RETURN OF THE FEMALE KNIGHT

54. I am Just Too Bored to Let it Go

The Empress Ophelia was seated on a chair with a backdrop of black drapery. The lavishly decorated room was filled with thick clouds of smoke, a fragrance made by Ophelia herself.

"It's not something you should let go lightly, sister."

The man before Ophelia was her brother Duke Cesare, head of the Anita family. Most of the men born of Anita's blood had red hair, and his thick beard and sharp eyes gave an impression of a fierce lion.

"Then what should I do without smiling at this situation?"

"Immediately see the Crown Prince to discuss the case. How dare he torture your men. He should be severely punished."

"That's enough. The Crown Prince couldn't authorize the search because he was sleeping."

Flames erupted in Cesare's angry eyes when Ophelia recounted the report brought by her subordinates.

"That is a joke! They are making excuses and openly playing tricks on us."

"Let it go. I knew the man was sent by the Crown Prince anyway. He escaped and the prince would have covered for him somehow."

The lightness of Ophelia's attitude seemed only to inflame Cesare even further.

"Sister..."

"Stop."

Cesare's mouth immediately snapped shut.

"It is amusing when I look at it. However...the Crown Prince seems to have grown up more formidable than I thought. I didn't expect this from him."

"What kind of low blood could grow up like this?"

Cesare grumbled as if he was dissatisfied with Ophelia's praise for Jungkook. The Empress, however, tapped the table lightly with her fingers and muttered in a low voice.

"I believed the throne would naturally go to Mingyu if he captured the Duke of Lunen, but the return of the Crown Prince was unexpected."

Cesare noticed her troubled face and quickly replied.

"We are still figuring out how to get rid of that pain of a prince. So, sister. It is widely rumored that the Crown Prince will offer marriage to Lady Blaise. Last I heard the Crown Prince personally visited Blaise Mansion, so I don't believe it's a false rumor."

"...Really?"

A political marriage between Jungkook and Lalisa would mean that Count Blaise would be directly obligated to the Crown Prince. So far, the ominous prophecy had repeated impeded Jungkook's relationship with powerful families, and there have been nobles who avoided marriage with Jungkook because of Ophelia as well.

"Hmm–"

She continued to tap on the table with her well-polished nails. Cesare resumed with a confident voice.

"That's why I have a plan in place to ruin the Crown Prince's marriage."

"...That's enough."

"What?"

Cesare didn't even have a chance to explain what he was going to do.

"Let it go. If they want to get married, let them."

"What does that mean? Elder sister. While Count Blaise is not a strong force, he leads the Fourth Order of Knights of the Imperial Palace. We cannot ignore their military force–"

"This is better than the Crown Prince joining forces with the Kraus family."

"...!"

At the mention of the Kraus family he turned quiet. The Kraus family had a large commercial presence in the Ruford Empire. In the tight struggle for power between the Emperor and Empress, Kraus could tip the scales in one way or the other.