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Lady Bennet spoke in a shaky voice, but continued nonetheless, without pause.
“When I told my father of it, he threatened the Emperor with the information and was promised the title of count.”
“Hah…”
“Oh, God. Why’d he…”
Hearing her testify of her father’s scandal with such certainty, people burst into sighs.
Closing her eyes tightly and checking her emotions, Lady Bennet continued in the clearest voice she could muster.
“But the promise itself was a lie.”
“That means…”
“His Majesty, the Emperor sent his knights, and my family and everyone in the manor was massacred.”
People began looking back on the newspaper articles they read.
The supposed bandits were exceptionally cruel in their pursuit and had shaken up the entire empire with their actions.
It was hard to take in, for they couldn’t have imagined the bandits to have been the Emperor’s knights.
“Because the knights mistook my father’s concubine for me, I survived.”
“And the massacre was then blamed on the Duke of Rochester through rumors.”
The people’s faces hardened when the Duke said that.
From the salons of noble families to public squares to taverns, inns, and coffeehouses, rumors that it was the Duke’s doing spread in secrecy.
The Duke had said little, but there wasn’t a single soul who couldn’t understand the meaning implied in his words.
There were people who spread, nurtured, and fanned such rumors.
And the one person behind that was…
“This…is this not wrong?”
Starting with one nobleman questioning the circumstances, the other nobles joined in, pouring out statements.
“Even if he says he is the Emperor, how could he destroy an aristocratic family like that?!”
“In addition, he blamed the Duke of Rochester for the Bennet family’s eradication!”
The aristocrats had a reason for their outbursts.
The Duke represented the nobility and was the head of the aristocratic houses.
The Duke’s family also were meritorious retainers, having helped the Emperor succeed to the throne.
If the Duke could be treated this way, it meant that the Emperor could do wholly worse to other noble families.
Was it not evident in the wholesale murder of Baron Bennet and his household by the Emperor’s forces?
Having listened to the people’s outrage, the Duke’s eyes gleamed.
“The arrangement His Majesty, the Emperor, made long ago was to perform the duties of the emperor as regent until the current Crown Prince became of age.”
All eyes were on the Duke.
Don’t tell me…
The people’s eyes trembled in anticipation, assumptions racing through their minds at what he was hinting at.
Responding to their gazes, the Duke pushed the corners of his lips slightly.
“Now, His Highness, the Crown Prince, has matured, accomplishing feats that none can deny. Too many to count on hand.”
“Then…”
“I say that the time has come for the Emperor to abdicate the throne to His Highness, the Crown Prince.”
At that unexpected statement, people were wide-eyed.
But no one objected.
Did he not sort out the beasts in the north and solve the flood ordeal in southern Lebane?
Even when the fire broke out in the library at the time, it was the Crown Prince who extinguished the fire.
The Crown Prince held justification and legitimacy in both hands, as well as vast popularity with the people of the empire.
On the other hand, the Emperor lost the people’s trust due to various incidents.
Besides, Lady Bennet’s testimony was valid.
But then.
Knock, knock.
The knocking resounded, and the door to the conference room opened.
The person who entered was Damian.
“Hello everyone.”
“Huh, Your Highness, the Crown Prince?!”
“What are you doing here…”
“I’ve come here bringing a witness to support Lady Bennet’s testimony.”
Damian spoke in an audibly pleased voice.
The knight, in contrast, wasn’t looking very happy, taking in his surroundings with a pale face.
“Kneel, will you?”
“Gah, His Majesty, the Emperor won’t forgive His Highness, the Crown Prince for this!”
“Ugh, you’re rather chatty.”
Furrowing his brow, Damian swiftly kicked the knight in the groin.
“Arghh!”
With a brief outburst, the knight fell to his knees.
At the same time, the nobles recognized who that knight was.
“Isn’t that, Sir Roman?”
“You’re correct. He’s part of His Majesty’s guard…”
Damian reached out and pulled the knight up by his hair.
The people watched.
The knight’s exposed chin revealed a long scar grazed by a fingernail.
“Is that…”
“Doesn’t it perfectly align with Lady Bennet’s testimony?”
People muttered with blank faces.
Damian growled at the knight with a smile across his face.
“What shall I do with you? Will you pay allegiance to the Emperor and die honorably or…”
As Damian offered the knight a choice, he deliberately paused for maximum effect.
“Will you stick to your servility in a dark dungeon?”
After that, it was no trouble getting the terrified knight to testify.
After obtaining the testimony, Damian made a brief but resolute declaration.
“I think it’s clear what we’re supposed to do now.”
“I concur with His Highness, the Crown Prince.”
The Duke, who agreed with Damian’s words, took a step forward.
“I’m sorry, but I have something to say to the people here.”
Raising his head, the Duke looked into the eyes of the nobles one by one.
“I, a Rochester, played a major role in helping the current emperor, His Majesty, gain the throne.”
That was true.
Everyone nodded their heads.
Anyone else would have been ridiculed for denying such a pivotal role, but the person talking was the Duke of Rochester.
The Rochester family was indispensable to the current Emperor’s ascension.
“But, having come all this way, I understand.”
The Duke, who had briefly stopped, declared in a subdued voice.
“The Rochester family made the wrong choice.”
Breaking the deep silence, the Duke added.
“It can’t go on like this.”
“D-Duke of Rochester.”
“There is no need for an emperor who only puts his own selfish interests before the safety of the empire.”
The Duke’s voice grew emboldened.
“The current emperor is someone who takes human life more lightly than the life of a fly.”
The Duke clenched his fists.
“A person like that…I don’t think I can see him as the Emperor of Winsor any longer.”
At the determination oozing from his voice, Lady Bennet raised her head and stared at the Duke.
The Duke concluded his words collectedly.
“Therefore, I’d like to put the abdication of His Majesty, the Emperor, on the agenda of today’s Council of Nobles’ meeting.”
The people who had been watching the Duke soon turned their heads and exchanged looks.
They came to realize they were just making the same expressions on each other’s faces.
The people gathered here weren’t idiots.
They knew the Duke and the Crown Prince had both legitimate and justifiable reasons.
Furthermore, the Emperor couldn’t be allowed to run amok any longer.
“…I agree.”
“I agree too.”
One, two.
It didn’t take long to get an affirmative answer from all the nobles.
The corners of the Duke’s lips raised.
“Then I understand that everyone is in agreement.”
***
“What? An aristocratic meeting?”
The Emperor looked back at the chamberlain, his eyes wide open in such disbelief as if he would faint.
The chamberlain didn’t know what to do and bowed his head deeply.
“Yes. Also….they say Lady Bennet was alive.”
“What did you just say!!”
A roar boomed across the room.
The chamberlain was frightened to the bone and stiffened his shoulders.
But it was already too late.
“Right now the nobles are asking for an audience with His Majesty…”
“Audience? Audience?! Who are they to ask for an audience!!”
“Your Majesty!”
“Let them demand all they want; I, the Emperor, will never meet them!!”
Just as the Emperor roared once again.
Creakkk.
The doors opened.
Entering the room, were the nobles, led by Damian and the Duke.
“What is the meaning of this disrespect!”
The Emperor looked at the nobles standing in front of him with bloodshot eyes.
However, the Emperor noticed something off.
All the nobles present had a look about them…an adamant look with no room for debate.
As if to cement this fact, the Duke spoke in a tone that seemed friendly at first glance.
“I’m truly sorry for the rudeness, Your Majesty.”
“And yet you intrude on this sanctum despite knowing that?”
“It’s a very important matter, so I came to see you.”
Brilliant, dark green eyes that were like the Empress’s gazed at the Emperor.
“Everyone is in agreement, Your Majesty.”
“Ah, opinions!”
The Emperor tried to cut off the Duke mid-sentence.
But the Duke didn’t stop talking.
“For having set fire to the library meant for children, nearly causing massive casualties.”
The entourage alongside the Duke was as quiet as a dead mouse.
Among all of them, only the Duke’s voice rang out.
“The murder of Baron Bennet.”
“And the intention to pin all those wrongdoings on the Duke of Rochester, a servant of the public and member of Her Majesty’s family.”
A faint feeling could be conveyed through his dark green eyes.
The feeling was contempt.
“The actions of His Majesty, the Emperor, the father to the people and father of the empire…you have been deemed to be too cruel.”
The Duke, who continued to speak in a clear voice, pushed the corners of his lips upwards.
“Therefore, we urge the emperor to abdicate the throne and step down.”