Noah commented on Annette like this:
A person who has nothing but his life.
“Remember the story your brother told you. What did Annette Martinek say when she kicked out the maids?”
Thanks to Mabel's detailed explanation, Simoren knew quite a bit about what happened at that time.
[Helen tried to convey the nuance of whether she thought it would be okay for her to treat us like this, but it didn't make sense at all. He said, are you going to kill him, or are you going to go and tell His Majesty?]
Mabel had said that it was the first time she had seen Helen, who was usually in good spirits, lower her tail so easily. Noah, who was listening to Mabel's story next to Simoren, was certain.
“Normally, in something like that, you don’t immediately ask if you would kill yourself. normally…Yes, you might ask what you can do about it.”
Noah thought of Annette who came to visit him. She definitely said that in front of Noah. I should have known then that you had an unstoppable personality.
“Most people don’t talk about their lives in empty words over such trivial things. That’s a story only people say when the only thing they can risk is their life.”
“…Aren't you overthinking this? You might think I said that to threaten you.”
“In other circumstances, yes. Even if something goes wrong, your head won't be blown off. But this is the imperial palace, and Annette Martinek has already fallen out of favor with His Majesty.”
Even though Peter warned her several times, her actions were unstoppable. Some might say it was bold, but Noah knew well that boldness did not just mean courage.
“Annette Martinek, she has nothing to lose. And when playing card games, those who have more to lose are bound to lose.”
So, we should leave it alone for the time being.
At that time, Noah spoke earnestly to Simoren. Simoren understood Noah's concerns, but his opinion differed from Noah's.
“Noah said that. Annette Martinek has nothing to lose. So you shouldn’t make any hasty moves until you know what she wants.”
“My opinion is also the same. Do you want to present a different opinion?”
"No. However, if you can’t move because you don’t know what you want, wouldn’t you need to try to find out what you want?”
Above all, Simoren felt that Annette was not a very safe person.
“It looks like she might cause some unnecessary harm to my sister, so I’m going to personally watch from the side for the time being. Please allow it.”
“…”
As soon as Simoren finished speaking, silence fell in the room. For some reason, Peter just stared at Simoren and did not open his mouth first. In fact, Peter was just as shocked by Simoren's judgment.
This does not mean that Simoren made a wrong decision. His judgment was rational and reasonable at the same time.
What made Peter laugh was Annette's actions in making a rational and reasonable judgment.
‘I thought I was the only one having fun.’
The day he last confronted Annette, he had warned her.
[Live holding your breath. If you want to preserve that neck even a little longer.]
That was Peter's complete sincerity. He intended to use Annette as a shield against other nobles, but he did not intend to keep Annette by his side and use her to control his own madness, as Annette said. All he had to do was stay in a corner of the palace until he achieved his goal.
However, with just a few words, she instantly increased her presence in the palace.
Noah was afraid of Annette, Monique couldn't overcome her curiosity and went to see Annette, and Simoren volunteered to stay by her side.
Peter's intention to make Annette invisible completely failed.
If she couldn't erase her existence, it was better to find out what she wanted, as Simoren said.
The problem is that it is impossible to gauge her feelings at the moment.
“It’s clear that Annette Martinek is making a fuss… I don’t know what they’re trying to achieve by starting a fight.”
If it had been another noble, would it have been clearer what it wanted?
Martinek is a nobleman, but he is a distant nobleman. As an analogy, should I say it is similar to managing the northern frontier? In return for their loyalty to the imperial family, they became administrators of the underworld, the operta. And since most of the Martineck family's interactions took place within Operta, they had little interest or desire in the rest of the world, such as the social world.
‘That’s why I chose Martinique over other candidates.’
When things happened like this, it was difficult to understand the intention.
If things continue like this, Annette's wishes will be completely played out.
Peter thought for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“Permission is granted. As of now, you are in charge of escorting Annette Martinek.”
"Thank you!"
“There is no need to thank me since I am entrusting you with surveillance, but there is something for you to do.”
I have no intention of playing around like this.
If your opponent is holding a bomb that is certain to explode at some point, it is better to explode it right away than to be anxious about not knowing when it will explode. Now that Peter knew that Annette was planning something, he decided to make it bigger and blow it up.
And there just happened to be a suitable excuse to raise the plate. Peter took out two sealed envelopes from a drawer and handed them to Simoren.
“Send a banquet invitation to the Empress and Annette Martinek.”
“By banquet, do you mean the owner’s Thielemann Memorial Banquet?”
"okay."
Thielemann Memorial Festival, or Thielemann for short.
Thielemann declared a truce recognized on the continent immediately after Courtenay II's war of conquest.
Courtenay II, who was a murder fanatic in the past, defeated each of the Allied powers at a furious pace until just before his death. As a result, the empire took great flight. However, any further war was too wasteful both diplomatically and internally. Even if you conquer a country, if you cannot completely absorb it, it is meaningless and will only lead to conflict, but Courtenay II did not care about such things and was just enjoying the war of conquest.
Therefore, immediately after the death of Courtenay II, the empire declared that there would be no more wars of conquest to restore internal unity and diplomacy, and this was the Thielemann Declaration.
In the Welfga Empire, the Thielemann Memorial Banquet was held every year to prove that the declaration was valid. Unlike other imperial banquets, where any nobleman could attend, the Thielemann Memorial Banquet required an invitation to avoid causing unnecessary trouble at a banquet designed to protect peace.
So naturally, Monique, who has a bad reputation and a strong antipathy toward Peter, and Martinique, the manager of the back world, have been excluded from this banquet so far.
Of course it would have been right this time too, but Peter was not interested in peace at the banquet, even if it was peace on the continent.
“If you want to grow a plate, you have to grow it properly. That way, we will have a clear picture of what Annette Martinek wants.”
What kind of public opinion does she want to create, and what desires does she have?
What does her trap exist to catch?
“Remember, Simoren. My goal is not to find Rowell.”
Peter was looking for traces of Rowell. But what he was looking for was not simply Rowell's whereabouts or Rowell himself.
Peter's goal was to erase Rowell's existence from the world.
“No matter what Annette does, don’t be swayed.”
So Peter's words were not addressed to Simoren but to himself.
* * *
Fire in Hessen. And extinction.
They were like a yoke to Peter. He still remembered that day vividly.
The day I heard that the Hessen mansion was completely burned down by the emperor.
It was also the day he first rebelled against his father.
“Father!”
“Don’t shout. You have no manners.”
Oh no, young Peter couldn't even breathe and was crushed to the floor of the emperor's office. It was because of the former emperor’s magical power. Although the former emperor was not as strong as Peter, he had quite strong magical powers. At least subduing a small child wasn't a task.
However, Peter did not stop screaming even though he was crushed to the floor.
“The Count of Hesse is not a traitor!”
“I rebelled against Jim. That is treason.”
“That makes sense... Wow!”
Peter's words did not come to fruition. This was because he was kicked in the solar plexus while he was talking.
The late emperor watched his son rolling on the floor, unable to breathe properly, with indifferent eyes.
“I don’t know why there is so much opposition. “Does your name seem so unreasonable, son?”
The toe of the late emperor's shoe supported Peter's chin. He looked with amusement at the contempt on his son's face, who looked exactly like him, and then smiled.
“Actually, what you say is not wrong. Jim is also not hardened enough to talk about treason just because of that.”
It was a funny thing to say from someone who kicked his son in the solar plexus while he was attacking him.
“Do you want to know why Jim really killed them? You are my son, so there is no reason why I can’t tell you.”
At that time, the late emperor had lost his companion. Few people knew that this meant he was going crazy. Many people say that the late Emperor was quite sane not long before his death, but Peter did not think so.
No one in their right mind would do such a thing.
As Peter gritted his teeth to suppress a moan, the former emperor bent down and grabbed his collar. Then he whispered.
“The Hessen were exterminated only because of you, Peter.”
It was all for you.
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