Chapter 2

I’m Looking for a New Husband

The Emperor, having greatly praised Riat for her service in punishing a traitor, held a celebration in her honor.

The head of the man who had once been a count was displayed in the square as a clear warning to the nobles. The celebration was to last for an entire week, and every noble in the Empire was summoned to attend. Even nobles from the provinces were scrambling to make their way to the capital.

Eyal X, the Emperor of the Irmak Empire, had recently become extremely sensitive to acts of treason against the state. Therefore, this celebration was not simply meant to honor Riat for her achievement.

The Emperor had sent soldiers to the count’s estate to search for more clues related to the Vortus rebellion. From Riat’s report alone, it was clear that the treason had been in preparation for a very long time, and the Emperor wanted to uncover the entire truth behind it.

Moreover, Riat’s report contained only a few names of nobles who had participated in the rebellion.

The Emperor believed there would be more clues inside the estate, and the nobles connected to the rebellion would naturally be anxious to return to their territories and investigate the situation themselves.

So the Emperor held a celebration and effectively tied down the nobles.

Refusing to attend the celebration would immediately arouse the Emperor’s suspicion, leaving everyone with no choice but to gather in the banquet hall.

Normally, a party would be filled with laughter and pleasant conversation.

But now, there was only a subtle tension hanging in the air.

The nobles cautiously watched one another from the corners of their eyes, while quiet conversations about Count Vortus’s rebellion passed from person to person.

Even the servants moving around the hall were careful enough to suppress the sound of their footsteps.

In such a tense atmosphere, the only person who was smiling was, naturally, Riat.

She did not care in the slightest about the countless gazes directed at her.

She did not care whether some of those gazes were filled with condemnation, wondering how she could possibly cut off her husband’s head and bring it with her.

Her mind was filled with nothing but the joy of freedom.

‘Freedom! I’m free! I’m really free!’

Although she was destined to live only another year and three months, Riat was simply overjoyed.

At least she would never have to have her head cut off again.

Riat drank wine, grabbed dessert after dessert from the table, and laughed.

She was eating here.

She was breathing.

She was opening her eyes and looking at the world.

She would never again die after being dragged into a rebellion.

She had tried everything imaginable to survive, only to discover that this was the answer all along.

Caught up in that intoxicating feeling, Riat happily looked out the window.

In the distance, she could see Count Vortus’s head displayed on a pike in the square.

She had been the one to cut that head off with her own hands.

She felt certain she would never forget that thrilling sensation, not even after a lifetime.

“Riat! What on earth happened?!”

“I heard you accomplished something tremendous. Are you all right? You weren’t injured anywhere, were you?”

“As expected of our little sister.”

Riat was in the middle of recalling that intoxicating sensation when voices came crashing into her memories and shattered them.

Her expression immediately fell, becoming cold and indifferent.

The people approaching Riat were her father and her older brothers.

Their expressions and actions seemed deliberately designed to convey the message that they had rushed here because they were terribly worried about her.

But Riat did not see any of that.

Instead, her eyes were drawn to the expensive formal clothes they were wearing.

There was no way the Viscount Pshikia family could normally afford clothes like those.

They had either bought them with the money they had received from selling Riat to Count Vortus, or perhaps her father had finally dipped into the emergency funds he had been saving for his sons.

After all, this was probably their chance to properly show their faces in high society.

For a brief moment, contempt flashed across Riat’s face.

Then she immediately put on a bright smile.

She did not want them to ruin her mood on such a happy day.

Feeling remarkably charitable, Riat welcomed them.

“You finally came.”

“How could we not come when something so serious happened?”

Even though you didn’t send a single soldier when I was about to be executed for treason.

Even when I was imprisoned for killing Count Vortus, you didn’t show your faces even once, saying that I was already part of the Vortus family and therefore no longer your concern.

Riat smiled inwardly, marveling at their shamelessness.

“I was hoping I’d see you at the party today.”

“Riat, if you want to see us, come visit us anytime. Aren’t we family?”

“If things get difficult, make sure you contact us. I still can’t believe you accomplished something so great all by yourself.”

Riat had never seen their faces even once throughout all the times she had experienced death.

Yet she simply put on a delighted expression.

Soon, the sound of bells rang out from beyond the white curtain at the far end of the banquet hall.

It meant the Emperor’s speech was about to begin.

Eyal X was an Emperor who rarely showed his face in public.

In fact, it was not only him.

The previous Emperors, from Eyal VII all the way to Eyal X, had likewise refrained from appearing publicly. It was only during the reign of the current Emperor that the imperial descendants began showing their faces at official events.

Even so, Eyal X still did not emerge from behind the opaque white curtain.

All reports and commands were delivered with the curtain between him and everyone else, and the Emperor did not personally attend most official events.

But today was different.

The Emperor himself had come to honor Riat for her service.

The space was still divided by the white curtain, and he was still speaking from behind it, but the mere fact that the Emperor had attended the celebration was enough to convey its significance.

It was a clear warning.

The Emperor valued the service of those who punished traitors above all else.

And he would absolutely not spare anyone connected to the rebellion.

The nobles who understood the meaning of this deeply bowed toward the Emperor.

Riat bowed as well, happily.

“Riat Vortus, your service has been great.”

“I merely did what I was duty-bound to do as Your Majesty’s loyal subject.”

Riat knelt before the Emperor and lowered her head.

All she could see beneath the white curtain was the tips of the Emperor’s shoes.

Perhaps even this has a political meaning.

No matter how hard the nobles strive, they can never reach any higher than the Emperor’s feet.

Riat entertained the rather silly thought as she listened attentively to the Emperor’s next words.

“The Count Vortus family sought to commit treason. Their crime is grave, for it has brought dishonor upon the Irmak Empire. Therefore, the name of the Vortus family shall be erased from the Empire’s list of nobles, and they shall be recorded in history as traitors and remembered as such for generations to come.”

Branding the Vortus family as traitors meant that the Emperor would also investigate every family connected to them.

A chilling silence instantly descended upon the banquet hall.

Within that silence, the Emperor spoke to Riat in an almost benevolent voice.

“Therefore, you shall no longer be Riat Vortus, but return to being Riat Pshikia. Furthermore, in recognition of your great service, I shall elevate the Pshikia family from viscounts to counts.”

Riat’s father sucked in a sharp breath.

The sound was so loud that under normal circumstances, someone might have laughed at him.

But the nobles understood the weight of the Emperor personally granting a countship, so everyone remained silent.

“Riat Pshikia. If there is anything you desire, speak.”

Finally.

A smile blossomed across Riat’s face.

This was the moment she had been waiting for.

It was a clear, radiant smile, like a flower blooming.

With that beautiful face, Riat answered without the slightest hesitation.

“I want freedom.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Although I killed Count Vortus, I wish to live out the rest of my life freely instead of returning to my family home.”

It was a somewhat vague request, but the Emperor listened to her quite seriously.

Riat went on to explain that she had been married to Count Vortus at her father’s command, and that she did not want anything like that to happen again.

A quiet silence followed.

Then, after making a thoughtful sound of “Hmm…,” the Emperor continued.

“The Pshikia family has become a count’s family through your service… Which means you will now be the person who raised the family to its current standing.”

Riat’s eyes turned directly toward the Emperor.

Technically, she was looking up at the white curtain, but for an instant, it felt as though their eyes had met.

There was the faintest hint of a smile in the Emperor’s voice.

“Riat le Pshikia, I hereby grant you the County of Vortus and appoint you as the ‘head of the family’ of House Pshikia. Let this be proclaimed as an imperial decree.”

It was the moment the youngest count in the Irmak Empire was born.

The appearance of Count Riat le Pshikia shocked everyone.

Her family was delighted that their house had been elevated to the rank of count, but they expressed their disappointment that Riat had no intention of returning to the Pshikia estate.

Of course, their disappointment also came with the expectation that Riat would eventually hand over her position as head of the family to them.

“Riat, are you really not going to return to the Pshikia estate?”

“Of course not.”

“I understand that you’ve been confused and exhausted by everything that has happened these past few days, and that’s why you made such a decision. But you need to understand that the weight of a countship is by no means light.”

“Haha. Do you really think I don’t understand that?”

Riat answered cheerfully, without the slightest trace of sarcasm.

As she continued smiling brightly, the expressions of the nobles who had been subtly eavesdropping nearby gradually became strange.

Riat gently patted her family members on the shoulders and spoke.

“When the time comes, you’ll disappear on your own anyway, so until then, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interfere with me by telling me what I should or shouldn’t do.”

Riat spoke in the gentlest, warmest voice imaginable before giving them a soft smile.

“After all, you abandoned me so thoroughly. Isn’t it fair that I ask for at least this much consideration?”

“We abandoned you? What are you talking about…!”

Riat’s father hurriedly tried to explain, but his face soon turned bright red, and he fell silent.

There was not a single noble here who did not know that Riat Pshikia had been married off to Count Vortus as though she had been sold.

Riat was famous for her beauty, so many people had lamented the fact that she was getting married.

And at the time, the Viscount Pshikia had even made it clear that he was willing to change her prospective husband as long as someone offered a higher price.

“You know, Father. A person may be poor, but they should at least have some shame.”

This was a banquet hall filled with every noble in the Empire.

In the end, Riat’s family left in a hurry, their faces flushed red, managing only to say that they hoped she would enjoy the rest of the party.

Riat sent them off with a smile.