Ever Ever After - Chapter 49

House of Brea

Among those admiring him was Rita Brea. In the House of Brea, several types of magical tools were passed down as heirlooms. In the troves of their secrets lying in the deepest part of layered doors exists a magical tool that scales the ability and qualification of an emperor.

The magical tool had ten scales on each column and in between it was a hanging plate. The plate was marked with a plaque that would bear the name of anyone, anything. This tool, it’d show the man’s potential as an emperor through the scaling unit.

In the times past, when the position of a wizard was unstable, the House of Brea’s ancestors made a magical tool that’d promote the safety of their family and remain in positions of power. House of Brea hid the magical tool deep in the basement knowing that it’d be seized from their possession were it to be made known. However, because it only measured the soon-to-be emperor’s capability, it was impossible to know if there’d be a traitor among their mist to change the emperor’s mind or if a negligible figure would raise the emperor. But it didn’t matter. It wouldn’t change the outcome too much. The emperor would still rule supreme if the balance tipped slightly.

Rita had seen in her early age Lawrence Theresia de Calise’s plaque on the plate. He was a candidate most suitable to the throne. He, who had no one to keep him in check, had all ten scales filled. And if there were no other candidates, the odds of Lawrence being pushed out of the throne mattered not.

Some time ago, two scales moved. The one who drove the scales was none other than Ron Elgar Euliana, the heroic knight who recaptured Phylio Castle and was crowned a title at the time. Ron’s climb was insignificant, his flaming glory fading into the abyss as Emperor Murry sent him to his death in the battlefield. And until two years ago, the weight of Lawrence Theresia de Calise’s name stayed the same, only to change and show change in behavior. Lawrence’s name began to lose its luster.

The Teniac Empire wasn’t at a full-out frontal war, and there weren’t any particular influential figures worth noting. The elders of the House of Brea racked their brains writing down countless names and wondering which names to weigh against Lawrence. When Clint Risher’s plaque was weighed against Lawrence, the scale tilted toward his direction. Exactly one column moved.

It sent the House of Brea in a confused frenzy. They’d long sought their family’s safety by joining influential forces. They thought they found it through Lawrence, yet the magical tool didn’t point in the direction they expected.

Two years ago, Clint was merely a small commanding knight overseeing five appointed knights. It was before he went to the battlefield, too. There was no possible reason for him to compete against the Crown Prince. Then, much to their surprise, they came to know that the scales’ predictions weren’t wrong. Clint Risher had recaptured the Excalibur Castle. The scales moved three columns toward him, leaving Lawrence with only seven.

Rita’s position was in a bind. If the Crown Prince couldn’t become the emperor, her life would only drown in a spiral. She couldn’t live that life. She decided to keep a close eye on Clint Risher, the Imperial City’s womanizer. Rita was sure she could easily seduce a philanderer like Clint at their first meeting. She could do it. It’d be an easy feat.

After bumping into him and having their first meeting, she fell in love at first sight. A powerful man of relaxed and innate beauty… every act with him would be nothing but romantic even in the face of danger.

Rita’s eyes soon turned to Ailea. That hideous woman was looking at Clint’s knighting ceremony. Ailea wore the same dress she previously wore when her engagement to Lawrence ended.

Rita clicked her tongue. That woman in the white veil somehow kept blocking her path. The men Rita chased after were always entangled with her. She looked at Ailea with a sharp look and made up her mind. There was no way she’d lose the empress’ position to that disease-ridden broad.