episode_0135

The day after I left Theodora’s room and slept in the office for a night.

Today, as usual, I received a report from the intelligence department.

Dupol has finally fallen.

The moment William turned to Roman.

In a way, it is a confirmed result. Because it is not easy to overcome the overwhelming difference in military strength.

And then we look at Mueller’s report.

A plan to dispatch 1,000 magicians from the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Well, I was also thinking that deploying all troops would be difficult.

So I expected about 500 to 800 people. The unexpected income makes me feel a little better.

Not bad.

And the following letter from the Ambassador of the United Kingdom.

Currently, the United Kingdom fleet has arrived in the Grand Duchy and will bring troops and supplies to Roman.

It also included a warning that a treaty must be concluded before entering Roman port.

“I guess we’ll have to convene parliament soon.”

I expect that there will be many people who are opposed to it because my popularity is hitting rock bottom right now.

The neutral faction will probably oppose it, but even if only the imperial faction is persuaded right away, there will be no problem in getting the treaty approved by the National Assembly.

But regardless of that, considering the aftermath of the war, there was nothing good about being hostile to Congress, so we decided to take action.

First, we will invite influential people from each faction and persuade them.

If necessary, I am thinking of persuading them even by releasing a classified operation.

There is a big difference between trying to communicate and not making an effort at all.

Of course, secret operations cannot be made known to all lawmakers.

Because at that moment it will no longer be confidential.

When you think about reporting and handling things like that.

-smart!

Who came?

I ask out of curiosity because no one is visiting my office at this time.

“Who?”

[The Empress Dowager has arrived.]

Ah… mother-in-law.

After Theodora, I have a hard time thinking about what I heard from my mother-in-law.

“Ask them to come in.”

As soon as I finish speaking, the door opens and my mother-in-law comes in, shedding blood.

She’s quite different from her usually gentle mother-in-law… no, to the point where I believe she’s a completely different person.

I swallow my saliva without realizing it due to the sharp atmosphere.

-gulp.

When I see my mother-in-law sitting on the sofa after glaring at me, I get up and head to the sofa.

Is it because in my past life I grew up in Korea, the country of etiquette in the East?

When I see an adult, I unconsciously lose my power.

“Is your mother-in-law here?”

My mother-in-law looks at me clearly with her blue eyes.

“I heard a rumor from my servants today that you handed over Epirus and Egypt to Ioannes, and that you made a secret pact with the imperial faction to make Joey betrothed to Ioannes’ son.”

And there is silence for a moment.

“Is that true?”

I nod my head in response to my mother-in-law’s questioning.

“Yes. It’s true.”

-I flinch.

My mother-in-law’s eyebrows twitch momentarily.

“You! How could they do that to us?!”

“It was to prevent war.”

I calmly talk to my mother-in-law who gets angry, but…

“To prevent war? You gave them land that wasn’t yours! And you sold the young royal, Joey! Not just a member of the royal family, but a princess born in purple, one of the few in the current empire!”

Purple birth is when the emperor’s direct children are born.

This refers to children born in a maternity room in a purple room filled with purple dye.

Children born in rooms painted purple, which has long been the emperor’s color, are represented as being of noble birth with a high chance of ascending the throne as emperor.

In other words… it can be seen as referring to the royal family with high succession rights to the throne.

“This is not an ordinary thing! If you do it wrong, Ioanes could cause great harm to Theodora, you, and the empire! I don’t think you know.”

As my mother-in-law said, I am fully aware of Joy’s right to succeed to the throne.

If something happens to Theodora and she dies, the next throne will go to Joey.

Therefore, the imperial faction had no choice but to lead the army to the vicinity of Roman and conclude peace upon seeing the three sets of Epirus, Ejib, and Jhoi in an advantageous situation.

Even one of these three items is so valuable that it would be next to impossible for the Imperial faction to obtain it if the empire were in normal condition.

“I understand what your mother-in-law is saying. But at that time, Roman was surrounded, and if I had lost, I might have lost more than that.”

If I were to lose the war…

Empress Dowager, Theodora, and Joy.

What will happen to the safety of these three?

Epirus, can you avoid losing your home?

No, just like my mother-in-law in front of me was sold to another power, she will be married to another man.

Only then can he wield the empire as he pleases as regent. The adults of the imperial family must be like thorns.

By marrying her to someone else, he will eliminate the adult of the imperial family.

My mother-in-law, who is still very beautiful, is no different from a great friend.

And it is obvious that Joy will also have to marry someone from the imperial faction.

Is it because you understand the gist of what I am saying…

My mother-in-law frowning.

“What you said is not wrong. I know very well that the imperial faction only proclaims loyalty in front of them.”

She was the wife of the late emperor, who was famous for his wisdom.

You will know that the former emperor was good at governing the imperial faction that cooperated with him, but the reason they were loyal to the emperor was simply because he was strong and they liked the power he gave them.

“But… it doesn’t mean that you can handle such a big matter as you please.”

I quietly listen to my mother-in-law.

“If you act on your own without the permission of the emperor, who is the owner of the imperial family and the empire, you could be accused of being a traitor, and you will not know that you are also guilty of deceiving the emperor.”

He opens his eyes sharply for a moment and speaks.

“Do you know that your mistake for not telling us about what you did after that was obviously a big one?”

I respond to those words with an expression that says I have no shame.

“That is shameless.”

“We… truly accepted you as family. Although it is true that our relationship was not good from the beginning, we got married and you are not a villain, so we truly consider you family.”

Until now, I know better than anyone else that my mother-in-law and Joy have cared for me as family.

“But why didn’t you tell me about this big thing? If you had probably told us, at least I could have been on your side.”

“That’s…”

When I think about it myself. What I did was treason and nothing more than overstepping my authority.

It would be difficult for me to tell this to my mother-in-law and Theodora.

In particular, Theodora is in the most trouble.

If the emperor directly interferes with my work, there are more than one variable.

A letter borrowing the name of Theodora, who had no real power, moved William.

As someone who knows the original work, I can see that if she starts interfering with everything, everything can go wrong, so maintaining a good relationship with her until she completely takes control of the empire is helpful.

But there is no reason to mention this fact to her and make things worse between us.

Did you know how I felt?

My mother-in-law frowns and speaks in a sad voice.

“Why do you not trust us so much?”

“I…”

I can’t say it because it’s because of Theodora’s personality.

“You always said you loved that child, but you always avoided that child. What on earth is the reason?”

I speak hesitantly as my mother-in-law asks questions as if to comfort me.

“I am scared.”

“What? What is scary?”

Seeing my mother-in-law’s gentle appearance as usual, I unconsciously reveal my inner feelings that I had kept hidden until now.

“Will she interfere with what I am doing? Her influence… the power that comes from the name Emperor is so strong that it is hard to imagine. You might find it hard to believe that I handed over Egypt and Epirus to Ioannes, but my intention was to prevent a war between me and the emperor faction, which was weakened, and to weaken the imperial faction by creating internal strife among the imperial faction. And now that idea is valid.”

My mother-in-law says, nodding her head with a gentle expression.

“Okay…”

“But in this situation, I was very afraid that if Theodora did something unexpected and my plan would fall apart.”

Soon…

“Ioannes will be executed for treason and the remaining imperial faction will lose all power. And Epirus, Egypt, and Nicaea will remain as the emperor’s fiefdoms.”

That is why I handed Epirus and Ezib over to Ioannes.

Because I expect to win for sure.

Even though I was caught up in Ioanes’ trickery, I will be the ultimate winner in the end.

However… if Theodora makes an unexpected move before reaching this point, it is difficult to guarantee a clear victory.

That’s why Theodora didn’t tell her everything.

As someone who knows the original work, if she really wants my death…

Because they might take advantage of my plan.

But my mother-in-law looks puzzled.

“Why do you think that way? Terra, don’t you know how much that child loves you?”

You love me? That crazy girl?

I think I can hear Theodora’s crazy laughter last night.

To be honest, her appearance yesterday reminded me of the original Theodora and was scary.

I think it’s difficult to say something like this to my mother-in-law.

“I don’t believe in the word love.”

Love in a cold political world?

This is not the Republic of Korea where I lived.

Meeting people you love, dating, and getting married… That’s a story that only ordinary people can relate to.

Here, people of high status always have arranged marriages.

It is only a marriage that takes into account the territory and political power to be passed on to future children.

In fact, it is a place where married couples poisoning each other is more common than you might think.

“Ah… you heartless person, do you really not know how much Theodora trusts and relies on you?”

As someone who remembers seeing her crazy appearance in a dream…

It’s hard to believe what my mother-in-law says.

“I… am afraid of her.”

My mother-in-law responds to my words.

“You are such a beautiful daughter, why are you always afraid of Terra? What is the reason?”

Theodora is obsessed with anger and revenge.

She is a woman full of madness.

How could I not be afraid of her who would do anything for her goal?

But… to explain what I mean, it would be impossible without bringing up the story of the original…

I couldn’t answer my mother-in-law’s words until the end.