Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 543: Lurking Traitors

Chapter 543: Lurking Traitors

Arabella was troubled since if the next Duke of Ryvaleh would be Narcissa’s close-minded father, things would turn difficult since Ryvaleh held much influence in the social circle.

But then again, the nobles were not idiots. Even if the way he thinks influences them, if they realize that The Crown and even the Prime Minister are against it, they will not follow blindly either.

Arabella also knew that there were traitors lurking in the Ryvaleh Household.

In her past life Ryvaleh was one of the households who tried to make Raymond the Emperor. Because they were closer to him than to Ferdinand, they thought putting him in power would be better for them.

Then, when Icarus and the Secret Alliance attacked Valeria, Ryvaleh was also one of the houses that surrendered immediately. There were also people from Ryvaleh who already had internal arrangements with them.

In exchange for Ryvaleh’s freedom being returned so they would be separated from Valeria, they would surrender immediately and support Icarus and the Secret Alliance.

Arabella understood that there were a lot of people who had misunderstood Ferdinand back then. On his part, he also did not try to explain to them or clarify things. Thus, there were a lot of people dissatisfied with him.

That was exactly why Arabella wanted to take care of his image and attend social events with him. They needed to see that Ferdinand cared about the nobles, the common people, and the Empire. Not just about the knights and conquering territories.

’There must be something Ryvaleh is dissatisfied about.’

Arabella tried to find out what it was about in her conversations with Clarisse but did not find any. So, this time, she tried to find a clue in Narcissa’s parents.

She noted that perhaps, Valeria’s policies were among them.

Narcissa’s parents were the Duke and Duchess back then.

’Should I do something so they would not be the ones who get the seat this time?’ Arabella wondered.

’Ah, what am I thinking about? Aren’t I plotting again?’ she internally scolded herself.

She decided to wait and see. Once Alwin was back, she could ask for his opinion.

Arabella chatted some more with Narcissa’s parents until Riley reminded her, that she had another appointment.

It was a meeting with Raymond.

She was rather grateful for it since speaking with the two was exhausting. It was no wonder Narcissa did not want to come with her parents.

Narcissa’s parents had no choice but to leave. They hoped that they were able to make Arabella think of them in a positive light.

Arabella had her worries and doubts when it came to them though due to their mindset.

She then headed to the magic tower where she would meet Raymond. They have decided to meet up there instead to prevent any more rumors about them from spreading.

Arabella needed to speak with Raymond about what they should do. She wanted to work in the palace from now on since they had been overstaying in Estrella compared to their former plans.

She also had a lot of things she could work on if she was in the Imperial Palace.

Attending the court sessions was one. She needed to stay up to date with what was going on in the Empire.

There were things that Riley may have thought to be insignificant and did not report to her but could have been things that highly influenced the future she and Alwin knew.

"Greetings to Your Majesty," Raymond rose and bowed when Arabella arrived with her guards. He headed to the Magic Tower early.

"Raymond, I would like to return here so I can work more efficiently," Arabella began when all the pleasantries were done.

"I’m not sure His Majesty would allow that," Raymond didn’t want to piss off his lord since he would get the end of the stick.

If anything happened to Arabella, he would end up getting blamed.

"Ah, about that, I already talked to him before we left. He said he would return to Estrella at least once a week. But he hadn’t been back since then. Since Alwin has also said something like that before departing, I asked Ferdinand if I could return here without him if he took much longer than planned," she explained her agreement with her husband.

"I see. If that’s the case, then it should be alright. But please always be careful. His Majesty is quite scary when he’s furious," Raymond looked like he had seen it before.

Since Arabella already made an agreement with Ferdinand, Raymond agreed for her to begin staying in the Imperial Palace again. She would also begin joining the morning court sessions.

[This presence!]

While they were discussing, Raymond suddenly rose in alarm, so Arabella did as well.

Rendell, Riley, and Rowan surrounded her. They made a protective barrier.

It all happened in quick succession that she could barely follow everything.

After a second, three people teleported into the room.

Before Arabella could even see who it was, Elder Walter and Elder Regis both arrived as well.

Raymond and Walter drew their sword and attacked together while Regis grabbed the one wearing a black cloak in the middle and teleported to the side near Arabella.

There was a whistling sound before there was a loud, clang!

The loud sound of metal hitting metal echoed in the room before everything stopped to a standstill.

Arabella finally had the chance to process everything.

The two men that Raymond and Elder Walter attacked were wearing black clothing all over. Even their swords were black.

One had long black hair and red eyes while the other had short black hair and black eyes. One had a body built just like Rendell while the other was not bulky but also seemed fit.

"Who are you?!"

"How dare you infiltrate the Magic Tower!"

Raymond and Elder Walter both hissed.

"Please stop. I brought them here," the cloaked man said.

Arabella was wide-eyed at that voice.

It was Alwin’s!

She turned her head right when the man cloaked in black undid his hood.

It was indeed him.

"Alwin!" Arabella gasped. He was finally back!