Engaging in a territorial war. A territorial war in that small country that would give the viscount a justification… Which noble do you think it could be?”

“It seems they want to designate a disliked noble as a group of rebels and have the viscount suppress them to gain merit. Could it be the Duke of Rojas’ family? The problem is that the private soldiers of the Duke of Rojas’ family cannot be defeated by the Earl of Cromwell’s family. Their military discipline is not very good.”

“You know quite a bit?”

“…Because it was the house I lived in.”

Mercedes had once hidden in a corner of the training grounds while running away from abuse in her childhood. There, she saw men lying around yawning.

“It’s a bit difficult to know the king’s mind. After all, the poor discipline of the private soldiers is a matter within the family. The king may have truly decided to empower the viscount by trusting Cromwell’s private soldiers.”

“And the opposite case?”

“The viscount may be a scapegoat chosen by the king. If a territorial war breaks out somehow and Cromwell falls, the king will bring down the hammer of justice on the Duke of Rojas’ family, citing the viscount as the reason for throwing the country into chaos.”

“Hmm… Whether it’s the former or the latter, it’s not a good situation for Cromwell.”

“That’s right. But Cromwell seems to be at ease for now. He seems to believe that the king will clean up the mess for him.”

“How foolish. It’s very convenient for those in power to use a bothersome noble as bait and then discard them.”

“I think we need to find out more about the king’s intentions.”

“…Hmm.”

Carlos quietly looked at Mercedes and asked in a low voice.

“Even if left alone, it seems Cromwell will be ruined. What do you think? Do you need to step in?”

Mercedes turned to Carlos with a determined look in her eyes.

In fact, that was the case. No matter how things unfolded, the number of Cromwell’s private soldiers would decrease, and the earl’s position would worsen.

However…

“He won’t die.”

“Aha. Is that so.”

He won’t die. He will cling tenaciously to high society. Earl Cromwell was a politician who had survived for a long time.

How perceptive must he be to survive even with a daughter who killed the crown prince?

“Earl Cromwell has spent time surviving among politicians. He will eventually realize that he is on the verge of downfall and take measures. Like this time. So regardless of the direction, I want to find out exactly and cloud Cromwell’s vision.”

Carlos quietly thought, ‘Does she know that’s an obsession?’ However, he was not the right person to point out an obsession. So he just praised her.

“My woman is truly valiant and brilliant. A born talent. She has the heart of a warrior.”

At the praise attached to Carlos’ fine voice, Mercedes blushed and turned her head away.

“…Well. Anyway. Although the earl is currently cornered, he doesn’t seem confident that I have won the king’s favor. I think I need to send a few more gifts… And.”

“And?”

Carlos smiled and lightly stroked her hair. He showed a gentle expression as if he would listen attentively to the wise opinion of his beloved.

“Your Majesty. Would you mind if I spread the rumor more widely that I am the emperor’s woman? Even if it spreads outside the room, to the world.”

“You’re going to announce to the whole world that you are my woman? In fact, that is what I desire.”

“In that case.”

Mercedes picked up the invitation she had received and handed it to him.

“Please be my partner. Your Majesty. Even though my father is cornered, make him unaware of it and let him run wild while mentioning my name, making him stand on a cliff and mistakenly think it’s heaven. So when he falls, it will be more painful. Spread my name widely. Mercedes, the emperor’s woman.”

Her flushed face was very beautiful.

“…Gladly.”

Carlos answered, thinking that he wanted to caress her flushed cheek.

* * *

For the past 10 years, the banquet that marked the beginning of the social season in the capital was the banquet of the Viscountess Boyd.

Her banquet was exceptionally formal, so there was much for the newly debuted young ladies to see and learn, and there were few incidents.

Starting with that banquet, the social season lasted from spring to early autumn.

It was customary to send invitations to the imperial family no matter which party it was, so naturally one arrived for the emperor.

But surprisingly, an invitation also came to Mercedes. It was unexpected because she had only been ignored at the empress dowager’s banquet.

Mercedes quickly grasped the intention of the invitation.

“You’re quick-witted, Mercedes.”

“It was a fact that could be easily understood. The imperial family rarely participates in events other than imperial banquets. So by inviting me, who is called the emperor’s woman, they hoped that Your Majesty might attend.”

That’s why she had asked Carlos to be her partner, and now the two were on their way to attend the banquet of Viscountess Boyd.

“Throughout this season, such invitations will keep pouring in for me. Thanks to Your Majesty’s attendance today, there will be even more. Even for small tea parties and salon concerts.”

Carlos chuckled.

“Then, should I be your flower throughout the social season?”

He teasingly asked her while looking at her. Usually, a woman attached to a man was referred to as a flower, but Carlos willingly called himself a flower for her sake.

Mercedes felt the affection embedded in the playful joke and blushed slightly in her ears. Just slightly.

“…I won’t ask for too much. We can’t attend all of them. And…”

Because she was not used to favors without a price.

Instead of the words that came to mind, Mercedes blurted out something else. Carlos did not particularly like it when she made self-deprecating remarks.

It wouldn’t hurt to look good. She searched for words he would like.

“Because the position I gain in high society is something I have to fight for and earn on my own, without Your Majesty’s help.”

Although she was called the emperor’s woman, the moment the emperor left her side, all the attendees at the banquet would gossip about her and ignore her.

Last time, it was the empress dowager’s banquet, so they didn’t approach her directly out of caution, but today, if she appeared, they would all line up to pick fights with her.

So the real battlefield was today, and she was like a knight going to fight.

Only by enduring and overcoming the disregard would people eventually accept her as the emperor’s woman.

“Still, feel free to ask anytime. The imperial family has a heavy bottom and can’t move well, so it’s you, who are free, moving on behalf of me who is oppressed.”

“As I told you before, I came out into society because I want to broaden my horizons, and now I’m moving because I want to deceive my father. The words of gratitude should come from me.”

“Oh my. I don’t want to receive such an impeccably polite thanks again.”

“Then… I think we can consider it as our purposes aligning.”

Instead of the gratitude that rose to the tip of her tongue, she tried to speak with a deliberately confident voice.

“That’s a very good answer.”

Indeed, Carlos seemed quite satisfied.

“As I said, you have the blood of a warrior. You’ve become strong in no time.”

“…Don’t tease me.”

“Tease you? I’m sad that my sincerity is being misinterpreted.”

A playful yet satisfied smile.

Where did that satisfaction come from? Did he not think she was being presumptuous? She looked at Carlos in his fine suit for a moment, then turned her gaze out the carriage window.

The early evening streets. Workers lighting the street lamps could be seen.

The carriage that had been running for a while suddenly stopped.

The emperor’s carriage was allowed to stop right in front of the entrance to the banquet hall. The converging gazes could be felt even from inside the carriage.

“…I’m nervous.”

“Don’t worry. You are a brilliant and genius actress.”

Carlos smiled and lightly stroked her cheek.

“You’re joking, right?”

“No way. I, the Emperor of the Loom Empire, guarantee it. Trust my words and run wild, Mercedes.”

After finishing his words, Carlos lightly jumped out of the carriage and offered his hand to escort Mercedes.

The outstretched large hand and the refreshingly upturned corners of his mouth.

Carlos filled Mercedes’ field of vision.

For a moment, the pressure of the banquet seemed to somewhat disappear.

His jokes and compliments had a strange magic that lightened the mood and put her at ease.

She wanted to learn it, and she was a little jealous of it.

‘Jealousy. It’s not even funny.’

She, who couldn’t even converse well, let alone have the talent to make people happy, was envying his composure and humor. It was absurd.

She took Carlos’ hand and as soon as she got out of the carriage, she became a ‘different Mercedes’ and smiled brightly.

Today, even though she smiled more widely, her facial muscles didn’t ache. Perhaps it was because she had smiled more often than before.

Mercedes linked arms with Carlos. She didn’t forget to double-check her attire before entering.

Soon the door opened.

“His Majesty Emperor Carlos Rivera and his partner, Miss Mercedes, are entering.”

In keeping with the banquet’s reputation for being highly formal, there were many similarities to the empress dowager’s banquet. It started with the traditional method of announcing the names of the people entering one by one.

The two stepped into the banquet hall.

“-Gasp.”

The surrounding air seemed to pause for a moment.

Her dress revealed the lines of her body as it was.

It was a dress made of silver silk, with exposed shoulders and gloves. From the waist to the bottom, white lace was added and pearls were embroidered. That’s not all. The pearl brooch, small earrings, and necklace were all pearls.

Yet it wasn’t excessive.

What drew the most attention were the pearls adorning her hair. Her honey-colored hair was half-tied down, and dozens of small and large pearls were attached to make it look as if they were flowing along with her hair.

Her hair looked so luscious that it felt like a mermaid from a legend.

Mercedes felt the gazes pouring down on her and had a premonition that her friendship with Nadia would deepen a bit more after today.