The loud voice of my father seemed to tear through the night.

It was clear that he was unilaterally causing a commotion.

What should I do? Should I go to my stepmother’s room now and try to stop him?

However, an instinctive fear of my father grabbed Kardiel’s ankles.

The instruction from his stepmother to go to his room and rest early today seemed to give justification for turning a blind eye to this situation.

However.

Before long, Kardiel comes to regret his hesitation.

〈How dare you! How dare you! How dare you…… Aaargh!〉

Stumbling on the balcony, furious for some reason, the father fell from there in a foolishly short time.

Ah.

In that moment, Kardiel’s eyes met with two people.

One was the demon who had stumbled from the second floor but was still breathing and twitching.

The other was Euphemina, who looked around and finally spotted Kardiel.

And.

At that moment, Euphemina definitely smiled. With a face like a gentle angel, her eyes narrowed beautifully.

She had been holding a flowerpot in her hand for who knows how long. The flowerpot she cherished the most……

It soon fell vertically in the direction the demon had collapsed.

That’s right. Falling from the second floor would make it difficult for a person to sustain fatal injuries.

But if you get hit in the head by a flowerpot falling from the third floor, it’s a different story.

The soil and flowers that filled Euphemina’s flowerpot scattered in all directions along with the shattered pieces.

It was the moment the demon returned to hell.

Ugh.

Kardiel, who came into the room covering his mouth as he retched, could no longer remain still.

His drained legs twisted and tripped several times.

Nevertheless, Kardiel headed outside faster than the servants without slowing down.

The scene was gruesome. But there was no time to be overwhelmed by the sight.

Kardiel took his father’s sword. In case of an emergency.

…… In a situation that really shouldn’t happen, it would be the key to protecting everyone.

The rusted sword, now stored on top of Kardiel’s wardrobe, that is.

“I, too, was checking the situation due to the loud noise coming from upstairs. Then I happened to witness the entire scene.”

“……”

“In case it is revealed that the Duke was murdered, for the young master to come forward as the culprit……”

Kardiel covered his mouth with both hands.

“…… Of course I know that too.”

Even though that movement must have made a sound, Saul Rosier did not mention it.

“Lady Euphemina clearly lives with slightly different thoughts and standards than others. How could I not understand the young master’s desire to cover for the lady’s actions and protect the family? Still……”

He still muttered to himself, pretending not to know.

“That is something the young master cannot handle yet. No.”

At that moment, a low rumble of thunder shaking the sky overlapped with Saul Rosier’s voice.

“It’s something you shouldn’t handle.”

Soon, the sound of fabric rubbing together and the sound of a cane tapping crossed the dark room.

“It looks like it’s about to pour rain. This old man will have to stay here and enjoy the sound of the rain a little longer.”

When you get old, you sleep less.

Mr. Rosier said so and sank deep into the chair again.

The next day, Kardiel realized that his father’s sword and the broken scabbard he had placed on top of the wardrobe had disappeared.

The rain that began falling that dawn had been soaking the capital for a week.

It was the first time that rain had fallen to wake up winter in the capital during this period.

The social world was quite busy due to the unexpected rain.

Tea parties or picnics scheduled to be held in gardens or parks had to be cancelled or moved indoors.

As a result, the venue for social gatherings could only be very limited.

Private salons or banquet halls hosting tea parties or balls?

However, these kinds of gatherings require a lot of time to prepare.

In the end, places that can be easily accessed without preparation are preferred.

Thus, the most popular venue for social gatherings in the capital inevitably became the opera house.

“The Baron Baden is really an unlucky man.”

The day after he terminated the unfair contract with Professor Ernestine, it started raining like this.

If he had known the weather forecast in advance, he could have ignored the nobles even if they sent thousands of protest letters instead of hundreds.

In this situation, like it or not, the only place the nobles can go is the opera house.

Well. Whether he regrets it or not, it can’t be helped now.

The Baron Baden will probably have to solve an even bigger problem by now.

What does he have to solve?

Of course, the crime of imperial contempt.

“Thank you for accepting the invitation, Regent.”

“I’m the one who should thank you for inviting me, Your Highness.”

I was invited to a social gathering after a long time.

The person who invited me is Prince Raphanel, who had previously proposed to me.

Externally, it is quite free for us to have such a private meeting since I have not yet replied to the prince’s proposal.

But in fact, I had a separate reason for accepting his invitation today.

I was curious about how the Baron Baden issue was progressing.

“Well, Prince Raphanel must have asked me out on a date because he couldn’t resist the pressure from his mother, the Crown Princess.”

Anyway, the box seats of the opera house were a very good place to have secret conversations.

It’s like coming not really to watch the performance, but just to enjoy the atmosphere.

“Ahem.”

Prince Raphanel glanced at me, cleared his throat once, and opened his mouth.

“I thought you might be curious since it’s a matter of your family…… The investigation of Baron Baden is all over. They are currently discussing the punishment.”

As expected, he gave me the most necessary information without me asking.

I lowered the opera glasses from my face and let him know that I was listening to his story.

“To conclude, all three counts of thesis plagiarism have been acknowledged. Other sages dispatched from the Tower of Honor yesterday confirmed that the theses belong to Sage Jepet.”

After all, the sages who lived together in the Tower of Honor would know best who the owner of the theses is.

They would have seen what kind of studies Professor Jepet was interested in and from what perspective he conducted his research.

“Then the crime of imperial contempt would have been applied.”

“That’s right. His Majesty the Emperor…… No, His Majesty is so furious that he will not only dismiss the chairman of the Privy Council but also strip him of his noble status. I was worried that it shouldn’t bring shame to the Ducal House of Daiern.”

“Shame? The price is insufficient for daring to despise the imperial family and the empire for years. I, too, was about to erase Baron Baden…… No, Wilhelm York Baden from the lineage of the ducal house with the authority of the acting duke.”

How embarrassing this is.

I deliberately sighed and added.

I felt Prince Raphanel trying to tap my shoulder as if he was worried, then withdrawing his hand.

It must have been because he was conscious of the gazes of people looking this way through opera glasses.

To protect my honor later even if I refuse the proposal.

“Even with that huge physique, his behavior is cute, really.”

Prince Raphanel cleared his throat again and continued.

“That’s not the end of it. Not only the imperial family but also the Tower of Honor cannot let this matter pass.”

“Oh my.”

“The Tower of Honor demanded a huge compensation from Wilhelm York Baden, who disgraced the honor of the tower’s sage and stole his research achievements. As a result, most of Baron Baden’s assets have been confiscated. It seems that only the mansion he currently lives in remains.”

I couldn’t help but be surprised that even that remains.

How much has that Baron Baden…… No, that Wilhelm bastard been ripping off all this time?

“Haa.”

After listening to his whole story, I deliberately let out a long sigh.

“Even if I didn’t know, the Baden family is a vassal of Daiern. I feel a great sense of responsibility.”

“No, what fault would the Regent have? It’s all something Wilhelm York Baden planned and carried out alone.”

“I appreciate the comfort, but this is something Daiern should properly ask for forgiveness from His Majesty the Emperor. It would be good to request an audience soon.”

“Ah……”

Letting out a dull exclamation, he finally revealed the reason for bringing this up to me.

“Actually…… Yes. I thought you should do that, so I asked to see the Regent. His Majesty seems to think this is an opportunity to put pressure on Daiern……”

I knew it would be like this.

The Emperor will secretly think that this is an opportunity.

An opportunity to cut down the power of Daiern that has grown too much in just a few years.

Or an opportunity to absorb it into the imperial family even a little.

In other words, he will use this incident as an excuse to push the marriage between me and Prince Raphanel.