Chapter 44: Live To Sienna Pt.44

“Now the Emperor may be closing in onto his death bed soon. No, there’s no way to even make sure he’s alive. Empress Arya is hiding the Emperor completely. I’ve been able to take over the state affairs from him, but I can’t do it forever. There’s already a rumor going around among the nobles that the Emperor may have already passed away.”

Carl nodded his head. Not even himself, the son of the emperor, could meet the emperor. It was only Queen Arya who conveyed the emperor’s sentiments. There was no way to confirm whether the emperor’s meaning really came through and out of the emperor’s mouth for certain.

“Then we can promulgate the emperor’s death and put Valore on the throne.”

Sienna gave Carl a nasty smile.

“That’s why King Carl is so good.”

“…”

“It’s a joke. No, it’s not just a joke.”

Sienna shrugged and carried on.

“First of all, there’s a reason that your father-in-law is a father-in-law and an enemy. There’s not a principle of longevity in Laifsden, but if you don’t have a successor, you’re generally following the father-in-law. And Empress Arya has sent you to war in the name of your duty as a prince.”

Because of her ridiculous claims, Carl had to turn to the battlefield to fight since he was around eleven years old.

“Empress Arya may have hoped that Prince Carl would be severely wounded or killed in the battlefield, but you have safely fulfilled your duties for more than a decade. In contrast, the Prince of Wales did nothing again and again on the pretext of being the second child. Already, Prince Carl is gaining a lot of public support as a war hero. By comparison, people’s perception of the prince’s charge, which is not very well laid out in the palace, is blurred. I’m sure the public will want to and try to appoint Prince Carl to the throne. That’s not what the Empress wants.”

Carl nodded his head.

“No matter what the public sentiment is, if it were against the power of the Queen Arya today, they could force Valore to sit on the throne.”

It was bitter but true. It was her, who had long won the hearts of central nobles and wielded power in the shadow of the emperor. Carl won the hearts of the army, some nobles, and the people. However, it was not enough to keep Empress Arya in check.

“That’s right, but there’s a big weakness the Crown Prince has overshadowing yourself.”

“What’s that?”

“The suspicion that it may be after the emperor’s blood.”

Carl looked at Sienna with a surprised face this time. Maybe it is after the emperor’s blood?

“Not long after the death of your mother, Empress Isabel, the Emperor welcomed Arya to the throne. She had a five-year-old child at the time. Of course, the Emperor recognized the prince as his bloodline, but there is still some doubt in people’s minds. The Prince of Wales is not a child born in the imperial family, and most of all, he does not resemble the Emperor at all.”

The symbol representing the royal bloodline is dark golden hair and green eyes. Carl also had golden hair and green eyes that looked exactly like Emperor Rodbius.

“Of course, there were cases of yellow-hairless royals in the imperial family with different colors of hair or eyes. In this case, far down the whole royal family line that is to say. But his brown eyes and hair doesn’t look like that of Empress Arya.”

Carl was so overcome by a sense of betrayal that he felt about his father, who had brought over a brother so suddenly into the family as soon as his mother, Isabel, died.

‘Valore, I can’t believe he’s my brother…’

“I’ve never heard of that.”

Sienna nodded.

“When Empress Arya entered the imperial palace, Prince Carl was young, too. Moreover, no one would have flatly denied what His Majesty had acknowledged. But now things are different. In the event that Prince Carl and His Majesty as well as the Second Prince fight over the throne, the matter will be brought up through anyone’s mouth. The question is whether the prince was actually born in the royal family. What’s more interesting is…”

Carl made a curious impression when Sienna didn’t speak right away. She said, drawing up one side of her mouth.

“There was a spleen that had been trying to stop the Panacio family’s estate. It’s about a deft minstrel from Castro who Empress Arya sponsored. It’s a guy who had glossy brown hair and eyes like a ripe night in autumn.”

“You mean the father of Valore is the minstrel?”

“I’m not too sure. However, since the night the emperor stopped at the estate of the Panacio family under the pretext of a hunting trip, there has been a rumor that the minstrel’s hair has not been seen around. It was only a short time ago. After the unprovoked death of the innocent, the story has never been said out in the territory. But now, I think it’s a secret story.”

It was common for wandering minstrels to disappear. However, it was certainly strange that those who had the secret message died.

“So, Empress Arya wouldn’t have been able to see her two princes, Her Majesty, and Carl, as he was joining in on the fight against the empress in the capital. One way or another, she had to create a situation where Prince Carl couldn’t be in the capital. So, she just thought she’d use a tool that she had planted and worked on it for fifteen years. It was just a guess. I was lucky. Your henchmen, Azrael, became known to have been planted by the Empress in the end.”

“It’s just a guess…”

Carl chewed up Sienna’s words.

‘Is she simply saying she made such a guess based on the fact that Arya planted Azrael as her hidden card? Where in the world did she get that kind of information?’

It was not easy for a girl who had lived in a small estate way up in the north to get access to that kind of information.

Sienna said, bobbing her ankle.

“I guess I wasn’t wrong by the look on your face.”

Sienna read out the distrust in Carl’s face. It was a story that he couldn’t believe. But she couldn’t tell him she knew because she had already experienced the future.

Still, he was partly right when he said she had guessed it all. Because she was right to recall, deduce, and filter the information out of the past.

“You must be satisfied that your reasoning is right.”

“…”

Sienna wanted to say no, but her mouth wouldn’t budge. Although he said his henchman Azrael wouldn’t betray him, she also hoped that he would not betray him. She didn’t want Carl to get hurt. He may get better, but she knew that the heart’s wound stays deep and never get erased.

Sienna rose from her seat and took a step toward Carl. It was funny to feel far away even though it was three or four feet away.

She stepped out again. She looked up at him from just a step away. She wanted to console him by sweeping down his seemingly hurt face, but it wasn’t her role as she made the initial pledge.

Carl looked at Sienna. A faint freckle or red hair nestled on the back of the nose just gave the impression of a sunnier girl. She looked the same age as Bluebell, who had yet to perform an adult ceremony.

In fact, Sienna and Bluebell were only two years apart. However, Bluebell and Sienna seemed to have a difference in decades, not two years.

“I don’t believe you.”

Carl retorted it like a spell. Otherwise, she would bury his face in her arms and beg for consolation.

How many times had he met her so far? What’s more, she’s full of doubt. Still, Carl was afraid he would end up trusting her. That’s why he repeated this process over and over again to finally say If he had trusted her and she ends up betraying him like Azrael, he wouldn’t be able to stand it.

“I don’t believe it…”

“…I know.”

Sienna’s voice was stained with water. Because his words of disbelief became a dagger and distrust.

“But I’ll take that offer any other day.”

“Proposal?”

“The offer to join hands to keep Arya in check. I don’t believe you, but it doesn’t matter. Let’s hold hands, not trust each other.”

“…”

“I’ll listen this time instead. Why are you trying to keep Arya in check?”

“Why are you trying to keep Arya in check? To be honest, it’s not to keep her in check, it’s revenge.”

“Revenge?”

“Yes. Doesn’t Your Highness also wish the same, don’t you? That heart that wants to break the neck of Empress Arya.”

Carl looked at Sienna as if he didn’t understand her.