The afternoon imperial palace meeting lasted for a whopping 6 hours.

Around 4 hours into the meeting, both the imperial faction and the aristocratic faction looked exhausted, but Damian, sitting in the leader’s seat of the imperial faction, seemed to have no intention of ending the meeting anytime soon.

He was lost in thought and had just crushed the aristocratic faction’s opinion.

A cold atmosphere emanated from Damian.

No one could bring up the idea of wrapping up the meeting to Damian.

Everyone exchanged glances, hoping someone would speak up to Damian, but they only coughed awkwardly.

In the end, no one could say anything, and the meeting continued for another 2 hours.

Naturally, the aristocratic faction rose from their seats, letting go of their attachment to the agenda that went according to the imperial faction’s wishes.

“Sigh… The Duke’s momentum is so fierce, it’s a big deal. It must be because of the recent incident, right?”

As soon as Damian left his seat, a nobleman slumped in his chair and brought up the topic.

“It must be. My wife told me that Baron Shannon and the Duchess met outside the banquet hall.”

“The Duchess?”

Another person asked in surprise.

“Well, they say it was a coincidental meeting. They collided with a thud while passing through the corridor.”

The nobleman spread his hands and clapped as if applauding, making the sound effect of the two people colliding with his mouth.

“Coincidentally. In fact, that’s what’s dangerous.”

“That’s right. Baron Shannon’s wife passed away not even 3 years ago. Judging from his official schedule, it seems he’s slowly looking for a remarriage partner.”

“A remarriage partner. In that case, it’s not easy for him to meet the Duchess. The Duchess isn’t someone who would take a concubine, but in the first place, a woman who married as a remarriage partner isn’t suitable, right?”

The nobleman spoke in a rebuking tone, as if talking about something that wouldn’t happen.

“When does the human heart move as one thinks? When feeling lonely and coincidentally colliding with someone you liked before. It’s perfect for the heart to race. That’s why he spoke that way at the banquet hall, don’t you think?”

“If you think about it that way, Baron Shannon is really amazing. He did that to Duke Zenova on purpose, didn’t he?”

“It must be his heart. That’s how the aristocratic faction is. No matter how you look at it, doesn’t it have a political color? They’re stirring up the imperial faction’s side with this. It’s an old method they used to do, but to think it would still work.”

One person shook his head and let out a long sigh.

“Indeed. Rather than having a change of heart just from colliding a bit… it’s closer to the aristocratic faction’s vulgar behavior.”

The noblemen reached their own conclusions and spat out curses towards the opposing faction. At that moment, Count Scala leaned forward.

“So that’s what happened at the banquet hall.”

“Ah, Count, you left early and weren’t there at the time, right?”

“If you saw it, you would know, but from what I saw, the Duke endured a lot to that extent.”

“I think so too. It was a deliberately provocative remark.”

“It’s an obvious provocation, but it’s also ridiculous to think the Duke would fall for it.”

Each of them added another comment about the incident.

Count Scala frowned slightly, confirming that the noblemen’s interest was quite intense.

“They should fight fair and square in political matters. Doing it this way only hurts each other’s feelings. Perhaps that’s why the Duke seems to have lost his composure today.”

“Probably. I think I would have been the same.”

Count Scala, who implicitly focused on Damian losing his composure, stroked his beard.

“Oh my… It doesn’t seem like it will easily subside. If the confrontation continues like this for 6-8 hours each time, I don’t think I’ll have much life left. Hoho.”

Count Scala, who laughed as if tired from the long confrontation, added.

“It would be good to give Baron Shannon a separate warning. It might not be the entire aristocratic faction’s idea. It’s even more suspicious because it’s Baron Shannon’s return after 3 years. It’s strange that he did that politically as soon as he returned.”

Count Scala once again stirred up the question of whether Shannon’s feelings were genuine.

“Anyway, the one suffering the most would be the Duke. Whether it’s this side or that side, there won’t be a day of peace of mind.”

Lastly, Count Scala defended Damian and concluded the conversation.

The noblemen also nodded their heads, seemingly pondering Count Scala’s words.

It was evident from the fact that the curses directed at the aristocratic faction had suddenly decreased.

A streak of light passed through Count Scala’s eyes as he watched them.

Baron Shannon.

It’s a good topic to bring up.

*

“Who are you? Why are you taking this! No!”

“Ahhh! Knight, knight!”

“Hey! Who… Ugh.”

Eriel, who had been lying on the bed endlessly shedding tears, got up at the urgent situation outside.

The cries of the servants grew longer and eventually approached right in front of the bedroom door.

“Ahhh! Knight! …Madam, madam! No!!”

The rattling bedroom door finally swung open with a bang.

Eriel flinched and looked beyond the door, where a dark figure stood.

Even from the figure’s appearance, Eriel could guess who it was. With a furrowed brow and a suspecting heart, Eriel took a step closer to the door.

The guess was correct.

Blake was seen lightly throwing the maid behind him.

Looking annoyed, Blake roughly pushed away the servants approaching him.

From Blake’s twitching eyebrows, Eriel realized that her brother’s patience was running thin.

Moreover, today Blake wasn’t wearing his usual bowler hat and had no beard.

“Madam! Run away!”

“Madam…!”

Blake, who had roughly thrown the maids aside as if throwing luggage, glanced at Eriel.

As a knight drew his sword and started running from the first-floor stairs, Eriel quickly stepped in front to mediate.

“It’s Rey.”

Eriel let out a long sigh and closed her eyes tightly.

At Eriel’s voice, the knight who had drawn his sword hesitated.

The maid, who had been thrown like luggage and got up like a roly-poly, tried to cling to Blake again but stopped.

“You, you mean he’s the young Baron Borghese?”

The dumbfounded servants heard Eriel’s words and looked at Blake again.

As if finally noticing some resemblance, they all opened their mouths in surprise.

“Rey.”

Blake, who had passed Eriel, entered the bedroom first.

Eriel resolutely called out to her brother, but Blake stood firmly in the bedroom and showed no intention of coming out despite her call.

“Sigh…”

Seeing that Blake hadn’t even disguised himself and headed straight to the bedroom, it was clear that he was also terribly angry about something.

Why today of all days…

Eriel, exhausted in mind and body, gestured for the dumbfounded servants to go downstairs.

She didn’t want to nag Blake to go to the drawing room in his current state.

No matter who it was, Eriel didn’t want to argue or put her mind to it with anyone.

Eriel closed the bedroom door and called out to Blake, who was standing still.

“Rey. What’s going on?”

Eriel sat on a nearby sofa, sighed, and picked up a glass of water.

“Lucy is crying.”

“Lucy? Why is Lucy crying?”

“Do you still trust that idiot?”

Blake dropped a few sheets of entry records in front of Eriel.

The papers fluttered in front of her vision and fell to the floor.

The slow movement of the papers seemed to mock Eriel.

“A niece who cries saying it’s her fault, and a sister who can only cry locked up in her room after seeing this… In what aspect did you find that idiot trustworthy?”

Eriel, who had moved her lips, looked up at Blake without even glancing at the papers on the floor.

“Lucy… Why is she crying saying it’s her fault? Huh? Rey.”

Nothing else mattered to Eriel.

The only thing that entered her mind was the fact that the child who never cried in front of her was crying behind her back.

“Sigh…”

Blake, who let out a sigh, grabbed Eriel’s shoulders. Then he poured out what had just happened to Eriel.

After hearing the story, Eriel loosened her clenched fist. At the same time, the light in Eriel’s eyes disappeared.

“Do you really have to live with this idiot?”

Thunder struck with a bang. After that, the sound of pouring rain began to intensify outside the window.

Eriel slowly closed her eyes and felt her heart sinking with her whole body.

To think that smiling for her daughter was truly helpful to Lucy.

Just like the rain pouring heavily from the sky, tears also flowed from Eriel’s eyes.

The strength left her fingertips, and her mind that had been raging without being sorted out became light in an instant. Eriel neither wiped her tears nor cried out loud.

The stream flowing down her cheeks soon stopped. Eriel stood there with a very peaceful face.

Eriel, who met Blake’s eyes, put on a smile that looked like it would disappear at any moment.