The whole meeting room turns silent as soon as Alexander finishes his words and bows to the emperor with respect before speaking again.
"My daughter is not well and as this matter concerns her future, I will bring her to meet your majesty privately after she wakes up."
"Excuse me now, Your Majesty."
Alexander speaks and the emperor nods to him in agreement.
It will be better if they talk privately.
"Huh! Does he thinks that his daughter is the only one fit to be the crown princess?!"
Marquise Dean Preston speaks right after Duke Dalton leaves the meeting room.
They wanted the empress to be from their side and currently, his daughter was also one of those candidates.
It is better for them if Eleanora was removed from the crown Princess position.
Otherwise, Dalton duchy will get more powerful and it will become hard to suppress the power of the Imperial family.
"Then do you think your daughter is a good match for my son?"
The emperor's words stunt everyone and Marquise Preston somehow becomes hopeful; thinking the Emperor has an eye for his daughter for the crown prince.
Where Marquise Roselia tried to suppress his laughter as he understood the emperor's intention.
Marquise Preston's daughter is nowhere near the crown Princess and the Emperor just mocked Marquise Preston with his words.
He wouldn't deserve his position as the prime minister if he can't even understand this!
"Your Majesty knows my daughter?"
Dean Preston asks as he was unaware of the hidden mockery and The Emperor smiles.
'I only remember her because of her low-grade acting to attract my son by tripping in front of him on purpose.'
'But my indifferent son just ignored your clown daughter and walked away. That was hilarious!'
The Emperor quietly speaks in his mind.
He only mentioned the marquise's daughter to avert their attention from Alexander's words.
Now instead of focusing on the crown Princess fully, they will think about if they had a chance to make that girl the crown Princess.
This will make them rethink whatever plan they had made to remove the crown Princess from their path and take steps slowly.
Cathain also knew what his father was planning thus he stayed silent and decided to leave the meeting too.
"Please excuse me too, Your Majesty. I have some works to do."
The Emperor glanced at him with confusion as this is the first time that the crown prince is leaving in the middle of a meeting.
But still, he allowed him to leave and Cathain rushes out while his eyes search for someone.
He has to clear some things up from the very beginning this time.
'This father and daughter pair... The only suggestion they have is to break off the engagement. Whether it's in the past or modern life, the first idea they will have is to break off the engagement to run away instead of facing things.'
Cathain walks fast as he gets angry with these thoughts.
Just why do they always think of this as the first solution?
'Like I will let them break it off!'
The crown prince's lips curl up into a mocking smile as he finally spots Alexander, who was probably waiting for the crown prince as he knew about it.
That boy will certainly come after him to talk.
He has noticed the changes in the crown prince, the weirdest thing is how much the crown prince cares about his daughter now.
"Your Highness."
Alexander speaks in a cold voice as his arms were crossed over his chest with an indifferent look in his jewel-blue eyes.
Catharine stands before him as he also gets serious and parts his thin lips to speak.
"Duke... Do you think breaking off the engagement will solve everything?"
He narrows his Ruby Red eyes as he speaks and Alexander moves his eyes toward the crown prince.
"Then what do you suggest?"
His voice was deep and there were no emotions.
Cathain remains silent as he waits for Alexander to finish his words.
"Do you want me to watch my daughter struggle between powers, let her also face the countless assassination attacks I face every day because of the power I hold?"
"She may be intelligent, her powers might be strong but her heart is just like a newborn baby, Your Highness."
Alexander stood straight as he stares at the crown prince, who was still silent.
"She is not like us. She thinks the world is simple. If she does good things, she will be repaid with good things. She trusts in her capabilities and wants to be acknowledged."
His voice gets a little louder before it lowers down instantly.
"But we all know that won't be the case. They will use her and then throw her like trash after getting what they want."
Alexander's words hit on the crown prince's heart as whatever he said was true.
Those nobles accepted her for their benefit and then when she was no longer needed, they removed her from the path.
Using the same Emperor who promised to protect her in their marriage agreement.
"I can protect her..."
Catharine murmurs in a low voice as he adverts his gaze from Alexander.
In his anger, he forgot his sins for a moment.
He was guilty, the killer of this man's beloved daughter.
The Duke was always loyal to him, but still, he put him in prison for a simple argument.
He might have been controlled, but it was he who did it.
He wouldn't be controlled and fall into the trap if he was stronger.
He could have protected her but he became a poison to her instead.
"You and protect her?"
A mocking smile appears on Alexander's face as he looks at the teenage boy before him.
"You have high ambitions, Your Highness. Even if you know that the noble fraction is up to no good, you will remain silent to maintain the peace of this empire."
'Yes, I did that...'
"You will probably try to gain more powers to suppress them like your father. You will think that it will be better to keep her away so that they won't focus much on her... Just like how I am doing now."
'Yes... I also did that and now I have nothing but regrets...'
"To me, she is my 1st priority... But your Highness has to put the empire first as your priority. You won't be able to protect her vulnerable soul which wants to be loved."
"I can destroy this world for my daughter, but you will end up destroying not only her but also yourself. So my decision to keep her away from you is right."
This time, Cathain couldn't even think about anything else.
He sent her away to the battlefield to prove her potential as a knight.
He gain power and she achieved her dreams.
She wanted to be recognized by him but he stayed away from her so that people will think that the Empress has no power and leave her alone.
He waited to take them down but instead, he turned into a puppet for them.
He killed her instead of protecting her.
And this was why the Duke was never happy with their marriage, he already knew the outcome but couldn't deal with his daughter who was in love with the crown prince...
No matter how many years and ages they have lived, he can never get rid of these memories.
But can he let go of her?
Her shiny silver hair shines like silver under the light, her sparkling jewel blue eyes with a smile on her beautiful face as she calls his name with her sweet voice...
Hug her tightly in his arms with no intention of separation, whisper the words he has never uttered to her; show his gentleness which he has never shown her.
Can he let go of this chance, which he desperately wished for during countless sleepless nights beside her motionless body?