Chapter 75
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Sponsored chapter by LC (5/5) ❤️
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Caius seemed bothered by Louise's cheerful reply, and he raised one dark eyebrow and lowered it.
"There was a fuss, but now that the ball is over, the imperial court will have no choice but to grant your request for an audience."
Louise nodded, still. How time flew.
She'd been married to him for half a year now, and the big day was almost here.
***
A few days later, the impersonator of Count Nasau was released from the imperial prison.
His fancy frock coat was tattered, his polished boots were scuffed like those of a soldier returning from war, but he bowed to the king, even though he was a wretched mute.
"Thank you, thank you, Your Majesty, I will not forget this favor even in death!"
He was released without charge, as he deserved, for he had done nothing to deserve to be summarily executed for blasphemy. Even before he was released, the chamberlain and the vassals opposed it.
It was only through the oceanic grace of the Imperial Emperor that the imposter was freed.
Eventually, he was returned to his former employer's residence. It was also thanks to his boss, who had lost his manager, that he waited patiently for him.
Being a wealthy merchant, he had a doctor and a masseuse to take care of his body.
But when he would lie awake at night and wake up in the morning to tend to his business, the imperial watchers were almost fooled into thinking he was a good merchant.
So the days passed.
On the fourth night, someone in a black robe sneaked out of the upper quarters at a gallop. It was the impersonator.
The man galloped through the crowded alleyways, not exactly the skill of a foreigner new to the empire, and the emperor would have lost him if he had only one or two men in pursuit.
But the eyes of the imperial army were on the man like a spider's web, and the impersonator was discovered under the walls of a noble family.
It was the wife of the Imperial Chamberlain, the Countess of Deir.
***
"Finally, permission has been granted for the reception. It's the first of June."
Louise looked at Caius in surprise.
The envelope he held out looked exactly like the one that had contained the invitation to the ball in May.
Unlike before, Caius pulled out the waxed envelope and showed her the letter scheduling the meeting.
A single line of blunt explanation had been added below the date.
Interview with the Countess regarding the transfer of the title of Count of Burg.
Louis was nervous enough to make her palms clammy, but Caius seemed unperturbed.
He noticed her face and asked.
"Are you afraid? I noticed at the ball that your liver is smaller than Elizabeth's."
It always hurt to hear her mother's name from the man's lips. While Louise pretended she hadn't heard it, Caius' voice continued.
"Don't worry, I'll leave you at the reception."
"What?"
Louise repeated in surprise.
Married nobles were expected to attend official functions as a couple.
It was a peaceful and honorable ceremony, a way for a Count's son to take over the title from his living father.
After all this emphasis on being a good wife, why would her husband leave her behind at such an important event?
However, Caius's answer was stern.
"It's going to be a dangerous day, and if I have to bail out, it's more trouble to take you with me."
He added, before Louise had a chance to reply.
"Of course, if things go wrong, it won't be safe to leave you here. You can either stay in Burg and become an Ermoli, leaving your name with me, or you can leave your name and run as far as you can. If that comes to that, I'll give you the choice again."
She was frankly frightened, but she was also amused by the man's demeanor, as if he secretly assumed she would flee.
But Caius seemed serious.
"I'll be moving eighty percent of my men to the outskirts of Celle, but I can't guarantee that the Burg will be safe. You don't know much, so you're less likely to be caught and humiliated................"
You don't know much, so you're less likely to get caught and humiliated? Is that why you don't even tell me what you're planning for the day of the meeting?
Isn't it because he's afraid I’ll get caught and reveal everything? Just like my parents?
Louise looked up at the man, stunned, and he continued, incredulous.
"I thought you’d feel safer if you stayed behind, but you've got a very unkind look in your eyes."
Louise retorted.
"But you said it’s better to bring the pearl myself."
"It has already been beneficial. It has attracted the nobles who once had ties to Ermoli, those who were hesitant."
So, there's no role left for me, so I should just run away if I fail? Seriously?
"Here, Heidenberg, with the blue half-moon rising, let this be the last gift you will give me."
So the last gift the man hoped for, the last thing he wanted, became something he never had if he failed. It's not hard to guess, but it's bittersweet to hear it from his own lips.
Louise wanted to ask him what she would do if he succeeded, but at the same time she was afraid to hear the answer.
The end seemed so close, and she felt completely unprepared.
***
Meanwhile, in the imperial palace at Parma Castle.
Prince Leopold's hand trembled as he clutched the small booklet.
It was a blasphemous book that denounced his deceased mother as an unfaithful woman and split the empire's sky in half.
It was in the imperial library that he had found it, a thin, coveted piece sticking out like a sore thumb in the crevices of another bookcase.
Of course, when he went to retrieve it, the emperor was furious.
"Why did you bring that piece of garbage all the way here, instead of burning it!"
The emperor fired the head librarian once and for all, but he didn't bother to find out where the book came from. He didn't even bother to open the book, as if he already knew it existed.
Leopold was confused by this.
"So, whose filthy blood did you receive?"
If he got so upset every time he failed to prove his lineage, why didn’t he investigate the provenance of this book?
Was it because he’s (Leopold) not really of his own blood?
He may not have been a loving father, but he did bestow upon him the title of Crown Prince.
Could it be because he was not his biological child?
But it was always difficult for Leopold to read his father's mind.
Unless, of course, he himself was not a Heidenberg, and thus could not pass the test of parentage.
The Emperor must get a Heidenberg now, with a new Empress. The empire and the people wanted it.
But the Emperor had never shown any intention in choosing another empress, so perhaps he trusted his lineage after all.
Leopold hoped he was right, that there was no inexplicable bloodline issue involved in his failure to fulfill his role as a misfit.
He was a well-read man, with a vivid imagination and a dexterous hand.
During the height of the music box fad, he even tried his hand at modifying them to produce longer and more varied tones. It was discovered and smashed by his father.
Leopold often wondered if he would have been a more useful human being if he had been born into a common family.
But he was born a prince.
He spent his life feeling ill-fitted, and his father's expectations often crushed his timid spirit.
Still, it was an animal's instinct not to be abandoned, and even though his father was terrifying, he was the only family he had.
After losing his mother, he felt a deep loneliness that no one could fill.
Everyone had been there since the day he was born, but he was the only one who seemed to be alone.
In that sense, the woman he saw at the racetrack flashed through his mind again.
She was obviously someone of high status, but she was floundering around as if she'd been thrown into society for the first time. A woman who, unlike everyone else in the world, didn't wear strong perfume.
A woman who used to take out coins to give to the boy’s tricks that no one paid attention to.
If she were a noble, he thought, he might see her again someday.
***
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Write a comment
Virginie (Sunday, 24 November 2024 16:42)
Can it be that the cousins might become love rivals too ?