14 Schemes (1/2)
Time held its breath, allowing the pair to enjoy the fleeting moment for what seemed like an eternity.
Konrad then freed her from his grasp, and although she let nothing transpire on her face, Iliana felt a small sense of loss swirl within her abdomen.
”Let' get to proper business. I'm sure you must have an idea as to why they wanted to kill you right? Maybe you even know some of them?”
The inquiry pulled Iliana back to seriousness, and Konrad could see the shadow of sorrow hidden within her eyes.
Following a brief silence, she sighed and stepped toward the three priestesses lying on the ground.
”The dead males are head eunuchs, and those three women are among the Holy Consort's personal attendants.”
She then moved toward Freya and indexed her drowsy face while casting a perturbed gaze at Konrad.
”As for her, she is Freya Stein, the daughter of baron Niklas Stein of the golden-eyed lion race. She used to be a court lady working under the Holy Consort, but thirty years ago, she was married to viscount Thorsten Schoner by the Holy Emperor's decree.”
Court ladies were the superiors of the head palace maids and theoretically were not under the jurisdiction of any consort beside the Empress. However, many chose to join the different factions to pave a better future for themselves. Some of them were promoted head palace maids, but the majority came from noble families and entered the palace with the title.
The house Stein was a feeble noble house, but Freya was a woman of high talent and incredible beauty, so her father sent her into the palace at a young age to serve the Holy Consort and weave connections.
She didn't fail his expectations and managed to marry into the Uradel house Schoner which greatly improved House Stein's status and brought them countless benefits.
”You may not understand the meaning of ”Uradel” so allow me to explain. Nobility titles may not be hereditary, but nobility is. There are two kinds of noble families. The Uradel that constitute the ancient nobility, noble houses with more than ten thousand years of history, and the Briefadel, noble houses with less than ten thousand years of history.”
”Uradels wield enormous power and prestige within the Holy Flame Empire and can all trace their lineage back to a saint. Viscount Thorsten Schoner is a five hundred years old second step Transcendent Knight with an army of more than fifty thousand troops. He endured public criticism to divorce his previous wife and beg the emperor for an opportunity to marry Freya. That alone shows how much he loves her. But look at what you've done to her…”
”Careful, I might think that you're actually worried about me.”
”Who's worried about you? I'm just warning you in good faith.”
But she was indeed worried.
”That aside, I suppose the reason why they're targeting me is because of the Holy Consort's political games.”
Again with the Holy Consort. Although he had never met her, Konrad was starting to find that woman particularly annoying.
”Else, the Holy Consort is the country's number one talent. She is less than three hundred years old but has already broken through to the Holy Knight Rank. But although she's the emperor's favorite consort and admired as the empire's number one beauty, she's not satisfied.”
”In the last decades, she's been amassing an increasing amount of political power, and already has a hand in many government institutions. She also gathered the support of many Briefadel houses. This has alarmed many powerful nobles who now attempt to thwart her influence. Among them is my father, Count Wolfgang Kracht.”
She paused, her eyes drifting into the past.
”The reason why my father sent me to the palace is not because of my illegitimate status. He was forced to do so by the emperor due to Else's intrigues. Ten years ago, as a warning to my father, she had me and my cousin sneak attacked by a ninth step True Priest. As a result, my spiritual cultivation was sealed while my cousin fell into a coma.”