Chapter 104: Chapter 104

Blinking his red eyes slowly, he said feebly, “I can understand that, but I’m just worried if something bad happened to them.”

Given what had happened to them a few days ago, Colin could say that.

But Jed quickly glared at him with angry eyes and pressed on his shoulders. At first glance, Jed’s touch seemed to comfort him, but it was a kind of furtive threat.

Colin made a frown as Jed grabbed his shoulders tightly.

“Damn it. Don’t say such awful things! At 19, you’re an adult under the imperial law. So, as an adult, you’ve got to learn how to be patient and wait calmly.”

“Sir Jed, I hear that one should be consistent in what you’re saying to gain others’ trust. Don’t you remember what you told me today? When I was having lunch today, you told me I was not growing tall because I picked at my food like a kid, right? You called me a kid. And I heard you weeping in the room last time when I …”

Even before Colin was finished, Jed quickly put his large hand on his mouth.

“Haha. It looks like our dear Sir Colin saw pink elephants as he didn’t sleep well for the past several days. Let me beg the emperor to grant you a special vacation as soon as he arrives. So, just shut your mouth. Shut up more tightly. Even if you breathe in and out through your nose, you won’t die.”

Jed laughed at him evilly with a barrage of threatening remarks.

Colin tried to resist several times before giving up in no time.

Jed was a civilian official who had no talent for fighting at all, but he was much taller and bigger than Colin who was in the same position. His many years of closely working with Jed reminded him quickly that he could not overcome his physical disadvantages.

Among those waiting earnestly for the return of the emperor were the top officials, including the top five cabinet ministers. Although not favorable to the emperor, Duke Hubble or Ober also came out. As the waiting time was longer than expected, Hubble and Ober brought chairs and even tea tables in one corner of the conference room, but they couldn’t leave the place because there were many who were watching them, and they didn’t want to show disrespect openly.

Among those who were so carefree as well as earnest, Duke Kling was waiting for the return of the emperor most nervously.

Colin sighed as he stared at his back standing at a distance.

From the day they heard about the news of the accident until today, almost everyone in the palace nervously waited for the emperor’s return. In particular, Colin and Jed, regarded as the closest aides of the emperor, were very much anxious to see the emperor more than anybody else.

When he heard the news that they fortunately saved the emperor and Lady Marianne and proceeded with their engagement ceremony before returning to the capital, Colin couldn’t go to sleep almost every day.

He didn’t know how many times he ruined reports because he couldn’t focus. Whenever he heard something new, he ran to see if it was a messenger bird. When a day passed, he erased it from the calendar and resented the slow passage of time.

But even his extraordinary nervousness could not be compared to the duke’s patience.

It was always the emperor that his close officials took as the weight of the scale under any circumstances. In the worst case, they could do without Lady Marianne. They couldn’t possess Kling’s wealth and Lennox’s troops without her, but they were willing to take it. Strictly speaking, they didn’t take into account her and her father Kling in their political calculations from the beginning. Of course, their loss would be painful, but it would be possible to mobilize a force that could substitute Kling’s force if need be.

On the other hand, as Colin watched over the past few weeks, it seemed that Duke Kling had two weights, not one: the emperor and his daughter Lady Marianne.

His only blood and the legitimate successor of the empire was someone who could protect her the best or possibly be the most dangerous. His most beloved daughter and the son of his best friend.

Faced with the misfortunes of the two, Duke Kling miraculously balanced the weight of the scale without losing his composure. Colin’s anxiety was nothing compared to his. Kling’s patience was like resistance to fatal despair in that situation.

Of course, Colin knew that if Kling made up his mind, he could desert the emperor and join Ober’s faction. Nevertheless, Colin felt that Kling placed the emperor and his daughter on his own scale as almost equal weights.

In fact, her daughter was a bit heavier, but Kling gave the emperor more power than Colin expected. The peace of the capital, guarded with Kling’s enormous patience, was also a strategy for the emperor rather than his daughter.

“He must be okay, right?”

“What are you talking about?” Jed asked back with a puzzled look. He didn’t finish words as if he felt relaxed. He followed Colin’s gaze and found a character, nodding to him gently.

“Of course. As long as Lady Marianne appears, he will be fit as a fiddle like before.”

Boo!

At that moment, there was the sound of longhorns from the guard post installed at the pillars of the gate. It signalled the return of the emperor.

Everyone who had been earnestly waiting adjusted their clothes. Duke Hubble and Ober, who pretended to be indifferent, returned to their seats. Jed also let go of Colin. Standing on tiptoes, Colin looked at the end of a wide road over the shoulders of a throng of officials.

The sound of their heavy footsteps were faintly heard. Soon, the vanguard of the emperor’s long procession emerged. The golden flag of the Frei family fluttered in the wind at the forefront of the ranks, like a bunch of flags around it. When everyone felt relieved at the magnificent procession of the emperor as usual, Ober sharply glanced at Duke Hubble.

‘… In the end, you reaped the fruits of your actions!’

He already knew that the emperor was coming back alive, but he felt bad when he confirmed the procession right before his eyes. With a calm expression, he gnawed his molar teeth.

‘You put your cards on the table, but what you got was only one of his arms injured. Didn’t he lose out on the deal? If you wanted to hurt him, you should have disabled him, so he couldn’t use his body. For example, making him blind, cutting his tongue or even maiming his two legs, so he can’t use them again…’

While Ober was absorbed in his brutal imagination, the emperor’s carriage stopped in front of the south gate. The emperor, who he imagined was a terrible figure in his head, got off the wagon vibrantly as if to tease him.

“May the infinite glory of Airius, our great god, be bestowed upon Your Majesty! We’re honored to see you!”

Everybody offered polite greetings when Duke Lamont started to lead the chant.

“I wish you all our god’s blessings. Stand up, everybody.”

Eckart in the golden uniform answered peacefully. He looked a bit haggard, compared to when he left the capital, but he was not that much different. His broken arm and scratches on his face didn’t undermine his dignity.

Ober was displeased with the emperor’s attitude, which was much more composed than he thought. He chewed the inside of his lips when he saw a figure getting off the wagon after him.

“I’m honored to see Lady Marianne.”

Countess Leslie, the deputy chamberlain of the Imperial Family, greeted her politely.

It was Marianne who followed Eckart. While everyone was looking at her, she wasn’t interested in their hospitality. Instead, he stared somewhere with wet eyes, holding the hem of her blue dress.

“Lady Marianne.”

Eckart calmly called her. Marianne belatedly sized up the situation and quickly wiped her wet eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry. May our Goddess bless you all. Please stand up.”

After answering, Marianne turned back to Eckart. Although they didn’t have any conversation, he nodded happily.

Marianne immediately held the hem of her dress and walked quickly. She was almost running now. With her rich chocolate-colored hair fluttering violently, she soon arrived at her destination. “… Marie.”

Duke Kling hesitated for a while and called her name, wrapping her in his arms.

“Daddy!”

Marianne rubbed her cheeks on his collar and held his back tightly. He carefully wrapped her as if she were a sand sculpture. Soon, he tightened his hands and patted her on the shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I should have followed you. I wish I hadn’t sent you alone…”

“No. Don’t say that. I really thought it fortunate that you were left behind in the capital. I’m so glad you’re safe here. Seriously.”

Marian smiled brightly with tears welled in her eyes. The sunset that turned red shone brightly on the wound on her white cheeks.