The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 466: The Solution for the Donovan Family

Aldrian knew that Emperor Raymond’s wife was the younger sister of Grand Duke Donovan, which made the Donovan family the emperor’s in-laws. He had learned this from the memories of Duke Schmidt and Marquess Xavier.

Aldrian simply watched as the empress hugged Prince Ferdinand fondly for a few moments before turning to look at the emperor, then at him.

The moment her gaze landed on him, she suddenly stood up and walked around the bed to stand in front of him, then instantly kowtowed.

Her sudden movement shocked both Emperor Raymond and Prince Ferdinand, while Aldrian only raised an eyebrow. What was this woman trying to do?

"I know my second son has already done something unforgivable. I don’t dare ask for his forgiveness, but please—spare the Donovan family! I beg you. I know they’ve done wrong, but not all of them are guilty."

Aldrian finally understood, but he kept his gaze fixed silently on the empress. This situation reminded him of Emperor Durand’s second wife, Imperial Consort Veronica, whose family had also been involved with devils and conspired with Third Prince Lewis to plunge the Doria Empire into chaos.

Looking at the kowtowing Empress Sandra, Emperor Raymond gritted his teeth.

"Sandra, stop that! Stop humiliating yourself! Your brother has done something that endangered our family and the entire empire. Do you think he, or Donovan family can come out of this unscathed? After what he’s done, even if young Aldrian does nothing, there’s no way I can let him go. The Donovan family will be affected as well. Even if you beg, nothing will change," he said, his voice slightly raised.

He was truly furious as he watched his wife humiliate herself for a family that had betrayed both him and their children. The fact that the Donovan family had supported his second son was something he had never expected.

When Wilmar launched his coup, Grand Duke Donovan—his brother-in-law, with whom he had once been quite close—turned out to be supporting Wilmar as well. Because of their in-law relationship, he hadn’t paid much attention to their communication. After all, grand duke Donovan was Wilmar’s uncle.

But to think that Grand Duke Donovan had actively supported his downfall...

It made him want to beat that bastard to death.

However, even after the emperor spoke, Empress Sandra remained in place, still kowtowing to Aldrian without moving in the slightest.

"I will continue until my family is spared—" she began, but suddenly, she felt her body being lifted off the floor by an invisible force, cutting her words short.

"Stop it, Your Majesty. Do you want me to feel guilty from watching you act like this?" Aldrian said flatly.

"No, I—"

"Devils are the beings I hate most. And I know not every member of the Donovan family was involved in the schemes of your family’s upper ranks. I also know they didn’t tell you—because your brother didn’t trust you enough to stay silent if you found out."

"However, in the end, the Donovan family will still be affected entirely because of their cooperation with the devils. The devils have a presence in this empire to destabilize it. They also played a role in this civil war, even if not directly. So even if I do nothing to the Donovan family, they will still be affected—they will crumble, one way or another."

"As for Grand Duke Donovan, he’s already a dead man. I hold a personal grudge against him. He’s done something that, in my eyes, already sealed his fate. If I catch him, he dies. Even if Your Majesty begs me not to kill him, I will still do it. That is my decision."

Hearing Aldrian’s words, the empress’s expression turned to despair. She looked toward the emperor, her eyes pleading—was there truly nothing that could be done?

But the emperor, face still rigid, met her gaze and slowly shook his head.

"No, if we just let them go, it will affect the people’s trust in us. Do you want another chaos to erupt, with uprisings from the people because they believe we didn’t take a firm stand against the devils?"

The empress’s expression grew even paler as she lowered her head and bit her lip. Aldrian could only inwardly sigh at the situation. He didn’t care much about what happened to the Donovan family or how the emperor would handle them—his main target was Grand Duke Donovan. Still, he couldn’t help but feel that what was happening in these imperial families was a tragedy.

The emperor usually married noble ladies, and events like this were bound to occur if a woman’s family betrayed them. The woman was forced to choose between her blood family and her family with the emperor.

This situation also became an important lesson for Aldrian. He needed to prevent something like this from happening to his own family in the future. His privileges, which were his abilities and power, made it possible to avoid such betrayals.

"The main thing is, my primary target is Grand Duke Donovan. The Donovan family itself doesn’t really matter to me, as his Majesty must already have his own considerations regarding them." Aldrian said before he looked at Emperor Raymond.

"I have another option, one I believe could be a win-win solution. If Your Majesty wants to save what remains of the Donovan family without drawing massive criticism, you can purge the traitors. Of course, this will significantly diminish the family’s power."

"The empress must show that she is not part of the Donovan family’s higher-ups’ scheme with the devils and must support the emperor in rooting out the traitors of the empire. By doing this, public opinion against the Donovan family and the imperial family will be minimized. Although many will still criticize the Donovan family, and their status will fall, it’s far better than being destroyed completely."

"To make it easier, Your Majesty can borrow my name to reduce the public’s prejudice and opinion against the imperial family or the remaining members of the Donovan family."

"That is all I can think of as the best solution for this situation."

Hearing Aldrian’s suggestion, the emperor and the first prince were both impressed by his quick thinking. They also believed that what Aldrian had proposed was the best course of action they could take.

Truthfully, Emperor Raymond had hesitated to impose the harshest punishment on a family that had been his in-laws for so long. It would create a rift between him and his wife, which was not good for the stability of his family. They had already suffered a significant blow with their second son’s betrayal, and it would be devastating if his wife were also hit by the loss of her family.

Emperor Raymond looked at his wife, waiting for her response.

After a minute of silence, Empress Sandra clenched her fists and finally looked at Aldrian, lowering her head.

"Thank you for your generosity," she said softly. "Thank you."

Although she couldn’t save her second son or her elder brother, at least she could preserve the legacy of her parents and ancestors. The Donovan family had been a noble house for many generations, and she would not let their legacy be dismantled. She also believed that this was the best decision for her family as a whole.

"Alright, if this matter is settled, let’s talk about something else." Aldrian said.

"It concerns an artifact that Wilmar gave me, in hopes of mending our relationship in the past. Wilmar gave me this artifact."

Aldrian then took out a guqin from his storage ring, causing the emperor and the others to widen their eyes slightly. They recognized the guqin immediately.

The Spirit of the Great Path.

"I want to tell you that this artifact holds great meaning for me, and its origin is much deeper than any of you know. The only thing you know about this guqin is that it was given by the Rosalind family’s ancestor to the Losaris family’s ancestor as a means for the Rosalind family to establish an agreement with the imperial family, correct?"

The emperor seemed to understand the implication behind Aldrian’s words but was still shocked that Aldrian knew about the agreement between their ancestors with the Rosalind family. That agreement was a secret known only to the imperial family and the Rosalind family.

"Yes, this artifact was given to our ancestor by the Rosalind family, and to this day, I still honor the agreement our ancestors made," Emperor Raymond said.

"Did the Rosalind family tell you this, young Aldrian? Or do you have a deep connection with the Rosalind family?"

Aldrian shook his head.

"No, I don’t have a deep connection with the Rosalind family. And as for them telling me—forget it. They don’t even know what their own ancestor did or that there was an agreement with the imperial family. It seems that only the imperial family knows about it. But with Your Majesty’s confirmation, that confirms my conjecture," Aldrian answered.

The emperor was stunned. The Rosalind family didn’t know about it?

"No wonder Baron Rosalind seemed so clueless about the agreement!" he thought. Then how did Aldrian knew about their agreement?

"I see, I understand what young Aldrian wants to say, and you don’t have to worry. You can keep it, as this can also be our repayment for all you’ve done and a way to build our relationship. I hope that with this, young Aldrian will think of the Losaris imperial family," Emperor Raymond said.

Aldrian nodded with smile.

"Thank you, and of course, our relationship won’t stop here and can develop further in the future. After all, we need to support each other in these uncertain times."

The emperor smiled, satisfied with it.

"By the way, may I ask what place lies in that direction?" Aldrian said, pointing to a spot. "I think it’s about a kilometer away, and it seems to be exuding a powerful heaven and earth energy."