This Marriage Will Surely Succeed Chapter 268

Chapter 268

“…I’ve no intention of becoming a femme fatale who brings ruin to the nation.”

Leroy added his cautious remark.

At that, Iona belatedly realized her slip and quickly closed her mouth, her face tightening in regret. She had gotten too carried away by a hypothetical scenario and let out frivolous words.

Of course, it wasn’t as if Iona actually wanted such a wild notion to come true. Just the mere thought that Leroy might end up in danger made her heart beat faster with unease.

Perhaps it was not she who should be making promises to stay safe, but rather Leroy himself.

“…I’m relieved to see you haven’t changed.”

Amaia broke the restless atmosphere with words that could be taken as either a compliment or not.

Iona gave a small, awkward cough before tucking the papers she had received from Amaia into her clothes.

The skirt she wore, puffed out with supporting frames at the hips, was perfect for concealing such items.

“For the time being, it’ll be difficult to slip out of the palace like today. Send any new documents through Finn to the duke’s residence. I’ll find an opportunity to review them.”

“As you command.”

Amaia finished her brief report, then glanced with clear reluctance at the planks scattered by her feet. Until Iona’s party left this place entirely, she would have to crawl back into that dusty crawlspace beneath the floor.

Just as she was about to step toward the hole, Amaia suddenly stopped, turning back to Leroy with a somewhat pleased expression. As though grateful to have thought of a reason to delay climbing back into hiding.

“Ah, yes. Before I came here, the viscountess left a message for you, my lord duke.”

“Vi… the viscountess?”

“Yes.”

Leroy’s face showed genuine surprise.

Ever since confirming Viviana’s safety, he had made a point to avoid direct contact with her as much as possible, out of concern that it might draw unnecessary suspicion.

Through the servants, he had kept watch to make sure Viviana lived without inconvenience, but occasions when the two of them spoke openly could be counted on one hand.

Well, even those conversations hadn’t lasted long.

And truthfully, it never seemed like either of them particularly enjoyed the other’s company.

Rather than childhood friends, they appeared closer to sworn enemies, often trading sharp words. Even Iona, observing them, had once quietly voiced her worry.

Yet Leroy had replied that those were the most civil conversations they had ever shared.

Perhaps Viviana now wished to express feelings she had been too shy to reveal before. With that thought, Iona’s expression softened with faint expectation.

Still gazing intently at Leroy, Amaia recited Viviana’s message in her usual businesslike tone.

“‘I thought you’d live alone your whole life, but to think you went and married a princess—quite the achievement. Congratulations.’ That is what she wished me to tell you.”

“……”

“How shall I deliver your reply?”

“…It doesn’t sound like the sort of message that requires an answer.”

“I agree.”

Amaia nodded along with a knowing expression.

So, the rumors really have spread as far as the East.

Judging by the lack of any special report from Amaia, it seemed that suspicions about Iona’s origins hadn’t stirred up any notable backlash.

And Viviana, it appeared, had chosen to leave her words only with Leroy.

If someone confronted them in person later, crying betrayal, that would be another matter—but it wasn’t something worth worrying about yet.

For now, the only consequence was that Iona had picked up the nickname of “princess.”

She simply thought to herself with idle amusement, “So this is what it’s like to have a childhood friend you were forced to grow up with because of your parents.”

Truly, it was a world beyond her understanding.

***

“What kind of nonsense is this? You owe me an explanation.”

The Empress flung the letter from her homeland at Richard’s face.

Richard brushed the sheet of paper away and let it fall to the floor without so much as a glance. There was no need to check the contents—he could already guess what it said.

Surely it was a letter of protest against what he had done.

And as soon as the Empress read it, she had summoned him, unable to contain her anger.

Richard answered with composure.

“Please calm yourself. Excessive agitation is not good for your health.”

“How amusing. You disgrace me publicly, then lecture me about health?”

The Empress’ face was more furious now than even when Richard had recklessly revealed suspicions about Iona to the outside world.

Not that this incident had nothing to do with him.

“Tell me—what exactly were you hoping to accomplish by provoking your mother like this?”

“Surely you don’t think I would harbor ill intent toward my own mother and act out of malice.”

“The collaboration with Bardem to establish a trading company was a project prepared since your father’s reign. And you unilaterally suspended it, claiming no ulterior motive? Do you expect me to believe such a half-hearted excuse?”

Bardem was a land where high temperatures and rough terrain had long hindered agricultural development.

Thus, most of its food supply came from external trade. Diversifying import routes to stabilize both supply and prices had been a long-standing goal of the Bardem royal family.

But the joint venture that the Empress herself had championed as a bridge between the two nations was cut off by Richard’s unilateral decision.

Officially, he claimed it was only a temporary suspension due to poor timing, but whether the deal would ever resume under its original terms was anyone’s guess.

It was obvious, however, that the strategy was meant to shift power toward Leman.

“Mother, His Majesty the Emperor is gravely ill. Naturally, we must focus on domestic affairs before outside ventures.”

“You dare… to spout such words before me?”

A cold laugh slipped from the Empress’ lips.

The Emperor had been bedridden for several years already.

There had been no need to halt a smoothly running project under the pretense of his illness.

The Empress could easily guess her son’s hidden intentions.

In fact, Richard did not even seem to bother hiding them.

The Empress glared at her son with scorn.

“You are not yet fit to be Emperor. Especially if the only thing you wish to do with that power is protect a single woman.”

The Empress had prolonged the comatose Emperor’s life, deliberately keeping him alive to delay the timing of passing the throne.

She cherished her son and wished to grant him much, but she also knew the simple truth that no parent could control their child entirely according to their own will.

That truth left the Empress deeply uneasy.

After all, no monarch in history had ever welcomed interference from their in-laws.

And indeed, for a long time now, she had sensed Richard’s distaste for Bardem’s close ties.

The long-cherished wish of Bardem and the Empress was to construct as many safeguards as possible before Richard’s coronation, so he could not simply cut off their influence once enthroned.

In her judgment, the time was not yet ripe for Richard to inherit the throne.

“I’ve already had my fill of watching your pitiful struggle to protect your cheap infatuation. And now, do you seek to claim that girl with the exalted seat of the throne itself?”

“I’m not sure why you would suddenly bring up such talk.”

“Do you think I wouldn’t know what’s in your head? I’m the one who gave you life.”

The Empress bore down on Richard, refusing to let him dodge the issue.

Richard decided to end this meaningless exchange.

He had revealed the Emperor’s condition to the outside world and begun reorganizing matters, precisely for the purpose the Empress suspected—succession.

He understood well that the most effective way to restrain the Empress was to ascend the throne.

Until now, he had held off, unwilling to stir needless turmoil in a position that would one day be his anyway.

Now, with a smooth smile on his lips, Richard replied:

“It is simply to ease the burdens of my aging parents. Don’t you think it’s time the authority you’ve been holding on behalf of His Majesty was entrusted to me? By now, I would say I’ve waited long enough.”

---The End Of The Chapter---

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