The Wind Calms the Fire - Chapter 56

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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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Chapter 56
The Emperor had converted the Hall of Wisdom into a lavish private chamber to house his concubines.
The doctrine of Teira, the state religion of the Empire, mandated strict monogamy.
The hall stood as a monument to the Emperor’s excess and hypocrisy.
For this reason, though every noble knew of its existence, they never spoke of it.
“That man is a shameless lecher. Never give him an opening.”
Had she not heeded Nella’s counsel, she would have interpreted the Emperor’s words to “come to me” as goodwill.
Rhea exhaled slowly, feeling like someone who had stepped inches from a trap.
* * *
In the carriage leaving the Imperial Palace, Carrion sat lost in thought, his brow furrowed.
‘If only the First Prince had refrained from such foolishness.’
Yesterday, when he’d found her, she was in the First Prince’s private chamber.
Beyond his official residence, the Separate Palace, a prince could maintain a separate private space for his personal use.
It was typically used to indulge private hobbies or as a place for social gathering.
Being an intimate space, no one was permitted to enter without authorization.
That was why yesterday Carrion, before the First Prince could question his trespassing, had acted like an unthinking brute charging in blindly, and quickly spirited her away.
He’d deliberately chosen a crowded corridor to lead her to the Yingbin Corridor.
With so many eyes watching, the First Prince would not dare make a reckless move.
He’d thought the matter contained, but the Emperor had emerged as an unexpected variable.
He never anticipated the Emperor would involve himself in such a trivial affair.
He’d underestimated the Emperor’s arbitrary and caustic nature.
‘What am I to do?’
She and the rest of the Zephyros delegation were as good as isolated within the palace walls.
The kingdom’s status had not yet been decided.
Once officially recognized as a tributary state, the kingdom’s people would fall under imperial law, but for now they had only the Emperor’s mercy to rely upon.
He dreaded what scheme the First Prince might attempt next, what whim the Emperor might entertain.
Carrion found himself regretting the years when he’d shown no interest in society or cultivating connections.
How was he to help her when he was barred from entering the palace?
As he brooded over this predicament, by the time the carriage arrived at the residence, a name came to mind.
He went at once to meet Veronica Velua, who had been staying at his private estate for some time, tutoring the princess.
They’d exchanged only a brief greeting the day Veronica arrived, and had scarcely encountered each other since.
Veronica listened in silence as Carrion explained what had transpired in the palace.
“I ask your aid, Veronica.”
Veronica set down her teacup with an elegant hand.
“I am a woman retired from high society. Perhaps you should seek a more suitable candidate.”
“I know this is a burdensome request to lay upon one who has left the center of scandal to enjoy a quiet afternoon. Yet I have no other soul to turn to.”
“That a prince of the Empire should bow his head to someone like me suggests a grave lack of allies about him.”
“……I am aware.”
Watching him acquiesce without resistance, something flickered in Veronica’s eyes.
As one born illegitimate, denied recognition by royal blood, she had grown weary of the arrogance those of imperial blood displayed.
They never knew how to accept criticism from others.
She deliberately intensified her reproach, testing his reaction.
“Your Highness was reckless. The families had not discussed marriage, and the parties involved had reached no prior understanding. A proposal made this way is merely an insult to the other party. It is beneath contempt.”
“…….”
“Was there prior agreement between you?”
Carrion could not answer.
They had discussed marriage, but not through any meeting of hearts.
It was a sort of contract.
And this was a secret between them alone—one that could never be revealed under any circumstance to anyone.
“There must have been some reason for your impulsive conduct?”
“The princess is a beautiful woman.”
Veronica’s brow darkened.
She despised the phrase ‘love at first sight.’
She regarded it as a harbinger of ruin, two souls seeing only illusions of each other.
“Which made me fear I might follow my mother’s fate.”
Veronica fell silent.
During the time Nella was dragged to the Empire, Veronica had been actively engaged in high society.
According to the tales she’d heard, Nella was the only woman among those who bore a prince that had never desired the Emperor.
Veronica herself had endured an unwanted marriage, and so could sympathize, to some degree, with the wretchedness Nella must have felt.
The look in Veronica’s eyes as she regarded Carrion softened perceptibly.
“If Your Highness has made the marriage public, withdrawing now would destroy both your honor and the princess’s. People won’t dare touch you—they’ll only mock her.”
“I wouldn’t speak of something as significant as marriage on a whim.”
“So your resolve regarding this marriage is genuine, then.”
“Of course.”
‘But what does the princess herself want?’
If the princess were being forced into a marriage against her will, Veronica would have no wish to involve herself in it.
Yet watching them these past days, she hadn’t sensed a complete absence of feeling between them.
That they found time to meet alone together nearly every day struck her as distinctly suspicious.
“The princess of Zephyros is both beautiful and sharp-minded. Truly an exceptional student.”
Veronica had come to meet Rhea reluctantly, to settle an old debt tangled up in past connections.
She’d thought it would suffice to teach her adequately enough to avoid embarrassment.
But upon actually meeting her, curiosity had taken root.
Her station as a princess of the Zephyros Kingdom intrigued her, as did her bold ambition to dominate the empire’s high society.
After teaching her awhile, Veronica found herself charmed by how the princess absorbed each lesson perfectly.
She wanted to see how far this princess—determined enough to crack stone with an egg—could truly reach.
“Yet from what I understand, the princess is not someone who desires a quiet, humble life. The Fourth Prince, on the other hand, keeps people at a distance. You are poles apart. Unless one of you yields, your marriage will be unhappy.”
Tap, tap. Someone knocked from outside the door.
“Your Highness.”
It was Cedric’s voice.
He wouldn’t interrupt unless the matter were urgent.
“Come in.”
Cedric approached the sofa and reported.
“A messenger has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”
“What is it about?”
“The Emperor has sent an Imperial Gift. It seems you should examine it at once.”
“Understood. I’ll be right out.”
After Cedric departed, Carrion let out a short, hollow laugh.
First the sickness, then the cure—what was the psychology behind sending an Imperial Gift immediately after imposing house confinement?
Just as Veronica had said, Carrion kept people at a distance.
He had abandoned the capital, the center of power, choosing instead the quiet of the northeast.
Generous to call it indifference to authority; bluntly put, it was escape.
But circumstances had shifted.
The moment he brought the Zephyros Delegation before the Emperor, he had effectively declared war on all sides.
The Imperial Gift had driven the wedge deeper.
Now no one would believe the Fourth Prince harbored no interest in power.
Even after leaving the capital, rivals who now saw him as an enemy would pursue him relentlessly until they cut his life short.
He fled out of annoyance, not fear.
He looked toward Veronica as he spoke.
“I know I need to change. I’ll make the effort.”
Veronica’s lips curved upward in a smile.
“Good. Then let me take a hand in this.”
* * *
Several days passed.
Rhea and the rest of the Zephyros Delegation were treated with exceptional courtesy.
Yet as time wore on, Rhea grew increasingly anxious.
She hadn’t managed to see Carrion, nor had she heard so much as word of him.
She was desperately worried about his condition.
‘If they don’t make contact, his seizures will only worsen. What if the spirit goes out of control again?’
Rhea paced back and forth in her chamber.
“Your Highness.”
Penny knocked and entered.
“Someone else came looking for you. I turned them away as politely as I could.”
“Well done.”
“More and more people keep coming. Are you sure it’s all right not to see anyone?”
“…….”
As the high society season drew near, nobility had begun gathering in the capital.
News from the Zephyros Kingdom was more than enough to serve as the season’s opening sensation.
Gossip about the princess and the two princes spread widely, as did rumors that thanks to the Emperor’s favor, she was receiving the finest treatment as an honored guest at Yingbin Hall.
People were eager to meet the princess of Zephyros.
One by one, they began sending her invitations.
With the social season approaching, small gatherings were already taking place throughout the Imperial Palace.
‘Not now.’
Throwing herself into the heart of high society at this moment would invite considerable loss.
She had not yet mastered the rules of high society, and her information was scarce.
If she appeared insignificant at her debut, it would be difficult to change that impression later.
But she could not refuse invitations forever.
A princess from a small nation would only breed resentment if she carried herself too proudly.
‘First, I need to leave the Imperial Palace. To do that…….’
A knock came at the door from outside.
Without waiting for an answer, the door swung open and several people filed in.

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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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