The Empress Tames the Tyrant - Chapter 66

The Seneschal announced the arrival of the Great Sage and opened the drawing room doors. Alicia remained seated in the place of honor, looking at them without the slightest intention of standing to greet them.

“It has been a long time, Alicia.”

Supported by his grandson, the Great Sage took a seat before the teacup that had been prepared for him. Alicia watched the Great Sage and the boy with a remarkably composed expression in her blue eyes.

“I have forgotten many things while hovering between life and death during a high fever.”

A refined voice accompanied a slight upward curve of Alicia’s lips.

“Of course, there is no way the Great Sage, known as the wisest man in the world, would be unaware of that.”

Alicia’s attitude was beyond the Great Sage’s expectations, but his vast experience prevented him from being shaken.

“Even so, you are a child of Lucan. Have you even forgotten the respect and etiquette due to me?”

The Great Sage’s deep eyes searched for a trace of his youngest son within Alicia, but he found nothing.

“Yes, I have forgotten everything.”

The woman before him was no longer the young Alicia of Lucan he once knew.

“Except for one thing: the fact that I am the Empress of this Empire.”

The Great Sage let out a low chuckle.

“I will not beat around the bush. I hear you told His Majesty the Emperor that our marriage is void and that you intend to take me back?”

“Indeed. That is the duty of a family.”

Family. Alicia swallowed a hollow laugh. She was his granddaughter, yet she had not a single memory of receiving familial warmth. In fact, the people of Lucan had treated her as a taboo for being a half-blood; only Agnes had raised her with warm affection.

“That is impossible. The fact of my investiture as Empress cannot be nullified.”

This was surely the Emperor’s countermeasure and final stronghold. A trace of his desperate effort to find a clever move was visible, suggesting that their bond had grown significantly close. While a marriage vow could become void, there was no precedent for an annulment of an Empress’s investiture; his plans might prove to be quite a nuisance.

“There are others who will handle such matters, so do not worry,” the Great Sage said, stroking his white beard out of habit. “What I am curious about… rather, what our Lucan must know, is the true nature and result of that fever.”

Alicia stared at him at the unexpected words.

“In our Lucan bloodline, very rarely, there are those who suffer from the Fever of Wisdom.”

In her previous life, she thought she had died, only to open her eyes and find herself back as twenty-year-old Alicia. Everyone around her had simply said she suffered from a fever so high it put her life at risk.

“Once they overcome that fever, strangely, they undergo a period of confusion regarding who they originally were, yet they soon adapt to life as if they have realized something.”

The Great Sage’s description was similar to how Alicia felt when she first returned. However, that was a fact only Alicia knew, and she could not speak of it, so it was too early to jump to conclusions.

“I lost my wisdom after suffering from a fever. Can that really be called the Fever of Wisdom? The cases seem entirely different.”

“The wisdom others possess does not matter. The unique point of those who suffer the Fever of Wisdom is that they realize a truth that transcends the framework of this world.”

Could it be? Alicia had a hunch, but she maintained a calm expression. Lucan was a group and family that had pursued wisdom and truth for ages. If anyone were to know what had happened to Alicia, it was highly likely to be Lucan.

“As expected, the Great Sage’s words are far too difficult.”

“They were never able to explain what happened to them. As if such a curse had been engraved upon them.”

Alicia picked up her teacup and slowly took a sip. Regardless of how much Lucan knew, there was nothing to be gained from her secret being discovered.

“They changed. They spoke of things no one knew or possessed knowledge of, and sometimes they avoided disasters as if they had seen the future, transcending the truths of this world.”

Those were all phenomena related to the possession and regression Alicia had experienced. It was truly surprising that such things had happened in Lucan’s past, but she must not show it now.

“Did you come all this way just to tell me that?”

It was best to end this meeting as quickly as possible. Neither Cayenne nor Alicia trusted Lucan, but those who lived as long as the Great Sage often possessed exceptional intuition.

“Regrettably, I did not experience a Fever of Wisdom, but merely a crisis hovering between life and death.”

“But you suddenly became close to the Emperor after the fever? Considering what happened at the wedding, it is quite strange.”

“That is simply the bond between a husband and wife,” Alicia cut him off firmly. “Something that the people of Lucan might not understand well.”

“No matter how much you deny it, you are a child of Lucan.”

“The past does not matter. I am speaking of the present. As I said, I have no wisdom.”

Alicia stood up first.

“I am the Empress of this Empire, and no one else.” Her blue eyes looked down at the Great Sage with resolve. “No matter how respected Lucan may be, you cannot dictate terms to the Empress of the Empire.”

They say people grow to resemble those they love. Alicia was no longer the woman who easily became discouraged and looked for approval; she now perfectly mirrored Cayenne’s noble and commanding aura.

“Alicia, every child of Lucan is a vessel to hold the truth.”

“I am not.”

The Great Sage’s inscrutable eyes looked up at Alicia intently. Seeing her dignified and refined manner, which was entirely different from his memories, he could not shake his suspicions.

“Since we will not be meeting again, I will graciously overlook today’s discourtesy. However, do not forget that I am the Empress of the Empire, and no one else.”

As her relationship with Cayenne changed, everything in her life changed with it. In the past, the status of Empress had been a burden heavier than shackles, but now it was a sturdy legitimacy he had given her to protect herself.

“This is an order: dare not interfere in my affairs as Empress ever again.”

Her blue eyes looked down coldly at the Great Sage before she turned away.

“Then, farewell.”

Before the Great Sage could respond, Alicia exited the drawing room. At the same time, the Great Sage let out a laugh as if he found it absurd.

“The half-blood is quite something. What did you think, Ray?”

“She is more beautiful than expected,” the boy, who had been silent until now, answered respectfully. Alicia had treated Ray—a strikingly handsome youth with mysterious violet eyes—as if he were merely a cushion on the sofa.

“Humans are truly cunning. When she was in Lucan, she could not even look me in the eye, yet once they wear a golden crown on their head, they all become like that.”

The Great Sage clicked his tongue and took a sip of tea.

“So, could you tell?” he asked, turning toward Ray.

“The time was too short to be certain. However, yes. I definitely felt the energy of the Fever of Wisdom.”

At Ray’s answer, the Great Sage’s face brightened.

“Truly? Have we truly found our vessel? It was not a failure?”

Alicia had believed she was called a failure because of her mixed bloodline, but the Great Sage’s intentions were slightly different. Long ago, the Great Sage had literally failed to create Alicia properly. But now, as time passed, that result was beginning to change.

“I do not know if it is a failure or a success. However, it is certain she has transcended the truths of this world once. She had that scent.”

“Ray, if you say so, then it must be true.”

The Great Sage felt his heart beat like a young man’s for the first time in a very long while. If Alicia was a success, he might finally fulfill Lucan’s long-held secret wish.

“Research. I need research. Lots of it. Yes, I must apply all of Lucan’s experimental tools and theories. Oh, I want to start the research right this moment.”

The old man’s excited voice was as innocent as a boy’s.

“Calm yourself. You have not yet obtained the most important thing,” Ray’s calm voice threw cold water on the Great Sage’s excitement.

“Yes, you are right. Why did I have to send her as the Empress just then?”

“You simply need to take her back.” The beautiful boy offered a smile.

“Ray, you are right.”

Stroking Ray’s head, the Great Sage gripped his staff. He had thought his days were numbered, but now a burning will was driving his body forward.

“As long as I have you, I can obtain the vessel somehow. I can complete Lucan’s research. Me, with my own hands!”

The Great Sage’s mind was made up. He believed the very reason he was born was for this moment.

“Ray… you will help me fulfill my secret wish, won’t you?”

The boy, as beautiful as a doll, smiled.

“Yes, because I am your completed child.”

At those words, the Great Sage closed his eyes for a moment in relief and nodded. A sense of mission filled his heart—the thought that he might be the one to finally conclude the secret records of Lucan’s long history.

In a small drawing room, Alicia and Agnes remained in silence. Agnes was holding a glass sounding box to a small hole in the wall, listening to the conversation from Lucan and taking notes.

[Fever of Wisdom confirmed, vessel, failure, research, success, secret wish.]

After finishing her short meeting with the Great Sage, Alicia had entered the adjacent room and held her breath while looking at the notes Agnes had written. A long while later, when the Seneschal informed them that the Great Sage and his grandson had departed, both women let out a heavy sigh.

“I had a feeling, but there really was a secret conversation.”

“Yes. It was wise to prepare.”

While they could not hope for modern listening devices, the Imperial Palace was full of various secret mechanisms.

“Your Majesty, I have an ominous feeling about this.”

“Yes, but I do not yet know the exact meaning of this conversation.”

The drawing room where she had met the Great Sage today had several small holes in the wall behind the decorations, allowing conversations to be overheard from the next room.

“Still, we have found a clue, so it is a sufficient gain for today.”

Alicia offered a bright smile to Agnes.

“Yes. Your Majesty’s handling of the situation was especially magnificent.”

Agnes did not need to say how proud she felt when she heard Alicia boldly claim her title as Empress against the Great Sage from behind the wall.