Chapter 149

"Today's agenda is about which of the two daughters is more suitable as the crown prince's wife."

I stiffened at his announcement.

'Is it finally coming?'

I thought I was ready for any measures about Jiun until the meeting began yesterday. So I relaxed to some extent, but I couldn't figure out what to do now.

Regardless of her abilities, she once served as the empress in the past. As such, it seemed unlikely that she would give her power to other people. Given the way she spoke and acted to me, it seemed that she was determined to be the crown prince's wife. Even if she had no desire to be the empress, Duke Jena, her stepfather, would not sit idle, doing nothing.

'What should I do?'

If I put priority on the interests of the pro-emperor faction, I had no other choice but to be the crown prince's wife. It was only me who could promote Jiun as, called the child of God's prophecy, as the crown prince's wife. My original plan to make her the crown prince's puppet wife was immediately discarded the moment I realized she returned from the past.

But I didn't want to be his wife. Although I knew he was different from what he was in the past, I was still scared. Besides, I had so many people to protect, namely my father, my family, countless people I learned after returning, and myself.

"I don't know how this can be qualified as today's agenda," Duke Lars, who was allowed to speak first, said.

"Lady Monique was engaged to the crown prince as soon as she was born, and she has been impeccable in her actions and deeds for more than two years since her debut at his coming-of-age ceremony. Besides, even before she started imperial education, she had all the qualifications as the next empress. That's why they cancelled her imperial education with the approval of the emperor. She is such a smart lady and a proven talent whose competence has been verified for long."

I felt nervous. Obviously, Duke Lars changed his position as a spectator to an active participant to support my suitability to be the crown prince's wife. Only yesterday he agreed with my father's position on my being the successor of my family, but it was only based on the premise that Jiun was in the hands of the pro-emperor faction. As the situation changed a lot from yesterday, he seemed to think that it was the best option to promote me as the head of the pro-emperor faction. And that was also true.

"On the other hand, Jiun appeared all of a sudden. Although she is a child of God's prophecy, no one knows what kind of life she lived so far. In other words, she has not been verified at all. So, I think Lady Monique is suitable as the crown prince's wife."

As soon as he was done talking, Earl Hamel responded, "What are you talking about? Duke Jena's daughter is the owner of divine power. She has power that only six High Priests in the entire continent can use. This means that she received our God's love. In other words, she is a talent verified by God. Lady Monique is nothing compared to her."

"But Lady Monique also received God's prophecy twice in person. If you're talking about God's verification, she also has the same qualifications. "

When Earl Genoa, sitting along with the pro-emperor faction, refuted his remarks, Earl Hamel said sarcastically, "It is clear that the divine power is more direct evidence of God's blessing than the ability to hear God's prophecy, just like the number of high priests is less than the token of God less than that of the high priests. Besides, according to the official interpretation of the temple, I must say once again that Duke Jenna's daughter is the only child of God's prophecy."

This time Duke Lars said, lightly clicking his tongue. His red eyes glowed coldly.

"Earl Hamel, don't cloud the issue. I only mentioned whether the two daughters could perform their duties as the crown prince's wife. God's recognition of her does not necessarily mean that she can perform her duty properly, right?"

"Well, I have something to say with respect to that issue."

Duke Jena, who remained silent up to now, opened his mouth, breaking the long silence.

"You might remember that I proposed the idea of the crown prince having a concubine. My proposal was discarded because of an unfortunate accident."

I glanced at the duke speaking casually. I was really frustrated to listen to him.

After he was strongly warned by the emperor at the banquet of the National Founding Day festival, Duke Jena preserved the power of his faction by shifting all the responsibility to Earl Apinu who was assigned to securing the crown prince's concubine. As a result, Duke Jena and some members of the noble faction were dealt a blow to some degree, but Earl Apinu was demoted to a viscount for his failure.

'But how brazen he is!'

Now Duke Jena casually described it as an 'unfortunate accident.' I could take his shifting responsibility as a political act, but he could not make such a mean statement to his deputy who was demoted because of him. Since the earl was present in this meeting, the duke was not supposed to say reckless things like that.

I turned my eyes to the viscount, the former earl, unconsciously. I noticed a middle-aged man, who was bowing his head with a flushed face. As if he clenched his fists too tightly, they turned white.

But the duke didn't care at all and continued, "Then and now, the issue is the same. Namely, Lady Monique is still a minor. What's the point of claiming she is such a smart girl? She can't be of any help to the crown prince as his wife."

"... "

"It has already been two years since the crown prince came of age. Besides, he is handling political affairs on behalf of the emperor. In this situation, what's the point of having a woman who can't help him at all? Compared to Lady Monique, my daughter has already come of age, so she can help him immediately."

Earl Lanier, who was dejected after Duke Lars rebuked him, chimed in, with a proud smile on his face, "That's right. No matter how hard I think about it, I'm still bothered by her mother's family background. Like the duke said yesterday, there is vulgar blood flowing in Lady Monique's body, right?"

"Earl Lanier, stop that nonsense!"

"Why are you continuing to bring up the groundless fact?"

"This is a conspiracy to disgrace Lady Monique!"

I was watching Earl Lanier closely while trying to stay calm. His tan eyes were staring at me with a mean spirit. I felt nauseous, so I hurriedly covered my mouth with a handkerchief. There were lots of shouting and yelling flying around.

Bang!

I heard the sound of him hitting the desk hard. Everyone's eyes turned to the head table all at once. The emperor stood up, extraordinarily upset, and stared at Earl Lanier. His blue eyes sparkled coldly.

"Earl Lanier, are you challenging me now?"

"Your Majesty..."

"I told you that I would not tolerate any further disturbance because of this issue. As I don't deal with political affairs these days, do you think you can challenge me?"

"That's not what I mean..."

"Stop it! I order you to get out of this conference room for ignoring my order. Also, you shall be prohibited from attending the big conference for the next three years. Anybody who opposes my order, come forward!"

The conference hall was overwhelmed by the cold silence. Everybody knew that even though the emperor was now a peaceful ruler, called the Sacred Emperor, he once led the efforts to initiate a bloody crackdown on his opponents, executing many of them in the process.

Only

A cold voice echoed through the quiet hall where everybody was holding their breath.

"I think both sides have a point. So, let me propose my idea."

"... "

"It is clear that Lady Monique has great qualities as the crown prince's wife. As for Duke Jena's daughter, she was also given her middle name by God, so she also has the qualifications as the crown prince's wife. But I am not sure if Jiun can perform her duty as the crown prince's wife properly, compared to Lady Monique whose job qualifications have been verified. So, how about the crown prince having Lady Monique as his wife, and Jiun as his concubine?"

My heart sank at the moment. My cold hands and feet became stiff. My eyes met Jiun's, who was also shocked at the emperor's suggestion.

After a moment of silence, Duke Lars and Duke Jena replied respectively, representing their own faction.

"I agree, Your Majesty."

"...I agree, Your Majesty."