# Chapter 218
The knights guarding the Crown Prince's Palace blocked the woman approaching them.
At that, the maid standing behind the woman stepped forward with a stiffened expression.
"Are you daring to block Her Majesty the Empress?"
The knight bowed politely to the Empress.
"My apologies, Your Majesty. It is the order of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor that no one is to approach."
"Does 'no one' include me as well?"
The Empress asked in a calm but dignified voice.
The knights were exchanging troubled glances when James Miller, who was walking from a distance, spotted the Empress and rushed over.
"James Miller, Captain of the Imperial Guard, greets Her Majesty the Empress."
"It has been a long time, Captain Miller. I wish to see the Crown Prince."
James hid his troubled eyes as best as he could and looked up.
The frail Empress had come in person; he could not refuse her firmly.
In the end, he signaled to the knights.
"I will stand guard here, so take a short break."
The knights took the hint and quickly withdrew.
James stepped aside slightly to let the Empress enter and closed his eyes.
"I have seen nothing."
"Thank you."
When the maid opened the door, the Empress slowly walked inside.
The Empress's eyes sank heavily as she surveyed the palace. The residence, which was usually frugal, felt even more desolate due to the Crown Prince's detention.
An attendant passing through the hallway saw the Empress and ran over in surprise.
"I greet Her Majesty the Empress."
"Where is the Crown Prince?"
"He is in the office. I will escort you."
Following the attendant to the office, Alecfet rose hurriedly to greet her. The letter sent secretly by the Duchess of East was covered by other documents on the desk.
"Mother."
"Alec."
The Empress approached the Crown Prince with a piteous gaze.
The Crown Prince had lost weight, perhaps due to the mental strain of being detained.
"What has happened to your face? Are you eating well?"
"I am fine. And you should not have come here. It is the Emperor's order that no one approach."
Alecfet tried to reassure the Empress with a slight smile.
However, the Empress's stern expression did not soften.
He was the son she always felt sorry for because she couldn't protect him, and now he faced detention and dethronement.
"What on earth did you say that caused His Majesty to detain you and discuss your abdication?"
Alecfet's face darkened.
He contemplated whether he should reveal the Emperor's illness.
He knew that if he spoke of it, this frail woman would do whatever she could to help him. However, this had to be a battle between himself and the Emperor, not between the Emperor and the Empress.
"Tell me. Only then can I find a way. Abdication? That cannot happen."
The Empress's blue eyes burned with anger as she tightly grasped the hesitant Crown Prince's hand.
Not satisfied with hating his own son, the Emperor was trying to drag him down from his position entirely. What kind of parent in the world would do such a thing?
After much deliberation, Alecfet spoke in a nonchalant tone.
"I defied His Majesty."
"What?"
The startled Empress asked back with a blank face.
The Crown Prince defied the Emperor? The Crown Prince, who had never even raised his voice at an attendant?
Alecfet carefully took her arm and guided her to a chair.
"Mother, I am no longer a young boy. I can go against the Emperor's will. So please, watch over me while pretending not to know."
"How can I pretend not to know? He is proposing your abdication."
"It will not happen. The nobles will not follow the Emperor's will."
Alecfet wore a bitter expression.
"Have you heard something?"
"Public sentiment is not good because of the matter regarding the Duke of West. Yet, His Majesty mentioned my abdication; that is no different from handing the nobles a justification themselves."
The Empress looked at him in surprise.
When had her son grown so strong? Even though the Emperor spoke of abdication, he was not afraid and was looking ahead.
The Empress looked at the next Emperor with pride and patted his hand.
"I believe in you."
Alecfet smiled softly and nodded.
* * *
The Duke's office.
Gerald read down the letter sent by the Emperor with a displeased gaze.
Seeing his face, which clearly showed his dissatisfaction toward the Emperor, Marin asked curiously.
"What does it say?"
"He says he will promote you as a Saintess."
"Whaaat?"
Her startled voice came out strangely.
When did he stop calling her a Witch and start promoting her as a Saintess?
Gerald curled one side of his lips coldly as if he couldn't suppress his ridicule.
As he held out the letter as if telling her to read it herself, Marin quickly checked the contents.
Soon, she spoke with an offended face.
"He's truly self-indulgent. Why on earth is he going this far? I am neither a Witch nor a Saintess, so why does he keep trying to define me as he pleases?"
"He tried to use you to control me and failed, so now he's trying to use you to seek my forgiveness."
"Exactly! Why does he keep trying to use me?"
"Because you are the most important person to me."
At Gerald's sudden confession, Marin blinked her eyes rapidly in embarrassment.
"Could you please not say such romantic things at a moment like this?"
Gerald let out a chuckle.
"So, will you accept it?"
Marin narrowed her eyes and tapped the Emperor's letter as if to say 'no way.'
"I don't need a Saintess as a fiancé."
"I don't want to be something like a Saintess either."
Marin spoke in a firm voice and nodded.
"Since our opinions match, I shall reject this proposal immediately."
Gerald took out a piece of paper, wrote on it, and handed it to Olive.
Olive approached quickly, and her eyes widened when she saw the paper Gerald held out.
On the paper, "Cut the crap" was written very politely.
"You're sending this?"
"Yes."
He wanted to get rid of the Emperor right this moment, but now was the time to crouch and wait in the Duke's residence.
The matter of the Crown Prince's abdication. The patience of the nobles which had reached its limit. The Emperor trying to coax him somehow.
The moment he was waiting for did not seem far off.
* * *
"Good heavens. Does this make sense? Abdicating His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince?"
"It cannot happen. His Imperial Majesty the Emperor has become blinded."
"We must oppose it. And we must persuade the Crown Prince."
The Duke of South, who had been quiet, spoke up in a low voice.
"A justification has finally been created."
At his words, the nobles looked at each other with eyes gleaming.
This was a world where one lived and died by justification alone.
And the Emperor had provided the very justification the nobles needed to rise up.
Meanwhile, Edena, the Duchess of East, looked at the Duke of South with a peculiar gaze.
The Duke of South had changed.
He, who always arrived last to meetings and disrupted them with trivial talk, was now offering his opinion in a calm atmosphere.
'Could it be... has he changed again?'
She remembered when she met the Duke of South five years ago. The young Duke of South was a diligent and calm person.
Then, the Duke she met the following year had transformed into a sharp and selfish man.
And today.
The Duke of South had changed once again.
However, she couldn't let go of the last thread of doubt and needed confirmation.
As if reading her thoughts, the Duke of South met her eyes with a steady gaze.
"What do you think? Duchess of East."
"There was a time five years ago when there was a drought."
At her sudden words, a slight smile played on the Duke of South's lips.
"Do you know who resolved that drought?"
"It was me."
When the Duke of South spoke with a voice full of conviction, a look of interest appeared in Edena's eyes.
Five years ago, there was no drought in the South. The drought that year was only in the East.
And the one who helped the East was indeed the Duke of South.
When she had asked the changed Duke the same question the following year, he hadn't understood what she meant. Because there had been no drought in the South that year.
The line of Edena's mouth smoothed out.
"You have returned."
"Yes."
The nobles sent puzzled glances at the two's cryptic conversation.
"As the Duke of South said, a justification has been placed in our hands, so we must wield it."
Edena spoke toward the nobles.
"I agree. In matters like this, the sooner the better."
As the Duke of South expressed his agreement, a noble raised his hand.
"Should we not persuade the Crown Prince further?"
At that, Edena shook her head with a bitter face.
She had tried to persuade the Crown Prince through various routes, but all had failed.
They had no choice but to drag the Emperor down and forcibly seat the Crown Prince in that position.
"Tonight, we begin."