In response to Johannes’s serious tone, Roselia asked with a puzzled expression.

“Are you joking…? That I’m the Duke’s sister…?”

Johannes calmly spoke, as if anticipating Roselia’s reaction.

“Twenty years ago, my mother, the Lady of Uckilliod Marquisate, disappeared with my younger sister. At that time, your sister was only four years old. Your mother entered the Hesingk Marquisate about twenty years ago.”

Considering her current age of 24, it matched roughly. However, that didn’t mean she was convinced she was the Duke’s sister.

As Roselia looked at him with an incredulous expression, Johannes sighed and continued.

“Have you never thought that we look surprisingly alike? And, most importantly, there are only three families left in the Rafelios lineage. Among those three families, my younger sister is the only female.”

Johannes, still smiling gently, continued, observing Roselia’s unyielding expression.

“I also had doubts at first, but seeing you a second time confirmed it for me. It wasn’t just because you were a woman with the scent of kin, but I could tell the moment I smelled it. That you are my sister.”

Roselia, who had been frozen in place for a while, belatedly regained her composure and spoke hesitantly.

“But why… didn’t you reveal it sooner?”

Johannes, whose expression darkened at Roselia’s words, calmly replied.

“As I mentioned before, female members of the lineage are objects of caution for the royal family, especially for the concubine factions within Rafelios. Moreover, Uckilliod Marquisate is the center of the empress faction, so it faces opposition from the concubine factions.”

Seeing Roselia’s confused expression, Johannes took a deep breath and hinted at the current situation of the Marquisate.

“Their ultimate goal is to surpass the empress’s son, the crown prince, and elevate the concubine’s son to the position of the crown heir. In this process, female members of the lineage become significant variables.”

Roselia’s expression became serious.

Not only did a female member of the lineage, who was a considerable variable, appear, but if that woman was the empress faction’s daughter in the Marquisate, it meant that the concubine factions would be alerted and would likely rush in.

“There are still many risks, so we won’t reveal your identity externally. At least until the empress’s son, the crown prince, ascends to the throne as the emperor.”

“What does it have to do with me if the crown prince ascends to the throne?”

“When the empress’s son becomes the crown prince, the situation will change. Since the crown heir has already taken his place on the throne, the concubine factions won’t be able to easily meddle.”

Johannes, who said that, continued with a serious expression.

“So until then, you will stay in the Marquisate as a guest from Rughvelzet.”

With an overwhelming amount of information flooding in, Roselia’s head became complicated.
“I don’t really understand what’s going on. I even feel like I might have caused trouble for many people because of me…”

In response to her words, Johannes gently placed his hand on her hand.

“Don’t think that way, Roselia. This place is your home, and I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

A bittersweet smile appeared on Johannes’s face as he spoke.

“I’m sorry that the surrounding circumstances have been unsettling. But truly… you have come back well.”

In Johannes’s hand, conveying warmth, Roselia still felt dazed and could only respond with a smile.

It had already been a month since she arrived in Rafelios.

The affairs of the Marquisate were settled.

She disguised herself as Baroness Bernas, who came to Rafelios for a sightseeing tour from Rugbelzet.

In truth, her inheriting the title and property of Baroness Bernas was not a lie.

Today, she was on her way to the imperial palace to pay respects to Her Majesty the Empress.

Sitting in the carriage and looking out the window, Roselia suddenly remembered the letters she sent to Baroness Bernas and Closet.

As expected, Baroness had written a bunch of curses, but she assured Roselia that she would leave the position open whenever she decided to return.

However, while she received a letter from the Baroness, there was no news from Closet.

Was he angry with her for leaving without a word?

Or did he not think it was worth replying?

While pondering these thoughts and gazing out the window, Roselia suddenly saw a familiar figure in the bustling crowd.

A silhouette resembling Closet was blending into the people in the busy street.

However, as the carriage passed by, it was such a brief moment that Roselia shook her head.

Perhaps she mistook it for someone else while thinking about Closet.

In the midst of such thoughts, the carriage had already entered the Rafelios Imperial Palace.

If Rugbelzet’s imperial castle exuded a formal atmosphere full of pressure, Rafelios’s imperial castle looked like a beautiful piece of art harmonizing with nature.

Distracted by the beauty of the castle, Roselia momentarily forgot about it. Johannes looked at her.

“It’s time for you to get off.”