Chapter 12
It Was All For You
2023.08.12.
Noah described Annet as follows:
A person who has nothing but her life.
“Remember what your sister told you. When the maidservants were driven out, what did Annet Martineck say?”
Thanks to Mabel’s detailed explanation, Simoren knew the incident quite thoroughly.
[She said it in a tone as if to imply, ‘Do you think you can get away with treating us like this, Helen?’ But it didn’t work at all. Helen asked if she was going to be killed, or if she should report it to His Majesty.]
Mabel had said that she had never seen Helen, who usually had such a strong temperament, back down so easily. Listening to Mabel beside Simoren, Noah was certain.
“Normally, in such situations, people don’t immediately ask if someone will try to kill them. Usually… they’d just think, ‘What can someone like you do?’”
Noah recalled the Annet who had come to see him. She had indeed spoken like that in front of him. He had realized even then that she had a bold personality.
“Most people don’t talk about risking their lives over trivial matters, not even in jest. That’s something only someone whose only stake is their life would say.”
“…Aren’t you overthinking? Maybe she just said that to threaten them.”
“In another situation, yes. Even if it’s wrong, they wouldn’t really lose their life. But this is the Imperial Palace, and Annet Martineck has already fallen out of favor with His Majesty.”
Despite Peter having warned her several times, her actions had remained fearless. Some might call that courage, but Noah knew that boldness didn’t always mean bravery.
“Annet Martineck has nothing to lose. And in a card game, the one with the most to lose always ends up losing.”
So, it was best to leave her alone for now.
At the time, Noah had pleaded earnestly with Simoren. Simoren understood Noah’s concerns, but his opinion differed.
“Noah said that Annet Martineck has nothing to lose. Therefore, until we know what she wants, we shouldn’t act rashly.”
“My opinion is the same. Are you suggesting a disagreement?”
“No. I just think that if we cannot move because we don’t know what she wants, we need to try to find out what it is.”
Above all, Simoren sensed that Annet was not exactly a safe person.
“She might harm my sister unnecessarily, so I want to watch over her myself for the time being. Please grant me permission.”
“…….”
Silence filled the room after Simoren spoke. For some reason, Peter simply stared at Simoren without speaking. In truth, Peter was astounded by Simoren’s judgment.
It wasn’t that Simoren’s judgment was wrong—it was rational and reasonable.
What made Peter let out a wry laugh was that Annet’s actions had led to that rational, reasonable judgment.
’I thought I was the only one being toyed with.’
On the last day he confronted Annet, he had warned her:
[Live cautiously. If you want to preserve that neck even a little longer.]
It had been Peter’s genuine intention. He had planned to use Annet as a shield for other nobles, not to keep her nearby to control his own madness as she had suggested. As long as she survived quietly in a corner of the palace until he achieved his goals, that was enough.
Yet, with just a few words, she had quickly made her presence felt within the palace.
Noah feared her; Monique’s curiosity drove her to seek Annet; and Simoren volunteered to stay by her side.
Peter’s plan to render her invisible had completely failed.
If he couldn’t erase her presence, it was better, as Simoren said, to figure out what she wanted.
The problem, however, was that he had no way of gauging her true intentions for now.
“It’s certain that Annet Martineck is orchestrating something… but I can’t tell what she’s trying to gain from it.”
If she were another noble, her intentions might have been clearer.
The Martinecks were nobles, but distant ones. To put it metaphorically, it was like managing a northern frontier territory. They became overseers of Opelta’s underworld in exchange for loyalty to the Imperial House. Since most Martineck interactions occurred within Opelta, they had little interest or desire for the broader social scene.
’Which is why I chose Martineck over other candidates.’
Now, things had progressed to the point where it was difficult to discern her intentions.
As things stood, they were completely at her mercy.
Peter paused, then spoke.
“Permission granted. From this moment, you will be responsible for Annet Martineck’s protection.”
“Thank you!”
“You don’t need to thank me for surveillance, but there is a task for you.”
He didn’t intend to simply be played with.
If someone held a ticking bomb that was bound to explode someday, it was better to set it off now than to tremble in uncertainty. Since Annet was setting the stage, Peter thought it better to expand that stage and blow it up.
And conveniently, there was a reason to expand the stage. Peter took two sealed envelopes from a drawer and handed them to Simoren.
“Send invitations for a banquet to the Former Empress and Annet Martineck.”
“The banquet? You mean the Tilleman Commemoration, sir?”
“Yes.”
The Tilleman Commemoration, or simply Tilleman, marked the peace declaration after the conquest wars of Kurtne II.
Kurtne II, a past bloodthirsty ruler, had defeated allied nations one by one at a fierce pace until his death. The Empire had been greatly alarmed, and further wars would have been too costly diplomatically and internally. Even if the Empire conquered lands, failing to fully absorb them would only create conflict, but Kurtne II didn’t care and simply enjoyed the conquest.
After his death, the Empire declared no further conquest wars to restore internal stability and diplomatic relations—the Tilleman Declaration.
The Belph family annually held the Tilleman Commemoration to affirm its significance. Unlike other imperial banquets open to all nobles, this event required an invitation to prevent unnecessary conflict at a peace-focused gathering.
Naturally, Monique, who had a poor reputation and resentment toward Peter, and the Martinecks, as overseers of the underworld, had previously been excluded from this banquet.
Peter couldn’t care less about the peace of the banquet itself, though he did care about continental peace.
“To expand the stage, we must do it properly. Only then will Annet Martineck’s true desires become clear.”
What public opinion she wished to create, and what ambitions she held.
What her trap was meant to catch.
“Remember, Simoren. My goal is not to find Lowell.”
Peter sought traces of Lowell, but it wasn’t merely Lowell’s whereabouts or his person.
Peter’s real goal was to erase Lowell’s existence from the world.
“Do not be swayed by whatever Annet does.”
Thus, Peter’s words were more for himself than for Simoren.
The fire at the Hessen estate. And its destruction.
They were a burden to Peter, like a yoke. He remembered that day vividly.
The day he heard that the Hessen mansion had been burned down by imperial decree.
It was also the first day he had rebelled against his father.
“Father!”
“Do not shout. Such ill manners.”
The young Peter could barely breathe, pinned to the floor of the Emperor’s office by the former Emperor’s magic. Though not as strong as Peter’s, the former Emperor possessed significant magical power. Overpowering a child was nothing to him.
Still, Peter did not stop shouting.
“Count Hessen is not a traitor!”
“You defied me. That is rebellion.”
“That makes no… ugh!”
His words were cut short as he was struck in the stomach.
The former Emperor watched his son writhe helplessly on the floor with indifferent eyes.
“I don’t understand why you resist so much. Did my command seem so unreasonable, son?”
The former Emperor’s shoe lifted Peter’s chin. He gazed at his son, who resembled him in every way, with contempt, and then smiled.
“Your words are not entirely wrong. I am not so unreasonable as to call it rebellion over such matters.”
Funny words, coming from the one who had struck his son in the stomach for speaking out.
“Do you really want to know why I killed them? You are my son, so I have no reason not to tell you.”
The former Emperor had lost his consort at the time, a sign that many understood he was losing his mind. Many recalled that the former Emperor seemed relatively sane until his death, but Peter did not believe that.
A sane person could not do such things.
As Peter gritted his teeth to stifle a groan, the former Emperor bent down and grabbed him by the throat, whispering:
“The Hessen family was annihilated entirely because of you, Peter. It was all for you.”
