The Great Wish - Chapter 9.3

Vol.2 Chapter 9 Part 3 

In the late hours of the night, Doug Rimone stealthily entered the Palace, making sure to keep out of sight. After attending Sienna's coming of age banquet, Doug hadn't shown his face at any of the social functions proceeding it. 

He acted the devoted son who was nursing his ill father back to health. Rumors about the duke's severe illness swirled amongst the nobility. 

"There shouldn't be any problems, right, Brother?" 

 It had been a while since the siblings had met, but they were in contact almost everyday through their messengers. 

"It's perfect. Even if you look at him up close, it only looks like he's sleeping." 

Not only was the corpse not decomposing, but it didn't even look like it was dead. It was a wonderfully preserved specimen. These results had required the best specialist as well as a sufficient amount of time 

When the two siblings had decided to postpone the news of their father's death, they hadn't expected to spend so much effort in this endeavor. Their plans had not proceeded smoothly. This was because the Princess wasn't moving as they had expected. 

Originally, they had planned on spreading rumors about the royal engagement and then announce it officially within the next couple of months. 

However, they hadn't expected the Princess to reject Joseph. She didn't explicitly say that she didn't like him, but they were unable to strongly push him on her. If they made one wrong move, there was a chance that the Princess would become interested in her own marriage and begin to interfere. 

"I need to slowly begin coming out now." 

Staying in the house for too long would be dangerous. If no one saw the duke for a longer period of time, people would begin to talk. 

"A couple times a day, I'll be taking Father out for a stroll." 

He was planning on having their father's corpse on a moveable bed as the butler pushed him around the garden. If the servants caught sight of this, the news would naturally spread outside. 

They would keep knights posted around so that no one would be able to approach them. It would only be proper that a duke lying in his sickbed would be strictly guarded. 

"That's a huge relief. Now if only that bastard would disappear..." 

Patricia began to grind her teeth. A fierce gleam flashed in her eyes. 

"We should have gotten rid of him." 

She clenched her jaw. 

"I told you we should have gotten rid of him no matter what." 

Doug didn't say anything and merely coughed awkwardly. 

"You were being too passive, Brother." 

"I did my best, too. But if the Emperor finds out..." 

"If you're too careful with that sort of thing, then nothing will get done! If that bastard is dead and gone, then the Princess will be the only heir. What can the Emperor do?" 

"But he's only just a half-blood..." 

"You never know what can happen. Don't be too complacent." 

"I heard my dear niece already handed her staff report to the Emperor." 

Doug stealthily changed the subject. 

"...I can't tell what the Princess is thinking nowadays." 

Patricia pressed her temple with her fingers. There were a lot of things on her mind lately, and her chronic migraine seemed to have returned. 

"She didn't take a single one of the people I recommended." 

"Not one?" 

Patricia chewed on her lips. Something didn't feel right. Something seemed out of place. 

"There's someone close to her whispering into her ear. There's no doubt about it." 

"Who?" 

"I think I have an idea of who it can be." 

The image of Countess Pope popped into Patricia's head. 

'I should've gotten rid of her when I had the chance.' 

Patricia was the one who had put Countess Pope as Sienna's chief lady-in-waiting. Back then, the countess was from a family with no influence, and she didn't seem like the type to meddle. Patricia had seen her as an easy tool. However, it ended up being a grave mistake. 

'How dare she alienate the Princess from me?' 

But she would take care of it. Her plan was already in motion. 

They heard someone knock on the door, and a lady-in-waiting entered the room. 

"What is it?" 

Patricia's voice sounded sharp. She had ordered them not to bother her because she was in the middle of an important meeting. 

"The Silver King has come." 

"What? She's outside right now?" 

"Yes. What should I do?" 

The proper and formal Princess always sent someone ahead of time whenever she visited. But she was suddenly here without word so late at night. This was unprecedented. 

"Bring her in." 

Her relationship with the Princess was very distant lately, so she couldn't send her away now. 

Sienna entered the room. When she saw that Doug was inside, her eyes narrowed. 

To those on the outside, the mother-daughter pair were the same as usual. Sienna always came once every few days to greet her mother. Therefore, the distance was only felt by the two involved. 

"Come in, Silver King." 

"It's been a while, Your Highness." 

"It seems that I've interrupted your time together. I apologize, Mother. It's been a while, Uncle. Have you been well?" 

"I've been well, Your Highness. Your presence is no bother at all. It seems that I'm quite blessed to have met the Red King and the Silver King tonight." 

"How is Grandfather?" 

Doug responded with a gloomy expression. 

"It's still too early to say that he's completely cured, but thankfully we have passed the dangerous phase of his sickness." 

"Thank goodness. I heard that you've been staying by Grandfather's side all this time, Uncle. I was quite worried." 

"I'm sure the duke knows you've been worrying about him, Your Highness." 

"It seems that I haven't kept my promise to visit him. I will go visit him tomorrow." 

"Sorry?" 

Doug's surprised eyes shook. 

"Silver King, the duke is in no condition to receive visitors at this time." 

Patricia spoke up. 

"I'm not a visitor. I'm his granddaughter, and I'm going to see how he's doing." 

"Your Highness, the doctor advised he stay completely calm. Why don't you come visit him a while later?" 

Sienna found Doug's refusal odd. In the past, he'd always try to find an opportunity for her to visit the residence and show it off to others. 

"I understand. Please send Grandfather my regards." 

"Yes, Your Highness." 

"Silver King, what brings you here at this time? Is there something urgent?" 

"I wanted to talk to you about my marriage." 

"About your... marriage?" 

Patricia tensed up. 

"Yes. Ah, before that, there's something I wanted to ask." 

"Yes, what is it?" 

"I heard the representative at the Ceremony Department has changed. Do you know anything about that?" 

Sienna had sent someone with an inquiry to the Ceremony Department and came to find out that Count Dicken, the previous representative, had been let go. This happened a few days after the coming-of-age banquet. Count Dicken had actually left the capital altogether, and his successor was an unfamiliar face. 

"Silver King, Mother doesn't know anything about politics." 

Patricia gave Sienna a soft smile. She didn't seem flustered at all. 

"Brother, do you know anything about this?" 

"I'm not sure. I can go and find out." 

They completely rejected the final chance Sienna had given them. Sienna already looked into this matter before she came here. Patricia had stepped in and replaced Count Dicken with someone from Doug's in-law's family. 

Sienna hadn't expected them to tell the truth. The problem was how easily these two lied. They were used to lying. Mother and Uncle both. 

"Silver King, what did you want to talk about regarding your marriage? Mother is very afraid of what surprising thing you will say." 

"Should I take my leave...?" 

"It doesn't matter if you listen to this, Uncle." 

Doug, who had awkwardly stood up from his seat, sat back down. 

"I thought about it and felt that it would be best if I just did as you said." 

"What do you mean?" 

"I'm sure you didn't recommend just anyone to me, Mother. In both family and character... And I'm sure you checked whether this person would be of help to me in the future. I believe that you looked into all of this before you recommended them to me." 

Patricia's face transformed as she looked suspiciously at Sienna. 

Then her expression changed into one of disbelief before slowly changing into one of deep emotion. Her eyes reddened. 

"Princess, so it seems that you understand your mother's true heart." 

Patricia's mouth stiffened for a moment before softening. 

"As I've said before, there are several candidates." 

"I don't want to waste any time. Shall we go with the second candidate, Levi Morton?" 

"If you'd like to take my recommendation into account, I think Lord Luke would be a better choice." 

"That's fine. Then I'll become engaged to him." 

Sienna sifted through the memories of her dreams, and she knew that while she did get engaged, she never married. And if it hadn't been for the interference of her dreams, she would have easily become engaged to Joseph. 

 Either way, her engagement to Joseph would be broken for some reason or another. That was fine. She could just get engaged to someone else afterwards. 

"Are you serious?" 

"Yes. But I don't want to have the wedding anytime soon." 

"Of course we'll listen to your wishes, Silver King. But why... Weren't you reluctant before? I thought you didn't take a liking to Lord Luke." 

"I won't take a liking to anyone you bring me. No one catches my eye." 

"Oh dear. It seems that my daughter has impossible standards." 

Patricia's eyes gently narrowed. 

"Either way, I'll need to marry. I don't want to have to concern myself with it anymore." 

"Yes, I understand what you mean. Mother will take care of it for you." 

After Sienna left, Doug laughed happily. 

"It's finished. Since the Silver King said all this, it's all over now." 

Patricia didn't look too pleased. 

"It's strange." 

"What is?" 

"Why did she bring up her engagement all of a sudden...?" 

"I'm sure the Silver King finally understood what position she's in. She realized that her marriage will secure her spot. She's matured." 

"The Silver King isn't the type of person to concern herself with things like that." 

"I'm sure seeing that bastard's coronation changed her somewhat." 

"Brother, please keep an eye on Earl Luke. You never know what the Silver King may say later." 

"All right. I'll take care of it." 

Doug finally left. Patricia remained lost in thought. She couldn't shake off her suspicions. 

'I should keep an eye on those around the Princess as well. All the people I've planted around her have been uprooted.' 

It hadn't been long since Sienna had changed. A person's mood was always unpredictable. 

'Then I should buy off one of her ladies-in-waiting.' 

Patricia ordered for a list of Sienna's new ladies-in-waiting to be brought to her. Once she knew of their wealth and background, she'd be able to find someone who would faithfully serve her.