Thanks to Akshire’s brothers and sisters’ trust, Evelyn spoke with a lighter heart about what had happened and what she had felt. She didn’t forget to say that she had a strange vision and a suspicious intuition of David, the Vatican Paladin.
“His Majesty knows this too. And he also has the same thoughts as me. We did everything we could, including sending the Black Hawk to investigate, but …….” Evelyn blurted the end of her words. “It won’t be easy because the Vatican is originally a tightly secure and closed group.”
“Huh. So that’s why you couldn’t get any conclusive evidence. However, as long as we regard them as an enemy and watch out for them, we will be fine.” Liam nodded. The most fearful thing was not knowing the enemy’s existence. Evelyn could only find a way out by defining the enemy precisely.
“The council’s job is important, but I’ll look into it in my own way,” said Liam.
Evelyn nodded at his trustworthy remark with a smile. Liam’s eyes had a green shimmer. Rebecca couldn’t see it anymore, so she waved her hands to break the atmosphere, “Liam, you have a lot to do now, right?”
Liam nodded unconsciously, as Rebecca gave a forced smile, “I’ll… … I’ll leave now.” He said grimly, but sadly, Evelyn waved to Liam happily without knowing his broken heart.
Seeing her, Liam was unable to say anything, trudged with drooping shoulders, following Nora out of the Secret Chamber. Evelyn looked at him grievously, but Rebecca shook her head, “It is a miracle that he was allowed to enter here. This is a place that can’t be entered by any man other than His Majesty.”
Rebecca thought about her little brother’s feelings in her own way. She hoped that Liam would be able to quickly get rid of the remaining feelings he had for Evelyn. But on the other hand, it was hard for him not to get involved with Evelyn, who had decided her own way.
“That’s… right”, Evelyn agreed with Rebecca this time. Fabian had a great deal of thought for Akshire’s siblings to come to her secret chamber. There was nothing wrong with being careful, especially in times like this.
“By the way, Princess, more than that. Now let’s get to the point.”
Evelyn stared at Rebecca blankly. After all this talk, what did she mean by ‘get to the point?’
“You still have the biggest incident story!” Rebecca’s eyes flared excitedly.
“The demon assault…….?”
“Not that.”
Evelyn tilted her head. She wondered if there were a bigger incident than that?
“I was curious while running all the way here since I thought it was crazy.”
Evelyn could see Rebecca’s intentions soon.
“Please tell me in detail how, why, what circumstances and moment, or how you changed your mind to reunite with His Majesty,” Rebecca spoke like a bullet barrage until she was out of breath. But her eyes sparkled.
Evelyn suddenly had a sheepish look, “Uhm that’s… ..that somehow…….”
“Well, first of all, shall we start from the time you left the Felice Kingdom with His Majesty?” Rebecca didn’t seem to retreat. “Oh no, let’s forget that moment! Yuck, the demon is gross, and I’ve heard it earlier, so let’s skip that part.”
“Uh… okay”, Evelyn began to grope her memories, “You know roughly about our divorce case, and I didn’t really want to reunite.”
“Then, what about now?”
“Now it is… .” Evelyn’s cheeks blushed slightly, “That’s my choice. Since I wanted to be here … … I thought I wanted to stay by His Majesty’s side. “
Rebecca’s green eyes grew round. She didn’t believe that she was the same Evelyn, who had cursed her ex-husband not long ago.
“No, no, you can’t. It’s not enough if you’re not tell me every single moment.”
“What do you mean it’s not enough?” Evelyn asked back.
“Please tell me in detail, divided into minutes and seconds, focusing on the changes in your heart.”
Rebecca was determined to take a seat. Evelyn sighed a little, but she nodded quickly. It seemed that today would be a very long night.
***
Liam’s eyes turned sore right away, but he tried to endure it as a matter of pride in this situation. He couldn’t cry because he still had a job meeting Fabian, his eternal enemy.
“I see you, Your Majesty,” Liam said bluntly after entering the room. His unexampled posture was a sign of discontent he felt. But Fabian calmly accepted his legitimate protest, as he still had a little conscience.
“You played a difficult role.”
“Yes, for the Princess,” Liam emphasized his answer that he didn’t do it for Fabian.
Fabian then twisted one corner of his lips in response to his offhanded reaction, “I’m willing to forgive you for lying and testifying against me in the Felice Kingdom.”
“You can punish me if you want as I did it for the Princess.”
The nerve wars between Liam and Fabian were tense.
“Well, thank you for helping my Empress and my son.”
“For the Princess, it’s not a big deal.”
Fabian clenched his teeth and forced to smile, “She’s not the P-r-i-n-c-e-s-s anymore. She will be my E-m-p-r-e-s-s again, but it’s a commendable thought, anyway.”
“I’m worried about the Princess until then.” Liam didn’t budge either.
From his appearance, he was like a model student, but Liam also had a rebellious spirit inside. Of course, the two grown men knew very well that this was a very childish and too embarrassing battle of nerves for a high-status man like them. But they weren’t able to stop it.
“What would the Empress worry about when she has me?”
“But didn’t you call me?” Liam answered him with a scoffing tone.
Fabian was forced to grin again, pressing down his tantrum. He indeed needed Liam’s help for now. Besides, if he were angry with someone he called for help, Evelyn’s heart would be hurt. Only that thought was the reason Fabian was holding back his annoyance.
“It’s also for Akshire’s behalf.”
“We didn’t come here because of greed. I just came to help the P-r-i-n-c-e-s-s.”
Fabian’s smile was suddenly broken at those words. “Duke.” His low-cold tone clearly rang.
“Yes, Your Majesty?” Liam questioned him back without feeling daunted at all.
“I want to hit your handsome face right now.”
“Oh, what a coincidence,” Liam said nothing more, but it was a very bold answer. Such a ‘sympathetic’ reply was already a great provocation to the Emperor.
“But what would Evelyn think if we into a rage and fight?”
At the time, Liam was suddenly enlightened. But he was too upset to admit it. Liam couldn’t believe that this enemy-like Emperor could provoke him without thinking about Evelyn. Even though he knew very well, Fabian was originally Evelyn’s husband, but that was a big wound to Liam’s heart.
“Now you understand why I was so patient to refrain from hitting your face.”
“Well, I never lose my patience anywhere.”
Although there were no swear words and punches, the atmosphere between them was already messy. Evelyn would have had a long sigh if she had seen this. However, both men seemed to were proud of their strong patience.
“However, there’s a limit to my patience.”
“Oh. Does that mean you can’t stand it till the end for the Princess?”
Every time a word was added, the atmosphere became more intense. Luckily, the door opened as Serus and Logan came in. With the advent of a new person, the tense situation immediately got a little loose without crossing the line.
“I see you, Your Majesty and the Duke of Akshire.”
Serus and Logan set the example side by side. Logan was slightly intimidated by the chilly atmosphere, but Serus was different. He was able to remain calm because he didn’t even know what was wrong.
“Your Majesty, let’s begin the meeting you ordered.”
Later, Fabian sighed and repressed his aggression. Liam also looked resentful, but he looked a little cold.
Thanks to Serus’ calm-presence, the four people sat at a long table and shared the materials they had prepared. It was an indication of Fabian’s efforts that he had arranged such a meeting himself.
“You must already know my purpose in gathering all of you.”
Fabian’s purpose of holding this secret meeting was to ensure that Evelyn was reinstated as the Empress safely. The other was to make sure Adrian was the Crown Prince and dig and subdue the suspicious Vatican.
Of the three, the most difficult task would be the last one. In a way, it might be the time to make a firm decision with the Vatican, which had been waging a nerve-war since he ascended the throne.
“If Duke Akshire has good abilities, he will be able to gather forces against Duke Metis as planned. Then I can annul the previous marriage record.”
It was a provocative word for Liam, but he didn’t raise a single eyebrow. His intention to show that he was a more mature man than Fabian seemed to have been conveyed. As proof, Fabian then coughed a little, “I have already conveyed my will to remarry to the Vatican. Of course, the Vatican seemed to think that it’s not a bad business for them.”
Fabian wasn’t a religious person, and he had no faith in God, but his gold coins were overflowing. He knew the Pope wouldn’t refuse gold coins. But, the problem was that the Imperial family had a bad relationship with the Vatican. Still, on the contrary, they had a lasting friendship with Duke Metis.
“I’ve heard that Duke Akshire has a close relationship with the Vatican as good as Duke Metis.”
This time, it wasn’t Fabian’s sarcastic remarks. Whatever the Vatican did, it was important that this kind of ‘close friend’ was on their side right now.
“Yes. I know what to do in that part. I will express my support for this remarriage and will actively persuade the Vatican. The secret letter must have arrived in the Felice Kingdom, so combining these forces together, we can equalize the power of Duke Metis.”
“Even I have doubts about his ability to go to this place. The problem is……….” A shadow cast over Fabian’s face.
“I see. When the Pope comes to the Imperial Palace to hold the wedding ceremony, the Paladin in question will also enter the Palace without a hitch”, added Serus.
“But we don’t have a reason for stopping him. Honestly, I can’t even see the enemy’s intentions.”
“There’s something that bothers me.”
Fabian allowed him to speak with a nod. Liam decided to forget that Fabian was his opponent. Evelyn’s safety and happiness was the important thing for him now. Even if he shed tears every night, he seemed to be able to bear it if Evelyn was happy.
“As you know, the Akshire and the Felice Kingdom have a long and strong relationship with the Vatican. But the Paladin…… Since when did he show up?”
Fabian frowned his eyebrows.
“I thought about it when I heard about him from the Princess before, but I’ve never heard the story of the Paladin.”
“… I also couldn’t find any traces of his past”, stated Fabian.
“Your Majesty may not know. But why we, who are good friends with the Vatican, don’t know as well?”
A fundamental question suddenly arose.
“At one point, he was standing next to the Pope in the name of a Paladin Knight.”
It was strange. No one questioned Paladin’s existence, who appeared naturally as if he had been there from the beginning.
“Can someone suddenly become a Paladin and just appear one day?”
“It’s impossible.”
But so far, no one had been curious about him. And Fabian was most interested in that part.
“Even in my memory, there’s no Paladin named David. When the Princess put his name on her mouth, she was conscious of his name.”
Only
“What do you mean? Is he the Pope’s impersonation?” Fabian squinted his eyes, looking puzzled.
“I don’t know myself. I’m sure… Nobody knows anything about him.”
The air was getting heavier around them.
“Could there be someone that no one knows?” Fabian threw another question, but none of the three was willing to speak. But then, Serus gave a wise answer, “”At least… … There seems to be someone like that.”
“But too bad, he exists now as my enemy.” Fabian had made up his mind. He didn’t care anymore who his opponent was. As long as she was aiming for Evelyn and Adrian, he had no intention of keeping him alive.
“I will destroy everyone who becomes my enemy.”
That was his most tragic conclusion.
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