"...."
"Grace, is it said that she is at the Richmond ducal estate? But just you wait. I heard Duchess Richmond has recovered. Duchess Richmond is of Imperial Princess origin. She must be the most conservative in all of Decan."
"...."
"With such a person alive, do you think a woman who had even entered a wedding hall with another man can marry a duke? Despite bearing the name of a direct descendant of House Taylor, she will ultimately end her life as a lowly mistress. In contrast, you will come to seize and shake the capital."
Rosette slowly regulated her breathing. Perhaps because she had been in a sealed space for so long, it was stifling, and she could not breathe properly.
"Please open the window for a moment."
She opened the outer window she had kept closed to block the cold air and slightly stuck her head outside. Well-paved roads and majestic, splendid buildings standing sporadically in a row caught her eye. But what stood out overwhelmingly was the Imperial Palace, soaring higher than all of them.
Her gaze, which had reached the Imperial Palace glowing reddish in the sunlight, flowed down to the yellow flag fluttering vigorously below it.
Yellow... there must be a joyous occasion, she thought, and in that very moment, the wind unfurled the flag completely.
"....?"
"Rosie! Close the door now!"
Despite Duke Taylor's rebuke, Rosette stared blankly outside.
"Rosie!!"
"If it's an eagle coat of arms... isn't that House Richmond?"
"I'm freezing to death. Yes, that's right! If it's an eagle, it's Richmond."
"Richmond has hung a yellow flag."
"...Huh?"
Rosette turned her head creakily and looked at her parents.
"I said Richmond has hung a yellow flag."
Duke Taylor hurriedly opened the window on his side and looked outside. Just as Rosette had said, a yellow eagle flag was fluttering atop the Richmond mansion.
"...I see. So that's how it is. Well, I suppose such things happen."
A yellow flag—what was so significant about that?
Yet cold sweat simultaneously trickled down the spines of all three.
"It's not a flag you can just hang anytime! You only hang it when a duke marries, or when a successor is born...."
Rosette's lips trembled with a bewildered expression, as if she could not believe it at all. A chilling shudder raced through her entire body.
"It couldn't be, it couldn't be... Grace hasn't married Duke Richmond, has she?!!"
Rosette's voice, filled with resentment, sharply scratched at her parents' eardrums.
＊ ＊ ＊
Jake Decan slowly circled the golden throne. He tapped the roaring tiger heads carved on both sides of the backrest with his index finger, then looked at the black tiger pelt spread across the throne. It was truly bizarre that the pelt of a tiger dead for hundreds of years still remained to this day.
"When I sit, the fur pierces through my clothes. It hurts as if I'm sitting on a bed of thorns, yet I alone know that pain."
As he muttered to himself, Jake's gaze shifted to the black brazier beside the throne. Calling it a brazier, it was actually the skull of a black tiger. They said that since Decan's founding, the blue flame had never gone out for a single moment, but that was already a story from over a decade ago.
"Grotesque thing. To think it spews blue flames after drinking the Emperor's blood. And that for hundreds of years."
He prodded the tiger's empty eye socket with his finger, then raised his head to look up at the overwhelmingly large tapestry.
"How long are they going to worship a dead tiger like a god? It's driving me crazy."
Just as the attendant pretended not to hear the Crown Prince's grumbling, a sharp scream rang out.
"How can this be?!"
Jake turned his body toward the direction of the sound.
Countess Saxon was staring at a document with a flushed face. Unable to believe its contents, she looked at it again and again before shouting with an expression as if she might faint.
"It seems the rumor that Duchess Richmond came back from the dead was true!"
Then Ivanka Tilien, standing beside the Empress, shuddered and muttered as if horrified.
"Eliza Richmond did not come back from the dead."
"If she did not come back from the dead, how can they welcome as a duchess a woman who not only almost married another man but was even expelled from her family?!"
"Who knows. It seems there is something to be gained."
As the incensed Countess whirled toward the window at Ivanka's words, Count Saxon opened his mouth toward the Empress.
"How can this marriage be accomplished? Your Majesty the Empress, summon the High Priest. Please have the Northwestern Archbishop who recognized this marriage called and made to point out that there is a problem with the wedding!"
Hetbiga snapped sharply, her expression one of utter annoyance.
"Speak sense!"
"But Your Majesty the Empress..."
"Does whining to me solve everything?! You should have handled this beforehand!!"
"The Richmond ducal estate is so..."
"Enough with your excuses."
Hetbiga caught her breath, then called to her nephew standing stock still to one side, suppressing his anger.
"Jack."
Hetbiga grasped her approaching nephew's shoulders with both hands and looked him up and down. Then she warned in a low voice.
"Welcome Rosette Taylor like a gentleman. Act as if Rosette, not Grace, was the one you liked from the beginning. You must not go around speaking like a hoodlum about whether you like or dislike the woman who will become your wife."
When those words he had spoken in his cups came from the Empress's mouth, Jack clenched his molars tightly.
The Empress commanded, her violet eyes gleaming as if chewing out each word.
"This time, you must marry properly."
"...."
When Jack remained silent with a contorted face, Hetbiga smiled perfunctorily and gripped his shoulders hard.
"You need to answer."
"...Understood, Your Majesty the Empress."
Only then did Hetbiga release his arm and pat his shoulder affectionately.
"Winners are those who know how to enjoy delayed gratification, not immediate gratification. Do you understand what I mean? I am telling you to endure and hold on a little longer."
Just then, the tightly closed doors of the Tiger Hall opened, and an Imperial Guard shouted in a loud voice.
"The Lord of the Lill and Terill Rivers, master of the Golden Wheat Fields, the Bedrock of Decan, and Guardian of the Southwest, Duke Taylor, has arrived!"
Hetbiga habitually straightened her attire and posture. Then she turned her body elegantly toward the throne. Her son Jake was seated upon it. She felt her chest swell to the point of bursting.
Yes, no matter what anyone did, that seat belonged to Jake, so there was no need to fear.
Hetbiga ascended the stairs of the dais where the throne sat. Taking her place to the right of the throne, she looked down below the dais. The Saxon family lined up to the right of the dais, and as Ivanka stood on the opposite side, the Imperial Guard opened the door.
A massive door, easily five times the height of an ordinary person, opened smoothly and silently. Then entered side by side Duke Taylor, who had a distinctively white forelock and a fine physique, and his wife the Duchess, who had brown hair and a slender build. Lady Rosette, the very image of the Duchess, followed behind them.
Hetbiga smiled languidly at the obviously nervous faces of Duke and Duchess Taylor. To think he was still so nervous despite having sat in the duke's seat for over a decade. Whether he was naive or what.
"Welcome, Duke Taylor. Duchess Taylor. Thank you for your trouble in coming such a long way."
"Your Majesty the Empress."
When Hetbiga greeted them warmly, Duke Taylor's face brightened. As he bowed with a bright smile, the Duchess and Rosette simultaneously curtsied. Hetbiga lightly nodded and deliberately stared intently at Rosette.
As Duchess Taylor quickly drew her daughter to her side, Hetbiga slowly descended the dais.
"Oh my, heavens. You must be Lady Rosette."
Rosette, who had been clasping her hands together, cautiously raised her eyes at the gentle voice of the Empress. Hetbiga approached with a seductive grace and clasped her hands as if greeting a niece she had not seen in a long time.
"You must have had a hard journey."
"Not at all, Your Majesty. I am merely grateful for your hospitality."
While still holding Rosette's hand, Hetbiga turned to look at the Saxon family.
"I simply could not understand why anyone would want to renew ties with House Taylor of all houses, after what had happened."
At the barbed remark, Duke and Duchess Taylor faltered, and Hetbiga turned to Rosette and spoke kindly.
"Now that I have met the young lady, I understand why."
At the blatant praise, Rosette's face flushed slightly. Just as Hetbiga smiled more deeply at her—
—the attendant keeping watch by Jake's side suddenly descended the dais and ran toward the door. Everyone's eyes, including the Empress's, followed the attendant. The attendant approached the knight who had announced Duke Taylor's entrance and led him back toward the dais. The knight hurriedly followed the attendant with a rigidly stiff expression.
Soon, the knight who arrived below the dais bowed deeply to Jake.
"You called, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
Then Jake remained silent for a moment as if organizing his thoughts, before opening his mouth.
"The Lord of Two Seas and Twelve Mountain Ranges, the Master of Five Rivers, and the Lord of the Blue Flame. What is this?"
"It is His Majesty the Emperor's introductory address."
"Yes, indeed. Hmm... recite the introduction you just made again."
"...Yes?"
"The introduction given when Duke Taylor entered."
At the sudden summons, Duke Taylor also flinched. The knight could not hide his bewilderment and hesitantly opened his mouth.
"The Lord of the Lill and Terill Rivers, master of the Golden Wheat Fields, the Bedrock of Decan, and Guardian of the Southwest, Duke Taylor, has arrived—"
"Stop there."
"...."
When the Crown Prince cut him off, the Empress, overcome with anxiety, turned her body completely toward him.
"Crown Prince."
"Mother. Lill, Terill, Oben, Orutu, Kshantipia. These five rivers are the Five Rivers, are they not?"
"That is correct."
The Crown Prince turned his eyes back to the knight.
"If the Emperor is the Lord of the Five Rivers, yet Duke Taylor is also called the Lord of the Lill and Terill Rivers. Is this possible?"