ITIF Chapter 112

The First Meeting After Being Reborn

The situation was far too coincidental to dismiss.

Marquis and Marchioness Latse, who had suddenly taken a leave to go on vacation, were murdered by bandits.

And by bandits who just happened to be in that area, no less…….

‘By the way, why did they go to the west?’

The western part of the Empire—that was where the barbarians lived.

Of course, that term was the Phasis way of referring to them, and they had their own way of identifying themselves.

In the past, when she was living as Princess Trinity, she too had gone to the west.

It was because of the continued civilian pillaging incidents by barbarians who had flowed into the territory adjacent to the Phasis Empire.

The lord in distress had requested help from the Emperor, and the Emperor ordered her to go west and resolve the conflict.

Having gone west with the Princess’s knight order, she had fallen into a trap and barely survived a near-death experience.

The number of knights who died then was not small either.

“…….”

Giselle Grante’s brow furrowed deeply.

Once she began to recall it, the painful memories from that time surged in like a tidal wave.

Giselle Grante hastily shook her head.

Whether it was that incident or the current matter of Marquis and Marchioness Latse, she only had suspicions about who was behind it—there was still no evidence.

However, if her speculation was correct, the Empress had eliminated one of her strongest allies with her own hands.

****

‘It really does show immediately when one person is missing.’

After briefly staring at the empty seat, the Empress soon left her office.

As her work processing speed slowed more than usual, she keenly felt the absence of Marchioness Latse.

However, the Empress was not one to regret past actions.

‘I wonder which family would be good to bring in a new lady-in-waiting from…….’

As she walked toward her bedroom with such thoughts, an attendant approached and whispered in her ear.

“It seems the matter has been resolved well.”

The corners of the Empress’s mouth curved up pleasantly.

“And the aftermath?”

“The surviving knights are escorting the bodies of Marquis and Marchioness Latse to the imperial capital.”

“There are survivors?”

At the Empress’s overtly displeased gaze, the attendant quickly added,

“It seems it was burdensome to deal with more than ten armed knights in a busy downtown area with many eyes watching…….”

The Empress clicked her tongue. She was sick of hearing excuses. After all, weren’t excuses the exclusive domain of the incompetent?

Nevertheless, since the matter had been resolved well, she didn’t want to pursue it further. There were more urgent matters to attend to anyway.

The Empress, who had turned to face forward, stopped walking for a moment and looked at the attendant.

“Oh, when did they say Joshua would return?”

“I’ll find out and inform you.”

“Tell him to return to the imperial palace as soon as possible.”

“Understood.”

Only after hearing the attendant’s affirmative answer did the Empress resume walking.

For those trying to protect something, the most dangerous time was when the house was empty, and for those trying to steal, an empty house was the easiest to rob.

So to protect the house before those looking for an opportunity could take it, Joshua, who was temporarily away from the imperial palace, needed to return quickly.

****

“My lady, have you heard the news?”

“About the deaths of Marquis and Marchioness Latse?”

“Yes. The world is becoming too dangerous. I heard it was their first vacation in a very long time…….”

The nobles gathered at Countess Tarel’s salon each exchanged opinions about the deaths of Marquis and Marchioness Latse.

In their words was a psychology of concern that the western bandits might be becoming active again.

Countess Tarel listened carefully to every single word spoken by the nobles gathered in the salon.

This was so she could later relay the news to Lady Amaterasu through the Radcliffe Trading Company.

While she was conversing with noble ladies with whom she was usually on good terms, two elderly nobles walked into the spacious hall of the salon.

They were faces she hadn’t seen before, but from their appearance, she could tell they were a married couple.

Countess Tarel quickly rose from her seat and approached them, greeting them warmly.

“Welcome.”

“Pleased to meet you. We’ve heard such abundant praise from those around us that we decided to stop by on our way through the area, albeit rather late.”

Toward Countess Tarel, who welcomed them with a warm smile, they too returned the greeting with smiling faces while introducing themselves.

Until just recently, those who visited her salon had been very limited.

Only the same people coming each time. She, of course, knew that the reason was the Empress’s interference.

Nevertheless, Countess Tarel had neither the means nor the intention to change that atmosphere.

She didn’t want to offend the Empress.

The complacent thought that if she lived quietly like a dead person, the Empress wouldn’t harm her son Philipo also played a part.

The person who had opened up the airways for Countess Tarel and her son Philipo, who had been living while holding their breath, was none other than Lady Amaterasu.

All Countess Tarel had done was follow her advice, but gradually positive changes occurred.

First, the attitude of the surrounding nobles toward Countess Tarel changed. And that influence extended to her son Philipo as well.

“Young Master Tarel is coming over there.”

Just then, as Philipo, who had been out, entered, the young ladies conversing in one corner of the hall blushed and stared intently at Philipo.

“He’s even more… outstanding than the rumors suggested.”

Whether Philipo knew of their gazes or not, he walked straight toward Countess Tarel, who was conversing with the elderly noble couple.

“I’m back, Mother.”

“Welcome back. Let me introduce you. This is my son Philipo. Philipo, these people are…….”

After introducing Philipo to the elderly noble couple, Countess Tarel looked around at all the nobles in the salon.

Then she introduced the elderly noble couple to the other nobles.

So that they, who were here for the first time, wouldn’t feel left out and could blend well with the nobles in the salon.

And when everyone in the salon was seated, she casually brought up the topic as originally planned.

“It’s a sensitive subject so I’m hesitant to bring it up, but… I’m a bit skeptical whether the attack on Marquis and Marchioness Latse was truly a coincidence.”

Besides the lady sitting across from her, several more people looked at Countess Tarel.

“Oh. Please pretend you didn’t hear what I said. Her Majesty the Empress giving Marquis and Marchioness Latse a sudden vacation must have been to reward them for their service. I suppose my thinking is a bit excessive.”

When Countess Tarel tried to laugh it off after speaking, the lady sitting next to her subtly spoke up.

“……I don’t think your thinking is excessive, my lady. I think everyone probably had similar thoughts but just didn’t voice them.”

And a middle-aged noble also added his words.

“I heard that after Her Highness Princess Trinity subjugated the leader of the western bandits, the remaining remnants scattered and have been barely surviving here and there. That such people dealt with several knights from a noble family with outstanding skills is a bit…….”

An atmosphere of reluctance to add to the conversation continued. But that alone was enough to know.

Everyone was quickly calculating who was behind the incident and how they should act afterward for the sake of their own families.

****

When Giselle Grante and Kavelaseth arrived at the Emperor’s palace and got out of the carriage, a familiar-faced attendant of the Emperor approached.

After bowing to the two of them, the attendant said,

“I’ll escort you both this way.”

Giselle Grante’s head naturally tilted in curiosity. The place they arrived at following him was the Emperor’s private reception room.

“What’s going on?”

Kavelaseth asked as he sat on the sofa. Giselle Grante answered while looking around the reception room.

“It’s different from what I expected.”

“What is?”

“I expected we’d meet in the audience chamber.”

Kavelaseth chuckled softly and said,

“It would have had its own amusement to summon you to the audience chamber while supposedly blessing his nephew’s marriage.”

This reception room was very familiar to her.

But she deliberately turned her gaze, pretending to look around the interior. The word that had just come from his mouth was secretly bothering her.

‘Marriage……?’

She knew that engagement meant promising to marry.

But hearing that word from Kavelaseth’s mouth somehow made her solar plexus tingle.

Still, in a situation with just the two of them, she couldn’t just keep her mouth shut for no reason. So she remained still, fixing her gaze on one spot.

As her gaze lingered long on a marble statue of a person, Kavelaseth also turned his head.

And looking at the statue she had been staring at, he said,

“So there are things that interest the young lady after all.”

Cardia Duchy had many valuable and precious objects.

There were several masterpieces painted hundreds of years ago, gold crafts, and even gemstone raw stones larger than a human head.

But she had never shown great interest in any of them.

“I was just… a bit curious.”

Though she had made a half-hearted excuse, Kavelaseth looked at the statue where she had placed her gaze with quite a serious expression.

Her joy at successfully changing the subject was brief.

The Emperor walked into the reception room. Giselle Grante stared at him without blinking.

Somewhat casual attire, slightly disheveled hair. Giselle Grante took in such things.

These were changes that hadn’t been there before. However, his imposing atmosphere remained the same.

When the Emperor drew near, the two rose from their seats and greeted him with proper etiquette.

“……We greet Your Majesty the Emperor.”

The Emperor’s gaze briefly touched her and then fell away. And soon it turned to Kavelaseth.

“Were you so worried, Duke Cardia?”

The Emperor sat down while delivering a brief rebuke. Then he waved his hand at Giselle Grante and Kavelaseth. It meant to sit.

When Giselle Grante and Kavelaseth sat down again, the Emperor asked,

“Would you prefer tea, or shall we have a drink?”

The Emperor’s gaze first turned to Kavelaseth.

“I’ll have tea.”

“Looking back, it seems you’ve never once put anything in your mouth in front of me.”

It was a potentially dangerous remark.

Never having touched even once the food the Emperor offered could be interpreted as not trusting the Emperor that much.

Moreover, the fact that the Emperor was specifically pointing that out…….