The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 119

119. The Emperor, Richard Ernhardt’s Change of Heart

2024.02.27.

Noticing the faint anger in the Emperor’s voice, Duchess Lilith fell silent. Seeing her reaction, the Emperor sighed and muttered quietly.

“Do you take me for a fool who can’t grasp the situation just because I let it slide?”

“A fool? What do you mean…?”

“It would be best if you stayed quiet for a while.”

Duchess Lilith instinctively realized,

‘I was definitely too hasty.’

She was a duchess whom everyone looked up to since birth. She could have everything she wanted and do everything she desired.

Although she had to bow her head before the imperial family, they couldn’t simply look down on the Lilith Dukedom either.

So, the word ‘impossible’ didn’t exist in her dictionary.

That was until she saw Richard Ernhardt, the Crown Prince at the time, at a debutante ball over 20 years ago.

The Crown Prince, with his black hair and the imperial family’s unique golden eyes, was burly and exuded an aura of intimidation.

He was a ruler who reigned over all, yet he had an aura that seemed capable of perfectly protecting his people from harsh storms.

Like a princess in a fairy tale who fell in love with a prince at first sight, Duchess Lilith lost her heart to him that day.

So, she approached him first. The Crown Prince didn’t seem to dislike her either, and he played along with her advances.

They even left the hall where the debutante ball was held and kissed in the garden. Duchess Lilith thought everything that happened that day was perfect.

The fatal problem was that the Emperor’s marriage partner was already decided, and preparations for the state wedding were well underway.

After the debutante party ended, Duchess Lilith returned to her mansion and confronted her father, Duke Lilith.

-Why didn’t you make me the Crown Princess?

Duke Lilith was embarrassed because Lilith herself had always hated the idea of being confined to the Imperial Palace and vehemently opposed it.

-I didn’t know His Highness the Crown Prince was that kind of person, so I did that. Even now…!

She acted like a child, but what couldn’t be done, couldn’t be done.

However, Duchess Lilith couldn’t give up on Richard Ernhardt. Perhaps the fact that it was the first thing she couldn’t have stimulated her competitive spirit and possessiveness even more.

After that, she refused all marriage proposals and became the Crown Prince’s secret lover. It was an act of rebellion that would have made Duke Lilith faint if he knew.

Even after he had his state wedding and was crowned Emperor, she remained by his side.

In fact, she never intended to live as the Emperor’s shadow forever. She just regarded it as a temporary amusement. She even felt a sense of exhilaration in having the Emperor’s heart, which even the Empress didn’t possess.

Then, Louis came into the picture. From that day on, everything changed.

Lilith roughly knew how illegitimate children were treated in the Empire. The Empire tended to turn a blind eye to mistresses, but not to illegitimate children. Illegitimate children, even if they were nobles, weren’t properly treated as nobles.

Even if they inherited the blood of the Empire’s most noble Emperor, an illegitimate child was still an illegitimate child. There was a high possibility that they wouldn’t be properly recognized as royalty.

Moreover, what would happen to Duchess Lilith’s reputation if she had a child out of wedlock?

Duke Lilith was furious when he learned all these facts. However, it was no use crying over spilled milk.

So, he hid Louis and raised him, planning to make his daughter the Empress.

However, the carefully planned poisoning was exposed, and Ophelia was safe. After that, he devised minor assassination plans, but they repeatedly failed.

He could no longer hide Louis, so he was officially recognized as a prince. This was possible because of the power of the Lilith Dukedom.

Still, it wasn’t enough. Duchess Lilith became increasingly anxious. It wasn’t because of the subtly changed reputation in society, but because of the Emperor.

Since when, the Emperor had shown signs of disliking her and Louis.

Moreover, it seemed like he cherished Joshua these days after he had been achieving great things.

That’s why she made the plan, but she never expected it to be discovered like this…

As Duchess Lilith clenched her teeth, the Emperor carefully tapped the back of her hand.

“Besides, didn’t I say that I was considering Rosette Adrian as Louis’s partner? With that child, Louis would be able to gain support. So why did you touch Adrian without consulting me?”

“The Adrian Duchess…”

Duchess Lilith muttered with clenched teeth.

“Would she really want to marry our Louis?”

“Hmm?”

“That child is already a perfect Adrian. Adrian won’t be Louis’s strength. Unless she stabs him in the back.”

The Emperor lightly clicked his tongue.

“It’s your role to turn such a duchess’s heart around. How are you going to do great things if you can’t even win over a young girl’s heart?”

“But…”

“Haa, Leonie.”

The Emperor massaged his throbbing temples.

“You know that Joshua caught the one called the Pirate King last time, right? Joshua’s status has risen quite a bit among the nobles and merchants who mainly trade.”

“…”

“This time, he even went out to subjugate monsters himself. Although he briefly returned to the capital because of the Empress’s matter.”

“So?”

Duchess Lilith’s voice was quite sharp as she retorted.

“On the other hand, Louis hasn’t done anything in particular.”

Duchess Lilith, who had been leaning her head on the Emperor’s arm, suddenly sat up.

“So, are you saying that our Louis is inferior to the First Prince now?”

She retorted in a somewhat agitated voice.

“That child was perfect from birth. I’m not just saying that because he’s my and your son, but he really has outstanding abilities in everything.”

“Leonie.”

“Of course, unlike the First Prince, he can’t use magic, but his swordsmanship is excellent, and he’s very smart! He’s been the kind of child who learns ten things from teaching him one thing since he was young. So how can you compare that child…”

“Don’t jump to conclusions. I know Louis’s skills well. But that’s how other nobles see it.”

Duchess Lilith closed her mouth and pouted her lips.

“If you keep stirring up the Empress’s side while Louis’s support base hasn’t been properly secured, what will happen to public opinion?”

“…”

Even at the Emperor’s words, Leonie had a displeased look on her face. Normally, he would have kissed those pouting lips to cheer her up, but…

‘I don’t feel like it.’

Not only now, but lately, Leonie’s actions had begun to bother him.

He first saw Duchess Lilith at the debutante party held a few months before his state wedding with Ophelia.

Even when he saw her with her hair loosely braided and roses pinned in it, the Emperor didn’t feel anything special. He just thought, ‘She’s beautiful as rumored,’ and that was the extent of his impression.

But Leonie Lilith took an interest in him and approached him first. Leonie Lilith was confident and didn’t cower even in front of him. That was new to him.

He had heard about Ophelia Ivelin, who would become his queen. She was said to be a quiet and gentle person, a princess who was more than qualified to become the Empress in the future.

She might be a good queen, but he didn’t think life with her would be fun.

Was that why? The Emperor quickly fell for Duchess Lilith.

After actually meeting Ophelia and having the state wedding, his feelings for Duchess Lilith grew even stronger. As expected, he didn’t feel much interest in Ophelia, who couldn’t even properly meet his eyes.

Clearly, he liked Duchess Lilith, who was confident and assertive, unlike Ophelia.

He didn’t know if it was love or simply possessiveness derived from curiosity.

But Duchess Lilith’s actions had slowly begun to bother him. It must have been after Louis was officially recognized as a prince.

Since a few years ago, Leonie had become very arrogant, going beyond being confident. She roamed the Imperial Palace as if it were her own home and acted recklessly, as if she were the Empress.

Was it because she was getting older? Rather, the Emperor was starting to be drawn to the soft-spoken Ophelia.

After spending over 20 years together, he saw Ophelia’s true self.

She was gentle and quiet, but she was by no means a weak person. She was the type of person who would say what needed to be said even in front of the Emperor. That’s why he was interested.

Besides.

‘That Joshua was different from what I thought.’

He thought that Joshua was mediocre in both swordsmanship and magic, and that he couldn’t do anything properly, but Joshua excelled in both.

Moreover, unlike Louis, who only knew how to flirt with nobles, he began to step forward for the Empire.

Their paths had clearly begun to diverge.

The Emperor had once condoned Duke Lilith’s actions in order to have Leonie Lilith as his queen.

But it was different now. The question of whether he really needed to marry Duchess Lilith as the Empress was always in his head.

But this time, she did something without consulting him.

Targeting Adrian. It would have been one thing if she had succeeded, but she failed miserably.

Judging from Duke Lilith’s reaction, it seemed to be Leonie Lilith’s solo act.

Even if she was his beloved lover, she had crossed the line this time.

The reason he didn’t blame Duchess Lilith and covered it up was because she was his lover and Louis’s mother.

‘At this rate, she’s going to try to take the Emperor’s throne.’

If Louis didn’t seem likely to become the Crown Prince, she might kill the Emperor before Joshua was appointed as the Crown Prince and start a battle for the throne.

It was just a hypothesis, but it was unsettling.

The Emperor somewhat roughly removed the arm of Duchess Lilith, who was still pouting and crossing her arms.

“Richard? No, Your Majesty?”

“Go back now. Since there are eyes watching, refrain from entering the palace for a while.”

The Emperor turned and headed to the Empress’s palace.

Duchess Lilith clenched her fist so hard that her hand turned white, watching his retreating figure before leaving the garden.

* * *

That night, Silver came to Rosette. After expressing his joy at seeing Rosette, Silver belatedly lowered himself in front of her.

Rosette immediately understood Silver’s signal.

“You want me to ride?”

[Woof!]

Rosette hesitated before climbing onto Silver’s back, and Silver quickly went outside and began to run.