“Welcome, Young Lady of Duke Amaterasu.”

Jieselgrante stepped into the salon, receiving the hospitality of the head butler.

Entering the hall, Jieselgrante slowly observed the faces of the nobles gathered in the salon.

Countess Tarel, who was in conversation with another noblewoman, noticed her and raised her voice.

“You’ve arrived, Young Lady of Duke Amaterasu!”

“More and more nobles are visiting the salon.”

“It’s all thanks to you, young lady.”

Joy was evident in Countess Tarel’s voice.

“Ah, right. There are some new people I’d like to introduce you to.”

Countess Tarel took Jieselgrante’s hand and led her.

While exchanging greetings one by one, Jieselgrante noticed a familiar face.

‘Is that the daughter of Count Fernando?’

She was the one who had been excluded from the Empress’s inner circle after mentioning the popularity of Countess Tarel’s salon at the previous Empress’s tea party.

To increase the intimacy between Jieselgrante and Count Fernando’s daughter, who didn’t know each other well, Countess Tarel started a conversation on a light topic.

Jieselgrante nodded appropriately while guessing the intentions of the Fernando family.

‘So they’re completely turning against the Empress now, is that it?’

And her guess seemed to be correct.

Judging by how Count Fernando’s daughter kept glancing at Filippo, who was chatting with young nobles by the window.

In fact, if Filippo weren’t the son of the Emperor and his mistress, he would have been quite popular.

The main reason was that he closely resembled the beauty of Countess Tarel, who could even captivate the Emperor, and although they had only conversed a few times, his thoughts were quite sound.

Moreover, Count Tarel was an elderly man on his last legs.

Filippo would inherit the title of Count earlier than other young nobles with healthy fathers.

Of course, the young ladies and noblewomen visiting Countess Tarel’s salon today would be hoping for something greater.

While Jieselgrante continued her thoughts, the conversation between Countess Tarel and Count Fernando’s daughter continued.

At that moment, the head butler approached and whispered something to Countess Tarel.

Nodding slightly, Countess Tarel asked for understanding from Jieselgrante and Count Fernando’s daughter.

“Please continue your conversation for a moment.”

An awkward atmosphere briefly flowed between the two, but soon Count Fernando’s daughter asked.

“I heard you’ve been frequenting this salon since before the coronation… Is it Duke Amaterasu’s wish?”

The intention behind her question was very easy to grasp. It meant, has the Amaterasu ducal family also decided to back Filippo?

But Jieselgrante just blinked her eyes with a dumb expression, as if she didn’t understand what was being said.

This caused Count Fernando’s daughter’s expression, which had been all smiles until just now, to harden slightly.

She was probably thinking something like this inside:

‘Was the rumor about her being a fool true?’

That suited Jieselgrante just fine.

Because if Count Fernando’s daughter had decided on Filippo as a potential husband, she couldn’t be friendly towards Jieselgrante.

While the Fernando family was quite powerful, enough for the Empress to take notice and invite them to tea parties at the palace,

the truth was they were far inferior to the Amaterasu ducal family, and if it led to a union between the families, Count Fernando’s daughter would have no chance.

If Count Fernando’s daughter was a wise person who knew how to look after her own interests, she would have finished those calculations by now.

So Jieselgrante decided to let her know.

That she herself had no interest in Filippo.

“What do you think of Young Lord Tarel?”

Jieselgrante stared at Count Fernando’s daughter, observing her reaction.

“Pardon? …So suddenly?”

Count Fernando’s daughter made surprised rabbit eyes, as if she hadn’t expected such a question, and glanced at Filippo.

“Do you like Young Lord Tarel?”

After stammering for a moment, Count Fernando’s daughter spoke boldly.

“Yes, he seems quite nice. What do you think of him, young lady?”

“I think he’s a good person.”

“Enough to want to marry?”

Count Fernando’s daughter asked, looking at Jieselgrante with a slightly coy gaze.

Jieselgrante smiled slightly and slowly shook her head.

“You know my reputation.”

Count Fernando’s daughter blinked for a moment.

Then, as if recalling the existence of Duke Cardia, she added with a slight smile.

“Then you’re not my rival, are you?”

Glancing at Filippo as she asked, Jieselgrante nodded.

“That’s right.”

At that, Count Fernando’s daughter suddenly extended her hand.

“Then let’s be friends. I heard you’re close with Countess Tarel…”

After chatting with Count Fernando’s daughter for a while, Countess Tarel returned.

“My, you two seem to have become close already?”

“Yes, we get along so well.”

“But I’m afraid I’ll have to interrupt.”

“…?”

Count Fernando’s daughter blinked at Countess Tarel’s words.

“I’m afraid I’ll need to borrow Young Lady Amaterasu for a moment due to an important matter.”

“Ah… Yes. Please do.”

A few days before the Crown Prince’s coronation, Countess Tarel had gone on a trip to a villa on the outskirts of the imperial capital with the head butler.

It was because the head butler had first suggested it. Saying that as the weather was getting warmer, they should go on a picnic-cum-trip.

To this, Countess Tarel immediately came to see Jieselgrante. Saying that the Empress seemed to be planning something.

Jieselgrante advised Countess Tarel to do as the head butler requested.

Nevertheless, Countess Tarel couldn’t hide her anxiety.

It was because Jieselgrante had revealed to Countess Tarel, as she had heard from Lindsey, that the head butler was the Empress’s man.

Such suggestions weren’t only for Countess Tarel.

Before the Crown Prince’s coronation, a young noble from another family that Filippo usually associated with came to propose a hunting trip.

It was true that many nobles were heading to mountains and fields thanks to the warmer weather, but this year the atmosphere was a bit different.

This was because preparations were needed to attend the Crown Prince’s coronation.

Thanks to this, Jieselgrante was able to figure out who the Empress’s person attached to Filippo was.

At first, both Countess Tarel and Filippo denied the reality, saying there was no way they would betray her, but soon accepted it.

Following her suggestion could be considered an example of this.

“When I heard the news that Cookie was sick and made a fuss about having to return to the Tarel residence immediately, even the head butler couldn’t go against it.”

Jieselgrante, led by Countess Tarel’s hand to sit on the reception room sofa, stared blankly at Cookie, who looked very healthy.

Cookie was Countess Tarel’s pet dog, an elderly Chihuahua.

As both Countess Tarel and Filippo usually treated Cookie like family, it was also Jieselgrante’s strategy to have the news sent to the villa that Cookie had vomited and wasn’t eating.

So that even if Filippo, who was at the hunting ground, tried to return to the imperial capital immediately, he couldn’t be stopped.

“Wasn’t this the one gifted by the Emperor?”

“That’s right. He said it was a gift for lonely me and Filippo.”

Countess Tarel smiled as she looked at Cookie, who was comfortably sleeping in Jieselgrante’s arms.

“It’s quite remarkable. Our Cookie doesn’t usually warm up to people other than me and Filippo.”

Jieselgrante gently scratched under Cookie’s chin as she spoke.

“By the way, didn’t you say you had something to tell me?”

“Ah, yes. I heard that a few noblewomen who had never been invited before received invitations to the Empress’s tea party.”

“Where did you hear this news?”

“From a noblewoman who attended the salon today. What on earth is she planning now?”

Jieselgrante handed Cookie back to the anxious Countess Tarel as she spoke.

“If we know what’s going to happen, we can prepare in advance. So you don’t need to worry too much.”

Countess Tarel hugged Cookie tightly.

Was it the warmth of the pet dog, with a higher body temperature than humans, that made her feel reassured? Or was it the realization of having something to protect?

Countess Tarel soon spoke with an expression that had shaken off her anxiety.

“I’ll just trust you, young lady.”

“We shouldn’t be away for too long, so let’s go back now. I’ll stop by the powder room for a moment.”

She needed some time alone to think.

‘It seems like some useful information is starting to come in.’

An example of this was the schedule for the Empress’s next tea party that she had just heard from Countess Tarel.

Jieselgrante continued her thoughts as she moved towards the powder room.

‘She invited noblewomen from families she hadn’t associated with before…’

Jieselgrante considered two hypotheses.

One was to use and discard, the other was to discard the existing and find new replacements.

‘Which of the two could it be? The Empress’s plan.’

If the intention was to use and discard, there was no need for noblewomen from powerful families.

Even for the Empress, there was no need to bear the burden of antagonizing families.

‘Does that mean she intends to discard the existing and gain new ones…’

As she moved her steps while guessing the Empress’s plan, Jieselgrante easily reached one conclusion.

‘So she’s chosen to discard Countess Minster after all?’

The Empress had probably been contemplating whether to discard the Minster family, whose fortunes had begun to decline, for some time.

Meanwhile, Count Minster’s daughter caused a disturbance at the Empress’s tea party, lowering the Empress’s dignity.

Given the Empress’s personality, it was clear that Count Minster’s daughter would never be summoned to the palace again.

But would Countess Minster really just sit by and watch this happen?