CHAPTER 36: GRACE’S DECISION

Well, it seems that in this life, I really should stop being surprised by the surprises that kept happening to me. And this case was no exception.

After what happened tonight at the banquet, the emperor’s letter demanding that I immediately appear for an audience at the palace did not come as such a surprise to me. However, I really did not expect it to happen so soon.

"Of course... The emperor is not the kind of person who likes to put things off."

Continuing to mentally curse Serpens and eagerly awaiting the next day, I had trouble falling asleep that night. And the next morning...

"Madam, the carriage is waiting for you downstairs."

I barely had time to get out of bed and wash my face before it turned out that the carriage from the palace had arrived earlier than I had expected. I could only dream of breakfast. In the end, I had no choice but to leave everything behind and go.

While I was trying to get myself ready, Ruby appeared in the doorway. She was still in her nightgown, her hair tousled and her eyes sleepy.

"Auntie, where are you going so early?" she asked with obvious surprise.

I sat down next to her, gently smoothed a stray strand of hair, and smiled.

"Don’t worry, sweetie. I just need to take care of a few things," I tried to say calmly. "Wait for me a little while, okay? I’ll try to be back before lunch, and then we’ll definitely go for a walk together."

"Mm-hmm," Ruby nodded, still sleepy but obedient.

After I said goodbye to Ruby and left the estate in the care of Edison and Nura, I got into the carriage with the imperial coat of arms that had already been prepared. After the carriage started moving, I just sighed and leaned back against the seat. To be honest, I had no idea what awaited me in the imperial palace.

Well, in any case, if I don’t end up in prison today on charges of sabotaging state power, that will already be a good achievement.

I leaned on the armrest and stared out the window, finally ready to immerse myself in thought. The wheels creaked, the horses surged forward, and the carriage set off. The streets flashed by outside the window, still deserted at this early hour, with people just beginning to bustle about, opening shops and hurrying about their business.

But no sooner had I allowed myself to relax a little than a familiar voice reached me:

"Lady Weinstein, are you really going to an audience with the emperor?"

I flinched, and my heart sank.

"Ah..."

Damn it.

"Serpens, what the hell are you doing here?"

Yes, I was definitely not mistaken when I recognized the owner of that voice as this particular person. And that voice came directly from the place where the coachman should have been, driving the carriage.

"Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to accompany you," came the calm reply.

"That’s clear. But what the hell did you do to the real coachman?"

Serpens Strange hesitated.

"Lady, I don’t think you want to hear the answer to a question you already know the answer to..."

"Oh. Really."

"All right," I sighed irritably, "but what are you really doing here? And what the hell did you do last night?!"

Yes, I still hadn’t forgotten and was still angry with him for it.

After all, how could he do something like that without even warning me? And, on top of everything else, even drag Angela into it!

"What do you mean? Lady, I was just following our plan."

"Plan?" I asked, "The plan to put me behind bars, you mean?"

Serpens sighed.

"Lady, we discussed this with you. Even though you weren’t going to stage a coup, you were still going to enlist the emperor’s support, right?"

I couldn’t help but smile sarcastically.

In fact, that was part of my original plan. Since I was determined to repair my reputation in society and do everything possible to raise the Weinstein family from its knees before Ruby inherited it, having such an influential supporter would undoubtedly contribute greatly to this cause. Serpens said he knew a way for me to quickly gain the emperor’s trust. However...

What happened yesterday definitely exceeded all conceivable and inconceivable limits.

"Yes, and you definitely did me a big favor."

The sarcasm in my voice was really hard to hide. And despite that...

"Lady, it doesn’t matter what you think about it, but this is a really good chance for us."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, based on the current situation, you can choose one of the options that you consider most preferable."

I crossed my arms and frowned.

"And what are these options?" I demanded.

"The first is to frame your older sister."

"Excuse me?"

At that moment, I even thought I had misheard him.

"Don’t worry, I’ve already thought everything through," Serpens said. "We can fabricate evidence and accuse your sister of being behind the revival of our organization and yesterday’s stunt. Once your sister loses her position and is executed for treason, you can officially become the next head of the Weinstein family after her."

"....."

Set up Magritte so that I could become the head of the family instead of her? This idea seemed as crazy to me as the calm tone Serpens used to tell me all this.

Well, in any case, of course, that was out of the question.

And it wasn’t even that I felt sorry for Magritte or that I didn’t want to become the head of the family. The problem was that, again, it completely destroyed the original concept of the game’s plot, which I had been trying so hard to preserve. Not to mention that the current duchess was originally supposed to die under completely different circumstances. For the most part, it was all about Ruby.

The main villain was supposed to return to her family estate no earlier than the coming-of-age ceremony. And besides, if I really became the head of the family, it would only complicate my current task of living an easy and carefree life. As if the problems I already had weren’t enough. Now I would have to take on the official duties of an entire family. No, I was definitely not ready for that level of responsibility. So...

"No. That’s out of the question."

After my firm refusal, the man sighed in disappointment, as if he had already expected such a reaction.

"...In that case, we can move on to the second option," he said discontentedly.

"And what is that?"

"You will help the emperor catch me."

After Serpens unexpectedly said this, I widened my eyes in surprise.

"What?"

"After what happened, the emperor will definitely not rest until he finds out the identity of the new ’head’ of the Order of Shadows. Especially after we gave him that clue about his daughter."

I hesitated.

"And how do you want me to capture you?"

"Don’t tell me you’re really going to surrender to the emperor," I asked.

"Of course not," he smiled. "By that time, we’ll surely be able to find a front man to play that role. Your task will be only to play the emperor’s trusted ally and make him rely on you. And then, when the trap snaps shut, you can..."

"If you’re going to start talking about a coup d’état again, you might as well not even bother," I interrupted him sharply, barely managing to keep from rolling my eyes.

Although I couldn’t see his face at that moment — the carriage partition still stood between us — I was somehow almost certain that he was now pouting demonstratively, like an offended little boy.

"...And then you will be able to achieve what you desire," he finished reluctantly, as if he felt obliged to finish his thought, even though he knew I wasn’t going to listen to it.

In response, only an irritated snort sounded in my head.

"......"

"So what do you think about that, Lady Weinstein?" His voice sounded deliberately polite, but I could clearly detect the smirk behind it.

I was about to say something sarcastic, but at that moment I noticed that the carriage had slowed down and then stopped altogether. The metallic clank of chains, the footsteps of guards, a clear call at the gate — only then did I realize that time had passed much faster than I had expected.

We had already arrived at the palace.

I glanced out the window: high walls of light stone, majestic towers with flags fluttering in the wind, torches on both sides of the gate. It was a familiar sight — the one I had seen before only from a distance, now towering before me in all its unattainable splendor.

Serpens was the first to step out of the carriage. His movements were calm, smooth, too confident for an ordinary servant, but at the same time lacking the provocative grace I was used to. And only when he held out his hand to me did I finally see him with my own eyes.

He was indeed dressed in the clothes of an imperial palace servant: simple, neat, without a single superfluous detail. His silver hair, which usually fell in waves over his shoulders and attracted the attention of everyone who passed by, was gathered into a modest hairstyle and hidden under a headdress.

Thus, despite his initially striking appearance, he had indeed managed to blend in with the crowd and not give himself away.

I just smiled as I took his hand.

"What else could I be thinking about? His Majesty is waiting, isn’t he?"

After my words, the man’s lips also twisted into a caustic smirk.