NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 153
“Duke Valua!”
Bang!
The enraged Emperor slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet.
“Did it really have to come to this?!”
“Yes, it had to.”
Alexei didn’t raise an eyebrow.
Facing him, the Emperor instinctively realized,
“The Duke of Valua… has no intention of backing down.”
At the same time, Alexei spoke again.
“Liliana Everett is a member of Valua.”
His voice was flat, as if he were stating an obvious truth.
“And as Your Majesty is well aware, Valua does not tolerate harm to its own.”
“I know that as well. But…”
“The Empress and His Highness the First Prince have already crossed the line.”
At this calm declaration, the Emperor clenched his jaw tightly.
Simultaneously, icy eyes, like those of a frozen lake, fixed on the Emperor.
“So, what will you do, Your Majesty?”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“I’m asking which side you will choose among the Empress, the First Prince, and the Duke of Valua.”
Alexei straightened his back as he concluded his statement.
“Depending on your answer, Valua is prepared to wholeheartedly support His Highness the Second Prince.”
Though he didn’t say it outright, both the Emperor and Alexei understood the implications of those words.
If the Emperor did not choose Valua…
…it meant that Valua could also declare its support for the Second Prince as the next Emperor instead of the Emperor himself.
***
A woman was striding through the luxurious corridors of the Imperial Palace.
She was known as the most noble lady in the Empire.
This woman was none other than the Empress, referred to as the mother of all people.
In her hands, she clutched an evening newspaper.
“Everett, those scoundrels will cling to my ankles until the end!”
Anxiety tightened around her throat.
She still didn’t know how they had obtained the Everett journals from Valua.
But one thing was certain.
The fact that they had publicly released it through the media meant they had clear evidence to turn the situation around.
“I must meet His Majesty, no matter what. If I don’t…!”
The Empress quickened her pace, her eyes wide with determination.
And then…
“Your Majesty!”
“You can’t do this!”
The attendants hurriedly blocked her path.
The Empress looked coldly at the attendants.
“Move aside.”
“B-but, His Majesty…”
The attendants exchanged anxious glances.
Then, the attendant who had first spoken shut his eyes tight and continued.
“His Majesty ordered you to stay in the Empress’s Palace.”
“…What did you say?”
“His Majesty has refused your visit. He said you should remain in the Empress’s Palace…”
At that answer, the Empress glared at the attendant with a deadly gaze.
“What did you just say?”
“Your Majesty, that is…”
The attendant, unsure of what to do, bit his lip and murmured an apology.
“…I’m sorry.”
He then gestured to the other attendants.
Following his lead, the attendants firmly bound the Empress’s arms.
“What is the meaning of this?!”
The shocked Empress widened her eyes.
But it was too soon to be surprised.
The attendants immediately began dragging her back to the Empress’s Palace.
“Let go of me!”
The Empress struggled like a madwoman.
“How can I not see His Majesty?! What does this mean?!”
…
…
The attendants’ faces darkened.
One, the strength in his grip didn’t waver.
“Are you refusing my orders? I’ll have all of you executed!!”
As the Empress thrashed about, she cast her gaze towards the end of the corridor.
That was where the Emperor’s office was located.
The Empress took deep breaths, staring at the firmly shut door.
“Your Majesty!”
With a heart full of desperation, she called out to her husband.
“You cannot treat me like this!”
The Empress shouted again, veins popping in her neck.
“Isn’t it Your Majesty who foolishly slept with a lowly maid and carelessly sowed his seed?!”
Her venomous voice echoed sharply.
“It is Your Majesty who has driven me and my son into a corner!”
With her eyes filled with fury, the Empress clawed at the attendants’ hands and kicked them, doing everything she could to reach the Emperor.
“How can you cast me out like this?!”
It was a desperate plea that could melt anyone’s heart.
But no one responded to her cries.
Not even her husband, the Emperor, who was the very origin of all this chaos.
***
The Everett family was quite a prestigious lineage, well-known and well-regarded among the citizens of the Empire.
In fact, even during this trial, many shared that sentiment.
“Could someone of such integrity really have done such a thing?”
There were quite a few people wondering about this.
The murder of the head of such a family and his wife became quite a significant issue.
Moreover, the ones responsible for the downfall of that family were the current Empress and the Anderson Marquis family, which was her family of origin.
The Emperor expressed great regret regarding this incident.
He apologized to Valua and announced that he would hold the Empress and the First Prince severely accountable for this matter.
Both the Empress and the First Prince were stripped of their royal titles, reduced to commoners, and sentenced to exile.
They were at least spared from death, as a final act of mercy.
This decision was made considering the affection they had shared as husband and wife, and as father and son throughout their lives.
The accomplice in this incident, Marquis Anderson, had his title revoked and all his property confiscated.
In an instant, one of the noble families of the Empire was annihilated.
“Did you hear? Marquis Anderson was a powerful figure in the nobility but was mercilessly exiled.”
“Really, life is unpredictable…”
“Who would have thought these nobles would fall like this?”
People gathered in small groups, discussing the incident.
Additionally, Zenit was also stripped of his nobility.
Taking into account that he had been used by the former Empress, it was nonetheless judged that his crime was quite severe.
Considering he was still a minor, Zenit was instead sentenced to a juvenile detention center instead of being exiled.
Moreover, families that had received support from the Empress in the form of counterfeit currency also faced severe punishments.
A notable example was the Saxon Marquis family.
“Have you heard? It’s about the Saxon Marquis family this time.”
Inside a high-end club where gentlemen and ladies had gathered, one gentleman discreetly began to speak.
“I’ve heard they’re going to have their territories confiscated.”
At this whisper, the other attendees widened their eyes in surprise.
“Really… The Emperor is quite resolute.”
To confiscate territories granted by the imperial family carried special significance.
Territories symbolized the trust relationship between the royal family and the nobility.
This meant that the underlying implication of the territory confiscation was that
‘The Emperor no longer trusts the Saxon Marquis family.’
Such meaning was attached to it.
“The profits they boasted about gaining through investments were all amounts supported by the former Empress…”
“Moreover, they frequently claimed that the most suitable person for the next Emperor was the former Prince, right?”
“They left the marquis title intact out of consideration for the Duchess of Valua.”
“Oh, that reminds me,”
One lady opened her mouth as if recalling something.
“I heard something regarding the Saxon Marquis title…”
***
“Yes?”
Anriche turned to Alexei with a look of astonishment.
“You’re saying I’ll inherit the title of Saxon Marquis?”
“Yes, the Emperor said so.”
Alexei nodded.
“In fact, the Saxon Marquis was one of the parties involved in this incident along with the former Empress and the former Prince.”
“…That’s true.”
“Given that everyone else is facing punishment, we cannot allow the Saxon Marquis to keep his title,” the Emperor said.
From the Emperor’s perspective, this was also an apology for the recent fallout with Valua.
Alexei himself knew well how the Emperor cherished his wife.
“First, after Riche inherits the title of Saxon Marquis… then…”
Ahem, ahem.
Alexei cleared his throat briefly.
“…if Elliot has a younger sibling, we can pass the title of Saxon Marquis to that child.”
As he spoke, Alexei’s face had turned bright red.
Anriche’s face also flushed in response.
“Ah, yes…”