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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kie]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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Chapter 32: His Majesty's Order
Some of the servants at Count Arsene's estate had their pockets lined thanks to the generosity of their new mistress.
Selina's confidants, including Ben, were worried about their lady who was still imprisoned, but there was little they could do in Count Arsene's absence.
Those skilled in flattery were taking advantage of Flora, who was delighted by the consecutive invitations to the Imperial Palace addressed to the Acting Head of the family, Brandon, to secure hefty bonuses.
Today, Flora passed by, praising the gardener for the beautiful flowers and ordering him to be given a bonus more than double what he received yesterday.
Head butler Rory, who followed Flora around calculating the estate's finances, had new wrinkles on his face.
'Please, show some restraint.'
Currently, there was no one in Count Arsene's household who could rein in Flora.
The servants of this family always knew who the real master was and acted accordingly.
They had served under Count Arsene for a long time.
They tolerated Flora's excessive spending and behavior to a certain extent because she was Count Arsene's second wife.
But that was it.
The servants, being commoners themselves, were reluctant to serve a commoner master.
This was evident in Flora's inability to make any real allies during her long time in Count Arsene's household.
Flora and Brandon didn't have loyal servants like Ben, Cathy, or Nora.
But Flora didn't care.
The servants bowed their heads before her, if only because of the Count's orders.
Flora was content with that.
Brandon felt the same.
He didn't care about winning the hearts of the lower classes.
Therefore, there was no one to inform them of how they were perceived by others, especially the Emperor, or what news was coming from the East Palace.
They were like fish living in their own happy fishbowl, content with their lives.
"As you all can see and hear, you know that our Brandon went to the Imperial Palace again today to visit His Majesty. Even when Selina was the Acting Head, His Majesty didn't extend invitations this often. If you serve Brandon sincerely from now on..."
"Madam."
Flora, who was giving her daily speech to the lined-up servants, was irritated by Rory's sudden appearance.
"What is this? Can't you see I'm in the middle of an important conversation?"
"Madam, someone has come from the Imperial Palace. It's a matter that requires your direct attention."
Flora was startled at the mention of the Imperial Palace but quickly composed herself.
"I suppose our Brandon sent someone because he needs something. Tell them to come in."
"That's not it. Please read this first. I will obey the Imperial order. Everyone, stop standing here and prepare to welcome the Imperial knights."
'Im... Imperial knights?'
Flora was dumbfounded as a group of Imperial knights stormed into Count Arsene's mansion, which she had been treating as her own.
"From now on, we will escort Lady Selina Arsene to the Imperial Palace by order of His Majesty the Emperor."
"..."
"You need to say, 'I will obey His Majesty's order.'"
Rory prompted her, and Flora, regaining her composure, said, "I... I will obey His Majesty's order."
"Move."
"Yes."
The Imperial knights headed towards the East Palace without any guidance.
"You need to sign the official document I gave you earlier and return it to that knight."
"What is this? Why do I need to sign this?"
Flora couldn't understand the official document even after reading it.
"Due to Count Arsene's prolonged absence, the well-being of the family has become unstable, and the Imperial Family cannot simply stand by and watch. We will appoint a formal Acting Head of the family and determine the extent of their authority to ensure the stability of the family, which has been loyal to the Imperial Family for a long time... What does all this mean?"
"It means that His Majesty will decide whether to appoint Master Brandon or Lady Selina as the Acting Head of the family."
"What are you talking about? The Acting Head of the family is our Brandon! His Majesty even summoned Brandon for three days to talk and dine with him!"
Rory, sweating profusely due to Flora's loud remarks without any regard for her surroundings, said, "Lower your voice. Just mentioning 'His Majesty' could lead to those people to talk about execution."
"I haven't said anything wrong, so why would I be punished!"
"You can be punished for mentioning high-ranking individuals carelessly anywhere. Thanks to my father, you've been in this house for quite a while now. Don't you know there's such a thing as lese-majesty, Flora?"
"Argh!!"
Flora covered her ears and screamed at the sound of the voice she hated the most.
There was no trace of the dignity of a Countess.
"You! How dare you come out of there! Get back in right now! What are you all doing? Someone go and lock her back in the East Palace!"
Selina laughed as if she found Flora's tantrum amusing and said, "His Majesty is so concerned about the lack of order in Count Arsene's household that he's going to personally appoint an Acting Head of the family. Are you saying you won't follow his orders, Flora?"
"Stop calling me Flora! Who are you to be talking here? You're just supposed to be stuck in the East Palace!"
Selina frowned slightly as if her ears were hurting and ignored Flora, disappearing in the direction the Imperial knights were guiding her.
Ben, watching the situation from afar, breathed a sigh of relief.
'Thankfully, she's out before the two weeks are up.'
Selina had given Ben various instructions in preparation for being confined in the East Palace for over two weeks.
If Cathy failed to make contact with the Grand Duke's family or if the Emperor showed more patience than expected, Ben's task was to create a reason to get Selina out of the East Palace.
The most certain way was to create a situation that Brandon or Flora couldn't handle, something that would damage the family's reputation.
It was like asking Ben, who had served in Count Arsene's household for generations, to betray his loyalty and harm the family for the sake of his master.
'I would have followed the lady's orders, but it would have come with immense guilt. Thankfully, it didn't come to that. Please return safely, my lady.'
Ben wasn't worried about Brandon becoming the Acting Head and Selina being locked up in the East Palace again.
Unless the Emperor truly intended to ruin Count Arsene's family, the decision between Selina and Brandon was obvious.
"I need to see His Majesty too! Take me too! This is something he needs to decide after hearing from me, the mistress of the house!"
Flora, with inexplicable courage, clung to the Imperial knight and spoke, but Rory quickly approached and pulled her away, saying, "He's not someone you can see just because you want to. Lady Selina will go first, so nothing will happen to Master Brandon."
"No, isn't it because she went that something will happen to our Brandon?"
"Do you still not understand what kind of person Lady Selina is? Please be reasonable!"
Flora was taken aback and fell silent as Rory raised his voice at her for the first time.
After confirming that the Imperial knights had left the mansion and even locking the doors, Rory approached Flora and said, "Forgive my presumption, but I have something to say. The Imperial Family should not be too close or too distant. This is something the master always says."
Rory spoke sincerely, hoping Flora would understand the situation correctly.
"Master Brandon's frequent visits to the Imperial Palace are not necessarily a good thing. No one knows what's happening inside. At least if Lady Selina goes with him, she'll prevent anything that could harm the family and protect Master Brandon's life."
Rory spoke with all his heart, but Flora thought for a moment and then slapped Rory's cheek.
"Are you saying our Brandon is bound to make a mistake in front of the Emperor and be put in mortal danger! How dare you speak such nonsense! You of all people!"
At that moment, she didn't know that the Emperor was indeed toying with Brandon's life in the Imperial Palace.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kie]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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