Chapter 207. Engagement Ceremony, Part VI

Translator: Khan

Editor: Aelryinth

For now, Duke Dudley looked into Francis' face, pretending not to know. Even though the prince was his grandson, he didn't have to tell him everything. Even if Francis became Emperor, he should be behind him.

"He said Killian had refused him. It seems that the death of the Empress led to a deeper misunderstanding. But since the daughter who he sent up for a debut fell in love with Killian, he can't openly disagree with her and tried to do something else."

Duke Dudley's old sense of politics sent a warning that something was wrong. At any rate, he thought he should hear the rest, so he asked, "What's the Duke of Kiellini going to do?"

"They sent poison, the secret to the family. The poison cannot be discovered."

Duke Dudley felt a sense of disbelief. Poison! 'What is he thinking?'

He could not figure out why Duke Kiellini would prevent the union of Prince Killian and his daughter.

But he decided to find out about that later. First of all, it was more important to tie up the movements of his grandson. He sighed without knowing as he opened his mouth to ask Francis not to do anything foolish. Even though he was brilliant, he thought he was not ready yet.

"If Prince Killian dies suddenly, even if the cause of death is unknown, you will be the first to be questioned."

"I wouldn't do such a stupid thing." Francis smiled confidently.

"Is there any good way?"

"I have to make sure that the cause of death is unknown, but there is only one way to keep the doubt from coming back to me, and that is by killing a lot of people who have nothing to do with me. We can include Killian that way."

The Duke of Dudley did not understand Francis's words, and gave him a curious look.

"We kill an unspecified number of people, and we just have to put Killian among them. I intend to disguise it as an epidemic."

The Duke of Dudley was struck with admiration. He immediately revised his thoughts that his grandson was not yet ready. "You're also the blood of the Dudley family. You're so brilliant. Who is more suited to the next Emperor than Your Highness?"

Francis only smiled haughtily at the satisfied Duke. He didn't have to tell him that it was Marius who made this proposal. 'Isn't it the ability of a superior to use a subordinate well?'

"So, don't make any rash moves. The finished poison will be mixed into the grain and spread. Please find a suitable grain mill and a merchant to sell it. It would be appropriate to deliver it to the capital of Bertino, Ricaren, and the surrounding territories."

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Recalling Francis' plan, Duke Dudley looked at the Emperor with a relaxed expression.

If the Emperor had raised his daughter to the Empress instead of Bertino's girl, innocent people would not have died like this, so he was foolish indeed. The Emperor was someone that should never be swayed by personal feelings, but he had given in to them.

Even if this plan went wrong and the Kiellini family's poison could not kill Killian, it was not worrisome because he had won over more than half of the seats of the Congress. He was going to kill Kiellini's girl just in case anyone would be shaken by the prophecy.

The eyes of the leisurely-smiling Duke Dudley and the Emperor's met. The Emperor opened his mouth with a tight eye. "The prophecy of the astrologer who followed the Empress to Austern is famous for never being wrong. Her prophecy was of two things."

Dudley's eyebrows waned at the words "two things". Apparently, the fortune-teller said that the Emperor only knew about the first prophecy, that the lady of the highest status in Austern would be the next Empress. The fortune-teller's second prophecy, that even the Emperor didn't know of, was of little importance, so he did not care much.

The Duke of Dudley's face hardened. 'Was there a trap in the second prophecy? Which words?'

The Emperor's words continued, but Duke Dudley was busy rolling his head to check if he had missed anything.

"The second prophecy was that the Prince of the main line of descent of the first wife would become an Emperor for the next generation."

"The old woman lied. She said it was a prophecy the Emperor didn't even know. Why did she lie like that?"

Listening to the First Queen's indignant murmur, Duke Dudley turned his eyes from the emperor and looked at Prince Killian. Like the Emperor, Killian was looking at them, and pulled up one mouth obliquely as he saw the Duke.

'No way.'

At Prince Killian's sarcastic laugh, Duke Dudley seemed to have been hit in the head. And as if to laugh at him, the Emperor's declaration rang out in the hall. "Killian Bertino Austern, the fifth Prince, is a Prince of the main line of descent, born to me and my Empress, Cordelia Austern! We will hold a ceremony next month to appoint the Crown Prince."

As soon as the Emperor's words were finished, the First Queen sprang up and protested, "That's ridiculous! Prince Killian is not the son of the Empress. I can't believe you hid such a serious fact. Why? Are you trying to deceive us, to appoint Prince Killian as the Crown Prince?"

The room became noisy at the First Queen's harsh protest.

"The First Queen, why did Killian have to grow up to be the child of the Second Queen, and not known as the child of the Empress? Why do you think I did that?"

The Emperor's question silenced the hall.

"It was suggested that the first miscarriage of the Empress was not a natural one. I decided to cover up the fact in order to protect the Empress, rather than trying to catch the unknown criminal who left no evidence behind. When the Empress was pregnant again, I was fully prepared. I was careful in everything, and I made it up as if the Second Queen was pregnant and hid Killian. This will be evidenced by the royal physician Irene who helped the childbirth of the Empress, Count Criber the grand chamberlain, and the maids of Bertino, who served during his childbirth."

When the Emperor raised his hand, about twenty people led by the grand chamberlain came in.

"Count Kriver, talk about what happened that day."

At the Emperor's command, Count Criber bowed politely and then talked about the day's work. After him, the royal physician Irene, Countess Jayna, and the maids stepped down after a series of attestations.

"Now do you know the meaning of the second prophecy? A fortune-teller told people other than me the future she saw, except for exactly one term. The term "next generation" is missing from the prophecy that the Prince of the main line of descent will be the Emperor."

The Duke of Dudley whispered low in the ears of his daughter, who was hysterically shouting out that it was nonsense. "Be calm, Your Highness. Trust this father. The next Emperor is Francis. I am going to break that prophecy."

But his hands were shaking, too. The next Emperor was born of the Prince of the main line of descent. He felt like he was hit by an arrow while climbing the wall to put up the flag of victory. Now that it had happened, he had to kill Prince Killian no matter what happened, as Francis planned.

The Duke of Dudley grabbed his trembling hand and raised his head. "Congratulations, Your Majesty. I can't understand that you hid the identity of the Prince of the main line of descent because of some misunderstanding, but I'm truly happy to learn this. Congratulations, Your Highness Killian. This will help stabilize Austern's unstable succession."

Following the Duke of Dudley, nobles also greeted him with congratulations. Killian frowned at the appearance of Duke Dudley, who had quickly regained his stability and comforted his daughter, as he offered courtesy to the Emperor.

"He's so calm. There must be something fishy about it, as you say." Spencer said, looking at the Duke of Dudley.

Just before the Emperor's announcement, Julietta was greeted by people with Marquis Anais and Simone. Having only a picturesque smile beside Simone, who explained the absence of the Duke, she looked back at Killian, surprised by the Emperor's sudden announcement.

"The princess, congratulations again and again. If Prince Killian becomes the next Emperor, you will be crowned Empress. It's multiple happy events for the Kiellini family."