“Ah, Miss, it suits you very well. I ordered various things since I wasn’t sure about the current fashion trends in Jedo. I’m glad.”

“I’ve never worn such nice clothes before. Thank you so much.”

“Not at all.”

“What brings you here?”

“The Duke is looking for you. He has asked you to bring tea.”

Carrying the tea set prepared by Hans, I went up to the Duke’s office, located a floor above my room in the Jedo estate of the Belpast family, this grey stone castle.

From the stairs, I could see the interior of the castle from the entrance on the first floor to the high ceilings. Not only the exterior, but the interior also held a weighty antiquity.

The interior, mainly using silver marble, was luxurious yet simple. The otherwise plain colors were complemented by strategically placed sapphire and green diamond decorations, adding a refined elegance.

If the Southern Duke’s mansion was the epitome of opulence with gold and diamond decorations, then this place felt like the essence of long history and dignity.

In fact, the history of the Delpast Empire was synonymous with the Belpast family.

The founder of the empire, Delpast, had established it alongside Belpast but later betrayed them. However, Belpast chose not to rebel but to protect the empire as the shield of the north.

They differed from the native nobility of the south, the Rahert family, who became subjects of the empire in its expansion process.

With these thoughts, I stood in front of the Duke’s office and was about to knock when.

The door opened abruptly.

“Why are you so late…….”

Before I could knock, Arcadia emerged from the door.

He was as surprised as Hans had been upon seeing me.

“Commander?”

He looked at me blankly for a moment, then spoke.

“Why are you dressed like that?”

“I’m sorry. They said my shirt and pants needed washing, so there were no other clothes.”

For some reason, he seemed unable to look at me directly and spoke with a slightly reddened face.

“Well, then, come in.”

I must not fit in very well.

Hiding my embarrassment, I entered the room.

There sat the Duke, sunk into a black velvet sofa atop a dark rug. He, too, looked at me with wide eyes.

‘Why is his ear suddenly red? Is he angry because I’m late?’

“I’m sorry. I’m too late.”

“……No, sit down. I had something to discuss with Arcadia first.”

Unusually, the Duke’s voice was slightly hoarse.

I placed the slightly sweet and refreshing tea in front of the Duke and Sir Nugent.

The Duke remarked.

“Ah, leaves from the Eron tree.”

“Your favorite tea from childhood, Your Grace.”

Arcadia responded.

“Really, Hans still thinks that’s my taste?”

The Duke smiled faintly and then gestured towards me.

“Take a seat.”
“No, this is not a barracks, and I am here as a servant. I heard you were looking for me.”

“I see.”

The Duke sipped his tea slowly, not looking at me.

“Esdel, you must have heard what Sir Nugent said this afternoon?”

“Yes. About the appearance of His Majesty the Emperor’s… granddaughter.”

Again, those blue eyes seemed to be probing my reaction.

“Indeed. You took note of that.”

The Duke broke the silence.

“I’ve talked with Sir Nugent. I don’t fully trust you, but we’re going to use you. Sir Nugent agreed.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed to Arcadia, who looked at me with a slightly reddened face but a very serious expression.

Was our conversation only about using me, or was there something else I didn’t know?

“There’s a rumor about a woman with noble green hair and golden eyes.”

“!”

Arcadia’s words made me freeze momentarily.

“Green hair?”

The color of my mother’s hair shown by the blue dagger, green.

“Yes. And golden eyes. The same color as the current Emperor and the late Crown Prince.”

“!”

“Why are you so surprised?”

I was at a loss for words at the Duke’s question but managed to respond.

“Green hair is… very rare. It’s uncommon in the Empire.”

“A color occasionally seen in the now-destroyed Kingdom of Ventus.”

Sir Nugent added.

Ventus Kingdom. My mother’s country. A kingdom that disappeared long ago, subjugated by Delpast.

“Your Grace, if that woman has green hair.”

“Do you think she might be the Emperor’s granddaughter?”

The Duke asked calmly, his calm voice unnerving me.

“To my knowledge, the late Crown Prince’s wife, the saintess of the perished kingdom, had green hair.”

I emphasized that I had heard it somewhere.

“How do you know that?”

Arcadia asked, surprised.

“I didn’t know that either.”

“Right, Arcadia. Her hair was indeed green.”

The Duke responded nonchalantly, fixing his blue eyes on me.

The Duke knew the color of my mother’s hair.

In truth, it was almost unknown information.

Speaking about the saintess who fled with the Crown Prince was taboo.

Before seeing the past through my mother’s dagger, I knew nothing about her.

“Was the one who found the Crown Prince’s mother from the Rahert family? Is that how you know?”

“…Yes.”

A lie.

Neither Rahert nor Medea ever mentioned such a story.

I involuntarily closed my eyes and, after a while, slowly opened them again.

“Was it Rahert who brought this woman to the Emperor?”

The Duke answered.

“According to Sir Nugent’s investigation, it was a Baron Schmael. He doesn’t have much connection with the Rahert family. The rumor is that the woman was found collapsed in front of the Baron’s house. She claimed to be the princess and had plausible memories. Stories about her grandfather, the Emperor, as told by her parents. Things only a family would know.”

I see.

A very plausible scenario.

A woman who knows stories of the imperial family that even I cannot remember.

The Emperor who did not accept the love between the saintess of the perished kingdom and the imperial heir. The Crown Prince and the saintess, who fled to realize their love away from the Emperor.

Did such parents tell their child stories about the grandfather who is the Emperor?

Had my parents ever told me such stories about the Emperor?

Sadly, I don’t remember anything.
All memories before the age of five are gone. When I awoke in Medea’s room at the age of five, I couldn’t remember my name or who I was.

However, curiously, I had knowledge of the empire’s history and stories of the past, things I had never learned.

It seemed that while my memories were forgotten, the knowledge remained.

“Why do you suspect Rahert?”

The Duke asked.

“People who know about the saintess are rare. But Rahert might know, I thought. I’m not certain, though.”

“Right, nothing is sure yet. That woman could indeed be the real princess.”

The Duke gazed out at the darkening evening sky.

Arcadia spoke.

“Your Grace, you need to go to the palace early tomorrow.”

“Yes, that seems necessary.”

The Duke responded, still looking out the window.

“It would be easier if she just appeared as the granddaughter and got verified by Luchella. Then all this commotion wouldn’t be necessary.”

“People are afraid. Afraid that she might not be the one, afraid of being disappointed again.”

The Duke quietly replied.

‘The fear of disappointment… Is that the Emperor’s heart?’

“Prepare yourself too, Sir Nugent.”

“Yes.”

Suddenly, I felt curious to know that feeling.

Then, the Duke turned to me.

“Esdel, would you like to accompany us to the palace?”

“!”

I was startled and looked at the Duke.

“May I go too?”

“Of course. You are my subject.”