episode_0074

The time when the morning sunlight shines.

Rosebetta woke up and immediately called her servants to fix her clothes.

She was the type of person who usually changed into minimally extravagant clothes without anyone else’s help, but…

At this very moment, Rosebetta, with the help of her servants, was wearing glittering ornaments over her ornately embroidered clothes.

And… that meant only one thing.

‘It’s not comfortable after all. I don’t want to wear it on a daily basis… It feels really cumbersome.’

I’ve heard that when people acquire wealth and power, they naturally desire better things.

However, this story did not seem to apply to Rose Vetta, who came from an ordinary, common family and worked her way up from the bottom.

‘It’s really out of place to show off your extravagance in everyday life. The only times when this is necessary are when it’s really important. For example, today, when you need to embrace others and lead the atmosphere.’

Immediately after refining her clothes, Rosebetta slowly looked at herself in the mirror.

Unlike her usual affectionate motherly appearance, she seemed to have the dignity of a duchess of a country and a high-ranking official of the empire.

Duchess Rosetta, dressed in a way that made others bow their heads, walked out of the room with a dignified stride, accompanied by her maids.

And then, right after that, in Rosetta’s eyes, she saw her own daughter, the very person who had made her dress like this today…

Her daughter, Princess Ellios Noshelath Dragona, began to appear.

“Mother.”

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, of course. Most of the guests are already gathered in Daejeon waiting for my mother.”

“Okay, then let’s go.”

“Yes, mother.”

Duchess Rosetta heads to Daejeon with her daughter.

Her steps had a majesty and strength that was not usually felt.

*

Meeting room where the inquiry is held

The place was filled with lords from all over the country.

Among them, there were many not only ordinary humans, but also non-human races such as demons, werewolves, and sirens. However, their current interests were all the same regardless of race.

A story I heard before coming here

The question was who would be the successor to the Duchy of Dragona, that is, who would be the next Duke.

Of course, there was nothing unusual about the current monarch, Radu Constantino Dragona.

Duke Ragu was young and had no health problems. And considering who he was, such concerns were far less significant than those of ordinary humans.

However, regardless of this fact, the issue of deciding on a successor to the nation was likely to cause great confusion later on if it was not resolved in advance.

As such, the general public opinion was that a definite decision should be made at this meeting where the story was told and an inquiry was called, and in fact, those gathered in Daejeon were raising their voices about this for quite some time.

“The successor to the Duchy of Dragona… Isn’t that obvious?”

“Of course, there is no one else I can think of besides Princess Elios. She is the eldest daughter of the Duke’s family, and she is also a very intelligent person who is almost perfectly performing her job as the Academy’s student council president.”

“But I heard that the relationship between the princess and the duke is not so good..”

“Even so, isn’t he still your child? And he has no shortcomings in terms of qualifications, so I don’t think you would choose another one.”

Elios and Rosebeta watched the lords conversing like that, outwardly remaining silent, but inwardly feeling relieved once again.

Of course, there were quite a few people among these people who unconditionally followed the Duke’s will, and if the Duke spoke about the investiture of Katlena, they would certainly support him no matter what.

However, even those people are keeping silent for the time being as they know that it is not easy in the current atmosphere.

For them, who accounted for about 40% of all lords, it was difficult to go against the public opinion that had already been formed, and that was also the reason why the Duke tried to push through Katlena’s investiture without public discussion.

Among them, 40% were from Rosetta and 20% were neutral.

Of these, 20% also had no reason to support something that went against the principles, and in fact, they were already actively indirectly expressing their support for Elios together with the people on the Rosetta side.

It was at that time that Roseveta and Helios had a premonition of victory, but at the same time, they were not letting their guard down.

“The Duke is entering.”

The conversation inside the great hall fell silent as the chamberlain spoke, and then the ruler of this duchy, Duke Radu Constantin Dragona, entered the hall with his prime minister, Margrave Celeb Lass.

Duke Dragona, although a vassal state of the Empire, is in fact a monarch who rules over a country.

After he sat down on the throne, he looked at the people around him, especially at the face of his wife who was staring at him with a sharp face just below the podium, and then he opened his mouth in a majestic voice.

“I would like to express my gratitude to you for gathering here despite your busy schedule. The reason I asked to see you was to discuss the appointment of a successor to this principality, as has been the case recently.”

“Um..”

“Indeed..”

The lords begin to nod as the expected story begins to flow.

But at that moment, Rosetta, who was actually the one who had initiated this meeting, felt a little embarrassed.

‘What?.. Why is he bringing up this story so easily?..’

As originally expected, I thought the Duke would ask the host of the meeting, Rosetta, the reason for calling the meeting, and then Rosetta would make it public.

From the Duke’s perspective, it was a natural development to feel burdened by bringing up the topic of succession in this situation where it was obvious that he would lose.

Immediately after that, Rosebetta’s plan was to naturally lead public opinion by pushing Elios as the successor and then pressure the Duke to settle the situation.

However, rather than taking the initiative and talking to Rosetta, the Duke took the lead in the meeting and brought up the topic of succession first.

‘Could it be that he sensed defeat and struck first? If so, that would be fortunate, but… there’s no way he would admit defeat so easily.’

Feeling such an inexplicable sense of anxiety, Rosebetta opened her mouth.

“I think the Duke’s intentions are truly right. It’s been almost 20 years since this country was founded. I think it’s necessary to appoint a successor and set things right.”

“That is absolutely correct.”

“I agree with you too. The longer this goes on, the more chaos the country will experience.”

The Duke and the Lords begin to respond to Rosebetta’s words.

Looking at them, the duke slightly raised his hand and calmed the atmosphere once again.

“That is indeed so. Of course, I am still in good health, but since we do not know how the situation will unfold in this chaotic political situation, it is necessary to decide who will succeed the next Duke. Therefore, I would like to share my thoughts after careful consideration.”

“… .”

As the Duke continued speaking, Rosebetta stared at her husband with her hazel eyes gleaming.

A terrifying gaze that seems to go beyond threats and even threaten life.

There was a determination in it to immediately step forward and turn the situation around if Katlena’s story was ever brought up here.

‘It’s not just for Elios… If you mention the child who clearly expressed his rejection here as your successor, it would be trampling on the heart of Katlena, whom you loved so much… As a mother, I absolutely cannot tolerate such behavior.’

As she prepared to pull the knife out of her mouth, Rosebetta waited for her husband’s next words.

And finally…

After that brief moment that felt like years had passed.

The peacock’s mouth began to open again.

“The successor who will lead the duchy after me is…”

A peacock that takes a very brief pause.

At that moment, his gaze turned to his wife, who was glaring at him as if she was going to kill him.

Even in this situation, her appearance feels so lovable.

Looking at her like that, the Duke spoke with a deep smile on his lips.

“My beloved wife. You will be the Duchess Mina Rosebetta Dragona.”:

“… What?”