“I thought Your Majesty was already aware.”

“…?”

“When I was young, I once had a rash all over my body from the water I drank in the imperial palace, but it seems you’ve forgotten?”

At Cabelased’s answer, one of the Emperor’s eyebrows shot up. He seemed to have no recollection of such an incident.

“Did such a thing happen?”

Then the chamberlain standing a little distance away answered.

“It was more than ten years ago, but it did happen, Your Majesty.”

“…I see.”

The Emperor nodded slightly, resting his chin on the sofa table.

“When you reach my age, you’ll find you forget many things.”

Jieselgrante inwardly mocked the Emperor.

Cabelased had nearly died from that incident in the past.

It wasn’t something that should be made public, so the previous Duke Cardia had kept it hidden at the time.

But since they couldn’t silence everyone in the imperial palace, she had heard about it too.

“So you can’t touch anything served from the imperial palace, is that it?”

“That’s correct.”

Cabelased answered immediately without a hint of hesitation.

Jieselgrante couldn’t hide her bewilderment at his attitude.

Perhaps it was because she had never seen anyone act so boldly in front of the Emperor before.

Even the Empress always became like a criminal in the Emperor’s presence.

“Wise.”

The Emperor also didn’t seem to mind Cabelased’s stiff attitude much.

To her, this situation was utterly unfamiliar.

“Yes, one must protect oneself…”

The Emperor, who had been nodding with his lower lip jutting out, suddenly looked at Jieselgrante.

“…Don’t you agree?”

She couldn’t immediately nod in agreement.

Although it was somewhat indirect, she understood the underlying meaning of what the Emperor was trying to say.

‘One must protect oneself…’

This seemed to be pointing out that the previous Cabelased had failed to protect himself.

“I have some doubts about that.”

Jieselgrante spoke in a calm voice.

“You have doubts?”

The Emperor looked at her with narrowed eyes.

It was an oppressive gaze that made one want to shrink away instinctively. Something that would never become familiar no matter how long one lived…

“When a guest visits a mansion, it’s courteous to offer them something. And if they fall ill from that food, it could be seen as negligence on the part of the mansion’s owner.”

“…”

The Emperor’s gaze towards her turned cold. However, she continued speaking.

“Of course, I think it’s very difficult for an owner to monitor every single thing in a large mansion. But at least they should look into why it happened, what carelessness there was.”

The Emperor slightly tilted his head as if telling her to continue.

“After that, it might be good to offer appropriate compensation. Even something small like a word, an apology would be fine.”

Jieselgrante smiled gently at the Emperor after saying this. Somehow, she even felt a bit relieved.

‘Why couldn’t I speak up earlier? If I had lived as a princess expressing my opinions freely, it would have been good…’

Of course, she knew.

Why she couldn’t tell the Emperor her thoughts. Because she was afraid.

Afraid of falling out of the Emperor’s favor and becoming a deposed princess. Afraid of her future after losing in the succession race.

So she had wanted the Emperor’s acknowledgment. She had tried hard to have her abilities recognized.

Despite countless efforts, she never managed to gain the Emperor’s approval in the end.

But now she no longer needed the Emperor’s approval.

She had realized that seeking someone’s approval meant handing over the power to manipulate oneself freely to that person.

‘It’s too late now, but…’

As Jieselgrante was self-deprecatingly waiting for the Emperor’s criticism to return, suddenly…

“…?”

The Emperor burst out laughing.

Not only Jieselgrante and Cabelased, but even the eyes of the chamberlain standing far away widened in surprise.

“Y-Your Majesty?”

The chamberlain called out to the Emperor with a worried expression, but the Emperor seemed to have no intention of stopping his laughter once it had started.

“So. You said you were Duke Amaterasu’s daughter?”

“That’s right.”

As Cabelased nodded somewhat irritably, the Emperor continued.

“Interesting. You must never have a dull or boring moment in life.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Cabelased replied gruffly, but the Emperor, still with a smile lingering on his face, asked:

“I heard you were the one who exposed the shame of the Antares Marquis family?”

The Emperor’s sharp gaze, as if piercing through to the core, turned towards Jieselgrante.

Since this was something she had already heard from Cabelased, Jieselgrante just nodded slightly.

“It’s still outrageously impudent when I think about it.”

“…”

“Why did you think to dig up something that everyone in the world was ‘unaware’ of?”

The Emperor emphasized a certain word.

It meant that it wasn’t that everyone truly didn’t know, but that she had deliberately brought up something that people were pretending not to know while actually being aware.

Many people who didn’t want to upset the Antares family, the Empress, and potentially Joshua, who might become the next Emperor, had kept their mouths shut.

Perhaps even the Emperor himself.

“Someone may have covered their eyes, mouth, and ears.”

The Emperor let out a small snort.

Jieselgrante closed her mouth, unable to tell if that laugh was to disagree with her words or if it had some other meaning.

Then the Emperor tilted his chin arrogantly as if telling her to continue.

“Of course, I didn’t naively think that all the nobles of the empire would be pure before the imperial family. It’s just that…”

Jieselgrante, who had paused briefly, added with an innocent face and a bright smile.

“…there should be limits, after all.”

“Indeed interesting. You mean they crossed a line… Is that what you’re saying?”

Jieselgrante didn’t answer the Emperor’s question, only giving a faint smile.

The Emperor should have been the one to set that line that shouldn’t be crossed.

Not her. So nodding now would mean falling for the Emperor’s provocation.

Just as the Emperor raised one eyebrow crookedly as if to press her for not answering immediately…

Knock knock.

The sound of someone knocking on the door rang out. With that, the tense atmosphere that had enveloped the reception room eased a bit.

“I’ll go see what it is, Your Majesty.”

The chamberlain tactfully stepped forward, and the Emperor nodded slightly in agreement. Then he picked up the wine glass he hadn’t touched at all until now.

The chamberlain who had gone to check the situation outside returned and quietly whispered something in the Emperor’s ear.

The Emperor lowered his gaze slightly, took a deep breath, and exhaled.

From this, Jieselgrante deduced that some troublesome news had been delivered to the Emperor.

“Let’s end it here for today.”

At the Emperor’s dismissal, both Jieselgrante and Cabelased stood up without needing to be told who should go first.

“The next time we meet will be at the wedding, I suppose.”

Cabelased, who had been striding towards the door, stopped abruptly.

Jieselgrante, who had reflexively turned her head towards him, had to bite the soft flesh inside her mouth. Because she felt like laughing.

He wore an expression that seemed to say exactly this:

‘Who invited you?’

Jieselgrante glanced back to check the Emperor’s expression.

Contrary to her concerns that he might be displeased, the Emperor wasn’t even looking this way.

“I’ll guide you out.”

As they left the reception room, a servant in the corridor extended their hand towards the front.

The imperial palace was vast. So nobles who didn’t visit the palace often would sometimes get lost and become like lost children.

Of course, she didn’t particularly need guidance.

Just as Jieselgrante was about to say it was fine, Cabelased waved his hand dismissively first.

“Then, we’ll see you again.”

The servant who had stepped forward looked regretful as they bowed their head in farewell.

Jieselgrante and Cabelased walked towards the front.

In truth, she had been a bit worried when summoned by the Emperor. But she soon realized that it had been unfounded concern.

And the reason she had been able to express her thoughts calmly without trembling in fear before the Emperor was because of Cabelased’s large, warm hand that had added warmth to hers from the moment they entered the reception room.

“…”

The servant who had been watching the retreating figures of the Duke of Cardia and the young lady of Duke Amaterasu for a while shrugged and turned in the opposite direction.

Thinking that seeing the two of them walking hand in hand through the imperial palace, the rumors of a political marriage seemed quite far from the truth.

“So! You’re saying those two were in the reception room with His Majesty the Emperor?”

The servant bowed his head awkwardly at the Empress’s sharp questioning.

“…Y-Yes, that’s what I’ve been told, Your Majesty the Empress.”

“For what reason on earth…!”

Why the Duke of Cardia and the young lady of Duke Amaterasu had come to the imperial palace holding hands, and what the Emperor’s intention was in calling them to his private room rather than the audience chamber.

None of it made any sense.

In fact, the Empress’s patience had long since worn thin.

The Empress had already gone to the Emperor several times to request the release of the captured Marquis Antares.

But she was rejected every time. From the chamberlain, she only received excuses that the Emperor was very busy with state affairs.

Her clenched fists trembled, but the Empress closed her eyes tightly and controlled her rising anger.

She wanted to rush over and vent her feelings right away, but she knew the Emperor’s temperament better than anyone in the world.

So she also knew very well that acting emotionally would only be disadvantageous.

‘Fine. Go ahead and keep doing that… We’ll see who loses out. When you regret it, it’ll already be too late…’

When she opened her eyes, the unpleasant emotions had completely disappeared.

She had something she could rely on.