The engagement ceremony of the Crown Prince and Princess Keruzhan was held as scheduled. While everyone focused on the engagement ceremony, in fact, the high-ranking officials in charge of the empire’s core were focused on a bigger matter.

The Emperor, who appeared noticeably gaunt at the engagement ceremony, called another meeting as soon as the ceremony ended. There was nothing visible in the Emperor’s eyes.

Kaella looked out the window. A woman wrapped from head to toe in jewels and formal attire was looking at her impassively.

“Oh my, she’s so beautiful.”

The maids smiled proudly as they looked at Kaella, and even the old ladies here smiled with satisfaction as they looked at her. Beautiful indeed.

‘I’m ugly.’

Too ugly. Kaella was so ugly that it was included in the reasons she wanted to die. The thought of being ugly became even stronger after she burst out with emotion.

Last night, she got angry at Peiron for no reason and rambled incoherently. He simply apologized and said he was sorry because he had a lot to be sorry for to her.

‘Why did I cry?’

She had done all sorts of things she shouldn’t have done. Peiron patted her back and comforted her, wiped away her tears, made her drink water, and had her finish her meal. While she was eating, he even took off her shoes and massaged her feet.

Coming to her senses in the bright morning and thinking about it again, she was constantly regretting it because it was so foolish and embarrassing.

She shouldn’t have done that. She shouldn’t have shown her emotions. Crying was a weak thing to do, and carelessly revealing honest feelings was even more taboo. Because a weak duchess would only be despised, and honest thoughts would only be exploited.

‘How foolish.’

Even when she revealed just a little emotion, Kaella habitually regretted and blamed herself.

Criticizing her powerless and pathetic self through the mirror didn’t make her feel any better. She should reflect and never do it again, but instead, other thoughts kept creeping in. Most of them were about Peiron.

“Ah.”

Kaella turned her head at the sound. The person coming this way with attendants was Prince Elkanan of the Kingdom of Keruzhan. He was also the chief envoy and special ambassador leading the Keruzhan delegation accompanying his niece.

“Hello, Your Highness. No, Your Grace the Duchess.”

“Hello, Your Highness. Congratulations on your engagement.”

“Are we in a position to congratulate each other?”

Prince Elkanan approached her with a slight smile. It was a brief moment between the end of the engagement ceremony and the start of the banquet.

Kaella was staying at the imperial palace under the pretext of overseeing the banquet, but in reality, she was paying attention to the results of the meeting happening now.

“We are family sharing in each other’s joy.”

“Yes, that’s right. We are in the midst of making all preparations for the princess to come and adapt well.”

“Are you personally taking care of it, Your Grace?”

Prince Elkanan smiled, widening his eyes slightly.

“That’s surprising. Then there’s no need to worry.”

It was a pointed remark. Prince Elkanan was a highly skilled diplomat who could speak more than five languages. He also had a handsome and neat appearance suitable for a diplomat.

Moreover, he was unmarried, so quite a few young ladies looked at him with envious eyes during this engagement ceremony. Though it wouldn’t matter since he was royalty and wouldn’t even look at nobles who weren’t of the same rank.

Furthermore, Elkanan was quite a fearsome person.

“As an uncle, I was worried about what exactly we needed to prepare and send along. But to think that Your Grace is taking care of even that.”

He implied that he knew all about Duchess Schroze.

Of course, from the perspective of entrusting his niece, Duchess Schroze was an unsatisfactory and displeasing mother-in-law figure. Kaella doubted whether the haughty Princess of Keruzhan would even treat her as a mother-in-law.

“As a member of the imperial family, I naturally need to look into it. His Majesty the Emperor will take care of everything.”

Kaella immediately escaped the trap that Prince Elkanan was subtly setting. A capable royal from a neighboring country who was also an in-law was always a welcome guest but also someone to be wary of. Well, for Kaella, everyone except her father and the people of Ostein were subjects of caution.

“Of course, I believe that will be the case, but.”

The people behind Prince Elkanan quietly withdrew.

“From the position of worrying about my niece, I want to know more about anything.”

For example, the results of the secret meeting currently taking place.

Kaella got the impression that Prince Elkanan was very curious about that meeting, but she didn’t show it. She wasn’t interested in this man. In fact, she rarely took interest in anything.

“I also have the shameless hope that the person who married first would take a little care of my niece. Belated congratulations on your marriage.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ve sent a wedding gift to your residence that I hadn’t been able to send earlier. I hope you’ll like it.”

Kaella smiled vaguely and bowed her head briefly. Prince Elkanan was gradually realizing that there was little to be gained from this tiny noblewoman.

She was receiving protection, knowingly or unknowingly, from her maids and knight, as well as the guards positioned at every corridor and door. The one who needed to be careful here was Prince Elkanan.

Moreover, this noblewoman had an incredibly formidable presence attached to her.

“Ah. So you were here.”

Duke Lyssenford, who had turned the corner, was wearing a new formal attire topped with the Golden Lion Knights’ cloak, exuding an overwhelming presence.

Most men felt intimidated every time they saw that man.

Yet he smiled gently, and Elkanan could bet his entire fortune that the smile was directed solely at the Duchess. Right now, Duke Lyssenford was not at all welcoming to Prince Elkanan.

“Prince, you were here as well.”

“Yes. I couldn’t figure out where everyone had suddenly gone, so I’ve been wandering around here and there.”

It was as if he was asking what they were doing hiding behind everyone’s backs. Everyone knew and was pretending not to, while probing. Peiron smiled slightly and moved closer to Kaella. He stood at a distance only possible for a married couple.

“Ah. You haven’t heard yet since it’s a decision that was just made.”

Kaella looked up at her husband. Normally, Peiron would never utter a word about something he judged to be of great importance.

Prince Elkanan was also looking at Duke Lyssenford as if finding him strange. Duke Lyssenford was as unapproachable as he was taciturn, and he had always been distant from central politics, so there wasn’t much that could be found out about him.

“The official order will be posted at the palace main gate now. His Majesty the Emperor was pleased with the Crown Prince’s engagement and made an important decision.”

“A decision?”

It was strange in itself to hold a meeting and make a decision in the midst of such an engagement ceremony with foreign guests swarming about. Prince Elkanan looked at Duke Lyssenford.

Elkanan, who had visited again, found everyone strange. The Emperor, whose complexion was too poor today, was strange, and this Duke Lyssenford who was now looking down at him clearly was strange. When did the Emperor become so deteriorated, and when did this man become so enormous?

“Yes. Since the Crown Prince has grown enough to be engaged, it seems His Majesty the Emperor judged it was time to decide on future matters.”

This was a very important conversation. Prince Elkanan managed his expression so well that Kaella was impressed.

“Ah, that’s right. When children grow up, parents tend to have various thoughts.”

“Yes, so he appointed a regent.”

“Is the Crown Prince becoming the regent?”

“No. He appointed a regent for emergencies, but nothing has changed. The regent will perform the role if His Majesty the Emperor is absent, or when the Crown Prince ascends to the throne.”

Something was off. The Crown Prince wasn’t the regent, and a regent was attached when he, a perfectly healthy adult, ascended to the throne?

“Who is the regent? Is it Duchess Schroze?”

“It’s a member of the imperial family.”

Peiron cut him off sharply. It also meant that Duchess Schroze was not a member of the imperial family.

“His Majesty has designated my father-in-law and us as a couple. By imperial law, only members of the imperial family can take the position of regent.”

That was precisely what would turn the stomachs of the Keruzhan people, including Prince Elkanan. Having dropped the bomb, Peiron smiled slightly.

“Ah, I see.”

Prince Elkanan nodded calmly.

“A major decision has been made. Thank you for informing me. Well then, I’ll see you both at the banquet later.”

“Yes, Your Highness. Take care.”

Kaella, who had smiled formally, looked up at Peiron as soon as Prince Elkanan disappeared. The breathtakingly handsome face was glaring at the back of Prince Elkanan’s head, but as soon as he felt her gaze, he quickly looked down at her and smiled.

“Did you deliberately inform him?”

“He would have found out anyway from what’s posted at the palace gate, he just heard it from me a little earlier.”

What was the point of kindly informing him of something he would find out anyway? It wasn’t like Peiron.

‘Ah.’

Kaella, who had been looking at him, quickly averted her gaze as if she had realized something. For Kaella, who took no interest in anyone, Peiron was the only being who forcibly shook her constantly sinking consciousness awake.

Sometimes annoyingly troublesome, and still suffocatingly perfect. While other people passed by meaninglessly, she still found herself thinking a lot about Peiron. When there are many thoughts, there are many lingerings. Foolishly.

“Too perfect.”

Aren’t you the perfect one? Kaella looked up at Peiron. Even when she tried to avert her gaze, he kept making her turn back to him. It was an agonizing charm for someone in unrequited love.

“Ah, really. Why are you so beautiful?”

She was too good a wife for a bastard who, blinded and bound from head to toe, unable to distinguish anything, now set fires indiscriminately and cut into his own body when bored.

The young and beautiful Duchess pretended not to hear and reached out to adjust his collar, turning the slightly crooked knight’s badge back into place.

Such praise must be very tiresome for Kaella. Being called beautiful every day must be expected. He enjoyed the moment when his wife personally adjusted the clothes she had commissioned for him and even touched them up. Kaella even readjusted the large and elegant cloak clasp.

“How did I end up becoming a regent too?”

“Ah, that’s because our Emperor went crazy and ran amok.”

Peiron muttered casually, despite this being the imperial palace.

“He collapsed yesterday, didn’t he?”

“Crazy people have good energy too. So, Kaella. Who else talked to you while I was gone, besides that bastard just now?”

Peiron asked with a smile, even though he knew everything. As for the Emperor, he didn’t care whether he went crazy or not, as long as he lived long and just kept being crazy. Of course, it wouldn’t be the same for Prince Elkanan.

That fox-like bastard. He must have sent some jewels or something under the guise of a wedding gift to Kaella. Even so, what Peiron gave would be bigger and more substantial.

If it’s a wedding gift, he should send something for the couple to use together, so why send a gift specifically to his wife? His intentions were transparent. Peiron remembered and was wary of every man who had been mentioned in marriage talks with Kaella.

“Too many.”

It couldn’t be helped. No matter how much he cut off and rebuilt his body, his actions and appearance were still like this. On the other hand, Kaella was still kind and beautiful despite going through that cruel death.

Despite the fact that fifteen men, including Marquis Haihar, had come to talk to her while he was in the meeting, she subtly said “too many” out of concern for what her crazy husband might do.

Well, fifteen was a lot. But Peiron was planning to deal with Marquis Haihar first when Kaella no longer cared about Elkanan.

“You must be tired.”

She must have been tired, staying late at the banquet yesterday until she cried, and then preparing early this morning to attend the engagement ceremony. He embraced his wife who had to deal with pesky flies on top of all that, and moved his steps.

“Let’s go rest.”

The cracking imperial situation was for others to deal with, not something Kaella needed to know about.

He had thrown the spark, so while they stirred and fanned the spark among themselves, raising smoke and fire wildly, Kaella needed to rest in his arms. Safely and peacefully.

*

On the day of the Crown Prince’s engagement ceremony, the Emperor announced the list of regents excluding the Crown Prince, and then shut himself in Soleil Palace, saying he was unwell. Gregory had somehow heard the news that the Emperor had ordered his bed to be moved next to the Empress’s bed.

“Gregory, Gregory. This is really too much and shocking.”

Even Duchess Schroze, who didn’t know much about politics, was so upset that she cried, so what the Emperor had done today was very clear.

On this good day, the Emperor had put only those classified as the Empress’s faction in the regent positions, questioning the Crown Prince’s qualifications. Of all days, on a good day for him, of all people, Duke Lyssenford!

“His Majesty…”

Gregory, who was speaking, momentarily closed his mouth, filled with fear and anger. The titles ‘His Majesty’ and ‘Emperor’ were more familiar than the word ‘father’.

It was that kind of relationship anyway. A one-sided relationship where he had to cling desperately when the Emperor held on, and be miserably abandoned when the Emperor cast him aside.

What should I do? What should I do? Gregory, just twenty-one years old, ended up trembling, overwhelmed by fear and anxiety rather than anger.

Having lived in the imperial palace, he knew best how terrifying a person the Emperor was. There wasn’t much time.

Somehow, the Crown Prince had to prove his usefulness as Crown Prince. If not, it was obvious that the Emperor would immediately lift a finger to drive Gregory out of his current position. The creeping anxiety was instinctive.

“……How?”

“That’s what I’m saying! How could he do this! Our Gregory would do so well on his own! A regent, of all things!”

His mother’s angry voice was heard faintly in the distance.

That wasn’t what Gregory was worried about. How to overcome Duke Lyssenford? He didn’t know how.

No one had taught him that method, yet everyone was clamoring that they had taught him. Even the Emperor was berating him, looking down on him and telling him to figure out and do what he didn’t know.

But there was just one person, exactly one person who had spoken in a way Gregory could understand.