“Is there… a problem?”

Instead of saying that Jieselgrante thought the Earl Greykin’s gesture of wiping Preston’s cheek looked very affectionate, she shook her head.

Earl Preston, who had just opened his mouth as if he was about to talk about what happened at the imperial palace, suddenly turned his head towards Earl Greykin.

“Ah, before that. Since I’ve already used it, may I use it a bit more?”

Earl Preston’s gaze fell on the handkerchief Earl Greykin had put down.

“Ah, go ahead.”

“I’ll have it cleaned thoroughly and return it to you.”

While wiping his sweat with the handkerchief received from Earl Greykin, Earl Preston opened his mouth again.

“The matter discussed at the imperial palace today was about the salt business that the Antares family had been monopolizing.”

Jieselgrante and Earl Greykin held their breath, waiting for Earl Preston’s next words.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

As if his throat was dry, Earl Preston picked up the water bottle on the table. Then Cabelased began to explain instead.

“The Emperor said he would nullify the Marquis Antares family’s monopoly on the salt business. Judging by this drastic measure, it seems they’ve been withholding a substantial amount of taxes from the imperial family all this time.”

“That’s right. It seems that from now on, multiple people will be able to engage in the salt business through bidding.”

“Did the Emperor allow that?”

In response to Jieselgrante’s question, Cabelased murmured softly.

“It’s certainly unexpected.”

“I agree on that point as well. After nullifying the salt business monopoly, it was Duke Cardia who proposed the solution. Frederick and I agreed with that opinion, and then other nobles also expressed their agreement.”

Then another surprising fact was heard.

Although she hadn’t heard it directly from the person involved, Jieselgrante could tell by intuition.

That Frederick was not favorable towards Cabelased.

It was puzzling that such a person had been the first to agree with Cabelased’s opinion.

“Earl Frederick?”

The moment she voiced her doubt, the hand of Cabelased that was holding hers under the table tightened slightly.

She turned her head slightly towards Cabelased, startled.

Sure enough.

The corners of Cabelased’s mouth, which had been pleasantly curled up all along, were now pressed into a straight line.

Meanwhile, the conversation between Earl Greykin and Earl Preston continued.

“Is the Emperor really trying to abandon the Antares family? It will incur the Empress’s wrath…”

“Everyone is surprised by the atmosphere. After all, there’s no one in the empire who doesn’t know that the Antares family, the Empress’s maiden family, has been under the protection of the imperial family until now.”

Throughout their conversation about this, Cabelased still seemed to have no intention of letting go of her hand that he was holding.

As Earl Greykin was leaving the conference room after finishing the situation report, he turned his head.

After glancing alternately at Jieselgrante and Cabelased for a moment, Earl Greykin soon left the conference room.

Only when the two of them were left alone in the conference room did Jieselgrante slowly open her mouth.

“Do you perhaps have something to say to me?”

“He wants to see the young lady.”

“Who?”

“The Emperor.”

“…His Majesty the Emperor?”

As Jieselgrante looked at him with surprised eyes, Cabelased nodded with a stiff face.

“What did he say was the reason?”

“He said it was to congratulate you before an important marriage. If you don’t want to, I’ll refuse on your behalf. I brought it up because I thought hearing your opinion should come first…”

Cabelased’s lips, which had been about to add something, pressed shut firmly.

Instead of asking what he was about to say, Jieselgrante began to speculate about the Emperor’s psychology.

‘To congratulate…’

The Emperor probably didn’t know that Cabelased was actually his son, not his nephew.

And it wouldn’t be too strange for an ordinary person to want to see their nephew’s fiancée’s face before the marriage.

For an ordinary person.

But the Emperor was someone who had a record of patricide to usurp the throne, and who didn’t particularly value blood ties, to the extent that he would even abandon his daughter if he deemed her worthless.

For that reason, Cabelased was also reluctant to introduce Jieselgrante to the Emperor…

After pondering for a while, it was difficult to grasp the Emperor’s intentions.

It seemed necessary to understand the context of what had been discussed before this conversation.

“What were you talking about with the Emperor before the topic of seeing me came up?”

Cabelased, who had been recalling his memories for a while with his gaze lowered, soon opened his mouth.

“He asked who had reported that the Antares family had embezzled. The Emperor seemed to have naturally assumed it was me.”

“I see. It was after he found out that I was the informant. When he asked to see me.”

“Yes.”

As her worries deepened, Jieselgrante’s fine brows also furrowed deeply.

Because she couldn’t fathom the Emperor’s intentions, she felt it would be difficult to respond quickly to any troublesome situations that might occur during the meeting.

‘But simply refusing might not be the best course of action…’

It was the moment she was about to say that it would be okay to think about it a bit more before deciding.

“…!”

Cabelased suddenly lifted her waist and sat her on his lap.

“You can refuse if you don’t want to, Jiesel.”

Perhaps because she was startled, her heart began to beat rapidly.

Jieselgrante glared at Cabelased with her eyes wide open.

“Do you mean this situation?”

Cabelased, with a languid face, chuckled and whispered in a low voice as he pulled her waist even closer.

“The only thing you can refuse is meeting the Emperor.”

Then he tapped her lower lip, which was protruding in dissatisfaction.

“…I want to go to the imperial palace.”

“I don’t think there was any need to give that answer right now, necessarily?”

Cabelased bit her cheek lightly, not enough to hurt, while making an extremely mischievous expression.

“But please be sure to stay by my side when we go to the imperial palace.”

Cabelased’s eyes curved gently, seemingly quite satisfied with her answer.

“I will.”

Meanwhile, Marchioness Ratse was in high spirits, delighted to have come out far with her family after a long time.

Although it got a bit chilly in the evening, it was still fine.

It wasn’t her first time traveling to the west, so she had prepared quite well.

It was a bit regrettable that she couldn’t come with the children due to the sudden departure.

“Is this where we’re staying tonight?”

Marchioness Ratse, who had gotten off the carriage, asked, pointing with her chin at the inn right in front of her. The guard knight who had jumped off his horse answered.

“This is said to be the most luxurious inn in this village.”

However, the exterior of the inn right in front of her looked too shabby in her eyes.

“I don’t want to be picky after coming all the way to this remote place, but…”

Marchioness Ratse began like that and looked at her husband.

Perhaps due to being stuck in the carriage all day, there were shadows under her husband’s eyes.

“Darling. Think about it carefully. If rumors spread that people from the Ratse Marquis family, the top family in the imperial capital, stayed in a place like this…”

Unable to bear his wife’s chatter any longer, Marquis Ratse waved his hand as if to say enough.

“I get it, I get it.”

Then he ordered the knight waiting beside the carriage.

“Sir, this won’t do after all. See if there are any other inns nearby. As quickly as possible.”

“Understood.”

The knight who nodded his head gave instructions to the other knights.

Some of the remaining guard knights got back on their horse saddles. Soon, the knights scattered in all directions.

“It seems we’ll have to wait a bit. What would you like to do?”

Marquis Ratse gestured towards the carriage, asking for his wife’s opinion.

“I feel a bit stuffy from being cooped up in the carriage, how about a walk before we go into the inn?”

“…Alright.”

It was when Marquis Ratse reluctantly nodded.

A knight who had come out of the inn noticed the two people moving away from the carriage and asked.

“Where are you going?”

“We thought we’d take a short walk.”

Marquis Ratse answered offhandedly without even looking back. Then he walked towards the bustling street.

To the knight who was staring blankly at the retreating figures of the Marquis Ratse couple, another knight said,

“It seems the Marchioness doesn’t like this inn. So everyone has gone to look for other accommodations.”

The knight who heard about the situation that had changed in that short moment shook his head with an expression of disgust.

The knight who was trudging towards the knights guarding the carriage soon counted the number of heads of the remaining knights.

Three besides himself seemed sufficient to guard the carriage.

“How many went to look for another inn?”

“A total of four. They were ordered to find a place to rest as quickly as possible…”

The total number of guard knights accompanying the Marquis Ratse couple’s journey was twelve.

That meant four guards had followed the Marquis Ratse couple towards the bustling street.

“Four…”

“Should I follow them now?”

It was when a knight who had been sitting on the ground next to the carriage asked as he raised his heavy body.

A scream was heard from not too far away.