If You Wish For A Married Couple’s Duties - Episode 100

“…Justin had done that?”

The emperor swallowed down a heavy sigh while leaning against an antique wooden chair.

Rather than shock, he seemed tired by the news from the duke.

There weren’t just one or two accidents that his only son had caused so far, and it was difficult for even him to defend his son.

“Are you certain, Duke?”

The emperor asked again for confirmation.

“Are you absolutely certain that Justin secretly leaked the Devil’s Nap?”

“I’m deeply sorry to inform you of this, but this is a definite fact.”

Leonhart continued as he stood at the other side of the emperor’s desk.

“May I say something as a servant of the imperial family, Your Majesty?”

“Speak your mind.”

“Your Majesty has done all that you can for His Highness the Fourth Prince.”

It was all thanks to his background that Justin, who’d beaten two princess consorts to death, and committed all kinds of wickedness one after another, was able to enjoy his power as the prince without any backlash thus far.

It was because he was the only prince born to the empress, and had the ‘Heine ducal family’, the most powerful family in the imperial capital, as his maternal relatives.

The Heine family, a distinguished family that wasn’t second to the Esbaden ducal family, controlled more than half of the empire’s commerce.

Therefore, it was natural that not only the aristocrats but also the emperor watched the Heine ducal family’s mood.

“If the previous events that occurred were just the imperial family’s internal affairs, then this incident is different. If Your Majesty covers for the Fourth Prince, as you’d done before in the past, the Empire’s order will be disturbed.”

“That’s right. You’re probably right.”

The emperor held his forehead and mumbled.

“It’s not like I’m unaware of it either. But in order to punish that child, I’ll have to turn the Duke of Heine into an enemy. I can’t come up with a way to deal with them right now, Duke.”

Roughly speaking, the leakage of illegal drugs could be concealed as long as the Duke of Heine was determined to cover it up.

The things that aristocrats with wealth and power could do were much more diverse and vicious than one would expect.

“I’m not sure.”

Leonhart frowned like he couldn’t understand.

“With all due respect, it seems to me that His Majesty still holds lingering feelings for His Highness Justin.”

For example, the false expectation that a child that had grown up crookedly will straighten back up.

The emperor did not deny the duke’s words.

“That’s probably the case. Because he’s still my child.”

“The First Princess is also the child of His Majesty’s.”

“Of course Julia is also my child. But I feel sceptical about her ascension to the throne.”

Leonhart closed his mouth at the emperor’s response.

He was well aware of what the emperor was talking about.

“…If it’s the problem of a successor, there should be another way.”

“Right, if the situation calls for it, she can just adopt a member of the imperial family’s collateral branch. But more than that, Julia, that child is too domineering.”

The princess, who’d been called a genius in magic since her childhood, belonged to a group of so-called ‘eccentrics’.

Similar to most geniuses, she had also done things that ordinary people couldn’t understand.

“Julia, that child, has always thought that her way was right. She doesn’t listen to others at all.”

If Justin, despite his wickedness, was good at picking up the words of other people, Julia’s character was similar to the emperor’s, but she was dogmatic.

“The emperor’s position isn’t about acting in an arbitrary fashion. It’s a position that coordinates everyone’s opinions.”

“Even so, you can’t say that His Highness Justin is better at coordinating than Her Highness Julia.”

“Doesn’t Justin have his maternal family? An emperor with a strong background has the ability to forcibly coordinate complex and difficult problems.”

Leonhart fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

“…I understand what Your Majesty means.”

He looked at the emperor, who seemed to be agonising over it still, and spoke calmly.

“I’ll keep my silence about the Devil’s Nap.”

“…Dispose of all that were involved with the prince.”

“Understood.”

The emperor rose from his seat with a pained groan.

He knew better than anyone else that his decision wasn’t right.

But just as how the right decision wasn’t necessarily the best one, the best decision wasn’t necessarily the right one.

“The war with the kingdoms at the eastern border is still ongoing. The war funds are always lacking. Given the current situation, we will suffer a loss by making Justin the problem and losing the Heine duchy.”

As such, it was the right decision to cover up the fourth prince’s faults from the current situation.

“I feel apologetic to you, who have to work hard.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty.”

The duke answered the emperor’s words in an inattentive voice.

“Am I not Your Majesty’s servant? It is my duty to obey Your Majesty’s will, so please do not worry.”

Leonhart bowed his head lightly towards the Empire’s master.

Contrary to his soft and courteous manner of speech, an infinitely cold gleam appeared in his half-lidded eyes.

* * *

“It feels rather refreshing to meet you in person like this.”

How did things end up like this?

Dooha looked down at the handle of the teacup that was sticking towards her.

She was facing the princess in a corner of the greenhouse, seated underneath a gazebo with silver-coloured cloth hanging from the roof.

It was the princess who led Dooha, who’d been hiding in the bushes, to this place without giving her a chance to refuse.

It seems like she already knew the duchess would visit this place.

Dooha could tell that just by looking at the tea and refreshments that were prepared in advance on a white table in the middle of the gazebo.

“From the way you’re silent, it seems like you’re rather embarrassed.”

“No, it’s an honour to meet you too, Your Highness.”

“For someone who thinks it’s an honour to meet me, you seem to be rather wary a while ago.”

“…I was told not to trust anyone in the Imperial castle.”

Julia chuckled.

“Ahaha, that’s right. It seems like the Duke of Esbaden was strict with his wife.”

The princess seemed to admire Dooha’s prudence.

She continued with a smile.

“My relationship with the Duke of Esbaden is quite special. That’s why I wanted to get acquainted with you, who has become a new member of the ducal family.”

A special relationship with the duke?

Julia looked at Dooha with a curious gaze and spoke.

“Do you know Daniel?”

The moment Daniel’s name appeared, Dooha’s face hardened slightly.

It was because she was worried about her friend, whom she’d never seen the face of after the fireworks night.

“Well, there’s no way you wouldn’t know of him. Your husband’s only cousin.”

Julia continued with lowered eyes, like she was recalling memories.

“I was a fellow student in the Academy with Daniel von Esbaden. We used to fight for first and second place in magic classes.”

Ever since she was a child, Julia was one of the most talented people in the magic class of the Empire’s best Academy.

There were only two people that were referred to as magic geniuses, one of which was Julia and the other Daniel.

“I’m not just similar to him in our natural talent for magic. We also share the similarity of being born with weak bodies.”

Once, both of them caught a bad cold in the middle of summer, so they failed that year’s midterm exam, which allowed a student in the magic class, who’d always gotten third place, to get first in class.

The fact that that student fainted in the classroom out of happiness remained a legend in the Academy.

“I like Daniel, but I hate his father. The way he tries to hide what he’s thinking, even though it’s as clear as day, is rather annoying.”

Just like the ducal couple, the princess hated Sir Nate.

Although she was a potential heir to the throne, like her younger brother, the things he has done like disregarding her because she was a woman, trying to undermine her talent as a wizard, and insisting that a princess shouldn’t exist as a monarch that rules the empire but as a means for diplomacy.

“On top of that, I’m a wizard, so I can’t have a wizard as my right hand, can I?”

Julia gave her a pleasant smile like she was cracking a joke.

“In that sense, the Duke of Esbaden was the best partner for me. It’s an alliance of unrecognised geniuses.”

It was a business partnership and a cost-effective symbiotic relationship

The relationship between the first princess and the Duke of Esbaden could be described in that manner.

“The duke is very competent. He must be busy with his own work, but he completes everything I’ve entrusted to him perfectly. He’s quite rational and practical. Just like someone that doesn’t know of failure.”

Julia rested her chin in her palm and stared at Dooha.

“But from some point onwards, such a person has only been talking about one person in his reports.”

The Imperial princess’s eyes curved playfully.

“The way he says it even makes me, who’d declared that I wouldn’t marry, think that marriage wouldn’t be so bad.”

Just who was the woman that captured the heart of a man that was as cold as ice and as firm as rock?

In order to investigate the true self of the new Duchess of Esbaden, Julia rushed out of the Imperial castle as soon as she heard of her arrival.

“…Your Highness knew that I would come here.”

“Of course. Why do you think the imperial physician was called at that very moment?”

Actually, the sudden summons for the imperial physician was Julia’s ploy to somehow meet Dooha when she was alone.

“There are ears on the walls of the imperial castle. Yes, Duchess.”

Julia continued with a smile.

“As such, if you aren’t always prepared, you’ll suffer blows in the back of your head from people like my younger brother.”

Instead of responding, Dooha watched the princess quietly.

It was as though she was looking at a ruby of the finest quality, which was carefully crafted by the best craftsman.

Unlike her smiling face, there wasn’t any emotion within her deeply subdued eyes.