“Now that I think about it, Lady Cloe, you mentioned having some matters to discuss.”

Following that, Lady Edward, reading the gaze, stepped forward.

Thanks to her, Cloe could naturally explain the reason for inviting the aristocrats.

“Yes, I must have forgotten amidst the enjoyable conversation with the ladies.”

She gestured with her hand to indicate that she had forgotten. More noticeable than her graceful hand movement, there was something specific.

“Oh my, that ring…”

A sparkling gem on her left ring finger.
The ring, which had gone unnoticed during the first appearance of the party involved, was revealed.

“Ah.”

She lightly covered her left hand with the opposite hand. Subsequently, an embarrassed laugh drew everyone’s attention.

“This is a ring given to me by His Majesty.”

“His Majesty?”

Although expected, surprised reactions quickly followed.

Since rings are typically given during engagements or marriages, it was unexpected.

“Yes. On the eve of the celebration of His Majesty’s birthday, he gave it to me. Ironically, I should have been the one to give a gift…”

At that moment, a maid approached. Although the conversation topic was subtly signaled with a gaze, she quickly arrived.

Cloe, confirming the names engraved on the back of the envelope, handed them to each of them.

“This is…”

Lady Edward opened the envelope first.

A lovely card inside the envelope.

Upon checking the contents of the card, it turned out to be a wedding invitation announcing Cloe’s marriage.

“Could it be that Lady Cloe is marrying His, His Majesty…?”

No one failed to understand the conversation that abruptly ended without context.

Cloe, having revealed her left hand again, sipped from the newly brought cup following the maid.

“I invited the married ladies to seek advice.”

Cloe smiled brightly.

“I wanted to inquire about things needed for a wedding. There’s a lot to prepare for a perfect wedding, you know.”
The invited ladies all looked at each other. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that everyone was indeed married.

“Um, Lady Cloe. So, are you saying Lady Cloe will become Empress?”

One of the noblewomen attending the tea time, Fraulein Countess, cautiously ventured.

The maids, who had been keeping quiet, perked up their ears. It was a topic they were also curious about.

Upon Lady Edward’s words, Cloe set down her teacup. Then her head turned slightly to the side.

“Oh, I must clarify. It’s not a real marriage.”

She gestured towards Helena, who was seated.

“We’re just following the current trend of having wedding ceremonies.”

Helena and Calis’s ‘government wedding’ had caused a lot of criticism and, at the same time, a significant impact.

After that, nobles who had connections with the government or those planning secret marriages held similar ceremonies, as the Emperor of the Friedrich Empire had allowed it, eliminating the need to be discreet.

However, as they couldn’t obtain permission from the temple, they held celebrations imitating the form of a wedding, excluding the oath before the gods.

“Ah… I see.”

Fraulein Countess nodded somewhat sadly. Her face revealed a faint sense of relief and a bit of disappointment.

Other ladies, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation like outsiders, now sparkled with admiration.

“You’re amazing, Lady Cloe!”

“A wedding ceremony with Her Majesty! It must be beautiful for sure.”
As Calis and Helena did, this ‘wedding ceremony’ was also a measure of how much a husband loved the government.

It meant enduring the opposition from protesting wives and children with wide-open eyes.

Moreover, except for the oath, everything else was the same, so the cost was not insignificant. In other words, it was nothing short of the luxury of the nobles.

“Of course. I’m looking forward to it too.”

Cloe’s gaze was directed towards Helena.

As if feeling the intense gaze, the person in question finally turned her eyes.

The ladies also noticed their interaction and tensed up, strangely anticipating the next move.

“All thanks to Lady Argent, you see.”

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Cloe unexpectedly smiled beautifully.

“…Really?”

“Thanks to the interruption she made, I got a good opportunity, didn’t I?”

It wasn’t a false statement.

Helena and Calis’s government wedding was the beginning.

However, the main character who could only be excluded from that wedding was Cloe.

Also, it was where she proceeded with her divorce at the same time.

“So, I have something earnestly to ask Lady, if it’s okay.”

“…Go ahead.”

Normally, Helena would have snapped if spoken to bluntly, but she seemed dignified. Still, she seemed to have refined herself as a noblewoman.

“Do you remember the gift I gave you on Lady’s birthday celebration?”

“…Ah, yes. Lady Cloe gave me a lovely glass slipper.”
The gift Helena received at her birthday celebration was a glass slipper adorned with closely packed jewels, a perfect present for someone referred to as Cinderella.

“I, too, would like to receive a similar gift from Lady.”

“Really?”

“Traditionally, shoes symbolize a new beginning, don’t they?”

“…….”

“I hope the one celebrating my new start will be none other than Lady Argent.”

Cloe wanted to receive that gift.

And even the weight of the title bestowed upon Helena.