Ch#69
Chapter 69"I heard the Tollein Marquis family's party yesterday was a huge success. Rumor has it more people attended than the imperial banquet."
Dimarcus smiled, but Laslo, standing beside him, could easily detect the displeasure in his voice.
"Do you think they've really been behaving themselves all this time? They've probably been even more fiercely consolidating their power than before."
"That's no secret, but now they don't even bother hiding it."
After the fall of the Lancaster Duke family, the three great houses had kept their heads down, not even breathing too loudly.
Yet no one believed they had truly stayed quiet during those ten months.
As Dimarcus said, the fact that more people flocked to the Tollein Marquis family's party than the imperial banquet was proof enough.
But Laslo wasn't particularly frightened.
"The shock of the Lancaster Duke family's destruction is still fresh. Those who rushed to the Tollein Marquis party's were likely just there to check on the three great houses' status."
"Nothing stops them from joining that side."
"People are that cunning. They won't commit until the very last moment. And in the end, they'll stand at Your Majesty's feet."
Dimarcus felt at ease hearing Laslo's indifferent tone. Rather than those who noisily proclaimed victory, it was Laslo—who quietly eliminated enemies and seized triumph—that Dimarcus trusted as his sword.
But sometimes, the distance between him and Laslo felt regrettable. They could afford to be a bit closer.
"Laslo."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"When will you claim your place?"
"I've only just begun organizing the family, so things are still hectic, but I'll enter high society as quickly as possible."
Yet Dimarcus's face remained dissatisfied.
"I don't think you're unaware of what I mean. Will you keep pretending otherwise?"
"I'm afraid I don't know."
"Laslo."
.
Dimarcus let out a deep sigh before adding one more thing.
"My little brother."
This time, Laslo's face soured.
"Why bring that up again, Your Majesty?"
"Why? Did I say something I can't? Our mothers may differ, but you and I are brothers!"
"I abandoned my past at twelve."
"Who decided that? You think it's that easy to discard?"
Dimarcus scoffed.
At Dimarcus's periodic complaints, Laslo shook his head.
'I get why he's like this, but it's still annoying.'
Unlike the three great houses, which had firmly established their foundations during the late emperor's reign, Dimarcus had roamed battlefields without building proper power.
Of course, continuous victories and a smooth imperial succession had gradually strengthened the emperor's faction nobles, but Dimarcus always thirsted for reliable close aides.
And to such a Dimarcus, Laslo was blood rediscovered by heaven.
"Right now, everyone believes you're from commoner stock, but once it's known we're half-brothers, they'll all realize how much we resemble each other."
"I take after my mother."
"Sure you do."
Dimarcus sneered, but it was true—Laslo did resemble his mother.
'Otherwise, I couldn't have lived in Father's house.'
Laslo's mother, the youngest daughter of a wealthy baron's family, had been quite famous in high society back then. Not only beautiful, but renowned for her skill in toying with men's hearts and her charm.
The late emperor, utterly smitten, made her the paper wife of a powerless viscount while keeping her as his mistress. Their decade-long favor led people to suspect she might wield more power than the empress.
Yet the favor of those in power is fleeting.
- 3 -
"I'm sick of you now. Get out of the palace."
"Your Majesty! My son is Your Majesty's blood! Are you casting out Your Majesty's own son?!"
"I recognize no child as mine except those born of the empress."
The emperor, with a new lover, ignored even the child he'd publicly called "my son" until recently and banished his now-weary old flame from the palace.
She wept bitterly and had no choice but to return to her "paper husband's" home.
Normally, she'd have been disowned by that husband too and begged at her parents' door, but here an unexpected turn occurred.
"Welcome back. Don't worry about a thing. I'll raise that child as my own, so fear not."
The paper husband, smitten with her from the moment he'd been introduced for the sham marriage, had waited a full ten years until she was discarded by the emperor.
It was fortunate she'd fallen deeply in love with her paper husband amid her lack of options.
'Though watching their affections up close was torture for me.'
And their love soon bore fruit. The next year, Linia was born.
It was a somewhat harmonious family.
The stepfather loved his wife so deeply that he treated Laslo like his own son, allowing Laslo to avoid resentment from his birth mother too.
Laslo cherishing Linia must have helped as well.
'If only he hadn't passed so early, it might have been an ordinary home.'
But ordinary shattered in an instant....
"Laslo."
Laslo snapped from his thoughts at Dimarcus's call and turned.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"I said it half in jest, but I'm waiting for the day you call me 'brother.' I'm serious."
.
There was nothing he could say to that.
With his family destroyed by the imperial family and nobles, reclaiming the "place" Dimarcus spoke of was incredibly difficult for Laslo.
'The emperor's brother'? Just imagining it made him nauseous.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. My current position is already more than I deserve."
This time, Dimarcus fell silent.
But soon, with his usual playful expression, he pointed at Laslo and said,
"You're undervaluing yourself."
"Hardly."
"You'll see. One day, you'll seize your place yourself."
Laslo had no reply again, but Dimarcus just smiled and didn't chide him.
And in Dimarcus's mind, the card named 'Edel' sparkled brightly.
'The woman who changed Laslo this much will surely achieve even greater things. The only question is when to reveal Laslo's identity to her.'
Even if Laslo and Edel didn't fall in love, somehow Edel seemed capable of holding him.
Why?
No reason.
It was just the beastly 'instinct' of one who'd survived long on the battlefield.
"Why's my ear suddenly itching?"
"Pardon?"
"Oh, nothing."
Edel, rubbing her ear with her palm, smiled brightly as if it were nothing. She had no time to fuss over a mere itch now.
She was currently inspecting the revamped laundry room with Celia.
"I doubted if this was really the laundry room several times. It's so much better now!"
Celia marveled repeatedly at the spotless laundry room, free of even a trace of mold.
Rotten wooden chairs had all been discarded, replaced with clean new ones. Basins, tubs, and buckets gleamed like new.
No more making soap once a month—they now received powdered soap from a supplier.
Old windows and doors were fully repaired for better ventilation, and an extra stove allowed boiling water and laundry simultaneously.
Edel smiled watching Celia fiddle with the new items, then spoke with apologetic sincerity.
"Even with all these changes, laundry remains hard work."
"But with more hands now, the burden is much lighter than before. And the work itself has gotten easier."
"That's a relief, then...."
Celia and Laila had refused Edel's offer to swap roles, choosing to stay in the laundry.
They said it was because they were used to it, but the improved laundry facilities helped too.
"Please lead the new maids well, Celia. And Laila too."
"I'll do my best, Steward!"
"Don't tease."
They parted with cheerful laughter.
Edel headed straight to the kitchen.
The kitchen too had completely transformed.
'Finally feels right.'
Compared to a few months ago, when she'd averted her eyes from the filthy spots, it was astonishing.
"Ah, good day, Steward."
"Hard at work, Mr. Oliver. How's lunch preparation coming?"
"Of course! At first, the changed layout and workflow threw me off, but I've mostly adapted now."
.
After firing Arturo, the newly hired cook Oliver was a disciple of a famous chef, whom Edel had learned of through Barbara just as he was ready to go independent.
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