Chapter 335
“Your Majesty, confinement? This is something unprecedented in the majestic history of the Empire! Please withdraw your Imperial command!”
Her mind had only frozen for a moment.
Rebecca shouted loudly, as though this was something that could not happen.
As long as her guilt was not clear, she would not be confined in prison, but this was an unbearable humiliation, wasn’t it?
“Your Majesty, even if they are subjects, how can all subjects be the same! To confine the mistress of a meritorious house merely because she suppressed the poor is not the Imperial way!”
When Marquis Crewe hurriedly lowered himself, the nobles who followed him also pleaded one after another.
“Please withdraw your Imperial command!”
“Your Majesty, this is far too harsh a measure!”
“Please look kindly upon the loyalty of the Minister of Finance, who has been serving the Imperial Family for more than a decade!”
The scandal that would circulate through high society was not the issue.
This was a matter tied to the honor and power of the aristocratic faction, which represented the interests of the nobles.
Because Duke Nord was a member of the aristocratic faction, and Marquis Crewe was the one backing him.
But their pleas suddenly stopped.
“Then, do you wish for me to investigate Duchess Nord for conspiracy to commit rebellion?”
It was because of the ‘charge’ the Emperor had brought up in a stern voice.
“Y-Your Majesty, please withdraw that charge, one so terrifying I fear even speaking it aloud! How could my granddaughter dare plot such an act that would enrage the heavens…!”
“You said those whom you called mere poor people sang praises in my name. How is pointing swords at such admirable people any different from challenging the authority of the Imperial Family?”
“Your Majesty! As Duchess Bayern said, there was a commotion! It was only to bind those who had caused a disturbance at an Imperial event. This is a misunderstanding!”
The moral standards applied to those seated in important posts, such as the Chief Justice and the Minister of Finance, were stricter than anything else.
If his granddaughter was investigated for conspiracy to commit rebellion, the opposition faction led by the Chief Justice would insist on his downfall.
The Emperor stared coldly at Marquis Crewe, who was defending his granddaughter with the veins in his neck standing out.
“If your loyalty is sincere, then do not object to my decision any further. I have already shown enough mercy by not expanding Duchess Nord’s charges.”
“But, Your Majesty…!”
“You named Duchess Bayern as the mastermind behind this commotion.”
“That is—”
“If it is true that there is someone behind this, then Duchess Nord’s crime must have originated from that mastermind. Wouldn’t it be enough to uncover the truth of this incident and hold the culprit responsible?”
Marquis Crewe clenched his fists, his face turning dark red.
He could not deny the Emperor’s words.
The moment he denied them, it would be the same as admitting that Duchess Bayern was not the mastermind.
Then his granddaughter would not even have a chance to recover.
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
His granddaughter, who had finally caused trouble, the Duke and Duchess Bayern, who were insufferably arrogant, and the Emperor, who was clearly on their side.
His head burned with anger toward these three, but when even confinement was dangerous, he could not risk a crisis greater than this.
When Marquis Crewe accepted the humiliation, Rebecca hurriedly opened her mouth.
“G-Grandfather!”
Marquis Crewe gripped Rebecca’s wrist and whispered quietly.
“Shut your mouth. If you say even one more word, you may truly be investigated for rebellion.”
“……!”
Rebecca’s emerald eyes shook violently, but only for a moment.
At the Emperor’s gesture, Imperial knights approached.
“By command of His Majesty the Emperor, you must move to the annex. Please follow us.”
Knights in silver armor stood on either side of Rebecca.
It looked almost as if they were escorting her, but she was unmistakably a criminal who had received an order of confinement.
As those loyal to the Imperial Family, their gazes toward Rebecca were endlessly cold.
Rebecca’s face flushed bright red, and her entire body trembled.
Along with Duchess Bayern, she had been praised as a flower of high society, even after marriage.
Although the number of men expressing their favor had decreased, how many people had still praised her beauty?
Even if women pointed fingers at her because her husband wandered outside, she had been able to endure it because their situations were not so different from her own.
They said there was an illegitimate child in some house.
Stories like that were common gossip.
And yet…
The gazes directed at her were cold, regardless of whether they belonged to men or women.
She was not used to gazes like this.
