NTWBR 07

Chapter 07

“Let’s give her a choice. What’s the big deal about that, anyway?”

“Duke!”

“After all, there must already be candidates. So I think it would be permissible to at least give her the opportunity to choose among them. Don’t you agree, Your Majesty?”

“……”

“Your Majesty. As the Duke says, if my marriage candidates are already decided, I believe it would be permissible to give me the opportunity to choose among them.”

“Be quiet, Madam!”

There was a shout from Fern V directed at Irene.

Irene did not flinch even at Fern V’s shout.

She instinctively knew.

That if she showed any sign of backing down or wavering now, she would never be able to assert herself again.

With the intention of pressing her point once more, Irene stepped forward, closing the distance between herself and Fern V.

She meant to apply pressure by physically reducing the gap.

As Irene stepped closer, Fern V’s expression hardened further.

“It’s my marriage, so how can I just stay quiet? Even if the marriage prospects have been narrowed down to one! I will refuse a marriage that doesn’t ask for my consent!”

“Irene!”

Fern V’s shout rang out once more.

Though Fern V’s shout and anger were directed at her, Irene still didn’t even blink.

Along with Fern V’s shout, the gazes of everyone in the study towards Irene were not kind.

They disapproved of Irene’s attempt to overturn what had already been decided.

*’Hoh… I wonder if this is courage or sheer nerve. Either way, I like it.’*

However, the Duke of Welbrun’s eyes, as he watched Irene, held more curiosity than before.

And Franz Mestia, the Crown Prince, who had been silently observing, also watched her with intrigued eyes.

“Your marriage partner has already been decided, Irene de Ištana.”

“Even so, I want to decide for myself, Your Majesty!”

“I said it’s already decided!”

“Then I refuse this marriage!”

At Irene’s declaration of refusal, the eyes of the Duke of Welbrun, the Marquis of Aberton, and Chancellor Marshall turned to her.

Irene showed no change even while receiving the gazes of these three.

“Ma, Madam!”

“Be quiet, Chancellor.”

“Duke.”

“……”

Chancellor Marshall, who had tried to say something, quietly closed his mouth at the Duke of Welbrun’s restraint.

However, Chancellor Marshall’s eyes were not kind.

The Duke of Welbrun, who had stopped Marshall, now turned his gaze towards Franz Mestia, the Crown Prince.

*’Is that the one? The one nominated as my niece’s partner.’*

Irene inwardly felt grateful to the Duke of Welbrun.

He didn’t seem to be completely supporting her, but for now, he was lending her his strength.

As such, the thought that she needed to show her worth to some degree in this place grew stronger.

“Your Majesty, you said my marriage partner has already been decided. Who is it?”

“You will know soon enough.”

“Whether I know now or a little later, it’s the same thing. I want to know now.”

“……”

“Please tell me. Surely you weren’t planning to announce it during my birthday ball?”

“……”

“Please tell me. If it’s a partner and a reason I can accept, I will agree. But if not, I will refuse this marriage.”

If she couldn’t change the already decided marriage, Irene wanted to make this the first step on her journey to becoming Empress.

So she began to insist stubbornly.

That she would decide her own marriage.

In fact, Irene had already judged, from the moment she entered Fern V’s study, that Franz Mestia, the Crown Prince, would be designated as her husband.

So rather than outright opposition, she thought that even a single moment of objection would allow her to seize some initiative in her marriage.

Besides, there were plenty of reasons to object.

Currently, Irene herself was the presumed heir, and the other party was the Crown Prince of another nation.

While it wasn’t a mismatched marriage, it was also a marriage that could potentially cause problems for Ištana’s succession to the throne in the future.

According to the succession laws commonly applied on the continent, if Irene married and gave birth to a son, that child would become first in line for the Ištana succession.

And if that child carried the blood of a foreign imperial family?

Especially if it was Mestia, a nation that also called itself an empire but held more power than Ištana?

It was a matter that could lead to Ištana being absorbed into Mestia.

Of course, this was only in terms of calculations.

Over the past few days, she had established the logic to oppose the marriage with Franz Mestia.

After much deliberation, this was the reasoning she had built.

However, now was not the time to speak of it.

Because it was not yet certain that the marriage with Franz Mestia would proceed.

“It is already decided.”

“It’s my marriage, so I will decide.”

Irene’s stubbornness continued.

Chancellor Marshall shook his head slightly at her behavior.

However, the Duke of Welbrun’s expression became increasingly favorable.

But Irene was unaware of these people’s changing attitudes.

She was merely taking a step forward for her own purpose.

The Duke of Welbrun smiled at Irene’s attitude.

From his perspective, it was refreshing to see his eldest niece, whom he had only thought of as a flower of the court, possessing the qualities of a politician.

“Well, can’t you just tell her? What’s so important about that, tsk tsk.”

The Duke of Welbrun’s rough words, completely ignoring etiquette, seemed difficult for the Marquis of Aberton, seated opposite, to accept.

The Marquis of Aberton put down his teacup with a flushed face.

“Don’t you think the Duke’s words are a bit too much?”

“Marquis of Aberton. I am here not only as a Duke but also as a member of the Imperial Family.”

“……”

“And I believe that much can be told to the party involved. Am I wrong?”

At the Duke of Welbrun’s words, Irene felt a sense of reassurance in her heart.

She didn’t know when he might turn on her, but for now, the Duke of Welbrun was supporting her.

The political support of a Duke of the nation and a Sword Master who symbolized the nation’s military power.

Even if she was ignorant of politics, she could understand what a great asset this was.

And now was the time for her to strike back strongly.

“Is it ‘Mestia’?”

“……”

“That’s right, Your Majesty.”

“H, How did you!”

At Fern V’s flustered reaction, Irene laughed inwardly.

“I noticed it as soon as I entered, Your Majesty.”

“The imperial marriage with Mestia will lead both empires to peace. So obey quietly, Madam Pailin.”

It was a definitive statement from Fern V.

Irene took another step closer to Fern V.

Now was the time to push hard.

“What if that person is a debauchee who, even before marriage, has several mistresses and illegitimate children?”

“What?”

“Listen here, Princess!”

Franz Mestia, who had seemed like he was merely watching a gladiatorial match until now, reacted as if having a seizure.

Irene was pleased by Franz’s reaction.

It was the same in her previous life, but Franz had several mistresses and illegitimate children, so his standing within his own nation was not very solid.

He had scandals with numerous women, took mistresses, and fathered illegitimate children.

Whenever this became an issue in the Mestia imperial family, Franz’s position wavered.

At least Franz Mestia’s legitimacy was stronger than other princes, and his abilities were fairly good.

Nevertheless, his private life was always a stumbling block.

The only reason Franz sought to marry Irene was one thing.

To solidify his position within Mestia.

“Who are you calling a debauchee?”

“The person I’m speaking of now.”

“Apologize to me this instant!”

“Madam Pailin, please apologize. How could you say such a thing…”

“I have ears too, Chancellor Marshall.”

Gently cutting off Chancellor Marshall’s words, Irene looked at Crown Prince Franz.

Noticing that Crown Prince Franz was very angry, Irene quietly gazed at him.

She knew that smiling at him at times like this would only fuel his anger further.

But this was not the time for that.

“I am not someone who wouldn’t have heard at least rumors about the Crown Prince.”

“Rumors! They are false! Your Majesty, they are lies!”

“How absurd to call them lies.”

Irene said nonchalantly.

“Although I have only been within the palace, I am at least aware that Mestia is in an uproar over you, Franz Mestia, and your mistresses and illegitimate children.”

“……”

Crown Prince Franz said nothing.

He probably had nothing to say.

That was because Irene, known to have only been in the palace, had brought up his private life and the ensuing controversies within Mestia.

Irene smiled inwardly as she watched Crown Prince Franz, who had no reaction.

It seemed everyone present was hearing this for the first time.

In fact, within Mestia, Franz Mestia’s messy private life was viewed with great displeasure.

That’s why they desperately tried to hide it.

So it was difficult for other nations to easily find out.

Even Irene herself had only learned of this after marrying Franz Mestia in her previous life.

Furthermore, Irene also learned only after marriage that Franz Mestia was in a situation where he absolutely needed to marry a woman of high status—at least a princess of a nation—to recover his position as Crown Prince.

*’That’s why he married me. Even if I were to marry you again, I will be the one to decide.’*

Irene repeated to herself once more.

Even if she were to marry Crown Prince Franz again, she intended to use him to her maximum advantage.

Only then did she feel she could become the next Empress of Ištana.

“C, Crown Prince…”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I, Is that true?”

Fern V’s voice trembled thinly.

Fern V had looked into it to the best of his ability.

He was the Crown Prince of a neighboring empire.

And Mestia was an empire powerful enough to threaten Ištana and then some.

When Mestia had pointed out Irene and proposed a marriage alliance, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t swayed.

So he had looked into it and made a decision, but then Irene called Franz a debauchee.

Whether it was rumor or truth, it didn’t matter.

The gazes of the people towards Crown Prince Franz began to hold doubt.

Perhaps noticing this change in people, Crown Prince Franz withdrew his overt hostility towards Irene and turned his body towards Fern V.

“It is a lie.”

Crown Prince Franz answered without a shred of hesitation.

However, it was enough to arouse suspicion in everyone in the study, including Fern V.

After Crown Prince Franz’s answer, silence fell over the study.

In the midst of the silence, only the sound of each person’s breathing could be heard in their ears.

Irene held her breath at the unfamiliar feeling of silence.

Holding her breath, she stared at Fern V for a long time. Fern V’s gaze alternated between Irene and Franz Mestia.

*’Both of them must have complicated feelings.’*

As Irene guessed, Fern V’s insides were churning.

He had supposedly looked into Crown Prince Franz, but his daughter, who had lived like a flower within the deep palace, had discovered and mentioned something he himself didn’t know.

And Crown Prince Franz had his carefully hidden scandals exposed in a foreign land.

And right before the imperial marriage was to be finalized.

However, for Irene, the truth of the rumors didn’t matter.

What mattered was that Franz Mestia, designated as her marriage partner, had such scandals attached to him.

Fern V, his insides burning, looked at Irene who had come right up to his nose.

“…Fine, Madam Pailin.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I will listen to your words.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“However! There is a condition.”

“Yes?”