Jieselgrante, who had left the Count Tarel’s residence, moved towards the waiting carriage.

“Miss, did you have an enjoyable time today as well?”

Lindsey, who had been waiting for Jieselgrante’s return at the driver’s seat, asked while rubbing her eyes.

“Yes. And you?”

As Jieselgrante asked while boarding the carriage, Lindsey quickly looked around.

“It’s a bit delicate to speak about it here…”

Seeing Lindsey trailing off, Jieselgrante bluntly said one word.

“Get in.”

“…Pardon? How could I possibly ride in the same carriage as you, Miss!”

Lindsey shook her head repeatedly. Jieselgrante just silently stared at Lindsey.

Then Lindsey hastily changed her words.

“Yes, yes! I’ll get in. I’m getting in.”

As soon as Lindsey, who had been sitting in the driver’s seat, sat next to Jieselgrante, the carriage departed.

Looking at the shrinking exterior of Count Tarel’s residence, Lindsey opened her mouth.

“I think the relationship between the head butler and Countess Tarel seems a bit suspicious.”

Whenever Jieselgrante spent time in Countess Tarel’s salon, Lindsey spent boring hours in the carriage.

At first, she thought she might take a nap, but later, as if even that became tiresome, she started talking to the maids and servants who were also waiting boredly for their masters to return in the carriages of other salon guests.

Lindsey was quite talkative, but she knew how to listen to others’ conversations.

At first, they were reserved, but gradually they began to open up to Lindsey and started gossiping about their masters’ secrets and flaws.

Lindsey relayed everything she heard then to Jieselgrante without missing a single detail.

‘The head butler…?’

Jieselgrante recalled the appearance of the head butler she had seen earlier at Count Tarel’s residence.

The head butlers of high noble houses were usually older.

As there were many long-established families, naturally, the head butlers also served the masters of one family for generations.

However, the head butler of the Tarel family was certainly young. So young that he could be considered around the same age as Countess Tarel.

Moreover, he had a handsome face and a well-built body.

‘Surely not… It couldn’t be?’

Due to busy state affairs, the Emperor would have visited Countess Tarel occasionally, her old husband was ill, and Countess Tarel was still young.

Naturally, thoughts leaned towards the improper direction.

“Suspicious, how?”

“Well, that is…”

Lindsey slightly blushed and glanced at Jieselgrante.

From that reaction, Jieselgrante roughly guessed the relationship between Countess Tarel and the young head butler.

“How brave.”

As she muttered softly, Lindsey asked with round eyes.

“Pardon? What is?”

But soon she looked at Jieselgrante with an uncertain expression.

While thinking that a young lady who wasn’t even married yet couldn’t possibly know about the sordid affairs of adults, her face clearly showed the worry of whether Jieselgrante might have caught on.

To help Lindsey, who was struggling with what to say, Jieselgrante quickly changed the subject.

“What other news do you have besides that?”

“…Oh, well, there’s also…”

Lindsey started her report, chattering away.

It contained a mix of trivial matters and important issues like love affairs and financial problems.

If one were to dig a little deeper into these, they were certainly things that could be used to shake someone by holding them as weaknesses.

Lindsey’s story finally ended just as they were arriving at Duke Amaterasu’s residence.

“Was it helpful to you, Miss?”

Lindsey asked, swallowing hard as if her throat had dried from talking for so long.

Jieselgrante quietly poured water into a cup and handed it to Lindsey.

“Thank you, Miss.”

The butler bowed deeply towards Jieselgrante as she entered Duke Amaterasu’s residence.

“Welcome back, Miss.”

“What about the others?”

“They haven’t returned yet.”

Jieselgrante nodded to the butler, saying she understood, and headed to her bedroom.

And she pondered over what she had just heard from Lindsey.

‘Does the Empress know too? The fact that Countess Tarel has a lover other than the Emperor…’

If the Empress knew, this would be a good means to bring down Countess Tarel and Filippo.

No, confiscation of property and stripping of titles would be trivial, and furthermore, it could even raise suspicions that Filippo might not be the Emperor’s son.

If that happened, Countess Tarel and Filippo would become cards that must necessarily be discarded.

‘…What should I do.’

Jieselgrante pondered for a moment on how to deal with Countess Tarel and Filippo.

Tap, tap.

Her well-manicured fingernails tapped the white console at a steady pace.

As if physically manifesting the worries she was currently having.

“Miss, do you have something on your mind?”

“Hm?”

Lindsey asked while gently combing Jieselgrante’s fragrant hair.

Only then did Jieselgrante snap out of her reverie.

Tap, tap.

At the same time, she realized she had been unconsciously tapping the console as if playing the piano.

And at that moment, she recalled a past conversation with Count Frederick.

‘Your Highness tends to try to shoulder everything alone.’

‘Why is that a problem?’

To her questioning look, Count Frederick had answered like this:

‘It’s one of Your Highness’s bad habits. Sometimes, multiple heads can be more helpful than one alone. So I mean you should make more use of those around you.’

‘You mean, for example, that I should exploit people like you, Count Frederick, even more?’

‘Well, that’s not the most pleasant choice of words, but it’s similar. So if you have any concerns, try consulting with me as well. I can’t guarantee I’ll have good advice, but…’

Yielding to Count Frederick’s suggestion, she had confided her worries to him.

Through their conversation, she had come up with some clever ideas, and sharing her concerns had also improved her mood a bit.

Recalling that time, Jieselgrante subtly made a request to Lindsey.

“Lindsey, could you find out if there’s anyone watching Count Tarel’s residence? If possible, while keeping our identity secret.”

“Pardon? …Yes! I think I can do that.”

Lindsey, who had been blinking in confusion for a moment, spoke quite assertively.

“No, I think I already know about it.”

At Lindsey’s following words, Jieselgrante’s eyes widened slightly.

‘Already knows?’

To her gaze asking what that meant, Lindsey answered.

“It’s about the head butler of the Tarel family.”

“Why him?”

“It seems he owns quite a few expensive watches and accessories.”

“As the head butler of a high noble family, he’d receive a generous salary, so I don’t see a problem.”

“But they say it’s far too expensive to be bought with an employee’s wages.”

“Ah…”

“I happened to become acquainted with the stable keeper of the Tarel family, you see?”

Lindsey continued speaking while gently combing Jieselgrante’s golden hair.

“And they say that butler sometimes rides out on horseback and disappears somewhere. Always at dawn when everyone’s asleep.”

“Could it be errands for Countess Tarel?”

“It doesn’t seem like that.”

Lindsey shook her head.

“…Is that so?”

In truth, she thought the Emperor’s mistress couldn’t play a big role against the Empress.

She considered her just a useful card for slightly irritating the Empress’s mood.

But now, it seemed there might be a somewhat different value to it.

Late evening. A carriage stopped in a deserted area.

“Count, we have arrived.”

“Good work.”

Tightening his loosened cravat, Count Frederick alighted from the carriage.

And he gazed at the large, luxurious mansion that stood like an isolated island.

At the entrance of the mansion stood men in black suits.

Their muscles were quite impressive, barely concealed even under the loose-fitting suits.

“May I see your invitation?”

One of them approached and addressed Count Frederick.

Count Frederick handed over the invitation he took out from his jacket.

“Here.”

“Count Frederick, I see. Welcome.”

The men in black suits bowed deeply towards Count Frederick.

Count Frederick nodded lightly towards them and walked into the mansion.

This place was used as a social gathering for the highest-class men of the Feisis Empire, where they tasted the finest wines, sampled the most expensive cigars, and shared views on international affairs and the empire’s future.

Although couples could attend, it was more accurate to view it as a social gathering for male rulers.

The nobles who built connections in this gathering often looked out for each other.

But because of that, not just anyone could attend.

As high-level information was exchanged, most noble men who knew of this gathering’s existence wanted to be part of this social circle.

Count Frederick was somewhat of an exception in that regard, but he had taken his first step due to the recommendation of Princess Trinity.

However, now there was no separate master to give orders to Count Frederick like before.

So, this was the first time Count Frederick attended this social gathering entirely of his own will.

He stepped into the slightly dark hall.

Some of those who had arrived earlier and were conversing turned to look at Count Frederick.

After quickly surveying them with his eyes, Count Frederick approached a familiar figure and greeted him.

“It’s been a while, Duke Bratnik.”

“Indeed, it has been a long time, Count Frederick. Were you a smoker?”

Duke Bratnik gestured with his eyes towards an expensive wooden box displayed on the table.

The wooden box had intricate engravings on it.

‘It seems they’ve arranged the gathering to sample cigars today.’

Thinking this, Count Frederick answered.

“Perpetuonom, I presume?”

Pleased with Count Frederick’s answer, Duke Bratnik smiled contentedly and looked at the other nobles around.

“As expected, you recognize the precious things right away. We can expect much from you.”

At this, the other nobles around Duke Bratnik nodded and raised the corners of their mouths.

It was a smile shared among those who recognized the value of something not easily obtained even with many gold coins.

“Would you like to sit over here?”

Duke Bratnik offered a nearby empty seat, and as Count Frederick was about to sit down with a smile, it happened.

“It seems Perpetuonom cigars are quite popular indeed.”

Saying this, Duke Bratnik stared at the entrance of the hall.

“…?”

Naturally, Count Frederick’s head followed Duke Bratnik’s gaze.

A man with a perfect physique like a divine sculpture was walking into the hall.