“Muselle, I’ll take a short walk and be back. I’ll be with the knights, so you don’t have to follow.”

He couldn’t bear to look at Muselle’s face.

Although he said he would take a walk, instead of strolling through the palace garden, Klaus went to a quiet corner of the courtyard and drew his sword.

“Haat! Together!”

The knight blinked in surprise.

It was quite understandable for the crown prince, who rarely worked, to suddenly come out and engage in basic sword training.

Downward strikes, upward strikes, horizontal slashes, and so on.
After swinging the sword for quite some time, Klaus’s body was soaked in sweat. Klaus went straight to the bathroom, still in that state.

The loyal knight tried hard to gauge his master’s feelings. It seemed his mind was troubled due to official duties. Well, when your head hurts, it’s better to tire out your body.

Klaus, who had rushed out during the morning, could only return to his office after lunch had passed.

It was just a few days ago.

“Umm.”

Klaus nonchalantly raised a teacup in front of Muselle, who was watching.

At that moment, Muselle spoke first.

“Your Highness, I previously requested a meeting with Lady Ferner, and I’ve received a reply. I plan to visit her today.”

“Today?”

So quickly? Klaus’s expression seemed to convey that.

However, Muselle’s expression remained as dry as usual.

“Yes. They also welcome it from your side, so there might not be a need to prolong it. For now, I’ll use listening to her personal grievances as an excuse. There’s still no official way to resolve her complaints.”

“Alright. Do that.”

Muselle gave a brief salute and quickly withdrew.

Somehow, the office seemed empty. Even though the chief steward was present, it felt deserted.

The tension that had built up since morning seemed futile. Somehow, Klaus felt relieved.

“Haa……”

As he leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment, he heard a voice outside the door.

“Your Highness, Crown Prince, Her Majesty, the Empress, is about to arrive.”

“Hmm?”

He hadn’t seen his mother’s face separately since they had a separate meal this morning.

If she had just come to inquire about her son’s well-being, that would be nice, but Klaus somehow had a bad feeling.

After a while, the Empress appeared.

“Colin, did you sleep well last night?”

“Yes, Mother. I was planning to visit around evening, but you came earlier.”

Klaus carefully scrutinized his mother’s face. The slightly forced smile in her eyes undoubtedly indicated that there was some business.

“Do you have something important to tell me, Mother, that you came all the way here?”

“Sigh, you really can’t be deceived, truly.”

The Empress sighed and pulled out an envelope with a hint of pink from her bosom.

“It seems that Marquess Mecklinger urgently decided to host a banquet. You’ll have to step forward again as the partner of Lady Elfreda this time.”

“An urgent banquet? Why would there be a need to urgently host a banquet?”

Being the escort for Lady Elfreda was a task Klaus had occasionally done before.

However, for some reason, Klaus didn’t feel particularly inclined this time.

The Empress lowered her gaze slightly.

“It seems that the condition in the capital slums is not much better than the southern regions affected by last year’s flood. Some nobles seem to be involved in relief efforts, and Elfreda also wants to do something in her own name.”

“The Lady?”
“Alright. I heard that they’re giving cash to each household under the pretext of living expenses. For this purpose, Lady Elfreda has contributed her personal funds, and there are plans to raise funds through the banquet.”

Klaus chuckled involuntarily.

“No, how much are they giving to each household that they need to dip into others’ pockets? Wouldn’t Lady Elfreda’s personal property be sufficient?”

“It’s a good cause, and it’s better if more people participate. Anyway, I understand that you’ll accept the role as the escort for the banquet. I’ll convey that to Elfreda as well.”

The Empress swiftly left before her son could say anything else.

Left alone, Klaus wore an incredulous expression.

“Why would Lady Elfreda suddenly have such ideas?”

He opened the envelope his mother handed him.

It stated that there would be a party for the relief fund at the grand banquet hall of Marquess Mecklinger, collecting funds for poverty relief.

“A party…”

Elfreda seemed to have recovered surprisingly quickly from the strong rejection she received. Whether it was a good or bad thing remained unknown.

Klaus, however, hoped that there wouldn’t be too much significance attached to him being her escort.

“Well, as long as I’m not aware of it.”

Klaus sealed the envelope and casually placed it in a drawer.