67. The Emperor’s Trap

Crash! Bang!

After the banquet ended, the Emperor’s study echoed with the sound of shattering.

He seemed like a person determined to break everything in his grasp out of anger.

The Emperor was furious.

From his perspective, the incident of Psyche receiving Tarun’s trading ship as a gift was certainly infuriating.

“She claimed she was forced to bring the Duchess!”

Since the Duke began to expand his influence, the Emperor struggled to find a way to pull him down every day.

However, finding a loophole in his tightly built foundation, established since childhood, was no easy task.

Unable to find any public flaws, he eventually turned his attention to the Duke’s private affairs.

And coincidentally, just as rumors of discord between the Duke and Duchess were rampant, the Emperor heard that Psyche returned to the Duchess’s side at an opportune time. He wanted to exploit this to tarnish the Duke’s reputation even slightly.

“Unbelievable.”

But nothing went according to his plans.

Whether the Duke and Duchess had a good relationship was unknown, but from the Emperor’s perspective, Tarun’s trading ship falling into Psyche’s hands was a significant loss.

The idea that a country’s trade could be manipulated by a mere Duchess was outrageous.

“This cannot stand.”

He thought he must immediately strip away that authority.

In reality, Sandrine’s decision to gift the trading ship to Psyche was made after much deliberation, assuming the Emperor would approve.

After all, it was practically ensuring the Empire would naturally gain the right of passage to Silen Harbor.

But the Emperor didn’t want to tip his hand even to the Duke on that matter.

“I never liked it from the beginning.”

The Emperor wanted to possess the trading ship by any means necessary.

And he wanted the Duke to kneel before him.

Suddenly, he recalled the day a few years ago when the Duke, while threatening him with the prospect of his successor, forced him to agree.

At that time, he thought it was okay as long as his relationship with the Duke didn’t sour.

Now, with the Duke’s power burgeoning, he just couldn’t let it slide anymore.

“Layton might know something.”

The Emperor had no visible options now. He wanted to deal with the Duke, more than securing the next heir or the future Emperor. He wanted to bring down the thorn in his side, the Duke.

Rather ruthlessly, he even considered pushing his son Layton into the Duke’s circle.

If he could use the Crown Prince to bring down either the Duke or the Duchess, it would be beneficial.

Then, suddenly, he remembered the look in the Duke’s eyes as he gazed at Psyche.

“Perhaps…”

He slapped his knee, realizing that targeting Psyche instead of the Duke might be the shortcut to crumbling the Duke’s power.

With that thought, he hastily called for an aide.

“You summoned me, Your Majesty.”

“Assign surveillance on Valentine Duchess.”

“Pardon?”

The aide was surprised, but concealed his emotions as best as he could.

“Gather all the information you can on the Duchess. Her clothing preferences, favorite foods, trivial habits, speech patterns—anything.”

“Understood.”

“Report on her daily activities, what she eats, where she goes, and with whom she interacts, in detail.”

Though curious about the unusual order, the aide knew better than to ask questions.

“At once, Your Majesty.”

“And summon the Crown Prince.”

As he contemplated ensnaring the Duchess, the Emperor suddenly felt a surge of satisfaction.

Perhaps he could shatter the relationship between the Duke and Duchess using the Crown Prince, he thought, and smirked ominously.

❖ ❖ ❖

Psyche returned to the mansion feeling quite bewildered.

Even after the party ended, she decided to spend some time with Killi before leaving because Killi expressed her desire to stay with Psyche.

However, apart from that, recent events in her life didn’t quite feel real to Psyche.

It seemed like just a short while ago when she thought she would have to stand alone without Clint’s reputation, without the title of “Duchess,” and suddenly, it happened in the blink of an eye.

As she sat in the carriage returning to the Duke’s residence, Psyche was lost in deep thought.

“Now….”

Now, there was no one who didn’t recognize her, even without the Duke.

In the past few days, her name had become even more famous than the Duke’s.

Of course, she wasn’t satisfied with just that.

Thinking about the future again, she noticed Killi playing with the hem of Clint’s robe in front of her.

Killi had been staying at the Duke’s residence for a few days longer because she was too reluctant to part with Psyche. Therefore, Sandrine had postponed the return date.

Clint, who had been staring out the window, broke the silence, mumbling as he opened his mouth.

“Miss.”

It was a slightly weighty voice, considering it came from a child.

Clint, who had been sitting by the window, gazing out with his chin in his hand, turned his head at Killi’s serious tone.

With a contemplative expression as if he were deeply pondering, Clint looked at Psyche sitting in front of him and replied somewhat hesitantly.

“Is the Duchess your sister and you are my uncle?”

“Yeah. Aren’t I?”

“….”

Feeling somewhat unjust, or perhaps logically processing it, Clint soon gave up on arguing.

Killi added a remark.

“Like last time, no fighting.”

Killi, holding one hand behind his back and the other swaying side to side with just his index finger pointing, put on a determined expression.

Ever since witnessing Psyche and Clint arguing unintentionally, Killi had been bothered by the incident. He hoped they wouldn’t fight. He didn’t want Psyche, who she felt a special bond with like a mother, to be sad.

Seeing Psyche and Clint silent in response to his words, Killi added another remark, feeling sorry for them.

“Mommy said I should tell you if I did something wrong, and if I did, then it would be okay.”

“….”

“Honestly, she said half of all fights in the world would decrease!”

It seemed that Sandrine had hired a tutor lately, and Killi was learning a lot.

“So, Uncle, always be honest with my sister, okay?”

“….”

At that, Clint suddenly felt uncomfortable and fell silent.

Worried that Killi might feel uneasy for no reason, Psyche quickly intervened.

“Why is that? Killi didn’t say anything wrong, and he’s right. So, please.”

“….”

Clint turned his gaze back to the window and whispered softly enough for only Psyche to hear.

“Isn’t it just wishful thinking?”

“Yes?”

“Wouldn’t it be great if honesty solved everything?”

Clint looked back at Psyche, folding his arms and asking.

“Madam said so.”

“What’s the matter?”

“I hate anything that harms people, like murder.”

“I see.”

Psyche made a puzzled expression, wondering why he suddenly brought up past events.

“Look at that.”

“…?”

Psyche shrugged at the nonsensical statement. Instead of answering, he glanced towards Killi and gave a gentle reprimand.

“No, this little one seems to be teaching the adults.”

He pretended to scold Killi while gently tapping him with his hand.

Then, Killi confidently spoke up in a loud voice.

“To become excellent, you need a lot of teaching!”

“I’ve heard that before.”

Killi chuckled mischievously.

Then, he cuddled up to Clint’s knees and started playing with his buttons.

“Uncle, why are there so many buttons on your clothes?”

“It’s evidence of being an adult, showing that you can button them all by yourself.”

Listening to their nonsensical conversation, Psyche burst into a soft laughter.

Somehow, she felt like she was witnessing the scene she had wished for in the past.

Psyche quietly observed Clint conversing with Killi.

He seemed so different from when she first met him, which made her think.

However, he was someone who knew how to present himself perfectly.

In fact, he had never revealed his true feelings to her, nor was he someone who would talk about his feelings or emotions, so she never thought to delve into his sincerity.

So lately, Clint was everything new to Psyche.

Like expressing anger in front of her.

‘He seems to enjoy playing with children quite well’, she thought as she watched him with Killi.

If she were to become a parent… Psyche imagined such a scenario.

She realized that raising a child together, even if it started as a contractual relationship, was not merely about a contract.

Being a parent was something that couldn’t be measured or judged based on mutual benefits.

Could they truly become good parents just by providing a good environment?

Psyche vaguely thought about her future with a child.

The image of herself as a mother… and the figure of Clint standing next to her felt somewhat distant.

‘We… don’t know much about each other, do we?’