Chapter 269

“Whatever everyone says, the Princess is still Your Majesty’s daughter. The fact that the Princess defeated the demonic beast until just before the Duke was killed is undoubtedly done in Your Majesty’s honor, isn’t it? It doesn’t mean that the Princess is stronger than the Duke, her cousin, but rather that she has direct power over the situation, right?”

The Emperor chewed on Seta’s words slowly. As she said, Caelion didn’t achieve complete success in this mission. It would be more fitting to say that he survived with the Princess’ help while being injured. Although he was annoyed by how things turned out, Seta’s analysis was logical. At the very least, in this incident, Caelion didn’t gain the title of the hero who defeated the demon and saved the Empire’s people. That title had ironically returned to Apollonia, his daughter who had a large burn on her arm. She had no abilities, background, or ambition whatsoever and she could never pose a threat to Paris.

“Since it is my daughter who brought him back safely, the public opinion that Caellion almost died because of my trap hadn’t gained much power.”

“See? The Princess is very useful.”

When the Emperor agreed with her statement, Seta smiled brightly. Every time she smiled like that, her freckles and messy curly hair became incredibly endearing. Unknowingly, the Emperor’s expression softened.

“Traditionally, when the Empress is absent, the Princess would take charge of the palace affairs.” As the Emperor’s face relaxed, Seta spoke with pleasure. “If the Duchess distances herself from you someday, then you might have a lot of things for the Princess to do, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor’s hand, which was stroking her cheek, stopped. When Seta looked up at him with large eyes, he stared at his teacup intensely and asked, “Why are you talking as if she will distance herself by her own choice and not mine?”

Seta’s face became contemplative. “I-I misspoke, Your Majesty!”

“It’s fine.” The Emperor retorted coldly with a small smirk.

“Tell me. What rumors have you heard?”

“That, well…” Seta stuttered fearfully. “I heard just an insignificant rumor, but it reminded me of something you mentioned recently. The imports from Duke Lipper’s territory have decreased lately.”

“What is it?” The Emperor raised an eyebrow.

“It’s just that the Duke’s son frequently visits Bartan’s gambling den————”

“That doesn’t seem like very new information.”

“Last month alone, I heard that he spent 50,000 gold coins there. The previous month was similar, and the month before that, he spent even more. It’s so different from what I heard about the Duke’s financial situation.”

“What?”

The Emperor’s expression stiffened. The amount Seta mentioned wasn’t enough to shake a noble family, but for a minor duke whose lineage wasn’t even that significant, it was an excessively extravagant sum to be spent so casually. If Gareth indeed had the luxury to spend that much, Petra’s claims about her son’s financial troubles must have been false.

“It appears like they believe that their fortune is purely their own.” The Emperor muttered coldly. Seta didn’t say anything. She seemed to have noticed that the person the Emperor was referring to wasn’t Gareth but Petra. “She acts as if raising and maintaining the top is all on me, as if she had forgotten that the Lipper’s family fortune is also mine. She doesn’t handle the tasks I assign to her properly.”

As the Emperor sneered, Seta lowered her head again. Perhaps out of remorse, her black pupils were now blurry with tears.

“Your Majesty, maybe I made a mistake. The Duchess is a good person.” She hastily unclasped a sapphire bracelet from her wrist and presented it before the Emperor. “Look, she gave me this precious item as a gift. If she had forgotten that their fortune is, in essence, yours, how could she have given me something so valuable as a woman under your care?”

The Emperor paused for a moment, looking at the blue gem embedded in the bracelet, which he was familiar with. But the next moment, his expression became much colder than before.

“It has a flaw. Did she give this to you?”

“W-Well…”

Seta’s face flushed with embarrassment. The Emperor let out a deep sigh and nodded his head.

“No need for excuses. I know Petra’s disdain for the maids.”

Seta seemed unable to affirm or deny and bit her lip. Tears had gathered at the end of her eyelashes. The Emperor soon softened his expression again and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Why do you cry for something not worth it?”

“I just can’t do anything to ease your worries, Your Majesty.” She said as she leaned into the Emperor’s arms. “It saddens me that I can’t alleviate your concerns about the Duchess or Duke Epenhardt either.”

The Emperor embraced her with both arms. Why didn’t he find such a woman earlier? “You don’t have to worry about the Duke.”

“But, Your Majesty, you have concerns about the bloodline of Apollo———-”