It was a Political Marriage, But I’m Being Loved - Chapter 72

“We’ll add a lightweight enchantment to the dress, Your Highness! With these changes, it won’t be too much and it will make you stand out even more!”

The designer pleaded earnestly, eyes full of passion. Charlize had worried that the added decorations might make her look like a chandelier, but seeing the sketches, it all seemed rather modest, just minor embellishments.

‘This should be fine.’

“All right. I’ll trust you on this.”

“Thank you, Your Highness! I won’t let you down!”

Once the joyful designer left, Charlize asked where Achilles was. They had promised to spend every moment together until their wedding day, but keeping that promise was proving difficult.

Achilles was on the verge of being granted a Grand Duke’s title, and Charlize was constantly being pulled into wedding preparations by the Empress.

Now that the Empress had taken charge of organizing the wedding, things moved quickly. But she seemed to be clashing with the Emperor over the guest list.

Though the wedding between the Princess and the Tower Lord wasn’t technically a royal wedding, the Emperor wanted to treat it as one. He hoped to invite major figures from various nations—essentially to show off that the Empire had claimed the Tower Lord as one of their own.

However, the Empress, already dealing with the short notice, refused flatly.

“Invite who, exactly? We don’t even have a week left! To receive foreign envoys, we’d have to renovate the entire outer palace—it’s far too much work!”

“Isn’t the outer palace already well maintained?” the Emperor replied casually.

But there was a vast difference between simply keeping dust off a building and making it ready for guests to stay. Regardless, the Emperor had already sent invitations through his envoys and handed over a list of guests who had confirmed their attendance.

“Charlize, could you step out for a moment? You too,” the Empress said, glancing at her attendants.

The Emperor tried to stop them by calling it a direct order, but Charlize slipped out quietly, motioning for her handmaidens and attendants to follow her.

‘Let’s see… the wedding dress, Achilles’s formal wear, guest list, ceremony venue—done. The wedding gifts, dowry, return gifts, cake, reception food, and the Swan Palace for the wedding night are all ready too…’

The Swan Palace was traditionally used by imperial princesses or princes after marriage. Many princesses from past generations had stayed there.

As a child, she had played there often. But as she grew older and her engagement to the Bianchi family became more certain, she stopped visiting. After all, the Bianchi estate was just around the corner—there was no reason to stay in the palace when she would soon move there.

While Charlize and Achilles had been staying in the northern fortress, the royal family had sent most of her belongings and dowry to the Mage Tower. Though she wasn’t sure what the tower’s interior was like, an official who had delivered the items to the upper levels where Achilles lived had returned full of admiration.

The Emperor, who had pushed so strongly for this marriage, was secretly nervous. He’d allowed the union as a way to bind the Tower Lord to the Empire—but he worried about Charlize suffering in a dusty, run-down place.

But after hearing the official’s report—that the top of the tower was as grand as the palace itself, with multiple towers and a beautiful garden—he was greatly relieved.

‘Is that really true?’

Charlize had heard the same report, but she remained skeptical. After all, it was still a tower. A garden on an upper floor? It didn’t sound structurally possible.

‘Maybe the official fell under some illusion spell cast by the mages to cover up how awful the place really is…’

Still, Charlize didn’t need anything extravagant. As long as it was clean and livable, she could be content. Achilles seemed to be used to being served. The tower’s magical automata didn’t scare her as much anymore either, so she believed she could adjust.

‘I’m going to learn magic, too! And Achilles is so kind!’

Sending off the designer, Charlize asked her maid to bring her some tea. It was clear now—she had truly fallen in love. She already missed Achilles.

Sweat beaded on Eliza’s forehead as she gave her report on what had happened at the northern fortress. She wouldn’t have been nervous if she were just speaking to the Emperor or the Crown Prince.

But sitting before her now was the Tower Lord, Achilles himself.

The fact that his own people had only watched the princess in danger—believing they couldn’t win the fight—was something that could easily justify punishment.

The Emperor seemed horrified to learn that Valter’s men had killed a monster’s offspring and lured it into a village. The Crown Prince asked coldly:

“Were they not captured?”

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t go after them. The village had to come first.”

If they had stationed more people near the princess, perhaps one of them could’ve been sent in pursuit. But there were only three of them, and that wasn’t enough to handle a swarm of Laphinas.

“You said Valter commands two organizations…”

“Yes. A knight order called Ravens, and an assassination guild known as Black Heart.”

One of Eliza’s mages responded carefully. While the Ravens called themselves a knightly order, in reality, they were closer to a mercenary group.

“I’ve heard of Black Heart as well,” said Isaac, who had been quietly listening from one side of the Emperor’s office.

Among the nobles, Black Heart was known through whispers—a secretive guild said to “solve problems” that couldn’t be handled through normal means. Family scandals, political rivals, troublesome heirs—things better kept out of the public eye.

The Emperor’s face twisted in anger.

“You’re telling me a criminal guild like that has been operating in the capital this whole time?”

It wasn’t the first time people had tried to control the city’s underworld, forming gangs and fighting for territory. But it had been eight years since the Empire had conducted a major sweep to eliminate such groups.

Eight years may not be short, but for a new organization to grow powerful enough to threaten the Empire—it was difficult to believe.

“Black Heart only started gaining traction about three years ago,” the mage added.

The very fact that they’d dared to target the Crown Prince—even if they’d failed—was proof of just how far their influence had spread. And to learn that their leader was Valter Bianchi…

“Valter Bianchi… Is he really the one in charge?”

“According to our interrogation of a man named Lewein, yes.”

Giel, who had searched Lewein’s memories, was able to uncover a great deal. Although Lewein didn’t know much about Black Heart, he provided detailed information on the Ravens—how they recruited members, where they trained, where they were stationed, and how they kept themselves hidden.

Lewein had only been acting on Valter’s orders. He had been dispatched from the Ravens to assist in one of Black Heart’s missions, so his knowledge of the guild was limited.

The Emperor’s expression darkened. He hadn’t called Valter a traitor lightly, but the deeper they dug, the more evidence emerged that supported that charge.

“And what about Duke Bianchi? How involved is he?”

“From what we’ve found while searching his estate and business records, it seems the Duke focused solely on the family’s traditional businesses and territory management. He appeared to have no knowledge of the enterprises Valter had started.”

Oscar had been observing the Bianchi family’s dealings for quite some time. Valter had a particular method—he didn’t eliminate his competition outright. Instead, he used proxies to grow small companies through questionable means. Once the businesses became profitable, the Bianchi family would swoop in and buy them at full value, increasing the family’s wealth.

The Empire hadn’t suspected anything until after the purchases were formally recorded. Only then did they start questioning the process behind those deals.

Even if they paid a fair price, Valter was essentially buying his own businesses—meaning no real loss to the family’s fortune.

Any corruption or foul play that occurred during the growth of these companies had been silenced or covered up by Black Heart. By the time the businesses were fully absorbed into the Bianchi estate, all evidence—whether in the form of documents or people—was wiped clean. Only a legitimate-looking company remained, making investigations extremely difficult.

Thanks to a list the Empress had provided, they were able to identify several companies that had grown in this suspicious way. But direct links to Black Heart were still hard to prove.

And the one who holds all the answers… is Valter Bianchi himself.

As Achilles listened to the Crown Prince deliver his report to the Emperor, that thought crossed his mind. If Giel were to probe Valter’s mind, they could uncover everything. But neither the Emperor nor the Crown Prince would allow such an act—not yet.

I sent him away early because I thought I’d want to kill him if he stayed near me too long… but maybe I should’ve taken him to the Mage Tower instead of handing him over to the Empire.

Still, everything—from Black Heart’s crimes to the Crown Prince’s assassination attempt—was an internal matter for the Empire. Achilles hadn’t planned to get the Mage Tower too deeply involved.

If the princess personally asked for his help, of course he wouldn’t refuse. But aside from dealing with demons, the Empire’s troubles were for the Empire to handle.

“…The foreign envoys will be arriving soon to celebrate the princess’s wedding. Oscar, I want you to ensure there’s no noise or scandal around this.”

Oscar nodded respectfully at his father’s command.

Then the Emperor turned to the Tower Lord.

“And Achilles,  there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

Achilles looked at him, curious.

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