Civil Servant in a Romance Fantasy - Chapter 976



976 – A Crazy New Year’s Eve – 1

Veronica, a gift that came like snow before the sun set.

At the same time, before the year ends, a certain yellow resident of the Sun Palace appears, not as Emperor Eimanca XVII, but as the incompetent Gilbert.

Even though they are both events that are coming up at the end of the year, they show such extreme differences. Our Veronica is a treasure that makes you laugh without realizing it. That yellow guy looks so ugly and pitiful that you can’t help but sigh.

‘I understand being held captive.’

I sighed inwardly as I looked at Eri, who was putting on the maid’s uniform the empress had sent her, completely shaken off the effects of giving birth.

To be honest, it is natural for the emperor to be weak towards the empress. The emperor, who was almost killed by the second prince faction during the last days, suddenly rose to become a strong candidate for the crown prince thanks to marrying the current empress. As a result, the emperor, who was an illegitimate child, gained a strong support base, and the state, who was concerned about the succession of the legitimate son for the sake of legitimacy, also turned its attention to the emperor.

The calculation was that the lack of legitimacy that would arise from an illegitimate child inheriting the throne could be made up for by the justification that “the eldest son should succeed first” and the support of the ducal family. Therefore, politically, aside from love, the emperor was in a position where he could not help but be at a loss with the empress.

Even the Empress and the Duke of Zhensheng never caused a disturbance based on their overwhelming political stake. If they had decided to do so, the chaos would have been incomparable to the atrocities of Ashilon, but the Empress and the Duke of Zhensheng thoroughly guarded the Emperor’s side and back.

‘That’s the scariest thing.’

If a politically indebted opponent does not demand his share and serves him with all his heart, even if that opponent is his beloved wife and father-in-law, the emperor has no choice but to bow to the empress politically, morally, and emotionally.

An emperor who stiffly holds his head up to his wife who spares his life, respects his authority, and simply stays true to her role as the mother of the nation without interfering? That is not disqualification from being an emperor, it is disqualification from being a human being.

So it is natural that the emperor is imprisoned for personal reasons,

‘Isn’t it too much of a trap?’

I never thought that he would live so miserably, suffering defeat after defeat in the night battle. Furthermore, I never thought that he would use Eri as a mercenary to avoid battle and minimize the aftermath of defeat.

In fact, until recently, I thought that Eri was the only one who had congratulated the Emperor and Empress on their marriage, so he was entrusting the Crown Princess to her out of a sense of indebtedness. I thought of it as the Emperor repaying his kindness.

The emperor may have thought so at first, but not now. The current emperor is just an ordinary person who is reaching out for a living.

‘You ugly b*stard.’

In the end, I failed to fully understand the emperor.

This yellow one. I don’t know about other people, but to me, you’re just an ordinary person. From now on, I won’t call you Emperor, but Gil, a resident of Taeyangjeon.

“Minister!”

Or, while he was thinking about calling Ausen Citizen Gil-ssi, he slowly raised his head that had been bowing at Eri’s call.

‘oh.’

Then, Eri, dressed up in a maid’s attire, came into view.

It was neither the black uniform of the Inspectorate nor the fancy dress worn in high society, but a neat maid’s uniform. It was quite a contrast to Eri’s usual image, but when she actually wore it, it suited her quite well.

“how is it?”

“Are you okay?”

I answered without hesitation because it was really okay.

The maid’s outfit itself is not something that Eri has any connection with. This cannot be denied. However, the combination of black and white, with the golden lion emblem as a point, was a combination that suited Eri quite well.

‘She really looks like a maid.’

If you think about it, Eri is also a noble young lady who inherited the blood of the Marquis family. If you were to look at Eri without knowing her unique worldview and her history in the Inspectorate, she would seem to be an elegant and respectful maid.

If you look at it without knowing anything, that is. Unfortunately, I know everything about Eri, so the best compliment I can give is to say that she is ‘like a maid’.

“Hehehe, I’m glad I’ll be wearing it often from now on. I was worried it wouldn’t suit me!”

Still, just hearing the compliment that it suited her made Eri raise the corners of her mouth in satisfaction.

She wears it often. Surely, the Empress has summoned her to come and receive training as a maid? Although there is a grace period until Veronica starts crawling, children crawl before you know it. Eri’s training will begin around next summer at the latest.

‘I am a former chief of the Inspectorate who received training as a maid.’

I couldn’t help but laugh at the sentence, which was so hilarious.

It’s fortunate that Eri and the Crown Princess are close aunt-niece. If I hadn’t been able to build a close relationship with the Crown Princess, I would have clenched my teeth and opposed it.

Of course, in that situation, the Emperor and Empress would have opposed Eri’s transition to a maid before I opposed it─

“I have to show off to the kids!”

“uh?”

Suddenly, Eri ran out of the room.

“Ah, Lize! Look at this! How about this!?”

Then, as if she had encountered Lize in the hallway, a voice that seemed to be showing off her maid’s outfit rang out.

It’s like seeing a child wearing a new coat and showing it off, while the real child is soundly sleeping in his cradle.

‘I wish my daughter would run around wearing a baby doll soon.’

I secretly touched Veronica’s chubby cheek.

Our Veronica can’t walk around yet, so Mom is doing all that for her. In order for Mom to be worthy of her age, our Veronica needs to grow up quickly.

When you grow up, you can wear clothes that are black like your hair, red like your eyes, or pure white like your mother’s hair. Whatever you wear, you will definitely look good.

“right-.”

“Oops.”

Veronica whined slightly, as if she had been touched too vigorously.

‘Are you awake?’

Let’s take a closer look. Fortunately, it wasn’t broken. It was just someone who disturbed her while she was sleeping and she was throwing a tantrum.

‘I’m sorry, Dad.’

He apologized inwardly and touched it more slowly and faintly than before.

There was absolutely no option to take my hands off this soft, squishy ball.

***

I visited the Duchy of Servette for a while. This time, I was alone, without the sword or the children.

In a few days, the year will end and the new year will begin. Once the New Year’s greetings begin, there will be no time to discuss things privately with the deceased, so now is the last time to handle business.

“Everyone is gathered here.”

That is why he summoned the vassals staying in the duke’s castle and the vassals spread throughout the duke’s territory.

For a great undertaking that must be carried out quickly next year. For a decision that will shake not only the empire but also the continent.

But for the sake of our children, we must go through the uproar.

“I know you’re all busy, but thank you for coming. I don’t think I’ll ever have time if not now.”

“Your Majesty, how can you say such a thing? Nothing can stand above your call.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It is our honor to serve Your Majesty and the Duke of Katoban.”

A faint smile appeared on the face of the vassals and retainers bowing their heads in competition.

They are children who are consistently loyal and trustworthy. Their parents and grandparents were also like that. I am always grateful for their loyalty that has been passed down through generations.

“But I can’t keep holding you guys back. Let’s move forward as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The children who had been bowing their heads looked up again and looked at me.

The reason I issued the summons is known to these children. Until recently, only the head butler and the chief chamberlain knew about it in order to maintain confidentiality, but now is the time when we cannot hide it, even if it means ensuring smooth progress. So a few weeks ago, I quietly told all the vassals and retainers.

“This is the story that concludes the 100 years of Your Majesty’s devotion to the Empire, so I cannot delay.”

I step down from the Duke’s throne, and Karl becomes Duke Servette’s deputy.

After nearly 100 years, the head of Servet steps down, and Karl fills the void until our children grow up.

It must be a shocking thing for my vassals and vassals, but I can’t hide it forever. How betrayed would these children feel if they found out about my retirement just before the retirement ceremony?

So this is right. We need to give them a few weeks to think about it and discuss it. Even if we can’t cancel the retirement now, we need to try to understand and appease the children as much as possible.

“Actually, I’m still shocked. Your Majesty is stepping down from the Duke of Servette. I expected that you might step down while you’re still alive, since the princesses were born, but I never thought you’d step down when they were five years old.”

“I thought I would serve Your Majesty all my life and then die. Now that I am alive, I will serve a new Your Majesty. Should I call this an honor?”

“Haha, I didn’t even think about making this decision until last year. Seeing the Iron Blood Lord step down… I started to think that it would be good for future generations if I also stepped aside.”

It started out well. I don’t know if it was because the kids had been trying to convince me for a few weeks, or if they thought I was so determined that they gave up trying to persuade me.

But on the surface, it’s a warm conversation where you share your feelings with a smile. It’s much better than one where you start off with a loud voice.

“dismissal.”

“Speak.”

After a few minutes of letting the mood lighten, the butler who had been leading Servette as my proxy opened his mouth.

“First of all, we have no intention of dissuading Your Excellency from retiring. Of course, it would be very sad and regrettable if Your Excellency were to step down from the dukedom, but we, as well as our ancestors, remember Your Excellency as he carried the heavy burden for 100 years. So how could we force Your Excellency to make a longer sacrifice?”

“Oh. It’s a bit disappointing that you wouldn’t even try to stop me out of politeness.”

“If you will listen to our pleas and give up, we will bow down to you right now.”

“That’s difficult.”

I shook my head slightly at the butler’s joking words. Unfortunately, I had no intention of taking back my decision.

“Then we would like to hear a definite answer from Your Majesty on just one thing.”

The other children’s eyes also changed as they listened to the butler’s words.

As if he absolutely had to accept this promise. As if if he were really going to step down from his position as Duke, he had to guarantee this much as the previous Duke.

“Your Majesty the Duke will only serve as his agent for about 20 to 30 years, and the official title will be passed on to Princess Maria. Is that certain?”

A promise that the Duke of Servet must be succeeded by a blood relative of the Katobans.

If this could not be guaranteed, it seemed that he was determined to stop it with his death.