Chapter 354. Slave Certificate (1)

Translator: Aura / Editor: SaWarren

Sovieshu paced around the drawing room unable to manage his rising anger, until he eventually rang the little bell over the table intensely and ordered a knight,

“Summon Baron Lant!”

Once Baron Lant entered, Sovieshu spoke coldly.

“How can you be so useless?!”

“What’s wrong, Your Majesty?”

Bewildered, Baron Lant hastily knelt down on his knees.

Sovieshu’s expression was so cold and fierce that it seemed like it would freeze the entire place. It was different from his usual impassive expression. Clearly, he was very angry.

“Your Majesty, why did you send for me…?”

“I gave you the order to take care of Rashta, did you think that you only had to make sure she was alive?”

“Your, Your Majesty.”

“She hasn’t learned anything, but what the hell do you do?! How can it be that you never know about the problems that arise related to Rashta?!”

Baron Lant paled and bowed his head at Sovieshu’s rebuke.

Sovieshu’s look became frightening. His pent-up anger exploded, but he truly considered that Baron Lant had been completely useless.

Among Sovieshu’s secretaries, Baron Lant was the one who was supposed to help Rashta. However, Baron Lant was not involved in any of Rashta’s problems.

In the first instance, it seemed that Baron Lant was innocent, but it also meant that Baron Lant had not taken good care of Rashta.

In contrast, Arian, a maid of Rashta’s, had provided much information to him.

“It’s my fault, Your Majesty.”

Baron Lant apologized in a somber voice. He guessed that Rashta had caused another problem.

Although Baron Lant understood Sovieshu’s anger, he felt it was somewhat unfair. When Rashta arrived at the imperial palace, she initially sought Baron Lant’s advice and help.

However, as she spent more time as a concubine and grew closer to Duke Elgy, Rashta stopped seeking Baron Lant’s support.

After Baron Lant was put in charge of managing her finances, she barely spoke to him.

Baron Lant sincerely wanted to help Rashta, but there was no way he could do that if she didn’t confide in him.

Baron Lant did not tell Sovieshu because he knew the emperor would consider it an excuse, so he kept his mouth shut and looked at the floor.

Sovieshu let out a heavy sigh and waved his hand.

“Stand up.”

Baron Lant stood up helplessly, clasped his hands and waited for the Emperor’s command.

Sovieshu asked as he pressed down on his throbbing temples.

“The slave certificate. Hasn’t it been found yet?”

The situation turned complicated, so he had to prepare for the worst. Now that he had dealt with Rashta’s real father and her fake parents, it remained to find out if the princess was his real daughter. It would be troublesome if the slave certificate suddenly appeared.

“That…”

“Answer clearly.”

“No.”

Sovieshu blamed himself for hastily elevating Rashta to the position of Empress despite the potential risk, worried that the baby in her womb would not become a legitimate child.

That would have been the case if the lovely princess had been born outside of marriage…

That didn’t mean he had forgotten about the slave certificate. On the contrary, he knew that Koshar had been the last person to have the certificate, so that time Sovieshu sent his guards to confine him at home with the intention that he would have no chance to hide it. Sovieshu thought that would make it easy to find.

However, neither Duke Troby nor Marquis Farang had the certificate. That too was not in any of the houses of the knights who had watched that Koshar did not escape, not even in the Imperial Palace.

So in the end, the rooms of distinguished guests in the South Palace were secretly searched.

It was risky to search the rooms of distinguished guests. Even the slightest carelessness could cause serious problems.

No distinguished guest who discovered that their room had been searched would dare to make a fuss before the Eastern Empire, but there would be no need to act like friendly countries anymore.

Sovieshu stared at Baron Lant as he wondered if he should keep a useless man as his secretary.

It was then….

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

From the other side of the door, Marquis Karl’s urgent voice was heard.

“Come in.”

As soon as Marquis Karl entered the drawing room, he shouted,

“Your Majesty! The slave certificate! The slave certificate!”

Sovieshu’s expression turned cold.

“Did someone make it public?”

“No! The slave certificate has been found!”

Sovieshu jumped up, the coldness gone from his expression.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“It was in Duke Elgy’s room.”

At Marquis Karl’s words, Sovieshu was startled.

Baron Lant’s eyes also opened wide in surprise. He had thought that it might be found in the Southern Palace, but not in Duke Elgy’s room. Even if it had come from Rashta’s own room it would not have been so shocking.

“Duke Elgy used to keep his room fully guarded, so it was difficult to search it, but after the last occasion when he met with Rashta, he quickly left somewhere with the guards. Thanks to that, it was possible to search every corner of the room.”

Marquis Karl spoke in a shaky voice to contain his anger.

“The certificate was completely hidden inside the carpet.”

Marquis Karl did not like Rashta, but this matter was related to the reputation of the Eastern Empire.

He was very angry to discover that a distinguished guest had maliciously concealed Rashta’s secret. Especially since that distinguished guest was Duke Elgy, from whom several scandals had arisen with Rashta.

“It’s more scum than rumored.”

At Marquis Karl’s words, Baron Lant nodded reflexively.

Duke Elgy would not keep the slave certificate hidden with good intentions. If he had done it for his lover, he would have destroyed the certificate, not hidden it that way.

“In any case, I am glad to hear that the certificate has been found.”

Baron Lant murmured carefully.

Sovieshu sat back in the armchair with his jaw clenched.

That’s right. Apart from the fact that he was angry with Duke Elgy, it had been fortunate to find the slave certificate. Now, once it was proven that the princess had his blood, there would be no more problems.

The rumor that Rashta hid her past to rise to the position of empress would never disappear, but he planned to depose her after only a year anyway. He might even take advantage of this to do it a little earlier.

“Here you go, Your Majesty.”

Marquis Karl handed Sovieshu the slave certificate.

Sovieshu confirmed the authenticity of the certificate after carefully examining it, then tore it to pieces and burned it on the spot.

“Wouldn’t it have been better to keep it?”

“There are many ways to put pressure on Rashta. The fact that she has concealed her past is enough, it’s not even necessary to bring up anything else. This certificate could harm the princess, so I’d rather not have it.”

Slave certificates were treated very rigorously because a person’s status was at stake.

So that they could not be forged, they were stamped with a seal that could not be reproduced, and there were no copies.

Now that he had burned it, no one will look down on the princess for her slave blood.

Baron Lant sighed deeply.

Sovieshu looked at the ashes that remained, and frowned as he pushed his hair back.

“There’s also Duke Elgy to deal with.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It is very suspicious that he concealed the certificate. It is rare for a person who likes scandals.”

Baron Lant hastened to step forward and sided with Rashta,

“Duke Elgy may have seduced the naive Rashta. Doesn’t everyone know that Duke Elgy is a playboy?”

When Baron Lant pointed out Rashta’s naivety, Marquis Karl’s and Sovieshu’s expression darkened at the same time.

Marquis Karl and Sovieshu could not agree that Rashta was naive after she invited only noble men to tea parties, after she hid her relationship with Alan, and so on.

However, they were sure that Duke Elgy was a perverse playboy several steps above Rashta.

Duke Elgy starred in more scandals than could be counted. Rashta did not rise to that level.

“Where did Duke Elgy go?”

“I don’t know. He only said he would be back soon.”

“Duke Elgy must be sent back to his country as soon as he returns, that he concealed the slave certificate was very serious.”

Powerful countries took such pride in their prosperity that they treated high-status distinguished guests very well, especially royalty from other countries. Regardless of the demands and personality of the guest.

In contrast, it was more difficult to serve distinguished guests the weaker the country.

Despite this, he could not allow Duke Elgy to remain at the Southern Palace.

“Duke Elgy might refuse, so you send a man to Blue Bohean to report to the King. Duke Elgy has been involved in several scandals with the Empress, so it is best that he leave the Eastern Empire so that it will not be dishonorable to both parties.”

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

“The paternity test will be done as soon as the delegation that attended Emperor Heinley’s birthday party returns.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Send someone to the temple to set the date.”

Now that the slave certificate issue was settled, all that remained was the paternity test.

As long as the princess had his blood, Sovieshu could make his lovely daughter the highest status noble in the world. The mother’s blood didn’t matter.

Once the two secretaries had left, Sovieshu sat for a moment with his eyes closed before he visited the baby’s room.

“Glorym. My daughter.”

The baby suddenly woke up as if she had heard her father’s voice and looked at him with her pretty eyes. Sovieshu took the baby out of the crib and rocked her in his arms.

“You are my daughter, right? My daughter.”

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