# 61
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At that moment, the relationship between the two became tense. In the end, Cyrtain carried out a massacre in Duke Roger's house.
I hid my trembling hands under the table.
“Is Duke Roger firm in his decision?”
“He believes that this move will hasten the breaking of the wings of the Duchy of Spelmann.”
This is correct. If Certain had trusted his friend to the end, it would have been so. But he was unable to do so, and everything ended in destruction.
Of course, my intervention changed a lot of things. If I can play my role well, and if I can play the role of bridge between the two...
I bit my lip hard.
But what if Roger rejected Spelman's offer? Won't the situation get worse?
Wouldn't it be better to steer events towards a scenario that is at least a little predictable?
What if we couldn't predict Duke Spellman's movements at all?
“It seems we have to act very carefully.”
“I know it will be difficult for Your Highness. It will be exhausting for you, your old wound has not yet healed.”
“But it is an opportunity that cannot be missed.”
Before my eyes now, another opportunity to do something. Maybe I can completely change fate and save Sirtain.
And perhaps even save many lives that were unjustly destined to die.
“I will do it.”
My decision had already been made. Even though I know the ending, I'll jump into the fire hoping I can change it.
She suddenly grabbed Julia's hand. Her hand was amazingly soft. I looked into her smart eyes and said
“We will make it work.”
"naturally."
Julia smiled sweetly.
Yes, we will succeed.
I'll save two lives. Therefore, I will continue to apply without hesitation.
At the same time that Evelin and Julia were talking, news from outside reached the Imperial Palace.
“Great Auntie?”
The Emperor's hazy eyes widened due to the drugs.
The butler bowed respectfully.
“Yes, Your Majesty. She wishes to spend her old age in her homeland. She is afraid to travel alone due to her weakness, so she requests that the Crown Prince accompany her.”
“Has my aunt reached that age already?”
“She has already transferred the management of the Curtis Merchant Caravan to her son and wife. She appears to be contemplating retirement.”
“Time flies so fast.”
The Emperor muttered slowly as his body reeled from the drugs.
“If my aunt wants it, Sirtain has to go.”
“Should the Crown Princess accompany him?”
“Crown Princess?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Did he marry Cyrtain?”
The Emperor tilted his head in confusion.
“Haha, is Sirten old enough to get married?”
“Your Majesty! He married Spellman’s daughter, and you allowed it yourf!”
“Ah, ah, did you do that?”
The Emperor burst out laughing. His slanting eyes looked exactly like Sertain's, but his speech was slurred by the drugs, and his incompetence was as clear as the sun.
“So, Your Majesty, do you authorize the travel of the Crown Prince and his wife?”
“Of course, of course! Tell them to go get my aunt!”
“As you command, Your Majesty!”
The butler leaned closer.
In front of the Emperor, the gifts sent by Princess Elizabeth were piled up. The emperor and his concubines laughed merrily as they toyed with the gifts.
The butler suppressed the sigh that was about to escape him and pulled back.
“Aunt Elizabeth?”
Sertin's eyes widened in surprise.
Elizabeth was the youngest daughter of the previous emperor. She fully won her father's love, and was married in a luxurious wedding to the eldest son of the Cortes trading caravan that ruled the seas and continents.
The Caravan of Cortes originated in Llores, but expanded into a global trading power.
Its first founder was a royal prince, giving the family equal status with the nobility to this day.
When Elizabeth left her homeland, the former Emperor granted her the title of Duchess Emeritus.
Thus the name “Duchess of Cortés” appeared in the records of the nobility of the Lycian Empire, and despite the duality of the title, Joris accepted it out of respect for her position.
But since the death of the previous emperor, Elizabeth has not returned to the Lixia Empire even once.
And now, suddenly, she decided to return to her homeland.
A bright smile appeared on Sertine's lips. His clean and handsome face seemed even more radiant.
“It is a pleasure for you to come.”
The butler leaned closer.
Sertin ran his fingertips across his lips, feeling a much better mood.
If every day were like today, the world would be more beautiful.
Perhaps all the hardships he had faced so far were just a prelude to this moment.
It was Princess Elizabeth who secretly sent supplies to the battlefield when resources were scarce.
She was always the rope that saved Sertin from falling, at a time when he felt alone in this world.
When he was starving, she sent him food.
When he was shivering from the cold, she sent him warm and luxurious clothes.
His father, the Emperor, spent money lavishly without thinking, and his mother, the Empress, was weak and helpless.
Amidst this neglect, Princess Elizabeth was the only one who cared for the suffering abandoned child.
Cyrtain was probably around thirteen when he first met her.
“…You, the necklace you wear around your neck belonged to my father.”
This was while he was leaving the hospital near the battlefield after receiving treatment. That day was fateful in every sense of the word.
He did not expect to encounter Elizabeth, who was traveling around the world, in such circumstances.
"So, you're a cyrtain. You look more like my father than yours."
The strong woman with a bold personality laughed, and became his refuge, far from the eyes of the Emperor, and even from the eyes of the Duchy of Spelman.
In all those years, their relationship was not discovered even once.
This was possible thanks to the power of Cortés' caravan, which controlled the continents and seas.
It had branches everywhere, and the name “Curtes” carried weight wherever it went.
It is no exaggeration to say that Cirtain survived thanks to Elizabeth.
“Your Highness, the Emperor has ordered your departure from the country accompanied by the Crown Princess. You must travel to the Kingdom of Joris, the headquarters of the Cortes caravan, to accompany Her Highness the Princess.”
His great aunt was someone who wouldn't move for no reason. There must be an urgent reason to summon him to Yuris.
“He also advised that the Crown Princess accompany Your Highness. He said that this is an urgent desire of Her Highness the Princess, and it must be fulfilled.”
Even Evelin will be with him?
He conjured in his mind the face of his great aunt, who had never asked him anything before. Is there really a problem? Or is it a problem that will happen soon?
“What did my great aunt give my father this time?”
“Two chests full of pure gold, and five golden elephants studded with rubies.”
Sertin laughed. Princess Elizabeth bought his freedom with money.
“I know this idiot very well. He is an exact copy of my father: foolish, cunning, and dirty.”
His mood clearly improved.
"How long is the voyage?"
“It is expected to take approximately two months.”
Two months? A period neither short nor long, but quite sufficient for Duke Spelman to carry out any scheme he may have.
Was it wise to leave the palace?
Who can he trust to take care of things while he's away?
Then he remembered that the western border was bordered by the Kingdom of Joris, where Augustine was spending his honeymoon in the Summer Palace.
A slight smile appeared on his lips.
The pieces started to fit perfectly into place.
Moreover, having Evelin with him was good for her as well.
He will grant her freedom from this stifling palace.
He thought of her bright face as she smiled shyly in his embrace. That tenderness, that warmth he felt with her.
Sertin tapped his fingers gently on the desktop.
“Tell them we'll be launching soon.”
The butler bowed silently and then withdrew.