That afternoon found Westalia in the audience chamber in Le Chantier Palace. Emperor Augusto had cleared the room of people before Westalia could make her request, as though he knew exactly why she’d come.
Westalia was alone with Emperor Augusto, who was seated high above her on the throne.
“I have a matter I would like to discuss with you, Your Majesty,” she said in a firm tone, looking up at him. Westalia presented the evidence related to the truth of Elizabeth Pink dye that she’d collected over the past months.
The documents included Daniel’s analysis, the reports of injuries she and Elizabeth had gathered from both commoners and aristocrats, the pictures Westalia had drawn of the child laborers plus their personal testimony, and the record of the conversation between Westalia and Tiberio that the Royal Chronicler had written. In particular, the number of reports of injuries she and Elizabeth had gathered was truly frightening, and the documents formed a mountain on the emperor’s desk.
“All of these documents are related to Elizabeth Pink dye. Please take a look.”
The emperor hummed assent as he stroked his long beard and scanned his eyes over the documents. Westalia waited for his reaction with her head bowed.
Emperor Augusto placed the papers in his hand back on the desk, slowly turned his gaze toward Westalia, and instructed her to raise her head. He was as stern and dignified as ever. His face was similar to Leonardo’s, which made sense given they were father and son.
“When I decided on this final challenge, I gave you a sure path to victory. You have arrived at the correct conclusion,” Emperor Augusto said.
“Your Majesty’s true intention behind this challenge was to use the weakness of the Elizabeth Pink dye, produced by the Rias Corporation, to oust the Reyn family because they pose a threat to the imperial family, is that correct?”
Emperor Augusto’s mouth curved into a small smile, and Westalia took that as confirmation that her suspicions were correct. There had been an underlying extra facet to the challenge, one that the emperor had presented to Westalia alone. It was whether it would be possible to reveal the truth of Elizabeth Pink and eliminate a political rival who had caused the emperor so much trouble. Now that Westalia thought about it, it was almost an impossible task. But if Westalia was empress, the emperor’s reign would be stabilized. That was the best both sides could hope for.
“Whether I will prevail or not depends on Your Majesty’s decision after this. I have fulfilled the true challenge behind this task, so you can reward my wish as well.”
The emperor looked down at her. “Very well.”
The Reyns were the most powerful family in the Archaites Empire, and even the imperial family couldn’t easily touch them. They hadn’t been able to do anything about Elizabeth Pink either, as many doctors had refused to analyze it. The Reyns were so feared no one wanted to get even remotely on their bad side.
Even for Emperor Augusto, if he wished to maintain his authority during his reign, which family’s daughter would be chosen to join the imperial family in the empress selection process was a matter of life and death, and a daughter of the Reyns was nothing but a threat. The head of the family, Tiberio, was both powerful and ambitious, and if he were to gain influence over the imperial family through a marriage, he would likely try to overturn the power dynamics at court.
The decline of the Reyn family would elevate the rule of the Orencias to greater heights and make it even more unshakable. The emperor’s voice had sounded slightly cheery at the prospect of finally being able to remove the dangerous elements from the selection, which was one of the empire’s finest traditions.
Westalia looked up at the emperor. “You know what my wish is, for I have only one. Your Majesty, please immediately issue an imperial decree for the whole of the Archaites Empire.”