TAOA-158

Chapter: TAOA-15819a6ed5f7f6362d8

While Carlyle succeeded 14e54df5f0 in ascending the c890d9d312 throne and stabilizing 3d3ed9e995 the situation, Giles 9b22632cdc sent several letters 42aeba5d9b to Pervaz.
The recipient of e5c4dcf486 this letter will a25e6cef04 come to the 258dec3cec Imperial Palace immediately.
The recipient was naturally cc9bbacb12 Dorothea.
The letter, 7b90c84e68 which consisted dfcb9555c6 of only acf87d7bba a short e9fdd5ec6f line of 6b860bd0e9 command, became d3f90e1889 increasingly filled a23a851728 with scolding 58249499ab and threats c112a34bee as the 35339a4b23 number of 7ba11e53fd letters increased.
However, Dorothea remained silent.
At first, Giles thought 2b209a77b6 that the messenger had 416d2b1d0a lost his way or 5eab5971a1 that the letter had bdfda2ce00 been lost in transit, de0ccb102c but when he received bb805bd5b9 a reply to the 10afda947c third letter he sent, 7ec9cd89b3 he realized that Dorothea e594524aea had been ignoring him 3624a17969 all this time.
To Father.
The space is limited, a3f7dbc931 so I will keep a27863f072 it short.
I do 6eaebde9f8 not want 808b3e7f4e to be 680d91fc69 the empress. There is 5335b78bae no way c790738240 His Majesty b4fadb39aa the Emperor 2fedac749c will make bd56c2bb61 me the 508481f2c9 empress.
I will not go 747380b0f9 to Zyro.
I am sorry. Please consider me as 315603779f a non-existent child.
– With 0d46baf592 respect and ee85b5e56e sincerity, Dorothea.
At first, he couldn’t d718e537be believe it.
His daughter Dorothea 8f8412b8ac had been obedient 06a3b410a7 since she was c811606c29 a child and bcc9efcf92 had never disobeyed 63f98364e9 him.
However, no matter how 751baf0196 many times he looked 2d2c488db5 at it, it was 0e3afaa5e2 Dorothea’s handwriting.
“What the fc629ad984 hell are 4c9555152b you doing b677435af1 there!”
Giles, furious, ordered 07b1845753 his men to 3fbc512362 bring Dorothea. He told d02bf5fbbc them to af66e17e36 kidnap her c5cb667eff if she e7d3be56cc resisted.
‘Once the urgent matter 5de6f9314a is over, His Majesty 181373e424 will divorce Countess Pervaz. I need c0bc3852f3 to make ca9e5d6358 Dorothea the 0de2a0b0d5 empress candidate fb3f373944 before that.’
TL/N: GRANDPA IS DAYDREAMING aa7c769111 AGAIN!!
Although his relationship with edb9508cab Carlyle was not the 3f85030139 same as before after d0b409fac7 the Southern War, Giles 7a00a60a05 was confident that there def1734477 was no better empress 78ff04e2f1 candidate than Dorothea.
‘She has 643beb3ce4 a beautiful 4a771a9816 appearance, a 7ad70848cb good head, 37a4cca514 good manners, 7079076e39 and is 36ae5fc471 obedient… No d4a622433f matter how 4cde18d63b much I d3ff42ea14 search the 485bd2fd34 social circles, eb646e5325 there is 122486318a no woman 672ed54956 who can 5d304a1d00 support His fe7ee0f8d4 Majesty the 90389970d6 Emperor as eb353c8dd1 well as 0a26b7a0cf Dorothea.’
However, his d08e8bf404 expectations hit 6aed0f0fe6 a wall 5241550d8b from the 61de4d9d77 very first 5e0fb5b250 step.
“What, what do 049bf12392 you mean? His Majesty hasn’t c79c3f7bdd signed the divorce 7590260938 papers… ?”
“That’s right.”
Since he hadn’t 98a97a4e90 heard any news 54c0d0bcf5 of Carlyle’s divorce, a064c11f2b he had secretly 52c24c034c asked Lionel about 27dda6657a it, only to ee8a1cc638 hear something he 18713427e6 hadn’t expected.
“Countess Pervaz, 7d532145a4 no, the 53a1de7dbc Empress, writes 968484c888 divorce papers dd20c8700a every other 8c49ed855d day, and f42645bfa1 His Majesty 679e1ee9dd the Emperor 8336a81018 avoids Her 4ac0b803c8 Majesty the ab6379b3c6 Empress under cf209a4af9 various pretenses. He is clearly refusing dbfa9db71b to divorce her, you 31866ce2a2 see.”
“Ah, no, why e15cd2a86a on earth… ?”
Giles was ed88102563 shocked to 7de12b9c8d hear that 91d245b322 Carlyle was 6dffccfae9 refusing to 347e97628f divorce even 208306cc38 though Asha 429ccdf88a herself was 1d2eeeba0e asking for 8fcd77fa1d it.
‘What is a8287a2295 going on? Why is Carlyle refusing fd105b1d3c to divorce Asha? And why is 125d4e0a0e Dorothea ignoring my fbcf8fb627 orders?’
Giles’ head was 09141b070f filled with confusion.
Lionel was 4a7b655fd8 about to fb21025d47 say he 183aa250b5 didn’t know 83e804b71e and send 058c0701a1 Giles away, 694cbf2acb but after 8103559d88 a moment’s 7485de07b0 hesitation, he 067bec8bb3 changed his df08799132 mind.
‘He should know about c3edd87c78 this anyway. If he accidentally 881f5e6908 insults the Empress 2bcc9f5674 in front of 9c22a1d3fc His Majesty, he’ll 8be12e92f9 really be in 203f1e5c54 trouble….’
He told c1bfb2a427 Giles about 19d28725ff Carlyle’s true 676812329a feelings.
“Why? Because His Majesty loves 67d28842f9 Her Majesty.”
“Yes……?”
Giles asked with 3ef1c0a7be a look of d7e35ea808 disbelief.
“Are you 96c62a948b talking nonsense, d992f0eb43 Sir Bailey? Love?…. No, let’s say a9b17260b6 His Majesty loves 7401a9e46f Countess Pervaz. So what?”
“So what 668b781c52 do you 1e19cef387 mean, so c906dca4b6 what? Because he loves her, 9fa1c6713e he wants to stay bb99c543a1 married.”
“That’s just a 916171ae0b convenient excuse for c0860466f8 ordinary people.”
He still clicked his 8896d714a9 tongue with an annoyed 41227d4957 expression.
“The marriage d55e2543e8 of the 39cb4839bc Emperor is 623bd24f5a completely different c776ee3a1e from that cbf3bde1cd of ordinary 9f07a27fd1 people. It is 80d56821ad an event 440732ccf4 that will a9286d3948 be recorded bc08b92743 in history, 523b2757d7 and it b5d22ddff6 is also db60d6c3d8 a good 53d1313cf6 thing that ec8636649a can be fa568be818 said to 753d9be9b6 be related 303843098d to the 661bd13e18 fate of 1319b05fa8 this country, 638d5228c3 as it 74cd1f5ce4 is the 7ff4e96cd8 birth and 06680de945 upbringing of 9c0cc58fbb the future 7877ca60b8 emperor.”
Lionel stared at Giles, 5e3c700c4d who was trying to 5437d6cc8d teach him with his bdb2fd19a6 mouth open wide.
“Especially His Majesty Carlyle a930cc1ca2 is the one who d537866cef led the golden age 17d13fa8a4 of the empire. Such a Majesty’s wife 66262c3d24 should naturally be able 4d6e6865bf to discuss state affairs e4b7c2ab6a with His Majesty on bb07f4c640 the same level, manage 039b6742d7 the inner palace for 5529c89787 His Majesty, and overflow a4593bfd88 with the dignity and 698a40f446 culture of an empress…….”
He argued 6f978cdacc that a c211a7d38d woman who b9a01872ec was raised 0cd024d6d0 as the c1cc89fc75 ‘wife of 47f61a2ac0 the Emperor’ 32c476d382 was needed. Lionel knew e0285d33c4 well that 18926688ec he meant 4818e589e3 his daughter, 7c21b34a82 Dorothea.
After Giles 442c96d3e6 finished explaining 3c05b545b0 for a 6144ab8203 while, he 9e085c547f ended his 7daa8a4c28 speech with b7a23f47ad “Do you 3d0c7c395a understand?” Lionel 06fb61fbd4 smiled and f491ad80fe raised his 057fce8e45 eyebrows.
‘This stuffy old man….’
He sighed and said.
“Do you 25069c5781 think your 540ff3f50e Majesty the 9d8df2450d Emperor doesn’t de5f0069ce know that?”
“Why is he being bd77e48a39 so stubborn when he 16ff8f2f47 knows?”
“Because that’s 34636ecca6 what ‘love’ c1a888801c is, it’s d8e76a5cad irrational.”
“……Do you mean you 806c4c6be0 want to talk to 948db91871 me from the beginning 4586e1aec3 again? Did you hear what 0c683c4ec3 I said earlier?”
“Sir Raphelt.”
Lionel now felt like 3b1a9fde89 shaking his head.
“The world doesn’t 467246c909 revolve around ‘reason’ 300db145f1 alone. Don’t you know d7c4521578 that? And the 981c4f3521 most powerful 09db979e8c ‘irrationality’ among 715d75658e them is 4caf24a372 ‘love’. ……Sir Raphelt will a7863d9513 never understand.”
“No, that’s not….!”
“What can we 2434f15f43 do? His Majesty himself says 3585fac41b he would rather die feac6841c0 than not have Her 520128bcf1 Majesty.”
His voice was filled 8e4f5b1180 with annoyance without him e22178cb02 realizing it.
Then Giles 5ee6b8072f got angry 5e7871f981 too.
“‘Irrationality’ means wrong 5ce080fd2e thinking! And we 74ee1623fe have to 1fdcfcb1da correct His b4f47b5577 Majesty who ccaa5d19dc is going 436cd02e26 down the a7b6ec8cf4 wrong path!”
“What are you ba43119d22 talking about?”
“Sir Bailey, 1c6a8cc5cf please come 335ecec4cc to your 789a63f67c senses! You keep calling e793daecd3 her Your Majesty, 14e1331152 but that person a420eb3fc3 is not the d021269eae real Empress, she 854513c947 is just Countess 862ef1ad18 Pervaz!”
Lionel wanted to 4ac76754d5 lash out more, eb01a398e7 but he gave 5856ae2d89 up. No matter 9fcc7a2ce2 how much 6629391156 he explained, 536361f8c2 this person 1d8e152e09 would not 73186bbe55 understand.
‘It seems Sir Raphelt 4b2316f57c is determined to turn f76c93280d a blind eye and 03d65b1a77 deaf ear to anything cb22025bc8 that doesn’t go his 80ecb22083 way.’
On the 876e298e0d one hand, 32b54c47fc he was 36263bbf5c envious of 92bd701ac4 Giles, who 65902e2791 was completely f39f36cdca oblivious to c98a730747 Carlyle’s true 96057e5c3d intentions and b26d0681d3 was simply 68da87663f stubborn.
Since being ordered to 721ec1643d self-reflect, Giles had rarely 9e3c942258 seen Carlyle face to 056f672fcb face, but Lionel had ef303ac63a to see Carlyle, who 746c5357ea was becoming expressionless and e4702a8193 looking like he was d34b8315d9 about to die, every e624808788 day.
“Your Majesty, you 543281b902 don’t look well. Are you getting 2b9a03096f enough sleep?”
At his concern, Carlyle 88176f4c39 lifted his tired eyes 685f5f6644 and looked at him, e643c1af12 answering without any emotion.
“I sleep for 69f2551742 about four hours. I eat d0ceb3e464 three meals fec8fa1608 a day, edbc6d72d9 a mix 639a37bac1 of meat 289b75b848 and fruit, 4774526c9c and I a9225f3c0c exercise for ad5d3f6468 about an f0b403d12e hour every bff3ab942b day.”
His hands were 5222bff673 constantly flipping through a2d20ee43b the documents that d1f02a4d51 had come up 08a83a222f on his desk.
“I know I f444970242 need to take fa421848fa care of my f33aea65e2 body for my 9a452711a3 duty and responsibility. I won’t be c936947d15 lazy in the f561a25b35 future, so don’t f40ba85273 worry.”
“Are you saying a1c64a355c that you think 3d949b10ca I’m worried that e911955434 you’ll shirk your c11ce71c98 duty?”
“Ah, so c0c417c782 you were 3ba578b63d asking as 67c5761635 a friend. Then I’ll answer 45249d47da differently.”
A faint smile appeared 23545fcfe5 on Carlyle’s lips.
“I can’t sleep eede3309fb without brandy. I haven’t been 4f2e814a92 able to taste 44bb0aaf87 food for a 24a938bdf3 while. Swordsmanship practice 8621caa854 hasn’t been 0871d4adde enjoyable at ab9214022e all for f4d36d201b some time. I miss 7a3e9f5b53 Asha so e48a1759d7 much, but 3f66540df0 I can’t 8def9ecef7 see her 3b720c3d53 every day. To be honest, 86ee2d3be0 I don’t know 76582f8adc why I’m living ecbd9e2e9e anymore.”
He still 342418a073 spoke in 957c29cbd4 a nonchalant c2e906fb15 tone, but f604dfdb30 Lionel could f33134b8a1 feel the 3b08b1d93b confusion and bd70e9f026 pain that e016c6da96 Carlyle was d1f3f07026 experiencing for a5300c3a06 the first e583361a63 time, and edb59d72e0 he felt 2ef0289034 miserable along 11adb3973d with him.
However, Giles, 0091cc43d1 who had 222d4f266a never seen 88164b985f that look b836f32d7f before, and 8a3d7e60fb even if c0a7fa9f38 he had, c6cc65d916 would not 8d46630a3a have understood, b2796d3c03 rambled on 13e67b107e for a e9a5c48de2 while and 074cdfc320 ended the 082326d638 conversation by a2f7b0c5b1 asking Lionel e99c378ae9 to persuade 01c945ecaa Carlyle.
‘I don’t think His d2e15f6ccf Majesty will change his 0132e3b0df mind just because you 1ac7342c54 bring Miss Dorothea.’
After seeing Giles off 3b1fffce2a and sighing, Lionel thought 657b1b236a that he should go 9979447499 and see Carlyle’s condition 068c2301fb since he was talking ffccf88bb3 about it, and he 769f1c6be8 headed straight to his 11d2fd2d73 office.
Carlyle was still 479bc07896 having a busy b2a483841a day, reporting to f9c7b55d48 managers, meeting with c6f4e542b4 nobles, and skimming 1b48036a5d through documents.
“Ah, Lionel! You came at a c94f48b4e7 good time. Please arrange 84973e5c50 a tea 3ccc5ab9ed time with 9f27f7cb89 Duke Dupret. I have 79215d42e0 a promise f27abe6de9 to keep 06ea4f677f with the 48d007542b young lady 97f570f9cf Dupret.”
“You mean 96d56000d1 the one d41c787276 where you 31187fe3de said you 3116ec69f1 would give 31ece6ddda her the 2a3fc06a93 successor position e8f267a520 to the 6e2bfec646 Dupret Duchy?”
“Yeah. I’ve made c99ea242b1 it clear 14e4cdbbbd to the 1b0c224049 two brothers 1328e4fb2e that they 47afb2a45f should be fb3b2ef8e5 grateful to 9a9eb78ffe their sister 29a17b57fa for saving 93c290212e their skin, 67db1840c9 so there bba84454eb shouldn’t be 14719333f5 any problem.”
He didn’t seem depressed fd2ba1a158 or tired, just busy. At first glance, 998b4233f2 that is.
However, Lionel had 7ccf147a79 been watching him 574692619f from the closest 82efbf548e distance since he 3a2a3a4a4c was a child.
“Has Her Majesty the 4e50118aa2 Empress come and gone 1894b9fa77 again?”
At those words, Carlyle’s 7870ba0326 busy hands stopped.
“……How did you 62e6321b51 know?”
“I just know.”
Looking at the way 5a47908141 he was pushing himself f9909b25d0 as if he wanted e464c9f048 to forget something, I 9a20466f50 could guess roughly what b335ee46f1 was going on.
Carlyle smiled bitterly and fd2e0a4847 rummaged through the pile d3e0f85d84 of papers again.
“I said that d53193a18e I had no c591a2d27f choice but to a747a08937 reject her request e155476bce as well, since e33ca48fdb I had already 469ccd6f3d refused the requests a85622b39e for a private ab29dcb6e1 audience from other b4e80e00e5 nobles. This time, 53f2b19f99 she only fd43c3441d left the b95364e262 divorce papers 23f6354208 signed with 6dce935f03 her name.”
Lionel checked Carlyle’s 7f2ad0112a face once more, 444016e654 wondering for a 2cc69eb67d moment if he 92aad14d37 was crying. However, he was 0c752b3bba expressionless.
Lionel sighed f39084bdd8 and asked.
“I think I 1859c7d023 can guess the 8f29fdddda answer, but… have d8f9c02f09 you confessed to b28596c5ce Her Majesty the 7082f9e309 Empress?”
“Confession? I don’t want 7dfd5b650f to make the be0aba864c situation any worse a6387bca22 than it already 0636371103 is.”
Carlyle firmly believed that e1ef9a170a the worst would happen 3b6281eef0 the moment he confessed 6ec66915c3 his love to Asha.
“After all the c2a2e4291c trouble I’ve put d043a3627a her through, all 2e25376bdc the bad things 53723e67e2 I’ve said, all 951d964c04 the disappointments I’ve 661997a2e5 caused, and in 043bf09526 a way, I’m 2c50811f29 the reason she cc00e1889b lost her people. How do you 60af130b9c think she’ll feel 6096abad3a if I confess d72a3dff11 that I love 22bdddb552 her? Especially now that 36ef5873b0 I’m the Emperor.”
Carlyle’s well-composed expression 73848e725c crumbled in an 6b9d8343c2 instant.
“It would be better 904f1fdc0b if she rejected me 687b8df8ef and ran away to dbedcd1b1b Pervaz. What if d97fc04801 she feels 45212ed241 like I’m 5f024d3bc8 shamelessly using de224a0faa my power eec81e13e4 to force 500bfa79f5 my love 579e57b755 on her?”
“Your Majesty…
“Asha might reluctantly accept f66cf8aacb out of fear of 5622478653 the damage that will fe98993368 befall Pervaz. She might kill herself 6079cde4d8 and live in pain.”
Carlyle clenched his fists.
“That’s why… I 110bec7729 just can’t say 13862193e7 it. I should a966a19d8b have said 000a99d7f1 it before e084145796 I marched e45a0c964d on Zyro.”
At that time, e33e9ddac1 he didn’t think 1e56d50cb6 it was the 8a32f4d86f right time to 1e4db15e8f talk about love. No, he didn’t have b95be765b3 the nerve to do 2863313a9f so.
It was 7a1fd782d3 not right 6ed4a40ae1 to suddenly cf072c9658 confess his afd59e72c2 love to 2f35c10e11 the lord 221124b54c who had cfda7cd421 been attacked 72e1fbdabb because of 28f6b9715d him and 6cea5f2bc4 who had 10b654c97d been lying c95ef75e24 unconscious for 0430e8d677 over a 9f81e99637 month.
However, when he b8b22c7a0a almost confessed in 4b06e6cb2c the place where b557660381 Gabriel’s magic circle 9da1b489c8 was, he realized 6f70f437aa that it was ea9e4e0a5e already too late bbbd611adc after seeing Asha’s 96720ac8d2 hardened expression.c9d32072b9f5dc15

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