Chapter 117

Just before leaving Victoria’s palace.

I asked Victoria, who had been instilled with a great sense of responsibility, to hold out her left hand.

“Why is that?”

Though puzzled, Victoria readily extended her left hand.

Before coming here, I had prepared a strip, with which I carefully wrapped her left ring finger. After making a mark, I immediately unwrapped it.

Victoria couldn’t possibly not understand the meaning of this act.

“Sir Alan, might you…”

“You mentioned earlier about expecting a ring, didn’t you? Without knowing the size, I couldn’t presumptuously prepare a betrothal gift… Though, I do know it’s proper etiquette to subtly inquire from the handmaid.”

“It’s fine. As a matter of fact, I recently let go of the maid in charge of jewelry. She was a daughter of the Wolphall family.”

As Victoria touched her left ring finger that I had held, her lips quivered slightly, and her eyes suggested she was trying to contain her smile.

“There are still many obstacles before we reach the point of marriage. I trust Your Highness understands this well, even without me needing to say it.”

“Of course.”

“But if we work together, we’ll surely manage to overcome them. I’ll focus on sorting things out for the time being… Please forgive me if we don’t see each other for a few days.”

“There’s no need for you to ask for my forgiveness.”

Victoria then requested a handshake.

An agreement to see each other again at the “Imperial Knight Inspection Ceremony” five days from now.

A simple event where the Imperial Guard divisions parade in front of the Emperor.

Victoria had originally planned to formally request her engagement to me before the Emperor on this day. That plan hasn’t changed.

‘Now that I’ve received his consent, there’s nothing holding me back.’

I nodded without hesitation.

Having this specific timeline was, quite frankly, a blessing in disguise from my standpoint. An event with the Emperor, Empress Lianhua, and both Imperial Princesses present — it made preparing an event targeted at Victoria far easier.

“Then we shall meet then, Your Highness.”

That day, I also intended to receive the cooperation of Siena.

***

Five days later. The Imperial Palace.

The First Princess, Victoria, was directly overseeing the preparations for the inspection ceremony.

And she was unusually cheerful doing so.

‘It’s probably better to petition Mother after the event.’

Initially, Victoria had planned to confidently announce her decision to get engaged to Alan Medoff in front of the dignitaries and the few royal relatives present. She had no intention to worry about possible backlash.

But now, there seemed to be no need to force anything.

For the sake of the admirable man who chose her over Siena, even accepting potential enmity from Siena, she wished to proceed as peacefully as possible. She didn’t want to fight Siena unless absolutely necessary.

Fortunately, so far, only good news had come: Alan had visited a specialized jewelry shop in the Minster District, inquiring about a betrothal gift; he had contacted his rural family to discuss their impending engagement; and even more surprisingly, Siena was behaving quietly.

The last part… was unexpectedly surprising.

There was no way Siena, known for her determination, would willingly let go of Alan so easily.

But rather than confront her, accusing her of scheming, Victoria chose not to provoke her unnecessarily.

After all, the fight was already settled, wasn’t it?

Victoria had targeted Alan not to torment Siena but to safeguard the Empire with Alan Medoff. A revival plan for the Empire, to be worked on together with Alan, had already begun taking shape in her mind.

Today marked the beginning of that historical initiative.

The dignitaries took their seats one by one.

Mostly tense faces — whenever they met Victoria’s eyes, they would maintain formal courtesy but avoided drawing attention to themselves. Perhaps this was due to the execution of her maternal uncles.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Because she only needed one person who truly understood her.

Alan Medoff.

The man who would soon become her fiancée.

He was also scheduled to attend the inspection ceremony today.

“Please escort Sir Alan to the seat beside me when he arrives.”

“Your Highness, how…”

“It’s fine.”

Victoria instructed the Chief Steward. People would inevitably suspect why Alan was seated beside her at an imperial event. Even her father might be surprised, but she intended to formally raise her petition after the event. Her request for permission to marry and her wish to help the Emperor with his benevolent governance through Alan.

Alan, having made his decision, would surely assist in convincing her father. Empress Lianhua would support as well if she saw the merit.

‘It won’t be easy.’

Nevertheless, it had to be done.

“Sir Alan has arrived.”

Victoria’s face brightened. Alan Medoff entered, dressed in a formal uniform, though he no longer carried the fierce demeanor of a knight but appeared neatly composed.

“Your Highness, I’ve done my best too.”

“Sir Alan?”

Alan’s usually cheerful expression seemed unusually somber. There was a reason.

“…This morning, I visited Princess Siena. I earnestly pleaded with her not to cause a scene in front of His Majesty the Emperor today.”

“And?”

“She smiled and said she understood, promising to behave.”

Siena had agreed to this?

Something seemed off. Siena had no reason to let Alan go so easily. If Siena were truly plotting something, it would not slip past the perceptive Alan. Feeling a rising sense of unease, Victoria stared intensely at Alan.

Her suspicions proved right.

“Princess Siena mentioned a request of her own to His Majesty that also involves myself. Shortly after the ceremony, she aims for an audience with the Emperor.”

“What…?”

“She intends to suggest sending me to the east, to Chinguk.”

“…”

What was this about? Victoria felt disoriented.

“Princess Siena brought up the Chinguk delegation arriving in two weeks. As a response to their visit, she argues we must send a visiting delegation to their country and that she will assist in getting me assigned to that delegation.”

“What?”

“I tried to dissuade her, but it didn’t work. I apologize.”

Victoria could only blink in confusion.

Suggest Alan as a visiting diplomat to Chinguk?

Initially, it was hard to believe, but soon she nodded in understanding. Perhaps Siena was upset with Alan and wanted to remove him from sight entirely or was trying to obstruct their union by making sure neither could have him.

Still, this was too underhanded.

Victoria shook her head, regaining her composure.

“Don’t worry. His Majesty would never send you abroad. You are the only person in the world who knows the method of making heroin. Sending such a person overseas is far too dangerous. His Majesty will… not allow it.”

“I regret to say, even that isn’t certain.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s a chance His Majesty might send me to Chinguk, assigning multiple surveillance officers. He may consider sending me faraway preferable to making me a son-in-law. Given Princess Siena’s knack, anything is possible.”

“Ah…”

“Even after my departure, His Majesty’s concerns will only grow larger. Princess Siena likely understands this.”

So this was Siena’s hidden strategy. Victoria exhaled in mild surprise.

It seemed Siena was determined to ruin Alan. If their engagement were formalized, the Emperor would certainly stop any plan to send Alan far away; it would simply be out of the question. But they were still before the petition.

‘Siena has chosen a perfect moment.’

Until now, Victoria had eagerly anticipated receiving permission for the engagement.

Now, everything seemed bleak. If Siena’s rebellion were overt, they could suppress it. Victoria had burned her maternal home — certainly, she wasn’t afraid to deal with her half-sister. However, this was a cunning approach; you couldn’t simply purge a sibling over a diplomatic delegation suggestion.

Whatever the outcome of Siena’s scheme, chaos was inevitable. Siena would not stop.

‘Damn.’

For how long had she been lost in thought? Siena appeared now, leading the third detachment of knights participating in the ceremony, with an overly cheerful expression. She even waved at Victoria after their eyes met.

First, attempt to block her.

As soon as Siena sat down beside her, Victoria warned her.

“Siena. This won’t work.”

“You heard from Alan, I presume?”

“Yes, and Father—!”

“A father will agree. Besides, Alan would never betray the empire’s secrets abroad. As you said, he’s loyal. Even if someone doubts him, you could explain his innocence.”

Victoria knew Alan to be an upright man.

Even if bribed or threatened in Chinguk, he wouldn’t divulge critical information. However, even the mere mention of him as a diplomatic envoy or, worse, being appointed as the receiving official for Chinguk’s delegation, would invite unwarranted suspicion.

Truly, it was an ingenious strategy.

Victoria sighed and looked at Alan. He looked similarly troubled, staring aimlessly at the sky.

This awkward situation, unsolvable by force, irritated Victoria deeply.

***

Siena had followed my request.

She subtly provoked her sister even now, thinking she and I were conspiring to deceive Victoria.

Truthfully, her act could be considered genuine at least in part. Deep down, she likely anticipated some form of disaster.

“Sister, surely you don’t believe this will end well?”

Victoria’s expression grew increasingly serious.

“Make way for His Majesty the Emperor!”

As the Emperor and Empress Lianhua appeared on the balcony, the Emperor gave me a silent glare while standing next to his eldest daughter. I couldn’t tell if this sour expression was directed toward me or because of a hangover, or possibly both. Victoria, sensing the gaze, sighed.

At this critical moment, Victoria’s resolve is paramount. I decided to test her.

“Your Highness, I’m afraid we’ll need to….”

“Otherwise, the situation will only worsen further. I’ll see if I can find a solution.”

Victoria replied solemnly. When Siena cast a questioning look, “Sister?” Victoria sighed compassionately in response.

This is enough, we can proceed.

I thought this just as my face began to burn. Turning my head, I noticed the Emperor staring at me intently with an extremely displeased expression as he reviewed the knights arrayed below.

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