Suddenly, the Third Prince narrowed his eyebrows at Cabelased who blocked his way, but Cabelased calmly spoke.

“You are no longer my master.”

“…?”

Wondering what was going on, Jieselgrante stood still and watched the two of them.

The Third Prince glared at Cabelased’s profile for a moment before turning his head towards her.

Then he smiled brightly and extended his hand to her.

“I am Lawrence, Third Prince of Soljakai. It’s a pleasure to formally meet you.”

Dressed in fine clothes and showing proper etiquette, Lawrence was every inch a prince.

A faint exclamation escaped from between Jieselgrante’s teeth.

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, this was the first time he had revealed his identity as the Third Prince of Soljakai to her.

And since he had greeted her as the Third Prince, it was only right that she treat him as royalty.

Jieselgrante stared blankly at Lawrence’s large palm before gently placing her hand in his.

Lawrence’s eyes curved into elegant arcs.

“…”

While maintaining eye contact with her, Lawrence slightly bent his waist.

His face slowly tilted as if to kiss the back of her hand.

However, just before Lawrence’s lips could touch Jieselgrante’s hand, Cabelased abruptly placed his hand on top of hers.

“…!”

Instead of Jieselgrante’s small white hand, Lawrence’s lips touched Cabelased’s hand with its prominent tendons.

It happened in an instant. Both Lawrence and Jieselgrante were greatly surprised by Cabelased’s unexpected action.

Lawrence, who had frozen for a moment, slowly raised his head.

The sweet smile that seemed about to melt like cotton candy had vanished, replaced by displeasure.

“…Duke Cardia? What are you doing?”

Lawrence, who had unwillingly touched Cabelased’s hand with his lips, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and twisted his lips askew.

Despite Lawrence’s questioning gaze demanding an explanation, Cabelased calmly replied.

“Let’s hurry. If we don’t reach Marquis Kedwick’s territory today, we might have to sleep outdoors.”

“Is that supposed to be an excuse?”

Lawrence turned his head sharply towards Cabelased and growled, baring his canines.

But Cabelased simply ignored Lawrence as if he were an insignificant creature and looked at Jieselgrante.

“Before departing for Soljakai, he said he had something important to tell you, so I brought him along. But now it seems it wasn’t particularly urgent.”

Cabelased still didn’t show any courtesy to Lawrence, even though his identity as the Third Prince of Soljakai was now certain.

Although their first meeting was as a slave, Lawrence was clearly royalty.

While thinking it would be better to show some respect to him as royalty, she also felt that this consistent behavior was very much like him.

“When you return to Soljakai, please remember that Duke Amaterasu’s house was with you in difficult times.”

Jieselgrante said, looking at Lawrence.

“I will remember.”

As Lawrence nodded deeply, Jieselgrante bowed respectfully to him.

“May glory accompany Your Highness’s path.”

As Jieselgrante and Lawrence looked at each other with small smiles, Cabelased suddenly interjected between them.

“Let’s go now.”

And he left the reception room first.

Lawrence briefly glared at Cabelased’s broad back before following him out of the reception room.

As the three of them approached the carriage waiting in front of the mansion,

Mikhail, who had belatedly received news of Cabelased and Lawrence’s visit, came to see them off.

After exchanging brief greetings, Lawrence spoke to Mikhail as if commending him.

“When I return, I’ll send you a few outfits made of Soljakai fabric.”

Soljakai fabric was considered very precious not only in the Paysis Empire but also in Soljakai itself.

It was worn only by royalty or those permitted by royalty. Hence, it was used as gifts for fostering friendships with other countries.

It was indeed an excessive reward for giving away a single outfit he didn’t even care about, but Mikhail only gave a short reply.

“I appreciate your consideration.”

Fortunately, Lawrence didn’t seem to mind Mikhail’s dry and plain attitude much.

Before boarding the carriage, Lawrence looked at Jieselgrante and said,

“When I return to my country, I intend to do well this time. After regaining my position, there’s something I really want to tell you.”

“…”

“Until we meet again, may you always be at peace…”

Lawrence smiled regretfully as he boarded the carriage.

News that Duke Cardia had rescued people who had been captured by Baron Cyprus, who was involved in slave trading, spread quickly throughout the empire.

Testimonies from people rejoicing at the return of their missing family members were added, which was enough to provoke public outrage among the imperial citizens.

On the other hand, the nobles who had purchased slaves from Baron Cyprus were anxious.

This was because an investigation into the actual state of slave trading that had been going on was about to begin.

Although the Emperor tried to gloss over it, fearing backlash from the nobles, Cabelased’s side had anticipated this and made a preemptive move.

They had spread the news so that many people would know that such things were happening.

In response, the Empress hurriedly entered into a strategy meeting.

“No matter what happens, they forget about it in less than a week. So if we leave it alone, they’ll forget about it soon enough.”

Marquis Antares agreed with Duke Antares’s words.

“That’s right, Your Majesty. They probably can’t even remember what they ate for dinner yesterday.”

The Empress, who had been quietly observing them as they spoke from the head seat, slowly shook her head and said,

“We can always find ways to suppress public opinion, so there’s no need for great concern. The problem is that His Majesty the Emperor has ordered an investigation into this matter.”

“We’ll look into ways to eliminate the evidence before that.”

Marquis Antares answered promptly.

The Empress nodded, letting out a faint sigh. Then she spoke again.

“More than that, I’ve been hearing voices comparing the Crown Prince and Duke Cardia lately…”

At the Empress’s gaze asking if they knew anything, Duke Antares responded.

“It seems the influence of the Imperial Palace ball hasn’t faded yet. We’ll handle it well so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“I see.”

The Empress nodded.

Given the gravity of the matter, she felt confident that the two of them would handle it reliably.

“By the way, wasn’t it said that Duke Cardia personally got involved in uncovering this matter to find the daughter of a tenant farmer from the Cardia duchy?”

“…”

“I can’t shake off the feeling that it’s quite coincidental.”

To the Empress’s expressed doubt, Duke Antares offered an answer.

“The timing does seem that way, but considering Duke Cardia’s place in the line of succession to the throne, it doesn’t seem like he has any ulterior motives.”

“We will thoroughly investigate, but I don’t think it’s something to worry about at this stage.”

Marquis Antares added his support to the Duke’s voice.

Recently, not only among the nobles but also among the commoners, voices comparing Crown Prince Joshua and Duke Cardia were being heard quite frequently.

Realizing that the Empress’s expression was still not bright despite solutions being found for urgent problems, Marquis Antares added,

“Rather than worrying about Duke Cardia’s place in the line of succession, it seems better to be concerned about the son of a concubine.”

At the two’s firm assurance, the Empress let go of one of her worries.

“That’s true.”

Those who didn’t know better might spout nonsense about whether Filippo, the son of a concubine, might threaten Joshua’s position, but those who knew the inner workings of the Imperial Palace just laughed it off.

Duke Cardia’s right of succession to the throne was clearly of lower priority, to the extent that he was behind even that Filippo.

This meant there was no need to worry greatly at the moment. Especially since the mark certifying Joshua as an imperial descendant had appeared on his body.

Nevertheless, somehow Duke Cardia’s existence was irritating. A different kind of anxiety from the time of Princess Trinity crept in, but the Empress quickly brushed off that thought and said,

“Let’s move up the trial date for the Princess’s assassin. So we can cover up this incident.”

News came through the Radcliffe Guild that the trial of Baroness Oppenheimer had been moved up.

Jieselgrante thought it must be the Empress’s scheme to cover up the Baron Cyprus incident.

Investigating Baron Cyprus would naturally risk exposing the actions of the Empress and her family, the Antares house, over the years.

‘They needed to divert the imperial citizens’ attention elsewhere for a while.’

And what could be more certain than the trial of the assassin of Princess Trinity, who was supposed to be the next empress?

Additionally, she could hear news that nobles’ opinions were divided regarding Joshua’s qualifications as Crown Prince.

Jieselgrante wrote down a list of goods on a newly taken out parchment and handed it to the maid.

She watched as the maid who received the parchment approached the Radcliffe Guild’s carriage waiting in front of the mansion, then turned away from the window.

“Miss, I’m back.”

Just then, Lindsey, who had gone to the Grand Temple, returned.

“Welcome back, you’ve worked hard.”

She added a word to Lindsey, who was grinning.

“Lindsey, wasn’t there any separate news from your sister?”

“Come to think of it, it’s about time for a letter from Olla. I’ll go check if there’s any new news that came in this morning!”

Jieselgrante watched Lindsey’s back as she hurriedly left the reception room.

‘I hope we hear some news before the trial…’

She thought.

‘…Is this the place?’

Jieselgrante, who had prepared to go out early in the morning, arrived in front of a secluded villa located a bit away from the imperial capital.

It was a place with few houses, making it hard to believe it wasn’t far from the imperial capital.

With her gaze fixed on a distant windmill, Jieselgrante approached the villa.