There was only one thing she wanted. The reason why she made this five-year plan to begin with.
“To quit.”
Cahir raised an eyebrow sharply, releasing Rosaline’s jaw and quietly stepping back. He bit his lip, looking annoyed. “No.”
Never, ever, ever.
His flat refusal was like a declaration of war.
***
Rosaline went out for a while to handle the purchase of the temple site. Before the next meeting, the site had to be thoroughly inspected in advance. She brought with her several other administrators.
So lunchtime was… quiet. The only sounds were that of Derek and Cahir’s forks and knives clinking against the gilt white porcelain of their plates. They ate neatly and wordlessly with perfect manners. For them, food was simply to supplement them with energy. One must eat quickly and efficiently to maximize time for work.
The servant who brought the food made a loud appearance, wondering if anyone was there.
“Your Majesty, the investigation of the Speedo Family is complete.” Derek broke the silence, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief.
Cahir nodded indifferently and ate more slices of meat.
“It’s nothing out of the ordinary. They own a small estate near the capital, their wealth is abundant because the farmlands are fertile. There’s nothing you’d care about.”
The emperor poked the meat. “Derek, I’m sure I told you to investigate every little thing. So there’s really nothing?”
“What exactly do you want to know?”
“Any speck of dirt on them.”
“Then there’s something. There’s no one who is completely immaculate. But… really? Even just a speck?”
“Tell me.”
“Do you remember the winter three years ago? Fur became in high demand because of the freezing cold. The earl was one of the people who raised the prices of fur at that time, joining the hoarding and deliberately selling it late to make a lot of profit. However, this was all legal, even if the commoners did suffer.”
Cahir laughed. The first laugh Derek had ever seen since they started eating. He put the meat on the fork into his mouth, chewing well and washing it down with cold water. “They don’t deserve to have Rosaline marry into their family. All legal? Remember how the nobles demanded tax exemptions because of the severe winter? The tax collections had already been reduced, and yet which sector did they ask to reduce spending? If you don’t remember this, Derek, you’re dead.”
Derek cleared his throat. There was no way he wouldn’t remember. “They wanted to reduce spending on the relief for the poor.”
“It hurt the people of the Aetheus Empire, didn’t it? It’s a sin worthy of death. However, as it’s been some time, they’ll get off with a light punishment. Send Sir Speedo to the troops at the border for mandatory service. Five years should be enough.”
It was too much! There were always skirmishes at the borders. Even if it wasn’t a conflict between countries, the security was not good due to the environment. Those who voluntarily became knights avoided working there.
Now he wanted to send this bookish young noble to the border? It was practically a death sentence, either by sword or by depression.
However, that was already a light punishment by Cahir’s standards. He hated the idea of the aristocrats turning their backs on the common people to take care of their own interests. Rosaline had drilled that into his head.
Due to the size and sentiment of the empire, such cases were not common, and corruption ran rampant and was simply ignored. This intervention was unusual, but not at all surprising for the emperor to accomplish.
“It’s a good decision. I’ll handle it today,” Derek said reluctantly. He couldn’t wait to finish this conversation. Hui would get mad if he was late again.
Cahir grinned.
He had a very satisfying meal today.
***
“Secretary!” Hui rushed up to Rosaline, who was crossing the hall with a bunch of papers in hand.
She stopped. “What is it, Hui? Is there something urgent?”
“I was told to say it was urgent.” Hui presented a telegram bearing the Verite’s tulip seal. Next to the seal was the seal of a pigeon from the telegram service.
Rosaline exchanged the papers in her hand for the letter, then ripped it open. Her face hardened after reading the contents.
The marriage proposal was cancelled. Additionally, the man who was supposed to be her husband had voluntarily joined the border troops.
“Why all of a sudden?”
It was strange. It didn’t make sense for things to happen this suddenly.
“No way.”
Cahir came to mind, putting down his crown and smiling softly.
Why was she suddenly thinking of him at this moment?
“Sir Derek!” Rosaline hid behind a pillar.
Derek looked around and soon found her. “What are you doing here?” He approached.
She put a finger to her lips and gestured to him to follow her. He respectfully did as he was told, and Rosaline went ahead and slipped into an empty room with him in tow.
“Sir Derek, what happened to the heir of the Speedo Family?”
Derek’s eyes had bags. He and Count Speedo had talked until well into the night. They had demanded to know the reason for the punishment, and he had to show the calculations of their profit from monopolizing the fur three years ago, including how much taxes they didn’t pay due to the exemptions.
The count’s face had paled with each calculation.
“Sir Derek?” Rosaline’s clear voice snapped him out of his reverie.
“How did you know of it?”
“Is this something you did?” Rosaline answered the question with one of her own.
“Yes, it’s something I’ve done.”
“Is it related to me?”
Derek paused for a moment. “No, it’s not.”
It was a denial. Rosaline looked at him.
“His Majesty was very interested in the nobles who monopolize products. While investigating how it affects society, I discovered the profits of the Speedo Family from the harsh winter three years ago. That was just their punishment.”
All his words were still true. In fact, it was decided that the administrators would look into other cases of monopolizing, though that was partly to justify sending the Speedo heir to the border.
“Why did His Majesty never mention this to me?”
Rosaline, as expected, was aware that matters like this would usually be handled with her involvement. It was clear that there was a separate reason why Cahir became interested in monopolies.
“Tell me, Sir Derek.”
He shook his head. It bothered him that he would need to fool innocent Rosaline, but he refused to die at Cahir’s sword. He still had to marry Hui and have children and live a long life with his family.
“As you know, the emperor loves Aetheus more than anyone else. This is all for the empire. That’s it. I’m busy, bye.” Derek bowed lightly and left the room first, her suspicious look stabbing the back of his head.
“Hah, what the hell is this?” Rosaline plopped onto a chair, chewing her lower lip.
Indeed, if Cahir was investigating monopoly issues, it was possible that the Speedo Family was accidentally caught. But the timing was too perfect.
As her doubts grew, she remembered Derek’s tired face. Somehow, she felt guilty about doubting his hard work even though he firmly said it was unrelated to her.
“Yeah, it’s a coincidence.” She rose from her seat with a bitter smile. She had been gone from Cahir’s side for too long.
***
She went to the office and saw that Cahir really was discussing a merchant monopoly. The administrators, Derek, and the judge all had serious faces.
Everyone looked at her as she opened the door, warmly welcoming her appearance. Of course, the emperor looked petulant.
“What took you so long?”
“I was replying to a telegram from my family.”
“Telegram? It hasn’t been long since you went home. It must have been something important.”
Derek had reported yesterday about the Speedo Family.
The marriage talks must have been destroyed. Now she couldn’t say she was quitting.
He felt much better, but he reined in his smile and pretended not to know.
“It wasn’t very important.” Rosaline shrugged.
“Then come and sit down. We’re talking about something important.”
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Sadly, only the seat next to Cahir was unoccupied.
The meeting, which had been paused briefly due to her appearance, resumed after she took her seat.