“Lady. What is your purpose for coming all the way here?”

Someone properly blocked Mercedes’ path as she was walking calmly.

“Leopold! Why are you doing this too? Step aside.”

“I am one of those in charge of this place. We cannot allow someone whose purpose is unknown and who hasn’t properly revealed their identity into a place overflowing with important documents.”

He was a young man with red hair and freckles, giving a mischievous impression, but now he looked infinitely cold.

“You know who this person is, don’t you?”

“If I know, does that mean there are no rules? Why is someone who should be doing embroidery coming here in the first place?”

“Oh my! Leopold. Watch your words! We can at least invite her inside and talk. Didn’t His Majesty say to treat Lady Mercedes well?”

Once again, the familiar aide tried to mediate, but it didn’t work. The young man replied stubbornly.

“Of course, I can follow orders outside this office. But this office is different. It’s a place where one should reveal who they are and state their purpose. If this iron rule is not followed, that’s being a traitor. I must follow the rules in this place alone-.”

“You’re right. Rules are there to be followed. And I am a very suspicious person.”

Mercedes opened her mouth before the red-haired young man finished speaking.

“A murderer, with a history of marriage, and rumors circulating that I wasn’t excellent as a crown princess. You’re excellent aides, so you probably have a general understanding of me.”

And very calmly, revealing her own flaws first, she met the young man’s eyes.

Her green eyes were still empty.

Those eyes showed that Mercedes didn’t feel hurt or intimidated, but rather felt no emotion at all.

In the past, she was afraid.

Sharp gazes, attitudes of disgust towards her made her shrink. Every time she calmly erased her expression, her heart would actually flutter.

But, she had spent time prepared for death.

Now, she had nothing to fear. All she could see was her purpose.

The face of Count Cromwell, who had been so healthy, the faces of the King and Queen who, far from correcting the Crown Prince’s misdeeds, had called her to question her about pregnancy…

Those filled her vision.

“Explaining the labels attached to me here won’t improve anything.”

Thanks to the woman who first revealed her own flaws in a clear voice, the entire office was filled with silence.

“If those are the rules of this place, I will follow them. I didn’t reveal my identity, nor did I state my purpose, so I was very rude.”

Mercedes apologized in a clear voice.

The expression of the red-haired young man called Leopold, standing in front of her, became strange.

“My name is Mercedes. I don’t have a surname as it was revoked. I’ve been allowed to stay here thanks to His Majesty’s grace.”

Mercedes, continuing her words politely, held her skirt with proper posture and bowed her head deeply in greeting.

“…La-Lady Mercedes.”

Rhonda, standing behind, called out to her in surprise. It wasn’t the kind of greeting that should be made by a woman the Emperor had ordered to be treated with utmost care.

But Mercedes was calm.

Her status was neither royalty nor a count’s daughter. She was just a criminal brought in by the Emperor.

Of course, the aides were her superiors.

Mercedes easily accepted this fact.

She had never stood above anyone anyway, so she had no pride to maintain.

No one could open their mouth at her greeting method, which was full of dignity yet polite.

No, it wasn’t just that they couldn’t open their mouths; they were quite surprised.

She was said to have killed her husband, rumors abounded that she wasn’t fit to be a crown princess, and the count’s family had kept her so closely that she wasn’t even shown in social circles. Everyone had speculated how greedy and willful such a preciously raised woman might be.

Moreover, on the way back from Shame to Room, the schedule had been excessively delayed because of this one woman.

It was said that she had ignored the words of the imperial doctor and made the Emperor personally take care of her.

It’s not that they didn’t trust the Emperor.

But the emotion of love… doesn’t it sometimes make people strange?

The Emperor had explained nothing except saying he was ‘smitten,’ and the aides could only make various speculations about Mercedes.

Among them, the most firmly established speculation was that she would be a willful seductress.

Even if the aides who had been to Shame explained that she didn’t give that impression, not much would change. They didn’t know much about Mercedes either.

That was why Leopold, who wouldn’t hesitate to take his own life at the Emperor’s command, had deliberately blocked her way despite receiving orders to treat her with utmost care.

It would be right for him to reveal this woman’s true nature, as he could have more objective eyes than his lord who had fallen in love.

Those backed by power often acted as if they themselves were the power holders, disregarding the subordinates of the power holders and committing atrocities.

So today, if he found out her identity and if she turned out to be someone who would hinder the Emperor’s path, he planned to risk his life to plead for her to be sent away.

So naturally, they couldn’t help but be surprised by her polite attitude.

Mercedes raised her head and spoke to Leopold.

“You were surprised by my sudden visit. I came because I have something to request help with.”

Only then did the woman from the rumors properly enter the eyes of those who had become sharp just from the fact that she had come here.

An appearance with no trace of glamour.

An excessively thin body, as if someone had abused her. A pale face devoid of vitality that caught the eye before her beauty, looking as if she might die soon. Chapped lips…

It was a different appearance from a woman who would commit atrocities. It was almost like an outfit suitable for attending a funeral.

No. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she looked like the main character of the funeral herself.

Mercedes continued speaking, pressing her fingertips with her nails. Although indifferent to everything, it was still uncomfortable to have people’s gazes fixed on her.

“You asked about my purpose. The reason I came here today is because I want to talk with the person in charge of the diplomatic affairs department.”

She spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.

“Diplomatic affairs representative?”

“Yes. Now that I’ve stated my purpose and name, may I enter?”

Mercedes finished speaking and closed her mouth. With her eyes lowered, she waited calmly for an answer.

She was infinitely polite, with no inflection in her voice. She was truly like a colorless, odorless person.

The silence was quite long. Everyone waited for Leopold’s answer. Since she hadn’t broken any rules… it was right to let her in now.

“…You’ve shared your name and stated your purpose, and His Majesty has given orders, so I will escort you.”

Leopold spoke while looking at her with sharp eyes and then turned around abruptly.

“Please follow me.”

Only then could she stop pressing her fingertips.

* * *

Leopold brought her to the innermost room and sat across from her.

“Would you like some tea?”

“No. Let’s talk first. I want to know information about my homeland.”

“You mean Shame?”

“More precisely, how the Cromwell count’s family is surviving, and how the royal family is moving.”

The woman who had been like an empty porcelain doll changed her gaze slightly when pronouncing Cromwell. Leopold observed Mercedes as he brought out the relevant documents.

Mercedes quickly moved her hands and flipped through the documents. Her reading speed was very fast.

“…Actually, we were very worried because His Majesty suddenly fell in love. I hope you will generously understand the rudeness of myself and the aides who didn’t show a good attitude.”

Although it seemed full of dissatisfaction in both content and tone to ask for understanding, at least he had let her in, so it was fine.

Mercedes looked at Leopold and then turned her eyes back to the documents.

“In my humble guess, since I’m the woman, even a criminal, that His Majesty suddenly fell in love with and brought here, the aides might have thought I was a seductress who bewitched His Majesty. But I’m lacking in many ways to be a seductress. I would be grateful if you could withdraw your misunderstanding.”

“…You know that seductress is usually an insult, right? It’s not something you should say you’re lacking in.”

Leopold gave a hollow laugh.

The more she spoke, the stranger she seemed.

And that made him more wary. How could a woman who was once a crown princess bow her head to aides? She was a complex character, different from what he had thought.

Leopold thought that for his lord’s sake, he must keep his wits about him.

“Well, isn’t ‘seductress’ also a way of saying ‘attractive’? Anyway, currently the most likely candidate in Shame is the son of Duke Russell, the young duke. He’s fifth in line for succession.”

“Yes. The queen and concubines of Shame must be very blessed to have many children, but the remaining princes are quite inadequate. The first and second in line are dead. The third in line is a wanderer who doesn’t even seem like royalty, and the fourth has a stutter. Well. The second in line… her husband, was no better either.”

Leopold brought up Richard’s story as if testing her, but Mercedes remained calm.

Richard had died by her own hands. She had no feelings left for him after that.

“Sir Leopold, you must be in charge of diplomacy or information. It seems we’ll be seeing each other often.”

“Just call me Leo. Since you’re someone His Majesty brought, you’ll have to treat me as a subordinate in front of His Majesty anyway.”

Leopold answered with a sigh.

He seemed to have accepted Mercedes’ request, but he still didn’t seem to like her very much.

“And I’m not in charge of diplomacy, as I said earlier, I’m one of those in overall charge of this office.”

“…Ah, that’s right, you did say that.”

She had forgotten what he said earlier because he looked quite young. Overall in charge, he said. Mercedes nodded.

She had heard that the reason the empire was at its peak was because the Emperor had no prejudices.

That Carlos would employ even commoners if they had ability. So even this young person could be in overall charge.

“Anyway, Cromwell has sided with the fifth in line and is supporting the Russell ducal family. Right after Richard died… How quick-witted.”

Mercedes once again pressed her fingertips with her nails. Her hands had turned white and were covered in countless nail marks.