Perhaps he was just going to say that Jieselgrante had a keen eye.

However, other interpretations were also quite possible.

For example, asking if she still had feelings for him and couldn’t take her eyes off him.

If that was the intended meaning, it would be wise to answer carefully.

One wrong move could lead to a misunderstanding that she still loved Cabelased, and that was why she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

As Jieselgrante struggled to respond, her lips quivering, one corner of Cabelased’s mouth curved upward.

At the same time, his almond-shaped eyes narrowed.

“…?”

Meanwhile, Jieselgrante’s brows furrowed slightly. His seductive smile was so unfamiliar.

“It seems that you, Duke, are the one who has a lot of interest in me.”

“…Me?”

Cabelased raised one eyebrow as he asked back.

Why did she think so?

“You seem to know everything I’ve done. That means you’ve been watching me too, which ultimately…”

As the two continued their back-and-forth conversation, Mikhail, watching from afar, had a pleased smile on his face.

“It seems I made the right choice in stepping aside.”

“Indeed, sir.”

The butler standing behind him also nodded with a faint smile.

Having finished her duties, the Empress moved towards the dining room with her ladies-in-waiting.

While chatting with her ladies, the Empress suddenly voiced a thought that had occurred to her.

“It seems about time for news of the trial to arrive, but it’s a bit late.”

“I will instruct someone to inquire about the outcome. Of course, it must have been resolved well…”

Before Marchioness Ratse could finish speaking.

“Here comes someone now.”

The Empress said, watching a servant leap down from his horse.

“We’ll hear some good news before dinner.”

The ladies-in-waiting nodded in agreement with Marchioness Ratse’s words.

They were excited at the thought of soon hearing good news.

This would finally bury the Princess Trinity murder case forever, and erase all traces left by the previous Empress.

Knowing better than anyone how long the Empress had been waiting for this day, Marchioness Ratse beamed a wide smile at her.

Marchioness Ratse sincerely wanted to congratulate the Empress, though it was regrettable that she couldn’t openly express her congratulations due to listening ears around them.

The Empress shared the same feelings as Marchioness Ratse.

No, perhaps she was even happier than when Trinity’s mother, the previous Empress, had passed away.

Back then, it had been a little easier.

The previous Empress was just a naive young lady.

A princess with a powerful ducal family that had produced several empresses for generations as her background.

Having grown up showered with love, she simply didn’t know how to suspect people.

If she had been content with just being the lady of a ducal house, she might have played her part well enough, but she was too naive and innocent to live in the imperial palace where betrayal and schemes ran rampant due to power struggles.

The imperial palace was where all those in the empire who craved more wealth, power, and higher status gathered.

Just as the current Empress herself and the Antares family had their own motives in taking the position from the previous Empress, each of the previous Empress’s ladies-in-waiting also had their own ulterior motives for volunteering to serve her.

Some for their daughters, some for their husbands, or for the glory of their families.

The previous Empress was certainly a kind and good person, but she chose not to see the dark and gloomy inner thoughts of others.

Or perhaps she pretended not to see them.

‘And this is the result.’

The Empress struggled to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up.

The trial must have ended, and Baroness Oppenheimer must have been executed under false charges.

Now there would be not a single survivor left from that day.

It could be called a perfectly complete victory.

Although she had obtained the Empress’s crown as a second wife, what did that matter now?

The situation had changed 180 degrees from her girlhood days when she had been seething with resentment at not being chosen by the Emperor.

The body of the previous Empress, who had received the Emperor’s first dance invitation at the imperial ball, was now rotting in the ground, while she herself was still going strong – that was all that mattered.

And her son would now become Emperor.

The thrill of becoming the center of imperial power made the Empress’s heart race.

Even the ladies-in-waiting, who would now be able to pick up scraps of power, were elated and in high spirits.

At that moment, the servant who had approached bowed deeply.

“…Your Majesty the Empress, I have something to report.”

Seeing the servant’s grim expression, the Empress immediately sensed that something had gone wrong.

After briefly glancing at the empty corridor, the Empress spoke.

“Let’s move to another location for now.”

The Empress turned her steps back towards her office.

The ladies-in-waiting, who had been looking at each other with serious expressions, quickly followed behind the Empress.

Once the Empress and her ladies had returned to the office and taken their seats, the servant explained the situation at today’s trial.

The atmosphere that seemed to be proceeding smoothly as planned suddenly changed after the recess, he said.

“…They said further investigation was needed because important information had been obtained.”

“With the evidence already so clear, I never expected this to happen…”

Marchioness Ratse, who had been frowning in incomprehension, continued speaking.

“…So what reason did the judges give for suddenly changing their minds?”

“Given that the situation changed after the recess, we assume something must have happened then. We are investigating that part.”

The Empress slightly bowed her head and touched her forehead, trying to hide her expression that was involuntarily twisting.

“So… this isn’t the end of the trial, is it?”

“…I apologize, Your Majesty the Empress.”

The servant lowered his gaze with his hands respectfully clasped.

The ladies-in-waiting seated around the Empress watched her carefully in the silence that could break at any moment.

After glaring at the edge of the desk for a while, the Empress spoke.

“Find out. Who leaked what information.”

As soon as the order was given, the ladies-in-waiting immediately stood up. But all of their expressions were grim.

They had no idea where to even begin.

The guard knights who had been guarding Princess Trinity’s bedroom after her death had been swiftly dealt with.

The knights who were fortunately not in the palace that day were disbanded.

So there should have been no witnesses left to speak of what happened that day.

As the ladies-in-waiting were leaving the office, the Empress called out to them.

“Investigate the ladies-in-waiting under house arrest. Surely something will turn up.”

The ladies’ eyes lit up as soon as they heard the name they had forgotten.

As the massive doors emblazoned with the family crest opened, the Greykin manor, situated among sparsely placed tall trees, came into view.

The Radcliffe Guild’s carriage, which had quickly passed through the wide gardens and fountain, gradually slowed down as it approached the entrance of the mansion.

Soon, Jieselgrante, wearing a white shirt with a bustier dress over it, stepped out of the carriage.

The maid who had come out to greet her tilted her head as she looked at Jieselgrante.

Jieselgrante took off the beret she was wearing and gave a slight smile to the maid.

“Mr. Pratt had another engagement today, so I came in his place.”

Jieselgrante subtly gestured towards the Radcliffe Guild’s emblem to avoid unnecessary suspicion.

The maid, who had been puzzled that it wasn’t Pratt who usually came, soon nodded.

“This way, please.”

Fortunately, the maid didn’t seem to recognize Jieselgrante’s face and immediately headed inside the mansion.

As she guided Jieselgrante into the mansion, the maid asked various questions about Pratt. Since Jieselgrante had prepared answers in advance, she was able to respond smoothly.

The reason she had come here today in Pratt’s place was to meet the Greykin Count’s daughter.

It was said that after Princess Trinity’s death, she had shut herself away, closing her heart tightly.

Right after that, she was placed under house arrest, so even if she wanted to go out, she couldn’t.

As they passed through the entrance and into the spacious hall, a large white grand piano placed in front of a big window caught her eye.

‘So this is what it looks like…’

Although it was her first time visiting the Count’s residence in person, it was just as the Greykin Count’s daughter had described.

The various decorations and artworks were neither lacking nor excessive in displaying the power and wealth of the Greykin family.

Rather, the restrained interior decor seemed to reflect the Count’s temperament.

As Jieselgrante was looking around the interior, the Greykin Count’s daughter entered the reception room.

Wearing a comfortable indoor dress, the Greykin Count’s daughter looked quite thin compared to before.

The slightly sunken cheeks, replacing her once chubby baby fat, pained Jieselgrante’s heart.

Among the ladies-in-waiting, the Greykin Count’s daughter was particularly devoted to Trinity.

Unlike other ladies-in-waiting who were assigned to serve Trinity by the Empress’s order, the Greykin Count’s daughter had shown enthusiasm by volunteering to become a lady-in-waiting herself.

Jieselgrante stood up, greeted the Greykin Count’s daughter lightly, and handed her a parchment with a list of products.

The maid took the parchment from her and passed it to the Greykin Count’s daughter.

Sitting on the opposite sofa, the Greykin Count’s daughter examined the parchment with quite familiar movements.

From this, it was clear that she frequently used the Radcliffe Guild’s services.

After skimming through the product list, the Greykin Count’s daughter nodded and handed the parchment back to the maid.

Now, Jieselgrante’s role was finished once the goods loaded on the carriage were delivered to the Greykin residence.

That’s what would have happened if Pratt had come.