# 97
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"Taylor is a loyal subject of the Imperial Household, so everything Taylor possesses is no different from His Imperial Majesty's. Therefore, Lil and the Terril River also belong to His Imperial Majesty."
Grace's eyes narrowed at his subservient attitude.
However, satisfied with his attitude, Jake nodded with a smile and turned his head toward Ares.
“Look! Duke Taylor declared that Lille and the Terril River belong to His Imperial Majesty and even swore allegiance to me! Yet, why does Duke Richmond assert that the Tevex Mountains and the Orutu River belong to you?!! Isn't that tantamount to refusing to pledge allegiance?!”
However, contrary to the Crown Prince's intentions, no answer came from Ares's mouth.
That introduction agent.
Eliza smiled faintly after meeting the brown eyes that were looking back at her.
You're confused, aren't you?
Jake, reflecting on the meaning of the words, flared up.
“What are you talking about? Confused? You mean me?!”
“Do not be angry, Your Majesty. These are the words of the officials at the time. ‘Your Majesty, please do not revise the introductions. It is extremely confusing.’”
“…….”
“Back when I was Eliza Deccan, not Eliza Richmond. My father, Argon III, revised the Introduction. At the time, his courtiers advised that the overlapping introductions would cause confusion, but he ultimately revised it.”
Eliza, who had watched her nephew ascend the throne following her father and brother, was a living history of modern times. She shook her head slightly and spoke slowly.
So, in the end, this day has come.
Eliza stared at Jake with a stern look.
“The word ‘master’ in the Emperor’s introduction was originally ‘guardian,’ Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“…….”
“Argon III said, ‘It is merely a change of words, but the meaning remains the same.’ I understand that this is specified in the reason for the revision of the introductory text.”
However, Jake did not back down.
What I am trying to say is about loyalty!
Do you want me to kneel?
Jake's hair stood on end at the voice that felt like it was scraping against his heart. As he stared at Ares with wide eyes, Hetbiga tried to stop him for the time being. But Jake spoke faster.
"Because the loyalty I received has always been like that. Maybe that's why, if it weren't for that, I'd get confused."
There is no need to be confused.
"what?"
“Because my loyalty is also visible.”
“…….”
Richmond has faithfully paid the population tax corresponding to the duchy's population every year, as well as the land tax corresponding to the duchy's area. As for the duty of military service, since I personally served at the Wall of Death for ten years, you cannot say that I was not faithful.
The Duke of Deccan is not a vassal who swears loyalty in exchange for land.
"However, what is Your Highness's protection of my loyalty?"
“…….”
“When my wife is being pointed at.”
As Jake hesitated, Ares bared his teeth.
“What kind of protection did Your Majesty provide?”
Ares suddenly turned to look at Duke Taylor. Then, he took a step closer to the startled Duke Taylor.
“Mr. Taylor.”
A human being who gets intimidated and trembles at something as trivial as this.
Grace's words, which had been lingering at the tip of his head all this time, came back to him like a hallucination.
I got slapped by the Duchess. She asked if I couldn't even give her that little something.
Ares stared at the Duchess of Taylor. She, too, flinched in surprise and scrambled to look away.
“Just one more time. If I hear the sound of my wife being called a slut, I will regard that itself as a provocation against Richmond and act accordingly.”
The sharp edge embedded in every syllable sent chills down the spines of the Duke and Duchess Taylor. While the couple froze and could not speak, Ares decided to end this tedious play.
He straightened his slightly slumped shoulders and spoke in a languid tone.
“Grandmother is quite tired after such a long journey. May I take my leave now?”
Eliza, who had been glaring at the Duke and Duchess Taylor, played along as if she had been waiting for this moment.
Now that I'm old, even a carriage is a struggle.
Then, with a tired expression, he reached out his hand toward Grace.
"baby!"
“?”
“……?”
baby?
At the lovely words that echoed proudly through the hall, only her blood relatives were at peace.
Not only the Duke and Duchess of Taylor, but even the Count and Countess of Saxony glared. The arrogant and haughty Eliza Richmond… what?
Grace was also inwardly surprised, but quickly joined in Eliza's antics. As she swiftly grabbed Eliza's hand and supported her by linking arms, Eliza leaned against her.
Are you okay?
Ah, really.
Then, maintaining that same posture, he asked the Empress.
“I am sorry, Your Majesty. May I take my leave now?”
Hetbiga felt a burning sensation in his head. But what could he do when they were old and struggling? In the end, Hetbiga had no choice but to allow the arrogant guests, who had come without permission, to do as they pleased, even regarding where they left.
“…Please do so.”
Thank you. Well then, I will see you again.
Because she was being supported, Eliza could not even properly offer a greeting. Grace, who was supporting her, was in the same situation. After exchanging a very light greeting and turning away, Ares also turned around, offering a polite nod in return.
Ares approached Eliza and asked.
Shall I help you?
“No. I prefer being supported by my new daughter-in-law.”
While Grace pressed her lips together to suppress a laugh, Eliza's gaze turned toward the family of the Count of Saxony beyond her.
Her gaze could not be seen as that of an old lady in need of support. Eliza, who had sent a quiet warning with spirit and fierce intensity, turned her eyes toward Grace and spoke warmly.
Thank you.
At the sound of her warm voice, the Count and Countess of Saxony and the Duke and Duchess of Taylor trembled slightly. Crown Prince Jake glared at the back of Ares's head and gritted his teeth, while Jack Saxony and Rosette Taylor also clenched their teeth to suppress their surging emotions.
And Hetby clenched his fist tightly.
Richmond, Richmond.
Repeating that name over and over again.
* * *
Inside the carriage returning to the Duke's mansion.
Amidst the clatter of hooves, Eliza, who had been silent for quite some time, suddenly spoke up.
Emperor Venus bore a great resemblance to his own grandfather, my father, Argon III.
Grace reflexively glanced at Ares. He was staring at Eliza with an expressionless face.
It was to the point where my mother, who used to play with me for short while, lamented, asking how I could be the spitting image of my grandfather.
Eliza would be the only one who could freely use the word lamentation in reference to the Emperor.
“Unusually impatient, difficult to please, and self-righteous…….”
Grace wondered, "What other bad formulas are left?" as Eliza muttered.
He was someone who would never have an illegitimate child.
As Eliza looked at Ares, she was reminded of Emperor Venus.
Eili Grafden, the Empress of Emperor Venus, died along with her second child, who was in a breech position, when their son Ares Decan was five years old. The death of the mother giving birth to a breech baby was horrific beyond measure. The mother begged to be killed, and eventually, Emperor Venus poured a lethal dose of poppy juice into his wife's mouth with his own hands.
Emperor Venus's grief at losing his wife and child in the most terrible way on the same day and at the same time was beyond words. He did not lie down in bed for a month after the Empress's death. He attended to state affairs during the day and sat idly in the Empress's bedroom at night, repeating this cycle.
Since he was not sleeping properly, it was evident that even a man as strong as an iron man was weakening. It was said that one day, he even failed to recognize his beloved son Ares for a moment.
On the day Eliza hurriedly came to the capital upon hearing the news, she was furious and deplored at Venus's appearance.
Your Majesty, what on earth is going on?!!
One day, as rumors spread that the Emperor's mental health was not what it used to be, a lady-in-waiting managing the Empress's chambers confessed that she had slept with Emperor Venus.
That handmaiden was none other than Hetby Saxony.
In the winter of the year she confessed to sleeping with him, she gave birth to a son. Hedbiga went to the Emperor holding the child, still recovering from childbirth.
It is Your Majesty's child. It is our child, isn't it?
Emperor Venus, who had withdrawn from all government affairs around that time, looked at the child with a dazed expression and shed tears.
His Majesty is moved to tears.
Eliza, who was there that day, clearly remembered Hetbiga's words.
Is Jake Decan truly Venus's child? The surest way is to infuse a few drops of blood into a black tiger skull, just as past emperors have done. If he is indeed a member of the Decan royal family, a blue flame will ignite. However, it was said that Jake Decan inherited hemophilia, a condition that frequently occurs in the Count of Saxony.
Thoughts flowed and flowed, reaching the day Hetbiga became Empress.
There was much debate regarding whether Jake Decan was indeed the Emperor's son. Calculations of the child's birth date led to the conclusion that the Emperor and Hetbiga had slept together while the Empress was still heavily pregnant. However, Hetbiga eventually became the Empress. This was because none other than the High Priest testified that he had heard the Emperor's intention to marry directly, thereby facilitating their marriage.
The wedding was not held due to Venus's health. Instead, only the coronation of the Empress of the Hedwig family took place.
The figure who held an important position at that coronation was,
“Saxon, Hasel Chernin, High Priest.”
Eliza stroked her chin and laughed sharply.