“His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Yes, yes. He says there is an urgent matter to resolve.”

The flustered butler barely managed to answer. He seemed hesitant to respond, likely knowing Natasha’s relationship with the imperial family.

However, the tone suggested he had no choice, as the Emperor had barged in without warning.

Natasha, initially wide-eyed with surprise, quickly regained her composure. She straightened the pen she had been awkwardly holding and resumed writing where she had left off.

“The purpose?”

“Pardon?”

“It must have been urgent for His Majesty to come without prior notice. I need to know the purpose that made His Majesty so hasty.”

“He only mentioned needing to talk…”

“So the purpose is unclear. If he came without an appointment and even the intention is ambiguous, a meeting cannot be established. I will inform His Majesty to make a formal request and visit again.”

As Natasha removed her glasses and stood up, the butler, in contrast, adjusted his glasses precisely on the bridge of his nose. With a startled expression, he hastily added to the Duchess.

“That would be the usual protocol. However, considering His Majesty came on such a cold day, sending him back immediately seems rather harsh for the nation’s ruler… Of course, I understand your actions, Madam…”

The butler subtly suggested it might be better not to refuse outright.

He was likely torn between not wanting to pressure Natasha due to her past and fearing potential consequences of turning the Emperor away. For him, arguing that refusing the Emperor’s request might be improper was probably the best persuasion.

“Jenkis, while it’s good to show respect to the ruler, shouldn’t the safety and security of the ducal family take precedence?”

“Yes, of course.”

“I, who have the decision-making authority, have chosen to refuse because I judge that meeting with His Majesty poses a high risk to those priorities.”

“…Your words are entirely correct, Madam. Please proceed according to your thoughtful judgment.”

At Natasha’s firm words, the butler respected her decision, seemingly unable to dissuade her further.

“How long has His Majesty been waiting?”

“Just over a quarter of an hour, Madam.”

“Then we should depart quickly. Please lead the way.”

She stopped in front of the reception room door upon arrival.

Though she had pretended to be composed in front of the butler, saying she would personally express her refusal, it was actually quite difficult.

‘He’s beyond that door.’

With Kyle Letius’s appearance, she inevitably realized that the monster invasion in the western duchy had been the other party’s scheme. It was designed to create a situation where the Duchess of Asthart would be left alone in the mansion.

The Emperor’s reason for wanting a face-to-face meeting was obvious. It wasn’t out of some noble desire to suddenly apologize to the last princess of Charli, but surely stemmed from impure intentions.

‘He clearly intends to torment me again, just like before. To humiliate me by making me kneel, to spout nonsense about becoming a new dog…’

Everything about the man who had persistently tormented Natasha in her past life was vivid in her memory. His face, voice, gestures. All of it came rushing back in an instant.

‘But this time, I won’t let it happen that way.’

She began to breathe slowly, trying to calm her confused breaths. When her chest started rising and falling at regular intervals, she finally opened the door.

“Hello, Madam?”

Kyle, who had been sitting askew with his legs crossed, immediately stood up when he saw Natasha.

His smile, revealing white teeth, was dripping with malicious playfulness.

“Or should I call you Princess?”

That snake-eyed gaze thoroughly scanned Natasha’s body. From head to toe, no part of her escaped the man’s scrutiny.

She pretended not to notice and stared blankly into space. She deliberately tensed her legs, transferring the trembling there. It was fortunate that she could hide her weakness under the wide skirt.

‘Confidently…’

She had to act confidently. She couldn’t let her weakness show like before. The moment Kyle detected a gap, he would pounce to tear into her soft flesh.

Closing her eyes tightly, she vaguely thought of regression. Was it the second time, or the third? When she had triumphantly cut out Kyle’s tongue and stabbed his heart.

It wasn’t a reminiscence but regression; the man Natasha had killed was the Kyle Letius of reality. The one who had called her hands dirty objects, yet met his end by those very tools.

‘He’s nothing special. Just a coward more afraid of death than I am.’

With that thought, the man before her suddenly seemed so easy to handle. The image of the Emperor sitting arrogantly on the reception room sofa disappeared, replaced firmly in her mind by the image of a timid man clinging to her skirt hem, pleading in pain.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. You must have had a difficult journey through the harsh northern roads. And, I am content with being addressed as Madam.”

Natasha bowed at the waist in greeting.

But Kyle’s attitude remained stiff. He maintained his arrogant posture, still crossing one leg over the other and resting his chin on it.

He seemed to be openly hoping for her to take offense. However, Natasha was grateful rather than annoyed by his behavior. Thanks to this, she also didn’t need to be excessively polite.

Walking to the sofa, Natasha unexpectedly did not sit across from Kyle. Instead, standing, as if looking down on the Emperor, she continued speaking.

“But what can we do? The Duke is currently away from the mansion. He has gone to resolve the situation of a large-scale monster invasion in the western part of the duchy.”

“My, so Duke Asthart is also busy working in this harsh winter.”

“Yes, so I’m afraid Your Majesty’s meeting with the Duke will have to be postponed, even though you must have been looking forward to it. I could keep Your Majesty company, but I cannot be the solution to Your Majesty’s predicament.”

Kyle delayed his response for a long while. His blue eyes, filled with displeasure, glared at the woman with a lowered gaze.

“You are quite considerate.”

Then suddenly, his demeanor softened. The threatening atmosphere that seemed ready to intimidate her at any moment eased along with his gently raised eyebrows.

“But there’s no need for unnecessary consideration. I came here intending to speak with the Duchess in the first place.”

“…”

“We have a lot to talk about, don’t we, Madam?”

“Talk… I don’t have anything particular, but if Your Majesty has something, please elaborate at our next meeting. Today, I have many tasks remaining that I must attend to.”

The busy Natasha had no reason to waste time on meaningless matters, so she cut off the rogue immediately.

Kyle frowned as if he must have misheard. It was a markedly different reaction from the face that had been glaring at her mischievously just moments ago.

“Huh, is the Madam not curious about the final moments of my parents?”

When his last attempt at provocation failed, Kyle finally plunged in the dagger. He seemed to believe that with this card, Natasha wouldn’t be able to ignore him.

Natasha, who had been maintaining a polite posture with her hand on her chest, flinched for a moment. Her gaze, which had been wandering elsewhere, was now fixed on Kyle.

The Emperor seemed to enjoy this change in Natasha, as he wore a sardonic smile. It was an all too familiar expression.

“So Your Majesty hasn’t forgotten that tragic day.”

“Seeing your face, it seems the Princess has been remembering it for quite a long time too.”

“How could I forget? I lost everything due to the misfortune that overtook my daily life.”

Kyle drew a cold smile as he watched Natasha mentioning her painful past. He seemed to mistakenly think she had taken the bait.

“By the way, I’m glad Your Majesty knows. It will be easier for me to say what I’ve been holding back.”

Disgust welled up at Kyle, who seemed to think of the past incident solely as his own achievement. Although she had no intention of showing further hostility, Natasha also became unconsciously excited.

“Since Your gracious Majesty decided to spare my life, let me make one more request. If you know how uncomfortable this meeting is for me, please don’t come here again.”

Natasha approached Kyle closely and bent down, daring to look down on the Emperor.

“Having lost everything, I’m not sure what I see anymore, so I’m worried I might go mad and swing a sword at Your Majesty at any moment.”

Unlike her mouth, which spoke of concern for possible events, her eyes were already fixated on the long sword hanging at his waist. It was a gaze asserting that even now, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

Though the person himself didn’t seem to realize it, Sieghart’s aura was strongly emanating from her as she made her threat.

“You seem quite agitated, Madam.”

“…”

“Yes, you appear to be in a fragile mental state, so I should withdraw for today.”

The red eyes looking up at him were burning like flames. The woman he thought would be intimidated instead bared her teeth at him like a fierce beast.

The Emperor, having raised the white flag at her rough defiance, stood up from the sofa.

“I’ll make sure to send a visit request, which is apparently necessary to see the Madam, on my way out. I hope you’ll provide a proper welcome then.”

“Please send the visit request to the Asthart ducal residence by letter. If the meeting is arranged, I’ll see you again, dear Emperor.”

She followed the Emperor out of the reception room as he stormed out. In the hallway, the butler and maids were lined up waiting.

Jenkis, who had been waiting tensely outside all along, came running breathlessly.

To the butler’s inquiry asking if everything was alright, Natasha responded with a business-like smile. It was an appropriate expression to convey her feelings, which were neither fine nor not fine.

Ten days had passed since the Duke and the knights had departed on their expedition. On the afternoon of the tenth day, they returned to the mansion, having fulfilled their duty.

Sieghart, who had belatedly heard about the Emperor’s visit, approached in a visibly agitated state and recounted the situation at the time.

“I heard the Emperor came.”

Not only was the unexpected visit surprising, but the sudden inquiry was as well.

“Yes, he briefly visited while you were away, Your Grace. As it was an unscheduled appointment and I found no reason to meet with him, I refused the meeting… I acted according to the contract terms, so I don’t think it should be an issue?”

Natasha answered glumly. She mentioned the contract terms to assert her innocence, in case he might point out her rudeness.

However, Sieghart frowned, seemingly displeased about something.

“…My wife, do I look like someone who would ask about such trivial matters?”

He finally questioned her in an accusatory tone.