And that brief moment of carelessness came back to haunt her for 25 years.
'And to think that the son of that wretched woman was born with the blessing of God! Aguirres has gone too far, how could he have given the power of God to such a beast?'
Because he was a 'Blessed One', a rare occurrence that only happens once in a hundred years, Beatrice could not easily get rid of Carlyle.
Every time she tried to assassinate him, things went awry in a way that made it seem as if God was really protecting him.
Beatrice thought back to that time and clicked her tongue bitterly.
'It would have been easier to kill him when he was a child… That was a real shame.'
She felt no guilt whatsoever about killing a child. Just as one would not feel guilty about killing a cockroach.
Now, even sending skilled assassins would be difficult, as Carlyle would easily subdue them.
'But still, I have taken away his position as Crown Prince, so it is only a matter of time before he dies.'
The cowardly and indecisive Emperor had given him a useless grace period of three years, but Beatrice was determined to kill Carlyle and make Matthias the Crown Prince within that time.
And she herself would become the Empress Dowager, holding wealth and power in her hands, and enjoying only the utmost glory, as she was admired by all.
'Because I was chosen by God.'
She had been hearing this from her father since she was a child.
[Beatrice. You are the child chosen by God to be the Empress. So believe in God and be strong.]
Coming from a family that had produced many priests, and with everyone in the family being devout, Beatrice believed what her father said with absolute certainty.
She didn't know anything when she was young. But she learned everything when she became an adult.
Hadn't she really accomplished everything, as if she was chosen by God?
'God is protecting me. Just as I became the Empress instead of Evelina, Matthias will become the Crown Prince instead of Carlyle.'
It didn't matter how many people died for that future. Because that was also God's work.
***
Asha and her party found out the day after they unpacked their luggage at the inn that a celebration had been going on in Zyro for a month.
Along with that, they heard the news that local nobles could attend the banquet to be held the day before the end of the festival.
At that time, they thought that heaven was helping them.
"Anyway, since I have the title of Count Pervaz, we can meet the emperor that day if we just apply for an audience!"
TL/N: Since I've noticed that her father was a Count not a Viscount, so I'm gonna stick with 'Count' and when I refer to her 'Countess'.
So they immediately applied for an audience, and now they were waiting for the banquet while sightseeing around the capital.
If the unidentified man had not paid the full amount of the accommodation fee, they would not have been able to enjoy such a leisurely feeling.
"I'm lucky in one way or another."
Of course, it was a problem whether the emperor would pay the war reward, but it was much better than when they were worried about entering the palace.
However, the situation in the palace was not very good.
"Hear ye, hear ye!"
"His Highness the Crown Prince has been dethroned! See the newspaper for details!"
The newspaper boys were shouting at each other at the top of their lungs.
"The Crown Prince has been dethroned…?"
"Let's buy a copy of that newspaper."
Asha and her party, who were sightseeing in the city, chose the cheapest newspaper and bought a copy.
It reported that Crown Prince Carlyle had been conditionally dethroned for the crime of insulting the emperor.
"This is ridiculous."
The group, who were reading the newspaper close together, laughed at the circumstances before and after Carlyle became dethroned.
"He coveted the Emperor's mistress? I've heard rumors that the Crown Prince is a womanizer, but this is a bit too much, isn't it?"
"And how can the Emperor be so shameless as to spread rumors that he's protecting his mistress? While he has the Empress glaring daggers at him? He's so shameless."
"But to be honest, that mistress must have been tempted, right? The Crown Prince is so handsome. He's also closer in age to her."
Luka, Bastian, and Danilo were chattering, but Decker spoke sarcastically.
"I just find it funny. Is it worth filling an entire newspaper with this kind of thing? A love triangle is something they should handle on their own."
The people of Pervaz had long forgotten about the cheating scandals. They were too busy trying to survive to have the energy to covet someone else's woman or man. It was fortunate enough if they could even take care of their own families.
While everyone was laughing at the Emperor and the Crown Prince, Decker suddenly noticed that Aisha was quiet.
"Asha, why are you like that?"
When Decker nudged her, Asha only seemed to come to her senses and her expression relaxed.
"No, it's just…"
"Just what?"
Asha sighed as she looked down at the bottom of the newspaper which was about what war Carlyle had fought in and what achievements he had made in the southern part of the empire.
"I've achieved victory, too… It's just annoying not knowing if we'll even receive compensation, let alone a celebration."
"Hey, are you the same as the Crown Prince?"
Decker snorted as if he thought Asha was being ridiculous.
"Look, look. These guys are 'absolute royalty' who can make a fuss with such a trivial cheating scandal. We shouldn't expect the same treatment."
"Is that so…"
Even though Decker's words were written by his mouth, He wasn't entirely wrong.
The Absolute Royals were those with unassailable power. They lived above the clouds, and it was not in the interests of a class-based society to expect them to be like those who crawled on the ground.
Feeling grateful to Decker for his seemingly unintentional comfort, Aisha tore off a piece of bread.
'Yes, there is no time to be envious of others. It was more valuable to focus on what I had to do.'
"Are the clothes I left out dry?"
"It's been sunny all day yesterday and today. They're dry, so don't worry."
Asha was a little worried that the clothes and cloak she had washed to wear to the banquet might not be dry and smell musty.
Luka, who was listening to the conversation from the side, was worried about something else.
"But, my lord. To enter the palace, don't you have to wear a dress or something?"
"A dress?"
"Since we came to Zyro, I've been observing, and it seems that all the women here wear skirts. Are you worried that someone might say you're not following etiquette?"
In fact, Asha had also worried about that, but there was no way.
'What can I do? I don't have a dress, and I don't have the money to buy a new one.'
When she was a child, her mother tried to make her wear dresses, but she had never worn one since she was twelve. And the dresses she wore as a child had been sold off a long time ago.
Decker pointed out a more important issue.
"Hey, even if you wear a dress, can she act like a young lady?"
Far from refuting Decker's words, Asha nodded her head vigorously.
"What good would it do to go before the emperor in a tattered dress and act like a fool? It would be better to introduce me as a warrior."
Anyway, since she took up the sword at the age of ten, Asha had never thought of herself as the noble young lady Asha.
Asha's mother wanted to raise her only daughter, Asha, as a fine lady and marry her off to a noble family, but she gave up everything one day when Asha was twelve years old.
[Mother, please stop! If I wear these fancy clothes in Pervaz, I'll be nothing more than a well-dressed corpse!]
Asha had been arguing with her mother for two years since she took up the sword. It was the day she first yelled at her mother.
As she threw the dress her mother had made for her with great difficulty on the floor, she saw despair in her mother's eyes. Asha regretted it a little later, but her mother no longer forced Asha to wear dresses or learn ladylike manners.
'That dress must have been my mother's last hope....'
Asha smiled faintly as she recalled the events of 10 years ago.
In the end, her mother, who had declared divorce from her father and returned to her parents' home, died in the same year that her father died in battle.
She tsked and shook off the bitter memories of the past.
'Anyway, there won't be anyone there who will see me as a woman, so this is fine.'
Asha assured herself.
It would have been better if she had remembered her father's words that there is nothing in the world that can be guaranteed. But at that time, Asha did not think that far.
***
"Your Highness, you must attend the congulatory ceremony today."
"Get lost."
Lionel didn't bother dodging the flying ashtray. The ashtray made of crystal hit Lionel's forehead before being caught in his hand and placed back on the table.
Blood trickled down from his forehead, which was cut by the corner of the ashtray, but Lionel did not make a sound. He simply stood in his assigned place, his hands folded, like a statue.
Carlyle, who glanced at him, snapped in an irritated voice.
"You usually dodge well, so why are you breaking your head today?"
"I apologize."
"What do you have to apologize for? The humans who entrusted me with you are the bad guys."
"...Even when you're about to die, you don't say that you're the bad guy."
Only then did Carlyle smirk.
"That's right, that's how Lionel Bailey should be.
Carlyle took a handkerchief out of the drawer and threw it to Lionel, then plopped down on the sofa.
"'Prince' Carlyle is said to be bedridden from the shock of being stripped of his crown prince title."
"Who would believe that?"
"Who would believe that?"
Lionel asked, wiping the blood from his forehead with a handkerchief and sighing. Carlyle answered him shamelessly.
"Are you asking me to believe it?"
He took a cigar out of a top-quality cedar box and lit it.
Through the white smoke, Lionel tried to persuade Carlyle again.