I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess - Chapter 196



196 – Crossing Eyes

In the morning, the two men set out to meet the emperor under the pretext of saying hello.

Shocking.

And as soon as I reached the imperial palace, I was able to meet Albrich, as expected.

‘You came back to check.’

Edgar also assumed that Albrich knew that he was alive.

That’s because the assassin who attacked him yesterday, to be precise, Dana, who was being manipulated, resembled Ariel in both her tone of voice and behavior.

This probably means that the caster carefully controlled her actions behind the scenes, which means that the caster also noticed when Dana lost consciousness.

In that case, they must have also naturally realized that the sneak attack had become useless.

If there is any action he will take in the future, it will be to check with his own eyes whether Edgar is truly alive like now.

In any case, even if only one person were to hang around the entrance to the imperial palace, it would be easy to notice that he had appeared.

They must have tried to meet him by following him and pretending it was a coincidence.

‘It’s rather good. ‘I don’t have to worry about unnecessary doubts.’

There is a possibility that Albrich was not really the one who targeted his head his yesterday, as there are things that happen in this world.

However, Edgar thought that his appearance here meant that he had provided evidence on his own.

In a way, it may be an expression of confidence that he will no longer hide it.

“Good morning, you two. “I don’t know if you were at peace last night.”

‘The acting is amazing.’

As the two people got closer, Albrich bowed his head first and said hello.

On the outside, he looked so calm that it was hard to believe that it was the expression of a man who had committed such a thing yesterday, but Edgar was able to catch the cold face that passed by for a moment.

“Yes, good morning. Dismissal. By the way, you didn’t return to the castle yesterday.”

“Because His Majesty was not in good condition, I had no choice but to be late to stay by his side for a while.”

Albrich may have brought it up as an excuse, but Edgar’s eyes sparkled sharply at those words.

Even if you are a man who has 10,000 female snakes in his mouth, it is difficult for him to tell lies, even the stories he unconsciously brought up.

‘That’s what I said.’

Edgar, who had guessed something, shook his head with confidence in his words.

“Indeed, we are sorry that we could not help you.”

“No. From what I heard, you had a conversation with Her Majesty the Empress.”

Edgar narrowed his eyes, wondering where he had picked it up again.

If someone else had said it, I would have passed it off, but seeing it come from Albrich’s mouth and not from anyone else, I felt uncomfortable with every word of it.

“That’s right. I didn’t know what to do as the tea was served to me by hand. Right, Ariel?”

Although she tried to hide it herself, it was Ariel who was openly looking at Albrich with hostile eyes.

That’s why Edgar called out to her, nudging her side with advice to ease her gaze.

“Uh? Ah… Yes. “It was like that.”

“I see. I heard that Her Majesty the Empress has such a hobby…”

When Ariel responded in an uncharacteristic way, Albrich’s eyes sank.

‘Did these two have any contact with the empress?’

I have not heard any such report.

In the first place, the Empress was a woman who preferred to stay in the imperial palace more than her husband, and naturally, unless there were others who requested an audience, she was bound to have fewer meetings.

And the Grand Duke in front of him is famous for not showing his face in the imperial palace, just like his father his.

Even though it wasn’t an invitation, there would have been no opportunity to build a deep friendship, but she personally served tea to the invitation.

There was bound to be some awkwardness.

‘No, there is no need to dig too deeply.’

Albrich, who continued his thoughts, quickly shook his head and lightly shook out the words he had heard a moment ago.

Anyway, being close to an empress like that won’t interfere with his plans.

Even the emperor is nothing more than a scarecrow, so what power can there be in a lowly woman who hovers by his side and cannot be approached without permission?

“Anyway, I’m glad you had a good time. Anyway, what happened yesterday…”

“I received a separate letter from His Majesty, so we’ll talk about that later. Marquis.”

She didn’t know that Albrich would come forward and bring up what happened yesterday, but Ariel decided to hold her own for now because she had heard something from the emperor.

Yesterday, when the two returned to their respective rooms after eating, there was already a letter and messenger sent by the emperor.

The content written there was simple.

He said that if there were any misunderstandings between Albrich, they would be resolved, and that he would look into the matter carefully himself, so he would put it off for later.

Since there was no immediate physical evidence yet, Ariel was convinced, but she did not like Albrich’s strangely smug attitude of hers.

How can someone be so shameless about a subject whose life is only survived thanks to the emperor’s mercy?

“Your Majesty… Okay. Then, I hope to see you again in the future.”

“Of course. I hope we can meet again. Marquis.”

“…”

Ariel did not even accept the hand that Albrich readily offered, but she passed by him with a blatant glare.

‘Young guy’s b*tch.’

Albrich, watching the scene, clenched his fists with sharp eyes.

At best, I wonder who the young girl who met her parents and got to her current position is looking down on.

I decided to turn around, hoping that one day I would bow before him.

*

So this time, the two people went to the emperor’s bedroom on their own feet instead of the throne room.

Of course, he did not come without permission, and sent someone to ask for permission in advance.

Because they happened to have good personnel who could hand over the favor without raising any suspicion.

“Are you here? You can go right in.”

A woman with light blue hair bowed her head and welcomed the two.

This was none other than Dana, who had left the room earlier than them, changed into her uniform and returned to work as usual.

This was where she was supposed to be, so there was no reason for others to doubt her.

Moreover, since I was close to the other employees guarding the area, it wasn’t that difficult to get permission to greet them on their behalf.

It could truly be said to be a good helper that the two got at just the right time.

“Yes.”

Edgar expressed his gratitude and went straight inside with Ariel.

Since Dana could not act as her guide, she politely greeted the two people behind them, and as they were entering the door, they expressed their gratitude with a glance.

Soon the door closed with a quiet and static sound, and the space revealed was quite spacious.

Even though it was a bedroom, it was not a room for the emperor as soon as the door was opened, and there was a separate space, like the throne room, prepared to welcome visitors to the emperor.

“Your Majesty, Your Highness the Archduke and Your Majesty’s Majesty have come to offer their morning greetings.”

“Okay, bring it this way.”

When the two arrived, guided by the woman, Bartheus was already sitting at the head of the table.

As soon as he met the two people, he handed them an apology with a bitter smile.

“Welcome. “I wasn’t feeling well yesterday and I ended up acting like a bad person.”

“Still, I am relieved to see that your complexion has improved.”

“My father was also very worried when he heard the news. “Your Majesty.”

“Hehe, did you tell that new Yulken what happened yesterday?”

Bartheus burst out laughing, saying he was overly worried.

When Ariel saw that his complexion had improved, she felt relieved that she would be able to tell her father her good news, but Edgar’s eyes only narrowed further.

“Anyway, you spent time with your wife yesterday, right? “Thank you very much.”

“We simply became a companion to Her Majesty the Empress, who was lonely and alone.”

Edgar answered quietly, but never withdrew his gaze from examining Bartheus’ complexion.

And sure enough, when Beatria’s name came out, it was clearly visible that his complexion darkened somewhat.

Not only him, but Ariel also felt it at first glance.

“No. “As her husband her her her, who does not get to see her often, I’m doing this because I’m grateful, so there’s no need to be humble.”

“I see. “I guess you don’t get to spend much time with Her Majesty the Empress because of all the construction work.”

“… Yes. Everyone has their own circumstances.”

Bartheus answered his words in the affirmative, but Edgar was able to roughly guess the true meaning behind them.

That is not an affirmation, but rather an unspoken pressure not to ask any more questions.

It meant that there was no reason to tell you the inside story, and it implied that there were other reasons why I couldn’t tell others.

“Now that I think about it, Archduke, I may have already told you in the letter I sent you yesterday, but I would like to ask you again.”

“… Yes, Your Majesty. Please tell me.”

When Ariel pursed her lips and looked up at Bartheus, his eyes narrowed as he sat at the head of the table.

“The matter between the two families will be fully investigated here. So, please let go of this matter for the time being and wait with peace of mind.”

“If you do that, I have nothing more to ask, Your Majesty.”

This is unexpectedly full support.

Ariel probably expected him to wait for a while or not mention it here because he didn’t want to make a fuss.

From the beginning, there has always been a power struggle between nobles.

It’s just that they didn’t do it because it was more of a secret arrangement being made behind the scenes, and if they pointed their swords at each other, they would be turning the imperial family into an enemy.

In other words, this means that Bartheus was able to take this incident lightly, thinking that it was just something that surfaced.

However, the fact that this did not happen was both unexpected and a very welcome phenomenon for Ariel.

“…”

Meanwhile, upon hearing those words, Edgar’s eyes sank like Albrich’s just moments before.

It was an expression that indicated something was being pointed out, but Ariel did not notice it because she was looking at Bartheus sitting at the head of the table.

“And Your Majesty, actually, last night, my significant other had cancer… “Wha!?”

From noble mtl dot come

“Hmm? Cancer… “What did you say?”

Just as Ariel was about to tell Bartheus what happened last night, Edgar suddenly stopped her by invisibly pinching her arm.

Bartheus asked with a puzzled expression, but Edgar, who took her place, shook her head and added.

“No, Your Majesty. “I guess I was at a loss for words for a moment.”

“Is it. “Sometimes that happens.”

When the emperor smiled and said that he understood, Edgar also made a fake smile and winked at Ariel.

It contained the meaning of hiding what happened last night.

Then he pressed the ring on his finger her her her her.

Knock.

As soon as that happened, someone knocked on the door from outside, but it was not Bartheus who responded, but the court lady who had guided the two people a moment ago.

“If anyone asks to see Your Majesty, tell them to leave for now.”

– So, I’m sorry, but you two told me to tell you when the carriage arrives…

“Oh, that’s what we asked for. “I’m sorry for the confusion.”

When a voice presumed to be Dana’s was heard from outside, Edgar reacted quickly.

I don’t know if the carriage actually arrived or not, but she had previously told her to send a signal through her ring and make a hole through which to insert her message.

Feeling gratitude toward Dana for faithfully carrying out this task, Edgar immediately spoke to the emperor with a polite bow.

“I apologize, Your Majesty, but it seems it is time for the gods to leave.”

“Are you leaving already? Well, in a way, it would be impossible to catch you guys who are busier than your luggage.”

Bartheus did not bother to stop them either and gave a glance to the court lady next to them so that the two could leave.

As soon as she did that, she came over and guided the two people.

“I will come see you again as soon as the family affairs are settled.”

“I’m fine, so if you get a chance, just go see her wife.”

“I will do so. Please be safe.”

When Ariel bowed and got up from her seat, he said he would not go far and sent the two of them on their way.

Feeling that the last glance he sent towards them was somehow strange, Edgar stared at Bartheus through the gap in the closing door.

Ariel from next to him glanced at him with a look demanding an explanation, but he just covered his lips with his index finger as if to wait for later.