Richard read the report that the servant handed to him.

The Emperor and Ancia continued to have more exchanges. Today, he gave her a lot of precious ingredients as gifts since she liked to cook.

It wasn’t just ingredients. From dresses to jewelry to mana stones, the Emperor sent Ancia gifts every day.

Tenstheon provided only a bare minimum budget to the Crown Prince’s Palace. However, these days, he sent numerous items to the Crown Prince’s Palace under the pretext of bestowing gifts to the Crown Princess, Ancia.

Did she win the Emperor’s favor because she submitted conclusive evidence to overthrow Marquis Hamel’s family?

Tenstheon was the only person Richard acknowledged.

Richard once hoped that such a man would be his father and tried to get noticed by him, but no matter what he did, he was unable to penetrate Tenstheon’s impenetrable fortress.

After capturing the monstrous Crown Prince’s heart, Ancia captured the heart of the Emperor too.

What the hell happened to Ancia? How could she become so different?

If Richard knew it would be like this, he would’ve just accepted her feelings for him before.

So he tried to change her mind.

He even gifted her the breath of mermaids that he had been saving for an important occasion. But Ancia didn’t spare even a glance for Richard’s sincerity.

She was so heartless.

But that was why he wanted her even more. The harder it was to get something, the more he wanted it.

How can I change Ancia’s mind?

He felt that he could do anything to make this child his.

Richard was still pondering over how to get a hold on Ancia, when suddenly, his father, the Duke of Cassil, called for him.

Richard entered the office of Duke Cassil. The eldest son of Duke Cassil, Frank, was also there in the office.

“You…”

A blunt object flew in his direction before he could finish. It was always the same routine, so Richard just turned lightly to avoid the object.

“How the hell did you handle this?!”

“What are you talking about…?”

Richard knew what the Duke of Cassil meant, but he still feigned ignorance.

“How come you don't know?! The Emperor sent gifts to the Crown Prince’s Palace. The Crown Princess has also been going in and out of the Imperial Palace! They even plan to attend the ball during the festival together!”

Soon, the Imperial Palace would hold a ball to celebrate the Emperor's safe return.

It was part of the festival that was called the ‘Sealing Festival’*. The Sealing Festival was the most important event in the Empire. In fact, not only the Empire, but also the entire western continent would be celebrating it.

*TL note: The Emperor succeeded in sealing the Door of Darkness, so it's called the Sealing Festival.

What would happen if the Emperor appeared at a ball where envoys from all over the world gathered?

Everyone would think that the Emperor regarded the Crown Prince highly, and naturally, the prince's position would rise.

“Is that so?”“You can;t do a single thing right. From the Marquis Hamel incident to the Sealing Festival! You good-for-nothing!”

The Duke of Cassil blamed Richard for all the incidents that took place recently, while Frank, his half brother, laughed from the sidelines.

The Duke of Cassil was the Emperor's brother. But even though they were brothers, the difference between them was like heaven and earth.

Arnold Cassil was jealous of Tenstheon and coveted his position, but he lacked the ability to get hold of it.

The Duke of Cassil had three sons. The first son, Frank, and the third son, Neon, were born from the Duchess, while the second son, Richard, was the child of a slave.

The Duke considered Richard as a black stain on his name. He despised Richard and didn't want to admit that one of his sons had the blood of a slave.

Arnold Cassil always passed on everything to Frank and Neon.

A Crown Prince already existed, but he was doomed to die under the curse, so the position would soon belong to either Frank or Neon.

Sadly, the eldest son, Frank, resembled the Duke of Cassil and was similarly incompetent, and the youngest, Neon, was still too young.

The Duke of Cassil was well aware of this, so if there was an easy and honorable task, he gave it to Frank and made Richard do all the difficult and dirty work.

Funnily enough, no matter who made a mistake, the one held responsible would always be Richard.

Of course, Richard never slipped up, so he was only unilaterally being blamed for Frank's mistakes.

“I'm sorry. Since it was Frank who gambled with the money that the Marquis Hamel had embezzled, I was busy trying to stop the news…”

“What?! You're gone crazy!”

Frank shouted when his faults were revealed. The Duke of Cassil also sided with Frank.

“I don't want to hear it. You're young, but you want to use nasty tricks on your family. Are you making excuses for that?”

The Duke of Cassil and the Marquis Hamel were close friends, and the Marquis was close to Frank. They were the ones who recommended Brown Hamel as the chief servant of the Crown Prince and entrusted him with the duties of a spy.

But when the incident happened, they blamed Richard. It had always been like this, so Richard didn't even get angry.

“The Crown Prince's influence can’t be allowed to grow anymore! Don't talk nonsense. Think of a way to fix this situation!”

“There's one way.”

Richard said as he bowed politely.

The Duke of Cassil hated Richard's origin, but he still admitted that he had an extraordinary head on his shoulders. The Duke was immediately delighted.

“What is it?”

“It's bringing the Crown Princess to our side.”

“You fool! The Emperor loves her so much. What would she come to us for?”

“No matter how well the Emperor treats her, she’s still the wife of the monstrous Crown Prince. How much longer can she stand living with that monster? If we coax her well, it won’t be long before she gives in.”

“Is there a way to do it?”

The Duke of Cassil was pleased with Richard's words. Although he was young, he was always able to find the correct solution to any situation.

“The Crown Princess has never received her father's love. She should listen to Count Bellacian well.”

“The Count of Bellacian…”

The Duke’s lips went up in satisfaction. Count Bellacian was an easy-to-handle opponent.***

Count Bellacian had been extremely busy these days.

Ancia was favored by the Emperor, so the nobles and merchants fought over who could invite her father, Gilbert Bellacian, to their place.

The Bellacians’ ancestor and great light mage, Laontel Bellacian, was said to have helped Emperor Phillip build the Asteric Empire.

But her descendants somehow failed to properly deal with the power of light, and the future Heirs of Light all turned out very weak.

Now, there was no heir with the full power.

The Bellacian family gradually declined, and Gilbert even got married to the only daughter of a wealthy Baron for their money.

They weren’t even Viscounts, just a Baron family!

When his first wife died after giving birth to Ancia, Gilbert hurriedly wed his second wife. His second wife was a woman of the same standing as Gilbert. They had a lovely daughter named Diana together.

When the Emperor sent him the proposal for his daughter’s marriage, Gilbert panicked.

The person that the Emperor wanted was clearly Diana, but Gilbert could not send his beloved daughter to the monstrous Crown Prince.

Of course, it wasn’t mandatory for him to follow through with the proposal. Emperor Tenstheon was strong, but he was not a tyrant. He wouldn’t retaliate against them for refusing the proposal.

However, Gilbert had already received the huge wedding gift sent by the Emperor, so he sent Ancia in place of Diana.

Anyhow, he had wanted to get rid of that unwanted child. He had sold her at a high price, so there was nothing more he could hope for.

However, Ancia caught the Emperor's eye. These days the Emperor doted on Ancia as if she was his own daughter.

The nobles who had secretly ignored Gilbert and mocked him for having a monstrous prince as his son-in-law changed their attitude completely as soon as they heard the news.

However, Gilbert did not feel comfortable even when he was invited to the aristocrats’ parties.

“His Majesty booked all these fancy dresses for the Crown Princess. My daughter threw such a big tantrum because of that.”

“Haha. He did.”

“I heard that His Majesty also bought this pink diamond for the Crown Princess.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Gilbert reacted nonchalantly, as if he had already known it all. But in fact, this was all news to him.

Ancia hadn't contacted him at all since she got married.

Gilbert didn't want to hear from her either so he didn't care much about it.

Her getting married to that cursed monster was a disgrace to the House of Bellacian.

Gilbert planned to strike Ancia out of the family register if that monstrous Crown Prince died.

But now, things had changed. The Emperor began to dote on Ancia as if she was his own daughter.

Upon hearing the news, Gilbert hurriedly sent a letter to Ancia.

He talked about how Ancia could help the family in the letter, but Ancia didn’t send any reply back.

“I hear you're rearranging the road to the north this time. Isn't Count Bellacian taking charge of building it?”

“With the Hamel family gone, the Bellacians may be given a title this time.”

“If you want any good information, be sure to let me know.”

“My son graduated from the Knight Academy this year, but his grades were a little low. It would be nice if he could join the First Order. Count, please help me.”

Gilbert only chuckled awkwardly as he listened to the nobles.

“Haha…”