When the incident on the terrace during the Imperial Palace ball reaches the Empress’s ears, someone would surely have to be held responsible.

Thus, the maids had agreed to make the first person to inform the Empress that the Crown Prince was homosexual the target of her anger.

They decided to offer a sacrifice to the Empress first, and then receive punishment themselves afterwards.

Who would have known?

That the Crown Prince was homosexual, and even had feelings for Duke Cardia…

It was still an unbelievable situation to think about.

Marchioness Ratse shook her head repeatedly as she walked quickly.

News spread rapidly that several maids in the Imperial Palace were brutally killed for misspeak.

“The Imperial Palace is truly a terrifying place. If I had worked there, even nine lives wouldn’t have been enough for me.”

Lindsey criticized the Empress as a heartless person.

The Imperial Palace had always been a place where even small mistakes resulted in severe punishment.

But this time was certainly excessive.

‘It must be a warning from the Empress.’

Jieselgrante was certain.

It was a kind of threatening example that the same fate would befall those who carelessly spoke about the incident on the terrace.

And any noble with some sense would have understood.

Even the Empire’s newspapers, which had been churning out articles related to the Crown Prince until yesterday, were filled with other stories today.

Jieselgrante folded the newspaper she had been reading and set it down on the table as she spoke.

“Lindsey, you’re doing well enough.”

“…You’re saying I’m doing well?”

Lindsey blinked, her expression showing she hadn’t expected the encouragement.

Jieselgrante nodded and added one more thing.

“Yes. So you can be sufficiently proud.”

“Thank you, young lady. I’ll work even harder from now on!”

Jieselgrante’s gaze passed over the brightly smiling Lindsey and turned towards the window.

Watching this, Lindsey asked.

“You’ve been staring out the window for a while now. Is someone supposed to come to the mansion today?”

“I ordered something and I’m eager to receive it quickly.”

“Ah… Then shall I go to the Radcliffe Trading Company and pick up the item?”

Perhaps due to the lingering effect of the recent praise, Lindsey burned with loyalty.

Jieselgrante smiled softly and slowly shook her head.

“It’s alright. You don’t need to do that.”

There were many nobles besides her who had started doing business with the Radcliffe Trading Company.

So even if Lindsey visited the Radcliffe Trading Company, it wouldn’t be a big problem.

But she wanted to be as careful as possible.

Luckily, she had been given two chances to live, but she couldn’t guarantee there would be a third.

So even after the Empress learned that someone was trying to oppose her, Jieselgrante had appointed a proxy head of the trading company to make it difficult to find the connection between the Radcliffe Trading Company and herself.

‘I hope she feels it. How it feels to throw punches at an invisible opponent.’

She hoped the Empress would feel the same way she had in the past.

And on the day her life ended, she hoped the Empress would finally realize.

That the invisible hand slowly tightening around her neck had been her own.

That was what it was for. Everything Jieselgrante was doing now.

Both bringing in Count Frederick and sharing information with other nobles through the Radcliffe Trading Company.

“Young lady. Someone from the Radcliffe Trading Company has arrived.”

A servant who had just entered the reception room handed her a piece of parchment.

Jieselgrante’s brow furrowed slightly as she checked the contents.

“What’s wrong, young lady? Is there an error in the item list?”

Lindsey, keenly observing her expression, asked.

“That’s not it… There’s just an item that concerns me a little.”

Jieselgrante immediately stood up.

“I need to rewrite the product list, so please tell them to wait a moment.”

After saying a word to the servant, Jieselgrante immediately headed to her study.

‘…Nothing’s gone wrong, has it?’

She had such a thought for a moment, but dismissed it as unfounded worry.

‘Why is he suddenly asking to meet and talk in person…’

Jieselgrante quickened her steps while trying to guess Count Frederick’s intentions, conveyed through code.

Count Frederick had recently approached Baron Cypress.

He used the pretext of wanting to invest in Baron Cypress’s business.

Knowing that Count Frederick had recently made a large profit from Semper Alpuri, Baron Cypress was delighted by this.

He would have had no reason to refuse.

A high-ranking noble like Count Frederick wanting to associate with him.

Baron Cypress was originally a man who had wandered the back alleys of the Imperial Capital.

The fact that he could become a noble, albeit a baron, was a reward for taking care of the Empress and her family, House Antares’s dirty work.

Baron Cypress hadn’t integrated well into noble society, and other nobles secretly mocked him.

It wasn’t because they knew he had risen from commoner to noble by choosing the right side.

It was simply because it showed. Those who were nobles to the bone knew how to distinguish those different from themselves.

Just because his name was listed in the noble registry provided by the Imperial Family didn’t mean he could change his rough speech habits and behavior from the back alleys.

Baron Cypress was a noble, but a half-baked one who couldn’t mix with other nobles, and he couldn’t refuse the hand of Count Frederick, who came from a generations-old noble family.

‘I’ll know why he wants to meet in person when I see him.’

Having arrived at her study, Jieselgrante wrote a message to be delivered to Count Frederick on a piece of parchment.

The square designated as the meeting place for the two was bustling with people.

People hurrying through, children playing, elderly people leisurely sunbathing on benches, and the loud voices of merchants selling goods laid out on the ground all mixed together in a chaotic but lively atmosphere.

Count Frederick wore slightly faded brown trousers and a white shirt, with suspenders over it, a perfect blend with the square’s atmosphere.

The clothes he was wearing were bought from the blacksmith of the Frederick County, who had a similar build to him.

‘Sell me those clothes you’re wearing right now.’

‘…Pardon? You mean these?’

Smith the blacksmith looked bewildered at Count Frederick’s words.

To him, they were almost like new clothes, but in the eyes of the head of the family, they might look like rags.

Instead of adding an explanation, Count Frederick paid Smith for the clothes.

As if he had received a bonus, Smith bowed repeatedly to Count Frederick, greatly pleased.

The reason Count Frederick went through the trouble of disguising himself was because of Jieselgrante’s words that they should avoid meeting in person as much as possible.

Count Frederick’s lips twisted bitterly as he recalled Princess Trinity.

In the past, whenever he had to meet her outside the palace, he had used the same method of contact.

Of course, this time the meeting place was set in a more wholesome location than before.

At that moment, he saw a woman slowly looking around and walking towards him.

She wore a solid-colored, plain dress that reached her ankles, a headscarf on her head, and a cloth bag over her shoulder.

Wild flowers were poking out from between the cloth bag.

However, her upright posture and gait, and her chin slightly raised haughtily, revealed that she was not a commoner.

“Your disguise is still clumsy, I see.”

As Count Frederick approached and spoke to her, Jieselgrante retorted, slightly flustered.

“I was told I looked just like a flower girl selling on the streets.”

“Who said that?”

When Count Frederick asked with a smirk, Jieselgrante frowned and pressed her lips tightly.

“…”

In her prim expression as she turned her gaze away from him, Count Frederick once again overlapped Jieselgrante with Princess Trinity.

As he stared at Jieselgrante, Count Frederick inwardly nodded.

‘Well…’

The young ladies used to look up to Princess Trinity’s confident and dignified appearance.

After she appeared at the Empress’s tea party wearing a tight-fitting fencing outfit, riding habits flew off the shelves at dress shops.

For young ladies who didn’t learn fencing, wearing riding habits was the only way to wear trousers.

Like that example, the clothes and accessories Princess Trinity wore led the fashion trends in the Imperial Capital’s social circles, and there were quite a few young ladies who imitated her attitude and way of speaking.

‘It seems Duke Amaterasu’s daughter also greatly admired Princess Trinity.’

Whether intentional or not, behavior imitating Princess Trinity must have come out unconsciously.

Concluding this, Count Frederick opened his mouth.

“Shall we talk while walking a bit?”

“Alright.”

The two moved carefully, avoiding bumping shoulders with the people in the square.

“Have you heard the news related to the Crown Prince?”

“The good news, or the bad?”

“It would be bad news for the Crown Prince’s side.”

Jieselgrante nodded.

“I know.”

It was something she didn’t want to know, but couldn’t help knowing.

She had been there, and contrary to the rumors, she was the victim that day.

If Cabelased hadn’t readily stepped forward that day, she might have been desperately wishing to freely walk on two feet outside like this now.

“It was the most unexpected news I’ve heard recently. The Empress’s side even assigned several bedchamber maids to the Crown Prince, but to think he was homosexual…”

Count Frederick stroked his chin with a worried expression.

Jieselgrante stared at him blankly and said.

“The Count doesn’t need to worry about that part.”

Count Frederick blinked, pondering her words, then immediately shot her a sharp look.

“Are you saying I shouldn’t worry because I’m not the Crown Prince’s type?”

Jieselgrante couldn’t understand Count Frederick’s jumping reaction.

“Yes. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Having no desire to catch the Crown Prince’s eye twice herself, Jieselgrante spoke seriously.

“Well, that’s true, but… Young lady.”

Suddenly, Count Frederick’s eyes flashed sharply.

“…?”

“I think we have a tail.”