Ch#230
A Very Strong Kid is Looking for Dad Chapter 230
* * *
A sparsely populated corridor.
"You! Why the hell are you doing something you never did before?!"
Pides shouted in a furious voice.
"Didn't you hear Mother's words yesterday?! She told you not to leave your palace today! Why suddenly show up at a banquet you never attended before, and why bring up the Association...!"
Ardiana looked at Pides with an expressionless face.
After a silence, she finally opened her mouth.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding in your words, brother."
"...What?"
"Today's Myeongsong Festival is an event held to wish good fortune upon those departing for the Central Continent. There's no reason I, who is departing, shouldn't attend."
"You dare!"
"Moreover. What reason is there for me to obey the Empress's orders?"
Pides' expression went blank.
As if doubting what he had just heard, he let out a hollow laugh.
"What did you say? Just now, you called Mother the Empress?"
"Yes. I said Empress."
Ardiana lifted the corner of her mouth.
"Until now, I obeyed the Empress's words not because they were right. I simply wanted to avoid the hassle."
"You've... gone mad."
As Pides muttered and tried to continue, a shocked voice came from behind them.
"Wh-what is all this talk about, Pides?"
Turning their heads, they saw Ravennia standing there with a pallid face, accompanied by six maids.
She staggered toward them.
Then, looking at Ardiana, she spoke in a voice mixed with disbelieving laughter.
"...Ardiana, I must have misheard you, right? Right?"
But Ardiana showed no sign of surprise.
She simply stared silently at Ravennia's face.
A face mixed with confusion, anger, and contempt.
Beneath the hem of her gorgeously dressed skirt, Ravennia's white, delicate hands trembled faintly.
Ardiana replied.
"No. You heard correctly."
"What?"
"Until now, I accommodated you. I thought it was the easier path for both of us, and I had no desire to create unnecessary friction."
"Ac-commmodated me?! You, to me?!"
"However, it seems the Empress mistook my patience for weakness. And that seems to be why you keep crossing the line."
"Th-that...!"
"Your Highness the Empress!"
The maids supported the staggering Ravennia.
Ardiana continued coldly.
"To me, the Empress is merely Father's consort. Not the Empress Dowager, and certainly not my mother. So I admit it. If my silence until now unnecessarily inflated the Empress's status, that is my fault."
"Aaah, Pides-!"
Ravennia whipped her head toward Pides.
As if urging him to say something, she clutched her son's sleeve.
Pides glared at Ardiana, grinding his teeth.
"...I don't know what you've eaten to act like this, but it's better not to create something you'll regret, Ardiana."
It was an authoritative, sharp tone.
However, Ardiana merely let out a scoff.
"Regret? It seems you're misunderstanding something as well, brother."
Pides' eyebrow twitched.
"Did His Majesty bestow upon you the title of Crown Princess or something?"
"...What?"
"Not some intangible favor. Not mere promises of handing you the throne. What official title has been bestowed upon you, exactly?"
Pides' mouth fell open.
His face gradually turned beet red.
"You, right now!"
"I've always been curious what you possess, brother. What qualification does a prince born of a mere concubine, not even formally enfeoffed, have to discuss hierarchy? Legitimacy isn't obtained by words."
Ardiana turned her gaze.
One of the maids supporting the Empress had her skirt hem touching Ardiana's hand.
Ardiana brought her arms forward and crossed them as if brushing off something filthy.
"Just because I've lived quietly doesn't mean I know nothing."
As her blue eyes gleamed sharply, Ravennia's maids flinched and stepped back.
Ardiana turned her head to Ravennia.
"In that sense. It would be best if you returned now during this banquet, Empress."
Ravennia's eyes widened enormously.
Pides stared at Ardiana in disbelief.
"What nonsense is that! Are you telling Mother to leave? Right in front of the banquet hall?!"
"The one who sets the etiquette of the imperial palace banquets is the woman at the top of the imperial women's hierarchy, brother."
"...."
"With the position of Empress Dowager vacant, isn't it obvious who holds authority over this banquet?"
Ardiana smiled.
"Please judge wisely so as not to disturb the good seats."
* * *
"What in the world is going on, little count?"
In the banquet hall, where the Imperial Princess and Prince had yet to return.
Glancing at the Emperor lost in thought, the nobles whispered.
"I don't know either. The atmosphere feels terribly off, though..."
"Has Her Highness the Empress not arrived yet?"
"Yes. She usually enjoys making a late entrance, but this is too late..."
"Young master! Young master!"
At that moment, another noble who had briefly stepped out to the garden came rushing back.
He led the gathered group toward a pillar and continued with an excited face.
"Do you know what I just saw passing by the front of the banquet hall?"
As if his throat was parched, he gulped down cool water from a nearby table.
"Right here in front, Her Highness the Imperial Princess told Her Highness the Empress not to even approach the banquet!"
The listeners stirred.
"What kind of talk is that? Isn't it usually the opposite?"
"That's true, but the situation was like some holiday! Her Highness the Empress couldn't say a word, and moreover..."
"Moreover?"
"She said it to His Highness the Prince too. 'What qualification does a prince not even properly enfeoffed have?!'"
Some nobles reflexively glanced toward the Emperor.
They lowered their voices even further.
"What is all this suddenly? Is this really true?"
"I tell you, it is! I don't know what's going on either! I'm not used to mercenaries attending the banquet, and now Her Highness the Imperial Princess has suddenly changed...!"
"Come to think of it, those nobles from the Empress Dowager's faction who returned to their territories. Didn't a few recently come back to the capital?"
"I've heard that too. Their wives are planning social activities as well..."
"Isn't it possible they were summoned?"
"Let's stop talking."
At that moment, someone raised a hand.
"His Majesty is here, and the setting is..."
The nobles cleared their throats awkwardly and shut their mouths.
It was the moment an awkward silence hung over the group.
"Her Highness the Imperial Princess!"
The banquet hall doors opened, and Ardiana reappeared.
With Pides nowhere in sight, the nobles held their breath.
"Her Highness the Imperial Princess, you are beautiful as always today."
The noblewomen standing where Ardiana passed greeted her with proper courtesy.
Even those who would normally treat her as invisible or ignore her did the same.
It was because everyone instinctively felt it.
That the flow of the air had changed.
However, Ardiana walked inward without giving them a glance.
Then, without hesitation, she sat in Pides' seat.
The Emperor's eyebrow twitched.
However, it was such a subtle movement that only Ardiana noticed.
As the Emperor lifted his glass from the table, Ardiana spoke.
"Your Majesty."
The Emperor did not turn his head toward her.
But Ardiana continued in a small voice with a cold smile.
"Until now, I held back for fear of causing unnecessary worry, but now I think you should know."
"...."
"Your Majesty would never have dreamed it, but brother keeps sending assassins after me."
The Emperor visibly flinched.
Only then did he stiffly turn his head.
His gaze toward Ardiana was tangled with bewilderment, anger, and anxiety that perhaps those around had heard her words.
"So, as you said earlier, today's banquet protagonists are those about to depart."
"...."
"Traditionally, at the Myeongsong Festival, the Emperor bestows gifts upon the departing."
The Emperor set down his trembling glass.
Ardiana lowered her eyebrows.
"My heart is uneasy leaving the palace while only receiving brother's enmity. Thus, I have one request."
By now, her voice had returned to its original volume.
Naturally, the nobles' gazes focused on the two.
"During the siege of the mana stone at the High Palace last time, I became good friends with the Commander King. Therefore, I wish for the Commander King to be able to freely come and go from my palace until departure."
"...."
"If the lack of a title for the Commander King is an eyesore to Your Majesty, I implore you to bestow one now."
The Emperor drew a deep breath he had been holding.
She had clearly said "request" and "implore."
But he knew.
This was blackmail.
And it was the price he had to pay for Pides' reckless actions thus far.