Chapter 353. Repentance Is Bitter (2)
Translator: Aura / Editor: SaWarren
Arriving at the Imperial Palace, Evely debated whether to return to the Southern Palace or to inform Sovieshu that she had accomplished what he had asked her to do.
Although Evely felt she had to visit Sovieshu, she worried that there would be unnecessary rumors because he had not called her. Besides that she didn’t feel comfortable talking alone with the Emperor.
Evely hesitated all the while as she unloaded her luggage, but in the end decided to inform him at once.
‘Since it’s a private matter, I’d better inform him on my own.’
Her decision was correct.
Sovieshu didn’t call her at once because he thought she would be tired, but he was very anxious to know if Evely had delivered his gift and how Navier had reacted.
As soon as Evely entered his office, Sovieshu quickly asked,
“What happened to the gift? Did you give it to her?”
Evely couldn’t even give a polite greeting, clasped her hands together and hurried to answer,
“Yes. I personally delivered it to the Empress Navier.”
“What did she say?”
“Huh?”
“What did Empress Navier say when she received the gift?”
“Ah, that…”
“What about her expression? How was her voice?”
However, Evely didn’t expect Sovieshu to ask about this. Evely’s eyes darted from side to side in embarra.s.sment.
Sovieshu understood the situation as soon as he noticed her discomfort and smiled bitterly,
“It’s alright. The Empress Navier has always been indifferent no matter what I give her.”
But unlike the bitterness in his voice, his eyes were full of longing.
Evely bowed her head more and wiggled her toes uncertainly.
“Thank you for running the errand. You can go now.”
Evely was so embarra.s.sed that Sovieshu decided not to ask any more questions.
Once Evely left, Sovieshu went to his bedroom, sat on the bed, looked at Navier’s painting and said to himself,
“I wish I had given it to her earlier when she had asked me…”
His desolate voice echoed in the bedroom.
Still, he felt a little better knowing that the gift had been delivered. Sovieshu was also glad that he had been able to keep the promise even if it was late.
‘Although I don’t think Navier will remember the promise…’
About two hours later, when a man from the Western Empire who came with the Eastern Empire delegation handed him a letter from Navier and a letter from Heinley in the drawing room, his expression darkened.
After reading the two letters, his expression worsened even more.
‘Did an envoy try to harm Evely on the orders of Viscount and Viscountess Isqua?’
It was a disgrace to the Eastern Empire for an envoy to do this.
Moreover, Evely had been sent by him on an errand. Of course, the delegation did not know that Evely went to the Western Empire to run a secret errand for Emperor Sovieshu. Still, that did not diminish the crime.
— … For what that envoy did, he could even be punished by the Western Empire. However, isn’t he one of the envoys who came on behalf of the Eastern Empire? If that envoy were to be punished by the Western Empire, it could harm the reputation of Emperor Sovieshu, so I’ll leave this matter in the hands of the Eastern Empire.
Unlike Navier’s letter, in which she only expressed her concern for Evely, the letter sent by Heinley exuded mockery in every word.
He emphasized that the culprit was an envoy from the Eastern Empire with the sole intention of mockery.
The letter disguised as consideration was an offense. The only serious part of the letter was the endnote.
— By the way, there is no need to be lenient.
He wanted to shred this unpleasant letter. But Sovieshu clenched his teeth to suppress the urge and ordered to immediately summon Viscount and Viscountess Isqua.
Viscount and Viscountess Isqua did not know the reason why they were summoned. As soon as they entered, Sovieshu asked in a cold, deep voice,
“Rashta asked them to do it?”
“Your Majesty, what do you mean…”
“Rashta asked them to harm Evely?”
At Sovieshu’s direct question, Viscount and Viscountess Isqua exclaimed in bewilderment.
“No way.”
“We do not know what you are talking about, Your Majesty.”
“We have not harmed that girl, nor did the Empress ask us to.”
Sovieshu leaned back comfortably in the armchair and spoke in a calm, but creepy voice,
“So the Emperor of the Western Empire lied to harm a couple of unknown fallen n.o.bles?”
Blood drained from the couple’s faces.
“The Emperor of the Western Empire discovered that you ordered to cause an accident in the delegation carriage and reported it to me. I repeat, the Emperor of the Western Empire.”
“Your Majesty…”
“That means that because of you, who are not from the Eastern Empire, our country was mocked by the Western Empire.”
A pent-up anger seeped into Sovieshu’s every word. Although the couple flinched, they refused to answer. Sovieshu rose from the armchair and laughed.
“I see that it is useless to ask you. I have no choice but to interrogate the culprit to find out.”
It was then that Viscount Isqua hurriedly spoke up to stop Sovieshu, “Your Majesty!”
Sovieshu did not sit back down on the armchair, but stared at the couple coldly. His expression seemed to indicate, ‘If you have something to say, say it. I’ll decide later whether to believe you’.
Viscountess Isqua reluctantly confessed after reflection,
“It was us, Your Majesty. But we did not want to disgrace the Eastern Empire or hurt anyone.”
Viscount Isqua continued quickly,
“That is true. We only wanted to scare Miss Evely from returning to the Imperial Palace.”
This alone was serious enough, but not as serious as ‘the crime of getting their hands on the Emperor’s possessions and giving the Western Empire a reason to ridicule the Eastern Empire’.
Although many rumors circulated that Evely was the Emperor’s concubine, until she was an official concubine, she was only a commoner. n.o.bles were not usually punished severely for hara.s.sing commoners.
“You lie to the end.”
But Sovieshu did not believe the couple’s words.
The couple came from the same country as Duke Elgy, who was a troublesome guest whose behavior was suspicious.
Now that Sovieshu and Rashta did not have a good relations.h.i.+p, there was no way Sovieshu would believe the couple’s words.
“Forget it. I’ll have to ask the culprit directly.”
Sovieshu spoke coldly as he watched them carefully. Then ordered,
“Bring in the man Emperor Heinley claims is the culprit!”
After a while, an official with his hands tied behind his back was dragged there by two knights.
The couple was horrified to see how the official was treated rudely despite his position.
When the arrested official testified before Emperor Sovieshu that the couple persuaded him to destroy the carriage in order to harm Evely, the couple was startled and their eyes widened in fear,
“That’s not true!”
“We only told you to scare Miss Evely, not to destroy the carriage!”
They seemed genuinely upset.
However, the official was so startled at the words of Viscount and Viscountess Isqua that he shouted in despair, forgetting that Emperor Sovieshu was in front of him.
The shouts of the three people made the quiet place become very noisy.
Sovieshu pressed down hard on his temples and spoke categorically,
“Shut up all three of you.”
***
Sovieshu wanted to seriously question the couple and the culprit, but he couldn’t investigate the matter at this time.
Once the delegation that attended Emperor Heinley’s birthday party returned, Sovieshu was to have a paternity test. By then, Viscount and Viscountess Isqua were not supposed to be here, not even imprisoned.
Eventually, Sovieshu ordered after much thought.
“The official must be locked up in prison. In the case of the Viscount and Viscountess Isqua, keep them under the watch of my knights to ensure that they do not escape.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Before the paternity test, lock them in a secret room away from the gaze of the people.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Sovieshu’s head began to ache, he sat on the bed and clenched his teeth.
Koshar also often caused trouble that made his head hurt, but at least he didn’t dishonor the country.
Not only did Duke and d.u.c.h.ess Troby not cause any trouble, they didn’t even expose themselves too publicly.
‘How could Rashta’s fake parents do this!’