Several nobles approached me with a courage I hadn’t felt since I was about to be expelled.

“Duke……! What happened last time was my fault. Please spare me……!”

As soon as one of the nobles had the courage to speak, the others began to pour out their words like a waterfall.

“At the time, I really thought His Majesty had been defeated……!”

“I had fallen prey to the peculiar machinations of the Estlanders…….”

“Truly, our loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor remains unchanged!”

“Please, only the execution……!”

They groveled, rubbing their palms together in unison.

“Hehe, there’s no use in pleading with me like this.”

Fortunately, Marquis Treve and Count Linoa, who quickly realized what I was thinking, shooed the nobles away like bodyguards.

“You can’t do this here!”

“Don’t bother our duke!”

Cut off by their tight security, the pleading nobles despaired.

“Will we all be executed?”

“Huhuek, we’ll make our wills.”

As some of them began to sob, as if they’d imagined an entirely bleak future, I spoke up again.

“Let me speak to the Emperor.”

Suddenly, cheers erupted around the room.

“Oh, thank you, Duke!”

“It is none other than the Duke!”

Their shouts were soon drowned out by the thunderous shouts of the servants announcing the Emperor’s entrance.

Everyone held their breath as Cardan appeared.

Except, of course, for me.

I took my accustomed place at the head of the throne room and recited.

“Your Majesty, your most loyal subject, the Duke of Baloa, has returned.”

It was almost funny to be groveling after so long.

Unlike me, Cardan didn’t look amused at all.

“It’s been a long time since you’ve been so ill, aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”

“Absolutely not! My desire to be of service to Your Majesty in some small way at this critical time is strong enough to overcome any physical ailment.”

I chuckled to myself as I spoke my words of flattery, and Cardan rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

I folded my waist in half in excitement.

“Do I dare to put up the first item on the agenda?”

“Sure…….”

Cardan sighed and motioned for me to continue.

“There, stretch your back. Your back must be killing you.”

“How dare I stretch my back in front of the sun-like Emperor—!”

I coughed loudly as Cardan covered my face with one hand and moved on to the agenda.

“As you know, when the Crown Prince of Esland stormed the Imperial Palace, there were some nobles who tried to appoint the Empress Dowager as the Emperor’s deputy.”

I could feel the air in the room freeze at the topic I brought up. All but a few nobles were silent and shivering.

“Alas, those who signed the Empress Dowager’s petition.”

Only Cardan leaned back in his throne and waved a hand, his face relaxed.

“The decision to purge them has already been made.”

At Cardan’s declaration, stifled screams erupted from everywhere, and several nobles fell with outright thuds.

“Ahem.”

I tried to maintain my composure.

“If we take them all out, we’ll have an empty council chamber.”

Cardan tilted his head, not sure why that was a problem.

“Wouldn’t that be better?”

His brow wrinkled at the thought.

“As if I wasn’t already thinking about how there are too many men here.”

I wasn’t sure why the conversation had suddenly taken a turned in that direction, but I glanced at the marquis and count standing on both sides of me.

Without asking, I could see what they were imagining.

The image of Cardan filling the room with women, not men, and going on a debauchery spree.

Of course, that’s not what he meant at all.

It was embarrassing to realize how hard I’d worked to create the image of Cardan as a tyrant.

“Haha, if it’s your will, I’ll work myself to the bone to fill the void left by the loss of so many people.”

“No, that’s not a good idea.”

Cardan replied immediately.

“That’s all right, Your Majesty, I’d be happy to be confined to my office and work day and night if it means I can release Your Majesty’s anger against those traitors!”

I grinned broadly, ignoring the chorus of cheers from all around me.

Cardan stared at me, then sighed heavily.

“Alright, alright, I’ll spare them the execution then.”

I gave him a thumbs-up and shouted at the top of my lungs.

“His Majesty is infinitely merciful! I think a hefty fine would be a fitting end to the case…….”

The answer was obvious. At my appeasement, Cardan nodded.

“Very well, do as you please.”

And with that, we were able to move on to the next agenda item in peace.

It had been a long time since I’d attended a council meeting, so I was excited and spoke without pause.

The Marquis of Treve poked me in the side.

“Duke. Are you sure you want to do this?”

He lowered his voice to a whisper.

When I raised my eyebrows in confusion, the Marquis muttered sharply.

“This may be presumptuous of me, but what if he asks you to return the industrial monopoly rights, tax concessions, and subsidies, all of them? Aren’t you running a completely loss business?”

I smirked and shook my head.

“No loss. I should have done this a long time ago, but it’s too late.”

Turning to Marquis Treve, who scratched his head in confusion, I proposed my final item.

“Your Majesty. Finally, I would like to discuss the matter of Your Majesty’s state marriage.”

The nobles in the room nodded in unison, perhaps because they’d all been through so much during the war over the issue of heirs.

Only Cardan glared at me with an unwilling expression.

“What other woman do you propose, a princess from a small country, or the daughter of a noble family in the new empire I don’t know?”

I managed a polite smile at the obvious sarcasm.

“No.”

I lifted a finger and pointed to my breastbone.

“I’d like to nominate myself.”

At that moment, there was silence in the room.

I wondered if he’d heard me correctly, but Cardan remained seated on his throne with no reaction.

Feeling unnecessarily impatient, I spoke again.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a candidate with a better grasp of politics, diplomacy, and economics than I am. I’ve had a good deal of hands-on experience serving as Prime Minister and head of the Duchy of Baloa, and I’ve been trained in the fine arts, fashion, and speech from a young age, so I’m not missing much.”

A voice of agreement broke out here and there, a beat late.

“I agree!”

“Excellent idea!”

Only Cardan remained silent, as if time had stopped.

Just as I was about to tilt my head to see if something was wrong, he suddenly jumped to his feet and declared with a stern face.

“We’re done here for the day.”

What the hell? Did he just reject me……?

As my head reeled from the unexpectedness of the situation, Cardan’s hard voice echoed through the room again.

“Everyone out.”

My mind went white at the obvious edict.

I stumbled, grabbed Marquis Treve’s shoulder, and barely made it out of the room before someone grabbed my arm.

In an instant, my hand slipped from Marquis Treve’s shoulder and was grabbed by a large hand.

“Erina, you must stay.”

It was Cardan.

And with that, everyone but me was removed from the room, leaving us alone.

“Really?”

Cardan asked, holding onto me as the place fell silent.

There was an unidentifiable heat in his eyes. There was an almost desperate look in his eyes.

“Do you really, truly mean what you say?”

I nodded hesitantly and was instantly trapped in his arms.

As if that weren’t enough, Cardan scooped me up and spun me around in a circle.

“W, what!”

He spun me around again, ignoring my panicked squirming.

When he finally sets me down, his face lights up with glee.

“You can’t take it back now, even if you wanted to. You said it in the council meeting, and it’s on record. You can’t take it back.”

I gave up trying to pull away from him and wrapped my arms around the nape of his neck.

“I don’t take it back. How can I take it back, I said it in front of everyone.”

His straightforward laughter rang in my ears, and his arms tightened around me.

“Thank you, Erina. I’ll be really good to you. I promise.”

I whispered as I leaned my head against his strong shoulder.

“……me too, I’ll be as good as I’ve ever hurt you before, maybe even better, Your Majesty.”

“You don’t have to, what you’ve done for me is enough.”

He gently pulled away from me, then stared at me.

“And, no, not Your Majesty, Cardan.”

I suddenly realized what he meant.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the seriousness in his eyes.

“Yes…… Cardan.”

The short word made Cardan smile again.

At the same time, he closed the distance. A soft touch touched my lips, then pulled away.

“I love you, Erina.”

His small whisper sent a ripple through my chest.

I wondered what words could capture the spark, and finally answered. Just the way it was.

“Me too. I love you too.”

As I lifted my head, Cardan’s arms slipped around my waist and his lips pressed against mine.

It was here, at this moment, that I put the past aside and envisioned a new future.

A future where we could be together as man and a woman who loved each other, not as tyrant and servant, not as contract and calculations of interests, not as bonds of faded affection and hatred.

[T/N: Ahhhhhh we’re done ????. What a journey! Thank you, everyone, for reading until the end!]