Chapter 220
Empress Ravini was looking out of her window in a dark hallway where she deliberately turned off the lights.
There was a brief commotion inside the Knights Building in the distance, and soon she saw Perez coming out.
Bellesac was following closely behind him.
After a while, a carriage carrying two people pa.s.sed through the Knight"s Alley.
Watching the back of the carriage until it couldn"t be seen anymore, the Empress began to take hurried steps toward the Imperial Palace.
It was past midnight, but she didn"t hesitate to make the move.
It was because she knew from the henchman she planted inside the Imperial palace that Jovanes hadn"t gone to bed yet.
"Inform His Majesty that I am here to see him, Maid Otua."
The maid came out as she heard there was a visitor and found that it was Empress Ravini. Her complexion instantly hardened.
"...Yes, Empress."
After a while, Maid Otua went inside again, and the door to the bedroom opened.
"The Empress has been looking for me a lot lately."
Jovanes, who changed into a white robe, smiled crookedly at Ravini.
It"s obvious to laugh at her actions, but Ravini was just standing still with a strange smile.
"Hmm."
Jovanes looked at her demeanor with interest and asked, "What are you doing here late at night, Empress?"
"I have something to tell you, Your Majesty."
Nodding his head, Jovanes beckoned lightly and all the attendants in the bedroom went outside.
"In a few days, the meeting will be held again."
In the Emperor"s bedroom with the only two of them remaining, Ravini opened her mouth first.
"Ah, if it"s that then I know more or less what you"re talking about." Jovanes said, frowning slightly.
The long-standing territorial conflict between the Angenas and Braun has been on the agenda of the meeting.
As the Emperor, Jovanes had to decide who would qualify as the representative of the West.
"You"re asking me to side with the Angenas at the meeting, aren"t you?"
Having said that, Jovanes picked up a thin stack of papers that had been placed on the table.
"However, my aides found out that the overall lands that went to the Brauns were a little bigger."
But the difference was so small that it could be brushed off by the Emperor"s words.
"...That"s right." Empress Ravini admitted.
"I have come to you to confirm that you choose the Angenas."
"Confirm?" Jovanes smirked.
Then he took out another piece of paper from under the pile and showed it to the Empress.
"This is the letter from the Lombardy family."
After entering the bedroom, the confident smile of Empress Ravini cracked for the first time.
[We will give 100,000 gold as compensation for the annulled engagement between the Second Prince and Firentia Lombardy.]
100,000 gold.
It was a huge sum indeed.
No n.o.ble family in the Empire could have that much money and remained intact after giving it away.
But Lombardy was an exception.
As always, Lombardy was an exception.
"How dare they smear the Emperor"s dignity and bribe him with money?" Emperor Jovanes murmured grumpily.
Of course, he was going to get the money. Jovanes wasn"t a fool to refuse 100,000 gold.
But he will show them that everything doesn"t go according to Lombardy"s will.
He would be in favor with the Angenas many times in order to press down the arrogant nose of the Lombardy.
That said, Angenas cannot threaten the Imperial power like the Lombardy.
Jovanes said to Empress Ravini.
"At the meeting, my verdict will be in favor with you Angenas."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
With a big smile, Ravini secretly added.
"Also, there"s one more thing I need your confirmation."
"Huh, another one? I knew the Empress was greedy." Surprised, Jovanes said with a grin.
"Yes, do tell me."
"Please allow the Imperial Knights to investigate the Pellet Company today and arrest its owner, Clerivan Pellet, Your Majesty."
"Pellet?"
This time, Jovanes" eyes were wide open. It was because a completely unexpected name came out from Ravini"s mouth.
"That"s quite a big shot."
No one in the Empire wouldn"t know a merchant guild named Pellet Trading Company which is owned by Clerivan Pellet, a man well connected to high ranking people.
The merchant guild, which was created only a decade ago, has already become large enough to form the axis of the Empire.
In particular, the Eastern trade was dominated by the Pellet Company.
Some even said that in order to sell goods in the East, it had to go through the Pellet Company first.
"What is the reason?"
"The investigation into the attempted murder case was slow, and as a result of my own research, I found out that the suspicious drug that the First Prince drank was distributed through the Pellet Company."
Ravini answered without changing a single color on her face.
"It"s quite a dilemma..."
In a word, this was a "may-or-may-not" type of situation.
Jovanes grinned as he thought of the Knights dressed in their Imperial uniform surrounding the Pellet Company.
After a long time, he thought that it may be a good opportunity to show the authority of the Imperial Family.
Also, the fact that Clerivan Pellet was a person of Lombardy also played a part in Jovanes" decision.
"The Imperial Knights are not the hands and feet of the Imperial Family for nothing." Emperor Jovanes said to Empress Ravini.
"There"s no reason why the Empress should not be in charge of the Imperial Knights."
***
"d.a.m.n it."
Looking at Laurelle"s pale face, I let out a curse.
"This is what the Empress was after."
Perhaps from the start, Bellesac was a decoy. My and Perez"s attention was drawn there but the Empress"s real aim was Clerivan.
"How come the Knights of the Imperial Family have come..." Frightened, Laurelle asked in a trembling voice.
"They might be trying to find a contract. A contract that states how Angenas borrowed money as collateral."
"But I can"t believe that"s the reason why the Knights of the Imperial Family had made a move..."
"I"m sure she cajoled the Emperor into doing her bidding. Also, there happens to be one good excuse for the Imperial Knights to move, right?"
"Ah, don"t tell me..."
Laurelle couldn"t bring herself to put the word in her mouth and only her lips trembled.
"Right. The attempted murder of the Emperor. We need to find Clerivan at all cost."
She could easily gets her hands on hard-to-produce plausible evidence, like how Bellesac had a made-up suicide note or making excuses.
However, one thing is for certain. That Emperor Jovanes would tolerate the Empress"s actions.
"Did they catch Clerivan?"
"Oh, no, they are just searching through houses and buildings..."
Then there is still a chance.
"First, we have to find Clerivan."
I looked back at Perez and said, "Perez, release your people to search for him in the Lombardy estate and the Imperial City."
"The Imperial City?"
"Clerivan went there a few days ago. Today, he is scheduled to meet his father at the main branch of the Gallahan clothing store in Imperial City. I don"t know exactly what time it will be, but he may have already reached the Imperial City."
"Okay, I"ll look for him."
After releasing the horse that was pulling the carriage, I checked the back of Perez who was riding the galloping horse, and said to Laurelle, "We"re going to the barracks of the Knights of Lombardy."
"Knights?"
"Yes, I have something to ask."
I walked quickly without saying anything more, but rage was boiling within me.
Empress Ravini, how dare you touch one of my people!
***
"Search everywhere! Find out where Clerivan Pellet is hiding!"
"Yes!"
Imperial Knights and soldiers rushed into the Pellet Company"s building outside Lombardy.
An angry Violet ran out of the office and rushed over to the Knight who appeared to be in charge.
But it was strange.
It was not the same Imperial Knights that she knew, but looks like the Knights of Angenas, who were giving orders to the Imperial Knights.
Standing tall in the middle of the commerce site, a giant Knight with one head bigger than the others was a man Violet knew well.
Ethan Klaus
He was the Commander of the Knights of Angenas, who only listened to the orders of the Empress. That Commander was currently giving orders to Imperial Knights.
It was a ridiculous sight, but the Empress was the one who made it possible.
And Violet could guess what was going on from just looking at the scene.
But that didn"t mean that she would let them wander through the Pellet Trading Company to their heart"s content.
Raising her head more confidently, Violet stood in front of Ethan Klaus.
"I am Violet Lippe, the co-owner of Pellet Company. What the h.e.l.l is going on here?"
"Co-owner?"
However, Ethan Klaus looked at Violet from head to toe without answering before ordering an Imperial Knight standing next to him.
"Take her away and interrogate her.
"What?! Hey, stop this! Let go of me!"
They already had no intention of talking to her anymore.
Violet resisted as hard as she could, but she couldn"t beat the Imperial Knight"s strength.