The Youngest Son of the Northern Grand Duke Wants to Break Off the Engagement

Chapter 33

Yuria was quietly strolling through the great hall, following the imperial etiquette.

Until the audience with the Emperor, one must refrain from making a ruckus.

One's conduct must be refined and reverent, and if any threatening action is shown, the imperial knights may intervene.

Because the Emperor personally meets with officials, the imperial knights enforced security with even more rigor.

'I have to ask Father directly.'

In the end, Yuria couldn't overcome her own yearning and requested an audience with the Emperor.

Being a princess didn't mean she could have everything, but with enough effort, it was possible to change the outcome.

Even if her adversary was a ducal house, they wouldn't dare defy the Emperor's decree.

'I just have to persuade him, right? I couldn't become the Empress anyway...'

Yuria knew it wouldn't be easy, but she didn't want to give up just like this.

She hadn't received what she wanted most, so she simply reached for the next best thing.

It was only a princess's marriage—could it really be made so complicated?

'He'll at least grant me this much. Though breaking off an engagement might be a bit difficult...'

Yuria looked up at the throne and slowly came to a halt.

She neatly knelt and bowed her head.

Holding that posture for a moment, she then slowly straightened herself.

"The third princess humbly requests an audience with His Majesty the Emperor."

"You asked to see me in the great hall... it is not a private matter then."

The Emperor looked down at Yuria from his throne, slowly and with gravity.

If the matter was related to the Emperor or the imperial family, the audience was held in the great hall; for personal matters, it was to be in the office or bedchamber—so the rules dictated.

Thus, the Emperor had no choice but to meet his daughter in a rather solemn atmosphere.

"I have found someone I wish to marry, so I have requested an audience with Your Majesty."

"A marriage, you say... hm... that certainly is a matter related to the imperial family."

The eighth Emperor of the Agnes Empire, Vanderas Ruth Celestion, reluctantly acknowledged the reason.

Of his children, only the second prince had married and held a ceremony with the spouse arranged by the imperial house.

In contrast, the crown prince and the third princess had declared they would bring their own partners, so he had to leave them to their devices for a while.

"If His Majesty bestows benevolence, I think it will be much easier for me to marry."

"If you need my benevolence, the other party cannot be someone of ordinary standing."

"How could one speak of ordinariness when the partner is a noble without a title?"

"Depending on which noble family, the rank is different. Could you truly view the duke's child and the baron's child as equals?"

"... If I may respectfully state my opinion, they all appear as the same nobility in my eyes."

"From your words, it must be someone whose title is extremely high or extremely low."

"It is someone of high standing."

"Surely, you haven't chosen the child of a ducal house?"

Vanderas faintly furrowed his brows and asked with serious intent.

Even if he could just barely allow up to the rank of marquis, from a ducal house onward, it would inevitably lead to a concentration of power.

If anyone used this to mock the imperial family or to seize the throne, the very foundations of the Empire could be shaken.

"... I have reached even higher."

"Then, are you saying it is the grand duke's house?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Hoo... Do you truly wish to marry a child of the grand duke's house?"

"Even if I do not marry immediately, I think it is right at least to become engaged."

"..."

Vanderas let silence linger, then eventually ran a hand down his face.

Of all the nobles, why did she have to choose the grand duke?

Moreover, there was a complicated past with the Northern Grand Duke, so he had been cautious thus far.

"... Third princess."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"The Northern Grand Duke has four children. Two sons, two daughters. Which of the two sons did you pick?"

Of course, Vanderas had no intention of permitting even an engagement with the grand duke's house.

But he had to know whom the third princess had chosen.

If she had chosen the eldest son of the grand duke, at least it might be somewhat acceptable.

"I have chosen the youngest son."

"Hah!"

Vanderas unwittingly sighed and became immersed in memories of the past.

He was still friends with the Northern Grand Duke, but could never let go of that incident from those days.

Moreover, the youngest son of the grand duke was indirectly connected to that past, and so naturally elicited resistance.

"The youngest son of the grand duke's house is engaged to a ducal house... Did you request this even knowing that?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I already knew."

"You want me to force Duke Illenat to break off the engagement?"

"... I humbly seek Your Majesty's grace."

Yuria answered cautiously, not meeting Vanderas's gaze.

As expected, he didn't seem likely to grant consent easily.

But if she backed down now, she would lose even the opportunity to gain permission.

Thus, she had to resolve this matter clearly, right at this very moment.

"You are asking me to oppress both the grand duke's house and the duke's house just for your marriage? Your greed knows no bounds!"

"Your Majesty can simply offer a suggestion. Who would dare consider that oppression?"

"Third princess. The instant you broached the subject, it became oppression. It is an act of trampling upon the pride of nobles with the authority of the Emperor!"

Vanderas rebuked Yuria, raising his voice.

Even leaving aside the past with the Northern Grand Duke, nobles who held titles must not be pressured without cause.

Their titles were part of the Agnes Empire's history, a mark of merit in its founding, and a source of undeniable pride.

To force a broken engagement for a trivial reason would naturally provoke the ire of both houses' patriarchs.

"A broken engagement is even easier than a divorce, and many nobles do it often. How then does it become trampling upon their pride?"

"Breaking off an engagement is not my prerogative. If I intervene, it shakes the future of an entire house. How can you say that is not oppression?"

"How can a recommendation be considered oppression?"

"It is because they must accept or refuse. If they accept, their pride is broken; if they refuse, they stand in defiance of the Emperor. Do you look down on the nobility? Do you think so little of their existence?"

"..."

Yuria fell silent at last and listened to Vanderas's words.

If she insisted further, Vanderas would become angry as Emperor.

To her, a political marriage with the grand duke's house seemed simple, but Vanderas saw the situation with much more complexity.

Clearly, achieving her goal through ordinary means would not be easy.

"Even if you were to marry a child of the grand duke's house, you would not be able to handle it. Had you been the crown princess, it would have been even more problematic."

Vanderas gently lowered his voice and pronounced what the future would hold.

Yuria's marriage alone could shake the very foundations of the Empire.

Yuria could borrow the grand duke's power for a coup d'état, or conversely, the Northern Grand Duke could use Yuria as his justification.

In other words, a union between the imperial bloodline and the grand duke's house could serve as the launching point for a new imperial foundation.

"Do not take your own bloodline lightly. The blood of the direct royal family could become your own shackle. I have always warned you to be cautious, yet is this the recklessness you intended?"

"..."

"Not only will I forbid marriage to the grand duke's house, but I will not even permit an engagement. If this happens again, I will force you into marriage myself. Understood?"

"... I will obey Your Majesty."

Yuria slowly bowed and exited the great hall.

If her father was this unyielding, there was nothing she could do.

For now, she had to tactfully withdraw and seek another opportunity.

'The grand duke's house is forbidden. The youngest son... is even less permissible.'

Vanderas had already designated the first prince as crown prince, as Emperor.

Now that the succession to the throne was decided, there could be no room for discord.

Above all, the youngest son of the grand duke's house could never be permitted to become entangled in the imperial bloodline.

'He is her child, after all.'

Vanderas gazed into his memories and recalled long-forgotten emotions.

Abandoned love, vile jealousy, vague regret, empty hatred.

Because his love had been passionate, his despair had been miserable, and in the end he tried to forget her in any way he could.

'Zair Radiant. Even from afar, you torment me. Can a friend be so cruel?'

* * *

Alter wandered along, deep in thought.

If he wanted to find clues to break the curse, he needed to gain a clear understanding of the person called 'Alter Radiant'.

That meant looking into his parentage and childhood, and examining his environment.

'First of all, I... am the legitimate wife's child. I was born quite late, compared to my siblings.'

The current Northern Grand Duke originally kept only one wife by his side and desperately tried for an heir.
But the couple couldn't conceive, and soon voices rose urging him to take concubines.
Eventually, the Northern Grand Duke reluctantly married two noble ladies, producing three children.

'My mother died shortly after I was born, and I've been raised with care ever since.'

Because the Northern Grand Duke cherished his legal wife dearly, he never dismissed her.
Thanks to that, she finally conceived, but she died leaving only the child behind.
So Alter was never persecuted, and as the legitimate wife's child, received deep affection.

'Father is the Emperor's friend and comrade. That's why the Emperor doesn't doubt the Northern Grand Duke.'

When the Emperor was young, he and the Northern Grand Duke fought on the battlefield together and claimed victory.

At that time, the Northern region was chaotic, so many troops were deployed.

After being named crown prince, the Emperor returned to the capital, while the Northern Grand Duke stayed at the frontlines and has dutifully carried out his responsibilities ever since.

'I didn't get along badly with my siblings. And when I was a newborn, it would've been too early for any of them to cast a curse.'

The age difference between him and his siblings wasn't large.

So when he was young, his siblings also would've been too young even to understand the concept of a curse.

Perhaps their mothers—meaning the Northern Grand Duke's wives—could have secretly cast a curse.

'But for that, the level of the curse is too high. Could those wives have managed it alone?'

If someone had been behind it, they would have been discovered long ago.

The moment an outsider was brought into the inner keep, suspicion would follow.

It was unlikely that the wives could secretly master and cast such a dangerous curse together.

'If I exclude all the other possibilities... only one remains...'

If someone wanted revenge on the grand duke's family, there'd be no reason to target only him.

The curse could have been directed at the grand duke himself, his wives, or another child.
If the caster limited the curse to himself alone, there had to be a reason.

'Is this curse related to my mother? Was there someone with a grudge against her... or was there some problem with her body itself?'

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Does the emperor have anything to do with Alter's curse?
【「(°ヘ°)?】