The Obsessive Male Lead Is Obsessed With Me! - Chapter 142

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

Episode 142

“This is… This is truly unbelievable.”

“Does His Holiness the Pope know about this? If all of this is true, His Holiness might raise objections to the Emperor’s enthronement. No, he should in this situation.”

The nobles murmured and unified their opinions.

“When the meeting time comes, His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Former Empress will come. Let’s request them to clarify the truth.”

A short while later. The meeting time arrived. However, neither the Emperor nor the Former Empress came.

“Why are they late…?”

“Let’s wait a bit more. His Majesty the Emperor must be unwell again.”

And a considerable amount of time passed. When the nobles were even suspecting that the two might have fled, the Former Empress entered. She alone.

“Sorry for being late. Let’s start the government meeting right away.”

“Your Majesty the Former Empress. Isn’t His Majesty the Emperor coming?”

“The Emperor is unwell and cannot attend today either.”

Today ‘either’.

At those words, sighs flowed from the nobles’ mouths. How many times was this absence now?

Honestly, even when he attended, all he did was sit there with a pale face, but still, there was a big difference between the Emperor being present and absent.

‘Wasn’t it because they thought this would happen that they believed he couldn’t sit on the throne in the first place?’

If he didn’t have the ability to lead the country, he should have given up the throne. If this was how it would be, why did they push Lionel out?

The nobles looked at each other and nodded. Without Duke Keller’s faction who would side with the Emperor along with the Former Empress, they were determined to hear an explanation today.

But then.

“Though it’s a bit sudden, there’s something I’d like to raise as the first agenda item.”

The Former Empress opened her mouth with a very tired and weary face.

The nobles, having been preempted, hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“What agenda item do you mean?”

“I intend to reinvestigate Count Racal’s treason case that occurred 23 years ago.”

“Pardon?”

“No, there’s nothing to reinvestigate. I know the truth of that incident better than anyone.”

A bitter smile crossed the Former Empress’s lips. It was a smile resembling self-mockery.

“Though much time has passed, I intend to reveal the truth of that incident even now.”

“What exactly are you trying to say? Coming out of nowhere with Count Racal’s treason case at this point.”

“Rather, there are things you should say first…”

“That rebellion back then was fabricated by the Former Emperor.”

“Pardon?”

“I too was a victim of that rebellion. Of course, I can’t say I was a greater victim than those who were unjustly executed… Now that the Former Emperor is dead, I intend to correct the wrongs of that time.”

“No, no. This is too sudden.”

“It was a whole 23 years ago. With such a long time having passed, how can you call it sudden?”

It was sudden precisely because it was 23 years ago.

A fabricated rebellion. Dozens of people died because of it, and what kind of situation was this with no prior indication?

Those who died in that rebellion were friends of the nobles present here, acquaintances, and distant relatives.

As if seeing or not seeing several nobles fall into confusion and most nobles being flustered, the Former Empress only spoke what she wanted to say.

“I intend to compensate those who suffered damage from that incident even now. And as part of that, first, I want to restore Count and Countess Racal’s titles and return their names to the nobility registry.”

Good heavens, to restore the count and countess who were executed as the main culprits of the rebellion!

Whether they were truly falsely accused or not, couldn’t she imagine the repercussions this would bring?

‘…No, no. It might be a decision made because she knows.’

What benefit would the Former Empress gain at this point from restoring Count and Countess Racal? The nobles fell into a headache-inducing dilemma.

* * *

[Why did Count Racal have to become a traitor? The truth of the fabricated rebellion! The mastermind was the Former Emperor!]

A sensational title that could only be seen in gossip magazines.

However, the content was not a believe-it-or-not rumor. It was a matter officially recognized and announced by the Imperial Family.

“Really? Her Majesty the Former Empress taking poison wasn’t Count Racal’s doing but His Majesty the Former Emperor’s self-directed drama? Why on earth?”

“Countess Racal was originally His Majesty the Former Emperor’s lover. But Countess Racal abandoned His Majesty and married Count Racal…”

“So, he did such an unbelievable thing out of jealousy?”

“Honestly, I thought it was strange! Count Racal had no reason whatsoever to commit rebellion back then! And if he was really going to commit rebellion, he would have poisoned the Former Emperor, not Her Majesty the Former Empress!”

“But why is something from 23 years ago being revealed now?”

“While organizing His Majesty the Former Emperor’s achievements, they also learned of his shameful deeds? I don’t really know either.”

“Not only Count and Countess Racal, but Her Majesty the Former Empress was truly pitiful too.”

“That’s right. To think the person who poisoned her was her husband. How heartbroken she must be.”

In private, people would naturally criticize His Majesty the Emperor, and moreover, that Emperor was already dead.

There were even sufficient reasons for criticism. Whenever people gathered, they cursed the Former Emperor and felt sorry for the Former Empress.

In fact, the biggest victims of the fabricated rebellion were Count and Countess Racal, but they were already dead.

“They say they’ll compensate those who suffered from the false rebellion…”

“Come to think of it, didn’t Count and Countess Racal have a young daughter?”

“Didn’t you hear? That daughter also died in exile. That was a long time ago too.”

“Then who receives the compensation the Imperial Palace is giving?”

“I heard that people claiming to be distant relatives of those victims are flocking to the Imperial Palace.”

Someone was told not to lie and was driven away, while someone else received tremendous compensation.

To see the person who was severely punished and driven away, and to see the person who received great rewards, people would loiter around the drawbridge of the Imperial Palace and then gossip about what they saw.

With new topics pouring out daily, the story of the Empress’s oracle gradually faded from people’s minds.

Up to this point, it was according to someone’s intention, but…

“Hey, hey. Did you hear that story by any chance?”

“What story?”

“You know, they said Her Majesty the Former Empress took poison because of that false rebellion.”

“That’s right. What about it?”

“But back then, Her Majesty the Former Empress was pregnant with His Majesty the Emperor. So that poison affected His Majesty the Emperor…”

This was a story that was somewhat known to the outside world. The fact that the Former Empress took poison was announced along with the rebellion news, and the premature birth of the child she was pregnant with could be easily inferred just by looking at the timing.

Actually, up to this point, it didn’t matter how much people talked about it. Rather, if they pitied the Former Empress and the Emperor, and that sympathy led to public sentiment, it could be beneficial.

But from where exactly did the word leak? A story that should never be known to the outside world was leaked.

“His Majesty the Emperor has become unable to bear children.”

This rumor quickly turned the entire capital upside down. Except for ignorant young children, everyone—men and women, commoners and nobles—would bring up that story whenever they gathered.

“Does that make sense? His Majesty the Emperor is… ahem, that!”

“Then what about Her Majesty the Empress’s oracle? About giving birth to a sage ruler who will remain in history?”

“Come to think of it… didn’t they say the owner of the oracle was someone else?”

“Ah! Wait, then could it be…”

“His Highness the Second Prince also has an oracle.”

[He will sit on the supreme throne regardless of his own will.]

“Right, now I understand! As long as His Majesty the current Emperor cannot produce an heir, only His Highness the Second Prince remains among the Imperial Family!”

“Ah! So he will ascend to the throne regardless of his own will. Because there’s no other choice!”

While rumors spread among people that Cecilia was definitely the owner of the oracle about giving birth to a sage ruler.

The Pope quietly headed to the Imperial Palace without being noticed by others. It was for a private audience with the Emperor.

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