The Survival Strategy of the Contract Duchess - Chapter 118

The banquet hall of the imperial palace was filled with voices, more so than ever before.

This banquet, announced abruptly a month prior, was to commemorate something so unbelievable.

Because Geranel kept moving monsters around to make money, occasionally causing damage to civilian homes, the commoners and nobles of the empire naturally had thoughts about monsters.

And they knew that Kyler was going around dealing with monsters and suppressing rebels. That was all they knew.

“No, the monsters are gone because of that? Something no one has been able to do for hundreds of years?”

“Come on, something must have been miscommunicated. How can the monsters be gone?”

“Right. Maybe they just got rid of all the monsters in the mountains right now.”

“But that’s what they’ve been doing all along?”

“Is there something big we need to commend Duke Ignote for?”

Most conversations were like engines revving up, ready to spew out unknown rumors.

Anyway, amidst the people gathered for the unprecedented reason for the banquet, suddenly a voice rang out, “His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, enter!”

Stories of discord between the two had long been an indispensable topic of conversation among the nobles, but this time, their entrance felt different.

Lydian extended his hand to Midienna, escorting her. Actually, that wasn’t too strange.

He hadn’t thought of cherishing the Empress in public places like banquets, but he had never embarrassed her either.

So, it wasn’t strange for Lydian to hold the Empress’s hand and come out, but the problem was with the Empress, Midienna.

She didn’t just take his hand when he wrapped it around hers, or follow him when he pulled her slightly. The Empress, who spoke when necessary and shone with her eyes, looked so different from the person they had seen so far.

Her glossy blonde hair, her hazel eyes shining transparently in the sunlight, and her simple, unadorned dress, with no jewelry, neatly illuminating her appearance, were beautiful at a glance.

“My goodness, is that is that really Her Majesty the Empress standing there?”

“Shh, lower your voice!”

“Ah, I’m sorry, I was so surprised that I….”

“It’s understandable to be surprised. Look. Whenever she came to a banquet, she would only look at the entrance, wondering when he would come, even when His Majesty the Emperor was next to her.”

“Oh my, they’re dripping with honey.”

Everyone was dumbfounded as to what had happened in the month of preparing for the banquet.

And that was the same for Elina, who was standing at the far end of the banquet hall, looking at the stage. For some reason, her mother didn’t want to come to the banquet, and her father hadn’t been seen for days.

Her mother said he had gone to the mountains, but she didn’t tell her why.

“I thought he was so devoted to Kyler, but what is this?”

Elina had been enduring the boring days at the Marquis’s residence, thinking of coming to the capital quickly, holding hands with the Empress, and kicking Sasha out. But as if the weather wasn’t cooperating, a torrential downpour made the long road impassable for days, as if the first floor of the Marquis’s residence would be flooded faster than being killed by a monster.

She had finally managed to escape the Marquis’s residence, and she thought she just had to meet Her Majesty the Empress.

The Emperor and Empress on the stage looked so beautiful. She could see that it could be so beautiful to look at each other with the same heart.

But then what about me? Did he create a place for himself to return to and just abandon me like this?

Elina bit her lip in the corner, and the murmuring of the other nobles grew louder as they saw the drastically changed Emperor and Empress.

As if the timing was perfect, while Elina’s gaze was taken away from the stage, the main characters of this banquet arrived at the entrance of the banquet hall.

“Duke and Duchess Ignote have arrived!”

It was the appearance of the main characters who had been mentioned the most in their mouths so far. The atmosphere was unusual from the entrance of the banquet hall.

“Oh!”

Exclamations began to pour out of people’s mouths. Elina couldn’t see because she was blocked by people, but she could tell where they were walking by listening to the exclamations moving, so she quickly squeezed through the crowd and went out to the aisle. Duke and Duchess Ignote were walking towards her right in front of her. She looked at them standing side by side head-on.

Elina was momentarily stunned by their unrealistic appearance.

Tall height, broad shoulders, strong and masculine facial lines, sculpted nose and lips, and deep, blue eyes in smooth and flowing eyes.

He wasn’t expressing any emotions with his expressionless face, but the oppressive feeling emanating from his cold eyes bound her gaze.

His indifferent, languid blue eyes rolled around and lowered his gaze as if scanning faces.

She felt his gaze, accurately fixed on her, examining her appearance, and she swallowed hard in tension. She was careful not to reveal her nervousness by swallowing, but she noticed the sharp look in his eyes at that moment.

But it didn’t last long. His gaze, which was withdrawn again, turned to Sasha next to him.

Did I feel the corner of his mouth lift slightly was that my imagination?

Elina, who had been thinking, “It’s not a big deal that Kyler is handsome,” froze.

Because Kyler was wearing a smile full of affection.

She realized after seeing this smile that it was completely different from the one he had given her. The smile he had given her was one of contempt.

“Oh, beautiful!”

There was a reason why people exclaimed.

Kyler took Sasha’s hand and walked inside. It reminded her of walking down the aisle at a wedding.

Sasha looked at Kyler with a bright smile and Kyler also smiled gently at her.

The way they looked at each other as if there was no one else in the world was fully conveyed to the other nobles, and murmurs and exclamations began to spread.

“Oh, Duke Ignot. Welcome.”

The Emperor welcomed them very warmly and guided them to their seats, which were prepared on the stage where the Emperor and Empress were sitting, slightly behind them.

They bowed politely in front of the Emperor and Empress. And Kyler and Sasha also made eye contact with Midienna.

Midienna seemed awkward with her current appearance, but she was able to smile faintly. It had taken about a month to be able to smile like this, so the day when she could treat them comfortably would come soon.

Kyler and Sasha were the same. So far, they could only smile and talk in official settings, but she thought they would change depending on what she did.

“Well, it seems like everyone who needs to be here is here.”

When Lydian rose from his seat, the audience noticed this and forcibly closed their mouths. Lydian had a very satisfied face as he looked around the banquet hall filled with murmuring sounds.

“Today’s banquet is to share the joy of completely stopping the monsters, of sending them back, as announced in advance. Currently, there are no monsters in the mountains.”

His declaration caused the venue to stir again. And his words ended there. Those who had expected a detailed explanation were disappointed to see the Emperor stepping down, but the person who rose immediately after him came forward to the stage.

It was none other than Sasha who took three steps forward as Lydian stepped back one step.

“Monsters were originally coming to this world due to a phenomenon that occurred in the middle of the mountains. So, the word ‘created’ came out instead of ‘born’.”

There wouldn’t have been many people who could steadily conduct research in that place where there were many monsters and even the terrain was rough.

Sasha recalled the memories she had seen in the mountains and continued the next story. People were already paying attention to her with her firm voice.

“They also wanted to go back. Because they have a home there. But the entrance to return was blocked by a waterfall. On top of that, Geranel kept torturing them, saying he would control them.”

Sasha’s voice seemed to be slightly stiffening. This was not the right place to put it into words. It was difficult to bring it up to raise awareness. That was not the purpose of this banquet.

She had never thought that conveying words from their perspective would be such an emotional thing, so she tried to calm her shaking voice.

Sasha, who had regained her composure, spoke again.

“Kyler, no, Duke Ignote had to deal with those who left the mountains because of Geranel because he had to protect the empire. They were in pain because of people who wanted them to move as they wanted after they came to this side without wanting to, and eventually died.”

Sasha’s voice was not loud, but the voice that continued from the front was firm, so Elina, who was in the back of the banquet hall, could hear it well.

Most people had never even imagined thinking from the monsters’ point of view. Sasha’s words would not immediately resonate with such people, but they were still listening to her words now.

“I can’t leave it like this anymore. They are living things anyway, and I think I should feel sorry for them. So, I planned this and put it into action.”

Everyone was murmuring about what she had done.

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