Rolling in Bed with the Male Lead

Unlike the man who had sat expressionlessly on the throne moments ago, the Emperor's pupils now wandered aimlessly, like a ship caught in a storm.

He slowly rose from the throne, as if unable to wait any longer.

"Truly, you saved her."

Suppressing the laughter that kept threatening to spill out, Richard began descending the stairs.

Then, standing before the coffin, the Emperor...

Slowly lowered himself.

The disheveled hem of the silver dress lay motionless, as though it had come to rest there for the last time. Above it, one pale wrist was faintly visible.

"..."

For a while, the Emperor could say nothing. His gaze trembled as it remained fixed on the coffin.

Richard watched him cautiously.

"Elica."

As though desperately calling out to someone, the Emperor murmured the name twice, as if he could hear his own voice yet found it difficult to believe.

Slowly, he reached out and touched the Empress's remains. As his fingertips brushed the hem of the silk dress, the cold that emanated even beyond the coffin became an awkward warmth against the Emperor's skin.

"To think I can see you again, even like this..."

The words scraped through his dry throat.

Standing a step behind him, Richard quietly bowed his head.

"Young Lord Friedrich."

The Emperor gritted his teeth as though suppressing a surge of emotion.

"I shall never forget this favor."

"..."

At those words, the nobles exchanged glances and quietly stirred.

The Emperor is reacting so strongly...

Though they could not know the details of what had happened, there was one thing of which they could be certain.

Young Lord Friedrich had accomplished something significant.

"I am humbled."

Richard bowed deeply to the Emperor once more, then quietly straightened.

As his gaze slowly swept across the carpet, he saw the murmuring nobles. Or rather, one man among them.

Bilmar Chesika.

What on earth is wrong with that man?

In a situation where his head may soon be on the line...

He was unmistakably smiling.

"Your Imperial Majesty! What I, Derek Friedrich, wish to offer is—"

The next person to present a gift was Derek Friedrich. Just as he urgently pushed through the nobles and stepped onto the carpet—

"Stop."

Emperor Raios's gaze turned icy.

"The Tribute Ceremony ends here!"

His voice thundered through the hall.

"..."

The knights all stiffened at once. They recalled the instructions they had received the day before.

If Richard Friedrich "succeeds"...

...

Arrest Bilmar Chesika immediately.

"By Imperial command!"

The Emperor swept his cold, piercing gaze around the banquet hall and gave the order.

"Drag Bilmar Chesika out!"

"As you command, Your Majesty!"

Clang—!

The knights answered in unison and drew their swords as one.

"Aah!"

"What is the meaning of this all of a sudden—?"

The knights, wielding coldly gleaming longswords, pushed through the bewildered nobles and advanced toward one man.

Bilmar Chesika.

"By His Majesty's command! Seize him!"

The knights charged at him with fearsome momentum.

Bilmar did not resist.

He meekly allowed them to shackle him and walked forward step by step, led by his bound wrists.

Thump—

His knees buckled in the center of the banquet hall.

"Bilmar Chesika."

Raios slowly rose from his seat. The hem of his red cloak, embroidered with golden thread, brushed the floor. In the silent banquet hall, his footsteps echoed one after another.

He looked down at the man kneeling in the center of the hall.

"You have committed a great many crimes."

His voice was cold as a blade.

Duke Chesika committed crimes...

How did it come to this?

The nobles, unaware of the truth, whispered and glanced around.

Raios's red eyes slowly swept over everyone gathered in the banquet hall.

He raised his hand.

"Here and now, I shall reveal all of Duke Chesika's misdeeds."

The nobles' whispers ceased at once.

Everyone held their breath and watched the Emperor's lips.

"First. Embezzlement of military supplies and illegal arms trading during the Southern War."

A knight standing beside him unfurled a scroll and held it up.

"Second. Forgery and destruction of Imperial Palace records."

"..."

"Third. Suspected concealment of land taxes and taxes collected from his domain, as well as manipulation of tax records."

Fourth, fifth... One after another, charges that were by no means minor continued without pause.

"Ninth."

Raios stopped speaking.

For the first time, the Emperor's voice trembled.

As though he were finally unleashing, little by little, the rage he had suppressed for decades.

"The suspected assassination of the Empress and... the crime of imprisoning her remains."

He spat out each word through gritted teeth.

In an instant, the banquet hall froze.

He... imprisoned her remains?

Did he truly go that far?

The nobles whispered, their faces stiff.

Then the remains Young Lord Friedrich presented to His Majesty earlier were...

It was then that they began to grasp the full picture of the incident.

"Duke Chesika dared to insult Imperial authority and rebel against it."

Raios strode along the carpet.

"Today, I declare in the name of the Emperor."

He raised his hand for the final time.

"Bilmar Chesika is no longer a noble of the Empire."

"..."

"All his titles and authority are hereby stripped from him, and from this moment onward, Bilmar Chesika is designated a traitor."

Gasps of shock erupted throughout the banquet hall.

Some faces turned pale, while others set down their wineglasses with trembling hands.

"Bilmar Chesika, you are under arrest by Imperial command."

Raios delivered his final, resolute declaration.

"Thereafter, the full truth will be uncovered through torture, and following a trial, a decision regarding his execution will be made in accordance with Imperial law."

"As you command, Your Majesty!"

The knights moved as one.

Chains were fastened around the criminal, and the clanking of iron echoed through the banquet hall.

Amid all the commotion—

Bilmar did not bow his head.

His chilling violet eyes quietly swept across the banquet hall.

There was neither humiliation nor fear in his gaze.

Only mockery.

"..."

Clank—

Until the doors closed behind him at the very last moment.

He was smiling to the end.

"..."

Richard watched as the Duke was dragged away.

His brow furrowed involuntarily.

Unsettling.

How can he remain so relaxed until the very end? Does he still have another card to play?

But.

Regardless of the unease in his heart, Richard knew rationally that nothing would come of it.

The overwhelming authority of the Emperor.

Even a Duke could do nothing before it.

Richard knew the Emperor's temperament well. He had said he would uncover the truth through torture and have Bilmar judged according to Imperial law after a trial, hadn't he?

No, it will never even reach trial. There is a high chance he will die during the torture.

Though it is no longer my concern.

Richard shook his head.

What happens afterward has nothing to do with me. I kept my promise to the Emperor.

I have done everything I needed to do.

By the way.

Richard turned toward the prickling gaze he had felt for some time.

Amid the nobles thrown into confusion stood a woman with violet eyes and silver hair, just like the Duke's.

Princess Cesica.

She was glaring at him as though she wanted to kill him, clutching the hem of her dress.

So that was why.

That was the reason she had been glaring at him earlier.

Richard recalled how the woman had looked at him as though she wanted him dead.

Because she thinks the Duke will die because of me?

Richard leaned against the wall and considered it. Whether that was true or not...

Although the Duke had been the one to try to steal the Empress's remains, he had ultimately handed them over without resistance.

There is no need to pay it any mind.

Richard quickly dismissed the idle thought.

Anyway,

I upheld my end of the bargain with the Emperor. I returned the Empress's remains.

Therefore.

Richard kept his head bowed, raising only his eyes. His cool blue gaze settled on the Emperor in the distance.

You must keep your promise, Your Majesty.

The Emperor was looking back at him.

As though he had understood the meaning behind Richard's gaze, Raios let out a soft chuckle.

"And."

He spoke.

"There is one important matter I must announce here."

The gazes of the murmuring nobles all converged on the Emperor.

Having just witnessed the unprecedented arrest of a Duke, everyone fell tensely silent.

Raios slowly ascended the steps.

Then, looking at Richard, who still stood straight in the center of the banquet hall, he declared,

"Young Lord Friedrich."

"..."

As though he had guessed what was coming, Richard quietly lowered his eyes.

"You have rendered a great service to the Imperial family today by recovering the remains stolen by the traitor Bilmar Chesika. And..."

Raios's gaze shifted toward another man moving quietly along the edge of the banquet hall.

"Cailus le Regnantia."

"..."

Neither man answered.

Beneath the golden light, their shadows wavered.

Raios silently looked down at the two men for a moment before slowly declaring,

"From this moment onward, the Crown Prince and Young Lord Friedrich are—"

The corner of his mouth curled upward.

"Hereby declared engaged."

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