Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 14 Part 2

Umar’s funeral was held quietly.

The kidnapping of the Duchess of Mecklen and Lady Brianna had been a shocking event for the nobility, so no one attended his funeral. Only Count Verdik and a few of Umar’s relatives were there to bid him farewell.

As a result of the incident, Umar’s family had some of their assets confiscated and were restricted in their place of residence for three years. For the next three years, they would not be allowed to live in the capital or any of the major cities of the empire.

Some questioned whether such harsh measures were necessary, given that the perpetrator of the crime was already dead, but the imperial court did not relent. Thus, the noble kidnapping case, which had briefly instilled fear among the nobility, seemed to come to an end.

On the day of the regular council meeting, the nobles began to gather one by one in the council chamber. This was the first meeting held since the Umar incident, and the atmosphere was tense. Even Marquis Neto, who usually spoke the most, only cleared his throat a few times and looked around nervously.

‘That one fool, Umar, ruined everything.’

The tense atmosphere wasn’t just due to Umar’s suicide. Recently, the Emperor’s actions had changed slightly. After the Umar incident, the Emperor had begun sending inspectors to various cities without notice, conducting administrative audits. Sometimes, they even checked to see if taxes were being used for personal gain by the mayors. Several cases of corruption were uncovered as a result.

The nobles who were caught were, of course, removed from their positions as mayors, and new nobles appointed by the Emperor took their places. It was a shake-up of key positions.

“Isn’t the Duke of Mecklen unusually late today?” In the midst of the tense atmosphere, Duke Nestor opened the conversation with a gentle smile.

Marquis Neto, suddenly realizing the absence of the Duke, looked around in surprise. “He really isn’t here.”

“He’s usually so punctual. What could be keeping him today…?”

“Haha, could it be that he’s too excited about the upcoming birthday party to sleep last night?”

“Hah, at his age? The Duke of Mecklen isn’t one to be excited about such things.”

Following Marquis Neto, Marquis Mathia, Marquis Liege, and Marquis Radsay all chimed in one after another. The Duke of Mecklen’s tardiness was unprecedented, and the nobles’ attention was quickly drawn to the empty seat.

Click.

“Your Majesty!”

“May boundless glory be with Your Majesty.”

At the Emperor’s arrival, the assembled nobles all stood up in unison. With a nod, Lennoch acknowledged their greetings and took his seat at the center of the room.

The insignia on the Emperor’s chest, adorned on his ceremonial uniform, reflected the light and glowed a golden hue. As Lennoch scanned the room, his gaze fell on the empty seat, and his brows furrowed slightly.

“The Duke of Mecklen has not yet arrived.”

“What’s with this tardiness?” Marquis Neto’s voice carried a hint of impatience as it reached the ears of those present.

It was at that moment that the Emperor’s gaze darkened slightly upon noticing the empty seat.

“Your Majesty, I have something to report before the meeting begins,” Marquis Delph stood up from his seat.

Unlike the other nobles, he was usually so quiet and unassuming that one could forget his presence. His gaunt face and sunken eyes gave him a weary appearance, but in reality, he was a passionate scholar and a renowned professor at the academy.

Seeing Marquis Delph, who was always calm amidst the lively debates of the nobles, speak first, Lennoch asked in a curious tone, “What is it?”

“Before that, may I humbly ask for Your Majesty’s permission to allow Count Verdik to attend this meeting?” Marquis Delph pointed toward the door.

Standing behind the open door was Count Verdik, who had apparently arrived unnoticed.

As this was a meeting reserved for a select group of high-ranking nobles, Count Verdik normally did not have the qualifications to attend.

Marquis Delph bowed politely, his back bent in deference. “I had no choice but to summon him here for an urgent matter. I beg Your Majesty’s understanding.”

“Permission granted.”

As soon as the Emperor gave his consent, Count Verdik entered the room. All eyes in the meeting room immediately focused on him.

Marquis Radsay noticed the bloodshot eyes of the count and whispered to Marquis Mathia beside him, speculating whether this had something to do with Umar’s situation. 

It seemed likely that he had come to make an emotional appeal to restore his cousin’s tarnished honor.

Marquis Neto, on the other hand, appeared eager, wondering what intriguing story might come out of Count Verdik’s mouth. As Dukes Ezester and Nestor exchanged glances, Count Verdik finally spoke.

“Your Majesty.”

“Speak.”

“There is someone in the palace who gained entry through fraudulent means.”

“Fraudulent means?”

A murmur of surprise rippled through the room. Marquis Delph, who had been standing silently, focused his gaze intently on the Emperor.

The expression on the Emperor’s face, as observed by Marquis Delph, was ambiguous. It was neither curiosity nor a specific emotion that could be easily discerned.

Narrowing his eyes in an attempt to gauge the Emperor’s thoughts, Marquis Delph remained silent.

“It involves document forgery. Please arrest the Duchess of Mecklen immediately on charges of forging official documents,” Count Verdik said, his bloodshot eyes glaring.

***

“Forgive me, Your Grace.”

“Enough,” Ernst replied, rising from his seat and hurriedly removing his shirt. Vincent handed him a freshly ironed new shirt.

This had never happened before. Ernst, who had been tired from working late into the night yesterday, had fallen asleep after drinking some wine in the early morning. The situation escalated when Vincent, who usually woke him up late, received an urgent message from the knights and briefly left his post.

Blaming himself for the mistake, Vincent looked somber. “It’s because of me…”

“There’s still time,” Ernst replied casually, but it offered no comfort to Vincent. It wasn’t just any schedule; it was being late for a meeting. Vincent was so shocked that his hands trembled as he buttoned up Ernst’s shirt.

“I’ll do it myself.”

Clicking his tongue, Ernst pushed Vincent away. Just as he was almost finished dressing, there was a knock at the door.

“……?”

“Sorry to bother you at this busy time.”

At the calm yet powerful tone, Ernst turned around.

“…Eleanor.”

It was someone who had never visited the office before. Even as he adjusted his shirt collar, Ernst couldn’t stop glancing at her. Something seemed different about her today. Was something wrong?

Vincent, who was seeing the Duchess for the first time after hearing only about her, was somewhat startled and stepped back.

“I-I greet you. I’m Vincent von Nova, working under the Duke.”

“Eleanor,” she replied, acknowledging his greeting with a slight nod of her chin.

Vincent alternated his gaze between the Duke and Duchess, who he had only heard of in stories. The atmosphere between them was colder than he had imagined. If she hadn’t introduced herself, he might have mistaken them for enemies.

Ignoring Vincent’s uneasy gaze, Eleanor handed something to Ernst.

“What is this?”

“A birthday present.”

The wooden box Eleanor handed over was long and slender. It was impossible to tell what was inside. Ernst reached out to take it, setting down the tie he had picked up. However, he had no particular desire to open the lid. Ernst carelessly tossed the gift Eleanor had given him onto the desk.

“I’ll make good use of it.”

In the end, Vincent couldn’t bear the suffocating atmosphere and left the room. Alone with Ernst, Eleanor added another word as he finished tying his tie without even glancing at her.

“I have one more gift.”

“What?”

Ernst, his expression fatigued, barely registered Eleanor’s words, responding in a flat, uninterested tone. She then pushed the paper she was holding closer to ensure the Duke of Mecklen could see it clearly.

“A divorce.”

Even with the paper practically touching his nose, the Duke remained silent. The unfamiliar word “divorce” failed to register with him, seeming unreal. As she carefully observed his stony, motionless demeanor, Eleanor was the first to speak again.

“I’d like to settle this amicably, without any hard feelings. It would be best if we could agree on this.”

A slight crack appeared in Ernst’s stoic expression. He snatched the paper from her, barely glancing at its contents before tossing it aside dismissively.

“Ridiculous. This is a national marriage decreed by His Majesty. It’s not something that can be undone as easily as flipping a hand…”

“I know that very well.”

Eleanor had fully expected him to bring up the Emperor. She had been waiting for that response and now smiled brightly.

“This, too, is a direct order from His Majesty.”

“……”

Ernst was at a loss for words. Had he ever seen her so pleased? Even when standing next to the Empress Dowager, she rarely showed such an expression. However, Ernst quickly dismissed the thought as nonsense.

“Ridiculous.”

‘His Majesty’s order?’

Evidently, she still hadn’t realized why the Emperor had pleaded with him for this marriage, yet she intended to go about it this way. The audacity of it made his anger simmer.

“There’s a limit to my tolerance.”

“Tolerance? That’s rather something I should be saying. If you keep holding out like this, you’ll find yourself in a difficult position.”

“…Ha.”

Ignoring his warning, Eleanor responded in a light and airy tone, causing Ernst to feel utterly at a loss. The foolishness of the Hartmann princess, daring to demand a divorce from him, was laughable. But there wasn’t enough time to point out her every mistake. Already on the verge of being late for the upcoming meeting, Ernst decided to simply ignore Eleanor’s request.

“And what did you write as the reason for divorce?”

Eleanor remained silent at the unexpected question. Ernst turned his head again and buttoned up the loose cuffs of his sleeves.

“You couldn’t have. There’s no particular reason to write as a fault.”

Divorces among the nobility were typically only possible when one party was at fault for the breakdown of the marriage. Neither of them had committed adultery, and neither had become disabled, nor were there any unavoidable circumstances. Therefore, there was nothing to worry about.

Besides, he knew how cunning the priests at the Grand Temple could be. The longer the divorce deliberations among the nobility dragged on, the more money the priests received, so they often deliberately delayed the process. Even if the Emperor granted permission for the Grand Temple to conduct a divorce hearing, the Mecklen family was not so weak that they couldn’t prevent such a thing.

Ernst sneered lightly.

“I have a meeting now, so we’ll talk about this later.”

Ernst, holding his coat, lightly stepped on the divorce papers he had dropped. Then he brushed past Eleanor and left the room in one stride.

Bang!

“……”

Despite the cold dismissal, Eleanor showed no sign of being hurt. Once Ernst’s footsteps had completely faded away, Eleanor picked up the divorce papers and placed them on Ernst’s desk. As she looked down at the papers with a clear shoe mark on them, the only emotion left in her was sympathy.

***