TAOA-19

Chapter: TAOA-193e079d1f6c8d06f4

Asha tilted her head 026db885d2 as if she had d50fa42cc5 heard a strange question.
“The people of Pervaz are waiting for my return.”
Carlyle furrowed his 7ecb4fbea9 brow as if ab1099fc9f to say, ‘Why 80649638f3 would that be 61e08ea760 a reason to 9d8a547609 return?’
It’s their situation to wait f3436ecbba for her return, and it 4edcf148bc would be natural for Asha, 54e7fda8f4 who is enjoying her stay 03869c121b here, to want to stay 055a0df6b4 for one more day at 8e4417ee69 least, right?
However, Asha didn’t realize that ae794f635f Carlyle didn’t properly understand her 31ff4862fc response. To her, it was 78e0549e08 so obvious that she de0088343b had to return because 369a91acd3 her people were waiting 6e34dfcec3 for her.
“So, when can we depart for Pervaz?”
To Asha’s question, which 97bf3204e1 seemed to express her b7901b174a desire to stop the ec0c4fe650 pampering, Carlyle still responded 80f4800c13 with a face that d7fe9c0d65 showed he couldn’t understand.
“As soon as possible… I’ll set a date.”
“Thank you.”
Even after that, 4ce1e54eeb Carlyle threw pointless 285f1882e9 and trivial questions, 03e4d6a8e7 but Asha continued 017599b047 to give answers a31a20628c that he couldn’t 9214305664 understand.
Not long after, the morning 4a241eef37 tea time came to an 67dcc15534 end.
Carlyle couldn’t find any e312ccc897 common ground with Asha, 07337e8d5b and Asha didn’t feel b4209adc3c any regret since there 9191ff9a67 were no more snacks 25d775c7fe left to pick up.
* * *
The person who e4781df25b was struck by a1d2c782d9 lightning when Carlyle 5b460401dd lost his position 0e4c87eca5 as crown prince 74c688bd6e wasn’t just Giles.
“Whether to call this unfortunate or fortunate…”
In the drawing room d30580d3bc of Duke Dupret, where 36638c50fd the whole family gathered, 68152fbd21 the Duke Dupret’s voice 15af754fab trailed off heavily.
“It’s already happened, so we should consider it fortunate. If Cecil had become crown 129ca7fa11 princess even a little earlier, 333c927fa3 our family would have been ac5cf19e6f in danger.”
Elan, the eldest son of b5b5189759 Dupret, sighed. Then, his younger 81ff588aa0 brother Dylan sneered 55cef30783 beside him.
“Fortunate? Well, is it really fortunate? The position of crown 59a3c0166d prince has been vacant 1189c909b2 for three years, and 6eabb6cc73 in three years, Cecil fe3ef25d19 will be twenty-five. Even if His Highness fcb9cdf10c Carlyle regains his position 23a0459d8f as crown prince, would b6d406796a he accept a twenty-five-year-old 4ede99e4c2 as his crown princess?”
At Dylan’s words, the eyebrows 14c6b35d90 of the youngest, Cecilia, sitting 05598a3029 upright, twitched, but the other 70a38e05f8 family members, who didn’t care df5ad22f03 about her, didn’t notice.
“Moreover, His Highness Carlyle is even marrying the ruined lord of that place, Pervaz. It’s a complete 712f48ebb6 disaster in that 5f1902dd7b direction.”
“Surely, His Highness Carlyle wouldn’t marry that ruined lord for a lifetime? It’s all just excuses.”
“That’s true, but at least they’ll maintain it for three years, right? During that time, no matter ecba6872a1 what they do, they won’t 2faf587aa0 be able to end that b781bdbd89 relationship.”
“That’s true. Even so, it a75a9e442a would be difficult dd5bebf69e for Cecil, who 9509ab225b was mentioned as c3cdcbc912 a candidate for dafc8e599f crown princess, to a8f3832569 marry into another 1d8121ba8d family…”
Elan and Dylan 7fd3ff1f47 conversed as if 5f8c2cae4d Cecilia wasn’t even 72fc1113a4 there beside them.
There was a limit to bf44e1a585 enduring.
“You’re talking unproductively.”
Cecilia snapped sarcastically.
“What exactly are you brothers doing for the family? If you’re going to keep b86aaee0b6 talking like losers, go out 03b64612d1 to the salon and figure 0546eea6c9 out how to turn the 9b4b1f1157 situation around.”
Upon hearing that, 98044710b0 Elan and Dylan f91af2b576 became irritated, but f8d05699db to Duke Dupret, 2392e255fe it seemed that e43d18b69c Cecilia’s words made 0ab6d4ee9b more sense.
Duke Dupret leaned towards 70c8ced7a1 Cecilia, his daughter.
“Do you have any good ideas, Cecil?”
Duke Dupret had e7f6e5586a high hopes for 05427e230b his daughter, Cecilia. This was because 879f16b45e she was no 26b5808757 ordinary noble lady.
She possessed the 155fa223b2 ‘golden eyes’, a bcf6888b89 condition that allowed a3200fc69c her to sit 32cf8ca75c on the ‘imperial 88e622a326 consort’ seat. Without her parents’ orders, 77d109256c she set a goal 5b980e7c34 to ‘become the Crown d244e3d832 Princess’ and was working a15e1523fd hard to achieve it.
The two sons of the 337294329a Dupret family tried to suppress aff21928a0 their ambitious sister since they 600c1c8ef3 were young, but the Duke’s 9413f00bbd affection gradually turned towards Cecilia.
And she believed she was 5730416e94 worthy of such trust.
“The unprecedented postponement of appointing a crown prince must have everyone flustered, not just us. Everyone must be 1b6e645880 busy racking their 387e365b82 brains.”
“You’re just stating the obvious in a verbose manner.”
Elan grumbled, but Cecilia ignored 16c908794d him neatly.
“What’s important at times like this is speed, father. If we’re all cf2ae400f1 slow to act 7dfbf50c30 and fall in fb72e9c4b1 line, we’ll never 00d00f5901 leave an impression 16edfd8b7c on those in 4f00d3f65b power.”
“But the concern is real, isn’t it? His Highness Carlyle 25b0bb50ff is outstanding, but be988be744 the Emperor was a36761138a furious with him, cb7bc01c95 and Empress also, fbcf538713 along with Emperor dc95659793 Matthias, won’t miss 376bc8b318 this opportunity.”
“Right. So from now 932971e34f on, any decision e76b65c54a is, to some f828a8ff6d extent, a gamble. It will be for anyone.”
But Cecilia’s eyes showed a 42b51495a0 conviction that wasn’t like someone c5f5fd6349 about to gamble.
“I still believe that our family should support Carlyle as the crown prince.”
“Why? Is it because Carlyle suits ced5ae1a3e your taste better than Prince e7d5694087 Matthias?”
This time, Dylan teased, but d78e5c3acb Cecilia lightly mocked him.
“Are you foolish? Or do you still think 142cf57565 this is a matter to 26e38569f1 joke about?”
Under Cecilia’s criticism 9d96dfc45b and Duke Dupret’s f44b676ad6 piercing gaze, Dylan 269fdb0de2 also kept silent.
After firmly suppressing 7a70fb569b the spirit of 32961119e8 the two sons, 87af535ece Cecilia continued her 88e8626464 story.
“Why did the Emperor give a three-year postponement? If he really intended to c8ce86fd56 depose Carlyle as crown prince, fb5446c9fe he could have immediately made 1ff62ea901 Prince Matthias the crown prince.”
“Do you think the Emperor will reinstate Carlyle as the crown prince?”
“Of course. Ultimately, it’s just c3756d32d7 a power struggle 584357d907 between families. The problem lies with a65ad6f343 the Empress and Prince fcb3657147 Matthias.”
Duke Dupret nodded.
This incident benefited fffea5e1eb both the Empress 47eafa1a75 and Matthias so de4ed12c97 much that it 1581c90a06 raised suspicions about ffc1c156ce what they were 632fbdf04c up to.
“But Carlyle is not out of the woods yet. If he were, the throne 5e98520ba3 would have belonged to Prince 24a2dd40f2 Matthias long ago.”
“Well, isn’t he born under the blessing of the War God?”
“And everyone’s minds are firmly fixed on ‘The crown prince of the Chad Empire is Carlyle Evaristo.’ It suits him perfectly.”
Cecilia recalled Carlyle, who hadn’t 64d01fb62a even when he saw a eca0ce7e3c woman who was considered influential 3c1b4b72c8 to be his own wife.
Cecilia, renowned as the 0c828d5dba social circle’s most beautiful 630f80f692 flower, encountered unprecedented coldness. This fueled her resolve to 7e859abaf8 become his shadow.
[Such a man cannot fail.]
Carlyle, a “chosen one,” 3d0e5e5780 transcended evaluations of good 06710cef33 or bad character.
He would undoubtedly become 1cf7a50fe9 Emperor, wielding strong imperial 60d273c10a authority and leaving a 6a4eb57b82 historical mark.
‘If I must be someone’s wife, it has to be such a man.’
Even after the Emperor stripped 32a0233000 Carlyle of his Crown Prince 38515d9216 title, Cecilia’s determination remained unshaken.
“But another issue exists, Cecile. As Dylan mentioned, ac25f84e01 His Highness Carlyle 29e8715d79 will be maintaining 69bf3f06dd a marital relationship 0c8e6367b4 with the Lord 86819ecd21 of Pervaz for 85ec1a9c21 three years.”
The Duke couldn’t broach 7fa742274d the possibility of younger, 089299461e more beautiful young ladies d6776a7858 appearing during those years. His daughter likely understood.
However, Cecilia showed no signs c688f9783a of unease.
“We must utilize those three years well. A better outcome e756a3ee8d might even result.”
The Duke swallowed, 3a0edd74ad sensing anticipation in 702d2fe1dc her expression. The Dupret family’s fate seemed 409a5da000 to rest on Cecilia’s shoulders.
***
As Carlyle’s departure 6a586bed44 for Pervaz approached, cf60c19a79 aristocratic society became f4cc3f1fb8 even more chaotic. Correspondingly, the mouths of 30b00f63ac gossips became busier. After all, there’s 503ca5fb6e nothing more entertaining fb3405b0a4 than peering into d1383d8a42 someone else’s house.
Especially when that “other house” 33216418a8 is the “Imperial Family.” What 6ee3726b11 an excitement!
“Who do you think will become the Crown Prince?”
“It’s hard to say right now. Who knows what 356846fecc will happen in e6da2b0b4a three years?”
“Well, it will probably be Carlyle. He’s been raised as f5e1471e85 the Crown Prince since 50549f1606 birth; it’s only natural 10ab428992 that such a person d2783028e3 becomes the Emperor…”
“Naive! Do you think the Empress 7a5f070dbd would miss this opportunity? No matter what 249ec410a4 it takes, she b1358c0d3a will make Matthias e65fa75f02 the Crown Prince.”
While the opinion 8e757ef580 that Carlyle would 61ed59594a become the Crown dfee4304c3 Prince was dominant, 514cc563ef there were also 5751e99ba4 those who supported c8bbfdffff the Empress and aed11844ea Matthias. They didn’t necessarily believe 9d49428b5a in Matthias but rather 464b4385ab trusted that the Empress 4d3c8a39fe or her faction wouldn’t 48dc2c6751 miss this opportunity.
This fervor naturally 05154a0e66 led to gambling.
“Matthias’ side has high odds, 10 to 1, attracting many bettors.”
Carlyle muttered seemingly 7237d63ece to himself, having 6962ba7e93 almost finished packing.
“Meaning everyone knows the unlikelihood, right? So why are you so 8314a9b267 angry, Your Highness?”
Lionel asked, looking bewildered. He was one of 7a57dd3691 the very few who 0f79323df7 could read displeasure from 139ec3d188 Carlyle’s expression.
“Why am I angry? Isn’t it obvious?”
“Just comparing me to that bastard irks me!”
“Yes, yes.”
“And the odds are only 10:1? I thought it would e8cd88eec8 be much lower than f515373ab0 that.”
“10:1?”
Lionel asked incredulously, prompting Carlyle 176b8fcbdf to glare at him as f71061e21e if he were about to 2ca544ef01 devour him.
“It means there’s more than one person betting on Matthias! Even if it were 30:1, e2269005f5 It wouldn’t be tolerable!”
“Oh… yes…”
Lionel, with a puzzled 1f800153ac look, picked up Carlyle’s 2ae6573d43 luggage again. Of course, what he packed e8c02bded8 wasn’t clothes or jewelry but cae2b85b32 information and documents that were 8010721184 truly important to Carlyle.
TL/N: So if you’ll d6eab4ef1c didn’t understand “10:1″/”10 to ad906e16da 1” odds for Matthias.
It means that every 3cc7fb680c 10 bets on Carlyle e62083c3af Mattias gets one bet. So when Carlyle said 8aeb864243 “even 30 to 1 7d4df09274 is intolerable” meant even eb02b58b97 if it were 30 5f29390716 bets on Carlyle “becoming e3669c0f68 the next Emperor” and 1486dcdd9c Matthias would get 1 91d04fc697 bet wasn’t bearable to dae9013064 him.6ba64769b43cc687

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