"He wouldn't want to intervene in a dangerous war on the imperial throne, even for his sick daughter. There's a rumor that she will be dead sooner or later. Don't worry."

"If Kiellini shows any signs of backing Killian, send someone to Tilia. It's a problem if a girl who can't behave as a normal person dies. I don't want to have a scarecrow who can't have a baby as a Princess. Maybe it's better to kill Iris and make Viscount Raven the Duke."

"Even it is easy to kill the lady, it's hard to deal with the Duke. Even if Mr. Raven is appointed as the successor, it is only after the Duke dies that he receives the t.i.tle. It's a situation where we don't know the time, and it could be counterproductive. If doubts are raised over the sudden death of the princess, the Duke's blade will be headed this way, as well as the possibility that Viscount Raven will be stripped of his position as successor. I'd rather find a way to reconcile with the Duke."

"Will I just marry a Kiellini girl?"

At Francis' s sarcasm, Marquis Marius spoke seriously, "I don't think it's a bad idea. Don't you care about the prophecy that the fortune-teller talked about thirteen years ago, anyway?"

"Are you kidding me? You want me to be the nurse of a girl who is sick and won't die? And remember the old woman's other prophecy. This is something that even the Emperor doesn't know."

---

Twelve years ago, the Duke of Dudley had brought in the fortune-teller who had appeared on the anniversary of the late Empress, had a private meeting with the Emperor, and left the Imperial Castle. He asked what she had said to the Emperor, but she would not open her mouth, and he had tortured her and learned that there were two prophecies.

"The next Empress will be the lady of the highest rank in Austern. And the second prophecy is that the Prince of the birth of the right lineage will be the Emperor." The old woman had added after for a moment, "The second prophecy is the one I did not tell the Emperor."

"Why? Why are you telling me about a prophecy that you haven't told His Majesty?" Duke Dudley squinted suspiciously.

"The second prophecy wasn't clear. That's what prophecy is. It's not exactly about showing it, it's about following people's conversations or similar in another medium. In the second prophecy, I only heard the words of those who rejoiced over the rise of the right descendant of the legal lineage after a long time. I couldn't give the Emperor an inaccurate prophecy."

"Why did you tell me?"

"There is only one reason for an astrologer to say an incorrect prophecy. It's when I want to create chaos with this prophecy!"

Duke Dudley burst into laughter, wondering if the old fortune-teller had gone crazy from torture.

"There is nothing to be confused by your prophecy. If the first prophecy isn't correct, then so is it, but on the second prophecy, the current Emperor has no descendant from his first wife, so it's a prophecy of the next generation."

"I suppose so."

"What matters whether the legal descendant becomes the Emperor or the son of the concubine becomes the Emperor. They are all the sons of the Emperor anyway."

It was important that Francis become Emperor, and he could not afford to wait until the next generation.

The old woman smiled meaningfully at the Duke who snorted as if he were not interested.

The old woman, a native of Bertino, was the Empire's best fortune-teller. Her relations.h.i.+p was not revealed to the public, but she was a woman who served only the family of Bertino.

One day eight years ago, the Emperor saved the Empress from an a.s.sa.s.sin because of the old woman's prophecy. She was on the last month of her pregnancy, and was unable to conceive a baby after that, but the Emperor, who loved the Empress dearly, did not care at all.

The old woman lost her foresight by engaging in someone's fate, but she was able to stay in the Imperial Castle after being credited with saving the life of the Empress. Duke Dudley had noticed that the old woman had disappeared after the death of the Empress, and then reappeared and met the Emperor.

He thought that the old woman who had disappeared so suddenly had visited the Emperor because she had something important to say, and he had guessed right.

The Duke of Dudley tried to detain the old woman in a remote area in order to use her visionary powers. But the old woman disappeared in the middle of the journey, and so far they had not been able to find out where she was.

---

While Francis recalled the prophecy he had heard as a child from Duke Dudley, Marquis Marius nodded and continued to speak, "It's a way to get to the family of Kiellini, but we don't have a choice, because she can't produce an heir."

Francis stared at Marquis Marius, who spoke emotionlessly, as if he were picking up things from the market.

"Are you sure she can't get pregnant? If it's the wrong information, it's completely futile to come all the way to Bertino to meet Christine and put any efforts into Princess Haint."