It was the worries residing within him that caused Carlos to take his time, unlike his usual self.

As Carlos, he wanted to seize this opportunity. If he placed Mercedes by the Empress Dowager’s side, he could monitor what the Empress Dowager was trying to do.

He had no concerns about going to the Empress Dowager and figuring out what to do, or about trusting Mercedes.

Even if Mercedes couldn’t believe in Carlos’s love, she would have to use him for her revenge.

Now that they had come to the Empress’s enthronement. Inside the room, they could only be each other’s allies, sailing in the same boat.

‘……Should I make a request.’

Since Mercedes had once asked him to use her, he could also ask the Empress Dowager to be in charge of the preparations.

Even though he knew it would be better for Mercedes if Carlos himself prepared for the Empress’s enthronement ceremony, creating the impression that he cherished her, he hesitated for a moment.

But soon, he made up his mind.

A man in love does not make requests. He only grants them.

Especially if it was to seduce her, it was right to try to offer anything. Since that was the method he knew, he decided to go along with Mercedes’s opinion.

Of course, it was a bit of a waste.

“I wanted to talk to you about the preparations for the enthronement ceremony.”

“Ah. That’s good. I was just thinking about that part as soon as I heard about the ceremony from Your Majesty.”

“Already?”

“The Shaim Kingdom may be small, but as the Crown Princess, I naturally know how to handle internal affairs of the royal palace. According to the original rules, it would be correct for the Empress Dowager to prepare my enthronement ceremony, right? And that’s what you were going to ask me about.”

“……You’re saying everything I was going to say, Mercedes, rendering my mouth closed. Aren’t you too quick-witted?”

Carlos asked, wearing a bitter smile inwardly and a dashing smile outwardly.

“Someone who knows the life of royalty and imperial family…… could probably expect it. I received quite a solid education in that area.”

“Well. I don’t think it’s common.”

“Hmm. Thank…… you.”

Mercedes turned her eyes expressionlessly. Her ears were visibly red.

These days, she seemed to be in a very complicated state of mind, trying not to show it, but it was still visible.

Carlos unconsciously thought it was a little adorable. Of course, he immediately tried to get rid of that thought by clenching his fist so hard that it injured his hand.

He hoped this tug-of-war would end soon. He hoped Mercedes would confess to him with a reddened face, putting her heart into it. Then he could kill her. It was a simple matter.

But the face she would have when confessing to him. Imagining her with that face……. made Carlos feel very uncomfortable.

Mercedes with such a face would be very lovely. To have to point a knife at such a woman.

Thoughts kept welling up. He tried hard to shake them off.

‘I’m already a murderous demon drenched in blood.’

It was nothing special. He reassured himself.

Meanwhile, Mercedes finished her contemplation and came up with an answer.

“Please ask the Empress Dowager to prepare my enthronement ceremony. Very politely, and I think it would be good for me to go and deliver a gift to her as well. That’s the direction I want.”

Carlos looked at her with quite surprised eyes. Surprisingly, it was the direction he wanted.

Mercedes had a calm face.

“Why…… do you want to do that? Wouldn’t it be more advantageous for you if I prepared it myself? If it’s your request, I would do any-.”

“No. Of course, the image would be good if Your Majesty prepared it, but it would lack legitimacy. It’s better to say ‘she received recognition from the imperial family to the point where the Empress Dowager prepared the enthronement ceremony according to the original rules,’ rather than just ‘the Emperor is crazy about a woman.'”

Ah, that’s the point.

Carlos burst into laughter unknowingly. Usually, he would have thought of that too, but he got caught up in the thought of ‘unfortunately, I might miss the opportunity to place my person by the Empress Dowager’s side,’ and overlooked it.

It was a ridiculous mistake.

“And it’s also the perfect timing to find out her intentions while portraying the image of a naive woman who wants to be favored by the Empress Dowager. I told you. Use me.”

Mercedes’s clear and beautiful voice rang out melodiously.

Unlike four months ago, it was a voice and attitude full of confidence, as if she had gained self-assurance.

“I can do it.”

And she drove the point home.

Carlos stared at her absentmindedly. One who witnessed such madly vibrant beauty could only be captivated by it.

“……The Empress Dowager has been in social circles for a long time and is a cunning person. Aren’t you afraid, Mercedes?”

“Fear? Sometimes, when past wounds visit me, my condition isn’t good. But actually, I’m not afraid of anyone’s sharp gaze. I may not be able to win against cunning people……”

“But?”

“I’ll be better at persistently clinging on while abandoning my pride. Because I’m someone who can use my lowly status as a weapon. Unlike other nobles.”

Mercedes smiled gently. It wasn’t a bitter smile. It was a smile she could show because she was truly solid in that aspect.

“It may be tiring. But I’m already used to sharp gazes and such. And this isn’t just for Your Majesty. The Empress Dowager would never leave me alone, so I need to find out her intentions.”

Mercedes’s green eyes seemed to pour out light. They were like the fresh green of the Rume Empire, which had become summer before anyone knew it. No, they contained a more intense vitality than any other greenery.

Mercedes was a bit happy, feeling her complicated emotions subside now that she had something to do.

“First, please send a communication to see if I can meet the Empress Dowager. My current status is very low, so I think Your Majesty will have to get her permission.”

Indeed. The more he looked at her, the more he saw a woman with a good mind and quick wit.

Learning from Mrs. Fisher and observing him and Leopold, she grew and changed tremendously fast. Her studying every day looked desperate, but it also looked just as enjoyable.

Every time they talked, she would say what he was going to say first and use the knowledge she had gained to offer various opinions.

It was pitiful to the point of wondering how suppressed she had been to not know how smart she was……

It was clear as day that if her heart healed and she continued to grow, she would one day become a sturdy, towering tree that would provide a huge shade for people.

‘Empress material.’

She was a woman who made him think that way over and over again.

It was a waste. As someone who valued talent, it was truly a waste for him.

Whether it was a waste because he valued talent or because of other feelings, Carlos did not know yet. He didn’t even recognize it.

Carlos quietly looked at her……

“Yo-, Your Majesty?”

He collapsed onto the table. Then, after heaving a deep sigh, he muttered.

“I can’t win against you.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re smart. Courageous. Even more than me.”

He who had been lying down got up and rested his chin on his hand, looking at her. It was a picturesque sight.

“Send an invitation to Count Cromwell as well. About the enthronement ceremony.”

Although it could be expressed as gratitude for her sacrifice, he decided to focus on her revenge for now and do something for her.

That seemed to make him feel at ease.

“What? Is that okay?”

“He’s your father, so why not? Say you’re inviting the entire Count’s family. And I’ll personally have the Emperor’s seal stamped and send a gift. It’s a bit funny to send a dowry from the groom, not the bride.”

“Hmm. Wouldn’t it be better for him to be busy with the territorial war? I don’t want to call him to Rume yet.”

“So timing is key. Mercedes. Send it on short notice. Enough time that it seems possible to arrive if they leave right away, but actually an impossible time. So he can’t attend.”

“He might arrive after it’s over. Count Cromwell is more persistent than you think, so he might come to see me on this occasion.”

“Do you know how competent my informants are?”

“Yes.”

“I can manipulate all the ships coming from Shaim to Rume. Even if Cromwell arrives at the port, he won’t be able to leave there.”

“Ah……!”

To think you could go that far for me. Mercedes’s eyes widened.

“So with this plan, you can directly inform Count Cromwell that you’re becoming the Empress- without having to see his face.”

“The Count will become more assertive while being upset that he couldn’t attend. He won’t have anything to gossip about in social circles either.”

“Yeah. That’s it.”

Carlos’s scheme could be seen as trivial, but it was enough to stir up the emotional Count Cromwell. With just a single invitation.

“I should only see Count Cromwell’s face after the territorial war is over and Bruno is rescued. Then, it will be very interesting to see the Count acting as my father-in-law.”

At Carlos’s words, Mercedes chuckled.

“……What should we call this relationship where we think of and devise schemes for each other? Can we say we’re each other’s strategists?”

“Well. I’d rather…… call it lovers. That’s what I want to call it.”

At Carlos’s words, Mercedes’s eyes widened a little and then sank.

“……Send a communication to the Empress Dowager, and let me know when there’s a reply. In the meantime, I’ll maintain a neat appearance and think about what to do when I meet the Empress Dowager.”

“Do that.”

Carlos answered briefly.

It was plain to see that her mind, which had calmed down while talking about this and that, was becoming complicated again.

He turned a blind eye to the furrowed eyebrows that seemed to feel that complicated heart and strange pain.

* * *

And soon, a communication flew to the Empress Dowager’s palace. As soon as the Empress Dowager saw the polite letter with the Emperor’s seal and signature, she handed it over to Viscountess Valliere, her lady-in-waiting, as if she didn’t even want to touch it.

The Viscountess, fully understanding the Empress Dowager’s reaction, opened the envelope with a letter knife and read out the contents.

“……Asking me to prepare that wench’s enthronement ceremony. So politely at that?”

After hearing the entire content, the Empress Dowager smiled with one corner of her mouth raised.

“Haha! What’s gotten into that boy to follow imperial protocol? He must cherish that wench that much?”

“Perhaps it’s that His Majesty has come to respect the Empress Dowager as an elder?”

“No way. That cunning bastard.”

After laughing for a while, she soon had the Viscountess write a reply on her behalf.

“Write that I will prepare the enthronement ceremony. Bella. And set up an appointment with that wench.”

“Yes, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager.”

Even after sending the letter back to the Emperor through an attendant, the Empress Dowager laughed and snickered for a long time.