Chapter 53

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The Reason for That Emotion, I Don't Know. (7)
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Even with the blade exposed, glinting in the moonlight, Ariana's demeanor remained unchanged. Instead, she offered a faint smile and spoke.

"Your Grace, the Eastern Duke, is truly blessed. To have someone like Your Excellency by his side, who cares so deeply for the Eastern Territory."

"..."

"As Your Excellency said, perhaps it would be better to kill me here. At least then, that sliver of doubt that troubles your hearts could be plucked out."

Ariana turned her head not towards Jeor, who stood blocking her path, but towards Ellus City. Gazing down at the quiet, peaceful city, Ariana continued.

"Because it is so beautiful and prosperous, everyone is constantly looking for an opportunity to devour the Eastern Territory. That's why the people of the Eastern Territory learn martial arts from birth to protect themselves. But will that be enough?"

Ariana fixed her gaze, which had been on the city, back on Jeor.

"The current Emperor is as fearful as he is suspicious. Even though he wishes to devour the Eastern Territory, he dares not raise his sword for fear that other nations would rebel the moment he does. But someday, someone might sit on that throne who, without a shred of fear, will strike down upon the Eastern Territory with a sword. If they lure those who covet the Eastern Territory to their side and repeatedly cast the sparks of war upon it... will the Eastern Territory still be able to escape the flames of war then?"

Ariana knew that it could not.

When the Third Prince Harold raised his sword against the Eastern Territory, Jeor died, and Russell fell.

"The Eastern Duke has turned his back on the Empire since the past incident, and he doesn't interact with other nations. When the Empire shoots flaming arrows at the Eastern Territory, who indeed will raise a shield for the Eastern Territory?"

Jeor's lips curved into an amused smile.

"And you... you might be able to raise that shield?"

"I have neither strength nor knowledge, so I cannot raise a shield. However, I can allow myself to be used for the Eastern Territory, as much as needed. I can prove my worth by being used even more than I use the Eastern Territory. I can also become a tie that connects the Eastern Territory to the Imperial Family."

"Aren't you overestimating yourself?"

"Whether that is so or not, you will naturally come to know if you wait and see."

"So, you want to be spared for now, so I can wait and see?"

Ariana lowered her gaze, which had been fixed on Jeor.

"I will not beg. Do as Your Excellency pleases."

Jeor gazed at Ariana's lush eyelashes.

Ariana was remarkably clever for her age.

Therefore, she must have known that Jeor wasn't merely speaking idly about death. She must have also realized that he was prepared to kill Ariana for the Eastern Territory and face the consequences.

Yet, Ariana did not show a hint of fear. Her slender shoulders were steady, and her lowered eyes were resolute.

Suddenly, he thought that this woman truly might be able to hold the Imperial Family in the palm of her hand and sway them. No, it wasn't just a thought, but a certainty.

"That dagger in your hand might have worked on other fools, but it won't work on me."

Ariana raised her head.

She had slipped her hand into her gown and gripped a dagger from the moment Jeor had taken up his sword.

"You are too frail and weak to protect yourself. Never let your knight escort leave your side. You never know when someone like me might target your neck."

+++

When the Western Duke and Rachel left for the Empire for the custody trial, Helena was pacing anxiously in the drawing-room, biting her thumb.

Victoria was calmly doing embroidery, her eyes, fixed on the hoop, shining darkly.

Helena plopped down beside Victoria and spoke.

"What if we lose the trial? Then Ariana will become the Eastern Territory's princess. A princess! Does she even deserve to be a princess?"

Rachel had been a princess of the Western Territory but married a Duke, while Helena and Victoria were daughters of a Duke. Thanks to their maternal grandfather being the Western Duke, they received more noble treatment than other duke's daughters, but it was nothing compared to a true princess.

Furthermore, among the four territories—Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern—that surrounded the Empire, none currently had a princess. The Northern Duke and Southern Duke were unmarried, the Eastern Duke had lost his daughter to his wife, and the Western Duke's two daughters had married, becoming a Duchess and a Countess.

"If she becomes a princess, she'll be the most noble lady on this continent, second only to the Imperial Princess."

On the Leverdon Continent, besides the vast Cameria Empire and the four surrounding territories—Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern—there were also many smaller nations. However, their power was so weak that even their kings were treated no better than a Duke or Count of the Empire.

The Eastern Territory was different from those nations. Even though it had fallen out of the Emperor's favor due to an unfortunate incident in the past, it was a nation with power that the Emperor could not rashly challenge.

Helena could not hide her anxiety at the thought that Ariana might become the princess of such a territory.

"Ugh, what do we do? It's just awful if she becomes a princess. How arrogant will she be once she's a princess?"

Helena glared at Victoria, who had merely been staring at her embroidery hoop without a single reply.

"This is all your fault, Victoria. Because you were needlessly suspected of being the murderer, she got a chance to escape!"

Victoria whipped her head around and glared at Helena.

The fury and hatred filling her green eyes seemed to engulf Helena. Helena instinctively flinched, pulling back.

An ominous voice seeped from Victoria's lips.

"Shut up, Helena."

"Wha—what? Hey, what did you just say to me...?"

"You foolish girl. All you know how to do is blame others. Born from a mere country viscount's daughter, you babble on as if you're something special just because Mother treats you a little kindly. Do you think this ducal estate will be yours forever? With your lowly status, marrying a country noble will be the best you can hope for."

Helena's face paled at the venomous words she had never heard before. Victoria's icy gaze, usually meekly smiling, froze Helena.

Helena's lips parted, then she quickly regained her composure and shouted.

"Hey! You crazy bitch! I'm Mother's daughter too, you know? I was born to Mother and Father! Long before you were even born!"

Victoria narrowed her brows.

"What did you say?"

"I'm the one Mother gave birth to while she was dating Father, before she married the Eastern Duke! We had no choice but to pretend I was the former Duchess's child, but I am truly Mother's first child!"

The clever Victoria could infer the situation from those words alone.

'So, she had to hide the fact that she had a child with another man because she had to marry the Eastern Duke.'

Now she understood why her parents were especially soft on Helena. She realized why they cherished Helena more than herself, even when Helena acted foolishly.

A hollow laugh escaped her.

All her efforts until now had been useless. No matter how much Victoria struggled, she would never be favored more than Helena.

Because her parents' love for Helena was based on guilt.

She recalled the day she was arrested under false accusation of murder.

Thinking of her father, who had backed away and no longer shielded her after a few words from the Chief Investigator, still made her blood boil. Even when she was confined in that cramped room, interrogated and condemned, her mother never came to see her.

'In this estate, I will never be the most cherished.'

Victoria sprang to her feet. Helena called out, but Victoria didn't look back, leaving the drawing-room and heading to her own.

'I need to find my place. I need to find someone who only wants me, who puts me first.'

She thought of Ariana. That smile Ariana had shown when she was being taken away by the Chief Investigator. That brilliant, sun-like smile that had burned Victoria black.

'Ariana will surely become the Eastern Territory's princess.'

Only after seeing that smile did she become certain that Ariana was no ordinary girl.

'If that's the case, then I must become someone more noble than Ariana.'

Ariana would undoubtedly step into the Empire's social circles someday.

'Just you wait, Ariana. Whatever you become, I will absolutely become someone nobler than you and destroy you. I'll make sure you die feeling an emotion far more agonizing than the humiliation I felt that day.'

So, for now, she couldn't reveal her disappointment and anger towards her family. She would certainly need her family's power to ascend to that high and noble position.

The seed Ariana had planted sprouted distrust in Victoria's heart. Just as Ariana had considered the Bronte Ducal Estate a prison, Victoria now also regarded it as a prison she must someday escape.

Unaware that even this was a piece of the revenge Ariana had orchestrated, Victoria quietly burned with hatred towards the family who had failed to protect her.

+++

Ariana arrived in Sterion City, the Imperial Capital, on May 4th. It was three days before the custody trial was to begin.

The mansion the Eastern Duke had secured in Sterion City was located in a quiet area, far from the bustling downtown. Even before they could unpack their luggage upon arriving at the mansion, the person the Eastern Duke had planted in the Empire came to deliver news.

"From the Western Territory, the Western Duke and Duchess Bronte have arrived. They landed a week ago, and we've confirmed that they secretly contacted a chief justice named Tuveson Heon, who is presiding over this trial. We looked into Tuveson Heon; his reputation isn't bad, but he occasionally delivers questionable verdicts. Some witnesses claim he can be swayed by money, but it's not certain."

The expressions of the Eastern Duke and the former Eastern Duke and his wife darkened upon receiving the report. Theodore sighed and spoke.

"The Western Duke must have used money. It would be better for us to offer a suitable sum as well."

Russell nodded.

"Yes, we've prepared enough, so we won't be outdone by the Western Duke."

"Find out how much the Western Duke offered, and make sure we spend at least double that."

"We shall."

Ariana, who had been quietly sitting to one side, listening to the adults' conversation, cautiously opened her mouth.

The adults turned to look at Ariana, startled as if they hadn't realized she was in the drawing-room.

Caradine nodded.

"Yes, speak."

"If we try to influence the trial in our favor, the Western Duke will surely find out. He is a cunning man, so he would definitely try to use it. He might dismiss his own bribery and accuse us. Perhaps the bribery itself was intended to trap us."

"That's true."

"We must act with absolute fairness and integrity. To the extent that no matter how much the Western Duke glares, he won't find a single flaw."

Theodore spoke with a worried expression.

"But what if that leads to an unfavorable outcome?"

"Regarding the bribery, we should let them handle it justly, not us. If this Tuveson is a chief justice, wouldn't there be others vying for his position?"

At Ariana's point, Russell looked surprised, then fell into thought. Eventually, Russell spoke.

"I've heard that a judge named Oatmeal clashes with Tuveson on every matter. If we mention the Western Duke and Tuveson's dealings to Oatmeal, he might move on his own to find evidence."

Ariana offered a faint smile.

"Then we can leave it to him."