Invitation (3)

“Could you not forgive your fiancée?”

“Father! What fool would……. I lacked generosity.”

Nicolas barely managed to stop the words he had been spewing recklessly and pretended to be a modest noble.

“She was not even a wife who had committed adultery, and yet you killed your fiancée for that?”

“I didn’t kill her! I did imprison her, but…….”

“If you imprisoned her and left her to starve to death, then you killed her, Nicolas. Judge, thank you for accompanying us from the Prayer House to Tessen. In proving Connie Rens’s accusation against Nicolas Relling for the murder of Lady Lily, I shall cooperate to the fullest in the name of House Relling.”

“Father!”

“Take the criminal away now. I strip Nicolas Pierre Relling of the authority of heir, and I expel Nicolas Relling from House Relling. He is no longer Relling’s heir, so question him at your ease.”

The Marquess of Relling, who had been leaning back in his chair with the drained gestures of an aged man, continued in a calm tone.

“My lord!”

“My lord, you cannot do this!”

“If our late mother knew how sad you made her by abandoning Nicolas, she would be heartbroken! We may not have received the name Relling, but we have been loyal to Relling all our lives!”

The three Zack siblings rushed forward and dropped to their knees before the marquess, who was about to lean loosely back in his chair again.

Interrogators from the court stood behind and at both sides of Nicolas Relling. At the interrogator’s request, Roderick locked heavy handcuffs around Nicolas’s wrists.

“So, you are Debi’s children. You say you never received the name Relling. When you came to Relling, I told you this, didn’t I?”

Connie mouthed her father’s words ahead of him.

‘Relling values fidelity.’

The marquess, aged and weary, continued slowly. It was a day when he was speaking and exerting himself far too much for his strength.

“Relling values fidelity. If you had shown fidelity to Relling, you would gladly have been included within the name of Relling. But what fidelity did you show to Relling?”

“W, we spent more time in Relling than Connie Rens did, so our affection runs deeper…….”

“You could not strut among the proud nobles of the imperial capital, so you must have liked Relling, where you could throw your weight around by using Nicolas’s prestige as you pleased. Do you know this? The assets of Relling that were lost because of your clumsy conduct are in the hands of the Rens family.”

Though the marquess was rigid and harsh with Nicolas, still showing him a family’s acknowledgment, he remained cold toward the three Zack siblings.

“P, please give us one more…….”

“I have looked after you long enough. Now go beg for your own living. Before Relling is left with nothing but an emptier shell than this, I will summon a new heir.”

The marquess looked up at Connie with a gaze drained of strength. Sorrow and grief flowed across his face.

“You should go back inside now, Father.”

Connie said this as she stepped behind the wheeled chair.

“Connie!”

“Baroness of Rens!”

“We were once family who lived under the same roof…….”

Realizing that their last hope was Connie, the three Zack siblings instantly changed their attitude. Connie looked sickened by the sight of them.

“The marquess is tired, so take good care of him, Connie. Hand over the Zack family, who caused a disturbance in Tessen, to the nearest Prayer House court.”

“There is also the option of summary execution, Your Highness.”

“One should show mercy, Count Berman. Isn’t that right, Ray?”

Though they were petty villains, Alicia drew away from the three Zack siblings, who had tormented Connie for a long time, and clasped hands with Reichardt.

“Show mercy, Roderick.”

Reichardt carefully held Alicia’s hand as he watched Connie and Henrik tending to the Marquess of Relling. Holding Alicia’s hand as they headed toward Tech House, Reichardt cast another worried glance in Connie’s direction.

“Rei? What is it.”

“The Marquess of Relling told Connie that he had already known forty years ago that the true heir of Relling was Connie. But the marquess said he wanted the child he loved to live a peaceful daily life rather than suffer while ruling the estate. He feared that if she governed the territory, the day would surely come when she would have to make pitiless and cold-hearted choices, and that her soul would be wounded.”

Reichardt was especially wary of secretly overhearing other people’s private conversations and telling Alicia about them. Alicia felt she understood why a man like that was choosing to tell her this now.

“Even if it is an excuse to justify the marquess’s mistaken choice, it will still be a great comfort to Connie.”

“Connie said she was fine because she knew the marquess had excluded her from the succession because she was a radical. She also said not to worry, because she had several excellent teachers to guide her in ruling an estate.”

Without realizing it, Alicia pointed at herself and Reichardt with her fingertips. Neither of them seemed quite like ordinary lords. Especially the man holding her hand had somewhat tyrannical tendencies.

“She may be closer to Rei than to me.”

Tilting her head, Alicia recalled Connie’s violence from earlier and reached her conclusion.

“Will Lady Rose be sent back to the Combat family?”

“Why would I send my secretary, who works hard from dawn to night, back to that rotten house?”

Reichardt looked at Alicia with concern as she voiced her honest feelings without concealment.

“Will the Combat family really continue to stay quiet? They are powerful nobles of the imperial capital.”

Reichardt had been worried about Alicia keeping close someone from the Combat family, who had sent assassins after her, but it seemed that was not what he ought to be worrying about.

“Exactly. Just imagine how infuriated Count Combat must be, seeing a great noble lady from the imperial capital, who used to strut about there, serving as my secretary. There is no need to send family back to someone who does not value family.”

Alicia smiled brightly and led Reichardt onward.

By the time the Emperor and Empress arrived in Tessen, everything had already ended.

The Emperor belatedly learned that the Baroness of Rens, a long-serving vassal of Tessen, had become the heir to the Marquess of Relling’s house, and realized that once again something immensely beneficial to Tessen had happened.

His suspicions had been correct after all. In the midst of events highly advantageous to Tessen unfolding, the Grand Duchess of Tessen’s scheme must have secured tremendous gains for Tessen.

But the indignant Emperor soon forgot his intense emotions.

“Your Majesty!”

A child with ash-blond hair and shining violet eyes and delicately defined features ran toward the Emperor with a bright smile.

“Theodor!”

The Emperor, who had been about to weigh what political problem it posed for an old vassal of Tessen to become the heir to Relling, an important position in the Rune Empire, bent his knees without realizing it to meet the child’s gaze.

Flump!

The small body of the running Theodor leaped into the Emperor’s arms. The Emperor gathered the child up and spun him round and round.

“Kyaaah. I’m dizzy!”

Both Theodor spinning in the Emperor’s arms and the Emperor burst into loud laughter. Eleanor watched the sight with pleased eyes.

“Didn’t you miss your uncle, Theodor? Tessen is too cold, isn’t it? Shall we go with your uncle to Baden? I ought to steal our Theodor away from Tessen!”

The Emperor rubbed his cheek affectionately against the head and shoulder of the child he held in his arms without reserve.

“No. Theodor belongs to Tessen. Theodor missed Your Majesty too. And Her Majesty the Empress, and my older brothers and older sister too!”

Theodor answered with a motion as though he might wriggle out of the Emperor’s arms, then soon whispered words welcoming the Emperor, who had come all the way to far-off Tessen. Admiration seemed to drip from the Emperor’s eyes as he looked at the child.

Unlike his stiff youngest brother, who was like a noble ornament, the Emperor delighted in the child’s behavior as he whispered lovely things. The way he counted off the members of the imperial family one by one on his fingers was also so adorable and lovely.

If Tessen had not become a grand duchy, the Emperor would already have bestowed several of his lands and titles upon the Grand Prince of Tessen.

“Theodor, you’ve grown so much since I last saw you. How can you already be this clever? Your uncle did well to come all the way to Tessen. Thank you for inviting your uncle to Tessen, Theodor.”

The Emperor repeatedly patted his admirable nephew’s tiny shoulders, showing his affection.

“Theodor, His Majesty must be tired from the long journey, so let’s let him rest.”

“Yes!”

At Reichardt’s words, Theodor gave the Emperor’s hand a little shake and hurried back to his father’s side.

“You have come, Your Majesty. We are deeply moved that you came all the way to distant Tessen. We have prepared Lilizet Villa.”

Reichardt made it clear that he intended to send the Emperor and his delegation to Lilizet Villa.

“Reichardt.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor and Reichardt exchanged looks while wearing formal smiles.

“In this vast Tessen Castle, is there nowhere for me and the imperial family to stay? The thought of going back and forth to Lilizet Villa already makes me regret that I’ll have less time to see Theodor.”

The Emperor, who had been pretending familiarity by nudging Reichardt’s arm, soon noticed Alicia.

“…….”

The Grand Duchess of Tessen was wearing a painted smile, softly radiating her distinctive delicate impression.

“Grand Duchess, does it not seem that I have much to say to you?”

The Emperor addressed Alicia with feigned familiarity.

“We have prepared the Central Tower and the Child Tower for the imperial family. They are also close to Theodor’s quarters, Your Majesty. Their Highnesses the two princes and Her Highness the princess will be staying there as well, I presume?”

Alicia smiled courteously as she informed him that she had prepared as the imperial family’s residence the place the Emperor had taken notice of. Unlike his merely steadfast younger brother, the Emperor stared at the Grand Duchess of Tessen, who was socially adept and therefore hard to read, then smiled brightly in return.

“The Grand Duchess truly has excellent judgment.”

“Your praise is more than I deserve. His Highness the Grand Duke, I, and Theodor are planning to go to Baden in the coming spring.”

The Emperor quietly turned to look at Alicia, who was smoothly saying exactly what he wanted to hear before they had even taken three steps.

“The Grand Duchess would also take the post of Palace Count…….”

“I refuse. I shall show you the room prepared for your stay in the Central Tower. This way, please.”

Alicia cut him off as sharply as a blade, linked arms with the Empress, and strode away.

“When will you be returning to the imperial capital, Your Majesty?”

“I only just arrived, Reichardt.”

“Return to Baden at once. If the Emperor remains too close to the border, it is troublesome to guard Tessen’s frontier. Will you be going to Baden tomorrow?”

Reichardt tried to send the newly arrived Emperor straight back to Baden. The Emperor found it absurd, but stood firm. The Emperor’s delegation would remain here until the last day of the Grand Duchess of Tessen’s banquet.

Tessen Castle, already abuzz with anticipation for the banquet, grew even noisier with the visit of the Emperor’s delegation.

“Father, can Theodor sleep in my brothers’ room with them tonight?”

Theodor, fidgeting while holding Reichardt’s hand, whispered in a lowered voice.

“When your brothers come, ask Mother.”

Looking into the pure eyes, Reichardt answered as he had promised Alicia.

“Mm, okay…….”

Theodor nodded with a disappointed look and gazed at Alicia’s back as she walked far ahead.

Reichardt suddenly suspected that the owner of the little hand clasping his might somehow have asked him a difficult question on purpose. But when he saw the smiling face turned toward him, he soon discarded the suspicion and smiled back.

Tessen’s first banquet was beginning with great commotion.