Tears that had just stopped were flowing again from Laurelleâs already swollen eyes.
ââŠ.Laurelle.â
Watching the pitiful figure, Clerivan took out his handkerchief from his pockets and handed it to Laurelle.
âOh, thank youâŠâ
Laurelleâs eyes widen seeing the handkerchief handed over, and burst into tears again.
It was because the handkerchief that Clerivan carried was the handkerchief she gave him last time.
Even if he didnât express it outwardly, Clerivan was also thinking of Laurelle as his younger sister.
While patting Laurelle on the shoulder, Clerivan said to me.
âThe Imperial Knights have Violet.â
âViolet?â
I turned my head and glanced at the Imperial Knights outside at the front gate of the mansion.
âTheyâve reallyââ
Iâd want to turn everything upside down. But itâs not time yet.
I need to wait for it to ripen.
âOh no, Miss VioletâŠwhat do we do now, my Lady?â Laurelle asked me with frightened eyes and one hand clasped at the hem of Clerivanâs robe.
âItâs okay, everythingâs gonna be fine. Iâm not gonna let anything happen to her.â
But the charge⊠allegations of accessory to the attempted murder of the Emperor.
Itâs too much.
âWouldnât it be okay to just thoroughly explain that my brother has nothing to do with such a thing?â Laurelle carefully suggested it to me.
But I shook my head.
âNo, if so, the Empress will create another allegation.â
âThen what to doâŠâ
âI have to aim at the Empress. I might not be able to get this kind of chance again.â I said, looking at the Imperial Knights still confronting the Lombardy Knights.
âI canât believe they are able to move the Knights of the Imperial Court like that. Itâs proof that the Empress was driven at a dead end. So thereâs nothing to be afraid of.â
This side holds the knife anyway.
âItâs only a few days left until the meeting. All we have to do is hang in there.â
Then I turned to spoke to Perez.
âAbout VioletâŠâ
âI know. Donât worry. Let me handle it.â Perez answered right away.
âIâll move her to the Knights building and protect her.â
Fortunately, Perez was responsible for the investigation of the attempted murder.
However, no matter how the Knights were divided, Perez still had the authority to interrogate those involved in the case.
âIâll go now.â Perez said as he got on the horse again.
âWait a minute.â
I grabbed Perezâs arm a little hard.
âIt shouldnât happen to Violet what happened to Bellesac. Of course, I know you had deliberately loosened your guard on purpose then butââ
I stopped talking.
It was because Perezâs lips came into contact with mine all of a sudden.
I was flustered for a moment by that short kiss.
What on earth does that kiss mean?
As if reading my thoughts, Perez said, while laughing deeply.
âBecause I donât think Iâll see you for a while.â
âIâm not kidding, Perez. I really donât want anything to happen to Violet. Violet is my person.â
âI know how much you value your people. So donât worry.â Perez said once again, kissing my forehead.
âI wonât let something happen that will make you sad.â
Perez, who said so, jumped and mounted the horse.
When he held the reins of the horse, I approached him and said.
âBe careful.â
Itâs a battlefield out there now.
I would be safe in the mansion, but I felt uneasy about sending Perez alone again outside.
Without saying a word, Perez nodded with a faint smile.
âLetâs go! Hah!â
Only after watching Perez on top of the horse as it run safely past the gates did I take Clerivan into the mansion.
***
The Head office of the Angenas mansion.
âClerivan Pellet sneaked into Lombardyâs mansion.â
Ethan Klaus reported to the Empress.
It was an area exclusive for Duigi, the Head of Angenas, but neither the Empress nor Ethan Klaus, the Commander of the Knights of Angenas, had any second thought on using the room.
âLike a rat..!â
The Empress hit the desk and gritted her teeth.
âYou shouldâve been in front of there from the start!â The Empress shouted fiercely at Ethan Klaus.
âIâm sorry.â
Ravini once again glared at Ethan Klaus, who apologized silently, and soon asked.
âWhat about the contract and land mortgage documents?â
âIâm searching through both the Pellet mansion and company building. I will find it soon.â
âYou have to get your hands on it at all costs. OtherwiseâŠâ Ravini paused.
Now that the Emperorâs favor was inclined to the side of Angenas, the contract was the only remaining weakness she had left.
âI donât have a good feeling about this.â Ravini muttered nervously, biting her fingernails.
After contemplating for a while, Ravini rose from her seat.
âAre you going?â
Ethan Klaus lifted the Empressâs robe and wrapped it around her shoulder.
âEthan.â
Empress Ravini looked back at Ethan Klaus and said.
âWhatâs most important is to prevent Clerivan Pellet from attending the meeting.â
Because the only person who could exercise the rights of the contract was the owner of the Pellet Company.
âGuard the front of Lombardy mansion. And when Clerivan Pellet comes out, kill him.â
Rather, it wouldnât be bad for the Pellet Company to crumble like thin air.
Empress Ravini smiles beautifully at the thought.
***
âI havenât been here in a long time.â
Crenny smiled at the scenery of Lombardy that he missed.
He took a soft, deep breath and even smelled the air.
âLetâs go so I can show off to Tia!â
After Crenny went to the academy, he grew up like a fish in water.
Was it because since he was young he read a lot of good books with the recommendation of his sister cousin, Firentia, or is that he was intelligent from the beginning?
He never missed being the top of his grade.
âIf I tell them that I will be skipping for a year again this time, my sister will be happy as well!â
Now the process that usually takes six years, will be completed in four years. Therefore, he has only two years left until graduation.
Crennyâs face flushed.
Thump!
âUgh!â
At that time, his carriage made a sudden stop, and Crenny hit his knees on the opposite seat of the carriage.
âWhatâs going on?â
âIâm sorry, Young Master! The Knights are standing in the way!â
âKnights?â
Crennyâs face hardened as he tilted his head and looked out of the carriage.
The Imperial Knights were looking at Crenny with hideous faces.
âWhatâs going on?â
Crenny looked surprised seeing the front gates of the mansion.
âWhy are the Imperial troops surrounding the mansion?â
Fortunately, the Imperial Knights slowly withdrew and the carriage was able to reach the periphery of the mansion.
âCheck it.â
At that time, the door of the carriage Crenny was riding swung open.
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Nervous, Crenny looked at the Knight who suddenly opened the door.
ââŠ.Brother Gillieu?â
âWhat, so it was Crenny?â
Gillieu, dressed in the Lombardy Knightâs uniform, grinned at Crenny.
âHuh? Itâs Crenny?â
Maironâs face also popped inside the carriage.
âYouâre here for vacation?â Mairon asked.
âWhatâs happening? Why is there in front of the mansionâŠ.â
âGo and ask Tia. Sheâll be able to explain it more. Itâs not a big deal actually, so donât worry too much.â
Having said that, Gillieu closed the carriage door again and gestured to the Lombardy Knights.
The gates of the tightly closed mansion slowly opened, and the carriage carrying Crenny inside began to move again along the path of the mansion.
Meanwhile, Rulhac was watching a carriage barely entering the mansion.
âFather.â Gallahan approached Rulhacâs back and spoke.
âAre you going to leave it as it is?â
âWhat if I do?â
At Rulhacâs remarks, Gallahan frowned.
âShouldnât we help Tia solve the situation?â Shannanet also approached and asked carefully.
âThere has been a confrontation for several days already, Father.â
âIs it really the confrontation between the Imperial family and Lombardy that you are worried about, Gallahan?â
Rulhac turned to Gallahan and asked.
âWhy donât you tell me what you mean by that?â
âThen I wonât beat around the bush.â Gallahan opened his mouth with a heavy heart and continued.
âThe Head of Lombardy is still father, not Tia. If the confrontation continues, it will only put more pressure on Tia.â
âGallahan is right, Father. It would be better to send a letter of protest to His Majesty.â Shannanet said, also helping Gallahan.
However, Rulhac shook his head with a stern face.
âFather!â
âFather!â
Gallahan and Shannanet spoke at the same time, but Rulhac was undeterred.
âYouâre wrong. This is Tiaâs fight, Gallahan.â
Then he stared at the Imperial Knights facing the mansion like a siege.
âNow, Jovanes is trying to overpower Tia before she becomes the Head. Heâs trying to tame her.â
Rulhac wanted to intervene right away, but he endured it again and again.
âTia must go through more than this in the future.â
âHoweverâŠâ
âHow can she lead Lombardy in the future if she can barely beat a foolish Emperor like Jovanes?â Rulhac said so, concealing his concern.
Nevertheless, after an inevitable sigh, he mumbled to himself.
âTia has to overcome this on her own.â
***
Several days have passed since the Imperial and Lombardy Knights began to confront each other in front of the mansion.
In the meantime, the Empress has literally devastated Pellet Company and Clerivanâs mansion.
According to Bate, all the windows of the mansion were broken, the garden was messed up, and the items in the warehouse were all damaged, to the point that it could not be sold.
No matter how much she searched, she couldnât find what she wanted, so she was livid.
However, Lombardy remained silent with the mansion door closed.
And finally, the day of the meeting came.
âI will be back.â
âBe careful, Tia.â My father said anxiously.
âI will come home soon, so please wait for me. Letâs have dinner together later, Dad.â My words put a faint smile on my fatherâs face.
âLetâs go.â
âYes, Deputy Head.â
A veteran coachman, who has been driving the carriage of the Head for several decades, replied with a meaningful expression.
The carriage started to move and gradually headed in front of the tightly closed iron gates.
I heard Lombardyâs Knights opening the gates as they saw my carriage.
And, as expected.
âExcuse me for a moment.â
Without waiting for my answer, the carriage door swung open.
âYouâre crazy.â I said, staring at the Empressâs henchman, Ethan Klaus.
âThese bastards are really..!â
Behind the scenes, I heard Lombardy Knights bursting in anger.
However, I told them not to intervene, so there was no fight occuring.
Instead, I spoke to Ethan Klaus.
âOpening the carriage of the Head of Lombardy, I guess thereâs nothing you fear now, Sir Klaus.â
Hearing my spiteful remarks, Klaus frowned slightly.
It seemed to hurt his pride to hear this from me, who is a young lady.
But the status is more important than age.
What are you going to do now?
As I coldly glared at him, Ethan Klaus checked inside the carriage without answering.
âClerivan Pellet is not in this carriage, you can tell without looking at it like that.â
ââŠItâs an imperial order to check every carriage coming out of Lombardy.â
âIt must be the order of the Empress.â I laughed with one corner of my mouth raised.
âDid the Empress tell you to stop Clerivan Pellet from leaving the mansion?â
When the order of the Empress came out of my mouth, the atmosphere around Ethan Klaus became fierce.
But Iâm not going to be discouraged by such a thing.
I said, looking more confidently at Ethan Klausâ gray eyes.
âWho are you to dare stand in my way, the Deputy Head of Lombardy?â