She’s like a cheap prostitute, not the emperor’s mistress. Well, I suppose it’s fitting since she receives money and other things from the emperor.

Herald inwardly mocked the duchess as he pulled his arm free from her grasp. Unlike other men, he was completely immune to her charms. The duchess giggled like a young girl and covered her mouth with her fan adorned with ducal feathers.

“I really do like you, Maximilian. Oh, should I call you Count Breyden now?”

Breyden was a new surname meaning ‘victory’ in ancient language, divined by the temple for Herald who would soon receive his title.

“I haven’t received the title yet, so you may address me comfortably.”

“Then can I keep calling you Herald? Using a name feels more intimate than a title, doesn’t it?”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

Herald drew a clear line that he didn’t want to become close with her, but for some reason the duchess kept smiling.

“How decisive you are. I always think how I wish my son had such a sharp personality like Maximilian. It would be even better if he resembled you in other ways too.”

“How could His Highness the Second Prince resemble me when he’s not of Maximilian blood?”

Herald didn’t offer even an empty compliment that the Second Prince was already admirable. This time his attitude seemed to displease her, as her eyes powdered with crushed pearls wavered for a moment.

“I suppose the Second Prince should resemble His Majesty the Emperor, the sun of the empire, rather than you.”

Duchess Ariande said with a bright smile as if nothing had happened. People called her a fox with a hundred tails, but Herald didn’t think so. Foxes may be cunning but they’re also cute, while this woman was only cunning. Comparing her to a fox was an insult to foxes.

“Are you on your way to see His Majesty and then to the Crown Prince’s palace?”

“Yes.”

“Maximilian is so close with His Highness the Crown Prince. I’m envious.”

The duchess lightly scratched Herald’s arm with the tip of her closed fan.

“If only my Derius had such a reliable friend like you…”

“I’m sure His Highness the Second Prince will be able to make such friends.”

“Won’t you consider becoming Derius’s friend?”

“I’m sorry. I despise having a foot in two camps.”

Herald Maximilian emphasized that he was eternally on Austin’s side while also mocking that the duchess was the emperor’s mistress.

The sharp-witted duchess immediately understood his meaning and frowned. The wrinkles hidden under her heavy makeup became clearly visible.

Age can’t be hidden after all, it seems. Herald thought with slight amusement as he placed a hand on his chest and bowed his head.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

As he was about to leave after saying farewell, Duchess Ariande called out loudly from behind him.

“Do you think the current sun will last forever? Not at all! The sun sets, and eventually a new sun rises!”

Herald turned back with a sneer at her nonsense about how Austin’s power wouldn’t last forever and that Derius would someday take his place.

“Duchess, I think you’re mistaken about something. After the sun sets, it’s not that a new sun rises. The same sun rises again.”

“What did you just say…?”

“I’m simply informing you that there was never any new sun to begin with. As the mother of His Highness the Second Prince, you shouldn’t have such incorrect knowledge. It would shame the imperial family.”

“……”

Though he had kindly informed her, for some reason the duchess glared at him with sharp eyes. But that was all – she didn’t shout in anger or throw a tantrum.

That’s a shame, it would have been more entertaining. Herald resumed his steps, hoping that next time he would see Duchess Ariande crumble miserably and throw a fit.

After the hellish breakfast ended, Lily had planned to lock herself in her room to catch up on sleep and rest, but she was caught by Samantha. It was to choose the clothes and accessories to wear for tomorrow’s party.

Usually Samantha took care of such things, and Lily thought it would be the same this time, but to her surprise, Samantha ordered her to do everything herself.

It was baffling that she would give such an order with less than a day left until the party, but Lily was in no position to refuse. She reluctantly headed to Fredrick’s dressing room.

If she had decided to leave it to Lily, she should have let her do it on her own, but Samantha stuck close by her side, constantly commenting that this doesn’t suit Fredrick, that is too plain, and offering all sorts of unsolicited advice.

“…Since the party is tomorrow and there’s no time, I think it would be better if you chose directly, Mother.”

Lily, who was already reluctant and now even more annoyed by Samantha’s constant nagging, suggested this, but Samantha clicked her tongue.

“Look at you. How long are you going to leave everything to your old mother-in-law? You should take care of your husband’s clothes yourself! That’s your role as his wife!”

You treat me worse than a stranger usually, but only call me his wife at times like this. Lily inwardly swallowed a sigh and chose Fredrick’s clothes again. She picked ones similar to the style Samantha used to choose, and Samantha seemed satisfied, smiling contentedly.

“See, you can do it if you try. Oh, just thinking about dressing up our son like this makes me excited. What if our son becomes the star of the party?”

“I suppose so.”

Lily halfheartedly agreed as she pushed aside the clothes that had been scattered while choosing. She was about to go choose her own clothes, leaving the cleanup to the maids, when Samantha saw this and struck her arm hard.

The slapping sound echoed through the dressing room so loudly that Lily looked up in surprise. Samantha glared at her with wide eyes.

“How can you leave your husband’s clothes like this as his wife? Clean up yourself before you go!”

“But the maid will…”

“How dare you try to leave your husband’s clothes to another woman’s hands! Aren’t you ashamed as his wife?”

That damn ‘wife’ again and again. She was sick of hearing it. Besides, the maids did everything from laundry to other chores, so she couldn’t understand why Samantha was making such a fuss over simply putting away clothes.

She’s clearly just being spiteful because she wants to torment me. It was exactly the kind of thing Samantha would do.

Lily protested that this didn’t seem right, but it was futile. Samantha insisted that she must put everything away herself, threatening to come back and check that it was done properly before leaving.

“……”

Lily looked around the messy dressing room with irritation in her eyes. Just thinking about organizing all this by herself made her sigh. She wanted to ignore Samantha’s words and run away.

If she did that, Samantha would surely throw a fit and tell Fredrick everything, and Fredrick would spout nonsense about how she was causing trouble in the family again and that she should put aside her useless pride for his mother’s sake.

…He might try to do strange things again like last night.

That thought immediately erased any desire to run away. Her own dress was already decided and accessories prepared to match, so it wouldn’t take long to choose. That’s why she had just stayed put without bothering to check if everything was ready.

Of course, her reluctance to attend the party was an even bigger factor.

“I don’t even know anymore.”

She didn’t want to care about a place she was being forced to go to against her will. Since she couldn’t do as she pleased anyway, Lily decided to just do as Samantha and Fredrick ordered. She began organizing the clothes one by one, starting with those closest to her.

When she first looked around, the amount seemed too much for one person to handle, but it was finished faster than expected. As Lily picked up the last piece of clothing, she shook off the dust.

Then she heard a rustling sound, as if something was in the pocket. It seems the servants had put the clothes in the dressing room without checking the pockets.

“I thought they were being careless on purpose with just me, but it turns out they’re just incompetent in general.”

Lily chuckled as she took out what was in the coat pocket. It was a note about the size of her palm. It was surely from some noblewoman he had seduced, so she didn’t want to check it, but she was curious about what was written.

It would be rude to peek at someone else’s note, but she thought it would be fine since it was Fredrick.

Right. That man reads my letters freely and has me followed, so I should be able to read a mere note as I please.

It wasn’t something he had carefully stored away, but just carelessly crumpled and stuffed in his pocket. Thinking it would be okay to look at this much, Lily cautiously unfolded the note.

Part of the note was torn and the ink was smudged so she couldn’t make out everything, but the name ‘Grace’ was clearly visible. Combining Fredrick and the name Grace naturally brought his mother to mind.

She thought it was a secret rendezvous note from some noblewoman, but she never expected to see her mother-in-law’s name. Lily was curious about who Fredrick had exchanged this note about his mother with and for what reason. The ominous word ‘handle’ was included, so she had to find out no matter what.

But no matter how much she thought about it, there was no way to find out. Even if she asked Fredrick directly what this was, he would never tell her. He would surely get angry instead, demanding to know if she had gone through his clothes.

And the contents of the note would be buried in secrecy forever.

As Lily pondered while looking at the note, she eventually folded it carefully and put it in her inner pocket. Though there was no way to find out the contents of the note right now, she thought she should keep it safe in case an opportunity arose someday.