Chapter 197 (1/2)
Chapter 197: Chapter 197
“Oh, you are coming to your senses now.”
“… Sorry, Duke Lars.”
“Tut, tut. Why did you attend the meeting? Well, I guess you couldn’t help it as you received the summons…”
“Well, I had to go through this someday.”
“… I’m sorry. That’s all I can say to you now.”
I blankly looked at him who apologized to me with a sigh. Although I got upset, I didn’t want to speak with him or any other pro-emperor faction member.
When I stood silently with my lips closed tightly, the chamberlain of the Central Palace came to me and said with a deep bow, “His Excellency the Emperor wants to see you briefly.”
“… ”
I sighed in spite of myself. I was eager to ignore his request and go home for rest. On the other hand, I felt it would be better to conclude the matter completely on this occasion.
“Whew!”
With a deep sigh, I moved my sagging body and followed him.
When I entered the meeting room, the emperor, who was pacing up and down nervously, said in an urgent voice, “Are you okay? That’s why I asked you not to come to the meeting…”
“Your Majesty, I’ve got something to tell you.”
“… Aristia. ”
“Please break off your engagement with me.”
A cold silence fell.
The longer I stood silently, the more subdued my feelings became. When I could now think straight, I felt anger was surging up again. My clenched fists trembled.
How could they dare to spit out such reckless words to the daughter of the Monique family, one of the empire’s founding families as well as one of the most precious families? How could they insult me, not an ordinary commoner, by treating the successor of a great noble family as a stallion?
“… Why are you saying that?”
“Don’t you already know? I am a woman who does not deserve to stand by you, Your Majesty. ”
“That’s not true. You are…”
“Your Majesty.”
“… ”
“They called me an infertile woman.”
I threw out the insulting words that they spat out one by one. I felt something hot and moist between my fingers. However, I was much more disillusioned with myself who couldn’t refute their unbearable insult than my pain.
“No, you are not. Why are you hurting yourself by saying that?”
“… ”
“The High Priest clearly said he could not say conclusively. So, don’t jump to any conclusions.”
“Well, I am already an infertile woman in their eyes. What else do I need?”
I just felt pitiable about myself. Didn’t I clearly hear that I might be infertile? Given that there was nothing as cold as politics, I should not have expected that the pro-emperor faction would defend me, to say the least. Besides, I was aware that they had abandoned me once in the past.
Even if the emperor, my father, and the late emperor took this issue calmly, it was too complacent for me to think that everybody would still believe I could get pregnant. I was simply too stupid.
My hatred of the noble faction wasn’t strong because they reminded me of the cold reality that I might be infertile. If I had not acted stupidly, I would have easily predicted their reaction. I felt more betrayal against the pro-emperor faction. Instead of refuting the noble faction who called me an infertile woman, the pro-emperor faction shunned my eyes, which made me deeply disillusioned with them.
Yes, even Duke Lars didn’t respond at all when they attacked me.
“Let me solve the matter, so you can…”
“No, you should not.”
“Aristia!”
“Don’t you know that? Immediately after you are sworn in as the next emperor, political chaos will follow. So, you must rally your own supporting groups and make those loyal to the late emperor your loyal vassals. You know better than anybody else that any political chaos will put you into big trouble.”