The Rondo viscount family had been maintaining their noble status for generations, relying solely on the merit of an ancestor who had achieved considerable feats in war.

Viscount Rondo, as a deputy of the Rudo duchy, was, in short, little more than an aide to Duke Ludwig.

They had no territory to govern nor a steady, substantial income.

Thus, it was hardly surprising that Viscountess Rondo tried so hard to curry favor with Duchess Rudo.

The only possessions of the Rondo viscount family were a modest inheritance from their ancestors and a reasonably decent mansion, so no one could have anticipated such a massive fire breaking out.

“The fire spread so fiercely that even the neighboring village, far away, could clearly see the thick black smoke!”

The news brought by Loren Logia was enough to unsettle even the composed Kasallin.

Realizing this was not the time to leisurely sip tea or handle paperwork, Kasallin pressed for details.

“So, what happened? Are Viscount Rondo, his wife, and their servants all safe?”

“The servants were all unharmed, not a scratch on them, as their quarters were separate. Viscount Rondo had been invited out by an acquaintance a few hours before the fire broke out. But the problem is Viscountess Rondo and her maid.”

“What about those two?”

Loren Logia sighed several times, as if reluctant to speak of such a dreadful matter, before continuing.

“Well… somehow, both Viscountess Rondo and her maid suffered severe burns all over their bodies. There must have been some trouble during their escape.”

“Good heavens, such a tragic event…”

“All the money and valuables in the mansion were, of course, burned to ashes, and that grand mansion was entirely consumed by the flames, leaving nothing but a pile of rubble. They say Viscount Rondo collapsed from the shock.”

At least everyone survived, so perhaps it was a small mercy amidst the misfortune.

A fire of that magnitude would surely have been reported to Parnes by now.

Kasallin tore up the documents she had been working on, tossed them into the fireplace, and headed straight for the imperial palace.

It was the first time since arriving in the Renel Empire that she had visited the imperial palace unannounced.

As Kasallin approached the main gate, the guards stationed there swiftly cleared the way without a single question.

As she ascended the central staircase, she saw Duke Ludwig approaching from the corridor.

“Duke Ludwig.”

“Why, if it isn’t Miss Kasallin. What brings you here?”

“I just heard the news. They say the Rondo viscount family has been utterly ruined overnight.”

A subtle crease formed between Duke Ludwig’s brows.

“Yes. I was just on my way back from reporting the matter to His Majesty. It’s truly a regrettable incident.”

“Is His Majesty in his office? I know it’s impolite to visit without prior notice, but I urgently need to discuss something.”

I hope I haven’t come at an inconvenient time.

When Kasallin added this with a worried glance, Duke Ludwig assured her it was no trouble and led the way.

At the tightly shut door of the office, Duke Ludwig knocked.

“Your Majesty, I beg your pardon for the intrusion.”

There was no response from within.

Given how busy he must be, he likely had no time to linger over casual conversation in the morning.

When Kasallin whispered that she would return later with an appointment, Duke Ludwig asked her to wait a moment and knocked again.

“Your Majesty, Miss Kasallin is here…”

Before Duke Ludwig could finish, hurried footsteps approached from inside, and the door swung wide open.

“You’re here?”

“I greet Your Majesty. I hope I’m not interrupting?”

“Interrupting? Not at all. I was just taking a break.”

For someone taking a break, there was a mountain of documents piled behind him.

Parnes gave a light cough and quietly closed the office door, leading her to a quiet tea room attached to the side.

“If you had something to say, you could have sent for me. I would have come to you.”

“How could I dare summon Your Majesty here or there? It’s only right that I come to you. But Your Majesty, you’ve heard the news from Duke Ludwig, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

As if he already knew everything without needing further explanation, he sat in an armchair and picked up a coffee cup.

“What a bolt from the blue. They say everything burned to ashes, and the cause is still unknown.”

“Indeed. It’s a regrettable affair.”

Parnes responded in a calm voice, showing no particular sign of sorrow.

It was as if he had heard some irrelevant news, like fish dying mysteriously across the sea, with no emotion reflected in his tone.

As an emperor, he must hear countless incidents daily.

Having even experienced war, this might not strike him as particularly shocking.

“…Do you pity them?”

He asked Kasallin, who was lost in thought.

With his long legs crossed at an angle, he gazed at her intently through his piercing, ice-pick eyes.

His flawless black shoes gleamed reddish in the light of the blazing fireplace at his feet.

“I suppose I do feel some sympathy for them.”

“Why?”

“Pardon?”

“They ignored and mocked you, so why do you pity them?”

Parnes asked, genuinely puzzled.

Kasallin didn’t know how to respond.

His question was one that anyone with the slightest bit of compassion or empathy would find obvious.

“Well, their disdain for me and the sudden calamity they’ve suffered are separate matters.”

“Separate matters.”

Parnes rolled the phrase slowly in his mouth, like a scholar encountering a new revelation.

Kasallin’s obvious answer seemed anything but obvious to him.

He gazed calmly at the crackling, splitting logs in the flickering flames.

Then, he froze, and in the coldest, most chilling voice she had ever heard, he spoke.

“What about this, then?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I were to eliminate Shallen Riche and take the Kan Kingdom, would you pity him and resent me?”

A small storm of shock and confusion swirled in Kasallin’s endlessly trembling eyes.

Parnes stared at her for quite a while before breaking into a light smile, as if it had been a joke.

“That was too harsh a joke. Don’t be afraid.”

“So it was a joke, after all…”

It felt too serious to be a joke.

Why he had asked such a terrifying question, as if testing her reaction, she couldn’t fathom.

But there was only one answer Kasallin could give.

She did not wish for conflict to arise between the Renel Empire and the Kan Kingdom, leading to war.

Of course, Parnes, with his bold demeanor and commanding presence, was often misunderstood as a tyrant, but to Kasallin, he was a prudent ruler, no matter what others said.

Surely he wouldn’t throw away everything he had built just for her sake and brandish a blade of vengeance against the Kan Kingdom.

So it must have been a joke, as he said.

At least, that’s what Kasallin wanted to believe.

‘But what if, later on, Shallen and Rose cross a line they shouldn’t?’

If Rose insulted her, or if Shallen, still unable to let go of his lingering feelings, schemed inappropriately.

Kasallin cautiously glanced at Parnes beside her, imagining a grim scenario that must never come to pass.

As always, when their eyes met, he simply gave her a polite smile.

“I heard from the neighbors that there was some issue with the kitchen hearth. It’s just speculation, though.”

Isabella said as she left the hospital room with her mother, Duchess Rudo.

They were returning from visiting Viscountess Rondo, who had been indefinitely admitted to the imperial hospital due to this incident.

Truthfully, there was no obligation to visit, but since Viscount Rondo was an administrator of the duchy, they thought it proper as nobles to at least leave a bouquet.

As the mother and daughter stepped out into the sunlight, their attendants waiting outside swiftly opened parasols and followed.

“My naive and foolish daughter, Isabella. Do you really think this was just an accident?”

“What do you mean, Mother?”

“It’s a kind of warning.”

“A warning?”

Yes. The first and final warning from that person.

Duchess Rudo spoke sparingly, gazing up at the majestic imperial palace looming grandly behind the hospital.

To become the mistress of that splendid domain would be an indescribably great and glorious thing.

If only she could have sat on the empress’s throne, even once.

“Your Majesty, why am I not good enough?”

“You ask the obvious, Princess Katarina. Because I do not love you.”

The former emperor, who had fallen in love with a lowly merchant’s daughter and descended into madness with twisted possessiveness.

He had hoped to pass his ambition to sit beside eternal glory to his only daughter.

How many years had been devoted to that purpose?

Duchess Rudo looked quietly at her daughter standing beside her.

The pitiful orphan, once wasting away in a rural monastery, had now become a perfect noble lady.

It was all her creation, the result of her efforts.

“My one and only daughter, Isabella.”

Duchess Rudo affectionately called her, gently brushing a blade of grass from Isabella’s hair.

Isabella’s eyes sparkled like a child craving love, indulging in age-inappropriate whims.

“Yes, Mother. Please tell me.”

“I have no need for a daughter who cannot become empress.”

Isabella’s bright smile froze, as if time itself had stopped.

Never lose your smile, no matter the circumstance—that was the habit ingrained through thousands, tens of thousands of lessons befitting a true noble lady.

“Do whatever it takes.”

Duchess Rudo patted Isabella’s back gently, as if encouraging her.

“Find a way, somehow, to fulfill your mother’s lifelong wish. Unless you want to return to the place you were born.”