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64.

"Are you trying to negotiate with me right now?"
The Emperor's face twisted momentarily.
"Well, those were things I said I'd seal away and lock up."
He seemed to have grown somewhat accustomed to our antics, for he quickly regained his composure.
"Wouldn't a rank of Baron be ‌‌‌sufficient? At least no one would dare say it's beneath Cassian Artez's betrothed."
The Emperor's gaze suggested I should know this better than anyone.
In truth, spouses of the ‌‌Royal Family had indeed emerged from the Baron rank quite frequently.
'Even now, he's still trying to keep Cassian Artez in check.'
Though my engagement to Cassian Artez was merely contractual, this approach felt rather petty.
I straightened my posture and opened my mouth with a business smile toward the Emperor.
"I understand that when the Empire determines a peerage rank, the primary criterion is the breadth of the territory."
"Are you attempting to instruct me on the standards of peerage before your Emperor?"
The Emperor's displeasure was evident.
My commoner's heart did flutter slightly, yet I had no intention of holding my tongue.
"Precisely because Your Majesty is just and fair, I speak so boldly. This matter of granting a new peerage will be recorded in the history books."
In other words: would you rather be remembered as an Emperor without standards or criteria?
The Emperor's face flushed crimson and purple for some time before he finally relented, groaning as if conceding defeat and gesturing for me to continue.
"The Unclaimed Territory ‌‌‌between Snowland and the Empire is vast enough to rival an ordinary ‌‌‌‌Earldom, and perilously close to a Marquessate."
Since it was a region inhabited by dragons, considerable ‌‌land lay unclaimed and untended.
Because the territory was so expansive, both the Empire and Snowland shared responsibility for managing the monsters there, and the Lair's sphere of influence extended precisely across that expanse.
"So you're saying I should ‌‌‌‌grant you an Earldom, and it wouldn't be a bad arrangement for me either?"
I offered my most refined business smile in response.
Why did the Emperor persist in thinking only of the minimum threshold?
I was hardly such a virtuous and unambitious person.
"Secondly, one must consider the strategic importance ‌‌of the ‌‌territory in question, and then the number of residents inhabiting it. This region's importance is sufficiently high to qualify as a Border Region, yet it is nearly devoid of inhabitants."
"So your conclusion is?"
The Emperor now rested his chin in his hand, waiting for my words.
"Therefore, if ‌‌‌a peerage were to be granted for that region, I believe the rank of Border Earl would be most appropriate. Even if Your Majesty had requested my assessment to grant the title to ‌‌someone else, I would have offered the same conclusion."
At my words, the Emperor laughed as if bewildered, then slowly straightened his posture. ‌‌‌
"How remarkable that you think alike—when I first asked that scoundrel Cassian Artez for his opinion, he said something quite ‌‌similar."
Then he let out a short, satisfied laugh.
"Of course, the advisors of the Sun Palace ‌‌offered much the same reasoning."
So he hadn't come unprepared after all; he was merely testing me.
Rather than adding further commentary to the Emperor's remarks, I simply waited for him to reach his conclusion.
The impatience should belong to the Emperor, not ‌to me.
The Emperor, who had been staring at me intently, soon made his decision—nodding as he set down his ‌‌‌teacup with a harsh clink.
"Very well. Not only the perpetrators themselves, but my advisors have suggested similar criteria as well. I shall grant it."
The ‌‌Emperor suddenly complained of fatigue and made a gesture for ‌‌me to withdraw.
But I still had business to attend to.
"Your Majesty, there is one more matter I wish to ‌‌‌request regarding the Hanella Marquis Family." ‌
You were about to make an innocent person a criminal—surely you should account for that as ‌‌‌well?
The ‌‌‌Emperor let out a deep sigh, as if he'd been ‌‌trying to gloss over it quietly.

*

In the end, I obtained what I desired, and received some rather unpleasant information as a ‌‌bonus.
I succeeded in redirecting one item from the ‌‌‌Hanella Marquis Family's confiscated assets ‌‌to Cassian Artez's share by emphasizing how much effort the Winter Palace had expended in clearly exposing this rebellion.
Since it was originally meant to go to the Imperial Family, ‌‌‌this arrangement proceeded more ‌‌‌smoothly than expected.
As the Emperor listened to ‌‌‌my request, his face took on an expression tinged with regret.

'How touching your bond is. Everyone says it isn't love, but I'm beginning to wonder if they're wrong.'
'Indeed, Your Majesty.'

Of course, I maintained my facade shamelessly.
The Emperor, seeing my immediate response, chuckled softly before offering unsolicited information.

'I too have never forgotten my first love, and have kept that seat vacant. So I understand your heart somewhat.'
'...Your first love, Your Majesty?'
'Why else would the Empress's seat remain empty?'

And why he had kept Cassian Artez alive all this time. ‌‌
At the Emperor's words, I barely managed to keep my expression from contorting.
It was truly absurd.
Someone so tender-hearted ‌‌allowed the Late Empress to fall into various dangers before Cassian Artez was even born and simply did nothing?
Yet on the other hand, it was a question fans had harbored faintly during ‌‌‌‌‌the original story's progression, which made the Emperor's claim all the more terrifying in its plausibility.
He had deliberately kept Cassian Artez alive—evidence of illegitimacy and a potential weakness to the Temple—even reassigning him to dangerous posts, and yet never granted the First Empress the seat of Late Empress.
'No, ‌‌I mustn't be drawn ‍‌‌in.' ‌‌‌
This cunning Emperor was precisely the type to gladly weave lies that would confuse ‌‌‌both me and Cassian Artez.
But what if it were true...?
After briefly weighing various possibilities in my mind, I decided to keep it merely as information.
Even if it were true, it wouldn't fundamentally change the direction between Cassian Artez and me, and I knew far too well that the Emperor would never aid us without personal gain.
That companion he claimed to have loved—hadn't he turned a blind eye to sacrifice for the sake of power?

'Prepare the documents regarding the conferment ‌‌‌‌of the Border Count title ‌‌yourself.'

I recalled the absurd task the Emperor had assigned me as I made my way to the Winter Palace.
Now I was about to become the first person in the Empire's history to prepare for a self-awarded peerage.

*

My ‌‌elevation to Marquis would take some time, but the confiscation of the ‌‌‌‌Hanella Marquis Family's assets proceeded swiftly.
The Emperor had prepared a list, ‌‌‌and ‌‌there was no one with the will to prevent the seizure.
Within a week, Cassian Artez and I stood upon the land we had extracted from ‌‌the Emperor.
The very Hanela ‌Marquis Residence where, not long ago, I had attended a tea party wearing the dress Cassian Artez had gifted me.
In the original ‌story, this was a place one could only visit after Cassian Artez ascended to the throne, but not here.
"...Something feels rather strange."
The fallen Hanela Marquis Residence still had no ‌‌servants assigned for maintenance, lending it a desolate atmosphere.
Cassian Artez descended from the carriage with slower steps than usual, his expression peculiar.
"Have I done something presumptuous?"
At my cautious question, Cassian Artez turned to look at me, ‌‌then shook his head with a bitter smile. ‌‌‌
"Not at all, it's just..."
He extended his hand toward me.
"I was thinking that only Roselita ever considers my feelings."
I clasped his hand and laughed.
"I was merely returning what belonged to Your Majesty."
Ten years ago, this land purchased by the Hanella Marquis Family had originally belonged to the Liarden Duke House—the family of Cassian Artez's mother, the Late Empress.
Here stood a distinguished ducal mansion, meticulously maintained for over five centuries.
However, after ‌‌the Liarden Duke House fell into decline, ‌‌‌‌the people of the Capital City treated it as an eyesore, and after the Hanella Marquis Family purchased it, they destroyed it completely, leaving no trace.
Yet that did not change the fact that this land belonged to the Liarden Duke House.
"...Just as Mother left it in her diary."
The traces of a ‌‌‌great house accumulated over five centuries had not entirely vanished.
Cassian Artez had never shown it, but in the original story, he had always longed ‌‌‌‌to reclaim this place.
The original Roselita Salice had ‌‌‌gathered information to fulfill Cassian ‌‌‌Artez's wish, to the point where she was nearly caught by the Hanella Marquis Family.
I tightened my grip on Cassian Artez's hand and asked quietly.
"Since you never spoke of this place, I thought it held no meaning for you."
That was why I had hesitated ‌‌‌slightly when making the request to the Emperor, wondering if I was overstepping.
But my concerns proved unfounded as Cassian Artez answered with a low laugh.
"...Revealing what one desperately desires is the same as exposing ‌‌‌one's weakness, isn't it?"
At his words, I paused for a moment, then simply laughed.
He was not testing me as before, nor urging me forward—he was simply sharing his inner self with me.
He ‌‌‌merely wanted to share what he felt with me.
The thought ‌that the stories I had recited to him in childhood had become his pillar of support made my heart swell unexpectedly.
As I leaned slightly against him, he released my hand and drew me into his embrace, allowing me to rest comfortably.
It was truly a beautiful garden.
Even as the Hanella Marquis Family had torn down and rebuilt everything else, they had preserved this place alone, accumulated through long ages, exactly as it was.
Cassian's mother, the Late Empress, had enjoyed spending time here during her days as a Liarden Duke House daughter before her marriage.
The swing that Duke Liarden had personally tied for her, and the small path she had walked along with the Duchess, his wife.
I walked through the rear garden with Cassian, decorated in its natural state without artificial embellishment, exchanging various thoughts.
"So, Roselita. What is it you wanted to tell me?"
A chill wind swept sharply between us.
Cassian gazed at me with lonely eyes, as though he had steeled himself for something.

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