The court orchestra played a lively dance tune, and champagne gushed from the fountain.
The floating diamond lights above the crowd all lit up, casting brilliant diamond beams onto the mirror-like marble floor. For a moment, the entire ballroom was a dazzling display of jewels and treasures.
The nobles invited each other to dance, stepping gracefully into the dance floor, swirling elegantly.
As the star of the celebration banquet and a highly sought-after single noble, Alpha Heidrich could not refuse all the invitations.
But this decisive general on the battlefield also possessed impeccable dance moves.
He gently guided different noble ladies by their fingertips, leading them in circle after circle.
With each turn, Heidrich would glance towards the throne, his gaze almost imperceptible. This was his first time seeing the silver-haired Emperor since returning to the Capital from the front lines.
Nero occasionally played with his wine glass out of boredom, nodded gracefully at other nobles, or popped a grape into his mouth, his white cheeks moving slightly.
Later, Grand Duke Harrison received permission to move his chair next to the throne to converse with the Emperor.
Heidrich could see Nero purse his lips and frown slightly, but still tilt his head to listen intently, portraying the image of a young monarch who felt guilty for misunderstanding his uncle’s intentions yet was unwilling to admit fault.
Fortunately, the many gazes fixed on the Emperor in the ballroom made Heidrich’s observations less noticeable.
However, Nero occasionally glanced back at him too.
Each time their eyes met, Nero would raise his eyebrows and smile, subtly toasting him.
“——I believe it’s my turn for the next dance, General Heidrich.”
The sudden soft touch on his arm snapped Heidrich out of the warm red gaze.
He sidestepped the touch and looked at the elegantly dressed woman beside him.
The woman had thick, red wavy hair and wore a luxurious court gown adorned with gemstones. Above her ample white chest was a sapphire necklace that matched her eyes.
Even among the many noble ladies inviting him tonight, her beauty was unforgettable.
As she reached out proudly to Heidrich, the eager noble ladies suddenly withdrew in panic, whispering among themselves.
“Don’t you remember me, General?” the woman laughed lightly. “I opened the estate gates for you when you visited my father late at night.”
Heidrich’s eyes turned cold.
If he remembered correctly, the noblewoman before him was Grand Duke Harrison’s eldest daughter.
Her presence here could only mean one thing.
——A political marriage.
To consolidate their so-called ‘alliance.’
He looked towards the Grand Duke by the throne.
Sure enough, Grand Duke Harrison was holding a wine glass, winking at him from afar.
Heidrich’s face turned cold as he considered excusing himself due to drunkenness.
But a sudden thought flashed through his mind.
At that moment, he suddenly wanted an answer from Nero.
The next dance began.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Yet the man’s commanding presence was so superior that from the first moment he stepped into the dance floor, he knew the result——he had started a war he was destined to lose.
All his demands would go unmet, and any probing would be futile.
But Heidrich stubbornly, recklessly, through the layers of fragrance and shadows, watched Nero’s reaction.
Nero initially did not recognize the Grand Duke’s daughter.
The silver-haired Emperor thought Heidrich had simply been taken away by another bold noblewoman, so he looked away with amusement.
Until Grand Duke Harrison leaned his fat body over and began whispering to him.
As they talked, their gazes increasingly fell on the dancing pair.
The Grand Duke’s face was full of eager expressions, while Nero’s beautiful eyebrows arched higher and higher. He turned back to confirm several times with the Grand Duke, his gaze slowly focusing on Heidrich.
Feeling the Emperor’s distant gaze, Heidrich felt as if his entire body was aflame.
…Just give me an answer, Your Majesty.
Like an unknowing Sun Deity of love and desire, passing judgment upon a devotee tormented by the flames of passion.
The noblewoman happened to step between him and the throne, her light veil rising, perfectly concealing his intense gaze at Nero.
He desperately sought any sign of shock, unpreparedness, or subtle hesitation on Nero’s face, even just displeasure at a third party intruding into their unique, tacit monarch-subject relationship…
But there was nothing.
After hearing about the proposed marriage, the Emperor’s face showed no reaction.
Nero simply watched them dance for a while before chatting with another noble who came to toast.
The last time their gazes met, Nero’s red eyes narrowed slightly, with a hint of cold calculation.
Heidrich’s fingers inside his gloves turned cold and stiff.
“General?”
The Grand Duke’s daughter called out in confusion. The elegant general had suddenly stopped in the middle of the dance floor.
“Forgive me, noble lady.”
Heidrich stepped back and bowed, apologizing softly, “The wine has gone to my head. Please allow me to step outside and clear my mind with some fresh air.”
With that, he quickly removed his gloves and, amidst the shocked gazes of the nobles, strode out of the ballroom through a side door.
…
Nero did not notice Heidrich’s departure.
Holding the grape juice secretly swapped by the White Wolf Knight, he occasionally turned to listen to the nobles’ congratulations.
Grand Duke Harrison wanted to pour him wine, but the White Wolf Knight stepped forward, covering Nero’s glass and giving him a cold look.
Damn lapdog.
The Grand Duke cursed inwardly, forcing a smile as he sat back.
After another group of nobles toasted and left, he casually continued:
“Your Majesty, if you bless General Heidrich’s marriage to Quillie, I can assure you their wedding will become the most envied event in the Empire… You don’t know, when General Heidrich met Quillie at the capital market, the two young people were staring at each other.”
Nero did not answer immediately.
He just smiled, his eyes lowered, sipping his grape juice, while a thousand calculations ran through his mind.
Royal and noble marriages are a powerful political tool, and everyone is well aware of this fact.
In the history of the Kaises Royal Family, there was only one eccentric but harmlessly romantic emperor. All the others strictly adhered to the maxim inscribed on the front page of the imperial annals, viewing the firm grip on power as the measure of success and considering love to be a mere illusion.
Nowadays, the Heidrich Family is dwindling, and the Kaises Royal Family is equally weak and frail.
In the past, the Kaises emperor’s usual approach would likely have considered Heidrich for a political marriage.
However, the last remaining Omega of the Heidrich Family, Eva Heidrich, had her glands removed and could not bear strong heirs. Even if she became the Emperor’s lover, she could never marry into the Royal Family.
Grand Duke Harrison seized this point, deciding to bind Heidrich and the Laud Family’s interests tightly together before other nobles could act.
To the common nouveau riche, marrying into the sparse Heidrich Family was almost a condescension for their eldest daughter;
After all, the son-in-law would inherit the vast family wealth.
If Heidrich, who was personally promoted by the Emperor, was also included in the Laud family’s sphere of influence——
Then the only one left completely isolated would be the Kaises Royal Family.
Nero slightly tilted his head, looking at the Grand Duke’s seemingly harmless triangular eyes.
His uncle was scheming loudly, yet he didn’t understand Heidrich’s character as thoroughly as Nero did.
He assumed that someone as machiavellian as Heidrich would surely accept the proposal of marriage and interest binding, thus stepping into his control step by step. However, he underestimated Hermann Heidrich’s ambition.
Heidrich was not only extremely intelligent but also extremely arrogant.
Due to the tragic experiences of his family, he was more clear-headed about his personal ambitions than his predecessors. He would follow the Emperor only if it served his goals, not dedicating himself entirely to the monarch.
Such a person, when manageable, would be extremely useful;
But if the manager was incompetent, he would immediately turn and abandon them, even ruthlessly eliminating them.
Harrison Laud did not have the power to control him. If the Laud Family dared to bring him into their fold, he would undoubtedly swiftly approach the center of power, seizing control of the Laud Family’s vast military, and replace the Grand Duke as head.
And by then, Nero’s fear of an Empire split would be nothing but a memory.
In a sense, the Grand Duke was essentially handing his enemy the knife for his own demise.
…If it were a weaker monarch, they might have taken the knife.
A “‘ding’ sounded as ice hit the bottom of a glass.
“How come I didn’t see any mutual affection between Heidrich and Miss Harrison?”
The silver-haired Emperor leaned lazily against the throne, wiping grape juice from his fingertips with a handkerchief.
“From today’s banquet, it seems the ladies from the Ferdinand Family match him better. Hmm, I heard the youngest daughter of the Blaine Family is an Omega? I saw the Marquis’s wife handing him a handkerchief.”
Grand Duke Harrison’s face darkened.
Whether intentional or not, the emperor had casually mentioned two noble ladies whose families were major rivals of the Grand Duke’s faction.
He continued to persuade: “Your Majesty, if you had seen Quillie weeping into her handkerchief day and night while the General was at war, you wouldn’t be so heartless…”
“Uncle, that is my favorite court troupe.”
Nero interrupted Grand Duke Harrison’s babbling, looking towards the actors entering the hall.
“Come and receive your reward! I look forward to the splendid performance you will give tonight.”
An attendant tossed small bags of diamonds down the platform, and the actors joyfully jumped to catch them.
Throughout, Grand Duke Harrison sat by with a darkened expression, which Nero completely ignored.
Heidrich followed a strong enough Emperor. Without having to degrade his dignity by doing dirty work, the old noble class would perish under his reign.
Therefore, the idea of a marriage alliance between the two families disappeared from Nero’s mind in just a few seconds.
By the time the grand finale of the celebration banquet ended, it was late at night.
As the banquet reached the final speech phase, Nero turned and noticed that Heidrich, who should have been seated on his left, was nowhere to be seen.
He raised an eyebrow.
It was an open secret that nobles and ladies often left the banquet halfway for romantic escapades.
Although he knew Heidrich wouldn’t do such a thing, he couldn’t help but jokingly wonder if, after blocking a marriage for him, Heidrich had gone to find a romantic match on his own.
Just as he was about to have the Wolf Knights bring Heidrich back, the man quietly returned, dripping with night dew, through the side door.
The black-haired General looked calm, and his speech was elegant and indifferent, no different from usual.
But from the speech to the thank-you and even watching the Emperor board the shuttle, he never once made eye contact with Nero.
His light blue eyes were lowered, empty, holding only a desolate moonlight.
“Alexei, go directly to the Imperial Intelligence Bureau.”
Nero, unaware of Heidrich’s unusual state, was already focused elsewhere. “I want to know who submitted the decryption plan.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Wolf Knights stationed at the Imperial Intelligence Bureau were thrilled by the young Emperor’s visit but also more dejected, as no one could provide their young master the answer he wanted.
The massive bounty was still hanging high on the Star Network, with billions of people frantically discussing the latest reward completion announcement. The two million Imperial credits bounty was enough to support an average Imperial citizen for two lifetimes.
Nero frowned: “But he still hasn’t come to claim it?”
Wolf Knight: “No, Your Majesty. Considering the decrypter’s cautious nature, we even offered Wolf Knight-level confidential privileges. No one in the Empire, except Your Majesty and the Wolf Knights, would detect the funds’ flow. But until now, he has not contacted us.”
What kind of person, after going through great efforts to decrypt the Asimov Collar, would not claim the million-credit bounty?
If not for the reward, what was the purpose of his initial application?
Nero couldn’t understand. He could only attribute it to the quirks of a genius, perhaps someone who despised enormous wealth and purely enjoyed challenging difficult problems.
But this meant that the lead on the decrypter was completely cut off.
“At least we have the correct decryption plan.” Seeing the Wolf Knights’ drooping ears, Nero had to comfort them. “All the hostages rescued from the Star Pirates can return to normal lives and no longer endure a miserable existence.”
is that C gong?
Shucks I was hoping to meet the last love interest 🙁
Aww, I have a feeling we’re still gonna meet the last love interest tho, unexpectedly :))) (I hope)
Politically, Heidrich would be the most suitable candidate. But I don’t think Nero would easily discard the deep bond he had with his wolf knight.
See, this is why author should let Nero marry them all 👊