Chapter 159

Vellian felt injustice upon hearing that.

‘But isn’t it true that the empress and the young duke acted suspiciously?’

“Your Majesty, please help me.”

Vellian endured the shame and humiliation and begged Astelle to help him.

Astelle answered bluntly, “I have no reason to help you.”

“Your Majesty, please… … .”

Vellian almost cried. “I know I shouldn’t ask the empress for this kind of request, but… … .”

“Why did you come here knowing that?” Astelle asked in a very calm tone.

Astelle couldn’t even imagine Vellian coming to visit her. But he was braver than she thought.

“That’s because things got too big. The emperor will kill me if he knows the whole story,” he said with a sad expression.

Astelle just stared blankly at him without answering.

She doesn’t think Kaizen will kill Vellian, but obviously, he will be severely punished.

Moreover, Kaizen has his nerves sharpened by dealing with the work that has been pushed back these days. Kaizen deserves to be angry.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about your situation. I will persuade His Majesty to send Sir Velian as a lower-rank official in the North. Would this be enough?”

“North?”

“Yes, I heard that the Milstad estate needs a lot of management.”

Vellian looked at Astelle with dazed eyes.

“Isn’t that in the far north?”

“You know the geography of the North well. It will definitely be of great help to the lords there.” Astelle spoke calmly in an emotionless tone.

Vellian stood stunned and listened to her, then became angry.

“I… … I absolutely hate it! It’s nothing short of exile!”

“Isn’t that better than being exiled?”

Isn’t that better than going as a sinner?

Vellian glared at her and shouted, “It is the same. You’re trying to send me to the countryside and make me a slave.”

If you go to the North, where the rebellion has just been suppressed, even low-ranking officials have all kinds of tasks piling up like mountains. It can even be life-threatening.

“I’m trying to help, but if you don’t like it, then there’s nothing I can do about it. Follow your heart.”

Astelle picked up the teacup with an indifferent attitude.

In fact, Astelle has nothing to do with this. She tried to help him a little only thinking about Kaizen’s image.

Vellian also realized this too late, so he calmed himself down and started begging again.

“Your Majesty, that’s not–”

But he could not continue his words.

The door to the greenhouse opened and the guards came in.

“Your Majesty, I have come by order of His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Are you here to find Sir Vellian?”

“Yes.”

Hearing those words, Vellian hurriedly clung to Astelle.

“Your Majesty, I will! I’ll go anywhere, north or south, please help me!”

“I see.”

Astelle glanced at the guard knight, telling him to take him away.

“Your Majesty is looking for him, so hurry up and go.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Vellian looked at Astelle the whole time he was dragged away, but Astelle didn’t care much and only drank tea.

***

Vellian wanted to buy some time, even for a moment.

He turned to Astelle for help, this time trying to meet Seibel… … Lyndon too… … .

However, the guards took him to the emperor without delay.

Moments later, Vellian stood in the emperor’s office.

“Why did you go to the empress?” Kaizen asked, staring at him coldly.

Vellian looked around for help, but sadly there are only him and a few guards in the office.

There’s no one he can turn to for help, not even Lyndon, nor his friend Seibel.

‘Why isn’t everyone there when I need them?’

Vellian replied trembling, “I- I asked the empress for forgiveness.”

Kaizen laughed at that blatant answer.

“Are you begging for forgiveness now that you got caught?”

Kaizen stabbed him scornfully.

“You asked for help, not forgiveness.”

“… … .”

Vellian couldn’t resist and just stood there blankly.

Actually, he had nothing to deny, because it was all true.

“How dare you monitor the empress without my permission?”

“Your- Your Majesty, I’m wrong… … .”

Vellian begged hard. Still, he earnestly wished that he would think of the hard work he had done by his side over the years.

However, there was no sympathy in Kaizen’s red eyes.

He only stared coldly as Vellian trembled in fear.

“I really want to kill you,” Kaizen muttered angrily.

Vellian trembled at the sharp voice.

“The Empress asked me to be generous, so you should thank her,” Kaizen continued, looking at him with disdain.

“Tha- thank you… … .”

“Instead, you will be stripped of your title and made a low-ranking official in the North.”

Vellian looked like he was about to cry, but he had no choice but to bow his head.

“Thank you for your generous disposition, Your Majesty.”

***

“I’m glad it went well.”

It was not until evening that Astelle heard the whole story.

Kaizen asked a bit dissatisfied, “Why did you ask me to send him there?”

Kaizen still seems to want to punish him more severely.

Astelle didn’t sympathize with Vellian either, but he was still a close aide who had worked hard by the emperor’s side.

Even now, half of the ministers have been killed or kicked out, and if he even kills his aide, it will also harm Kaizen’s reputation.

In fact, in this case alone, Vellian’s suspicions were justified.

“The rebellion has been suppressed in the North recently, so I think there will be a lot of work and a shortage of manpower.”

If he was going to get kicked out anyway, it would be better to send him to a place that needs him and make him work.

Vellian is a competent bureaucrat who used to work with the emperor.

He will do his part wherever he goes.

‘Given Vellian’s personality, he will work very hard because he wants to come back.’

Of course, since Kaizen is furious because of this, he’ll never be back in a few years.

I remember the words Vellian shouted displeasedly during the day.

Did he say I would send him to the countryside to enslave him?

Now that I think about it, I don’t think it’s wrong.

Still, I don’t feel much sympathy.

“Sorry.”

Astelle raised her head at the low voice.

Red eyes filled with complex emotions looking at her.

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

“I think I’ve made it difficult in many ways,” Kaizen replied avoiding her gaze.

There was still a complex feeling in his voice.

‘I shouldn’t have brought up what happened during the trip.’

I did it to make sure that Vellian was kicked out, but it made Kaizen blame himself.

Actually, Astelle had already used it as an excuse to force Vellian to host a tea party, so he paid enough.

After a moment of silence, Astelle slowly and carefully grabbed Kaizen’s hand.

“You can stop saying sorry to me.”

Too much happened in the last few months. The old feelings between the two of them were diluted to some extent as they helped each other out.

“I cannot forgive myself for not taking care of you and Theor in the last six years. I will apologize to you and Theor for the rest of my life,” said Kaizen as he looked down at Astelle’s hand.

“Then you have to apologize for a long time,” Astelle answered quietly with a smile.

“When things are sorted out, should we go East? With Theor too.”

“East?”

“To where you used to live, Theor missed it too.”

“Did Theor say that?”

“Yeah. Didn’t he tell you?”

Astelle shook her head.

Theor hasn’t talked about the country house from some time ago. She thought he might have forgotten it.

“I guess it was because he was afraid that you would be sad to hear that.”

Astelle agreed with him.

When he entered the palace, Astelle told Theor that he would never go to the countryside in the east again.

Theor seemed very disappointed and sad. Sadness must have been on Astelle’s own face as she said those words.

That’s why he didn’t tell her even though he wanted to go.

I can’t believe the young Theor has been hiding his feelings for me.

“That kind of consideration resembles you.”

At Kaizen’s point, Astelle only smiled slightly.

“It can’t be as grandiose as the previous trip, because that takes too much time. But I think it will be fine for a short visit.”

“Yes.”

“Your Majesty the Emperor.”

An urgent knock was heard.

When the servant opened the door, Lyndon was standing by the door.

“Your Majesty, something has happened with the Duke.”

Hearing that, the warm atmosphere quickly cooled down.

“Which duke?”

Seibel turned to Astelle briefly before answering Kaizen’s question.

“The former duke in the abandoned palace.”