Lotus Garden of the Palace Annex.

“Ho ho ho.”

“Hahaha.”

“Tee-hee.”

The carefree laughter of young ladies, aged between eighteen and twenty-four, filled the garden.

Their cheerful laughter continued endlessly, as if something was incredibly amusing. Eleven empress candidates were enjoying lunch at a table made of paulownia wood.

A short distance from their table, the maids serving the young ladies were also gathered, chattering among themselves. However, they were actually busy keeping their senses alert to monitor the candidates’ movements.

“The three in front are faces I’ve never seen before… Is it true, as rumored, that Lady Arabel was brought from the Kingdom of Akurer?”

“Wasn’t it the Kingdom of Chatel, not Akurer? I heard someone say that the lady was born and raised in Chatel until now.”

“Oh, if she had been in our Kingdom of Chatel, I would certainly know. There are so few noble ladies around Princess Annie’s age that I’ve seen all the young ladies of our kingdom.”

“Then, it seems she did come from Akurer. But I thought Akurer has had tense relations with the Empire for a long time, prohibiting immigration of upper-class nobles to the Empire…”

“Then, since when have they been serving Lady Arabel? If they followed her all the way to the imperial palace, they must have been serving her since birth, like us, right?”

“So, are they people from Akurer? But judging by their appearance and way of speaking, they’re clearly from the Empire…?”

Rosa and Dina, their backs drenched in sweat from the maids’ relentless questioning, looked at their superior with eyes of admiration.

Vera, pulling up the corners of her mouth with composure, said,

“Well… here and there… The Del Sinclair family is quite fond of traveling… Ho, ho. You can think of us three as the lady’s shadows. In terms of years of service, well, let’s say it’s our lifelong calling to serve the lady. Ho, ho.”

She was answering all questions vaguely. Indeed, it was a level of skill worthy of receiving five times the salary from the Emperor.

Because of Vera’s evasive answers, the candidates’ maids were frustrated, unable to obtain any new information except that Lady Arabel had turned twenty last month.

However, unlike Vera who was flawlessly fulfilling her role, her lady was like an antelope thrown to a pack of wolves.

Among the young ladies, Arabel seemed to have no intention, or rather, no ability to understand or evade the intent behind the questions.

Arabel was giving honest answers to the questions showered upon her, disguised as kindness, without any suspicion.

The corners of the mouths of the ten candidates, who had finished their light lunch of sandwiches and salad at the round table, curled into subtle smiles.

Their eyes simultaneously sparkled as they looked at the cinnamon black tea in their cups. It was a rather satisfied look, as if they had spotted prey weaker than themselves, one they could look down upon—in short, someone they could trample without resistance.

“Ah, so it was a simple misunderstanding that you came from the Kingdom of Akurer. You say you were born in the southern region of the Empire and have never left.”

“Oh my, to have lived without a family territory. Then, the story about your father providing treatment to people and selling medicine… You say he went door to door? Like a peddler? Without owning a building to run the business?”

“Baron Kander… Hmm, I’ve never heard that name before… Which social circle did you say you belonged to? Our family has long been in charge of the southern territory’s noble elder council, so we know all the local families.”

“Oh my, neither your father nor your uncle belonged to any noble association? That’s quite strange. I thought that if a noble could enter the imperial palace and pay membership fees, their family name would automatically be included in the regional elder council…”

“Ah, you say they were expelled for not being able to pay the membership fees due to lack of money. And they had to return their imperial palace entry passes. Now I understand.”

The ten candidates were busy exchanging glances, forgetting that they had been competitors until yesterday.

“So that’s why we’ve never seen the lady before. Because you didn’t have your coming-of-age ceremony at the imperial palace.”

Grace of the Le Sang ducal family said with seeming courtesy, but hiding a sneer.

The quick-witted daughter of the Macguiver count family probed,

“Then, I suppose you attended a debutante gathering of local noble families. Which family’s coming-of-age ceremony did you attend? My younger sister couldn’t attend the imperial palace ceremony this year due to distance. So she went to the ceremony hosted by Duke Beluku of the eastern territory. I wonder if I might have seen you then.”

Her answer to this was quite a sight.

“At that time, the pigs caught an epidemic, so we couldn’t even think about birthdays.”

Not only did she not have a coming-of-age ceremony at the imperial palace, she didn’t even have a debutante ceremony at all. These days, even wealthy merchants hold coming-of-age ceremonies for their daughters.

It was from this moment that the eyes of the ten candidates began to glitter like those of a wolf pack.

It’s true that they had been quite anxious and uneasy until they saw Arabel in person, who had brought countless rumors with her.

The eleventh empress candidate, personally brought by Emperor Maxwell, who had never caused a scandal with a woman. How beautiful and extraordinary must she be to have captured the heart of the fastidious emperor?

The ten candidates who remained until the end, out of the two hundred who had flocked, were young ladies representing the families of the Empire and the continental kingdoms.

As such, their pride and confidence were sky-high. Not a single lady here had not watched Arabel walking through the main gate of the palace annex from behind the curtains of the glass windows.

She was not a possessor of dazzling beauty or outstanding figure like Princess Lilibet of Sevils or Lady Kendal of Count Hawthorn. Her appearance was ordinary and unremarkable, not at all special compared to themselves.

On one hand, they were relieved, but on the other hand, their anxiety doubled. If she hadn’t caught the Emperor’s eye with her beauty… It meant she had captivated the Emperor with something else.

Either she was an exceptional talent or had the backing of an incredible family. Or perhaps, she had both. Like Grace of the Le Sang ducal family, who formed a duo with Princess Lilibet of Sevils in this competition.

As the competition structure solidified around Lilibet and Grace, it was true that the appearance of the unheard-of Arabel gave the other candidates a headache. If they couldn’t become the Empress, they needed to befriend the Empress for their family’s benefit.

If they competed wrongly and fell out of favor with the future Empress, it could spark trouble not only for themselves but also for their families. This was the reason they needed to make a good impression on Lilibet and Grace, despite being competitors.

The thought of having to take a submissive attitude towards Arabel, whom they were meeting today, made their blood boil… But upon meeting her, she turned out to be someone they didn’t even need to treat as well as the dirt under their nails.

A daughter of a fallen family, shameful to even call noble. She should have been quick-witted enough to avoid answering sensitive questions, but she was so stupid that she was revealing her status in detail with her own mouth.

No matter if the Emperor personally chose and brought her, he would soon realize.

He would clearly see the true nature of that woman who couldn’t blend in like oil in water among them, who possessed the highest education and manners from the best families.

Seeing such an unsophisticated woman, he would surely kick off his blanket in shame while sleeping.

Moreover, this palace annex was a place beyond the Emperor’s sight. The Emperor had never set foot here until now, and he was definitely not the type to lower his dignity because of a woman he fancied.

This meant they could properly ignore Arabel without worrying about anyone’s reaction.

Unfortunately, Arabel had no way of knowing what the ten candidates in front of her were thinking. She was just grateful that they had gathered to welcome her.

‘Honestly, I was very nervous and worried. But they’re all kind and friendly.’

Arabel’s clear eyes sparkled warmly towards the women who were smiling at her.

“My mother sent mulberry silk fabric for the young ladies to share. This fabric hasn’t yet entered the Empire. Please come to my annex together to continue our unfinished chat and take the fabric.”

As Princess Lilibet stood up and spoke, the rest of the young ladies also rose.

“Oh dear, what should we do? My mother only sent enough for ten people because ten made it to the final selection for Empress. We haven’t prepared a share for Lady Arabel.”

Princess Lilibet said towards Arabel, who was following behind the candidates.

“It’s alright. I’m just happy to go along, watch, and chat together.”

She was sincere. She had never had the chance to happily chat with peers or have lunch together. Arabel was grateful to the young ladies who had accepted her late arrival.

Surrounded by three or four young ladies, Princess Lilibet let out a shallow sigh and said,

“If you have nothing else, you should at least have some tact.”

She muttered to herself loud enough for everyone to hear. Her blue eyes, looking down at Arabel, had already turned cold.

“My annex is already full with these ten young ladies, so it would be difficult to invite Lady Arabel. I imagine it’s the same for the annexes of the young ladies gathered here. Am I right?”

At Lilibet’s words, all the candidates nodded without hesitation. Not forgetting to smile with ingrained kindness and manners.

Even Grace, who was on bad terms with Lilibet, agreed with her words this time and raised her chin haughtily.

“Moreover, our quarters are full of priceless jewels and dresses… It’s difficult to let in someone of unclear status.”

Following Grace’s words, the two young ladies standing on either side of her added mockingly,

“Honestly, if stolen and run away with, these items could change a poor fate. It wouldn’t be easy to resist the temptation. Especially if one hasn’t properly received the manners of a noble lady.”

“We should ask the Imperial Competition Committee to strengthen security in each quarter. The ruby necklace my grandmother gave me is a family heirloom, the only one of its kind in the Empire.”

Arabel, unable to say anything, was left alone at the table. The ten candidates, who normally didn’t get along well, left arm in arm, giggling as if they had always been close.

Arabel bit her lower lip, which was trembling finely, and strained her eyes to keep from crying.

“My lady…”

Vera’s voice was heard quietly behind Arabel.

Thinking the gathering was over, she had come with the other maids, only to hear poison spewing from the elegant mouths of the young ladies from the ten highest families.

Arabel, who had been standing with her head down for a moment, raised her head again and looked at the trio of maids.

After taking a moment to catch her breath, Arabel spoke in a forced cheerful tone.

“I wanted to take a walk in the garden, so this works out. I’ll be back soon, so don’t worry and go back first.”

Her round eyes were glistening with moisture, but she didn’t let the tears fall.

As Vera nodded, Arabel turned and walked away quickly.

“I’ll follow behind to make sure you don’t get lost.”

Milly, who had appeared out of nowhere, said gruffly before following her.

In an instant, she became an easy target for everyone. How important it is to make allies among the young ladies during the competition who can help each other, but now no one will want to side with her.

They must have concluded that it would be better to attack and tear apart the one chosen by the Emperor to eliminate her.

‘She’ll be eliminated without the head maid having to take action. This will end faster than I thought.’

Following Arabel with an expressionless face, Milly twisted her lips.