Damian sat upright, observing the situation.

In fact, even before questioning the authenticity of the evidence, once proof of rebellion emerged, the proper procedure was to immediately confiscate all the family’s records and bring them to the imperial palace.

However, the Emperor kept tilting his head at the rebellion incident that followed right after the kidnapping of the imperial daughter.

The Emperor’s eyes, which had been listlessly rummaging through the evidence, gradually wrinkled.

“Is this… evidence?”

The Emperor threw the cheap papers to the floor and leaned back.

At the same time, the papers fluttering to the ground foreshadowed what was about to unfold.

“Knight Commander… Are you certain the evidence wasn’t switched midway?”

“As I brought the evidence myself, there’s no way it could have been switched.”

“Hah… Well, this is something. I don’t even feel the need to hold a meeting with the council members.”

The Emperor shook his head and called for the investigator.

“Store those crude pieces of evidence, and bring the person who first spoke about this incident.”

With the Emperor’s order, the investigator bowed his head, collected the evidence, and withdrew.

Damian, sitting a bit away from the center, met the Emperor’s eyes. The Emperor frowned deeply, then hardened his expression as he looked at Damian.

“Is the imperial daughter alright?”

The Emperor, who immediately asked about Lucy’s safety, let out a deep sigh.

“She’s fine. There are no external injuries.”

“I see. That’s a relief. I heard the Duchess lost consciousness. Did you talk to her before coming here?”

“Fortunately, she woke up. Thanks to Your Majesty, I was able to check on her condition.”

The Emperor nodded quietly, leaned back, and wiggled his fingers.

“Being detained would have a significant impact on you. However, since you’ve fabricated evidence of rebellion and brought it to the imperial palace, it won’t be easy to let this slide without any consequences.”

“…It’s alright.”

“Do you have any suspicions about the situation or any individuals?”

“No.”

The Emperor rubbed his forehead because of Damian’s firm denial.

“It’s better to catch them quickly. As you know, it’s important to cover this up quickly. Records are just indicators for future generations, not something that affects us right now. When the cabinet is established, your role will be an important period for the imperial faction, but it’s not good to be like this already.”

It was a slight rebuke and situation briefing directed at Damian, who was to become the leader of the imperial faction.

He meant that quickly covering it up would lessen the impact on the imperial faction. Damian nodded at the reasonable words.

Dragging out the incident for long was not good to see.

If one became obsessed with finding the culprit hidden behind the scenes, ‘Damian’s rebellion incident’ would be prolonged, and that would not be a favorable confrontation for Damian.

Perhaps the perpetrator who caused this incident knew that as well.

The time should come when the tail is cut off moderately in the middle, the culprit is found and put on the chopping block, making this incident insignificant for Damian.

“Quickly. And cleanly.”

The Emperor rolled his fountain pen and leaned forward.

A flash of light passed through his golden eyes as they turned towards Damian.

So that this incident wouldn’t lead to a shaking of the entire imperial faction.

“I will keep that in mind.”

Damian bowed his head neatly at the Emperor’s order.

“…While you’re here, I’d like to have a drink, but as you can see, there’s a lot of work.”

The Emperor briefly gestured towards the pile of documents with a nod, then shook his head and rested his chin on the table.

His golden eyes, deep in thought, cut through the air before falling on Damian.

“It wouldn’t be bad to solidify our power on this occasion. We should also gain something from the situation our opponent has created. You go back to the mansion. Ah, the Empress and the Crown Prince are very worried about the imperial daughter’s health, so when she wakes up, I’d appreciate it if you could send a letter.”

“I will convey that message.”

Damian stood up and bowed his head once more.

If it were rebellion, detention would have been unavoidable.

However, not even doing that and sending Damian back to the mansion meant that, as the Emperor said, they would also seek to benefit the imperial faction in this situation.

When today’s events spread, no one would doubt the relationship between the Emperor and Damian.

No matter how crude the evidence might be, rebellion meant challenging the Emperor’s authority.

However, given the concerns about public sentiment towards Damian, it would have been right for the Emperor to show at least some caution.

But looking at those crude pieces of evidence, the Emperor seemed to think that perhaps this was what the opponent was aiming for.

Of course, Damian’s thoughts were similar.

They were testing the waters between the Emperor and Damian.

Would the Emperor not doubt Damian even in such a situation? That must be it.

…But. Did they use such a scheme just to test something like that?

The sound of shoes echoing in the corridor stopped. Damian, frowning deeply, clenched his molars.

A strategy full of loopholes. It wasn’t even a sincere attempt at rebellion.

What on earth did they gain by kidnapping a child to draw attention?

The possibility that the Emperor might abandon Damian? If it fails, it would only serve to announce their solidarity even more strongly.

Besides… how could that be possible with such crude evidence?

By the time the evidence reached the Emperor, what they aimed to achieve had probably already been accomplished.

Did they really set up this situation just to eliminate Bruno?

To make me discard Bruno with my own hands?

*

Eriel’s footsteps led her to Lucy’s room at the end of the second-floor stairs.

She was worried that the child hadn’t woken up yet.

Eriel’s heart beat rapidly as she grabbed the doorknob. A sense of fear washed over her that the child might not be there when she opened the door.

Even though she knew that couldn’t be the case, she felt that way.

“Mom…”

Eriel’s eyes welled up with tears at the sight of the child emerging from under the covers, apparently having just woken up.

The relief of seeing the child in her room and calling out to her rushed over her like a wave.

“Lucy… Are you… are you alright? Does anything hurt?”

“Huh? …No. Nothing hurts.”

The child shook her head and slowly approached Eriel.

Eriel quickly walked over, lifted the child, and burst into tears.

Eriel’s face, all scrunched up, buried itself in the child’s body. Her cheeks turned red from the friction as she nuzzled against Lucy’s body.

“Mo… m? Mom.”

Lucy called out to Eriel, rather startled, but Eriel was afraid that her child, fully embraced in her arms, might slip away and disappear even in that moment.

Strength entered Eriel’s slender arms. Even tightly hugging the child and pulling her closer wasn’t enough.

This clear and bright voice of Lucy calling her “Mom,” this situation where she was checking on her with a warm and concerned voice, encouraged Eriel’s tears.

“Sweetheart… Make one promise to Mom.”

Eriel, who had detached her face from the child’s body, spoke softly.

“Promise that you won’t do anything reckless again. That you won’t keep such big secrets from Mom.”

The child’s eyes, realizing that Eriel had figured everything out, trembled.

Looking at Lucy, whose green eyes were just like hers but resembled Damian, Eriel faced even that trembling head-on.

A daughter trying to solve everything by herself.

A husband who believes everything is under his control.

She felt a great disappointment in her daughter and husband who thought too lightly of the world and people. But she didn’t want to lose them.

Because she knew that couldn’t be the case if she looked at their hearts and intentions rather than the results.

Sometimes people put sincerity in their eyes. The blue of her husband, who valued the empire over family, signified the past Damian had lived until now.

She didn’t want to try to change his life as the Duke of the empire, which he had lived so far, by denying it in an instant.

She didn’t think that Eriel’s wishes and thoughts were unconditionally right.

It was just that as a wife, it was very disappointing.

But Eriel realized greatly as she almost lost her daughter.

The fact that what Eriel should carry in this household was not just her life as a Duchess.

She realized painfully that to pass on a good life to her daughter as a mother and as an adult… she first needed to pass on a good family.

A good environment, a good family.

It wouldn’t work with just her changing. It had to start with the family.

Eriel made a decision in an instant, making her years of worrying about how much to expect her husband to be responsible as a father seem meaningless.

For Lucy’s safety, her husband needed to feel an even greater sense of responsibility as a father.

“Mom, you know… I’m sorry. But I wanted to solve it myself… I just ran into Lizzy on my way to the bathroom and found out about the incident. Uncle Bruno is still an uncle, so I guess I wanted to trust him a little.”

Even as she shed tears at the deeply shaking green eyes, Eriel nodded with a smile.

The child was lying.

She couldn’t tell what or how much she was lying about, but she certainly wasn’t telling the truth.

She already knew that Lucy didn’t think of Uncle Bruno as an uncle.

It didn’t make sense that Lucy, who disliked even Derek and drew a line, would consider Bruno family while not seeing Jessica as family.

“I see. That can happen. But from now on, let’s agree that you’ll tell Mom about such secrets first. Okay?”

“…Yes, Mom.”

She slowly stroked the back of the child who was hugging her neck.

To prevent the child from telling such well-intentioned lies. She had to change her husband to make that happen.