At Casian’s voice, I awoke from my reverie and heard a maid knocking on the door.

“Come in.”

Opening the door, the maid entered, bowed, and delivered a message.

“Your Highness, the Count of Trevia requests an audience.”

“The Count?”

It was a sudden appointment, but I knew he would come someday.

“Tell him I will be down shortly and guide him to the reception room.”

“Yes.”

I sent the maid away and got up from my seat.

Casian and Teresa looked at me with worried eyes.

“Are you really going to be alright?”

They too knew well the infamous reputation of Count Trevia.

A man who threw his daughter into hellfire for power.

The man who had the most significant influence on the Empress’s madness and rampage was the Emperor and his father.

“Well, let’s meet him first. You two go ahead today.”

I sent them away with uneasy expressions and headed down to the reception room.

Upon opening the door, the Count, who had been cooling off with his eyes closed, stood up from his seat.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness, the Crown Princess.”

“This is our first meeting, Count Trevia. Please, have a seat.”

He seemed to like the cool place.

Other places may lack marble, but at least not in my palace.

My father had always sent more than enough.

“I am merely thankful for your hospitality, Your Highness.”

“I would have done the same for anyone.”

This meant that I didn’t think of Count Trevia as special.

I felt a sense of satisfaction watching the corners of the smiling Count’s mouth twitch.

A faintly fragrant tea was placed before us.

I sipped the tea and waited for him to speak.

“I believe you know why I came here, Your Highness.”

“I’m sorry, but our family isn’t very interested in politics. What on earth could you be thinking, coming here? I really can’t guess.”

Again, it was a blatant ruse.

I despise it when someone doesn’t want to say something vulgar with their own mouth and tries to skirt around it.

“I believe you know how great a power Prince Nathaniel was born with.”

After a brief hesitation, the Count opened his salvo with a plausible story.

“Of course. It’s an ancient dragon lineage born in the royal family after a very long time.”

And a very, very cute lineage at that.

I puffed out my chest and waited for the Count’s next words.

“Do you know when this lineage appeared last?”

I had no reason to.

I didn’t have that much interest in it in the first place.

Since I didn’t speak, the Count smiled as if he knew it would be like this and said,

“You have no thoughts about it, as expected. It’s been two hundred years. Born after almost five generations.”

The Count’s eyes gleamed with madness and desire.

Somehow, I felt disgusted.

It was like I was facing a madman.
“This empire was founded with the help of dragons. In the early days of its founding, many emperors were born with the power of dragons. But as time went on, the cycle of those born with this power became longer and longer.”

The duke whispered to me in a low voice.

“And perhaps Prince Nathaniel may be the last descendant of the dragons.”

“So?”

“Don’t you understand? The Crown Prince has a duty to create a descendant who inherits the bloodline of the dragons.”

What kind of nonsense is this?

I stared at the duke’s face in disbelief.

Unaware of my contemptuous gaze, the duke, intoxicated with his own thoughts, laid out his words as if performing a play.

“You must not have seen that power, Your Highness. The overwhelming and beautiful power that can trample all life.”

Nathaniel mainly uses that power to secretly steal snacks.

I worry that he’s been eating so much lately that his teeth might rot….

“But the chance of that power manifesting in the next generation is very slim. Look at the Emperor, Your Majesty, he has sown so many seeds, but only Prince Nathaniel is the real one.”

“Real… you say?”

His choice of words was incomparably vulgar.

“Yes. That’s why it’s important to sow the seeds in as many women as possible to give birth to a child with that power. Just look at how the surrounding countries watch the empire’s face because of Prince Nathaniel’s birth!”

“The empire has always been a great power.”

“No, it’s different. Imagine if there were four people in the empire with the same power as Prince Nathaniel. The empire would rule this continent and still have more to spare.”

The duke’s face, praising the potential power that Nathaniel’s child might have, looked passionate and full of dreams.

But my face grew colder and colder.

“You, did you come here to explain the necessity of a consort?”

There was no more honor in my voice.

At my sharp tone, the duke smiled as if he had expected it and said,

“I swear on the name of the House of Trevia. If Your Highness accepts the Crown Prince’s consort, I will guarantee not only your current position but also the position of Empress.”

“Does that mean you could rebel at any time?”

The Duke of Trevia seemed slightly surprised, as if he hadn’t expected me to be so forceful.

It was rather I who was surprised.

“Don’t you know that’s not what I mean? How can Your Highness misinterpret this old man’s words so much….”

“Misinterpret…? To my ears, it just looks like you are coveting the noble power of the dragon, treating the Crown Prince like a breeding horse, isn’t it?”

“Horse, a breeding horse?!”

“Then why do you insist on bringing in another woman when the Crown Prince has clearly stated his opinion? I heard that His Highness said that he does not need anyone but me.”

I heard that the Duke of Trevia was very logical and willing to lay down his life for the empire.

But when he actually spoke, he was just a reckless man trying to manipulate others for his own ideals. A type of person I would never keep by my side.

“You are more narrowminded and pathetic than I thought, Duke. Leave now.”

“What did you just say! My loyalty to the empire…!”

“If you covet the power of the dragon so much, why don’t you get a new woman for the Emperor, who created His Highness?”

My words made the duke’s face turn red.

He must be unable to hold back his anger.

“The one who possesses great power has a duty to spread that power widely…!”

I took the cup in front of me and splashed water on his face.

I didn’t want to hear such lowly words anymore.

“Leave now. If I hear any more of that filthy talk from your mouth, I feel like my ears will get dirty.”