All I Wanted Was the Alimony - Chapter 14

The Empress Dowager’s birthday was celebrated grandly every year, with many people offering congratulations and wishing her good health. But until now, she had only shown a ceremonial smile, never truly appearing pleased.

And yet this time, she actually looked happy under the pretext of her birthday. In fact, it was the first time she had seemed this excited.

‘That sly old fox must be up to something.’

.

.

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Sidell’s suspicion proved right.

The day before the boat parade, he received unwelcome news from an informant.

“Who was spotted in the capital?”

“The Grand Duke of Ronatere and his wife. The townhouse staff have been busy preparing for their masters, and the Empress Dowager sent the owner of Colte’s Boutique there.”

Colte’s Boutique was the most famous establishment in the imperial capital.

Its designs were luxurious and elegant without appearing overly extravagant, making it a favorite among imperial women.

‘To send the boutique’s owner to the duke’s townhouse…’

At the same time, the Empress Dowager’s previously giddy demeanor flashed through Sidell’s mind.

‘No wonder I had such a bad feeling that day.’

Whatever the Empress Dowager’s reasons, to Sidell it was a disturbing and disgusting pathological obsession.

“Keep watch over every move the Grand Duke and Duchess make. Report immediately if anything unusual happens.”

Dismissing the informant, Sidell descended into the palace’s underground.

Passing between the guards stationed at the entrance, he went down a long spiral staircase until he reached a thick, crude-looking iron door.

There was no visible lock, but it had long been a door that no one could open.

The Room of Truth.

Sidell silently stared at the iron door and clenched his teeth.

“What’s so special about this damn room.”

He pushed at the door with both hands, but it didn’t budge.

Bang!

Eventually, he struck the door with force. His teeth gnashed.

Naturally, the founding myth came to mind.

A god who loved a woman named Alia a thousand years ago gave her this room as a gift.

A room that would reveal all truths to the one granted permission by the god.

The god’s will was to ensure that the beautiful and wise Alia would not be deceived by lies throughout her life.

It was said the room was large enough to hold hundreds of people. But only the direct descendants of the imperial bloodline could open it.

Alia built her house above it.

With the god’s blessing, she founded the Holy Empire of Wibroton, and the house became the imperial palace.

Thus, the founding myth had been passed down quite clearly.

Thanks to the Room of Truth.

The portrait of the first emperor remained vivid.

Alia Wibroton, with black hair and dark red eyes.

Successive emperors had varying hair and eye colors, but the traits of the first emperor reappeared during the time of the then-emperor.

But he died young. The only direct heir of imperial blood was the child in the empress’s womb.

That’s where the problem began.

Since then, the Room of Truth had not opened. The high priest who performed the rite said it was because the throne was vacant when the child was born.

Chaos followed, but without someone who could open the room, the truth remained hidden.

Years passed.

The child born posthumously became emperor.

Though he could not open the Room of Truth and did not govern as well as his predecessors, his son and daughter were born healthy. They were Sidell and Verdi.

The elderly high priest rejoiced at the birth of the imperial grandchildren. Just as he had blessed the posthumous emperor, he gave his full blessings to the children.

The two children were raised and educated in line with their status.

If there was anything regrettable, it was that the Empress Dowager never showed them much affection, despite their precious lineage.

Though she acted appropriately, there was always an invisible line.

Formerly the daughter of a duke before becoming empress, she had a just nature but not a warm heart.

She was only gentle toward her husband, the previous emperor.

Before falling in love and becoming empress, she had been so indifferent that those around her couldn’t even read her emotions.

That distant demeanor extended to her son, the emperor, and so everyone assumed it would be the same for the grandchildren.

Sidell and Verdi thought so too.

Even living in the same palace, they rarely saw the Empress Dowager unless it was a special occasion, so there was little inconvenience.

Then one day, the Empress Dowager changed.

To be precise, it was after she attended the wedding of Paello Ronatere, who had just come of age.

Like being struck by lightning, the Empress Dowager’s expression completely transformed, and she couldn’t take her eyes off Paello.

After offering him congratulations and exchanging brief words, she appeared overwhelmed, like someone meeting their first love.

There wasn’t much said, but she seemed delighted with every word Paello spoke.

She placed one hand over her chest and fanned herself with the other.

Her voice was unbelievably gentle. Was she always this expressive?

Not just Sidell, but everyone was taken aback.

Sidell thought she must be senile.

To desire a young man at her age.

Thank goodness Paello was married—otherwise they might’ve witnessed the disturbing sight of an old woman seducing a young man in the imperial palace.

That’s what everyone whispered.

But a few days later, the rumors changed.

“I think I know why the Empress Dowager is acting that way.”

Sidell happened to overhear a group of elder nobles speaking among themselves at a party.

“It’s that Grand Duke Paello Ronatere. He looks just like the previous emperor.”

Because of that, nobles flocked to the palace exhibition hall to look for the previous emperor’s portrait.

He wanted to dismiss it as nonsense, but even Sidell had to admit Paello bore a shocking resemblance to the portrait of the previous emperor.

Sidell realized that the previous emperor had made a mistake in arranging a political marriage.

The imperial family should have taken an interest in Paello’s appearance from the start.

Had they recognized it in advance, they might have prevented the Empress Dowager from attending the first-ever union between the Holy Empire and the Demon Kingdom.

After the previous emperor’s death, a curious noble began digging further into Paello’s background.

For a while, his family tree was a hot topic at parties.

“They say the former Grand Duke of Ronatere adopted him. Took him in from an orphanage because he was so brilliant and eventually named him heir.”

“The North was financially barren, but that adopted son turned it around. He expanded the territory to eight cities, and even collateral relatives don’t dare oppose him now.”

“Isn’t the Ronatere family the richest in the Holy Empire now? There’s probably not a single northern territory that doesn’t pay them protection money.”

“Goodness! Then could he be the previous emperor’s illegitimate child? With all that talent… they say blood doesn’t lie.”

“The previous emperor would never have had an illegitimate child! What a ridiculous claim!”

“The whole world knows how honest the previous emperor was and how he loved only the Empress Dowager.”

“That may have only been on the surface—who’s to say? Wouldn’t we know the truth if we put Grand Duke Ronatere in the Room of Truth?”

“What if the Room of Truth didn’t lose its power, but the child was swapped?”

“Shh, watch what you say! Do you even understand what you’re implying? That’s dangerous talk!”

Even talk that could be considered treason briefly surfaced and then was quickly silenced. From then on, speculation shifted to whether the previous emperor may have engaged in inappropriate behavior.

Because of this, the Empress Dowager fell into a period of lingering illness.

But one day, upon hearing the news that Paello had come alone to the Founding Festival, she suddenly rose to her feet as if nothing had happened.

She dressed to the nines and clung to Paello.

Asking after his well-being, urging him to try this and that dish, fussing over how hard it must be to guard the North, telling him to take care not to get hurt at the hunting competition—her attentiveness made Sidell extremely uncomfortable.

Whatever the Empress Dowager did, Paello remained expressionless and gave short, curt replies, which at least made it possible for Sidell to keep a straight face.

Afterward, Paello stopped attending any imperial parties, citing his duties protecting the North.

Even when the Empress Dowager sent handwritten invitations each time. Sidell was immensely grateful.

All such matters were placed under indefinite embargo by the press. Sidell used informants from the Rotary Information Guild, which he backed, to quietly eliminate any reporter who seemed ready to speak.

And as the Empress Dowager’s birthday approached each year, he planted spies in the Grand Duke of Ronatere’s castle.

He wanted to hear again that Paello had declined the invitation.

Each time he received the news he’d been waiting for, the Empress Dowager’s complexion would worsen, but he didn’t care.

So what change of heart had led Paello to attend this year’s party?

At least he wasn’t staying in the palace but had gone to the townhouse. That was some relief.

The Empress Dowager must have wanted him to stay in the palace.

‘Has the demon invasion eased recently, leaving things peaceful and quiet?’

Grinding his teeth in silence, Sidell turned and headed back to his office.

‘If things are quiet, I’ll just have to make them busy. It’s about time for war again.’

Then he sat at his desk and began writing a letter.

It’s been a while, Gote Oper the Demon King.