On Xenos’s orders, Matthew Vigil hosted a casual tea party to arrange a natural encounter with Brandon, and he invited Brandon to attend.
Contrary to the plan, however, Brandon declined Matthew’s invitation.
“While Selina is confined, it wouldn’t do for me to go somewhere as grand as the Marquis’s estate and make a blunder. They’d demand the family representative be replaced on the spot!”
He had refused out of fear that he would make a misstep in an unfamiliar social gathering.
Unaware of his inner panic, those gathered at the tea party began whispering that Brandon Arsene was arrogant for turning down the invitation.
Because the Marquis of Vigil’s household was rarely active socially—always occupied with war preparations—holding a tea party after such a long time prompted nobles to set aside their affairs and scramble to attend.
It was only natural, then, that branded insolence should be thrown at a mere acting head of household who had received an invitation and turned it away.
‘I wanted to talk with him today and get a sense of how Selina is doing.’
Valerie Vigil bit her lower lip and let out a sigh, worried for her friend suffering all alone.
Trusting that things outside were unfolding smoothly, Selina marked the date on her calendar.
“Day eleven. Kashi must have met safely with His Grace’s people yesterday, right?”
The agreement was that once Selina returned to the capital and was confined, they would meet at the appointed place at precisely ten at night after ten days had passed.
She had discussed this with Philip and Xenos at the ducal residence on the night before she was summoned to the imperial palace by the Emperor.
Having resolved to conclude the marriage in the Dragon Land, the three had also decided to thoroughly prepare for whatever came afterward.
Once she learned just how essential marrying the Fated Partner was for the heir, Selina foresaw that the Emperor would not leave her in peace.
“His Majesty might refuse to acknowledge our marriage to the very end and send each of us back to our homes. If that happens, let us keep our marriage hidden for the time being and watch the imperial family’s movements.”
“Why must we do that? Once we are married, you will be the Grand Duchess; no one will be able to touch you….”
“You two know the reason full well.”
Selina spoke with firm resolve.
“I also know how exhausting war is, and I know what might happen if the troops stationed at the border are recklessly mobilized. If His Majesty insists on taking me to the bitter end and turns force against Your Grace, from where will you draw knights to match him?”
Xenos shook his head.
“That is impossible. Whatever else he is, that man is the Emperor of this empire. Even if he wishes to kill me, he will not take an action that destroys the empire.”
Philip’s view, however, was different.
“He is capable of that and more.”
“Father.”
“He is a man who must have what he wants. I have no wish to speak ill of your mother’s brother, but that is the reality. If he can smuggle the Fated Partner away, dispose of her, and kill you as well, he won’t hesitate to light the fire regardless of the circumstances.”
Startled by Philip’s words, Xenos looked toward Selina.
“Dispose of the Fated Partner?”
A chilling presence swept through the room at that moment, and Selina turned to Xenos. When their eyes met, Xenos regained his composure.
Looking at Xenos, who seemed striking even in simple lounge clothes, Selina thought to herself.
‘I must marry him so that he can live.’
Selina had been stunned when Philip told her how Xenos’s maternal grandfather had failed to find his partner and met his end.
She had heard before that an heir would die if he did not marry his partner, but learning that the power devoured a person, harmed everyone around them, and forced them to be locked away alone until death was a truth that shook her to her core.
“His Majesty will refuse to recognize our marriage and take me into the imperial palace to do away with me.”
“Do not utter such dreadful things.”
Xenos furrowed his brow, as though the mere sound of it pained him.
“Still, I am not someone easily dealt with. I will draw up a thorough plan before I leave.”
It was then that Selina laid out the plan currently in motion.
Ten days after returning, each side would dispatch someone to report on the situation and deliver messages.
They would act according to the Emperor’s moves, buying as much time as possible and preventing the imperial family from securing Selina.
The only variable Selina had not anticipated was the rumor of ‘Evil Selina’ spreading across the capital.
“Actually, this is better.”
While the rumor made it difficult to boldly proclaim herself the Grand Duchess, it also prevented the imperial family from hauling her to the palace right away.
If Selina were wed to Erik now, tongues would certainly wag that the threshold of the imperial palace had plummeted.
No matter how dear his friend’s daughter was, the Emperor had no justification to bring a young woman of such foul repute—and a mere count’s daughter at that—into the palace.
Ironically, being confined to the mansion at this very moment brought Selina the greatest peace of mind.
Through Kashi, Selina had sent word to the Grand Ducal estate to keep watch on the imperial family’s movements first, just as planned.
‘Still, the Emperor is not a patient man.’
She knew full well he would not let this window slip by while Count Arsene was away on an extended trading expedition.
‘He cannot summon me directly, so he will likely summon Brandon today. When that happens….’
“I’ll be able to get out soon, won’t I?”
Selina murmured, tapping the pouch hanging around her neck out of habit.
Selina’s prediction proved precisely true.
The Emperor had lasted no more than eleven days since her return before summoning Brandon to the imperial palace.
“Acting head of House Arsene, it is a pleasure to see you like this. You have grown a great deal.”
The Emperor had met Brandon fewer than five times in his life.
Flora had always wished for Selina to bring Brandon along to the imperial palace, but Brandon, seeing the cold treatment he received from Erik and Selina, stubbornly refused, insisting he had no desire to go.
Even so, the Emperor had never once summoned Brandon for a private audience.
To the Emperor, Brandon was merely the son of a commoner woman whom Count Arsene had taken as his second wife.
An emperor who held bloodline so sacred could never be expected to acknowledge Brandon, a commoner, as the eldest son of House Arsene or the master’s proxy.
Yet now, if only for a brief moment, Brandon sat in private with the Emperor as the acting head of House Arsene.
‘I never imagined a day like this would come for me.’
Such were the Emperor’s thoughts as he looked upon Brandon, who was gazing around the newly renovated imperial reception hall, utterly lost in his own self-importance.
‘This naive? If I asked him to hand over the entire family, he’d wrap it up and present it with his own two hands. Should I wipe House Arsene from existence while the Count is absent? No, I still lack justification. Count Arsene is… yes, as Luce said, a friend ready to lay down his life for me. He was undoubtedly caught up in what Philip and Xenos did.’
The Emperor cleared his throat softly to draw the attention of Brandon, who remained entranced by the hall.
From his hiding place, Luce observed everything unfolding in the reception hall.
‘His Majesty’s thoughts and Brandon’s thoughts are both disgracefully transparent.’
Luce felt a pang of pity for Count Arsene, who was enduring what amounted to an undeclared exile aboard that ship.
Even after Selina’s prolonged stay at the palace ended and she returned to the capital, Count Arsene had been unable to see his daughter before being driven onto the merchant vessel.
‘If Selina frees herself from house arrest, hope might be rekindled for House Arsene.’
With that thought, Luce quietly listened to the dialogue between Brandon and the Emperor.
“By the way, Acting Head Arsene, as far as I am aware, Miss Arsene—who had been away from the capital for some time—has returned recently, has she not?”
Though the Emperor had sent his own men to parade Selina on horseback before the eyes of the entire capital, he posed the question to Brandon with brazen innocence.
‘He sent his own men to bring her to the palace himself, so why ask now?’
Brandon, who failed completely to grasp the Emperor’s intentions, merely offered superficial agreement.
“Ah, yes, that is true. That girl has gotten entirely out of hand, clinging to Duke Eustia and traveling all that distance on the pretext of some grand endeavor. Does that even befit her? Not just anyone, but Duke Eustia, who dedicates himself to Savaya! Yet the gulf in status seems to have been too vast; even after returning from such a long journey, there hasn’t been a single real rumor of a scandal between them.”
Luce pressed a hand to his forehead in silence.
‘Is he truly this foolish? The lack of rumors was because the imperial family took care to suppress them. And does he not know that praising Duke Eustia directly to the Emperor’s face is something that should never be done under any circumstances?’
Naturally, the Emperor’s mood darkened considerably as he listened to Brandon shower Xenos with praise right in front of him without the slightest restraint.
