I Am a Ruined Noble of a Ruined Kingdom

Chapter 12: Protagonist (1)

I eventually half gave up on quelling the controversy. Iruealfi also didn't affirm or deny it anymore.

Meanwhile, Charles was surrounded by many people. People who were hesitant to ask us directly went to Charles, who was close to Iruealfi. Charles was unintentionally burying Iruealfi in real-time.

We finished our eventful dance and ate food. Iruealfi shoved six pieces of sliced cake down her throat and said in a voice full of exhaustion.

"Now that it's come to this, let's just let them misunderstand."

"Are you crazy?"

"It's a little embarrassing, but who cares? It's not even true. Rather, it's also a rumor that's optimized for monitoring Nephi."

Iruealfi's words were correct. If we were a normal male-female relationship, that is. A premarital couple living together and being together every day could become an irreversible and fatal scandal for her.

"Are you... really okay with this?"

"Didn't I tell you last time? I'm not affected by scandals at all."

Iruealfi's position was consistent. In the end, I scratched my head nervously.

"Ah, whatever. I'm too bothered to care anymore. I'm giving up. Let them try living with a woman who tears people apart."

"Does Nephi really want to die?"

"Now that it's come to this, I'm going to enjoy it. Iruealfi, you should shut Charles's mouth first. At this rate, she's going to make up things that don't even exist."

"Hmph! I'll have to. And I'll get back at you later."

Giving me a skillful chilling feeling was truly like her. I was now used to Iruealfi's murderous aura.

"But what's the commotion?"

"Commotion?"

Iruealfi tilted her head as if she didn't know at all. I ignored her for a moment and listened.

"..."

I could hear the voices of people who were embarrassed and in awe from the main gate of the Duke's mansion. It was a small commotion that only I, with my good hearing, could hear so far.

It was the moment when Iruealfi was about to urge me for an answer. A majestic shout from outside filled the hall. It was from the two people guarding the banquet hall's door.

I was extremely embarrassed by the resounding identities, and Iruealfi reacted as if it couldn't be possible. The reality was revealed immediately, making our flusterness pale.

"The ruler of the Eld Empire and the owner of the Great Golden Chain, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and Her Imperial Majesty the Empress are arriving!"

"Ha?"

Everyone in the banquet hall's eyes widened at the unexpected guests. The people attending the banquet knew a list of the attendees roughly, but the names of big shots like the Emperor and Empress didn't even exist.

With the appearance of such an unexpected pair, the hall was instantly silenced. The only one who greeted them with composure was the host of the banquet, Duke Troff Fayta.

"It is a great honor to have Your Majesty grace this place with your presence."

"Could I miss the banquet of the Four Great Dukes, who are the successors of the ?"

"Please visit often. I am just grateful that you remember the faded glory of the past, hehe."

There was something unsettling about Duke Fayta's laughter. However, given the Emperor's lenient attitude, it was just a matter of feeling.

I turned my head to look at the Empress. She was the woman the Emperor loved so dearly and the factor that would become the turning point in the future. I was quite surprised by the Empress's appearance, which was more ordinary than I thought.

'The Emperor was so crazy about her, I wondered what she was like, but it's unexpected. Are Charles's green eyes the Empress's?'

The Emperor had red hair and reddish-pink eyes, while the Empress had light brown hair and subtle olivine-colored eyes.

Then the person who gave Charles her blonde hair must be the Empress's affair partner. My gaze naturally turned to Charles. I was curious about her reaction to meeting her biological mother.

Charles's small hands were clenched tightly and trembling. The Empress didn't even pretend to look at Charles and coldly headed for the platform.

'Is the relationship with the Empress not very good?'

Thinking normally, Charles was the Empress's shameful secret. In normal societies, there are many parents who do not love their children. Not to mention the relationship between the Empress and a illegitimate child. It wouldn't be strange if things went very wrong.

"Iruealfi, Charles and the Emp..."

My question was cut off there. It was because Iruealfi was muttering with a serious face. It was a clearly different appearance from her usual attitude of worrying about the Emperor's safety.

"This can't be happening. Why is His Majesty here? He shouldn't be here, where did the mistake come from?"

"Iruealfi?"

"Heut."

Iruealfi answered with a gasp to my worried call. After our eyes met, she grabbed my hand and started dragging me. I was held by her strong grip and it hurt a little.

"Wait, wait Iruealfi. What is it? Explain the situation."

"Something is going wrong. The Emperor and Empress can't be here."

"You seem unusually sensitive. Honestly, given His Majesty's personality, he could come. Isn't it the same as usual?"

"It's not the same!"

Iruealfi shouted. It wasn't loud to be conscious of the people around us, but it was a shout that people who were listening could hear. I stared at Iruealfi with a dumbfounded look.

She soon realized her mistake and explained.

"Ahem, as you know, I am the commander of the Nelphrugia Knights. That is, I am the chief of the Emperor's security. The Emperor does not enjoy all freedoms. We taste the food first, survey and control the places we go in advance. Even human relationships are not free from my intelligence network."

"I... didn't know that."

I recalled the secret meeting with the Emperor. Wasn't the line that the Emperor, the ruler of the Empire, conceded to Iruealfi as much as possible the secret meeting in the glass greenhouse with an open view?

Although it was a fact that I had passed over because the Emperor had refused to enter Iruealfi's greenhouse, it was actually an act close to Iruealfi's consideration.

Also, the documents that Iruealfi always processed were a collection of the Emperor's schedule and a lot of information based on it. In a way, the Emperor's life was subject to Iruealfi's management.

"His Majesty was not scheduled to come here today. I even told the deputy commander in case. Unless there is a serious mistake, the Emperor's existence itself is impossible. Even the knights accompanying him are not there!"

"Hey Iruealfi. Then wouldn't it be better to ask the Nelphrugia kids outside about the details first?"

"That's right. How could I make a misjudgment. I'll be back soon, so please stay nearby."

"Okay."

At the same time as the answer, Iruealfi hurriedly ran outside. Many people looked at her strangely, but the interest soon waned.

The attention of the crowds was focused only on the Emperor and Empress on the platform, and Duke Troff Fayta. The Emperor started talking first.

"Duke Fayta, how long has it been since we last faced each other like this?"

"It will be almost half a year. I apologize for not visiting you often."

"Haha, no. You must be busy with official and private matters, so how can we see each other often?"

"It's been a while since I've seen Your Majesty, but... it's been even longer since I've seen Her Majesty the Empress. Your continued health is a blessing to the Imperial Family."

The Empress calmly answered Duke Fayta's greeting.

"It's good to see that the Duke is still healthy. It's a pity that the eyepatch hides your beauty."

The Empress's compliment was gentle. The Emperor reacted playfully to the words.

"Empress, are you complimenting another man in front of me?"

"Hehe, is the compliment in the bedchamber not enough? My husband is truly greedy."

They were a newlywed couple whose love was pouring out. The Emperor was so passionate as if he would fall into the Empress's eyes. The Empress blushed as if she loved such an Emperor.

"Since Your Majesty has come here, I would like you to give a congratulatory speech... Would that be alright?"

It was Duke Fayta's suggestion. The Emperor accepted it with great pleasure.

"That's good. I'm glad I brought it just in case."

What the Emperor took out from his pocket was a round sphere - a globe. It is one of the holy objects that represent the Emperor's authority, along with the scepter and the sword.

When the Emperor held the sphere, it made a faint whirring sound, and the sound in the vicinity began to amplify.

"As expected of Your Majesty. You are so well-prepared. I didn't expect you to bring even the symbol of imperial power."

"I was actually expecting it a little bit, hahaha!"

The Emperor was smiling slyly, but I intuitively sensed that the Emperor's preparation was not simply an indiscreet act. It was thanks to the information about the trends of the social world that I received from Iruealfi.

It is said that the Fayta Dukedom has been subtly at odds with the Imperial Family for a long time. The reason was unknown even to Iruealfi. However, she vaguely speculated that it was the work of the previous generation.

Perhaps the Emperor was trying to highlight the restoration of their relationship by giving a congratulatory speech using the globe at the Fayta Duke's banquet.

Only the Emperor and the Duke knew the truth.

Soon, the Emperor's majestic speech amplified by the globe began.

"I am very pleased to be able to give a congratulatory speech at the Fayta Dukedom, which has its roots in one corner of the ."

The Emperor was looking down at everyone from a high position decorated with jet-black obsidian. Duke Troff Fayta, the Empress, and the Duke's soldiers were guarding him.

"Thanking the achievements of the first Fayta Duke for the existence of the current Eld Empire..."

I was staring blankly at the Emperor who was giving a speech. The Emperor was naturally dispersing his gaze and talking, but he accidentally met my eyes.

At that moment.

The Emperor smiled naturally, but I couldn't. My loose expression hardened and I felt a chill running my body from my toes.

'What is it...?'

Without any warning, my heart started beating sporadically. The whole world was shaking, and I thought there was an earthquake. If I hadn't seen the calm crowds, I would never have realized it was just my symptoms.

I felt sweat flowing from my forehead to my back, and my consciousness was fading.

I had already experienced this feeling once. It was the feeling I felt when I first met the Emperor. I had attributed that feeling to instinctively feeling the Emperor's ability.

'I was wrong.'

Now I know. The unusual symptoms have nothing to do with the Emperor's abilities. The time it took me to reach the answer was not long.

This isn't a symptom, it's just an intense emotion like an active volcano about to explode.

'I'm angry and sad... but at whom? Why am I feeling this emotion in the first place?'

I watched the Emperor with my eyes twitching. The strength in my whole body was released, and it was difficult to focus because I was staggering. I was maintaining my balance with superhuman mental strength.

And the change was instantaneous. All the symptoms were washed away, and my vision clearly contained only the platform.

It is a stage like a work of art with a golden chain model decorated elegantly, and red and gold in harmony.

'Wait, red and gold? The stage must have been decorated with obsidian.'

Now the Emperor was holding the scepter and the sword, and five men and women were kneeling on one knee and paying their respects. Just until recently, these kinds of people didn't exist.

I desperately looked at the Emperor. I wanted him to give me the answer. I was looking up at the Emperor's profile, which was still and silent, and I was amazed.

His burning red hair was still there, but the man was much younger, and his eyes contained a deep azure color like the dawn sky. The current Emperor must have been the owner of reddish-pink eyes.

He was someone who resembled the Emperor endlessly.

"Astelnerka Yuglinus..."

Regardless of my will, the name came out of my lips. I instinctively knew that it was the name of the man who resembled the Emperor.

It wasn't just that name that I was muttering.

"Lorian Fayta..."

Lorian was a woman who suited black hair, black eyes, and jet-black attire very well. She stood out because she was the only woman among the five people kneeling on one knee.

But why? My heart felt heavy every time I saw her. As if I missed her and missed her so much... As if I was sobbing because I was in pain that I couldn't see her anymore, my eyes were red.

When I came to my senses, I was continuing to recite the names of the three people.

"Aselne Meoric."

"Lusheon Estern."

"Bartlante Chester."

I already knew those who I didn't even know existed. It was a strange feeling, my memory but not mine.

Finally, I looked at the man at the very end. Black hair and ruby-like eyes like Lorian. Unlike now, he looked gentle, but the identity was clear.

"Netionpies..."

He was me.