The moment Ilarid entered the banquet hall where the investiture ceremony would be held, she heard the sound of a group arguing. She tilted her head briefly and surveyed the atmosphere inside the hall.

“Has some problem arisen?”

“I’ll go check.”

“…No, that won’t be necessary.”

Ilarid stopped Lynette who was beside her. In the direction of the commotion, servants and Selina could be seen. Anyone could see that the servants were flustered and trying to restrain Selina.

Ilarid’s eyes met Selina’s inside the hall. Even from a distance, she could sense that Selina’s light green eyes were trembling severely.

“Your Majesty the Empress!”

It was by no means a pleasant voice. A cracked voice that anyone could hear was twisted with resentment cut across the banquet hall.

Although she had expected Selina to be in a good mood, Ilarid had to struggle to hide her surprise at this unexpected anger.

“What’s the matter, Miss Selina? Please speak calmly.”

“How could you do this to me? Was it not enough to splash muddy water on me yesterday?”

Selina clutched tightly at the folds of her formal dress, not caring whether it got wrinkled or not. Her clenched fists trembled violently, leaving merciless creases on the white ceremonial gown.

“Even if you hate me… how could you remove the crown I’m supposed to wear for the investiture ceremony!”

As soon as she finished speaking, large teardrops fell from Selina’s eyes. The whispers of the nobles around grew even softer as they crept along the floor.

“Her Majesty the Empress? That can’t be. How could such a benevolent person…”

“No. Perhaps she could do such a thing out of hatred for the ‘shadow’. Even if Her Majesty the Empress is virtuous, people’s hearts are all the same. How much of an eyesore must she be?”

The words exchanged behind fans were nothing but futile observations. They lacked the courage to actively intervene in the problem at hand and couldn’t offer any proper alternatives, content to consume it as merely interesting gossip.

Ilarid looked at the servant standing tensely behind Selina.

“First, Miss Selina, please calm down. What exactly happened? Has the crown for the concubine disappeared?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. There was certainly no problem until this morning. We even called in soldiers to guard the place where the crown was kept.”

The servant’s voice was full of indignation. The investiture ceremony was no small event, and since everyone’s attention would be focused on it, they had to work even more diligently than usual.

“But… when the soldiers were changing shifts and looked at where the crown had been, it had vanished without a trace.”

Who would dare to do such a brazen thing? Ilarid had to struggle to hide the goosebumps that had risen on her arms. The imperial security system wasn’t lax, and there was no bold thief who would steal it right in front of everyone in the blink of an eye.

‘Was it even stolen in the first place?’

A small suspicion flowed through Lynette’s mind as she quietly listened to Ilarid and the servant. At large events like investiture ceremonies, valuable items like crowns or tiaras are strictly monitored.

Just the gold used in the tiara and the embedded jewels were enough for commoners to live comfortably for several years. It was a price that even most nobles would hesitate over momentarily, and it was a precious relic that empresses had occasionally used for investiture ceremonies in the imperial family.

Soldiers escort it the entire time it’s being brought, and they watch over it in pairs of two, making it virtually impossible for it to disappear in a split second.

While everyone was at a loss for what to do, Selina continued to cry even more pitifully. The gazes of the surrounding nobles began to tilt towards sympathy.

‘So this is what she was aiming for.’

Perhaps this was a ploy orchestrated by Selina herself. The pitiful ‘shadow’ being checked by the empress. Becoming a poor victim to receive sympathetic gazes. And leaving a blemish on Ilarid’s reputation.

“You said the crown of the empress wouldn’t suit me… Was my presence by His Majesty the Emperor’s side so displeasing to you?”

Ilarid approached Selina, who was half sobbing. Dozens of gazes pierced down onto Ilarid’s skin. They looked at the empress and the ‘shadow’ with eyes mixed with expectation and curiosity about how the empress would react.

How would the virtuous and wise empress respond?

Selina’s view suddenly went dark as she was wiping her tears, heedless of whether her makeup was smearing. The crying that had filled the banquet hall abruptly stopped.

Surprisingly, Ilarid had pulled Selina into an embrace and began comforting her. The gentle patting on her back made them look almost like close sisters.

“How shocked you must have been. For the most radiant thing to disappear on the day of your once-in-a-lifetime investiture ceremony. I understand your distress, Miss Selina.”

Selina ended up with her head awkwardly buried in Ilarid’s shoulder. Exclamations burst from the mouths of those watching the two.

“As expected of Her Majesty the Empress. To not even get angry once in such a situation…”

“Honestly, it was a bit unreasonable. How could Her Majesty the Empress have done such a thing?”

People had already begun whispering about the ‘shadow’s’ ill-mannered behavior. It was a moment when the image Ilarid had built up through tedious endurance was shining.

Caught in the reversed atmosphere, Selina could neither advance nor retreat and remained in Ilarid’s embrace.

“And… Miss Selina.”

Ilarid slightly lowered her head and whispered into Selina’s ear. It was an icy cold voice that made one wonder if this was really the same person who had just warmly offered words of comfort.

“I am sincerely grateful that you are by His Majesty the Emperor’s side. How could I find it displeasing? However…”

Selina carefully faced Ilarid, raising her tear-stained face.

Had she ever seen the empress’s eyes this closely before? Eyes like those of a doll, devoid of any emotion. They contained a transparency that seemed to see through every aspect of others.

“Be careful of him.”

It was Ilarid’s own sincere advice. Selina shuddered and took a step back from Ilarid.

“Oh my, your makeup is all smeared. The ceremony is not far off, we must hurry.”

The empress personally tidied up Selina’s smeared makeup. If she were to push away the empress’s arm here, public opinion towards her would worsen even more. She swallowed her irritation and accepted Ilarid’s touch.

“His Majesty the Emperor arrives!”

All the nobles in the banquet hall and everyone else paid their respects before Cledius. Although the empress’s tiara for the investiture ceremony had disappeared, he appeared completely composed. As soon as she saw the emperor, Selina ran to him and threw herself into his arms.

“Your Majesty!”

“Yes. I heard the news. It must be due to careless management.”

“What shall we do about my investiture ceremony? Now that the empress’s crown has disappeared…”

“…There’s nothing to be done. We’ll have to omit the crown-bestowing ceremony.”

How could this be? Selina’s wavering eyes seemed to say.

Ilarid closely observed Cledius’s calm demeanor. Despite one of the imperial treasures suddenly vanishing, he showed no signs of panic and rather seemed at ease.

Cledius, who had been quietly looking at Selina’s disheveled face, took her hand and headed towards the inner part of the banquet hall. The chancellor and servants behind him quickly followed.

He passed by without even glancing at Ilarid who was standing right nearby.

‘As expected.’

It wasn’t even surprising anymore. He probably observed Ilarid’s expression even as he passed by. She let out a faint sneer and gazed at the empress’s chair on the platform by the wall of the banquet hall.

When would she ever be able to escape? It had been such a long and tenacious life.

“Fix the concubine’s face. We’re short on time, so hurry.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Selina found words to say but quickly shut her mouth. People’s hands busily passed over her face to fix her makeup.

Soon, Selina’s face was restored to perfection like in the morning. At Cledius’s signal, the maids left, and she immediately raised her voice.

“…Why aren’t you angry? That tiara is my property. Someone taking it is a challenge to me and Your Majesty!”

“That’s quite a bold assertion. Selina, that tiara is not yours yet. Before the investiture ceremony, it is clearly imperial property.”

Tampering with imperial property was indeed a challenge to the emperor, if one thought about it.

Was it the work of the republican faction who had secretly infiltrated? But they would prioritize assassinating royalty, not carrying out petty thievery.

‘Then, the empress?’

But Ilarid was not one to act so rashly. The testimonies of witnesses doused the sparks of suspicion.

‘It was just for a moment when we briefly turned away to change shifts. In that split second, it vanished like the wind!’

There was no way someone with such mysterious abilities could be near the empress. Ilarid was definitely excluded from Cledius’s list of suspects.

Then it must have been stolen for certain. That tiara worn by the imperial concubine at official occasions may have been modest compared to the crowns worn by the emperor or empress, but it was undoubtedly an imperial treasure.

A tiara that the emperor had made for his official consort. Until now, there had been few women who became official empresses due to the existence of ‘shadows’, so it had been an ill-fated symbol that hadn’t been properly taken out.

Cledius signaled to the chancellor beside him.

“Issue an immediate gag order to those responsible for the security as well as all those involved in the investiture ceremony.”

“Ah, Your Majesty.”

After dismissing all the surrounding servants and even the chancellor, Cledius observed Selina’s expression.

Sitting in front of the dressing table, Selina was still openly displaying her sulky emotions. It was one of her age-old habits that emerged when things didn’t go as she wanted.

‘Was it Selina’s doing?’

In fact, Cledius had suspected Selina as soon as he heard that the tiara had disappeared. She was the most likely suspect at this point.

The highest possibility was that she had staged this with her father, Viscount Diobe. They were famous for their greed for wealth, weren’t they? It was also appropriate to cause a commotion by claiming the tiara had been stolen and corner the empress.

If they pushed the narrative that the jealous empress had done this to ruin the investiture ceremony, it would naturally arouse suspicion.

‘Well… I’ll consider it an advance payment for future exploitation.’

The father and daughter were like cards that could be discarded at any time. If need be, he could cut them loose and frame it all as something Selina and Viscount Diobe had done.

More than having a treasure stolen from the heart of the imperial palace, there was something else that piqued Cledius’s interest. A jealous empress. Just imagining it made him want to burst out laughing.

He tightly pursed his lips to hide the smile spreading across his face and began to soothe Selina in front of him.

“You’re still the empress even without that measly crown.”

“But…”

“If the emperor of this country acknowledges you, what else do you need?”

Cledius’s finger traced along her jawline. At the tip of her round chin, his finger lifted upwards. Selina’s chin naturally followed his finger upwards.

“So don’t feel too upset.”

Selina’s face quickly became one of deep gratitude as she buried it in the emperor’s chest. She paid no heed to the light scolding that her makeup would be ruined again.

“Did you… see what expression the empress made?”

Cledius’s breath suddenly felt cold. Selina sensed a tremor rising throughout her body. She didn’t want to dredge up the anxiety she had been secretly suppressing all this time.

But it was the emperor’s question. She had to answer, even if she didn’t want to. She mumbled while still embracing Cledius.

“She looked… unbothered.”

“I see.”

It was a long while before Cledius detached Selina. The look in his eyes at that moment of separation was one he had never shown Selina before. In ten minutes, Selina would ascend to the position of the emperor’s official consort. That much hadn’t changed.