[Chapter 244] Don’t Call Her a Baby

The McKinnon family was half-dead after receiving the Empress's letter.

If the Empress of Vista, the greatest empire in the world and the savior of humanity, sent a letter to anyone, the recipient should be honored. But, putting aside the theory, when you look at the reality, you're bound to say something like, "There are many different circumstances in the world."

The McKinnon family had special circumstances. For example, their precious youngest daughter had recently been enlisted. The unit she was assigned to was going to fight against the enemy, who was the closest friend of their youngest daughter and practically another daughter to the McKinnon family. They were making all sorts of flimsy excuses to delay her enlistment because they didn't want to see that happen.

On top of that, at a time when all the noble ladies were having problems, they had a daughter who wasn't much older than the Crown Prince and a huge dowry.

"I'll go to the Imperial City in disguise."

The Earl of McKinnon, who was aware of all the problems mentioned above, remained silent at his son's words. The Countess, who was beside him, added,

"What about me pretending to be Diane?"

Please… The Earl felt a slight pang in his heart. The McKinnon Trading Company was currently the largest giant in the Upper Realm, having broken the balance of the three major trading companies in the Empire. And his family in this room were the core of that McKinnon Trading Company.

These usually rational and meticulous people were spouting nonsense at this crucial moment. Of course, the Earl understood. It was about Diane, the cutest, kindest, most adorable, prettiest, and most lovable girl in the world.

Finally, he offered an alternative.

"I'll go to the Imperial City in disguise as Diane."

"Do you think that makes sense, Father?"

"Don't talk nonsense, honey."

Criticism rained down. The Earl complained to his wife and son.

"What's different about your opinion! What kind of sense did you make? You said, 'She's been delaying her enlistment for a long time due to health problems, so as the father of all the people, I'm worried and want to inquire about her well-being,' right? It's not like signing a contract where you just have to deliver the goods later, it's about confirming that our baby is really her, how thoroughly will they check?"

The Earl's words, which he poured out without stopping, looking at his wife and son alternately, silenced the family. After a while, the door to the small tea room where they were gathered opened.

"Brother, Mom, Dad! Are you having tea without me?"

Clang. The moment the door opened without knocking, the three McKinnon family members, without hesitation, stretched out their cups on the table. It was a clever attempt to hide the Empress's letter that was spread out on the table, but the problem was that they all did the same thing at the same time, so their cups collided and broke.

"Oh my! What happened, Madam, Master!"

Betty, who had followed Diane in, gasped and took out a handkerchief. Diane clicked her tongue at the three people who were only silly in front of her. She could tell what was going on without an explanation.

"I already heard about the letter from Her Majesty the Empress. You gave the envoy sent by Her Majesty a place to sleep, right? It means that staying at our house means she won't go unless she's with me, right?"

"How did you know?" The family members coughed awkwardly, having kept the news of the Imperial envoy's arrival a secret from Diane to avoid any possible discomfort for her. The Countess's gaze, subtly asking where the secret had leaked, made Betty, who was wiping the tea from the table, answer awkwardly.

"I met the envoy on my way here."

"Tsk," Joyce said regretfully. "Should we have kept her locked up?" Betty, still with an embarrassed face, pretended not to hear the muttered words.

A resolute anger clouded Diane's lovely face.

"You were discussing how to respond to the letter without me, weren't you? It's my business, and you three were trying to decide what to do without even telling me?"

"Baby, it's…"

"Don't call me baby!"

Joyce shut up, speechless.

Diane glared fiercely. The Earl and Countess, and Joyce, thought even her fierce expression was angelically cute, but they didn't say it because of the atmosphere.

"I'm not a baby anymore! I have social standing! And I have the judgment to be involved in deciding my own future! Don't think of me as a baby!"

It was all true. The Earl, unable to find a valid rebuttal no matter how hard he racked his brains, mumbled sadly.

"But our pretty one, if the Imperial Family has set their sights on you, it means you're in serious danger."

Everyone knew that the McKinnon family was close to the Grand Duchess of Maindelant. If anyone didn't know, by now, Diane's classmates would have spread the news of their friendship in the social circles.

The Empress's recent move was therefore all the more meaningful. Since the nobles were making all sorts of excuses and delaying their response to the Crown Prince's direct summons, it was only natural that she would want to check the situation. But why would the Empress, who had just declared war on the north, which was close to the family, send a personal letter to inquire about the well-being of their young lady?

It was clearly a sign to choose sides.

If they didn't immediately present their daughter, showing their reverence for the Empress's words, they would be considered to be on the side of those vile enemies.

If they quickly sent their daughter, and perhaps even offered a corresponding financial gesture, they would be considered to be on the Empire's side.

It was an understandable move. Now was the time for everyone to clearly define their sides. The Tipian Marquisate was being treated as being on the Grand Duke's side, whether they liked it or not, and his side was growing with every step he took. But the rest of the continent was still their enemy.

And everything the Earl of McKinnon had was surrounded by the Grand Duke's enemies.

"The Imperial Family will want you, angel. As a hostage, and also as a future Crown Princess candidate. Even though our family's history is short, we have something important."

Money. The McKinnon family knew how important it was. It was a much more practical value than knowing how many generations back their ancestors shared the same surname.

Something that made those who ignored them from behind come up to them and smile whenever they had the chance.

"There will be ladies who don't like that."

The Countess added indirectly. It meant that there would be other noble families who would try to harm Diane beforehand.

I know all that. Diane smiled confidently.

"We all knew that, didn't we? When we heard the news of the grand noble families collapsing in the Imperial City, and when His Highness the Crown Prince declared war. We knew this day would come."

The McKinnon family had been vaguely aware that something like this might happen, thanks to the countless pieces of information Neris had given them last year, as if she were urging them to grow quickly.

And.

"You know what to do, don't you? It's something we've already discussed with Liz, isn't it? So, just do it, why are you having tea and talking about it again without me?"

The Earl and Countess, and Joyce, were silent. Their pretty, cute, kind, adorable, and lovable angel was right.

It was just that they lacked the courage. The courage to throw their most beloved youngest daughter into danger, at least once.

Diane sat down in front of Betty after she had wiped up all the tea on the table. She clenched her fist and showed it.

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen. I'm more worried about my brother."

"Who are you worried about, you little kid."

"I'm not a little kid!"

Joyce laughed at Diane's bright appearance, her eyes sparkling as she chirped. The Earl and Countess followed suit, laughing with tears in their eyes.

Soon after, the young lady of the McKinnon Earl's family departed for the Imperial City to answer the Crown Prince's summons.

And she disappeared on a mountain road not far from the Imperial City.

****

"Joyce McKinnon is coming up to investigate because Diane McKinnon is missing?"

The Marquis of Rikeandros snorted after reading the report.

"Investigate, see if you can find anything."

His voice was confident, but a hint of guilt flickered across his face. He didn't regret sending his men to ambush Diane McKinnon's carriage on its way to the Imperial City, but... he wasn't entirely heartless. He was a father, after all, with a daughter the same age as Diane.

But the reason he had decided to eliminate the innocent young lady was also because he was a father. His precious daughter, Megara, had pleaded with him, saying that Diane disliked her and that they would never get along if she became the Crown Princess.

'How did it come to this?'

The Marquis felt sorry for his daughter even at this moment. He was sad that he could do so little for her. He couldn't change her publicly revealed birth now.

So, he had to do whatever he could to make his daughter feel less miserable, even if it meant doing something he didn't want to do.

Even if it meant killing a girl his daughter's age, an innocent girl, and finding a straw man to take her place as the Crown Princess.

'It must have been handled well.'

Only one of the men he had sent to ambush the carriage had survived. A small landslide had occurred near the battle site, so all the bodies had disappeared, but it was better for him because he didn't have to destroy the evidence himself. Besides, the survivor had testified that he had seen Diane die.

It was also a good thing that Joyce McKinnon was coming up to find out about her beloved sister's whereabouts. It meant that another child from a powerful noble family would become a hostage of the Imperial Family.

The Marquis crumpled the report he had finished reading and burned it. Tap, tap. The servant knocked on the door of the small room where he was sitting.

"Is it time?"

The servant bowed his head apologetically in response to the Marquis's question.

"Yes, Your Lordship."

"Alright. Go."

He was taking advantage of a break to take care of personal matters, but the Marquis wasn't in his mansion. He had been staying almost exclusively in the Imperial Palace lately.

First, it was because Abelus was increasingly relying on him, the only grand noble who had provided a large number of troops and the father of his beloved Megara. Second, it was because the Marquis had something else on his mind besides the tasks given to him by Abelus.

People who weren't royalty or officially employed servants in the Imperial Palace were not allowed to stay in the Imperial Palace at will, but the Marquis was given a small bedroom as if it were natural. He spent his time working in the Imperial Palace, only occasionally going home.

A state council meeting was waiting for him now. The Marquis followed the servant towards the large council room in the Imperial Palace.

"Marquis."

"You've arrived."

They were all familiar faces. The Marquis, who had exchanged greetings lightly, paused for a moment. It was because he saw someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

The Earl of Kendal, who had rarely left his mansion after his daughter, Idalia, died, approached him first, his face gaunt like a ghost.

"Duke."

"Earl of Kendal. How have you been?"

"How can a father who has lost his child be well? But I came out for a while because I thought I should show my face at court to fulfill my noble duty."

Of course. The Marquis inwardly clicked his tongue, bothered by the fact that he was attending the meeting today of all days. And the person who had just been talking to the Earl of Kendal was the Duke of Grunehalz. Even the Duke of Grunehalz hadn't been coming to court much lately.

After the nobles took their seats, the Earl of Odroi, the chairman of today's meeting, began the meeting. He first discussed the front lines against the Grand Duke, as much as he could without revealing military secrets, and then brought up other state affairs. The Marquis of Rikeandros naturally became the center of the meeting, sharing his opinions.

And when the meeting had progressed to a certain point, he threw out the topic he had prepared.

"Since the Crown Prince still doesn't have a consort, there seems to be a lot of confusion. Of course, the Imperial Family will make the choice, but can't the Noble Council recommend qualified candidates?"

It was a correct statement in principle, but it wasn't something the father of the Crown Prince's consort should be saying. The nobles, who didn't understand what was going on, widened their eyes, and the nobles who had been previously recruited by the Marquis nodded in agreement, saying it was the right thing to do. The Marquis smiled and continued.

"I know my position is embarrassing. But that's why I wanted to be more proactive in offering my opinion. I heard that some people are too afraid to speak up about the need to find a consort for the Crown Prince, so why don't we gather our opinions lightly today?"

The nobles looked at each other and started with the usual names. A baron's daughter, a viscount's daughter… and soon, the names of countesses' daughters came up.

The Marquis of Rikeandros listened to the sluggish conversation and picked up a name.

"I've often heard that Lady Alekto Islani is intelligent. What do you think, Earl of Islani?"