“What did I say? I told you that no matter what, Joshua would eventually become the Emperor.”

Some boasted that their predictions were correct, while others voiced their disappointment at the failure of their strategies.

“The gifts given to Trinity’s close associates alone are worth several villas…”

And among them were words that Jieselgrante could not simply ignore.

‘Gifts given to Trinity’s close associates?’

It meant someone had received bribes in exchange for favors. Using Trinity’s name…

‘Who could it be?’

Just as Jieselgrante’s fair brow furrowed slightly,

“Did the young lady also fail in this bet?”

Cabelased asked.

Jieselgrante closed her eyes briefly, trying to distance herself from the incoming noise and the sadness of having a traitor among her people, then opened them again.

After taking a deep breath in and out, she spoke.

“I had bet on Trinity before.”

“Oh my, I hope you didn’t bet too much.”

Cabelased uttered words of comfort with an expression that didn’t look sympathetic at all.

“So this time, I’m thinking of making a different choice.”

“A different choice? How amusing. Isn’t it too late for any other options?”

“…”

“Those who swore loyalty to the Empress even when Trinity was alive are not few in number. And after today, that number will only grow.”

The implication was that it wouldn’t be easy to squeeze in and wag one’s tail at the Empress.

By her guess, Duke Amaterasu and Young Duke Mikhail seemed to have kept quiet to Jieselgrante about the fact that they were supporting Cabelased.

And Cabelased also seemed to think that Jieselgrante didn’t know about this fact.

“Let me make it clear now.”

So Jieselgrante said, looking straight into Cabelased’s red eyes.

“If it were me, I would bet my future on you.”

For a moment, his public smile disappeared, and Cabelased’s gaze turned cold.

“…”

Cabelased drew closer to her. Then, lowering his voice, he said,

“Let me ask you one thing. Lady Amaterasu, do you know what that means?”

Jieselgrante only showed a faint smile.

“…?”

At that inscrutable smile, Cabelased’s gaze grew even colder, but she calmly replied.

“Well. Whether I know what I’m saying, or whether I’m pretending to know something I don’t, we’ll find out as we watch, won’t we?”

Then she turned around smoothly.

“I have another appointment, so if you’ll excuse me.”

“…”

Cabelased followed Jieselgrante’s retreating figure with narrowed eyes.

‘Did Duke Amaterasu or Mikhail give Jieselgrante a hint?’

The fact that there was a force trying to make Cabelased the next Emperor.

But that fact was supposed to be kept secret from everyone except the head of the family and the next head.

So according to their promise, Lady Amaterasu should have known nothing about these matters.

[This is the timeline separator]

“My lady, did you have a good conversation with the Duke?”

Lindsey, who had been standing at a distance, scurried after Jieselgrante and asked.

An undisguisable smile was on Lindsey’s face.

She seemed to have been watching Jieselgrante’s conversation with Cabelased until just now.

Jieselgrante only nodded slightly and quickly moved towards the carriage.

‘To blurt out words impulsively… That wasn’t like me.’

Even if she truly supported Cabelased as the next Emperor, it was too hasty a statement.

Cabelased was quick-witted and didn’t trust people easily.

If she suddenly tried to get close, it might rather arouse suspicion.

Moreover, judging from the atmosphere so far, it didn’t seem like Duke Amaterasu had given Jieselgrante any hint about supporting Cabelased.

‘Although I spoke in a tone closer to assumption than assertion… I wonder how he’ll take it.’

But in fact, she had no other alternatives.

At this rate, Joshua would become the Crown Prince.

And she might become the Crown Princess, just like in the future Jieselgrante had seen.

Then what awaited her was a future where she would die at Cabelased’s hands this time.

She was no longer Trinity.

No matter how hard she studied the art of kingship and trained her body, she was someone who could never become Emperor.

So to find a way to survive, whether she liked Cabelased or not, it was right for her to stand behind him.

‘It’s true that I made an impulsive statement, but now that Joshua’s appointment as Crown Prince has been decided, standing on Duke Cardia’s side is the way for me and the Amaterasu Duke’s family to survive.’

Just as she reached that conclusion,

A carriage carrying a handsome man with short brown hair in a blue uniform passed by in front of her.

‘…Count Frederick?’

After gazing at his profile for a moment, Jieselgrante hurriedly boarded the carriage.

“Follow that carriage.”

“…Pardon?”

“Hurry!”

“Yes!”

[This is the timeline separator]

The carriage stopped at the entrance to Count Frederick’s residence.

The carriage following behind also stopped accordingly.

“…!”

Jieselgrante’s body swayed for a moment at the sudden stop. Then came the cry of the guard knight.

“My lady! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Jieselgrante asked while tidying her hair that had fallen onto her cheek.

“I’m fine, but what happened suddenly?”

“The carriage in front stopped abruptly, and in trying to avoid a collision…”

“Ah, I see…”

A small sigh escaped between Jieselgrante’s slightly parted lips.

It wasn’t strange that he would notice, given that they had been following him all the way from the Grand Temple to Count Frederick’s residence.

She had also calculated and moved accordingly.

“So what should we do now, my lady?”

This time, a voice came from the driver’s seat.

“We wait.”

“Pardon? What do you mean by waiting… Oh!”

The coachman, who was about to question Jieselgrante’s words, suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Soon, a commotion could be heard from outside the carriage.

“There is an esteemed person riding in here.”

“That’s none of my concern. Wasn’t it you who provoked me first? Step aside!”

Jieselgrante let out a small, hollow laugh.

‘His hot-tempered nature hasn’t changed.’

She thought to herself.

“That won’t do! If you’re going to be rough, we have no choice but to fight back…!”

Her guard knight raised his voice, sensing the possibility of a physical confrontation.

The corner of Frederick’s mouth twisted upwards as he let out a scornful laugh.

“Ha… Fight against me? Fine, if it’s to see the face of that esteemed person in the carriage, I’ll gladly oblige.”

Frederick nodded to the knight behind him.

Then, Frederick’s guard knight handed him the sword from his waist.

The knights of both the Amaterasu Duke’s family and Frederick’s family gripped their swords tighter, with neither side yielding.

At that moment, the carriage door swung open.

“…?”

Not only Frederick, but also the confronting knights turned their heads towards the carriage.

Soon, a long leg stretched out from inside and stepped on the footboard at the bottom of the carriage.

“My lady! It’s dangerous to get out of the carriage now!”

The guard knight of the Amaterasu Duke’s family shouted urgently.

“It seems this is the only way to resolve the situation without casualties.”

Jieselgrante waved her hand slightly towards a nearby guard knight.

Reluctantly, the guard knight rushed over and took her hand.

With the escort of the guard knight, Jieselgrante gracefully descended from the carriage.

Frederick, who had been silently watching this scene, spoke.

“The person following me… was Lady Amaterasu?”

“How curious.”

“What do you mean?”

Frederick raised one eyebrow as he asked back.

Though his tone was quite polite, the irritation in his voice was clearly evident.

“We’ve never met before, have we? So I find it curious that you immediately recognized me as someone from the Amaterasu Duke’s family.”

Her words were true.

As far as she knew, Frederick and Lady Amaterasu had never met face to face before.

Yet he immediately realized she was Jieselgrante of the Amaterasu Duke’s family the moment he saw her face.

In truth, the reason was that her beauty was comparable to Trinity, who was called the most beautiful woman in the empire.

Even Frederick, who showed little interest in the opposite sex, was momentarily captivated.

“Tsk…”

Frederick clicked his tongue.

After all, paying compliments and praising a woman’s beautiful appearance was something he was not good at.

“Are you going to keep me standing here?”

At Jieselgrante’s question, Frederick, after a moment’s thought, said,

“Open the gates!”

“Yes, Count!”

Frederick’s guard knights moved in perfect unison.

Thus, Jieselgrante was able to enter Frederick’s residence without any bloodshed.

[This is the timeline separator]

“…”

Jieselgrante and Frederick sat facing each other in the guest reception room.

However, Frederick’s gaze on her was quite attentive.

Unlike moments ago when he had boldly called out for her to come out of the carriage after noticing her tailing, he now seemed to be hesitating, unsure of what to say first.

While his expression showed confusion, it also seemed somewhat exploratory.

So she opened the conversation first.

“You must have quite a lot of questions for me.”

“Indeed. First, you should answer why you were following me.”

Frederick looked at her with rather sharp eyes.

As if unsure himself how he would react depending on her answer.

While it was true that her actions were enough to provoke him, she found his growling attitude from their first meeting somewhat amusing.

As a faint smile appeared on Jieselgrante’s beautiful face, Frederick’s green eyes widened slightly for a moment.

However, quickly composing his expression, he lowered his voice.

“Do I… look like I’m joking to you, my lady?”

“No. You look quite serious.”