Chapter 35
Wow, how did they come up with such a perfectly fitting expression?
With Grandfather’s plump build, the double chin and all, the nickname tanuki suited him to a T.
…And on top of that, balding. Well, not quite balding, but still.
“Whatever business does Your Majesty have with my beloved granddaughter?”
“I came to see my little sister, not the Duke’s granddaughter.”
“……I see.”
“Do you have some complaint about me seeing my own sister?”
“Of course not.”
Whether it’s the Duke’s granddaughter or the Emperor’s little sister, it’s all the same—it refers to me.
An invisible thread of tension stretched taut between them, almost visible to the eye.
“But please refrain from saying anything unnecessary to my dear granddaughter.”
“Unnecessary?”
“Surely Your Majesty knows better than anyone.”
Bored, I had brought out the villainess item—a fan—and held it to my lips as I watched the two men’s battle of wills with keen interest.
Wow, they were fighting over me, in a way.
‘And yet, it’s so entertaining even though it’s about me!’
It felt like it was happening to someone else entirely.
‘If it’s unnecessary talk… maybe like what the tyrant brother said to me before? Telling me to abandon the Altsbeit family and become imperial family?’
It wasn’t in Charlize’s memories. But perhaps Roxidian had floated the idea a few times.
And Grandfather knew about it?
“Ha, affection? A duke who claims such affection betrothed my sister to that raccoon-like bastard?”
I forgot my own impressions and stared in shock at what the tyrant brother said next.
Calling my fiancé a raccoon? You’re probably the only one who’d say that. My gaze said as much.
‘……Honestly, I’m not thrilled with him either, but he’s no raccoon?’
Roxidian scowled, displeased by my look.
But he had no intention of taking back his snide remark.
“……Duke Remute is a man who knows his place and doesn’t get arrogant just because of his status, unlike some. Moreover, he’s a man of solid character, so I believe he’s more than sufficient as my granddaughter’s husband.”
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, or so they say.
That was how I interpreted Grandfather’s line: ‘He suits my tastes perfectly? None of my business?’
Grandfather seemed determined to provoke the tyrant’s temper, even going so far as to praise my fiancé—the man he usually badmouthed as displeasing—to defend him.
“Ha, solid character? Would a man with such solid character sell himself out for money and get engaged?”
“Are you insulting my granddaughter’s fiancé? I still vividly remember how the imperial family swallowed up the achievements Duke Remute made at the tender age of twenty.”
“And I paid handsomely for it. Ah, I can still clearly picture you old fogeys yapping away, doubting whether a mere twenty-year-old brat could enter the political scene.”
“……”
Roxidian scowled even more, his mood visibly souring.
“And you yourself—are you proud of pairing your granddaughter with a man who’d leave at the drop of a hat if the money’s right? What shallow affection. Is that something a doting grandfather should do?”
His cold voice dripped with icy sarcasm, delivered in a flat tone that barely rose or fell—like a simple recitation of facts—which only made it hit harder.
I watched with fascination.
But I was a little surprised, too.
‘Whoa, this brother hates Grandfather way more than he hates Charlize.’
Was this the strategy of using barbarians to control barbarians? He was shielding me while bombarding Grandfather.
It was exhilarating, in a way.
“……Please consider your words carefully.”
Grandfather looked pissed but was holding it in.
Well, for all their bickering, Roxidian was an emperor of exceptional ability—madness aside.
Not to mention his outstanding martial prowess.
‘He’s not someone you can openly rebel against.’
That said, Grandfather wasn’t the type to let someone trample his pride and walk away unscathed.
He’d probably plot something underhanded later.
I just hoped it wouldn’t backfire onto me.
‘No, for the sake of my peaceful engagement maintenance plan, too.’
As I watched with detached calm, Grandfather’s gaze landed on me.
But before that, a large hand from the tyrant clamped down on my shoulder.
“Hey, you go on ahead.”
“Huh? Uh, where to?”
“My carriage. Now.”
I was pushed along by the tyrant’s force, step by step.
I caught a glimpse of Grandfather’s expression, but the tyrant’s fierce eyes and the pressure on my back forced me out of the building.
Grandfather looked extremely displeased, reaching out as if to stop me, but he backed off at the tyrant’s mention of imperial command.
Glancing back, I saw Grandfather’s retreating figure and the tyrant’s ominous expression.
‘Hmm, they’re not going to throw down right here in this mansion, are they?’
* * *
“You’ve been visiting quite frequently lately.”
The moment Charlize disappeared, a chilling expression settled on Duke Altsbeit’s face.
Roxidian was no different.
If anything, the face he’d worn in front of Charlize had been mere child’s play; now it turned utterly ferocious, making the knights near the duke tense up instinctively.
The hostility and pressure radiating from Roxidian was ferociously savage, beyond words.
“Please stop visiting my granddaughter so often.”
Roxidian sneered.
“Why should I?”
“She is the daughter of Altsbeit, not imperial family.”
Roxidian paused. Not out of fluster.
In fact, he was laughing inwardly, amused.
The duke’s precious granddaughter, Charlize, whom he trusted so deeply—this duke would soon cast her out with his own hands.
He was the type to discard anything without hesitation if it was no longer needed.
Even his own daughter.
“She belongs to Altsbeit.”
People hushed it up now, but it was infamous how Duke Altsbeit had essentially sold his own daughter to the imperial family long ago.
To be precise, his mother—the Lady Altsbeit—had mistaken the emperor on a secret outing for a commoner man and fallen in love.
When Duke Altsbeit found out, he flew into a rage, calling it love with something lowly and worthless.
But once he learned the “commoner” was the emperor, the duke’s attitude did a complete one-eighty.
“Go to the emperor.”
He had personally offered his daughter to the emperor.
Of course, with the calculating condition that one of the children they bore would be handed over to Altsbeit.
Young Charlize might not have known, but Roxidian had heard it all so many times from childhood that his ears ached.
Even amid Duke Altsbeit’s sharp reaction, Roxidian chuckled inwardly.
‘Let’s see how long you can keep yapping like that.’
He was enjoying this.
Just how big a scandal would his no-good, villainess little sister cause this time to get herself kicked out of this household? He could hardly wait.
“Since you’ve already cast out your own granddaughter yourself, I’ll ask: what brings Your Majesty to my estate in person?”
“Do I have to tell you my purpose for visiting?”
I’m the emperor—do I need to explain my reasons to you?
At Roxidian’s curt retort, Duke Altsbeit clamped his mouth shut.
It was a sight that in no way resembled a conversation between grandfather and grandson.
“Why are you here?”
As if indulging a whim, Roxidian suddenly wiped the sneer from his face and flashed a grin.
“Even if she’s family, I was worried she’d show up to the Goddess’s Blessing Day commemorative ball in some shabby dress, so I came to personally deliver one made by the imperial family.”
“……Pardon?”
Duke Altsbeit’s beard trembled faintly.
Suppressing his anger with effort, he said to Roxidian,
“I have already prepared for my granddaughter……”
“Ah, whatever. Not really interested.”
Roxidian chuckled dismissively, raking his gaze over Duke Altsbeit from head to toe before brushing past him.
“Let’s not see each other again. If you can, stay out of my way. I’m the one who’d be inconvenienced.”
The elderly duke’s shoulders shook violently.
Roxidian’s footsteps faded into the distance.
Without turning his head, Duke Altsbeit called for his adjutant.
“……Right now, buy up the most expensive and finest ornaments, fabrics, dresses—everything you can think of in the empire—and give it all to Charlize!”
“Y-Yes, sir! Understood!”
The adjutant, terrified of Duke Altsbeit’s fury, bowed so low his head nearly touched the ground.
Originally, Duke Altsbeit had come to scold Charlize for her frequent outings lately.
He had told her to live quietly after returning from her trip, but she hadn’t followed at all.
However, with Roxidian’s interference, the duke’s original purpose vanished.
‘What, giving my granddaughter a dress?’
Don’t make me laugh. I won’t yield even a single hair of my granddaughter’s.
Duke Altsbeit’s goal had completely changed.
He wouldn’t lose to the imperial family’s wealth.
The duke’s insides churned, unsettled by Roxidian’s mocking gaze.
No, when it came to wealth, assets, and money, his pride was second to none—not even the imperial family. That was Altsbeit.
He was Duke Altsbeit, master of that golden fortune!
“Find out who the imperial designer is. And make sure no one makes the same dress for Charlize again, even if you have to pay more. If they refuse to listen…… kill them if you must.”
“……Understood, Your Grace. I will keep that in mind.”
Meanwhile, Roxidian paused midway down the corridor and glanced back toward Duke Altsbeit.
Just as expected, his grandfather was flying into a rage, his temper in absolute tatters.
It had gone exactly as planned.
‘You’re just a greedy, troublesome pig who only cares about money.’
Roxidian smiled contentedly, like a beast with a full belly.