Chapter 11: An Unauthorized Intrusion
Within the imperial palace, there were several designated meeting areas.
Those who had private workrooms were an exception, but ordinary people were permitted to meet family and friends only in such places.
When Dorothy and Noah headed to the meeting room indicated by a maid and opened the door, no one was inside.
“Oh?”
“There is no one here?”
“What is going on?”
As Dorothy and Noah peered into the empty room, another maid arrived.
“Countess Miller, the visitors said they would go meet Count Miller first, and then they left.”
“To see Cyrus-sama?”
“Um, may I ask the names of the people who came for the meeting?”
“Daisy-sama and Belinda-sama.”
Daisy was familiar.
She was Cyrus’s younger sister.
However, Dorothy had never met a woman named Belinda.
“Belinda-sama?”
“What kind of person was she?”
“She said she was a relative, but it felt as though Daisy-sama was following her.”
“It appeared that Belinda-sama was the one giving orders.”
In that case, she must have held a higher rank than the Miller Count House.
Yet Dorothy had no recollection of such a person.
She knew the names of noblewomen of her generation fairly well, but the name Belinda meant nothing to her.
“Belinda…?”
“Dorothy-dono, forgive me for asking, but does the Miller Count House have any connection to the Lind Kingdom?”
“The Lind Kingdom?”
“No, I have never heard of—”
She was about to say no, when something suddenly came to mind.
She remembered hearing that a woman from the royal family of a small country had married into the family several generations ago and died young.
“I have heard that someone who married into the family several generations ago was of royal blood from some country.”
“She passed away shortly after giving birth, so even if she was from the Lind Kingdom, there has been no connection since.”
“I see.”
“Belinda is the wife of the Lind Kingdom’s diplomat currently here, and she was originally a princess.”
“Then, she is connected to Her Majesty the Empress?”
“Yes.”
Dorothy and Noah exchanged glances.
Under the pretext of a meeting, a princess of the Lind Kingdom had entered the imperial palace.
“I will inform His Majesty immediately.”
“You go to Her Majesty.”
“Yes.”
“You there, go to the General Affairs Bureau and tell Count Cyrus Miller that his sister is wandering through the palace without permission together with a princess of the Lind Kingdom.”
“Tell him to find them and apprehend them immediately.”
“Yes!”
Sensing that something dangerous was happening, the maid immediately ran off.
“We must hurry.”
“Princess Belinda’s target is either His Majesty or Her Majesty the Empress.”
“Yes!”
The two of them ran through the palace at full speed.
“So then, where has this Princess Belinda gone?”
“I am terribly sorry.”
“This is my fault for not taking more interest in the Miller Count House.”
Eugene said, “Do not worry about it,” to the bowing Dorothy.
“It is only natural not to care about a marital family that does not treat you with respect.”
“Especially when it was a white marriage and divorce was inevitable.”
“Even I would feel no interest in such a household, let alone matters from several generations ago.”
“This is simply a case of Cyrus Miller failing to control his sister.”
“That is right.”
“And since you have never even met Princess Belinda, there is no reason for you to apologize.”
After hearing Noah and Dorothy’s report, Eugene immediately summoned Aurelia to his side.
As a precaution, he increased the number of guards, but neither Belinda nor Daisy appeared.
“Dorothy, have you ever spoken to Count Miller’s sister about the palace?”
“No.”
“On the contrary, I have not met Daisy-sama even once since I began working here.”
“What about Count Miller?”
“The siblings are close, so when I lived there, he may have spoken a little about the palace.”
“But I do not believe he mentioned where Your Majesty’s office is located.”
“It would be difficult for Cyrus-sama to know Your Majesty’s daily schedule.”
No one present imagined that Belinda truly believed that simply entering the palace would cause someone to guide her to Eugene because she was a princess.
“For now, I have summoned Cyrus Miller here.”
“He should arrive shortly.”
“I have also summoned the Lind diplomat.”
“To think he brought along a former princess who is nothing but trouble.”
Even if Belinda had insisted on accompanying him, leaving her behind in the country would have been the wisest choice.
Just imagining that such a princess might have married in Aurelia’s place sent a chill through them.
“Aurelia, I once said the Lind Kingdom would meet a bad end.”
“It may fall even sooner than we expected.”
“Yes.”
“If they choose to voluntarily abolish the royal family and become a province of the Balba Empire, the country would not descend into chaos.”
“But if they split between those who want to preserve the nation and those who do not, unrest will spread.”
Even a small country would eventually suffer at the level of ordinary people if internal division stalled governance.
Whether to maintain the current state or choose a different path was a future for those living there to decide.
It was not something Aurelia, as Empress of the Balba Empire, should interfere with.
“We will hear that from the Lind diplomat as well.”
“If that man who married the princess temporarily seizes the throne and chooses annexation, that may be the most peaceful outcome.”
“The nobles who have grown weary of the royal family and lean toward the Empire would surely assist.”
When Aurelia’s marriage to Eugene was decided, those nobles had sighed in relief, saying that although they pitied her personally, it was good for the nation to send such a wise woman to the Emperor’s side.
Aurelia herself understood that feeling, however complicated it was.
Had Belinda married Eugene instead, Lind might have been destroyed by the Empire far earlier.
Lind still existed only because Aurelia had said she did not want it destroyed.
“However, I do regret something.”
“If we had properly punished Lind for breaking its promise back then, perhaps the king and Princess Belinda would have realized the gravity of their actions.”
“Well, since they did send you to the Empire in the end, I showed some mercy.”
“Besides, that woman’s personality was already set.”
“If we had punished them then, she would have only hated you more.”
“Yugene-sama.”
At Aurelia’s slightly troubled expression, Eugene gave a small smile.
“Excuse me.”
“Count Miller and the Lind Kingdom’s diplomat have arrived.”
The door opened, and a pale-faced Freddy and a bewildered Cyrus entered.
Cyrus looked surprised to see Dorothy, a lady-in-waiting to the Empress, present.
“You two, a foolish situation has occurred.”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Princess Belinda of Lind and Daisy Miller have intruded into the palace.”
“What?”
“Eeh?”
Freddy and Cyrus were both stunned by Eugene’s words.
“W-What does that mean?”
“My sister has intruded?”
The palace grounds included public gardens, so simply entering the grounds was not a crime.
“She claimed she came to meet Dorothy, then disappeared from the meeting room while waiting.”
“…That cannot be…”
That meant Daisy had truly trespassed into the palace interior.
Meeting areas were strictly limited.
Leaving them meant unauthorized wandering within the palace, together with Princess Belinda.
“Lind diplomat.”
“I told you not to let that woman approach.”
“Y-Yes.”
“I instructed my wife to remain quiet, but…”
“Most likely she resents the fact that Aurelia, whom she looked down on, became Empress.”
“A woman like that would think it was originally supposed to be her marriage.”
“If Aurelia took the Empress’s position, then that place belongs to her.”
“She probably believes exchanging Aurelia would solve everything.”
“I desired Aurelia as Empress because she is Aurelia.”
“If it had been Belinda, I would have sent her back to Lind long ago.”
“She is too foolish to understand that.”
“…I am deeply sorry.”
Listening to Eugene’s words, Freddy knew Belinda would think exactly that way.
Belinda had absolute confidence in herself.
Born a princess and raised indulged by the king, everything in her country had gone her way.
But in the Empire, nothing worked as she wished.
The Aurelia she despised had become Empress, someone she now had to bow to.
To Belinda, that was humiliation.
Seeing the brilliant imperial capital and the magnificent palace, she had begun saying this place suited her more than Lind.
That was why she dreamed further.
She imagined herself as the greatest woman of the Empire, reigning over the capital.
“…At this point, you may dispose of her as you see fit.”
This was no longer merely Belinda’s personal issue.
If mishandled, it could affect the very survival of the Lind Kingdom.
As a diplomat, Freddy could not allow his country to be erased.
He steeled himself, prepared even for Belinda to be quietly eliminated.