Chapter 70
At the loud call of the herald, the four stood up simultaneously, facing the door through which the Emperor entered. They greeted him with the imperial court’s formal etiquette.
“Greetings to Your Majesty, the venerable sun of the Camorr Empire!”
The Emperor took his seat at the head of the room and spoke in a kind voice.
“That’s enough with the formalities. I apologize for being late—I was busy tending to state affairs.”
“Oh, no, Your Majesty.”
Not expecting an apology, Benjamin hurriedly responded, feeling both honored and flustered.
“So, what is it that you wanted to tell me?”
“Ah, well, that is…”
Stumbling over the Emperor’s direct question, Benjamin managed to speak smoothly with Sarah’s help.
“We apologize, but we have come to ask for our daughter to be returned to us, Your Majesty.”
“Yes, that’s correct, Your Majesty!”
Though he managed to respond, his nerves got the better of him, and he began speaking impulsively.
“Your Majesty! Our family is truly wronged! We did not abandon my blind eldest daughter and raised her well. Isn’t that true? How many families raise a child with such a defect until adulthood? Any other family would have sent her to a convent long ago. Yet, despite our kindness, that wicked woman has slandered us to the Duke, making us appear as the villains!”
Sarah broke into a cold sweat as Benjamin deviated from the carefully rehearsed plea. She had meticulously crafted their appeal, considering every word to ensure it wouldn’t offend the Emperor, especially since he might favor the Duke, his nephew.
The goal was to convey that their family was innocent, without directly blaming the Duke, while suggesting that the tattling Leila was the issue.
This strategy was meant to ensure the legitimacy of their appeal, but now Sarah feared they had botched it.
She couldn’t help but nervously watch the Emperor’s reaction, hoping to gauge his response. As their eyes met, Sarah quickly lowered her gaze, feeling a surge of panic.
More than being surprised, she was flustered because she couldn’t discern any emotion on the Emperor’s face from the brief glance she caught.
His expressionless face radiated an untouchable majesty. The oppressive aura was entirely different from that of the nobles she had encountered until now.
“Hmm, even young lords who are just beginning their successorship training would not deliver such a convoluted opinion. Did you come here to make an appeal?”
Although the Emperor’s words were not particularly angry, but rather calm, they sounded like a reprimand. Or perhaps he was dismissing them.
Benjamin, bewildered by the Emperor’s words, glanced sideways at Sarah. The Emperor, noticing his gaze, quickly realized that the real power in this family was the Countess, not the Count.
“That’s not what I meant…”
“I always keep my ears open to my subjects. As you are one of my subjects, Count, speak freely.”
“Ahem, it is about my eldest daughter. No matter if it is His Majesty, as her father, I should have a say in her marriage.”
“Dear—”
Sarah was startled by her husband’s words and wanted to stop him, but the Emperor’s chief attendant was quicker.
“How dare you utter such insolence in front of His Majesty!”
“T-That’s not what I meant, sire!”
Benjamin hurriedly added, but the chief attendant responded coldly.
“Count! After making such a statement, what do you mean that it’s not what you intended?”
“What I meant was…”
“Enough.”
Before Benjamin could respond to the chief attendant’s outburst, the Emperor calmly intervened, stopping the conversation. Both Benjamin and the chief attendant bowed their heads, watching the Emperor’s reaction.
“Ah, what a pitiful man.”
At the Emperor’s words, Benjamin involuntarily hunched his shoulders, feeling as if he was being reprimanded. It reminded him of the way his mother used to sigh in disappointment before scolding him.
But the Emperor was not chastising Benjamin—he was addressing the chief attendant.
“Even if he is foolish, he is still a guest I invited. No matter how frustrating it may be, raising your voice above mine makes it unclear who the Emperor is.”
“Your Majesty! Please forgive me, I was foolish!”
The chief attendant immediately prostrated himself and begged for forgiveness at the Emperor’s light reprimand. The Emperor, with a gentle gesture, lifted the chief attendant and then sighed before addressing Benjamin.
“I understand your plight. However, there is one thing I would like to ask.”
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