IBTCETEC 10

~Chapter 10~

If not the government, then who?

Warm air from the magic stone dried Regina’s hair. The maids, who were good at styling hair, asked her,

“Do you have any style you like?”

“Not really.”

It had been a long time since anyone helped her with her hair.

She’d spent years leading the magician corps on battlefields.

Even when she stayed in the Permang imperial palace, the maids never treated her like a real royal because they looked down on her.

When she was younger, she sometimes scared the maids with her magic.

But once, a maid she trusted switched sides and put poison on her clothes for her half-sister. After that, Regina dismissed all her close maids.

The maids exchanged glances when they saw Regina looking upset in the mirror.

Then, suddenly determined, the maids spoke out loudly:

“We’ll make a style that perfectly suits you, Lady!”

“Leave it to us!”

The sudden cheer snapped Regina out of her thoughts. She didn’t know why they were so excited, but just watched in the mirror.

Whatever they thought, the maids worked even harder, glancing at each other and decorating Regina’s hair with fresh flowers.

She barely recognized herself in the mirror.

She blinked and thought, When was the last time I was dressed up like this?
Only once, at a banquet for foreign envoys when she was very young.

“We brought your dress.”

As Regina stood up in her slip, the maids moved.

The red dress was as bright as her hair, with gold threads and diamonds sparkling in the light.

A shining necklace was put around her neck.

The maids stepped back, smiling as Regina stared at herself.

The head maid spoke:

“Do you like it?”

“…Very much.”

She couldn’t think of any fancier words.

The head maid bowed deeply.

“His Majesty is waiting for you.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Regina nodded and took a deep breath.

The first task for fulfilling the contract was waiting.

The audience hall of Fredericks was usually only for Conrad, but because of the monster attacks, Empress Dowager Chloe used it too.

She didn’t sit on the throne, but had a special seat. The nobles accepted this without question.

Even when Conrad was on the throne, Chloe sat below him. Nobody complained.

Chloe stayed through the secret meeting, listening to important matters.

When the meeting was nearly over, the nobles glanced nervously at Conrad.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Uh, cough! You say it!”

“Why me?”

Marquis Ludvika got pushed forward, and the other nobles quickly stepped back.

He looked around, then coughed and finally spoke up.

“I have something to ask, Your Majesty.”

For the first time, a noble brought up a problem in the meeting—and it was someone from Chloe’s side, so Conrad’s supporters grew tense.

Conrad frowned, guessing what they were about to say, and got more annoyed.

But he decided to let them speak this time.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“What is it?”

His voice was gentle, but his eyes were not.

Marquis Ludvika, not noticing Conrad’s cold look, straightened up and spoke in an accusing tone.

“We heard you brought a woman into the palace.”

“I did.”

Marquis Ludvika was shaken by how calmly Conrad answered.

Conrad didn’t take back his words.

“Is there a problem with me bringing a woman in?”

“Well, the empress’s seat is still empty, but you brought in a mistress first…”

“Who dares to say such a thing?”

Conrad’s words were cold and sharp. The whole hall went silent.

“That’s—!”

“Do I look like a man with nothing to do but play with a mistress instead of an empress?”

“Your Majesty, please calm down…!”

The nobles all started sweating. Conrad’s pressure as a Swordmaster was too much for officials who had never even drawn a sword.

“If she’s not a mistress, then who is the woman in the imperial palace?”

Chloe broke the tension with a calm smile, stepping in between Conrad and the nobles.

For the first time, Conrad and Chloe directly faced each other in the audience hall.

Conrad’s eyes narrowed at Chloe’s challenging gaze.

Chloe’s face froze, thinking his smile was mocking. Conrad spoke with a careless look:

“Of course, she’s going to be the empress.”

“The empress?! What do you mean?!”

It was Chloe who asked, but Marquis Ludvika shouted in shock. Other nobles joined in.

“Not just anyone can be empress!”

“That’s right, Your Majesty! The empress must be from a noble family no one can doubt!”

Their loud voices filled the hall, but Conrad just watched.

How annoying, he thought.

He was already twenty-eight. Compared to Cain, who married at eighteen and had a child at twenty, Conrad was late.

Cain, Chloe’s son, would inherit the throne if Conrad had no child.

Chloe also had a daughter, Stella, who could be used for marriage and throne politics if she wasn’t a knight.

“May I ask who this noble lady is, Your Majesty?”

Chloe asked, assuming the woman must be noble.

“So, the Empress Dowager is sure she’s a noble.”

“I have ears in the palace too.”

“I also have eyes and ears in your palace.”

Nobles held their breath at the open tension.

“The empress’s crown can only be worn by a noble lady from a long-standing Fredericks family, so let me ask just one thing.”

“Go ahead.”

Conrad’s eyes were cold as he answered.

Chloe could see the blue flame in his eyes as she met his gaze.

“Did you get permission from her parents?”

“Sadly, she’s alone.”

Just then, an attendant came to Conrad and whispered that Regina was waiting outside.

Conrad gestured, and the doors opened.

Regina entered, beautifully dressed.

But what caught the nobles’ eyes wasn’t her expensive dress or necklace.

It was her elegant, graceful walk as she softly entered the hall.