“Did you hear what that woman just said?”

In the banquet hall, the atmosphere was unbearably heavy.

Within the deathly silence, Count Harlet, whose temper was always the worst, finally spoke first, his tone already deeply hostile.

“She said those willing to wait can keep waiting, and those unwilling... can get out!”

Count Harlet clenched his fist, about to slam it onto the table before him, but when he remembered that even this table was an extremely expensive treasure, he hesitated, and in the end forcibly swallowed his rage.

“She is simply... looking down on us!”

“Exactly! How arrogant, how insolent! The Empire did nothing more than win a single war, yet which family here has not continued for centuries? Which one of us does not have a history older than the Empire itself? How can she be so utterly contemptuous? So... rude?”

Marquis Nick was also simmering with anger.

The scene from earlier kept surfacing in his mind.

That woman... that Imperial affairs officer... that mere attendant of the Emperor... that lowborn wretch who supposedly had not even been a noble at the very beginning!

She had actually just come in, dropped those words, and left without offering any explanation at all?

Those willing to wait could wait? Those unwilling could get out?

Vulgar! Rude!

He could endure the pain of losing the war.

He could also endure the sorrow of the capital being breached.

But only this kind of humiliation, this direct slap to the face... was hard for him to endure.

The name Nick was a noble surname accumulated over several centuries. How could it possibly be humiliated at will?

One had to know, even when Saint Peron V was still alive, at least on the surface, he had treated him with all due respect. How could these Imperial people possibly...

“Enough!”

Grand Duke Tebokri suddenly barked.

“Each and every one of you, merely because of such a trivial matter, begin complaining and wailing here, believing yourselves to have suffered some enormous insult. Doesn’t that instead make the other side look down on us?”

“But, Your Grace, this is entirely the Imperial Emperor...”

“Then what can you do? Are you going to lead troops right now and drive the Imperial army out?” Grand Duke Tebokri glared furiously at the crowd.

“......”

Everyone immediately shut their mouths. No one answered.

What a joke. Cursing with their mouths was one thing, but leading troops to drive people out now? One had to know that the Imperial army stationed inside the city numbered one hundred thousand, and all of them were elites who had once defended the Empire’s borders!

Forget leading troops. If anyone dared stroll onto the street with a weapon in hand, they would immediately be treated as rebels and hacked to death.

They had the resolve to sacrifice themselves for the nation... but they did not consider themselves fools.

Of course they would absolutely never do something that stupid!

“Look at you all. Your words sound dignified and righteous, but in truth you are timid and foolish. Can’t you see it? This is also deliberate on that Imperial Empress’s part!”

“Your Grace means...”

“Hmph! At this level, every word and action has meaning. Do you truly think the Imperial Empress was delayed by something and therefore could not come? Heh. Ridiculous. She is the Imperial Empress. To her, is there anything right now more important than seizing benefits from the Kingdom? Could it be that she was bewitched by that Muen Campbell instead? Someone capable of reaching her position—how could she possibly be troubled by private feelings?”

The more Tebokri spoke, the angrier he became. In the end, he even began striking his cane against the floor with loud taps.

“Can’t you see it yet? This is another display of pressure! She is deliberately testing our quality!”

“In other words...” Marquis Nick was the first to react, his expression changing abruptly.

“Exactly! Displaying prestige was for outsiders, while this pressure... is aimed at us! If we retreat merely because of one sentence from her, if we lose composure merely because of several hours of waiting, would that not demonstrate our cowardice and incompetence? When the initiative falls into her hands, how will she manipulate us then?”

“Hiss...”

Once the others heard this, they immediately sucked in a cold breath.

After fighting those worms within the country for so long, they had nearly forgotten that this opponent was not those useless worms, but a true beast that devoured people without spitting out their bones!

The Imperial Empress!

Celicia Leopold!

A mighty ruler who, despite being so young, reigned over that vast Empire!

Facing this kind of beast, they had to be careful, careful, and more careful still. Otherwise, one mistake would lose the entire board.

“However, that said, everyone need not be overly worried either.”

Seeing the others’ expressions turn solemn, Grand Duke Tebokri stroked his beard this time, his tone easing slightly.

“As I said just now, the more she uses such underhanded tricks outside the board, the more it shows the Imperial Empress is fierce in appearance but weak within. She herself is not certain either, which is why she keeps using these little tricks to test us. Therefore, as long as we respond calmly, once she sees her scheme has failed, naturally she will be the first to lose her footing!”

“Hiss... I have been taught.”

After hearing this speech, Marquis Nick could not help feeling endlessly moved, and praised him sincerely. “As expected of Your Grace. If not for you, we may well have fallen into the Imperial Empress’s trap today!”

“No need for excessive praise. You are all still young. It is only proper that I lend you some support.”

Grand Duke Tebokri waved his hand, his expression proud.

“Since we already know the other side’s goal, then naturally there is a method to respond. Once the Imperial Empress arrives later, none of you should speak first. Wait for me to cross blades with her once or twice and display the dignity and pride of us Kingdom nobles. After that, you can follow up!”

“Understood!”

Everyone’s expressions became invigorated. The exhaustion of waiting bitterly for two hours vanished completely, as if they needed only wait for that Imperial Empress to step onto the battlefield and truly fight with her before they could successfully obtain victory.

They would win!

That was what everyone thought.

......

After another stretch of waiting.

A full three hours after the appointed time, Celicia finally appeared with calm, elegant steps.

There were no excessive ceremonies, none of the enormous pageantry Saint Peron V had displayed each time he appeared at a banquet, not even accompanying knights or guards.

The Empress of the Empire appeared alone just like that. In the eyes of the Kingdom ministers, she was composed and tranquil, as though she held everything in the palm of her hand.

“Everyone, you’ve waited a long time.”

She arrived at the seat of honor, casually swept her gaze around, and said, “In that case, sit down first. No need for too much courtesy. Eat first. Only after eating your fill will you have the strength to talk.”

“......”

The Kingdom ministers’ eyes flashed, and their moods could not help turning grave once again.

She still had the mood to dine at a time like this?

Although they had heard that Imperial noble etiquette was the simplest, surely it was not to the point of having no etiquette at all.

Was she not even going to offer the most basic greeting?

Or was the Imperial Empress harboring some other purpose again? Had the true clash already begun?

The Kingdom’s several representatives looked at one another, truly unable to figure out the Imperial Empress’s approach.

However, just as Grand Duke Tebokri had analyzed earlier, the more the Imperial Empress mystified things, the more it showed she lacked confidence!

Then they only needed to be a little forceful and cut down her arrogance. This move would naturally collapse on its own.

After exchanging glances, the few of them ultimately proceeded according to the agreement from earlier, with Grand Duke Tebokri stepping forward to test her first.

“Respected Imperial Empress!”

Grand Duke Tebokri directly stepped out. Though he was elderly and leaned on a cane, at this moment, his every gesture carried a presence far surpassing the other nobles.

“I have a word...”

“Mm?”

But at that moment.

Celicia, who had just sat down, suddenly furrowed her delicate brows.

A certain expression that seemed pained, yet also seemed to carry some other meaning, appeared upon her cold face with that motion.

She shifted her body without a trace. A strange sensation from earlier had been triggered by the motion of sitting down. That itself was nothing, but just as Grand Duke Tebokri happened to rise and speak, she turned her head subconsciously to look over. Thus that expression, carrying a special meaning, immediately congealed under the lingering resentment in her mind toward a certain three people into a chill comparable to thousand-year frost.

“What do you wish to say?” Celicia asked in her usual manner, or so she believed.

“No... I...”

In an instant, Grand Duke Tebokri felt that beneath those icy eyes, he had been stripped naked and thrown onto an ice plain. The bone-piercing cold wind blew until he trembled, and that terrifying chill seemed ready to drill into his soul and tear him to pieces.

His body shivered. His legs went weak. His hand clutched his cane tightly, forcing himself to remain standing. The words in his mouth circled through his throat who knew how many times, but because his lips were frozen to the point of trembling, he was unable to utter a single complete sentence for a long while.

“What exactly do you wish to say?”

That strange sensation remained in the depths, impossible to stop and impossible to ease. Therefore, Celicia was even less patient than usual.

“I... I wanted to say... wanted to say...”

Grand Duke Tebokri, who bore the duty of leading the main attack, under the pressure of that increasingly cold and indifferent gaze, found his legs going soft, and actually knelt down just like that.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty! Felicitations, Your Majesty!”

Marquis Nick: “???”

Count Harlet: “???”

Count Carter: “???”

Huh? Kneeling?

Huh? Congratulations?

Huh? Felicitations?

Grand Duke Tebokri, what exactly are you doing? Didn’t you say you would display the dignity and pride of us Kingdom nobles?

This, this, this... this is not what we agreed on!

All the Kingdom ministers were completely dumbfounded.

“???”

Celicia clearly had not expected this move either.

Her gaze lowered along with the kneeling Grand Duke Tebokri until it reached the floor. Looking at the person who was now nominally the highest-ranking figure in the Kingdom press his head tightly against the ground, slight confusion rose in her heart, and she asked curiously,

“What are you congratulating me for?”

“O-of course, I am congratulating Your Majesty on your achievements. As the Emperor of the Empire, you successfully breached the Kingdom’s capital. This is a great feat that no Emperor of the Empire in history has ever accomplished! Not to mention Your Majesty has only ascended for a little over a year, yet you have already swept away obstacles on every side. You are truly heroic and vigorous, worthy of being called a mighty ruler of an era! I believe that even in the history books a thousand years from now, Your Majesty’s name will surely leave a rich and vivid stroke!”

Grand Duke Tebokri pressed his head against the floor, feeling the chill of the smooth surface. Yet this cold was not even one thousandth, one ten-thousandth, of what he had felt just now.

It was not that he was spineless, nor that he was cowardly. Rather, with his decades of rich political experience, he believed there had been a tiny little error in his analysis just now.

Facing such overwhelming authority, one should not risk a head-on attack out of stubbornness. Instead, retreating for the moment in order to advance later might be the better choice.

One had to know that “killing with praise” was also a commonly used method among all kinds of schemes!

That was right. Although the plan had changed, his original intent had not. He was still a good minister who was fearlessly devoting himself to the Kingdom!

“I have heard your words, Lord Tebokri. Your praise makes me very happy. Perhaps it may even prove useful to peaceful relations between the two nations in the future. Though coming from your mouth, it does sound somewhat strange... Rise first and eat.”

Celicia tapped the table lightly.

If Grand Duke Tebokri had acted this way normally, she would inevitably have grown vigilant, believing these people were still restlessly trying some petty trick.

But at this moment, she merely thought about it briefly before, for a certain reason, quickly shifting the center of her awareness to another, far more pressing confrontation.

Beneath her skirt, her long legs rubbed together twice without a trace, yet Celicia’s posture sat even straighter and taller. The cold, proud aura radiating from her remained undiminished, commanding awe.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Grand Duke Tebokri rose with no small amount of shame. He also understood what the mockery in the Imperial Empress’s words just now meant. As a Kingdom minister, praising the Imperial Empress so lavishly was truly rather humiliating.

However, he considered this humiliation to also be for the sake of the Kingdom. If he did not first make the Imperial Empress grow smug and lower her guard, how could the following series of negotiations proceed smoothly?

Thus Grand Duke Tebokri lifted his head, intending to confirm the results of his burden of humiliation.

Then...

“Hiss. How is that possible...”

Grand Duke Tebokri’s expression changed slightly, and he could not help sucking in a cold breath.

Because after his flattering praise, although the Imperial Empress had said verbally that she was pleased, she showed absolutely no sign of pleasure at all.

Her delicate brows were slightly furrowed. Her face was frosty. Her eyes were narrowed, staring off toward some unknown place.

Where was there any pleasure in this? She looked completely offended!

Why? Clearly, Saint Peron V would be overjoyed as soon as he heard the words “mighty ruler,” but this Imperial Empress...

“Hmph!”

Celicia suddenly gave another cold snort.

Grand Duke Tebokri thought she was displeased because he had dared to look directly upon her honored face. His breathing immediately caught, and he did not dare look any longer. He quickly lowered his head and rapidly began thinking about where exactly he had spoken incorrectly just now...

......

“Useless!”

Seeing the changes in Grand Duke Tebokri’s expression, Marquis Nick knew that this duke, in whom they had placed such high hopes, had clearly failed.

Dignity? Heh.

Pride? Heh.

This fellow was nothing but a spineless coward!

To think he had been forced to his knees by a single look from the Imperial Empress. He was such a cowardly and incompetent man, yet Nick had actually respected him so much just now, believing him, like himself, to be a pillar minister capable of saving the Kingdom from crisis.

Bah!

I, Francie Nick, swear by my family name that I shall despise this man for the rest of my life!

However... despising him was one thing.

When Grand Duke Tebokri failed and everyone else’s gazes gathered on him, Marquis Nick knew that next, it was his turn to act.

Grand Duke Tebokri’s poor opening had made their situation much more difficult, but Marquis Nick was utterly unafraid at this moment.

He was different from that weakling Tebokri. He, Francie Nick, was a true warrior. The warrior badge bestowed upon their family by the Kingdom’s king three hundred years ago was still stored in his antique display case at this very moment!

“Respected Imperial Emperor, I, Nick, boldly invite you to taste a fine wine from my family’s collection.”

After witnessing the Empire’s strength, Nick decided to continue the approach established at the beginning of this banquet: using precious collections, luxurious treasures, and rare curiosities to temporarily please the Imperial Empress, while also allowing the Imperial Empress to realize through these things that although the Kingdom had been defeated, their strength was still not to be underestimated!

Flexible and measured, soft and hard in tandem!

This was the skill of an outstanding noble!

“......”

“Your Majesty, please...”

Opening the wine, pouring the wine, presenting the wine—Marquis Nick personally handled every step, fully displaying his sincerity and attitude.

Celicia, meanwhile, remained in that same posture, cold and proud. Though she was clearly sitting here, she seemed as though she already existed in an incomparably distant place, allowing others only to raise their heads and gaze up at her.

However, the fact that she did not speak to refuse the offering of wine already reassured Marquis Nick considerably.

“By the way, regarding the peace terms Your Majesty gave us some time ago.”

Seeing Celicia casually accept the wineglass, though she did not drink, Marquis Nick still felt this was a good opportunity, and pressed onward while the iron was hot.

“Concerning the clause about war reparations, the amount of seven hundred billion Aimier—is it not a little too...”

Crack.

The Empress, who had always been cold and proud, like a snow lotus standing apart from the world atop a high mountain, suddenly moved.

Her brows furrowed deeper. The frost upon her beautiful face became even more terrifying. Her gaze still remained in some unknown distant place, but that clear chill was already spilling out madly.

The wineglass was crushed directly in her hand, precious wine flowing down along her fair, jade-like fingers.

Marquis Nick, who had just thought he had taken a great step toward success, immediately turned deathly pale with fright and did not dare move.

Only after quite a while did Her Majesty the Empress seem to notice everything that had happened. She turned her lovely head slightly.

“What did you just say? Say it again.”