Chapter 32: CH 32

As people left, the lively hall grew silent. Riett tried to return Evan’s gloves and go home, but Evan asked her to wait for a moment and disappeared, leaving her alone.

“Where did this guy go?”

Riett muttered, glancing towards the door. But tigers come when you tell them to. Evan appeared, opening the door and entering.

In Evan’s hands was the gift box she had seen in the carriage earlier.

“So, it was mine after all!”

This guy had cunningly deceived her.

However, despite that, she couldn’t help but smile when she realized that the gift was indeed hers. Seeing her smile, Evan handed her the box without saying a word.

“Yeah, it’s your gift, Riett.”

“Why did you lie and say it wasn’t?”

As she asked, Riett promptly tore open the neatly wrapped package without hesitation. Finally, when she opened the box, she saw the dazzling short sword she had seen in Evan’s room.

“This…!”

“It’s the same one I bought recently.”

“How did you know I wanted this?”

“Every time you come into my room, you always look at it first. I couldn’t help but notice.”

Hmm, did she do that?

For a brief moment of confusion, Riett quickly regained her composure and happily examined the short sword.

“Thank you. Oh, and this.”

Riett, who was captivated by the sword, handed Evan his gloves, which she had momentarily forgotten. That’s when she noticed his bare, dusty hands, covered in dirt and grime.

Feeling embarrassed, Riett mumbled as if making an excuse.

“I should go wash up quickly.”

But instead of that, Evan smiled and accepted the gloves.

“You know what, Riett.”

“What?”

When Riett asked, Evan wiped off the dust from his hand onto his sleeve.

“I prefer you in your shirt and pants rather than all dressed up.”

“…”

“Your hands, roughened by training, are better than the delicate hands of other pretty girls.”

“…”

“I prefer you with leather gloves, chopping wood, rather than women in the industrial district wearing gloves and carrying umbrellas.”

Riett stared at Evan for a moment, somewhat dazed. Apart from the fact that it was Evan saying these things, she was slightly moved that someone would say such things to her.

Evan wiped all the dirt from his hands, and then messily ruffled Riett’s hair, which stood up in disarray.

“I like how hard you try to win.”

…Huh?

The warm feeling in her heart was quickly dampened.

‘Well, that’s how it is.’

Riett straightened her crumpled expression and crossed her arms.

“It’s not that I’m trying hard to win, but this time I really did win, you know?”

Riett held out her open palm towards Evan. Her five fingers looked unusually firm today.

“Extra points, 50 points. What do you say, Evan? This time, I think I’ll be the first.”

Riett looked at Evan as if provoking him, but he simply smiled quietly.

“Congratulations.”

To his unexpected and calm response, one of Riett’s eyebrows rose.

“Is that all?”

“Yeah. Since this will be Riett’s last victory anyway.”

“What did you say?!”

It was Riett who crossed the line with provocation instead. And she soon felt unjust.

For a moment, her heart had warmed up knowing that there was someone who understood her…

An angry Riett glared at Evan and said,

“Give me back the emotions that touched me earlier, you bastard!”

***

“Duchess Marren.”

It was already a few years ago. Riett, who was lost in thought while polishing the dagger she received from Evan on the day of the dance party, looked up at the sound calling her. The aide stood there with a troubled expression.

“What’s the matter?”

“The Emperor wishes to see you.”

Ah, so it has come to this.

Riett tapped her fingertips on the desk a few times and stood up from her seat. The sound of the chair being pushed back rang out fiercely. Her discomfort was evident.

As Riett walked towards the Emperor’s office, she could feel the gazes of people flickering around her.

Being the only female duke in the Empire and the first female noble councilor had made Riett a famous figure wherever she went.

However, this time the envious looks were different. It was clear that there was a connection between the summons from the Emperor and the current situation.

Why does bad news spread so quickly? Just thinking about dealing with this situation gave her an instant headache.

When Riett stood in front of the Emperor’s office door, she could feel the guards’ scrutiny. They opened the door after confirming her face. Inside the office, Emperor Leopold, who was staring out the window with a hidden expression, came into view.

Feeling her presence, the Emperor turned around slowly. Then he gestured to the aides to leave.

Once they were alone, Riett bowed her head.

“I greet Your Majesty.”

“Now that we’re alone, there’s no need for formalities.”

The Emperor sat heavily on the velvet sofa adorned with gold and crossed his arms. His gesture revealed his fatigue.

“Especially at times like this, we should maintain formalities. How would it look if Your Majesty were to be mistaken for a spy because of me?”

Riett retorted, mocking the current situation, and took a seat opposite him.

“I suppose you already know why I called you.”

“I couldn’t possibly know.”

Riett poured tea into a cup from the teapot placed on the table.

She was restraining her actions, but in reality, her heart was boiling like steaming black tea. Even without hearing it from the Emperor, Riett knew very well why she had been summoned here.

‘Probably because of the rumors about being a spy.’

The rumors started a few months ago in the council. Riett, the representative of the hardliners, had actively supported the major agenda at the time, which was the import of wheat.

Although the price of wheat imported from the Haren Empire was quite high, Riett had no choice but to support it based on her judgment. The lands in the devastated east would take a long time to recover, and with the empire’s largest wheat-producing region unable to cultivate crops, there was a shortage of food and people suffering from hunger.

Of course, it wasn’t about continuously importing wheat at expensive prices as demanded by the Haren Empire. At the same time, she was exploring ways to import other grains, such as potatoes, from the neighboring kingdom of Sorentia.

However, the contents of that day’s council meeting were distorted and quickly spread. They said that Duchess Riett Marren had stood on the side of the Haren Empire and strongly advocated for importing wheat at an exorbitant price.

And from there, mockery and ridicule followed, leading to the current situation.

Duchess Marren has a high likelihood of being a spy planted by the Haren Empire. Otherwise, there would be no reason for her to suggest importing wheat, which is the main food source for the empire, at an exorbitant price.

To those who knew Riett well, it was a laughable accusation. However, any lie, when repeated by three or more people, becomes a truth of sorts.

Even the Haren Empire princess, who recently visited the Truto Empire as an envoy, put an end to these absurd rumors.

The princess of the Haren Empire, being easily embarrassed, asked Riett, a fellow woman, to guide her around the Truto Palace. Riett accepted the request without hesitation and introduced her to various places in the palace.

However, the moderate faction nobles of the Truto Empire, who witnessed this, spread rumors that Riett was having secret meetings with the Haren Empire envoy.

And these rumors eventually reached the Emperor’s ears.

“I have nothing to do with the Haren Empire.”

Riett’s reddened eyes asserted her innocence. The Emperor nodded in response.

“No need for explanations. I know you better than anyone.”

“If there’s no need for an explanation, then why did you summon me?”

Riett was incredibly busy at the moment. She had the matter of wheat imports to deal with, as well as competing with other countries to import potatoes at a cheaper price.

Moreover, the moderate faction nobles were overlooking an important fact. They believed that the suffering people at the bottom of society, even if their numbers were reduced, wouldn’t pose a significant problem. Setting aside ethical concerns, it was a foolish thought.

The nation was like a tower. If the bottom crumbled, the whole tower would collapse. Cracks were already appearing at the bottom of that tower.

Starving commoners had started riots all over, and the rate of livelihood-based crimes had skyrocketed. To protect the entire empire, this issue needed to be resolved as soon as possible.

That’s why Riett was even more furious. She was already overwhelmed with immediate problems, and now she had to deal with ridiculous accusations of being a spy…

“What are your plans for the future?”

“I’ll have to think about it now.”

Riett hadn’t anticipated that these absurd rumors would spread to this extent, and she hadn’t prepared a way to handle it.

“We need to act wisely.”

The Emperor’s eyes were filled with concern.

Although Emperor Leopold trusted and highly regarded Riett, he acknowledged her shortcomings. She lacked the skill to handle her surroundings.

Politics was, in fact, a simple fight. The more allies one had, the higher the chances of winning.

Of course, it’s not that Riett had no allies. After all, a majority of the hardline faction nobles, including the Emperor himself, supported her.

However, she faced a major obstacle. Ever since her appointment as a councilor, she had been at odds with a certain faction that distrusted her.

The birth of a female duke had caused a stir among the public, and the sensational news of her rise to the councilor position had fueled jealousy and envy among many.

And the more active Riett became, the more the resentment of the moderate faction nobles grew.

But it was Emperor Leopold himself who had empowered her actions.

“The moderates have seized an opportunity this time. You must avoid escalating the situation.”

“I understand. I will ensure there’s nothing to worry about.”

Although she still lacked a concrete plan, Riett’s reddened eyes showed no sign of wavering. The Emperor smiled weakly, relieved to see her usual self.

“You’re truly amazing. You never seem to be discouraged.”

“I’ve had to overcome so much to reach this position. This is nothing compared to that.”

Riett reflected on her tumultuous life.

Of course, she acknowledge that it was her fault to choose a rough path when there was a well-paved one. But what can she say about her inherent nature that prefers such challenges?

As Riett’s mood calmed down, she sipped on the lukewarm tea, which had cooled off from its initial heat.

Experiencing a crisis that made her head go blank was something she had gone through several times before. As Riett reminisced, her memories came to a halt at one particular moment.

‘There was a similar crisis in the past, just like now.’

Suddenly, she recalled the incident from her noble school days, which almost prevented her from being in her current position.