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Lady Tory explained coldly, “We, Lady Stra and I, will raise the princess. We cannot have you take care of her, so please leave.”

“But Lady Tory, I am the princess’s grandmother and the mother of late Lady Rebecca! How dare you tell me to leave?”

“Even if you didn’t care for your daughter, you could’ve said something nice about her just now, but you didn’t, Duchess Nani, and that is why we cannot have you raise the princess. I cannot imagine what the princess will learn if you were the one raising her.”

Lady Stra agreed, “That’s right, we are the princess’s mothers now, so we will raise her. Please leave, Duchess Nani.”

Duchess Nani was shocked. She stammered, “I… I don’t understand what you are saying…”

“Leave.”

Duchess Nani was no match for the two wives of the emperor. She left the reception area and Lady Tory sighed. She told the duchess to leave, but Lady Tory wasn’t sure if Duchess Nani would obey her order. After all, only the emperor’s order would force the duchess to leave the castle. One fortunate thing was the fact that Lady Tory and Lady Stra were indeed the princess’s mothers. Even if the duchess stayed in Yapa, Lady Tory and Lady Stra could stop her from raising the princess.

Lady Tory thought with concern, ‘What will I do if his highness allows the duchess to stay? And what should I do about his highness who isn’t even willing to see his own daughter…’

Tory regretted making such a rash decision. There was no need for her to get involved like this. She had no idea how things were going to work out, and to stand out like this was not a good idea.

Her plan has always been to remain invisible, so what she did today was a mistake. What happened today… She knew everyone in the castle would find out very soon and she couldn’t even imagine how people would interpret this event. There was no doubt that her enemies would use it against her.

This was why Tory had to remain calm and collected at all times. She could never afford to be impulsive or rash. She needed to make all of her decisions carefully.

Until now, Lady Tory was able to remain calm. As the mistress of the castle and as the lead wife of all the emperor’s wives, Lady Tory has been acting dutifully and diplomatically. It was a bad idea to do anything that might cause a conflict between the emperor and the people of the colonies.

‘I wonder if I will be alright…’

Tory’s hands trembled and when Lady Stra held them, Tory flinched in shock. Logically, Tory knew what she did was the right thing to do, but she couldn’t help sweating because of it.

Lady Stra squeezed Tory’s hands and whispered, “Let’s raise our princess as the best lady of this kingdom.” The way Lady Stra said her words sounded more like an oath to herself rather than a suggestion. Normally, Stra’s words would’ve consoled Tory, but today, they weighed heavily on Tory’s mind. The nicer Lady Stra acted towards Tory, the worse Tory felt.

The maids were staring at the ladies. It was their job to focus on their ladies, but Tory hated their eyes on her. As soon as she was chosen by Marquis Seeze, Tory knew she would have to live the rest of her life watched by others.

***

What happened between Lady Tory and Duchess Nani quickly reached the emperor. Duchess Nani became furious and demanded justice. Lucius the First did not see the duchess in person. He was satisfied with hearing the report from the servant. Normally, he would’ve shown more respect towards his mother-in-law, but currently, he was not in the mood.

He announced, “A child needs to be raised by the mother, of course. Let my wives do what they wish.”

“But your highness… Duchess Nani is the princess’s maternal grandmother… Are you sure about making her leave…”

It made sense that the mother should have the strongest say in a child’s welfare, but in this case, the maternal grandmother was a blood relative to the princess while the emperor’s wives were not. Perhaps the princess would prefer her own grandmother than her stepmothers…

But Lucius the First made it clear that he sided with his wives.

“No, Lady Tory is right. I have been concerned about Duchess Nani for a while now, so this is the right thing to do.”

Lucius the First remembered the day when his daughter was born. It was a hectic and awful day, and as soon as Lady Rebecca gave birth to a princess, Duchess Nani walked up to the emperor and apologized to him. She said, “I am so sorry that my unworthy daughter gave you a daughter, your highness.”

The emperor felt uncomfortable at the time. His wife, Rebecca, gave up her life for this child, yet her mother was apologizing on her behalf. The emperor was upset but what shocked him, even more, was his newborn daughter.

The princess was tiny and fragile. A healthy baby would’ve cried out, but the princess couldn’t even do that. She was barely breathing, and it was obvious that she may not survive the night. Lucius the First became fearful. He was afraid that his daughter might not survive, just like his wife.

He ignored his daughter because of his fear, and it was his mother-in-law, Duchess Nani, who has been taking care of the baby until now. He felt guilty about kicking the duchess out now, but he was certain that it was the right decision to side with his wives now. How could he let someone like Duchess Nani raise his daughter?

Lucius the First asked Sir Ainno, “Is… Is the princess ok?”

“Your highness, you should go see her for yourself.”

Only

All the servants around them looked relieved to see the emperor worrying about the princess. They all knew Lucius the First was a kind man, so they never doubted that he would care for his own daughter when he felt better.

But still afraid to see the princess, Lucius the First asked again, “Is she better?”

“Your highness, you really need to go see her and find out. How could I go see the princess when you, her father, haven’t?”

“I can understand Chail refusing to answer me, but you too, Inno?”

“Your highness, as your protector, you know I haven’t left your side. So how could I have visited the princess?”

“I see… So, I am the problem.”

After hesitating for a long time, Lucius the First finally decided to visit the princess. Sir Ainno was pleased as things seemed to be working out just fine without him doing much work.