NTWBR 02

Chapter 02

“I will take care of my own marriage, Your Majesty.”

At Irene’s declaration, which was like a declaration of war, the eyes of Fern V and Empress Laila widened.

The ministers were no different.

Receiving the gaze of everyone in the audience chamber, Irene straightened her hunched shoulders and chest.

“Irene?”

“And I must become Emperor, Your Majesty.”

“……!”

It was Irene’s second declaration.

The gazes of everyone in the audience chamber could not help but turn to Irene.

Traditionally, in Istana, succession to the throne had been carried out by the Crown Prince.

Therefore, it was customary for daughters to have no succession rights.

And this was also an unwritten rule of the Istana Empire.

“Irene!”

“Why do you ask, Your Majesty?”

“Empress! Empress! What insolent nonsense is this!”

“It’s only customary that I have no succession rights, it’s not stipulated by law, is it?”

That was right.

That a woman could not succeed to the throne was merely an implicit rule.

Irene had pointed this out.

The most common succession rule on the Ircan continent, where the Istana Empire was located, was primogeniture.

Whether that meant the firstborn child or the firstborn son varied by country.

In the Kingdom of Patram, known to have been founded by a female monarch, the eldest child took precedence, while in the Mestia Empire, it was the eldest son.

The Istana Empire also gave precedence to the eldest son.

However, when there was no son, the principle was that the eldest daughter would ascend.

Even considering the time since its founding as a kingdom, it wasn’t as if women had never succeeded to the throne in Istana’s history.

What Irene pointed out was precisely this.

Currently, there was no Crown Prince in the Istana Empire.

All the princes born to Empress Laila had been stillborn.

And in the Inner Palace, the Royal Concubine Hatra, who had entered last year, was about to give birth.

Everyone, including Fern V, had their eyes on Royal Concubine Hatra.

In the midst of this, it was the Mestia Empire that had proposed to Irene, the Lady Peirelin and eldest daughter of Fern V.

Crown Prince Franz Mestia had been designated as Irene’s marriage partner.

*’If my calculations are correct… news of Hatra’s birth will arrive shortly.’*

Irene’s mind was complicated with these thoughts.

Outwardly she was calm, but inwardly she was not.

Irene too was waiting for the news of Royal Concubine Hatra’s birth, which would arrive within an hour or two.

For one reason only.

To clearly confirm once again, with her own eyes, the reactions of the Emperor and Empress Laila regarding the son that the concubine would bear.

“Lady Peirelin. It is customary for the Crown Prince to succeed the throne.”

“Then I will succeed as Crown Princess.”

“Crown Princess!”

“Do you have a reason to hesitate, Your Majesty? Are you trying to solve the food shortage by selling me off to Mestia since you can’t bear to send your cherished Arturia?”

“Hold your tongue!”

“You know perfectly well that I am the most suitable heir in terms of legitimacy, Your Majesty! No matter how many sons Hatra bears, a child of a concubine is still a child of a concubine.”

“Hold your tongue, Lady Peirelin!”

It was Fern V’s furious voice.

Empress Laila soothed her enraged husband and urged Irene to apologize.

Judging from Laila’s reaction as she urged Irene to apologize, it was clear that something had been discussed behind the scenes.

Irene guessed that it was probably about what would happen after Royal Concubine Hatra’s birth.

Irene thought that if Hatra’s child was a son, they would pass it off as Empress Laila’s biological child and guarantee her position as Empress.

If that were not the case, she didn’t think Laila would try to stop her from claiming her legitimate succession rights like that.

Moreover, judging by Fern V’s reaction, just as rumors in her previous life had suggested, it seemed he intended to marry her off like selling her to Mestia to alleviate the bad food situation.

That was probably why Crown Prince Franz had said those things in her previous life.

Regardless of the details, Irene had no intention of apologizing to Fern V as Laila had suggested.

She merely prayed to the God Hartum.

Please let Hatra’s child be a daughter!

That way, I won’t have to kill or dispose of you.

She prayed.

Even though she already knew the outcome, she prayed and prayed again.

To others, Irene’s appearance as she did this looked like she was having a staring contest with Fern V.

And everyone thought so.

However, Irene’s body was not used to this kind of situation, and her hands trembled slightly.

Irene gripped her hands tightly.

After that, she bit the tender flesh inside her mouth as hard as she could without drawing blood.

The pain couldn’t completely stop the trembling, but the tension in her body eased a little.

“Lady Peirelin! No, Irene de Istana!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Crown Princess! There is no Crown Princess in this Empire!”

“If there isn’t.”

At that moment, Irene’s gaze turned to one side of the audience chamber.

There stood Count Buri and his son, Ernst Clayton.

Irene forced her gaze, which had been directed at Ernst, back to Fern V.

“Then we can just create one, can’t we, Your Majesty?”

“Irene de Istana!”

“Yes, I am here.”

“Take back those words right now.”

“Why?”

“Take them back!”

“Your Majesty, surely you are not just waiting for news of Hatra’s birth right now? Or perhaps the negotiations over my value to Mestia are not yet complete?”

There was no reply. Irene’s suspicions had been correct.

Fern V felt hostility towards his daughter, who had come to read his inner thoughts overnight.

The role Fern V had defined for Irene was to obediently get engaged, get married as he said, and disappear from this country.

But she had refused and stood up to him.

“Irene de Istana.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“That is none of your concern!”

“I came here having heard that Hatra is in labor. And this marriage is *my* marriage. So why do you say it is none of my concern?”

Of course, it was a lie.

Appropriate lies are always necessary.

Irene once again etched this into her heart and looked at Fern V and Empress Laila.

The reactions of the two that entered Irene’s eyes were opposite.

Fern V was filled with rage, and Empress Laila was trembling with unease.

Irene laughed bitterly.

She realized that Laila, currently her mother, would in no way become her shield.

Facing the reality that she had to break through solely with her own strength, she could only laugh.

As Irene just laughed without saying anything, Fern V’s anger only grew.

“Unless the Empress adopts Hatra’s child first or is deposed, Hatra’s child has no chance of becoming a legitimate heir, does it, Your Majesty?”

“Hold your tongue!”

“Did I say something wrong? Count Buri?”

“Yes?”

Count Buri was surprised and asked back at Irene’s sudden remark.

It was a breach of etiquette, but no one stopped her.

However, Irene had pointed out Count Buri for a reason.

It was because Count Buri was also the one who had opposed Irene’s marriage in her previous life.

Moreover, if Irene’s memory served her right, Count Buri was also a person deeply versed in the study of succession to the throne. That’s why.

“Count Buri.”

“Ye, yes. Your Majesty.”

“Answer.”

“Th, that… that is…”

Count Buri could not easily open his mouth.

No matter how powerless a princess, she was still a princess.

And there was also an enraged Emperor.

In a moment of misspeaking, not only he but his entire family could be annihilated.

Count Buri bowed his head under the gazes pouring down on him.

“Your Majesty, may this humble servant answer on his behalf?”

Count Buri’s eldest son, Ernst, stepped forward.

“This is impertinent, Lord Clayton!”

Marshal Chancellor’s sharp rebuke followed.

However, there was no change in Ernst’s expression.

Seeing Ernst like this, Fern V gave his permission.

Then, Ernst straightened his posture, looking directly at Fern V.

Ernst, also the eldest son of Count Buri, was someone Irene knew as well.

Ernst was the talent who had graduated from the Imperial Academy with the highest honors in the last ten years.

“Under the Empire’s laws, a Princess’s succession itself is not an issue, Your Majesty.”

“Until now, the throne has been succeeded by men, Lord Clayton.”

“In the absence of a legally qualified Crown Prince to succeed the throne, it would not be against the law for Lady Peirelin to become Crown Princess.”

“Clayton!”

“Even if Your Majesty is angered, this servant cannot call what is right wrong.”

As Ernst finished speaking, Irene looked at him.

He had a face so handsome she wondered why she hadn’t noticed him before.

Irene regretted meeting him in such a setting.

“Your Majesty.”

“Speak, Chancellor.”

“Lord Clayton’s words are not wrong.”

“There is such a thing as an unwritten rule, Chancellor. And the concubine is in labor. A Prince could be born.”

“Or a Princess. Besides, Your Majesty.”

When Fern V fell silent after hearing Marshal Chancellor’s words, Marshal Chancellor approached Fern V’s side.

“Your Majesty, lend me your ear for a moment…”

Marshal Chancellor’s whisper continued.

Fern V’s expression as he listened changed moment by moment.

After the long whisper ended, Fern V’s expression brightened.

“You said you would take care of your own marriage, didn’t you?”

Fern V deliberately emphasized ‘Irene’s marriage’ as if singling it out.

“Yes, I did.”

“Then do so.”

“Thank you, Father.”

“However, there is a condition.”

Irene was so dazed that she didn’t even know how she had gotten back to her room.

Coming to her senses, she found herself clutching her cold hands in her room.

And before her stood Count Buri and Ernst.

“Your Highness.”

“Count Buri, I’m sorry.”

“Not at all.”

“What should I do?”

“What do you mean, Your Highness?”

“Lord Clayton.”

“Are you referring to Your Highness’s marriage? Or the succession to the throne?”

At Ernst’s words, Irene’s face hardened.

Only then did she remember all the actions she had taken in the audience chamber.

*’I, I did it. I did it!’*

Only then did Irene begin to realize things one by one.

She had gone from declaring ‘I will not obediently marry the arranged partner’ to taking a step into the competition for the Imperial succession of the empire.

Irene met Ernst’s eyes, which were urging her for an answer.

“Lord Clayton.”

“Call me Ernst, Your Highness. I am merely a noble who has not even received a knighthood yet.”

Ernst continued.

“Your Highness. As you have declared you will enter the race for the Imperial succession, you must gather forces.”

“Lord Clayton… no, Sir Ernst.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I will ask you one thing.”

“Speak.”

“Is Hatra’s child a son? Or a daughter?”

“Yes?”

“Has Hatra not given birth yet?”

“…….”

If her memory was correct, Hatra’s birth was today.

And she remembered that Fern V, unable to hide his joy, had ordered that Hatra’s son be treated as a legitimate child.

Wondering if her memory was wrong, Irene asked Ernst again.

“Has Hatra not given birth yet, Sir?”

“…It is a son, Your Highness.”

“When was he born?”

“About an hour ago.”

“I see.”

Her mouth instantly turned bitter.

Her declaration would only intensify the Emperor’s wariness.

On top of that, a half-brother who would become her rival had been born.

If she hadn’t resolved to become Empress for revenge, she could have celebrated his birth with joy.

But Irene couldn’t.

Because she had declared she would become Emperor.

“What should I do now?”

It was Irene’s question. At this, Ernst opened his mouth with an expression of incomprehension.

“What do you mean, Your Highness?”

“I am asking what I should do now, Sir Ernst.”

*’I must test what this man is thinking by helping me.’*

Count Buri and his son, Ernst, were still people she couldn’t trust. She had to test them, regardless of their motives.

“What is it you want?”

“Sir Ernst?”

Ernst straightened his back and looked directly at Irene.

Ernst’s eyes were shining.

Irene too looked into Ernst’s eyes.

Their gazes met for a brief moment.

What Irene was curious about was Ernst’s judgment.

Irene needed someone with a good head and ambition like Ernst as her advisor.

“Just as you said in the audience chamber, you could become Empress, or you could prostrate yourself and beg that everything you said was a slip of the tongue. Wouldn’t you be fine with just choosing one of those two?”

“Sir… Ernst?”

“Ernst.”

Count Buri pulled at Ernst’s clothes and tried to stop him.

Despite his father’s dissuasion, Ernst looked at Irene with an expression that said he had to say what he needed to say.

“Am I wrong, Father? Your Highness. You said you would decide your own marriage, and you also said you would become Empress. By saying this, it can also be interpreted that you intend to become Empress and wield the Imperial seal. Is that correct?”

“Sir Ernst.”

“My answer will also change depending on Your Highness’s choice. Which will you choose?”