Chapter 16

Of course, I didn't know.

A sex slave.

But then again, even Tori, who was a commoner and had had a strong backlash from the nobility, still became Empress. But there was no way someone with such a shameful history could become Empress. It might not be true, but there was no way he would say such a crazy lie that would make the Imperial Family look bad.

My eyes widened slightly but I kept dignity.

I did hear rumours about the Empress' lineage.

"Well... it seemed like you didn't know. After all, Count Bellua is a man with few words."

"...Yes?"

"Now that you know, I'll inform Nigelle of your transfer."

Arnulf moved on as if he didn't need to hear my response. I kicked the dirt to catch up with him, but soon after Rupert grabbed my wrist, my body turned around on its own.

My wrist burned bright red from his tight grasp, but when I looked at his cheeks, the redness of my wrist wasn't as bright as his bright red cheeks that would be bruised tomorrow.

"You said you're not going."

Rupert slowly growled at me like a feral beast. It was a face that looked as if he felt betrayed by someone whom he never fully believed in anyways. He felt betrayed by my sudden gesture, which seemed like my loyalty towards him was fading away.

I shook my hand off of his grip forcefully - he unexpectedly graciously let me go - and thankfully, I was able to retrieve my hand as a whole. I actually didn't know what those clear green eyes were thinking, but the urge to defend my decision prompted me to speak,

"I'm not going."

"What?"

"I wanted to tell him not to do that, but I can just tell the palace administrators later."

Why?

Rupert didn't argue as he did before. Rupert looked at my wrist for a while. It wasn't a long time, but it wasn't a very short time either. I couldn't stand the stinging look, so I sighed quietly.

It was at this moment he realized the bandages I wore.

Both of our wrists and cheeks are bright red. If someone didn't know what was going on, they might think the two of us were playing with paint.

"Your face, does it hurt?"

"Give me."

"Yes?"

"Your wrist."

I wasn't really concerned, but Rupert ignored my worried question the first time and put his arm out again. He gently grabbed my wrist, staying away from the reddened area. He didn't do this delicately, but he was smart about it.

I looked at him blankly, wondering what he was doing. He looked through his pockets, slightly annoyed, then pulled out a small round tub and held it out.

"Bandages. Why?"

I didn't know what to do, so I took the small container with the hand he wasn't holding.

"What's this?"

"You seriously can't tell?"

Rupert was visibly annoyed. If he really wanted to give it, then he'll do so nicely. Now I feel bad because of what he said.

Ointment.

This is a patented product of Champagne Pharmaceuticals, commonly referred to as Tiger Balm Ointment. Not only its efficacy, this balm is famous because it was said that St. Volgorward's holy water is in it, making it very expensive. It was so expensive that just hearing the name itself could make one feel poor.

Lehan, who is always short on pocket money, carried around a tub with a green tiger on it. But this tub is engraved with a red tiger on it, indicating much higher quality. This one must be genuine because the Imperial Family wouldn't use counterfeits... but even if this is real, it's not enough to justify putting it on small scratches.

I opened the tub and took a bit of cream.

He became startled when I applied it on his face.

I did it gently.

He slapped my hand but I ignored it and continue to apply it.

Maybe because Rupert was curious at my touch that he let me apply it.

I went after him and stood still as I watched the back of his head move very quickly away from me. Rupert doesn't seem to notice that I'm standing still, or if he does, he doesn't care. I closed my eyes to clear my mind and took a deep breath only after I could no longer see him.

I was still confused, to be honest. It was hard to believe that the Empress wasn't as strong as Duke Arnbach, but she became what she is right now.

Even though a man's status is more important than a woman's in Vellelum, that doesn't mean that a woman's background could be taken lightly as well.

Most of the time, the Ducal or Maquis family gives birth to the Empress of the Empire. In rare cases, from a Count's family. Even from another country's royal family.

The Queen is the daughter of the Duke of Arnbach. The Empress, the mother of the country, was not just a concubine but a slave. Commoners would be alarmed, but it's not just a scandal involving the Imperial Family. It's serious enough that nobles can start a rebellion over it.

"Did you know that Empress Vellelum came from a brothel? She wasn't a Count's daughter... she's a sex slave."

When I thought about what Arnulf had said, I chewed my lips. That's why Rupert laughed when I said I was honored to serve him. He must have thought my father had told me about him and the Empress.

The most suspicious person was my father.

What kind of relationship did the Count and the Empress have?

First of all, it's not clear why the Empress isn't taking action if Arnulf is running his mouth in the first place. It may be because she didn't want to make a public appearance, or the Emperor, who is the only one who can control her, may be holding her back.

How come?

I didn't know anything about Rupert's father, the current Emperor. Even at a royal ball, I rarely saw the Empress's face, so it must have been before I was born that my father met her.

Aside from this, there's no resemblance of Rupert and the Emperor.

Was the Emperor's love for the Empress so great?

Is he so obsessed with a woman that he gave her, a mere slave, a title of nobility to mask her origins, just to make her the Empress? Since the imperial family collapsed because of a woman before, then this is really plausible.

After all, there's a saying that 'Beauty could decide the fate of a country.'

If the Emperor wants to, he can make a commoner or a slave into an Empress easily by disguising her appropriately as an aristocrat of another country. If the truth comes out, it will be hard to fix, but once the Empress was the Emperor's woman, he had the final say. Since it was a country heavily influenced by the nobility, most of the previous Emperors married women from noble families to get even one more family on their side.

However, the current Emperor isn't like that. He removed the natural order of the palace system and manipulated it to make the Empress an Empress without taking care of domestic affairs.

But a romantic reason like that isn't enough. Rupert was almost abandoned, so why is he treating the child of the woman he risked everything for like that?

There's the possibility that Arnulf could be wrong, so for the first time since I entered the Imperial family, I thought I should meet my father. It doesn't make sense to think that such deep hatred comes from a misunderstanding, so it's better to know for sure.

Come to think of it, Lehan probably started at the military academy around this time. I guessed the date in my head. Lariette couldn't visit at the time as she was sick.

There's no way I'm going to let her stay at home this time.

The military academy isn't a place where anyone can go just because they're a child of nobility. Lehan left home alone because his parents couldn't see him off, and his sister was sick. Only I was able to visit and see him off time to time.

I stopped thinking about Rupert and just thought about Lehan's face. I'll feel better since Lehan will be here in the Capital more often now.

When I stepped foot inside the palace, I achieved nothing, but at least I found out that the Count and Rupert are connected in some way.

I'll figure it out soon enough.

After all, the Count deserved to get killed and executed for his cowardly selfish reasons.