I simply hoped that an innocent person would not suffer an unjust verdict.”
The Emperor’s expression hardened completely.
“Is this truly what comes from the mouth of the Crown Prince I knew?”
“…….”
“Listen well. You are the most perfect of my children. You were born perfect, and you must remain perfect until the day you close your eyes in death. I cannot even imagine seeing another of my children take my place.”
Born perfect, and you must remain perfect until the day you close your eyes in death.
From childhood too distant to remember, these were the words Lark had heard from the Emperor—words that had brainwashed him like an incantation.
“I saw you born from the consort I love most, keener than any other, never once defying my words.”
“…….”
“And remarkably, you obtained Randian. Every Emperor throughout history who earned a place in the chronicles as a virtuous ruler was a Contractor of Randian, the Spirit of the Earth.”
“…….”
“I had no choice but to believe you were the perfect Emperor chosen by heaven itself.”
“I……”
Lark’s lips closed before he could speak. The Emperor’s grip on his shoulders tightened with force.
“I beg you, do not disappoint me. Live your entire life as a perfect leader, reigning and sacrificing yourself—for me, and for this empire you love.”
“Father, I—”
“Your Majesty.”
The Emperor corrected the form of address with a sharp voice. Lark stiffened.
The Emperor’s face, as always, was wrapped in a compulsion that bordered on madness.
Lark lowered his head and answered.
“……Yes, Your Majesty.”

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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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