The Duchess, fundamentally a mildmannered individual, wasn’t easily fooled due to over a decade of social experience as the lady of the ducal house.

With a forced smile, the Empress nonchalantly lifted her teacup.

“Well, I wonder if they’re going to grant you a domain once you’re married?”

“My, a domain, really? It’s only a matter of time; they’re going to get it all eventually.”

“That is true.”

“You know as well as I, Your Majesty, that the most important legacy to pass on to our children is connections, isn’t it? That’s why I’ve been so busy preparing these days.”

The Duchess’s words heavily settled onto the Empress.

Wasn’t her recent most significant concern the forces, including the Duke’s house?

That’s why she was placating the Duchess.

“My, already? You’re both still so young.”

“What are you saying? I’m not as young as I used to be. And our Alicia, she’s special, she follows well. I could entrust her with things right now with peace of mind.”

“My word, Lancaster must understand the weight of this matter.”

“That’s why she’s handling it calmly.”

‘She was always calm. It was so annoying how she could look nonchalant and yet be so lively.’

The Empress remembered Lancaster’s youth as she lifted her teacup.

In front of the young, she had belittled this woman’s daughter and acted foolishly, a fact she could not deny.

Honestly, she had not acted as an adult, nor had she acted as an Empress.

But.

‘Does that give her the right to threaten me, the Empress, openly?’

To buy time to suppress her emotions, the Empress slowly drank her tea.

“I envy you, Duchess. My Harry needs to make a connection with a good lady soon.”

“Isn’t that imminent? I heard you’ve been busy with that recently.”

“Yes, that’s true. It’s time for him to start thinking about it. Ah, right. Do you have a lady in mind that you could introduce?”

“Well, I can’t think of one off the top of my head, but I could look.”

At the Empress’s suggestion of a truce, the Duchess smiled a little and toned down her aggression.

The Empress also smiled and nodded her head.

But seeing them smiling while facing each other felt ominous, and the maids who were watching subtly turned their heads.

“Ahh, damn it!”

The Empress threw the glass on the table in a fit of anger.

As if they had anticipated such a disturbance, the maids and servants quietly closed the door and exited.

“Those arrogant ones. Just you wait. Once Harry becomes the Emperor, they won’t be let off.”

The Empress muttered under her breath.

“Yes, all the things I’ve done for my son.”

Gnawing on her lips, she muttered darkly. Her eyes were so filled with anger that they turned red.

Unable to subdue her anger, she threw the remaining glasses on the table.

Then, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

“Is there someone out there?”

At the Empress’s subdued voice, a maid quietly opened the door and entered.

“Did you call for me, Your Majesty?”

“I need to see the Duke of O’Brien.”

“I’ll make the contact, Your Majesty.”

After replying quietly, the maid retreated from her position and closed the door.

Having dealt with all the monsters that suddenly appeared during his field investigation, Eric looked around to wrap up.

“How is it?”

“I’ve recorded all the behavior patterns and characteristics for now.”

“Good. They say it’s difficult to recombine monster creation magic, so the same type of monsters are likely to continue to appear for a while. Organize it well and apply it to training. Send it to Daisen before for record.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Then Eric stared closely at the fallen monster.

“Hmm.”

“What are you looking at?”

“Oh, Allen. That thing.”

“The monster? What about it?”

“Doesn’t its fur look warm?”

“Guys. The Captain hit his head. Call the healer.”

Allen turned his head as if he had heard something absurd.

But Eric opened his mouth with a dead serious expression.

“If you lay it on the floor, wouldn’t it be good for the winter?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Where are you going to lay it?”

“The Lancaster Baron.”

“……Ah.”
Allen seemed taken aback and clicked his tongue before rubbing his head.

“I knew you’d do something like this. Somehow, you agreed to the engagement so easily.”

“?”

“Commander, no, senior. This is genuinely something I’m saying as a junior who sincerely cares for you.”

“What’s up? Why are you suddenly serious?”

“If you want to break off the engagement, just follow the proper procedure. Why would you think of sending monster fur? It’s going to go down in the empire’s history as the worst reason for a breakup.”

“Breakup? Who’s breaking up?”

“Is sending monster fur normal then? Is it a threat that if they don’t break up, you’ll massacre them?”

“The twins asked me to buy a gift, so I did. I mentioned tigers before. Isn’t it similar?”

“It’s not similar at all.”

“Oh, is it because there are no stripes?”

“That’s not the problem with stripes. Even if that was the case, would you give monster fur to children this young? Did you really hurt your head?”