MHFW 71

Chapter 71

‘What am I thinking…?’

Overcome by a feeling that even he could not understand, Kallis stopped in surprise.

Crack—

The sound of a dry branch being crushed beneath his shoe rang out.

“The Crown Prince will also be attending this meeting… Your Highness?”

Eliana, who had been walking one step ahead, heard the sound clearly. She turned around while continuing what she had been saying.

Kallis had stopped and was staring endlessly at the ground.

‘What is this?’

Sensing something strange that she could not explain, Eliana reached out her hand.

“Your Highness.”

At her call, Kallis flinched and his shoulders trembled.

“……”

A brief silence followed.

“Are you all right?”

Eliana asked. She was surprised to see him flinch as if he had been burned, but it did not seem to be her problem.

On a warm summer afternoon, Kallis was sweating coldly. His pupils were greatly constricted, and his red lips were dry.

His face had gone so pale, like someone who had just awakened from a nightmare, that Eliana almost felt sorry for asking what was wrong.

“Ah, no. I just went to sleep late, so I suppose the sunlight made me dizzy.”

Kallis hurriedly pulled himself together and explained with a charming smile.

Eliana narrowed her eyes, then turned her head and let out a small sigh.

Everyone had secrets. She did not particularly want to dig them up.

They were partners who had made a deal for what they each wanted. There was no need for anything beyond that.

If she became interested, she would learn many things, and the more she knew, the more likely it was that her emotions would become involved.

That could affect efficiency.

She wanted to avoid such a situation.

“The Crown Prince’s health must not suffer. Shall we go inside?”

“I showed you an embarrassing side of myself.”

Kallis put on an especially bright smile.

Eliana was not pleased, but she did not pay any more attention to it.

There were simply too many things she had to do.

A week had passed since Eliana had promised to cooperate with Selina.

The carriage carrying Eliana and Kallis stopped at the place they had agreed upon beforehand.

The carriage was an ordinary one, the kind that no one would guess had carried a young lady, a member of the imperial family, or even a noble from the frontier.

Their clothes were similar as well.

They were dressed even more simply and modestly than when they had gone out to have fun with Kaleon after the Founding Festival banquet.

After much consideration, they had decided on this because they did not know who might be following them or secretly watching them.

If rumors spread that the young lady and Crown Prince, whose marriage had already been arranged, were meeting the future head of one of the great families leading the Neutral Faction, anyone with common sense would be able to guess the reason for the meeting.

It was not safe to reveal their intentions completely.

It would not remain hidden for long, but at least it would not happen today.

The door opened, and Kallis stepped down.

Then, as he always did, he held out his hand to Eliana.

However, Eliana did not take his hand. She simply jumped down.

Kallis’s hand remained awkwardly suspended in the air for a moment.

“We are neither the young lady nor the Crown Prince right now.”

“I see.”

Kallis realized what Eliana meant and gave a small laugh.

Eliana felt relieved to see that he looked much better than when they had talked about the Rembricks in the garden.

If she brought a Crown Prince who was not mentally sound as an equal partner, they might not be recognized as a proper negotiating partner.

It was strange that a large, grown man would become dizzy from sunlight just because he had stayed up all night, but there were all kinds of people in the world.

Besides, Eliana was hardly in a position to criticize others for their stamina or health.

“We are newlyweds, so surely you will allow me to escort my wife?”

Kallis asked as he took Eliana’s hand.

For a moment, she almost lost herself in his smooth and innocent-looking face, but she held onto her fleeing senses and nodded.

“It is my honor, Madam.”

Kallis kissed the back of Eliana’s hand.

Eliana’s face seemed to take on a slightly reddish color.

The two entered the building they had agreed upon.

Selina Rembricks and Selsion Rembricks were already there, as if they had arrived earlier.

“You have come a long way.”

“It was no trouble.”

Eliana smiled.

Selsion also gave them a polite smile and invited them to sit.

Just as Eliana was about to pull out her own chair and sit down, Kallis, who was standing behind her, pulled out the chair according to her movement.

‘…Does he really have to go this far?’

It no longer looked like something between friendly fiancés.

It looked as if she had dared to use a Crown Prince as a servant.

Eliana shot Kallis a faint glare.

However, Kallis simply looked at her with sparkling violet eyes, as if he had no idea what he had done wrong.

‘What is he doing again?’

She could not understand Kallis’s behavior, but there was no reason to complain unnecessarily here.

So she simply sat down naturally.

As soon as Eliana sat, Kallis pushed the chair in, leaving an appropriate amount of space, and then sat beside her.

The Rembricks siblings, who had watched the whole thing from the front, exchanged glances.

But it was already too late to undo it.

“So, my young lady Selina has already told me about it. Prince Tarsian demanded that?”

Eliana spoke first.

“That is correct.”

“It is the value and rights guaranteed by the previous generation. It is right that you should hold them in your hands.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Selsion Rembricks gave a slight bow.

“Was it not originally your family’s? There is no reason for me to receive thanks.”

Eliana deliberately spoke sharply.

Selsion Rembricks’s face twitched, though not in a particularly negative way.

“But there is something I am curious about.”

“Please ask.”

“What is the current opinion of the Neutral Faction?”

Silence fell.

‘I need to make sure of this.’

The Rembricks family, the leading house of the Neutral Faction, had decided to support Kaleon because Prince Tarsian had demanded that they join his faction and because they did not want the Neutral Faction to collapse.

More precisely, they were not supporting Kaleon himself.

They simply did not want Tarsian to become emperor.

If that was the case, did the other families that shared the Rembricks’ views feel the same way?

“That depends on the opinion of each family’s head…”

Eliana raised the corners of her lips.

He was saying that because it depended on each family’s head, he could neither tell her nor know the answer himself.

‘How amusing.’

Eliana inwardly scoffed as she looked at Selsion.

He was testing her right now.

How clever she really was, as the rumors claimed, and how much she could benefit his family and his own future.

His red eyes, similar to Selina’s, seemed to be taking her apart piece by piece.

Kallis seemed to notice that gaze as well, and he looked displeased.

Being treated as something whose value was being measured was not a pleasant feeling.

Of course, it was something nobles habitually did in this world, where they had to do whatever was necessary for the safety of their families and themselves.

Eliana’s lips stretched upward into a wide smile.

It was quite an attractive smile, but Selsion thought it resembled the smile of a witch.

“I do not particularly like speaking in circles.”

“Neither do I.”

Selsion answered in a calm voice.

He used the most aristocratic language of all while leading his family, yet he certainly knew how to speak.

Of course, she was not very different.

“Let us speak frankly. Neither His Highness the Crown Prince nor I wish to absorb the Neutral Faction.”

“As a subject, how could I refuse the choice of my lord?”

Eliana’s expression became quite interested upon hearing Selsion’s words.

The siblings were both far from ordinary.

What he was saying did not really mean that he could not refuse his lord’s choice.

Rather, he was asking, How can you expect us to believe that? Even if you say that, if you try to absorb us, what choice will we have?

She liked his sly way of speaking because it was very similar to hers.

“I want the Neutral Faction to remain neutral and continue to keep the other two factions in check.”

Selsion and Selina’s expressions shifted, perhaps because they were caught off guard by her unexpected directness.

Even Kallis beside her widened his eyes and looked at her.

“Erulates values balance.”

“It is a teaching that forms the foundation of the Empire.”

“Yes. And that teaching, which forms the foundation of the Empire, should also apply to the important matters of governing the people.”

In truth, it was not such a grand idea.

Erulates and all that was merely an explanation suited to this world’s way of thinking.

What she really wanted was something else.

Checks and balances.

For Kaleon’s position, Tarsian and Pellepa could not be allowed to gain too much power.

But it would also be troublesome if they disappeared completely.

Among those other than Kaleon, Tarsian was the only one who dared to aim for the imperial throne and openly show such ambition.

Tarsian’s momentum was so fierce with the Pellepa Ducal Family and the First Empress behind him that no one else even dared to dream of the imperial throne.

Tarsian was Kaleon’s greatest rival and also his shield.

Because Tarsian existed, the other empresses and princes did not dream of becoming emperor.

So all she needed to do was keep him under control.

And Eliana had already dealt blows to Tarsian and the First Empress.

They had certainly been damaged, but their power had not completely diminished.

The Pellepa Ducal Family remained strong, Tarsian was still arrogant, and the First Empress was not much different now that her confinement had ended.

She needed Tarsian as a rival and as another shield.

At least until Kaleon became emperor.

Therefore, rather than having Kaleon absorb the Neutral Faction and create a two-sided power structure, she thought it would be more beneficial to leave Pellepa standing, even with one or two pillars removed, so that they could provide checks and protection.

“That is an idealistic theory.”

“I will not deny it.”

Selsion calmly looked at the young lady speaking idealistically.

His younger sister was clever, but perhaps she was worried that the meeting would end like this, because she kept looking back and forth between him and the young lady.

“If power does not remain balanced, all that remains is destruction caused by those consumed by desire.”

“That is quite a leap.”

“Do you truly think so?”

Eliana straightened her back and slightly raised her chin.

It was intentional, but it gave her a rather arrogant posture as she looked down at Selsion.

“There are times when the scales must be tilted for the greater good.”

“That is true. However, doing something once is difficult, but doing it twice becomes easy.”

“……”

Silence fell again.

Eliana and Selsion continued to face each other.

Kallis pretended not to care, but he was quite tense.

His jaw ached from how hard he had unconsciously been clenching it.

It felt as if a weasel and a huge snake were fighting.

“His Highness the Crown Prince loves the people. That will not change much even after he takes his place on the throne of the sun.”

Eliana’s voice rang out firmly, as if she had decided it was time to bring the conversation to an end.

“He is someone who understands very well that the peace of the people leads to the prosperity of the nation.”

“So regardless of faction, he will choose those who seek ways to bring peace to the people.”

What do you think?

Eliana shrugged her shoulders.

Factions would compete fiercely for power, and the emperor would choose among them—the faction that sought the better way to bring peace to the people.

That was the checks and balances Eliana had envisioned.

There was a risk that, as time passed, it would simply turn into a fight over resources.

But if the person making the choice had the right values, it could provide some degree of purification and control.

And Kaleon was someone who would willingly make the right choice.

If Wintair, who was not part of the Neutral Faction, supported Kaleon from behind, while the Rembricks Marquessate stood at the center holding the chains and keeping everything balanced.

And if the remaining factions sought better solutions in order to gain power and receive the emperor’s favor.

“……”

Silence returned.

They continued to examine each other, neither willing to yield even an inch.

An overwhelming sense of pressure and tension poured from the two of them.

“Heh.”

Selsion let out a small laugh.

“I apologize for my rudeness. The survival of our faction is at stake, so I was somewhat impolite.”

“I understand. I do not blame you.”

“Thank you for your mercy.”

Selsion moved somewhat dramatically.

His movements were almost like those of an actor performing on a stage.