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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“…”
Anyway, the role required of me was just to be a totem.
Of course, the nobles seated below would each be letting their imaginations run wild with various thoughts upon seeing me sitting next to Elena, but that wasn’t my business.
As long as my role was to just quietly sit and keep Elena company, then politely leave, there wasn’t much for me to do.
However, if there was a problem, it was that this closing ceremony event itself was extremely boring.
‘When will it end?’
It was like a never-ending principal’s speech on a Monday morning assembly.
It was certain to end eventually since the first period class had to start, but it felt like the sermon was going on endlessly.
The kind of boredom that would make you feel bored even if you didn’t have any, after listening to the court chamberlain, who was acting as a sort of host, endlessly raising his voice for about thirty minutes, introducing which noble from which family attended as a distinguished guest to grace this occasion.
Honestly, spending thirty minutes just introducing distinguished guests was a bit too much.
It was said that nobles staked their lives on meaningless formalities, but this seemed a bit excessive.
Just as I was starting to think that way, the door to the banquet hall, which had been tightly closed for a while, opened, and the head maid standing and waiting at the entrance quickly shouted.
“The legitimate ruler of the Nord Duchy! The Black Lion of the Empire and the shield that protects the North, Her Grace Eileen Nord the Grand Duchess is entering!”
A familiar face appeared through the open door.
As if proving the importance of the occasion, she was wearing her usual uniform and looked like she had put a little more effort into her appearance.
Her jet-black eyes, resembling her hair color, surveyed the crowd.
In front of the eminent nobles from various regions, she wasn’t intimidated at all and naturally took her seat as if it was where Eileen belonged.
And when Eileen raised her head, her gaze met mine precisely in midair.
“…?”
At first, she tilted her head, and then shock spread across her expression.
A face that seemed to ask with her expression, why are you there?
“…Hoho.”
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
And just then, a low chuckle was heard from Elena next to me.
I asked, but Elena joked that it was nothing.
‘…It’s not nothing.’
Eileen’s gaze, which had been staring at me until just now, was suddenly directed at Elena.
It was a murderous gaze, to the point where if looks could kill, Elena would have at least been dismembered by now.
Elena herself, the target of that gaze, was brushing it off as if it was nothing.
…Surely they weren’t smiling and provoking each other with the feeling of “I have him with me this time,” and Eileen wasn’t taking the bait, right?
I wanted to believe that wasn’t the case.
They were not kids, that was too childish.
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The closing ceremony that Rudrick thought was boring reached its climax with the entrance of the crown princess, in place of the empress who was in poor health and bedridden.
In Rudrick’s previous life, it was a form of government that was already hard to find except for a few dictatorship countries, but in the empire that still had an absolute monarchy system, the authority of the empress was truly absolute.
A supra-legal entity that was stipulated to reign above imperial law and a being entrusted by God with the right to rule this vast empire.
Therefore, the birthday festival, which was simply a commemoration of the empress’ birthday, had more meaning than what was visible on the surface.
‘But if the empress herself doesn’t show up because she’s sick, isn’t this just putting the cart before the horse?’
Even with Rudrick’s irreverent thoughts as he obediently kept his seat, fulfilling his role as a totem, the order of the closing ceremony was progressing steadily.
Even Eileen, who had been glaring at Elena as if she would kill her just a moment ago, couldn’t openly clash with Elena in a place like this, so now all she could do was swallow her anger and let it go.
And that was precisely what Elena had aimed for.
“The Weiss County… Goodness, who would have thought that such a humble family would produce a prospective court mage? Most people probably didn’t even know there was such a family in the empire until then.”
“Well, the eldest daughter of the Weiss County did cause a stir for a while when she took second place at the academy last time. They said a talented person had emerged from an unknown family.”
“Their eldest daughter who is going to inherit the family is joining the Imperial Knights at such a young age, and their eldest son is the court mage… Whoever Countess Weiss is, she has double the joy.”
And even during the closing ceremony, the nobles who were seated were busily gossiping about Rudrick, who was undoubtedly the hottest topic.
“The current court mage is quite old. There are rumors that he will give up his position as court mage once he finishes his current research.”
“But it will still take at least a few years. Then, the eldest son of the Weiss County sitting next to Her Highness the Second Princess will take that position.”
“The current court mage doesn’t have a good relationship with the Magic Tower, but who knows what will happen with the next court mage? One thing for sure is that the Magic Tower will support Her Highness the Second Princess.”
“But there isn’t much time left, is there? I heard there are even rumors that Her Majesty is on her deathbed.”
Nobles were by nature more sensitive to power than anyone else.
Each of them had a complicated mind, thinking about what would happen after the current empress passed away.
First of all, in terms of justification, the crown princess had the advantage according to the principle of primogeniture succession, but simply in terms of ability and power, the second princess, Elena, had the upper hand.
In the worst-case scenario, the succession struggle could even lead to a civil war.
If they got involved by mistake, it wouldn’t be strange for the entire family to face annihilation, so the nobles were naturally making calculations in their minds.
Because of that, the nobles weren’t focusing on the actual event and were continuing their complicated calculations by applying political logic, while Rudrick, who had become the topic of discussion, was just sitting there like a totem, blankly waiting for the closing ceremony to end.
And since Eileen and Elena were engaged in a fierce battle of nerves, neither backing down an inch from the other,
“With this, I declare the closing of the birthday festival, wishing for the recovery of Her Majesty the Empress, the legitimate ruler of the empire and the sun of the empire, on behalf of all those gathered here.”
The court chamberlain, who had skillfully conducted the closing ceremony that no one was paying attention to, declared the end of the event, and afterwards, it became a place for socializing.
And the hottest topic throughout the closing ceremony was none other than Rudrick, who had been sitting at the head table waiting for this boring event to end and was relieved as soon as the court chamberlain declared the closing.
A natural course of events followed, with several nobles who had daughters of marriageable age showing interest.
“My daughter is eighteen this year, so it wouldn’t be bad.”
“Haha, Marquis Belleny, you’re joking too much. My daughter is twenty-two and hasn’t gotten married yet, so I was looking for a good marriage prospect.”
“Oh my, Marquis Cavalli. Keep the order.”
Politically speaking, it was obvious that forming a marriage alliance with Rudrick would be of no help, but if you approached it with the idea of aligning with the next court mage and the Second Princess’s faction, the story became a bit different.
Nobles who had caught the scent of power gathered around like wolves targeting sheep, but their attempts were unsuccessful.
Elena’s figure was heading towards the terrace as if to get some fresh air, taking Rudrick with her.
The nobles looked at their retreating backs with regretful looks, clicking their tongues.
“…It wasn’t a simple alliance.”
“It seems Her Highness the Second Princess has feelings for the young master of the Weiss family.”
“Then there’s nothing we can do.”
The nobles, who had physically experienced in their youth what it meant for two people of marriageable age to head to the terrace together at a social event like this, sent regretful gazes.
And, taking advantage of that chaotic situation, Eileen, who had been quietly sitting in her seat, also stealthily followed the two.
Eileen was in a bad mood right now.
Because she thought she had thwarted her damn cousin’s clutches and even shattered her plan head-on, giving her a taste of her own medicine.
However, as soon as she saw Rudrick’s face sitting right next to Elena at the head table at the closing ceremony she had arrived at without much thought, those thoughts were shattered.
‘…Why?’
She had pondered deeply throughout the closing ceremony, but no sharp reason came to mind.
Then, naturally, the only conclusion was that Rudrick, who was kind-hearted and couldn’t refuse others’ requests, had no choice but to follow Elena’s coercion.
Anyway, it was solely Rudrick’s role to choose one among the five, but it was only natural to feel upset if Elena acted that way.
Swallowing her anger inwardly, when Eileen also stepped out onto the terrace, the moment she saw Elena’s face naturally standing next to Rudrick, the anger she had barely suppressed began to rise to the top of her head.
Elena’s greeting to her with a repulsive face was a bonus.
“You’ve finally arrived. I was thinking of following you out if you didn’t come.”
“…Elena.”
Eileen’s voice, spoken as if chewing on something, was as cold as the eternal snow of her territory, the Nord Duchy.
And Rudrick’s pupils, who had not yet grasped the unfolding situation and were flustered, also rolled around.
‘…Surely they’re not going to fight again, right?’
Unfortunately, Rudrick’s expectation was soon to be betrayed.
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