Chapter 12

Between the two, if there is someone that the Nobles would side with, that would definitely be the Duke of Rothland

The Princess merely has the influence of his parents. He is sheltered and love but his influence has its limits

Even the Empress and the 2nd Queen wouldn't treat one of the most powerful Dukes lightly

"Are you telling me what to do, Duke?!" The Princess questioned angrily

For mere illegitimates, the Duke is scolding him? How could this be! This is the same as a slap in the face of the Princess!

"I won't dare do that, Your Highness. However, I also wouldn't stand it if my child receives injustice" the Duke replied coldly, his imposing aura suppressing the enraged Princess

Politics is complicated. The Dukedoms must show that they are below the Imperial Family but at the same time, they also couldn't be humiliated easily even by the Emperor

The stronger a Dukedom is, the more the Imperial Family wouldn't be able to touch them

"Dear, why are you scolding His Highness? It is 'our' child that is at fault here" the Duchess decided to intervene

He was overjoyed that the 5th Princess has slapped the impudent brat. But would the Duke appreciate that?

Instead of putting himself in a good position, the Duchess just put himself into a more negative light in the Duke's eyes

As a result, the Duke moved as he whispered directly into his wife's ears. "If you don't have something good to say, just refrain yourself from speaking. We are still not finished with the disgraceful thing you did in the morning. Don't do another foolish thing"

The Duchess shuddered at that. He was blinded by his desire to hurt Clyde in any possible way that he forgot how much his husband cared about the family image

"The Duchess is right, Your Grace. It is your son's fault, why are you trying to put the blame on me?" The Princess that doesn't know his position continues to speak arrogantly and he forced Ryden to reach his limits

"Shut up you pighead!" Ryden bursts while helping his wife stand up

In truth, Clyde wasn't as weak as to fall down with a single slap. He was just acting but Ryden didn't know that

Seeing his wife on the floor enrages him and even though Clyde prevented him from helping earlier, Ryden's patience can't be contained anymore

"Ryden! Mind your speaking manners!" Clyde whispered angrily. With his husband's action, he would just make the Nobles further think that he is nothing but a vulgar commoner.

"W-what did you call me?!" Riley was in extreme shock. Did someone just call him a pighead and it was even the disgrace of the Royal Family at that?

"I called you pighead, you freaking deaf shit! How dare you slap my wife?!"

This is why Ryden hates this world. There are Nobles and Royals that think they could just harm anyone because of their status

If it was the earth, people would have condemned Riley already. But here, the Nobles don't feel bad that the 6th's Prince Consort was harmed

"Y-you..." Riley was in so much anger that he wasn't able to say anything however before the situation can further escalate, the arrival of certain people have been announced

"The Great Sun of the Empire, His Majesty - John William Carstensen has arrived!"

"The Great Moon of the Empire, His Majesty - Ruby Carstensen has arrived!"

"The 1st Imperial Queen of the Empire, His Highness - Ether Wace Carstensen has arrived!"

"The 2nd Imperial Queen of the Empire, His Highness - Yvan Carstensen has arrived!"

"The 3rd Imperial Queen of the Empire, His Highness - Jesse Carstensen has arrived!"

The Emperor, the Empress, and all the Queens have arrived at the wedding reception

If it was just the Empress and the Queens, they surely wouldn't come to this wedding, they only attended because of the Emperor

"My chance" Clyde thought in his head as he stumbled, acting like he can't properly stand up on his own

"Clyde!" The Prince called out worriedly as he hold his wife's body for support

As they are in the center of attention earlier, it wasn't hard for the Emperor to spot them

The Emperor is a tall man with an aged yet still dignified image. He was wearing his Imperial Suit that was black and gold in color along with a large red cape in his back that has thick fur in the shoulder part

Emperor William has blonde hair and golden eyes, despite his aged appearance, people can still see that he was a very handsome man in his prime

Standing next to him was the omega that everyone in the Empire would fear not only because of his high status but also because of his capabilities

The Empress - Ruby Carstensen. He was younger than the Emperor but he still had already passed the ripe age. But even then, he looks so much younger than his real age

He has pink hair and red eyes from which his name has originated. He was wearing a similar innerwear that the Emperor was wearing but it has more feminine designs

The Empress has his usual polite smile that he showed to the public but a lot of people knows that he was far from being kind

Behind the Emperor and the Empress are the three Queens of the Empire. The Empress and the Queens all have something in common and that is they all have red eyes

The Emperor's 'fetish' for omegas with red eyes is known by almost everyone in the Empire. Hence, only the Princes and Princess that has either gold or red eyes are legitimate

Ryden doesn't have either red or gold eyes as he has the same eye color as his birth mother that is not even one of the Empire's Queens, making his status low in the Imperial Family

"What is happening here?" The Emperor asked with a frown. For this wedding, he brought his main wife and all the concubines to show that he is giving the 6th Prince a great importance

The Emperor was not stupid. He knows what the Empress is doing and how his children have been fighting for the throne

But as someone that also has a royal upbringing, the Emperor knew that the fight for the crown is an inevitable thing

It makes him tired but he also couldn't do anything about it. Out of all of his children, it was only Ryden that has no desire to take part in the battle of the crown

The Emperor appreciates him for that and he decided that he must raise the 6th Prince's status

It was his original plan and the reason why he wed his son to an omega of a Ducal Family

It's just that in Ryden's first life, his wife didn't arrive at the wedding. All clues of the killer even pointed at him and the Emperor thought that he was the same as his other children

But since none of that happened this time, the Emperor would surely help Ryden live a peaceful life as long as he wouldn't participate in the battle for the throne and he continue to protect the Empire's borders

Seeing his son's wife in such a state has greatly displeased the Emperor

"Father, help me! I was wronged!" The 5th Princess hurriedly run towards the Emperor

He wasn't just spoiled by his mother, the Emperor has also spoiled and tolerated him

After all, compared to the Alphas in the Imperial Family, the omegas are much more likable since they couldn't inherit the throne

"Princess, explain what happened" the Emperor said but his tone wasn't as hard as he used earlier

"Father, I was merely teaching 6th brother a lesson when his wife intervened. The Duke of Rothland even dared to scold me!" The Princess cried out as if he was the one in the right

The Emperor can't help but frown again at that and he turned to look at Harold that bowed at him

"Your Majesty, I simply told His Highness that he couldn't just slap my son. I wasn't trying to do him any harm" the Duke explained respectfully

There is no need to say a lot of things, just those words alone would already help the Emperor have a general idea

In this matter, the Emperor has to side with the Duke of Rothland

Duke Harold is part of the Imperialist, a political party that is loyal to the Imperial Family, to the Emperor

This loyalty of course isn't free. The Emperor has to be biased with the Nobles on his side and he has to give them face

No matter what the real story behind today's incident, the Emperor has to make the Duke satisfied with the action that he would take

Even if it might be the Duke's side that is in the wrong, since the Princess has slapped the Duke's child, the Emperor has to punish Riley

Not to mention, from how things look like, it doesn't look as if the Duke is the one at the wrong here