“Bastard!”
The teacup, carrying cold tea, traced an arc through the air and smashed against Derek.
The Emperor of the Dawn Empire, Alistair de Hipeta, sat in his study chair, glaring furiously at his son, Derek.
“I—and your elders—we were only gone for a few days!”
“You!”
“What did you do?”
“To attack the children of Count Cohen’s family?”
“Huh!?”
Alistair’s anger flared uncontrollably as he strode up to Derek and delivered a sharp kick to his stomach.
Derek faltered and fell to the ground, scrambling up without even daring to brush off the dust.
This was the first time the old emperor had lost his temper so severely.
He rarely laid a hand on his own child.
But this time, it was truly deserved.
The old emperor returned to his desk, sat down, and let out a long sigh.
Ophelia sat to the side, watching everything coldly.
“Lia, how was the situation resolved afterward?”
“Clara, who falsely accused Miss Eleonora, was dealt with by Eleonora herself. As for those who insulted Miss Eleonora following the prince, I instructed the prince to notify them and handle it officially.”
“Officially.”
The old emperor repeated the word.
“Officially is fine…”
“If it weren’t for you, Lia, Derek—do you even realize what you’ve done!”
He couldn’t help but flare up again.
“Thankfully this didn’t escalate, otherwise how would I explain it to Theodore?”
Theodore Cohen, now Count Cohen, Eleonora’s father.
“But the Cohen family’s control over the military has already exceeded our expectations…”
“Bastard!”
The old emperor’s beard trembled with rage.
“The issue of military power can be resolved in many ways. What way did you choose? Smearing the Cohen family’s reputation? You! Ugh—”
He sighed helplessly, his beard trembling at the corners of his mouth.
Having a son late in life, the eldest prince was only sixteen now—still inexperienced and immature, lacking in consideration for many things.
Many lessons couldn’t be taught; one had to experience them firsthand to understand.
“Derek, tomorrow you will personally visit the Cohen children with gifts and apologize face-to-face.”
“Wh-…” Derek wanted to argue but, seeing his father’s angry glare, lost his momentum. “Yes…”
“Drop the military affairs too.”
“…”
“Lia, have you been working on some new training recently?”
“Yes.” Ophelia nodded at the emperor’s question.
“Good performance. As for the military affairs Derek was involved with, you can try handling them to get some experience.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Call me ‘Dad.’ There’s no outsider here.”
To discipline Derek, the old emperor had everyone unrelated leave the study.
“Understood, Father.”
“Sigh…” The old emperor sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose.
These children had all changed quite a bit with age.
He himself, growing older, found his energy waning and was anxious to see Derek mature quickly—but it seemed he was too hasty.
If Derek’s false accusations had gone through, he might have exploited the situation to weaken the Cohen family.
But he was too eager for quick results, lacking long-term vision, and never considered the consequences of failure.
Lia had, at some unknown point, started keeping her distance from him and her two brothers.
Her abilities were excellent, but she had little interest in the throne.
Otherwise, passing the throne to Lia would have been a good choice.
After the Eldest Princess died unexpectedly, the old emperor doted on this daughter and didn’t want to force her into anything.
There was also a more important point—
“Lia, you don’t get along with the Cohen children? Because you both like the same girl?”
His own daughter liked girls.
Perhaps that was why she distanced herself from him and her brothers.
“Thanks to the prince, I now have a cooperative relationship with Miss Eleonora, but as for…” Ophelia hesitated, unable to explain clearly.
“On the other hand, you could say we’re rivals.” She said vaguely.
She did intend to take Lilian back from Eleonora’s hands.
After all, Lilian was her gift.
“I heard that the girl named Lilian is pregnant…”
“Alright, I don’t really understand young people’s matters. You handle it yourself.”
“That’s all for now, Lia. You may leave. Derek, you stay.”
“Yes, Father.”
Ophelia stood and slowly walked to the door, closing the study’s door behind her with a long breath.
She had no intention of eavesdropping; it was simply the usual lecture to her good brother—how to use power, how to act properly, and how to fix things when they go wrong.
Unfortunately, Derek wouldn’t listen.
Their father’s efforts were wasted.
Putting those boring matters aside, Ophelia’s steps became lighter as she left.
Hmph~
Tomorrow is Sunday, and Lilian will come to see her as agreed.
Ophelia was quite looking forward to this first treatment session from Lilian.
A mischievous smile tugged at Ophelia’s lips.
Lilian~
My Lilian~
My gift~
The carriage moved steadily and swiftly through the capital’s streets, Ophelia’s mood bright.
Whenever she thought of that dark green figure, she couldn’t help but tap her knee with her fingers, humming a discordant little tune.
But only one day.
Ophelia felt dissatisfied.
What could she do with just one day a week?
Although she could visit Lilian anytime, the Cohen estate was still Eleonora’s stronghold, making it hard for her to do as she pleased.
She had to find other ways to get more contact with Lilian…
Or rather, ways to get Lilian to leave the count’s mansion…
Wait…
Suddenly, Ophelia recalled what her father had said.
Derek was to hand over all military affairs to her.
Derek was responsible for the logistics, training, and management of the knights stationed near the capital.
If she took over—
Would Lilian’s potions be able to be sold?
After testing them with Martin’s garrison knights, Ophelia was well aware of the potions’ power.
If she could expand the market to all the knight regiments near the capital…
Ophelia calculated quietly in her mind.
Three Inner City Garrison Knights, four Outer City Garrison Knights, and two Outer City Patrol Knights.
Although she didn’t yet know how many trainees each regiment had, nor how many would need muscle recovery potions.
But earning 30 gold coins a month in profit for Lilian seemed doable.
The 300 gold coins she owed Eleonora could be paid off in about ten months.
Ophelia regretted not making it a 20-80 split with Lilian from the start; then it would have taken only half a year…
She wondered how Lilian would react to this news.
There was no way Lilian would refuse the money.
Ophelia didn’t need to worry about whether Lilian would immediately repay the debt once she had the funds.
As long as Lilian had the means to leave Eleonora’s side immediately, that was enough.
As for Eleonora, she would accidentally find out that Lilian could repay the debt.
Ophelia couldn’t help but feel a bit excited…