“Princess Ariana is taking a garden walk with young master Dietrich.”

Inside a room adorned with antique ornaments everywhere.

In a room so lavish it was dizzying with its glitter, a maid approached Leriana, who was sitting at a round table near the window, and relayed a message.

Leriana nodded lightly and gazed at the teacup on the table.

Today, Joanna, the maid who had been by her side every day, was given a day off.

The tea brewed by a maid other than Joanna was ordinary.

‘As expected, Joanna brews the best tea.’

Among her maids, none were as good as Joanna.

Joanna, who came from a viscount’s family, was quick-witted and brewed excellent tea.

Leriana pushed the teacup to the side of the table with a displeased look.

The red sunset light streamed through the window.

The clear tea water turned red, following the color of the sunset.

“Was there anything else of note?”

The maid quickly answered her calm question.

“There was a minor incident where the Princess nearly fell in the garden, but she was caught.”

“Dietrich caught the Princess?”

“Yes. But it was only for a moment.”

“I see. Did you not observe them further?”

“Well… I’m sorry.”

“…That’s fine.”

Leriana let out a short groan while stroking her chin.

‘Does Dietrich have feelings for the Princess as well?’

It seemed unlikely, but if by any chance it were true, things would become complicated.

The moment the Imperial Family and Dietrich formed a political alliance, she and Yurian would inevitably be at a disadvantage in the succession dispute.

People say that the Emperor’s imperial authority has plummeted to the bottom, but even so, the Imperial Family still had enough power to influence the nobles.

Even the Delgado family needed to have their succession to the duke title recognized by the Imperial Family.

The moment Dietrich Delgado became the Princess’s consort, it was obvious who the Emperor would support.

She couldn’t let that happen.

In fact, this was a situation Leriana had been constantly wary of.

However, due to the Emperor’s bombshell statement at the recent hunting competition, the worst-case scenario was about to become reality.

Remembering the hunting competition made Leriana’s head spin.

She had been so shocked then, it felt like everything before her eyes had turned white.

It was understandable because anyone could guess who was likely to win first place in the Imperial Palace hunting competition without even looking.

Dietrich Delgado.

The son of the missing former duchess and her rival.

As much as she hated to admit it, there was no one in the empire who could match Dietrich Delgado’s swordsmanship.

Rumors were rampant that he had already reached the pinnacle with his innate physical condition and outstanding senses.

For such a Dietrich to win first place in the hunting competition wouldn’t be a difficult feat.

She could not lose the duke’s position to Dietrich, even if it meant death.

Giving him the duke’s position was no different from giving it to that woman.

‘It must never, ever happen.’

That’s why Leriana couldn’t stay still when she heard the Emperor’s announcement.

Leriana immediately ordered Joanna to spread rumors among the maids from other families who had come to the hunting competition.

[You might get good results in the hunting competition if you follow young master Dietrich.]

The maids started whispering at the words of the Delgado ducal family’s maid, who had produced the most winners in hunting competitions.

From what Leriana had seen of Dietrich so far, he wouldn’t be too keen on an unwanted marriage, so with luck, someone else might pick up the carcasses of beasts that Dietrich had discarded.

And fortunately, the winner turned out to be the young master of some obscure baronial family.

Thanks to a quick-witted baronial maid who swiftly relayed the news to the young master she served.

How ridiculous and pathetic he looked, holding the trophy and looking so proud.

Leriana was relieved but also mocked him.

‘Such uncultured beings.’

This was why she disliked associating with low-ranking nobles.

They were nothing but people who hung around high-ranking nobles, trying to curry favor.

Leriana despised them, completely forgetting her own origins.

‘I thought I could breathe easy, but who knew that fox-like Princess would show up.’

Ariana Jeneger was not an opponent to be taken lightly.

Leriana still hadn’t forgotten the humiliation she suffered on the day of Ariana’s debutante ball.

The debutante ball held in the Great Hall, the grand and majestic banquet hall that was the pride of the Imperial Palace, was a huge topic of conversation even back then.

On that day when all the nobles were interested in the debutante ball of the beautiful Princess who had graduated top of her class from the long-attended academy.

Leriana was in a good mood because Dietrich had not attended, saying he had to train with the Hareon Knights.

It was an opportunity to show many people that the representative of the Delgado family was herself, not Dietrich.

The foolish Dietrich would regret his choice and be kicking himself.

The first person she met in such a good mood was Princess Ariana.

Leriana had subtle expectations for the Princess.

If the Princess, who had the noblest birth and beautiful appearance, took a liking to her, she would become a strong supporter.

[Hello, Your Highness. I am Leriana Delgado of the Delgado ducal family.] [Ah, so you’re the Duchess Delgado.]

Ariana, who laughed elegantly while covering her mouth with a fan, carefully observed Leriana.

[It seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. I haven’t seen you since I left for the academy at ten years old, right? You seem… different from back then.]

At those words, Leriana froze.

Long time since she’d seen her?

Leriana and Ariana were meeting for the first time. For the first time since she had become the true mistress of Delgado.

For a moment, her face flushed red with shame, but Leriana calmly replied without showing any sign of agitation.

[Oh my, Your Highness seems to be mistaken. This is our first meeting.] […Oh? How could this be my first time meeting the Duchess Delgado? When I was ten years old, you chatted with me at the Imperial banquet to help me overcome my shyness. I haven’t forgotten my gratitude for that.]

The Duchess could no longer say anything in response to Leriana’s words.

The person she was talking about was not herself, but Kate Roen.

She could almost hear the whispers of people who were pretending not to listen while eagerly eavesdropping on the conversation between the Duchess Delgado and the Princess.

[It seems the Princess doesn’t know that the Duchess Delgado has changed.] [Well, of course. How would Her Highness know about a mistress of common birth?]

Realizing that something was wrong from the words she heard around her, Ariana’s eyes widened in surprise.

Ariana, who had turned pale, hurriedly reached out to Leriana and apologized.

[I’m so sorry. To make such a mistake.]

She kept apologizing, making Leriana even more speechless.

[I heard it changed while I was at the academy. I’m sorry, Duchess.] [It’s alright, Your Highness. It’s understandable.]

Leriana had to grit her teeth to hide her trembling voice filled with anger.

However, she nearly collapsed at Ariana’s final words.

[I’m sorry. If I may ask, which family were you originally from?]

Even now, thinking about that time made her teeth clench. Just seeing Princess Ariana made her feel suffocated with the humiliation she had suffered then.

Leriana hastily shook off the shameful past from her mind.

Feeling a dryness in her mouth, she quickly brought the teacup to her lips.

The warm and subtle fragrance of tea seemed to calm her mind a little.

Leriana could be certain.

Ariana Jeneger must have done that to make a fool of her.

Would the Princess Ariana, renowned for her wisdom and benevolence, really have forgotten the mistress of the Delgado ducal family?

It was nonsense. She disliked her.

Since that debutante ball, Princess Ariana had been an object of caution for Leriana.

A princess who hid a knife behind her back while smiling, difficult to deal with.

To think that such a princess would be taking a walk and conversing alone with Dietrich.

It was obvious what kind of proposal the fox-like princess would make to Dietrich.

A political marriage.

Just like how she was trying to engage Yurian to Lady Charlotte Everett.

She put down the teacup with trembling hands.

She had to stop it.

To prevent the Imperial Family from reaching out to Dietrich any further.

‘What should I do?’

Unlike before, the situation was becoming increasingly complicated.

The number of people to worry about was growing, but there were no effective solutions for any of them.

If only all the people hindering Yurian from ascending to the duke’s position would disappear from this world.

Seeing Leriana’s expression becoming increasingly serious, the maid quickly stepped back.

However, the maid had to step forward again at the voice calling her.

“Hey, could you do me a favor?”

“Yes, Madam.”

“Find out about Dietrich’s recent activities in detail. I need you to be very thorough. Then I might give you a gift. I’m so happy to hear he’s close with the Princess, I want to do something for him.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The maid smiled warmly, thinking of the ever-kind Duchess.

As she was about to step back, the maid hesitated.

It seemed something had occurred to her.

After a moment of hesitation, the maid carefully asked.

“Um, then Madam. Should I use the maid named Heidi to gather information about young master Dietrich?”

“What?”

Leriana suddenly turned around sharply and shouted.

The maid’s shoulders flinched at the high-pitched voice that sounded like it might tear.

It seemed she had brought up the wrong topic. She had just casually mentioned it since it was well-known that the maid named Heidi was close to young master Dietrich.

“Th-that’s not what I…”

“Why that stupid maid who can’t even do her job properly!”

The frightened maid bowed her head deeply and apologized.

“…You may leave now.”

Fear crossed the face of the maid as she left the Duchess’s room.

At the same time, she remembered what other servants had been saying.

[You know, doesn’t the Madam seem different from before? How should I put it. She’s very irritable and often says things that really look down on the servants.] [Well, maybe that’s how she always was and she was just hiding it? She’s been like this a lot lately.] [If that’s true, it’s creepy.]

It seemed the rumors circulating in the Delgado ducal residence these days were true.