NTWBR 04

Chapter 04

“Why!”

“The Emperor’s orders prohibit the entry of commoners.”

At the mention of Pern V’s command, Ernst’s expression hardened.

It was as clear as day what Pern V was trying to achieve with such an order.

He was isolating Irene’s surroundings to force her to submit to him.

Having reached this conclusion, Ernst bypassed the guards and approached the captain of the guard directly.

“I am no commoner! I am returning from an errand for Her Highness the Princess!”

“Show me proof!”

At the captain’s words, Ernst hastily searched his bosom.

The captain’s gaze as he watched Ernst fumble through his clothes was unkind.

After searching for a while, what emerged was a letter with its wax seal already broken.

Even though the wax seal was broken, just looking at the envelope it was wrapped in made it clear it was not something used in common households.

“Here it is.”

“You expect me to believe your words based on this alone?”

“What?”

The captain threw the letter to the ground right in front of Ernst.

While Ernst scrambled to pick up the letter thrown onto the dirt floor, the captain ordered the guards to lock the gate.

Ernst, who had hastily retrieved the letter, clung to the gate with the letter clutched in one hand.

“Open this gate, Captain!”

“Get lost!”

Despite the captain’s order to leave, Ernst could not retreat.

Irene had trusted him and given him his first command, and he absolutely had to carry it out.

If he didn’t, his dream would surely crumble.

“Captain!”

“…Get lost, I said!”

“M-My good sir. Captain. Captain!”

“Will you not get lost!”

“Could you not just send a messenger to Madame Pailin? If you mention Ernst Clayton, the eldest son of Viscount Bury, she will know who I am!”

“Get lost!”

“I cannot retreat! Make way!”

The captain showed signs of being troubled by Ernst’s stubborn behavior.

Truth be told, he doubted anything significant would come from the schemes of a First Princess who enjoyed not a single shred of the Emperor’s favor, and the son of a mere robe noble with no territory.

However, Pern V had ordered that no one except a few handmaidens be allowed near Irene.

For whatever reason, there was a specific order to block Ernst’s access unconditionally.

So the captain had no choice but to hold his ground.

“Ah, Her Highness the Princess!”

An involuntary sigh escaped Ernst.

This was the very first errand Irene had entrusted him with, believing in him.

And it wasn’t even a difficult task—just delivering a letter.

Yet he was about to fail.

“Why is it so noisy out here?”

“Your Highness.”

“Who is this person, causing a ruckus in front of the palace gates?”

“Just a commoner, Your Highness.”

“Is that so? You there, lift your head.”

A young girl’s voice reached his ears.

Ernst turned his head towards the source of the voice.

There stood the Second Princess, Arturia.

“I greet Her Highness, Princess Arturia.”

“You know who I am? Who are you?”

“I am Ernst Clayton, eldest son of Viscount Bury, Your Highness.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes…?”

“What are you doing here, then?”

“I was returning from an errand for Madame Pailin outside the palace.”

“An errand for my sister Irene?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“……”

Princess Arturia, only twelve years old, was now starting to be considered as a candidate for political marriages.

For the Istana Empire, whose national power had waned significantly compared to its prime, actively using marriage alliances for its princesses was part of the plan.

Consequently, there were already kingdoms proposing to the twelve-year-old Princess Arturia.

Furthermore, Princess Arturia was famous for being the spitting image of the Empress Laila in her youth.

So much so that some countries were desperately trying to propose to the still-young Arturia.

“Let him through.”

“Your Highness?”

“I mean, it’s just an errand for Irene, what harm could it do? Let him through.”

The captain hesitated at the young princess’s words but eventually gestured.

The guards blocking the way stepped aside.

Ernst looked at Princess Arturia for a moment before starting to run again.

His sole focus was on delivering the Duke of Welbrun’s message as quickly as possible.

At that time, Irene was in her study, reviewing the empire’s noble registry.

She didn’t think that looking at the registry would instantly reveal the power structure of the Istana Empire, something she hadn’t paid attention to in her previous life.

Still, she thought that recalling memories from her past life might help her identify people who could be useful.

Thus, she traced her memories, sifting through who she needed to win over to her side.

There were only five days left until her social debut and engagement announcement.

As she looked through the noble chronicles, what struck her anew was the matter of Pern V.

He had made a woman with the same name as his own birth mother his new Empress, all while keeping it hidden!

It was truly astonishing.

Just then, a knock came at Irene’s ear.

“What is it?”

“Your Highness, Sir Clayton requests an audience.”

“Let him in.”

It was Ernst’s return.

Irene closed the book she was reading and the notes she had been writing, putting on her usual smile.

Ernst, who had entered the study in the meantime, bowed his head in greeting, his hair a mess.

“Rise, Sir Clayton.”

“Your Highness, I apologize for the delay.”

“You seem out of breath; you must have hurried.”

“I had to deliver it as fast as possible, Your Highness.”

“It seems to be good news, Sir Ernst.”

Irene smiled. Ernst smiled back.

Irene could read it in his expression.

‘The first step has been taken correctly.’

“Did you bring a reply?”

“Would a verbal message suffice?”

“Anything is fine.”

“He said he would come soon.”

“Soon…”

It wasn’t the answer Irene had hoped for.

However, Irene hid her disappointment.

She then looked at Ernst with a bright expression.

“You’ve worked hard, Sir Ernst.”

“Not at all, Your Highness.”

“You asked me a question, didn’t you?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“May I give you the answer now?”

“…And what is that answer, Your Highness?”

“I… I…”

Irene hesitated.

It seemed time to give an answer.

It wasn’t something she felt perfectly comfortable hearing herself yet.

But judging by the whispers among the maids, Irene herself had already become the hot topic of the Istana Empire.

And in five days, it would be her birthday, and she would be able to enter society alone without a guardian.

As such, it was time to give an answer—to herself, and to Ernst, who had asked her the question.

“I… will become Emperor.”

“Your… Highness.”

“I will definitely become Emperor. No, I will surely become Emperor.”

Irene’s voice trembled slightly.

However, her posture and her gaze remained unwavering.

Meeting Irene’s brilliantly shining eyes, Ernst too straightened his posture.

“……”

“I have given my answer. So, Sir Ernst Clayton. What answer will you give me?”

That night.

Ernst couldn’t sleep easily.

No, despite the late hour, he simply couldn’t fall asleep.

He hadn’t been able to give any answer to the question Irene had posed to him that afternoon.

At first, he had thought he must answer.

But when he saw the look in Irene’s eyes as she gazed at him, he found himself unable to reply on the spot.

Answering hastily felt like something he would regret for a long time.

He didn’t know if he would be staking his life or something else, but he felt that once he answered Irene, his life would change completely.

“It’s not an easy question.”

He closed the book he was reading and sighed. He couldn’t help it.

He was merely the son of a robe noble.

The only things he could boast about were being the eldest son of a robe noble and graduating from the academy with excellent grades.

Just those two things.

“……”

As Ernst looked at the night sky visible through the window and was about to sink into thought again,

“Ernst, are you asleep?”

“No, Father!”

Viscount Bury entered.

Ernst tried to tidy his messy desk, but the Viscount stopped him.

“I hear you’ve been frequenting the palace lately.”

“I merely ran an errand for Her Highness. And that was just for one day, today.”

“Still. For a mere robe noble like us, it’s best to stay as far from power as possible.”

“What happens if we end up erased from the noble registry altogether, Father?”

“What nonsense is that?”

“You know it too, Father, don’t you? Given our family’s finances and standing, by the time my generation passes, we’ll be nothing but nameless minor nobles!”

“……”

“Father. I don’t want to fade away like this.”

‘I want to become a proud hereditary noble with a territory, Father.’

As Ernst finished speaking, the Viscount’s complexion paled noticeably. He had already known it too. He had just been willfully ignoring it.

“My son.”

“I want to become a proud hereditary noble. No, I will become one.”

‘I never want to suffer that humiliation again. Never!’

It was one of the laws of the Istana Empire that nobles without territories for a certain period would have their titles stripped, in order to regulate the number of nobles.

And the time limit given to the Viscount Bury family extended only to Ernst.

Unless Ernst earned a territory through military or other merits, his children’s generation would become nameless commoners.

That was why Ernst had studied so desperately at the academy.

The result was graduating with excellent grades and becoming a bureaucrat, but that was it.

The limits of advancement for someone from a robe noble family had come early.

It was in the midst of this that he met Irene in the reception room.

He had thought she was just a fading princess of the declining empire, but upon hearing Irene declare she would become Emperor, Ernst found his heart leaning towards her.

He even chided himself, thinking, if the princess is striving towards a goal she set for herself, what are you doing?

It was a short time, but it felt like if he followed Irene, he might achieve the success and status he longed for.

So he had brought his father, Viscount Bury, for an audience with Irene, and today he had a private meeting with her.

In doing so, he had been testing Irene inwardly.

He wanted to confirm if she could be his liege.

And she had given him an answer to his question within a day.

Now it was Ernst’s turn to answer.

“Father.”

“What is it?”

“I want to stake it all on Her Highness, Princess Irene.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything.”

“My son.”

“I know, Father. I know what you fear. But Father, even if we live like this, we are destined to become mere insignificant nobles anyway. You know that.”

Ernst’s voice trembled faintly.

It was the moment he revealed his innermost thoughts, which he had never once shown before.

Ernst held the aged Viscount Bury’s hand and looked at him.

“……”

“I… I don’t want to make my children mere nobodies.”

“Even so… this isn’t right.”

The Viscount’s voice also trembled.

The Viscount, aged by time, looked at his son, who was holding his hand and looking at him.

The Viscount’s finely trembling eyes met Ernst’s eyes, filled with firm resolve.

“My son.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Do you… absolutely have to do this?”

“Yes. Yes, Father. I don’t want to live like this anymore.”

The Viscount, as if trying to hide his trembling hands, pulled his hand away.

He then rose from his seat and began to look out the window.

Ernst watched his father’s back without a word.

“…Go ahead.”

“Father!”

“At worst, it’s just our family’s ruin. Go ahead and try.”

“Father!”

“Go on, try. Forgive this old father who lacks the power to push you forward.”

“Father……”

—

* * *

—

The next morning.

As soon as dawn broke, Ernst followed Viscount Bury to the palace.

He immediately made his way to Irene’s study.

Irene, looking as if she had spent the night reading, was dressed in the same clothes as the day before and greeted Ernst.

“Sir Ernst.”

“May I give you my answer now, to what you said yesterday?”