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The air between the two people seated across from one another in the reception room felt distinctly cold.
That was so, even though both wore faint, polite smiles.
It was the Empress who spoke first.
"The tea is quite good."
She had not touched the teacup prepared before her since arriving. She did not even bother to hide the fact that the remark was nothing more than a conversational formality.
Only then did she lift the cup, closing her eyes as if savoring its aroma.
"Ah, since Your Majesty's visit was more like an urgent summons than prior notice, I failed to clear away the tea I had been drinking."
"Pfft."
Having just taken a mouthful, the Empress hurriedly spat the tea out. Yet as she drew out a handkerchief and wiped her lips, there was not the slightest hint of irritation or displeasure on her face.
Jade narrowed his eyes, watching her closely, as though engraving the sight into his memory.
"Since His Majesty's collapse, it seems you have changed quite a bit as well, Your Majesty."
"……To endure a grief beyond words, one must become stronger."
A chill flickered in the Empress's eyes.
"There are things I must protect."
"That is something I understand very well."
Their gazes met head-on.
"I trusted that the Duke of Gray would understand my heart."
"You flatter me. More importantly, may I ask what brings Your Majesty to the Gray estate in such haste today?"
At Jade's prompt, the Empress's brows drew together slightly.
Until she revealed the true purpose of her visit, it was customary to exchange a sufficient amount of pleasantries. Jade had deliberately ignored that convention.
Even so, the Empress quickly smoothed her expression and chose not to fault him.
"I heard there was joyful news in the House of Gray, and I could not restrain myself from coming so hastily."
"I'm not certain what you mean. If you are referring to the engagement, it has already been canceled."
"Not that. I meant what Enoch demonstrated at the engagement, his feat."
"……You mean Enoch."
By referring to him simply as Enoch, rather than using his title, the Empress made it clear she wished to offer a personal, not official, congratulation.
Naturally, Jade found that intention distasteful.
As if aware of this, the Empress smiled and continued.
"What Enoch displayed that day was remarkably similar to when Seffield Emblem first awakened to the power of a Swordmaster. I can clearly picture how delighted Edward must have been."
"To say you can envision Edward's joy so vividly, despite never having seen it yourself… Truly, Your Majesty's imagination could be called a blessing to the Empire."
Jade smiled pleasantly as he laced his words with mockery.
Did she even know what Edward looked like when he smiled—Edward, who always froze in terror before her, like a child standing before a monster?
"Now that Edward belongs to the House of Gray, if Your Majesty wishes, I can submit a request for an audience on his behalf. You need only tell me."
It was a warning.
Without Jade's permission, even the Empress no longer held any right to exercise authority over Edward.
Seeing how sharply Jade bristled whenever Edward was mentioned, the Empress raised both hands slightly, as if stepping back.
"Edward may despise me, so I could not easily show it, but I have always cared deeply for Enoch. He is my nephew, after all."
"It has been quite some time since Marquess Blandius permanently expelled Edward from the family. And yet you still regard him as a brother. On his family's behalf, I thank you."
It was the Empress herself who had played a significant role in Edward's expulsion.
Clicking his tongue inwardly at her shamelessness, Jade continued.
"The engagement was canceled only yesterday, yet you—who were not even present—seem to have learned of it remarkably quickly."
"It was the engagement of my beloved nephew. Even in poor health, I kept my ears open."
The Empress cast a light glance around the reception room before continuing.
"I wished to see Enoch in person and offer my congratulations, but it seems his discussion with Dame Emblem has yet to conclude. That forest is quite a dangerous place for a conversation. Even if he has awakened to a Swordmaster's power, someone should remind him not to grow overconfident, Duke."
"……."
Jade had thought he had been careful to keep matters contained, but it seemed the Empress's ears truly were spread wide across the Empire.
"If one intends to discuss breaking off an engagement, surely the proper order would be to consult the elders first."
"To speak of a broken engagement is still premature, Your Majesty."
"I heard that Dame Emblem rejected Enoch rather fiercely that day. It pains me to think of it. Judging by how long their discussion has lasted, Enoch must be trying to persuade her even now. And yet, what could Enoch possibly lack, that he should suffer such humiliation?"
Jade's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
The Empress did not miss it and pressed on with a voice full of regret.
"To draw a sword against one's betrothed, who had just completed a grueling subjugation in Kratyn and come straight here to fulfill his duty, before not only the Empire, but foreign guests as well. What manner of discourtesy is that?"
"……Ahem."
"The responsibility for resolving this matter should fall squarely on the Emblem family. However, for the Imperial House or the House of Gray to demand accountability would be… burdensome. After all, following Seffield Emblem, it seems Cherrya Emblem has also grasped divine power."
The Empress's tongue was as sly as a serpent's. Listening to her, one might think the House of Gray had endured a public humiliation without protest, too fearful of the Emblems—who had produced not one, but two Swordmasters—to raise its voice.
That she could speak such words before Jade Gray, a man practically forged of pride in his house, was something only the Empress would dare.
The corners of Jade Gray's mouth trembled.
~ 'Until we uncover who the true contractor of the demonkin is, we only need to maintain the appearance of discord between Emblem and Gray. That way, the Empress will believe she can seize Gray and wield it, and she won't make any extreme moves.
Benedict Emblem's voice brushed past his thoughts.
Now that he thought about it, the idea was absurd.
"It hasn't been long since the engagement was canceled. We simply prioritized urgent damage control. Do you truly believe the Emblems—who know nothing but how to swing a sword—are capable of handling a matter of this magnitude properly?"
"Just as I thought. Strip the sword from the Emblems, and what remains?"
"Nothing but incompetence. Seffield Emblem, without a blade in his hand, he's nothing more than a senile old man who never grew up."
As expected. The Empress smiled in quiet satisfaction.
The union between Emblem and Gray had been driven solely by the will of Melsia and Diana.
Between Jade Gray and Seffield Emblem, the hatred forged through a long and bloody history still lived and breathed.
That Seffield alone could provoke the man known as the Ironblood Duke was something the Empress knew well.
"To think Seffield Emblem and the Duke of Gray becoming in-laws. I always found it a most ill-matched picture."
"Your Majesty's eye is sharp indeed. I would sooner bite off my own tongue and die than become that bastard's in-law-"
As though finally releasing the revulsion he had suppressed until the engagement ceremony, Jade poured out his scathing contempt for the Emblems.
The engagement had been, for all intents and purposes, unilaterally arranged by them.
It was only natural that Jade Gray harbored resentment, and the Empress's decision to scratch at that wound had been perfectly calculated.
At this rate, a union between Emblem and Gray will be impossible forever.
The Empress found reassurance in her own conclusions, while Jade's thoughts strayed far beyond them.
When Benedict had suggested that he feign hostility toward the Emblems, Jade had responded coldly.
~ 'Are you telling me to pretend to hate the Emblems?'
'How could I dare give you orders? I merely-'
'I praised you for being clever, and now it seems you've gone blind with it.'
Seeing Benedict's flustered expression at his outburst, Jade had made his declaration without hesitation.
'As long as Seffield and I live, the feud between Gray and Emblem exists on its own. Do you really think I need to act that out?'
'Then...'
'Once I've had a good, thorough go at cursing the Emblems, the Empress will open her mouth on her own. Just watch. Tsk, setting the mood and calling it "acting," as if any were needed.'
When Gray cursed Emblem, what acting was there to be done? It was a completely unnecessary demand.
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