CHAPTER 37: BAIT

After I arrived at the imperial palace, the emperor’s chamberlain immediately greeted me. He led me through the corridors of the imperial palace, heading towards the emperor’s office.

Although I had never felt this way before, for some reason I was feeling nervous now. After all, I really couldn’t predict in advance how our dialogue with the ruler of this empire would turn out.

"His Majesty is already waiting for you, Lady Weinstein."

Stopping at the right door, the servant did not come in with me, but instead simply pointed his hand, inviting me to enter.

"Okay. I understand."

In the end, I had to enter the tiger’s den on my own.

In the spacious and majestic room that served as the emperor’s office, I almost immediately caught sight of its owner. He was a man with graying golden hair and blue eyes, whose gaze was very similar to Angela’s.

I cleared my throat awkwardly, continuing to stand in the doorway for a moment.

"Grace Weinstein greets His Imperial Majesty."

At that moment, I bowed my head low, lifting the hem of my skirt.

The ruler of the empire, Eidelman, glanced at me and nodded briefly.

"You may rise, Lady Weinstein."

Following the emperor’s command, I stood up and then took the seat that was offered to me. It was a visitor’s chair located directly opposite the emperor’s desk.

The man himself stared intently at me at that moment.

"Lady Weinstein, I’m sorry to have disturbed you so early. You must be tired after your long journey. Shall I have a glass of water brought to you?"

"No, thank you, Your Majesty."

The corners of the emperor’s lips lifted slightly.

"Well, in that case, we can get straight down to business."

At that moment, my throat felt slightly dry, and for a moment I even regretted refusing the glass of water just now.

"Lady Weinstein, you must already guess the reason why I called you here?"

"I don’t quite understand what you mean, Your Majesty."

"Of course," the emperor smiled, "but you can stop pretending in front of me. I already know everything."

"You know?" I asked.

"What happened last night at the banquet. Although I’m not entirely sure, I suspect that your family may also be involved in this matter."

I hesitated.

"In that case, you should have called my older sister. After all, Magritte is the head of the Weinstein family at the moment..."

"Oh, of course, I’ve already thought of that. I spoke to the duchess this morning."

My eyebrows rose involuntarily. After all, I didn’t expect Magritte to actually visit the palace that same day.

"Really? We had a nice time talking about the past. So now it’s your turn."

"......."

I pursed my lips.

"Your Majesty, may I ask what exactly my sister said to you?" I said slowly.

"Of course, she has nothing to do with what happened," the emperor chuckled hollowly.

"And you believed her?"

"I’m not sure yet. I wanted to talk to you first."

"......"

As expected, our conversation with the emperor was more like an interrogation. Until that moment, despite feeling a little nervous, I had managed to hold my ground.

The reason I wasn’t very nervous about meeting the emperor was that I had previously known him only as Angela’s father. And, of course, as the father of the main character in a romantic fantasy game, the emperor couldn’t be a negative character a priori. Most often, in scenes with the main character, he was portrayed as a good-natured old man, ready to do anything for the well-being of his daughter and his people.

His strictness could only be seen in scenes with certain love interests that the emperor did not particularly approve of as potential husbands for his daughter. But even then, he remained a decent man who only wanted the best for his daughter.

For this reason, until recently, I considered the ruler of the Eidelman Empire to be one of the most harmless characters in this game.

But... Ever since I moved into this game, I have sometimes found myself involuntarily questioning my previous beliefs.

And now. The emperor’s narrowed blue eyes, which were directed at me, were more suited to a cunning old fox than a harmless old man.

In the end, I had to answer:

"I’m not sure I can really provide you with any useful information, Your Majesty. After all, I’m just the duchess’s younger sister with no particular influence..."

Hearing my words, Cedric de Stone only smiled.

"Oh, I think you’re underestimating your achievements. After all, as I’ve heard, you’ve had quite a bit of success lately, Lady Weinstein."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"My dear friend, William. From what I’ve heard and saw with my own eyes at yesterday’s banquet, you have recently become his official companion."

I cleared my throat.

"Your Majesty, you are exaggerating the importance of our relationship..."

"Really? So I was mistaken?"

"I was merely accompanying His Excellency at the banquet. There is nothing more between us," I murmured.

Nevertheless, it was obvious that the emperor was not entirely satisfied with my answer.

"Even if that is the case, it is still quite an achievement for you. As I am well aware, William has had no relationship with women since the tragic death of his wife many years ago. And now, suddenly, you have become his companion... Of course, I couldn’t help but be interested in this."

"......"

Of course, I knew that the emperor had mentioned our relationship with Duke Dickens for a reason.

And it wasn’t even that he was particularly concerned about the personal affairs of his former best friend. Of course, it was all about the stunt that Serpens and I had pulled not so long ago, which had helped the duke get rid of his position at the palace. And now the emperor had well-founded doubts that the Order of the Shadow had also been involved in what had happened then.

In fact, that was probably the reason I was summoned to the palace in the first place. Apart from Magritte, who was the head of the family at the time, I myself should not have been of any interest to the emperor. The emperor was well aware of the state of affairs in high society, including the unpleasant rumors that circulated about me.

In other words, under any other circumstances, a wicked woman like me, who disgraces high society by her very existence, would never have been honored with an invitation to the imperial palace. So I managed to find another advantage in our cooperation with the duke. Ultimately, it was thanks to this that I was able to meet the emperor in person.

"I can explain everything to you."

"How?"

"The thing is..." I paused, "Not long ago, I almost died when I fell into a lake. I could have died that day, but fortunately, thanks to a lucky coincidence, Lord Dickens Jr. happened to be nearby at that moment. He managed to pull me out of the water, and thanks to that, my life was saved."

The emperor’s gaze narrowed even more. It was as if he was trying to understand and read my face to see if I was lying or not.

"Is that so?" he finally asked.

I continued:

"After that incident, I completely rethought my life and all my previous actions. I decided to start living righteously, forgetting the past... And, of course, I couldn’t forget the man who saved my life. Since I have neither money nor influence, I couldn’t thank him in any other way. And so... I offered my services as a teacher for the young lord."

"A teacher?" the emperor asked in surprise.

"An art teacher, Your Majesty. In the past, I was quite passionate about it and even planned to go abroad to enroll in the most prestigious art academy on the western continent. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, my plans were canceled. But... Even though a lot of time has passed, I still haven’t forgotten my dream."

The emperor frowned as he listened to my tearful story.

"Even if you say so, there are still many talented people in this empire. Why did the duke choose you?"

"There is no particular reason. I just... I insisted that I really wanted to repay the younger lord’s debt."

"......."

At that moment, a tense pause fell over the emperor’s office.

"Your Majesty, even if you don’t believe me, everything I just said is the absolute truth," I continued to insist.

Although the emperor still looked extremely suspicious, he decided not to dwell on the subject. Finally, he opened his mouth and slowly said:

"Very well. In that case, let’s return to what happened at the banquet. I am absolutely certain that the scoundrel who caused such a commotion yesterday is not a member of the Weinstein family, correct?"

Since I had no other choice, I just nodded slowly.

Of course, the emperor couldn’t have been so short-sighted as to not study the biography and family history of his sworn enemy inside and out. Thus, the emperor was well aware that the previous head of the family, Harris Weinstein, really had no other relatives besides his two daughters.

And, on top of everything else, both of these daughters were complete nonentities, not worthy of any attention. It was for this reason that after Harris Weinstein’s death, the emperor did not continue to keep tabs on the Weinstein family, as he was confident that the remaining members would definitely not pose a threat to him.

"In that case, do you know who it is?" the emperor inquired.

"I..." I hesitated, "I find it difficult to answer."

After my uncertain response, Cedric de Stone just sighed deeply.

"Lady Weinstein, you know that I really don’t have much patience. I’ve already listened to your sister, and now I’m listening to you. And I’m not going to keep listening to the same excuses."

"Your Majesty...!"

"Lady Weinstein, it’s been ten years since I lost my daughter," the emperor’s voice trembled, "and no matter what happens, I will continue searching until I find her. And what happened yesterday only confirmed my suspicions. I already know who the prime suspect is."

"......."

"In other words, even if you don’t want to tell me, I will still force you to do so."

The emperor’s last remark sounded more like an obvious threat that I could not ignore. And so, after a dramatic pause, I calmly declared:

"Your Majesty, as you may know, at the time when Her Highness the Crown Princess was kidnapped, I myself was very young. I really don’t remember much from that time. And... I was just an ordinary lady who had nothing to do with my father’s affairs."

"......"

"I don’t know how else I can convince you and make you believe me, but... This situation also troubles me."

"Lady Weinstein, what are you talking about?"

"I am also very concerned about the missing princess," I said, "and although I am not entirely sure that what happened was really my father’s doing, but... I would also like to help with this investigation."

"What?" After my sudden statement, the emperor seemed genuinely surprised.

"The current Weinstein family has no connection to the Order of the Shadow or the people behind it now," I said firmly. "And I intend to prove my loyalty to Your Majesty and this empire with my actions."

"......."

Finally, I summed up my entire impassioned speech with an equally selfless statement:

"Your Majesty, you can use me as bait to catch this scoundrel!"