Only then did Cabelased open his mouth with a smiling face.

However, one corner of his mouth was subtly higher than the other.

“If the lady is in trouble, it would be a gentleman’s duty to help.”

He gestured for her to follow and walked ahead.

He climbed the stairs he had just come down, and Jieselgrante followed him up the stairs.

The number of rooms varied by floor, but what was certain was that unlike other floors, there were only three rooms on the top floor of the inn.

Among them, the room Cabelased headed to was the one located in the middle.

As it was an expected situation, Jieselgrante nodded only inwardly.

Entering the room, Jieselgrante lightly scanned the interior.

Befitting an inn in the wealthy Fortress County, the room’s interior was clean without any excess, and all the furniture and decorations were of the highest quality.

Upon arriving at the spacious reception room, Cabelased extended his hand towards the opposite seat.

The knight beside Cabelased approached to pull out a chair for her.

“Please, have a seat.”

But she waved her hand, saying it was fine.

As soon as she sat on the sofa, Cabelased asked.

“Did you say you were going to the imperial capital to honor the late Princess Trinity?”

“To be precise… to attend the memorial service.”

In reality, the reason she was going to the imperial capital was to assess the situation after her own death.

And if possible, she wanted to meet and hear from the people who had helped her when she was alive as the princess.

Cabelased, who had been nodding slightly, smiled faintly.

“Hmm… but what shall we do about this.”

“…?”

“With this, the lady’s past statement has become impossible to fulfill.”

“By past statement, you mean?”

“Don’t you remember? You said that at this rate, I would end up marrying Princess Trinity?”

It was as Cabelased said.

Although it was unknown when Cabelased began plotting to usurp the throne, marrying Trinity, who would become the emperor, would have greatly disrupted his plans.

So Jieselgrante, who knew of his plans, proposes a marriage contract to Cabelased.

Saying that at this rate, he would become the husband of the next emperor, while highlighting that his name was among the candidates for Princess Trinity’s groom at the time.

Although it was a proposal that wasn’t bad for either of them, for some reason, Cabelased rejected Jieselgrante’s proposal.

And before Jieselgrante could reestablish her relationship with him, Princess Trinity died.

With this, Jieselgrante’s past statement became an impossibility, and the marriage proposal was no longer a card she could play with him.

But in fact, Jieselgrante had already seen the future and knew that Trinity would die and that Cabelased would eventually become the emperor.

Moreover, she knew that Emperor Cabelased would annihilate Jieselgrante herself, who was the crown princess at the time, and her family, the Duke Amaterasu.

“Sometimes predictions can go astray.”

Cabelased pulled up the corner of his mouth crookedly.

“Then there’s no need to continue arguing with the lady anymore.”

As he was about to adjust his posture to stand up, Jieselgrante hastily opened her mouth.

“I need an empty room.”

Seeing her suddenly bring up the main point, a smile spread across Cabelased’s handsome face. However, it didn’t seem to be a smile of pleasure.

“So that’s the main point. Surely you must have heard it was fully booked?”

“Yes, I heard that too. That all the rooms in this inn are full. But the rooms to the left and right of this room you’ll be using tonight.”

“…”

“They’ll be empty all night, won’t they? If someone in need could stay in a room that won’t be used anyway, wouldn’t that be good?”

“What makes you so sure the rooms next to this one are empty?”

“Originally, you would have rented this entire building. If it weren’t for the special situation where people are suddenly flocking to the imperial capital, that is.”

A strange light flickered in Cabelased’s red eyes.

“So? If I give you an empty room, what can you give me in return?”

At Cabelased’s question, Jieselgrante held up two fingers.

“I’ll give you twice the amount you paid for the room.”

Cabelased raised his chin arrogantly and asked.

“Do I look short on gold coins to you?”

The wealth of Duke Cardia was known to everyone in the empire. So her answer was as good as predetermined.

‘No.’

But if she gave that answer, she and her party would have to sleep on the streets tonight.

‘…It must be information, right? To get what I want from Cabelased, I need to give information, not gold coins.’

As Jieselgrante was contemplating what information would be sufficient to exchange for the room fee, Cabelased casually blurted out.

“Four times.”

Jieselgrante’s eyes widened slightly.

Although she had come to negotiate, she didn’t think she could get a room from Cabelased with just this amount of gold coins.

If she could solve the room problem with gold coins, it would be beneficial for her too.

Just as she was about to give an affirmative answer, Cabelased spoke first.

“I’ll give you four times the room fee. If I do that, will you leave this inn, Lady Amaterasu?”

For a moment, Jieselgrante barely managed to suppress the urge to shout out in anger.

‘There’s a limit to mistaking someone for a beggar…!’

Her brow furrowed involuntarily at his attitude of not easily moving according to her wishes and the resulting feeling of humiliation.

But she forcibly maintained a smile and opened her mouth.

“That would be difficult for me too. I was just thinking that I couldn’t get what I want from you with mere gold coins anyway.”

“If you don’t want to be kicked out like this, you’ll have to show a card worth more than the room fee I suggested.”

“Then would it be alright if I give you information of equivalent value?”

“Ah, you mean information based on that prediction that ‘sometimes’ goes astray?”

Cabelased emphasized a specific word.

It was mocking Jieselgrante’s past statement that she would end up marrying Princess Trinity.

After all, Cabelased didn’t marry Trinity under pressure from the imperial family, and Princess Trinity even died.

Jieselgrante bit the soft flesh inside her mouth.

‘Ah, Jieselgrante. Why did you tell such an obvious lie…’

Although she hadn’t told that lie herself, she was now Jieselgrante herself.

So the past karma was indeed her share.

‘Rather than arguing over past events that can’t be avoided now, it would be better to honestly apologize.’

Jieselgrante made that judgment.

“I admit my mistake. And I apologize for my past rudeness.”

One of Cabelased’s eyebrows twitched subtly.

“I had my reasons back then. I can’t tell you everything honestly right now, but could you generously overlook my past mistake?”

Cabelased’s expression, which had been full of mockery until just now, changed to a somewhat serious one.

‘So apologizing first was indeed the right answer.’

Thinking that, she opened her mouth again.

“…So what’s done can’t be undone, but please forget the proposal I made before. And from now on, I’ll be careful not to catch your eye.”

“A wise decision.”

Saying that, Cabelased’s red eyes glanced towards the door.

It was a signal to leave if the business was done.

Although he was dealing with her because Duke Amaterasu supported him, having lost interest, he was about to stand up with an indifferent look in his eyes.

“Count Frederick.”

“…”

At the sudden words, Cabelased silently stared at her.

“He’s one of the hidden confidants who carried out Princess Trinity’s affairs. If you investigate Count Frederick, you might also find out about Princess Trinity’s death.”

If Cabelased’s goal was to become emperor, he needed to read the flow of the situation.

Who, why, and for what purpose Trinity was killed.

Only then could he prepare measures in advance to deal with any situation that might arise.

In the current situation, everything was mere speculation, and she considered Count Frederick to be the person who would dig deepest into the princess’s death.

‘If it’s him…’

Yes. If it’s Count Frederick, he would try to find out the inside story even at the risk of danger.

Cabelased stroked his sharp chin and asked.

“How does the lady know about Princess Trinity? No, before that, how can I trust the lady’s words?”

Although he said he couldn’t trust her words, Cabelased was showing some interest in this topic now.

The reason was that he wasn’t immediately chasing her out of this room.

Jieselgrante shrugged her shoulders slightly and said.

“Usually information is paid for in advance, but let’s make this one payment after delivery.”

With those words, Jieselgrante stood up.

For a moment, Cabelased’s red eyes looking at her grew a little larger.

When buying and selling information, there was always a appropriate price to be paid.

And it was common practice to receive the payment first and then deliver the information.

“Then I’ll gratefully use the room next door.”

Jieselgrante turned towards the door with a refreshed expression, as if the business was finished.

And she walked away from Cabelased with graceful steps.

Cabelased glared at the spot where Jieselgrante had been sitting until just now with narrowed eyes.

Pondering over her suddenly changed attitude.

‘What’s the reason?’

The only certainty was that the turning point was after the misdiagnosis by the court physician…

It was difficult to grasp the exact cause of the change in her mindset.

‘Did her heart simply change?’

That didn’t make sense. Jieselgrante never loved Cabelased from the beginning.

What Jieselgrante wanted was the influence that came from his status and position, and he was the same then as he is now.

So what changed was her.

The Amaterasu ducal family is the central force supporting Cabelased, and at the same time, a family with such powerful influence that the empress would covet Jieselgrante as a match for her son.

Come to think of it, the timing when Jieselgrante’s somewhat foolish words and actions gained attention was truly coincidental.

It was around the time when the empress had her eye on her as the crown prince’s bride.