Throughout the journey to the Empress’s garden where the luncheon was being held after arriving at the Imperial Palace, Dillon kept looking around like a country bumpkin who had just moved from the countryside to the city. Exclamations kept spilling from his parted lips.

At first, his appearance was insignificant and amusing, but as his exclamations grew louder and he even started knocking on and brushing the golden castle walls, it became embarrassing. When passing palace workers started giving strange looks, Herald finally spoke up.

“Stop it, you’re embarrassing me.”

At the blunt criticism, Dillon’s eyes widened.

“What did I do that’s embarrassing? No, more importantly, is it okay for a nobleman like you to use such vulgar language?”

“You just used it too.”

“I was originally a commoner.”

“My mind is that of a commoner.”

Dillon looked at him in disbelief at the absurd rebuttal, but Herald walked on with long strides, not caring.

“W-Wait, let’s go together!”

Worried that he might get lost as the distance between them grew, Dillon quickly caught up.

Dillon’s mouth, which had barely closed at Herald’s scolding, opened wide again when they arrived at the Empress’s garden. He couldn’t help but marvel at the sight that looked like the sea was filled with roses instead of salt water.

“This looks more like heaven than a garden.”

At the silly remark, Herald turned his gaze away with a chuckle. The Empress’s garden was beautiful enough to deserve the high praise of being called heaven, but that was all. A garden with rampantly blooming flowers was not to his taste. He preferred a lush forest with dense greenery rather than flowers.

…Was that why he liked her eyes?

Recalling Lily’s green eyes that held a light as fresh as the greenery, Herald smiled as if to himself.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Count Braden. Marquis Lamford.”

A court lady who had been waiting inside the entrance spotted them and approached, bowing to greet them. All the court ladies and eunuchs working in the Imperial Palace were from noble families, so Dillon had always been looked down upon by them. Receiving a polite greeting from someone like that felt strange, making Dillon’s expression peculiar.

“……”

Herald’s expression was also strange. He narrowed his eyes and closely observed the court lady’s face. If his memory served him right, this court lady belonged to the Crown Princess, not the Empress.

It was odd that a court lady of the Crown Princess, not the Empress, had come to greet them at a luncheon hosted by the Empress. There must be another ulterior motive.

That suspicion reached its peak when they arrived at the pergola entwined with rose vines, following the court lady’s guidance.

“Welcome, you two.”

Crown Princess Sonia, dressed in a pure white dress with golden embroidery, greeted the two warmly. The Empress was nowhere to be seen.

“It’s been a while, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”

Unlike Herald who greeted her naturally like flowing water, Dillon stuttered like a broken machine. He had practiced the proper way to greet more than hundreds of times to avoid making mistakes, but it all became futile. His body, stiff with nervousness despite trying his best, wouldn’t move according to his will.

“Hoho.”

As if finding Dillon’s appearance with his hands and feet acting separately amusing, Sonia covered her mouth with her hand and laughed softly. Dillon felt embarrassed but at the same time relieved that she didn’t reprimand or get angry at him.

“Come, have a seat.”

The two sat in the seats the court lady guided them to. Being a round table, they ended up facing the Crown Princess no matter where they sat. Finding that extremely burdensome, Dillon’s face turned bright red as he gulped down water repeatedly. Even though the water was refreshingly cold with ice cubes floating in it, the fire in his stomach wouldn’t go out.

On the other hand, Herald calmly met the Crown Princess’s gaze as if it was nothing and asked.

“Has Her Majesty the Empress not arrived yet?”

“Yes. She said she would be a little late due to an urgent matter that suddenly came up.”

“A little, you say.”

When Herald emphasized ‘a little’ with a strange smile, Sonia also nodded with a smile as if responding.

“Yes, a little. In the meantime, she gave me the important task of treating you two well.”

“Oh my. That must be tough for you.”

“What can I do? It’s an order from Her Majesty the Empress, so I must follow it. I’m in no different position than the Count, after all.”

“It’s an honor for me to be considered in the same position as the noble Crown Princess.”

“The honor is mine to be in the same position as the Count, the hero of the Empire.”

As a fierce battle of nerves unfolded between Herald and Sonia, Dillon sipped from his glass and gauged the mood between the two. It was a moment when he understood the feeling of a shrimp caught between fighting whales.

At times like this, it was best to stay still and pretend not to hear anything.

“…What do you think, Marquis Lamford?”

So when Sonia suddenly called his name while he was listening with one ear and letting it flow out the other, Dillon was startled and widened his eyes. It was a good thing he had finished drinking the water, otherwise he would have spat it out.

But what was he supposed to think about? Not having properly listened to the conversation, Dillon had no idea what the Crown Princess was asking. Perplexed, he glanced at Herald.

“Is there a need to ask my adjutant?”

Fortunately, his request for help seemed to work as Herald stepped in.

“No matter how my adjutant answers, you will do as you wish anyway, Your Highness.”

“Hoho, you know me well.”

Sonia smiled as brightly as the roses blooming around the pergola and rang a bell. As if they had been waiting, court ladies brought in food trays.

“Then let’s have a meal as I wish until Her Majesty the Empress arrives.”

Lily, who arrived at the appointed place in the carriage sent by Olivia, followed the staff’s guidance and entered the room at the very end of the corridor. The room was empty, as if the Duchess of Maximilian had not arrived yet.

Thanks to that, Lily had time to prepare herself mentally. She took a deep breath while looking down at the fountain visible through the large window. However, her trembling heart wouldn’t easily calm down. Not only was she startled by Olivia’s sudden summons, but she also knew too well the reason why she wanted to see her.

It must be because of that man, Herald Braden.

Lily could guess what Olivia would say to her, but she decided not to think about it any further. It wouldn’t change anything anyway. It would only lengthen the time she spent anxious and trembling.

And who knows? Maybe she called for a different reason.

Although the possibility of that was as slim as lightning striking a clear sky, Lily couldn’t let go of that tiny hope. If she abandoned that small hope, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to endure any longer.

The more anxious and impatient she was, the longer the time waiting for Olivia felt like an eternity. It also felt like she was being punished for committing a grave mistake.

People will think of me as a sinner. Especially his family…

When the things she tried not to think about started to vividly come to mind, Lily tightly closed her eyes. Her hands, neatly placed on her knees, turned as pale as her face.

It’s okay. It will be okay. It has to be okay. Will it be… okay?

Knock knock-

At the sudden knocking sound, Lily abruptly stood up from her seat. Her eyes, widened like lanterns, stared at the firmly closed door. As if an earthquake had occurred, the door was shaking.

“Excuse me.”

A clear voice was heard, and soon the door opened. The unsteadily trembling eyes froze the moment they captured the Duchess of Maximilian flaunting her graceful appearance. The clenched hands turned bright red this time. With those hands politely clasped, Lily greeted her with an awkward smile, maintaining proper etiquette.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Duchess of Maximilian. My name is Liliana Benjamin.”

“……”

Olivia silently looked at Lily’s face shadowed by the backlight from the window for a moment, then smiled brightly and held out her hand.

“I’m Olivia Maximilian. As you probably already know, I’m the wife of Hamilton Braden, the elder brother of Herald Braden.”

“……”

Lily carefully took Olivia’s outstretched hand, expressing that she already knew who she was.

Soon, as the two sat down, a staff member came in and offered them a menu. Unlike Lily who received the menu, Olivia ordered without even looking at it.

“Coffee will do for me.”

“……”

Lily closed the menu she had opened, returned it to the staff, and asked for the same thing.

After the staff who took the order left, an awkward silence hung between the two. Now that she saw Olivia in person, Lily became even more nervous, and her mouth felt parched. She couldn’t dare to look Olivia straight in the eye and only stared intently at the checkered tablecloth.

“Were you sick by any chance?”

At the sudden question, Lily flinched and raised her head.

“I thought I saw traces of fever blisters on your face.”

“Ah.”

At those words, Lily unconsciously tried to touch her face but put her hand back down, remembering that she had put on thick makeup. It would be a big problem if it smudged by touching it carelessly.

She had done that to hide the traces of fever blisters, but seeing that Olivia had noticed, it seemed to still be visible.

“I’m fine now, so you don’t need to worry, Duchess.”

“That’s a relief. I didn’t want to hold someone who’s sick to have this conversation.”

At the meaningful remark, the sound of her heart dropping rang loudly in her ears. Her mind, consumed by anxiety, gradually turned blank.

If she had been attacked repeatedly, she wouldn’t have been able to endure it, but fortunately, the coffee they ordered arrived, giving her time to compose herself. Lily picked up the teacup with trembling hands and drank the coffee. The coffee, without even a spoonful of sugar added, was extremely bitter, but strangely, she couldn’t taste it at all.

“Since you know who I am, you must also know why I asked to see you, so I’ll ask straightforwardly.”

Olivia, who also took a sip of coffee, put down the teacup and asked.

“Do you intend to live as Count Braden’s wife for the rest of your life?”