AWWEWNR Chapter 50

Ethan never took Hanaella to the palace after that, because she’d spent nearly a month crying out for Lloyd when she returned home.

 

‘I forgot about it at the coming-of-age ceremony.’

 

Ethan ran a hand over his brow.

 

‘I would have preferred Count Thearine, at least then it would have been easier for me to tell Hanaella the truth about Jaina and… No, no, no, what am I thinking now?’ 

 

Ethan shook his head, almost visibly.

 

“Hayden’s darkness must never be allowed to become the Crown Princess!”

 

“That’s right, the witch of Hayden is the future Empress!”

 

“Don’t tell me, when is she an enemy witch?”

 

“Without the Knights, the Cathedral is powerless to stop the fiends of the North, so who are you to speak of enemy witches?”

 

“For generations, whenever a woman has appeared in House Ariel, we’ve called her a witch, why are you calling her an enemy witch now?!”

 

“Do the Knights work for free, do you have any idea how much of the Empire’s taxes they take in exchange for capturing the demons of the north?”

 

“No. Why does the issue of the Knights’ taxes come up here?!”

 

“Because it’s more than three times the taxes the Knights of the Cathedral receive.”

 

“Now, why are the Knights suddenly under attack?”

 

“Wasn’t it always the law that the Lady of Hayden and the Saint of the Cathedral weren’t supposed to marry into the royal family?”

 

“Who made such a law?!”

 

Clamor~

 

Squeak—

 

The Crown Prince’s official declaration of their relationship made the room as noisy as a crowded marketplace. 

 

The Emperor watched them, his jaw set in a grim, fight-or-flight expression, while Ethan, the father of the bride to-be, stared sternly at his desk.

 

Lloyd had seen the atmosphere in the room like this ever since he’d become Crown Prince, whenever the two factions clashed. 

 

A meeting for his faction rather than for the Empire. It was no wonder he was getting tired of these meetings.

 

“Your Highness, we need a definitive answer here and now.”

 

The oldest of the High Priests of the Cathedral turned to Lloyd. 

 

His question brought the noisy room to a sudden hush, and the Emperor turned to stare at him.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“That the current relationship does not extend to the Crown Princess’s position.”

 

“…”

 

“Hayden’s Darkness cannot be the Crown Princess, it defies logic.”

 

“It makes sense.”

 

The Emperor opened his mouth. The Emperor, who had been watching with   jaw, raised an eyebrow at the words, and looked at the older minister.

 

“You say the word logic?”

 

The emperor’s aura was unmistakable. The older High Priest bowed his head and continued.

 

“It has been said for generations, Your Majesty, that the Witch of Hayden and the Saint of the Cathedral are ineligible to become members of the imperial family.”

 

“That is true. It is without precedent, Your Majesty.”

 

The Emperor leaned back in his chair again, a grim smile on his face as the Empress’s brother, the Marquis of Derial, spoke up.

 

“Unprecedented, yes.”

 

“…” 

 

“So, Crown Prince, what do you propose to do?”

 

“…I can set that precedent, can’t I?”

 

“That is impossible!”

 

 It’s not logical, Your Highness! 

 

“A one-sided situation would destroy the Empire, Your Majesty!”

 

“The chaos in the Empire will grow out of control, Your Highness!”

 

“Until now, not even a Saint of the Cathedral has been able to become a member of the Imperial Family, this is not fair, Your Majesty!”

 

When Lloyd’s words caused the high priests and the Empress’s entourage to shout in agitation, Lloyd slammed his hand down on the desk to silence them.

 

“Since it is your will, I will be fair.”

 

“…”

 

“I will take the Darkness of Hayden and the Saint of the Cathedral as my consorts.” 

 

“…!”

 

The eyes of all the nobles and high priests in the room widened at Lloyd’s words.

 

“You’re not saying that you’re going to make Hanaella Crown Princess and make the Saint Consort, you’re saying that you’re going to make them both Consorts and either one of them Crown Princess. Isn’t that fair?”

 

Lloyd’s words brought the room to a roar. It would be fair if they were both taken to the court, but in the end, Hanaella would be Crown Princess.

 

The emperor smiled with satisfaction at the response of the Crown Prince. 

 

When the dissenting nobles cried out that this could not happen again, Lloyd spoke in a serious and determined tone.

 

“Only if my lover were to claim the Crown Princess’s place.”

 

💫

 

The day of the tea party at Brandz. 

 

Rosaryn was fuming to the top of her head. She was furious that Brandz hadn’t done what she had planned. 

 

But she couldn’t lose face in front of the other young ladies and Hanaella at the tea party, so she held it in until her head hurt and then took the opportunity to summon Brandz privately to vent.

 

“You didn’t do what you promised in the first place, and what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

 

“Ah— I’m sorry, Lady Rosaryn. Thankfully, there was someone who paid for the entire tea party.”

 

“Who is that, it can’t be…!”

 

“It’s not Lady Hanaella, and anyway, it’s a free tea party, so why would I turn it down?”

 

“But you had an arrangement to me.”

 

“It’s not like I got the building first, and if I can’t keep a verbal promise like that, well, I certainly won’t honor it.”

 

‘Well, you’re being a brat…!’ 

 

Rosaryn said calmly, holding back the urge to grab Brandz by the hair and flail about and scream at her right now.

 

“Phew, Lady Brandz. Do you know how much I’ve done for you today…”

 

“What is it, Jurgel?”

 

Rosaryn was cut off in mid-sentence when Brandz asked, looking at Jurgel, the only maid who had come to find her in a hurry.

 

“Lady Dovarine…”

 

“Ah! Tell her I’ll be right there!”

 

Brandz interrupted before Jurgel could finish, turning to look at Rosaryn.

 

“It looks like Lady Dovarine will be lending me her support, and it’s all thanks to you, Lady Rosaryn. If things go well, I’ll treat you to a delicious dessert.”

 

With that, Brandz stormed off to the tea party, and Rosaryn’s anger rose to the edge of her composure. 

 

She bit down hard on her lower lip, barely holding back the urge to yell at the top of her lungs. 

 

Stomping her foot on the floor in frustration, she silently spat out her annoyance.

 

💫

 

Once Rosaryn realized that her plan had gone awry, she left, unable to control her behavior throughout the tea party. 

 

Watching Rosaryn rise to her feet, Hanaella pondered how she would get revenge on those wretched siblings.

 

‘They must have used Brandz’s tea party to lure me back to Thearine, and then used Delphiter to do something.’

 

Perhaps if Ron hadn’t intervened and stopped their plan, I would have blacked out and woken up somewhere unknown, or worse, woken up in the same bed as Tharrott, which would have given me the creeps.

 

‘Oh, those wretched brother and sister. They must have been trying to get to this point.’

 

Hanaella gritted her teeth and glanced at Brandz, who was still ranting at the Young Ladies. 

 

If Rosaryn could use Brandz, she thought, then so could she. 

 

Of course, she had no intention of doing anything like those dastardly siblings had done to Delphiter, or kidnapping and imprisoning anyone, but it seemed like a fitting revenge for them, which was exactly what they were about to do.

 

‘I wonder which one.’ 

 

Hanaella looked at Brandz and pondered what kind of revenge would bring the despair to those bastards.

 

💫

 

Bam! 

 

Clang—!

 

Back at home, Rosaryn threw everything in her room. 

 

Grumpily, she picked up and threw until there was nothing left to throw, making a mess of her room, and then she stretched out, let out a long sigh, and ran a hand through her messy hair.

 

‘Bloody Brandz Andredel!’

 

The daughter of a dying Count, and you dare to bite me without fear… you have no fear… 

 

‘I will make sure you pay for making me so angry.’ 

 

As soon as everything goes according to plan with Hanaella, it would be your turn, just wait.

 

Rosaryn made an exasperated sound and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face once more.

 

‘Now that it’s out of the way, how are we going to get Hanaela to our house?’