If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 271

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

At the very least, Cain wasn’t the sort of man who would cast aside his own family. If she considered the way he had spent his life searching for his family and the things he’d done for Esther, that much was obvious.

As for herself, her relationship with him had always been bound by a contract, and there had never been much trust between them; it was hard to truly call themselves a family.

But the child was different. The baby was, without a doubt, Cain’s own flesh and blood.

“Miss.”

Agatha turned her head at the sound of Charlotte’s voice. She stood in the doorway, holding a silver tray typically used for delivering correspondence. When Agatha looked at her questioningly, Charlotte quickly explained.

“These are letters congratulating you on the birth of the young lord. It looks like every lady in Leden society has sent one.”

“Have them answered with appropriate replies. There’s no need for me to read each and every one.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to see them for yourself?”

“I don’t need to bother with such things.”

Before she left for the capital and before inheriting the ducal title, Agatha remembered all too well what the society ladies used to say about her.

They called her and her husband a hollow couple, said she was far too weak and inept to deserve a Duchy. And now, after all that gossip, they had the nerve to send congratulatory letters. It was amusing.

That was just the way of society—smiling at each other in public, while brandishing knives behind closed doors.

“Yes, I understand, Miss. But… I think you really should read this one yourself.”

Charlotte deftly separated the ordinary letters, handing them off to Liana, then picked up a lavish envelope edged in gold—clearly different from the others.

“It’s from the palace. There’s no sender listed, but…”

The palace? Agatha gently laid the baby on the bed and accepted the envelope Charlotte brought over.

A golden seal was pressed into the envelope, leaving no doubt it was from the Imperial family. Calmly, Agatha used the opener Charlotte handed her to slit it open.

“…What does it say?”

It was the first time Agatha had ever received a letter bearing the Imperial seal. Charlotte watched anxiously, looking worried and curious, as Agatha read.

“It’s an invitation to the Imperial Prince’s birthday celebration at the palace.”

“The Imperial Prince’s birthday? From whom…?”

The letter opener clattered as Agatha set it down on the table.

“The Empress herself has invited me.”

It had been months since Emperor Vlahova had made any public appearance. Rumor had it that his health was failing and he could no longer move freely. People had even started to accept this as fact.

There were even whispers he might already have passed away, or that he was so gravely ill he could not leave his bed. The result was a single question echoing through the halls of the palace:

‘So who will inherit the throne?’

Technically, there should have been no question; Vlahova’s only son was the Crown Prince, and succession was clear. But Mernich’s position was still shaky, simply because others were eager to seize power during the Emperor’s absence.

Now, amid all this tension, the palace was hosting a lavish birthday celebration for the Imperial Prince.

It was the Empress herself who took full responsibility for selecting the guest list for the Imperial Prince’s birthday celebration, standing in for Vlahova. Many had expected that, in the Emperor’s absence, the party would be scaled down or canceled altogether to avoid drawing attention to his condition.

But those expectations were completely overturned—the Empress was preparing the most lavish event yet.

Even considering that the guest of honor would be Mernich’s second son, there was little precedent for such an extravagant celebration. Across the entire continent where Nikephos was located, it was rare for a younger son to be honored above the eldest.

Still, knowing how deeply the Empress cherished her only son, it was unlikely that she would ever deliberately favor one grandchild over another.

That left only one real reason for the grandeur: to reinforce the strength and stability of the imperial family.

The Empress appeared determined to gather as many people as possible and use the event to restore the waning prestige of the imperial family after months of rumors and uncertainty.

“Are you sure it’s all right for you to attend?”

Liana kept glancing at Agatha anxiously.

Since the Empress’s invitation had arrived, time had passed quickly, and Agatha had naturally begun preparing for the party. Although she could easily have refused by citing her recent childbirth and the need for rest, she chose not to.

After the untimely death of the previous Duke Kristin, relations between the imperial family and the Kristin house had become somewhat ambiguous—neither openly friendly nor outright hostile.

On top of that, Agatha had inherited the ducal title and its fortune, which had almost ended up in imperial hands. The imperial family had little reason to welcome her warmly; after all, they had missed out on a substantial addition to the imperial treasury at the last possible moment.