Navier had said she would go to Wirwol immediately, and Sovieshu had been unable to catch her when she left. He was frustrated that she had rejected his offer to accompany her, but there were a few other things he had to take care of while she was away.
âWhere is Viscount Roteschu?â
âHeâs receiving treatment in the southern palace.â
âIs he incapacitated?â
âNo.â
âVery well. Bring him to me.â
Sovieshu summoned Viscount Roteschu and questioned him about his relationship with Rashta. The viscount was smart enough to know that it was the Emperorâs men that saved him. He assumed that the Emperor already knew what he said to Koshar, and he cried out and repeated what he had confessed.
However, Sovieshuâs response was cold.
âSo you were blackmailing Rashta in return for hiding her baby.â
âNo, Your Majesty!â
âThen why would Rashta keep looking after you? She loathed you to the point of running away.â
Viscount Roteschu looked at Sovieshu, and realized that the Emperor had just as much interest in hiding Rashtaâs past. The viscount was unsure if the Emperor was doing it out of love or because Rashta was pregnant with his baby, but his attitude was clear. Viscount Roteschu quickly flipped through his thoughts and told a lie.
âMiss Rashta keeps in touch with me because Iâm raising her baby.â
He bowed his head and huddled his shoulders to look as humble as possible.
âI wanted to be helpful to her, of course. But blackmail? It was nothing of the sort. Our relationship is likeâŠwell, itâs more like a deal.â
Sovieshu narrowed his eyes. Viscount Roteschuâs words seemed to align with the facts. Rashta didnât always try to hide the viscountâs visits, and she had even kept a lock of her babyâs hair. With each new discovery, the viscountâs words sounded more and more plausible.
Viscount Roteschu gave a sigh of relief when he thought Sovieshu was no longer suspicious of him, but the Emperorâs inquiry was not over.
âWhere is Rashtaâs slave trade certificate?â
âWhat?â
âYou told Koshar about it.â
He heard about that?! The viscount flinched in surprise, while the Sovieshu looked down at him coolly.
Worried that the Emperor would say âWhy did you keep it without destroying it?â and find fault in him, Viscount Roteschu quickly prostrated himself on the ground.
âI left the certificate to the Bear Corporation, and itâs likely Lord Koshar went there to take it.â
***
After the meeting with Viscount Roteschu, Sovieshu visited Koshar personally at the Troby mansion.
Koshar was surprisingly quiet as he remained locked in his room on the second floor. Although he was not allowed to leave, he was served meals and the room was furnished with a bathroom. Sovieshu did not intend to converse with the man for long, and immediately went to the point.
âYou will be banished.â
Although he had known Koshar and Navier since childhood, Sovieshu never had a good relationship with the elder Troby brother.
Koshar did not look surprised at Sovieshuâs proclamation, as if he had been expecting it. In fact, Koshar replied in cold sarcasm.
âDo you know what your little plaything is like?â
âI heard everything. Well done.â
Sovieshu did not rise to Kosharâs provocation, which only further stoked Kosharâs anger.
âWell done?â
âIf it hadnât been for you stepping forward I wouldnât have known what happened in the past.â
Sovieshu spoke casually, and he looked around the room.
âWhere is Rashtaâs slave certificate?â
âWell, I had a hunch about the fellow with one ear and a big mouth, but what a light tongue he has.â
âPreferable to you who has light fists and mind.â
Sovieshu smiled. Koshar stared back with cold eyes and returned the grin.
âOf course.â
Sovieshu frowned at Kosharâs sudden change in attitude, and the reason for it soon became clear.
âThe certificate came from the Bear Corporation. But one of your knights confiscated it.â
Sovieshu looked at him with skepticism, but Koshar continued on breezily.
âOf course, I thought it was under your orders. But judging from your reaction, thatâs not true, is it?â
He laughed and spread his arms wide.
âFeel free to search this place. I really donât have it.â
ââŠâ
Sovieshu gave Koshar a steely glare and ordered Marquis Karl to find the certificate. However, after running through the premises with a fine-toothed comb, it was nowhere to be found. Men were also sent to the Bear Corporation, and they confirmed that Koshar had indeed taken the certificate.
The men scoured the mansion again, while Sovieshu sat down on a parlor room couch with his arms folded. However, no matter how thoroughly the men searched, no certificate was found. Sovieshuâs anger started to grow. With the certificate gone, Rashta could potentially be under suspicion as a slave in the future.
âWas it the Empressâ doing?â
Sovieshu remembered that Navier knew that Koshar had been detained in his home only a few hours after it happened. Many of the knights were loyal to Navier. Because she disliked Rashta, she would never hand him the certificate even if it was in her possession.
Sovieshuâs brow furrowed in suspicion.
âIâll have the men search the Empressâ room while sheâs absent.â
Sovieshu left the mansion empty-handed, but before he did so, he spoke to the Troby couple.
âDuke Troby, Duchess Troby. Do you know that your son has done everything he could to kill my baby?â
âI heard yesterday.â
âI will not officially place blame on your family for the Empressâ sake. But Koshar is hereby banished from this country.â
Although Duke Troby had been informed by the Emperorâs guard of the incident, he stumbled when he heard the severe punishment. The duchess grabbed the dukeâs arm to support him, and she glanced at Sovieshu.
Sovieshuâs heart skipped a beat when he saw the resemblance of her eyes to Navierâs, but he continued on firmly.
âKeep in mind that while exiled, Koshar has no legal authority in the Eastern Empire, and will be imprisoned as soon as he crosses its borders.â
_____________
TN: Hello dear readers! I have a message for you from the owner of the site.
Hello dear @Remarried Empress readers! So, as you may know (or not but now you know), a company is doing a KR to EN localized translation of a KR game, namely VISUAL NOVELS⊠among them includes +20 NAVER novels licensed from NAVER SERIES⊠Remarried Empress is one of them. And I think Return of the Female Knight⊠though Iâm not sure.
Weâll be doing a collaboration with the company to get the KR version of the app game translated to EN, of course.
The company would like an insight and knowledge if you guys would be willing to support this venture once released? What are your thoughts on playing the game(s)? Each series will have about 15 episode on average and each episode up to 3k words. Just comment your thoughts below and your willingness to support it and Iâll compile screenshots to send to them.
Iâd greatly appreciate it. We might even get to expand our collaboration efforts into different markets if this is proven successful (physical book publication for one⊠I know Iâm dying to hold a physical copy of Remarried Empress).