I Tamed My Ex-Husband’s Mad Dog - Episode 35

It was usually a leisurely time during afternoon tea time, but nobody in that place seemed relaxed. Many people were present during tea time, which was expected since it was in the presence of the Emperor.

Apart from the Emperor, twelve courtiers served him and seventeen knights. Count Murray, who brought Reinhardt, was also present, and Marquis Pulea, who managed the noble roster. All of them greeted Reinhardt with dignified expressions.

“Long live the supreme and honourable Emperor of Alanquez. I pay my respects to Your Majesty.”

Reinhardt kneeled before him with an expressionless face. Kneeling lightly before the throne was the etiquette in the Imperial court. However, it was the first time Reinhardt greeted the Emperor in this manner since her teenage years, nearly twenty years ago. Since members of the Imperial family were allowed to greet the Emperor without kneeling, she didn’t have to kneel when she was the Crown Princess.

“Lord Linke, have a seat.”

“Yes.”

As expected, the Emperor addressed her as Lord Linke. It didn’t look like he was going to kill her right away. As soon as Reinhardt sat down, observing her surroundings from the side, the Emperor also asked the young man’s name.

“And what was your name…?”

The Emperor was truly a fox-like middle-aged man. Even though he had clearly heard his name before, asking again had some meaning behind it. Reinhardt realised that the man would never pretend to know Wilhelm here. Wilhelm followed her in, knelt behind her, raised his head and answered in a low yet raspy voice as would be expected of a young man of his age.

“I am Wilhelm.”

“I heard that there is a Thunder in Lord Linke’s territory. Is it this young man?”

Without hesitation, Reinhardt nodded at the Emperor’s question.

“Fortunately, I acquired a talented individual through good luck.”

“I see. Please be seated as well.”

At the Emperor’s invitation, Wilhelm bowed his head.

“I dare not stand side by side with distinguished individuals, so I will step back.”

It was great. If Wilhelm really sat down just because he was asked to, he would have been treated like an irreplaceable idiot in the world. Wilhelm stepped back and stood behind Reinhardt with a truly sophisticated and dignified gesture. Even though it was the Emperor’s inner chamber, where one had to remove all their armor, Wilhelm’s movements displayed such dignity and splendour as if he were wearing full armor. Even Reinhardt was a little surprised, and the Emperor smiled contentedly.

“Good, young man.”

“Thank you.”

Praising a subordinate is equivalent to praising the master. Upon seeing Reinhardt’s skilful response, the Emperor nodded in approval and spoke again.

“Alright, Lord Linke.”

“Yes.”

“It’s truly regrettable that you were separated, but I knew our relationship was not entirely severed.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I won’t say much. Marquis Pulea.”

The Emperor summoned the Minister, and the Marquis of Pulea replied with a nod.

“When His Majesty called the former Viscountess Faldon Lord Linke, all rights of the Marquis Linke family were restored. Viscount Faldon can now act as the rightful heir to the Marquis of Linke, and all the properties remaining from the compensation that His Highness the Crown Prince did not take will belong to Viscountess Faldon, regardless of the territory or lands.”

Even after that, the Marquis of Pulea continued to recite her rights for a while. Reinhardt was not surprised since she was already familiar with the details. She simply maintained her composure.

When the mention of the late Hugh Linke’s remains came up, she gripped the teacup with a little more force, but that was it. When Marquis Pulea finished speaking, Reinhardt nodded with a truly noble attitude.

Next was Wilhelm’s knighthood appointment. Murray made it clear that the Emperor had the authority to appoint all knights of the Alanquez Empire before their masters. The Emperor opened his mouth in a friendly manner.

“How about receiving your knighthood here and now?”

It wasn’t unexpected. Reinhardt also felt that too many knights were present to receive their appointments during tea time. The Emperor’s eyes were fixed on Wilhelm. If Wilhelm stepped forward, the Emperor would immediately stand up and perform the ceremonial appointment with a sword. However, Wilhelm looked at Reinhardt instead of the Emperor, and Reinhardt playful smiled.

“Your Majesty, I beg your pardon, but before the appointment, I would like to clarify his birth.”

“…Oh, yes. Sure.”

There was a difference between a commoner becoming a knight and a noble becoming a knight. During the audience with the Emperor, Reinhardt implied that Wilhelm came from a noble background. The Emperor cleared his throat.

“Can I see his birth certificate?”

“Of course. May I present it to you personally?”

The Emperor nodded, and Reinhardt stood up, standing before him. The knights moved closer to her, as it was customary for a representative to receive the certificate, but Reinhardt gave a sly smile.

“Your Majesty, seeing you up close, you look even more radiant than before. You had a slight cough last time we met, but you seem to be in good health now.”

The Emperor raised an eyebrow at the sudden remark. What Reinhardt just said had a rather intimate tone. In other words, it sounded more like a conversation between a daughter-in-law and a long-lost family member than a formal address to the Emperor under his lordship. Well, she was his eldest former daughter-in-law he hadn’t met in a long time.

Wasn’t she the former sister-in-law driven away to a harsh, barren territory after stabbing his only son?

The atmosphere in the room subtly changed at once. An almost tangible silence spread, to the extent that one could hear the eyeballs rolling of Count Murray and Marquis Pulea. It was the Emperor who broke the silence.

“haha. You’ve taken care of all my worries.”

So, no matter how moderately well the Alanquez Empire was, it was a country.

“Come to think of it, Hugh Linke was very kind. It’s been long since I saw you, so I forgot what you looked like now.”

The Imperial throne was quite a burdensome position for someone who was not foolish or quick-witted, but the Emperor was someone who fit the throne very well.

“Come closer.”

The Emperor waved at Reinhardt with a warm smile like a normal, kind middle-aged man.

Like a beloved elder daughter-in-law, Reinhardt smiled and knelt in front of the Emperor, placing her forehead on his hand. The finest gesture a noble could offer to the Emperor. However, it was an act that only someone on the level of a Grand Duke or higher could dare to take, given the closeness.

“I am truly delighted to meet you again.”

Was she the same woman who had been cold and distant in the Amaryllis Hall earlier? The two ministers met their eyes with dumbfounded faces. The knights also stepped aside shyly, ignoring the meeting between the former eldest daughter-in-law, now the great lord, and her father-in-law.

Perhaps the Crown Prince had made a grave mistake, and unexpectedly, the Emperor turned out to be a better person than she had thought. Or maybe the joy of getting back the remains of the late Hugh Linke had softened her attitude a bit.

For a moment, those present were entangled in such thoughts, so they didn’t notice the small stone passing from Reinhardt’s hand to the Emperor’s hand.

A transparent crystal.

The Emperor’s expression remained steady, even though he was surprised by the sensation of something being put in his hand, as if wondering what the opponent was up to.

Even though he couldn’t confirm what it was right now. The Emperor smiled and placed his fisted hand on the armrest of the luxurious chair he was sitting on. His series of movements were very natural.

Reinhardt smiled and gestured to Wilhelm, who came closer and handed a piece of parchment to the knights beside him. Inside the certificate, which was stamped with a seal, was written the name of Viscount Krona and a meaningless, common male name. Marquis Pulea examined the certificate and nodded, agreeing to restore the name of Viscount Krona that had been erased from the noble roster.

“Even if it’s an adopted lineage, he still has the right of succession.”

“Thank you.”

The Emperor’s eyes casually skimmed over the marriage certificate. Reinhardt purposely didn’t pay attention to it either. There was no reason to do so. From the moment he confirmed the object within his fist in an empty place, the Emperor’s head would be crazy busy.

***

Since the residence of Marquis Linke had been handed over to the crown Prince as alimony, the only place Reinhardt stayed was the Imperial Palace. A decent lord would be accountable to other nobles with whom he was allied, but now Reinhardt was a newly emerging lord with an exceptionally large territory. The Emperor, of course, instructed her to stay in the palace.

It was late in the evening when Reinhardt arrived at the welcome palace where the guests of the Imperial Palace were staying.

Of course, compared to the room she ‘originally’ used in the Imperial residence, the one she was given now was smaller, but Reinhardt didn’t mind. She had no such thoughts. As she lay down on the bed, seemingly about to collapse from exhaustion, Marc cautiously asked her.

“Your Highness, Wilhelm’s knighthood appointment was at the banquet, right?”

With a nonchalant expression, the Emperor hadn’t even bothered to confirm what he was holding in his hand, casually inquired about Wilhelm’s appointment during the banquet. Reinhardt couldn’t help but admire his fox-like demeanor. She vaguely recalled her time with the Emperor during tea time while lying down and replied casually.

“Yes. Prepare appropriate attire.”

“Understood. However…”

Mark hesitated, so Reinhardt raised his head.

“What is it?”

“Your Grace, do you need anything else, by any chance…?”

Reinhardt lightly furrowed her eyebrows. It meant whether she needed any particular attire for the banquet. If it were an ordinary maid or if she were still the Crown Princess, it would have been a reasonable question, but the person asking was Marc. Reinhardt sharply asked.

“Who asked you that?”

“…Ah.”

Marc hesitated. As a former guard, she had no expertise in preparing such attire. Someone in the palace must have instructed her to ask. There were many plausible candidates for such a request. It could be nobles trying to bribe Reinhardt with gifts or those who had owed favours to Marchioness Linke and wanted to show their loyalty. However…

‘It could be one of the Emperor’s tricks, or maybe Michael.’

Sending poison disguised as a gift was an old tactic. But the unexpected name that came out of Marc’s mouth surprised Reinhardt.

“Sir Wilhelm told me to ask. He said he knew that Her Excellency had no clothes… and if it’s alright, he could prepare it.”

“Wilhelm?”

It was absurd. Why on earth would he bother with such things? Reinhardt lifted her tired body, gestured to Marc, and shouted through the open drawing-room door.

“Wilhelm!”

She knew Wilhelm was already there, conversing with other knights and guards in the reception room. As expected, Wilhelm promptly appeared between the open doors.

“Did you call?”

“Did you tell Marc to prepare my attire?”

Wilhelm nodded.

“Lady Sarah asked me to inquire because she thought Your Excellency might not have proper attire for the banquet.”

Sarah? A question mark appeared on Reinhardt’s face, but it was a plausible answer. Reinhardt quickly dismissed her confusion and gestured to Wilhelm.

Alright. Besides that, I have something to discuss with you. Come here and have a seat. Marc, could you leave us? Close the door behind you.”

“Ah, yes.”

Marc immediately bowed her head and was about to leave, but Wilhelm raised his head and stopped her. Then he called out to Reinhardt.

“Your Grace.”

“Yes?”

“There are many eyes in the palace.”

Reinhardt’s eyes narrowed.

“…Wilhelm?”

She knew what that phrase meant, but it seemed like Wilhelm had something else to say. Could he be using that phrase in its literal sense now? But Wilhelm shattered her ‘could it be’ moment.

“When a man and a woman are alone in the same room on a night like this, people will gossip.”

Reinhardt was taken aback.

What on earth are you saying now?

***