Chapter 1.10
Demian took off the black gloves he was wearing and waved them like a fan.
Even as the breeze touched the firm pectoral muscles revealed between the loosened buttons, his heart rate, which had soared from annoyance, refused to settle down.
Just as he was thinking he wanted to gulp down something cold, someone knocked on the door right on cue.
“Your Highness. It is Douglas. I have brought some cold tea.”
At the long-awaited news, Demian smirked and snapped his fingers. At that, the locking magic he had cast was released.
With a creak, the man who opened the door and entered was Douglas, Demian’s secretary and guard.
With a delicate touch that didn’t match his bear-like build, he set down a tea with floating ice in front of Demian. It was a perfect tea ceremony that even the head maid of the Imperial Palace wouldn’t dare to emulate.
In the midst of that, he didn’t forget to carefully observe his master’s mood.
“May I ask what words the High Priest used to get under your skin today?”
“Ah…… don’t even get me started. It would be better if he just insulted me openly like before.”
“Like when he used to say, ‘I wonder if the prayers of those born without any holy power at all on the day demons were rampant, like Lord Demian, will even reach the Goddess’?”
The moment Douglas mimicked the High Priest’s tone, Demian burst into a small laugh.
“Yeah. If he ignored me openly like that, I could at least get angry.”
“How could he do that now? Your Highness is now a full-fledged candidate for the Crown Prince, and you’ve even recruited outstanding people to your side.”
“…….”
“The Temple isn’t stupid either, so they must be acting more calmly than before because they are conscious of the power Your Highness has built.”
Saying so, Douglas pushed the teacup toward him.
Demian immediately picked up the cup, took a large gulp, and only then spoke with a face that looked like he could finally breathe.
“I told you that you can set aside things like the tea ceremony for a moment. You know I’m just going to chug it because it’s hot anyway.”
“I appreciate the consideration, but since the person I served always emphasized a consistent attitude, this is more comfortable for me as well.”
How many people would be pleased to hear someone swear loyalty to them while insisting on following the etiquette of their previous master?
However, Demian didn’t dislike this knight, who was well over forty, being stubborn in a similar way.
No, saying he didn’t dislike it wasn’t enough.
Demian felt a sense of affection every time Douglas mentioned his previous master.
Because the previous master he served was none other than Demian’s mother, who had died young.
Demian slowly set down the half-empty cup and spoke in a calm voice.
“Even so, this isn’t enough. Unless I am overwhelmingly superior, the throne will go to Frid.”
“…….”
“You know as well from experience, Count. How easy it is for those in power to wither a person in the Imperial Palace to death.”
Demian thought of his beautiful and gentle mother.
Thanks to her exceptional beauty and immense holy power, she was called from a distant province to the capital and eventually sat in the position of Empress.
However, everything changed when his father, the Emperor, who originally had no affection for his family, began to suffer from a sudden illness.
The Temple claimed it was because the Empress was impure, and that the Emperor’s health would only recover if a new Imperial Consort was brought in.
Since the family of the current Imperial Consort, the Ducal House of Roas, had been close friends with the Temple for generations, their goal must have been to make the eldest daughter of the Duke the Imperial Consort.
As a result, Iselda Roas, who became the Imperial Consort with the Temple’s fanatical support, slandered and attacked the Empress day in and day out.
In that way, the daughter of a provincial Baron, who knew no one in the capital, died without being able to make even a peep.
At his mother’s funeral, the only one who comforted Demian was Douglas, who had followed her from the distant Baron’s estate to the capital as her guardian knight.
“I cannot die like my mother, Douglas.”
“…….”
“To prevent that, I must become the Emperor.”
Demian knew better than anyone.
That for someone like him with no backing to become the Crown Prince, and then the Emperor, and survive, he had to be perfect without a single flaw.
“Then please get some rest, Your Highness. I will come to fetch you when the entrance ceremony celebration banquet is about to begin.”
“Alright.”
After Douglas offered his respects and left, Demian, left alone in the office, finished the rest of his mint tea and stood up.
Then, he headed toward the short corridor inside the office. It was a place he walked every time he wanted to steel his resolve.
‘The entrance ceremony celebration banquet.’
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