Chapter 13: 1st Queen's Scheme
"Apologize" the Emperor ordered with a sigh. If this is just a wedding between Nobles, Emperor William would still side with the Princess
Unfortunately for Riley, the wedding today is between the Duchy of Rothland and the Imperial Family. Not to mention, the Emperor planned on raising Ryden's status. His action came back to bite him
"A-apologize? F-father! How could I?! I didn't do anything wrong!"
Riley felt greatly wronged in this matter. He was simply teaching these lowly people a lesson, why does he need to apologize to them?
The 5th Princess is full of arrogance without that much wits and his mother can only come to his rescue before he could further fall from the Emperor's grace
The 2nd Queen of the Empire - Yvan Carstensen steps out. Just like the Empress, he was already past the ripe age but all the Concubines of the Emperor looks much younger than they look
Yvan Carstensen has auburn brown hair and red eyes. Despite his age, he still looks really beautiful
His beauty might be inferior to the Empress but he was also once one of the greatest flowers of the High Society
"Riley, apologize to the Duke and 6th Prince now" Yvan ordered with a threatening look
He might be spoiling his son but he also knows when they should back down
Since they are on the Empress' side, they couldn't make any mistake. If this matter displeases the Duke of Rothland and His Majesty, the Empress would surely punish them
"B-but..." Riley still wants to protest but the looks he is receiving from his mother made that impossible
The Princess tightly clenched the hem of his clothes as he bowed his head at the Duke
"I-I was wrong, p-please forgive me, Duke" Riley apologizes and the Duke nodded his head
His only goal was to make sure that his family wouldn't lose face. This apology is already enough. If he were to ask for more, that would displease the Emperor
Apologizing to the Duke isn't that hard for Riley but to bow his head into the 6th Prince, he felt greatly humiliated
Even then, he could only swallow all the hatred that he has as he also bowed his head to the disgraceful Prince
"B-brother... I-I ... p-please f-forgive me" Riley forced out those words yet the anger that Ryden holds is still not satiated
"I am not the one that needs your apology, it is my wife! He has a frail body and although I only met him today, I am still grateful for His Majesty for bestowing such a perfect wife to me. What I want is for you to apologize to my wife!"
Despite the anger that he has, Ryden was still forced to continue the act. If not, he might be pinched to death by his wife
Riley barely swallowed the humiliation of apologizing to the 6th Prince but now, he has to bow to another illegitimate child?
This made him reach the limits of his patience!
"No! Never! I will never apologize to that low life!" The Princess shouted angrily. His arrogance really knows no bounce and the 2nd Queen immediately went to stop his son
"Low life? Are you saying that my wife is a low life? Princess, I could still accept it if I am the object of your insult but what kind of husband I would be if I let you say such things to my wife?! Not only did you insult me but also His Majesty!"
For the nth time, Ryden involved the Emperor again. Clyde has nagged him multiple times to make it look like he was grateful for this wedding in front of the Emperor. If he doesn't obey, who knows what kind of fate he would have?
'Seems like he is satisfied. That's good, he should be happy in his current life and never think about the Throne' the Emperor thought in satisfaction
Seeing how Ryden was treating his wife, it seems like he doesn't harbor any ill feelings towards the Emperor for deciding this union
As such, the Emperor has to step up and help his child. "Princess, for how long do you intend to disgrace the Royal Family?" The Emperor asked in a cold tone
He might be indulging and spoiling Riley but the prestige of the Imperial Family is still important
Emperor John William can be said to be an Emperor straight out from a textbook. He doesn't care that much about familial love, for him, that is only second
The most important thing is still the Imperial Family and its prestige that he wouldn't let even his most loved children defame
Seeing how things have escalated, the 2nd Queen decided to deal with this matter using his own hands
Pak!
The Queen slapped his son on his own accord and Riley don't even have the chance to be too shocked as his head was already pushed down in a deep bow by his mother
"Apologize to the 6th Prince's consort right now!" The Queen's tone was dead serious and the Princess could only mutter an apology against his will
"Queen, slapping the Princess is too much. The two of you may retire for now" the Emperor ordered and the Queen excused himself along with his son
This outcome is already quite good as they were given the excuse to go out of the wedding reception
If they continue staying in there, they would just lose more face and the 5th Princess might even continue doing something that the Emperor would dislike
'Nice, this is hitting several birds with one stone' Clyde rejoiced inside him. Even he didn't expect that his scheme would be this effective
He gave the 2nd Queen and 5th Princess a painful hit. Lowering the power and influence of those two would also weaken what the Empress has!
The effect might not be too substantial but it was better than nothing
"Sigh... the 2nd Queen and his child really ruined the mood. What kind of people would ruin someone's wedding? Are they not aware of how joyous this occasion is? They are too mannerless! How disappointing" the 1st Queen - Ether Wace Carstensen commented with a sigh causing the Empress to lightly grit his teeth in anger
The Empress is set in destroying all the obstacles of his son's ascension to the Throne no matter how small it was
The 6th Prince has little to no influence and he also doesn't desire the Throne but the Empress still wants to destroy him and the other heir candidates
The Empress wanted to deal a blow to Ryden and his wife today since assassinating Clyde failed
Not to mention, he was even informed by the Duchess of Rothland that Clyde schemed against him
If a smart and cunning person went to the 6th Prince's side, the Empress would have to eliminate that person
However, because of the 1st Queen's words, Ruby cannot execute his plans anymore
If he also ruined the mood of the celebration, people will have negative opinions of him
Ether's words were meticulously formulated, rendering the Empress' plans useless
The 1st Queen doesn't have any desire to help Ryden but if he could use them to anger the Empress, why not?
"You're right, they really have no manners" Ruby doesn't have a choice but to agree even though the 2nd Queen is in his side since he couldn't let himself suffer a blow
"Hahaha, now, now, let us enjoy ourselves. I prepared special gifts for the 6th Prince and his consort. I hope it would be to their liking" the 1st Queen clapped his hands and two servants steps forward with a box in their hands
The servants opened the two boxes and inside them, a necklace with matching designs could be seen
"Are those blue sea gemstones?"
"Aren't they extremely expensive?"
"His Highness is from the Hammock Dukedom, the second richest Noble Family in the Empire. Even two blue sea gemstones are nothing to them!"
The Nobles gossiped with each other as they talked about the expensive jewelry
Blue sea gemstones just like their name implies are blue in color and they were hella expensive
Not only were the gemstones beautiful, but they are also hard to obtain as they are in the deep parts of the seas
Not just anyone could obtain such a thing
"Your Majesty, as the Mother of the Empire, I wonder what gift you have prepared for the Prince's wedding?" The 1st Queen asked provocatively causing the Empress's anger to rise further
For formality's sake, the Empress prepared gifts for the Prince but it was definitely inferior compared to blue sea gemstones
The 1st Queen is really scheming to make him lose face. As the Empress and Mother of the Nation, Ruby must be generous
His gift couldn't be inferior to one that Imperial Queens prepared especially after the 1st Queen's insinuation
Ruby was so focused on planning how he could ruin this wedding that he forgot that he has another enemy
The 1st Queen despite having a stronger family than the Empress still always loses against him when it comes to schemes. This caused the Empress to underestimate his enemy