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Chapter 66
Despite being occupied with pressing matters, the Emperor's concern for his family was remarkable.
The Emperor sighed softly to himself.
"One must always know when ‌to intervene and when to ‌‌refrain, after all."
In the meantime, Riedan ‌was being beaten to a pulp.
"Ugh, hack! Gasp! Cough!"
One ‌‌‌thing was certain: the Empress still knew ‌‌how to throw a punch.
After a suitable interval had ‌‌‌‌passed, Luca Class came rushing over from a distance.
"Minister! I've arrived!"
"Good. That Ministry of Education official looks like he's about to die, so treat him and lock him in the Prison."
At this rate, the Empress might actually kill Riedan.
That would be inconvenient. If he died instantly, only the Minister of Education who had backed him would feel at ease.
'Given the Minister of Education's nature, he's probably already arranged his own escape route... ‌but still, if Riedan remains imprisoned, it will eat away at him.'
That was why I had instructed Luca Class to come after a certain amount of time had passed.
Moving Luca Class was remarkably easy.
[You just ‌need to save one patient ‌‌you happen to discover while passing by.]
[I belong to the Health and Welfare Department. I cannot follow the orders of the Minister of Scrolls.]
[But isn't this a ‌‌‌request from me as your equal rival?]
[In that case, I'll go. I may have lost in the speed of promotion, but for the sake of fair competition until the end!]
The Health and Welfare Department's nature itself made mobilization quite convenient.
It was a department where treating first and reporting later was acceptable, rather than the other way around.
"He absolutely cannot die. I need to interrogate him."
"Yes." ‌‌‍
Only then did the Emperor slowly walk forward and take the Empress's arm.
"Leave the rest to me, Fron."
The Emperor spoke gently.
"I've heard everything about what this man did to our son."
As Luca Class dragged him away, Riedan cried out while bleeding profusely.
"No, I'm innocent! I, I truly acted for the honor and glory of the Crown Prince, hack!"
"You would do well to close that mouth of yours."
The Emperor spoke gently with a smile toward Riedan.
"If I were to unleash my fury right now, you would die—and I'm barely restraining myself from doing so."
It was truly merciful ‌‌‌‌‌restraint.
Meanwhile, the Empress seemed to regain her senses and collapsed where she ‌‌‌stood. Her gaze fixed upon Jayden, who stood rigid.
She stumbled over her words as she looked at Jayden.
"I... I'm s-sorry. Um, ah, ah, to your ‌‌‌‌mother... um... Have I ‌‌disappointed you again? I, I showed you such an uncouth side of myself again... Oh, what do I do..."
The Empress had not been nervous even in the Prison or the Courtroom.
Yet here she was, flustered and anxious before her own eight-year-old son.
I watched that scene quietly.
'In the original story... only after ‌‌‌‌the Empress dies and time passes, when Jayden grows into an adult, ‌‌‌does he learn that he was manipulated by the Ministry of Education officials.'
Jayden's expression was utterly bewildered.
At a glance, ‌‌‌the Emperor and Crown Prince Kiaros were equally preoccupied with suppressing ‌‌their fury.
If they vented their anger here, not only the servants but I would surely collapse as ‌well.
'...I have no choice but to step forward myself.' ‌‌
And in moments like this, a third party's perspective matters far more than family.
I approached Jayden slowly.
"Your Highness the Young Prince, I pay my respects."
Jayden's round ‌‌‌‌eyes looked up at me.
He breathed heavily as he asked.
"Who are you?"
Then he glanced at the Emperor and Crown Prince Kiaros behind me and immediately changed his tone.
"Ahem, we haven't met before. What is your name?"
"My name is Namia ‌‌‌‌Loapi." ‌
Jayden's eyes widened upon hearing my ‌introduction.
And he unconsciously recited what Riedan had said.
"That... the traitor who recklessly kicked away the Emperor's favor without knowing her place?" ‌‌
"No, Your Highness. I am the Minister of Scrolls who knows my ‌‌‌place well and accepted the Emperor's goodwill only in my heart."
I knelt down to meet Jayden's eyes.
The other members of the Royal Family's gazes converged upon us ‌both.
I ‌‌‌spoke carefully.
"Everything that Ministry of Education official named Riedan has taught you until now ‌‌is ‌‌‌‌a lie. Well, except for the knowledge ‌‌itself—he probably taught that well enough. So...."
I gave Jayden the words he had truly yearned for.
"The Empress loves Your Highness the Young ‌‌Prince dearly."
What the ‌‌young ‌‌‌‌Jayden in the original story had always secretly craved.
"More precious ‌‌‌to her than anything else ‌in this world."
"...Don't lie to me."
The Young Prince breathed heavily, speaking in a whisper.
"What would you know?"
"I know the Empress."
I smiled gently.
"She is always bold and magnanimous. Yet when it concerns Your Highness, she has never acted like herself. She hesitates, she suffers, she doubts herself, and she even loses her composure like this... It means Your Highness is that precious to her."
"...What does that even...."
"That Ministry of Education official's words are all lies. The Emperor and Empress truly love each other, and Your Highness, the fruit of their love, is their treasure."
Only then did the Empress, regaining some composure, breathe heavily and interject.
"Of course a mother ‌‌loves her child! How could you not ‌know that? Hmm?"
"...."
"Even the lowliest creatures cherish their offspring more than their own lives... How ‌‌could you possibly believe such nonsense?"
Tears welled in the Empress's eyes. I smiled faintly and whispered to Jayden. ‌
"You heard that, didn't you? There is a ‌‌‌great misunderstanding between Your Highness and the Empress. That is... something they should resolve between themselves."
"Haaah...."
The Empress trembled as she exhaled a shaky breath.
The Emperor gently wrapped his arm around ‌‌‌her shoulders and nodded.
"The Minister of Scrolls speaks wisely. Once you understand the situation, misunderstandings must be cleared directly. Since I too seem caught in this misunderstanding, I should help soothe her heart alongside you."
With the Emperor stepping forward, I felt reassured. He loved the Empress more than anyone else, and being a deeply rational man, I was confident the situation would be resolved ‌‌‌‌‌well.
"That I forcibly ‌‌‌placed Fron on the Empress's throne—how absurd. Such ‌‌‌nonsense."
"Y-you really didn't?"
"No matter how passionately devoted a dragon-kin may be, one ‌‌‌cannot force emotions. Just look at your brother, who became a wreck ‌after heartbreak, and at Miss Namia Loapi, who has been advancing brilliantly as a minister."
I nodded vigorously and smiled brightly.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Look at us. We're clearly getting ‌‌along quite ideally, are ‌‌we not?"
Crown Prince Kiaros muttered ‌‌‌beside me, "That's something only established couples say."
Originally, he had actively planned this ‌‌matter with me. The Empress wasn't the type to devise plans, and the Emperor had only just arrived.
But after we actually descended upon the scene, ‌‌he had remained silent the entire time.
The Emperor gently stroked Jayden's head and made a soft suggestion.
"Jayden, shall we talk together? About how much we love you."
"Your Majesty...."
"Your mother cherishes and treasures you so dearly.... What an absurd misunderstanding—a combination of an immature child and a wicked adult."
Tears then welled up in Jayden's eyes as well.
The Emperor winked at me.
"Remember this. Our family owes an immense debt of gratitude to Miss Namia Loapi."
"H-hic...."
"So don't go around saying you're a great criminal for rejecting the dragon-kin's proposal or any such nonsense. By that logic, your mother, who has rejected me for so long, should have already had all her limbs torn off and been beheaded."
I smiled softly watching the scene unfold.
The Empress's eyes were rimmed with red. Her face looked infinitely fragile despite her knuckles stained with blood.
'It seems my role is now complete.'
I slowly rose ‌‌‌to my feet. Then I bowed respectfully toward the Empress, Emperor, and Jayden gathered together.
"Then I ‌‌‌‌shall take my leave now."
I turned my body slightly and offered a polite greeting to Crown Prince Kiaros, who stood somewhat apart from the other members of the Royal Family.
After that, I quietly slipped out of the Separate ‌Palace alone.

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support ‌‌‌our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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