If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 92

* * *

“What? Why would Mom meet Princess Silver Bird?!” Raval, who was feeling guilty about many things, reacted sharply.

 

“Honestly, how can you be this clueless about a woman’s heart! I heard Princess Silver Bird has been inviting Nadia to her tea parties lately. Why do you think that is? She’s probably trying to use her as a bridge to my dear son.”

 

“Ah, I think so too. But if there’s a party, just go with Father or stay at home. I don’t want to be glared at.”

 

When her son took a firm stance, the countess began to play her trump card. “Glared at…! Now, even you are looking down on your own mother?! I’ve lived my whole life thinking only of you, and yet how could you!”

 

“N-No, why are you crying again? That’s not what I meant…”

 

“If only! I hadn’t married your father! I could have married Duke Arondit!”

 

Raval wanted to tear his hair out. This again. He’d heard it so many times that he just found it annoying, not guilt-inducing. If anything, Raval wanted to resent his mother for not marrying Duke Arondit and giving birth to him as Dominic instead.

 

“They say a woman’s fate follows the man she marries. I should have married better. Back when I was young and beautiful, there was no man I couldn’t seduce. How did I end up in a family like this… sniff.”

 

Realizing that taking her seriously would only prolong things, Raval let her words go in one ear and out the other as he thought about something else. Suddenly, he looked at his mother’s tearful face.

 

“…”

 

It was true that his mother had delicate, pretty features, and standing next to Raval, she could easily be mistaken for an older sister rather than his mother. As he found himself appraising her appearance, one conclusion arose. Even now, wasn’t she still attractive enough to seduce someone?

 

Becoming unusually calm, Raval spoke. “Where’s Father?”

 

“My fate… Huh? Your father said he wasn’t feeling well and went to sleep.”

 

Good.

 

“Mother.” Raval grabbed both his mother’s shoulders firmly, a strange glint in his smiling eyes. “Calm down. I’ll escort you to the Founding Festival banquet. Before that, I’ll even show you around the imperial palace.”

 

“Really? When?!”

 

“If you want, even tonight.”

 

“Oh my, how wonderful! As expected, there’s no one for me but my son!”

 

A sly curve deepened at the corner of Raval’s mouth. “Then make sure to dress up as prettily as you can.”

 

✦

The report I received two days before the Founding Festival was interesting.

 

“Raval Gawain has received a great reward from His Majesty.” Hamel’s calm voice resonated through the parlor. “It is said his contributions to maintaining public order in the imperial capital were highly praised. It seems his achievement was arresting every criminal he could get his hands on.”

 

“I suppose the nearby prisons must be full.”

 

“Yes. Because of that, Marquis Osbond is planning an event during the Founding Festival where criminals will be publicly executed.”

 

“So he even wants to shed blood at the festival.”

 

If it’s Marquis Osbond, he would surely have prepared yet another absurd and inhumane event. It was worrying, considering there must be many innocent citizens Raval had arrested to inflate his own achievements.

 

“We have no power to protect them.”

 

At my murmured words, Hamel did not attempt to offer hasty comfort and continued her report. “It seems many nobles have recently been banned from entering the imperial palace for unclear reasons. They can return to their territories, but losing access to the central politics is fatal for their families’ standing.”

 

“It seems they’ve fallen out of the mad emperor’s favor. Anything else unusual at the imperial palace?”

 

“There have been frequent sightings of noblewomen’s carriages coming and going late at night.”

 

“There are Gawain crests among them, I suppose?”

 

“Yes.”

 

My lips curved in a crooked smile as I sipped my tea. All the information I’d heard today was connecting together.

 

“Perhaps the real reason Raval Gawain was rewarded wasn’t for maintaining order. If things go well, we might be able to wrap this up before the Founding Festival ends.”

 

“Shall I tell Lady Sione to prepare?”

 

“That would be best.”

 

Sione was currently outside the imperial palace on my orders. To contact her, I’d have to use secret means.

 

I got up from my seat. “I’ll go to the library.”

 

✦

I went to the imperial palace’s grand library with Hamel. Regen would be busy training at the training ground by now, so I wouldn’t see him for a few hours.

 

As always, I hid my secret codes for external communication within the texts. My instructions would have Sione moving outside the imperial palace wall by this evening. Though my main business was finished, I decided to stay in the library longer.

 

I need to learn more about imprints.

 

Dominic’s state after being freed from the mad emperor’s imprint had been quite shocking. It would be good to anticipate as many situations as possible that might arise between imperial family members and their personal knights.

 

I should look through the records of past emperors. Records about the ninth emperor and the regent seem particularly useful. All documents concerning the imperial family’s secrets and ruling authority were classified. I headed to the restricted archive, accessible only to members of the imperial family.

 

“Wait outside.”

 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

 

People might imagine a stuffy basement when hearing ‘archive of old documents,’ but this was quite the opposite. Because only the imperial family members were permitted entry, it was lavishly decorated for all to see.

 

The unique octagonal walls were lined with shelves reaching the ceiling, exuding authority, and the view of the garden through the windows was as beautiful as a painting. Overall, the refined interior rivaled most parlors.

There were chairs and a desk in the center, so I sat there and started reading from the first emperor’s records in order. When I reached the fifth emperor, I found something interesting.

 

“Using a honey trap makes it easy to imprint even a strong knight… So it was true.”

 

Looking more closely at what a ‘honey trap’ meant, it turned out to be seducing a knight already interested in you with your body. It seemed that once a knight had already pledged their devotion, imprinting became easier, as you could mold and brainwash their mind.

 

Immersed in reading, I suddenly wanted to sigh. As expected, letting love be discovered in the imperial palace is dangerous. The story of a noble house’s eldest son succumbing to an ambitious princess’s seduction and then being used as a stepping stone for her succession was just sad. Records of subsequent emperors were likewise a parade of ruined loves. It seemed the imperial family had a tradition of destroying relationships with their own personal knights due to revenge, power, jealousy, and such.

 

I picked up the records of the ninth emperor and the regent, then set them down again. Reading five tragedies in a row was too much. I needed a mental break. Just then, there was a commotion outside.

 

“Why can’t I come in? I just want to rest my legs for a bit. What’s the problem?”

 

“Madam, this is where the imperial family’s confidential documents are kept. Entry by ordinary nobles is restricted.”

 

“Ordinary noble? Do you even know who I am?”

 

It sounded like Hamel was arguing with someone.

 

The sharp, shrill voice belonged to a black-haired woman. If a catlike young lady with a sharp face aged without ever maturing, she would probably look like this. After seeing only composed, dignified noblewomen for so long, it had been a while since I’d encountered this type.

 

“Forgive me for not recognizing you. However, it’s not in your best interest to enter here. Please step back…”

 

“How dare you. Who do you think you are, to order me around? I come and go from His Majesty’s bedchamber! Is there anywhere in the palace an imperial consort isn’t allowed to go?”

 

That was information I couldn’t overlook. I stepped out immediately. “What’s going on, Hamel?”