After Adela Gilloyt left, I sat blankly in the reception room, lost in thought.

Is bringing in an empress really a good choice?

Father said it would be fine since she would be my political partner, but there’s no guarantee that her other family members won’t be greedy like that Lady Gilloyt.

Lady Gilloyt is like that even though she’s not the young lady’s birth mother.

I wonder how much more intense a birth mother would be.

Of course, not everyone is the same, but when choosing someone, shouldn’t we also look at what kind of people their immediate family are?

I was staring blankly at the ceiling with such thoughts when it happened.

“May I come in for a moment?”

I heard a familiar voice along with a light knock.

When I turned my head, I saw Leoprick Baldini Reinhart leaning against the door.

“When did you arrive?”

“I just got here. I came to see you because your maid was rushing out.”

Leoprick answered in a gentle voice as he entered.

As he did so, he glanced at the teacup across from me that had not yet been cleared away.

“Didn’t you have an appointment today?”

“Ah, yes. I did.”

I did have one.

Though I sent them away in a hurry due to excessive rudeness and arrogance.

I nodded with slightly downcast eyes as I looked across at him.

“They left in a hurry. They seemed to be busy.”

“They responded to your invitation but couldn’t even set aside that much time?”

Leoprick tilted his head as he sat down across from me.

His eyes showed he couldn’t understand, so I gave a bitter smile.

Right. We should have talked plenty, as was proper.

I had intended to have a thorough conversation since she seemed to know about the empress, but…

“As far as I know, Lady Gilloyt was supposed to come, but there are two cups.”

While I was lost in thought, Leoprick accurately pointed out today’s issue.

Right. The problem was that there was an uninvited guest.

A guest who barged in without invitation and caused confusion.

I nodded and smiled weakly.

“Lady Gilloyt came along.”

“The Lady Gilloyt?”

“Yes. It was a sudden request, so I had no choice but to accommodate her…”

Even though I tried to speak casually, nothing good came out.

I fixed my briefly disheveled expression and smiled at him.

“She wasn’t someone I’d spend much time with. So when she said she was leaving early, I sent her off.”

But despite that, perhaps due to the earlier mistake, Leoprick frowned instead.

“I’ve heard that Lady Gilloyt lacks common sense more than expected, but I didn’t know it was to this extent. To join her daughter’s appointment on her own…”

“She had something to talk about. It was nothing major.”

It’s fine since she left quickly.

I added quietly as I picked up my teacup to hide my expression.

No matter what, it seemed I couldn’t say anything good.

In such cases, changing the subject is the answer.

I put down my teacup and opened my mouth towards him.

“By the way, have you received any reports about the eastern and northern issues from before?”

“Ah. Not yet. I heard you sent supplies from the merchant guild.”

“Yes. I judged there was no need to delay, so I did that. If it’s truly a disaster situation, support should be as quick as possible.”

I nodded and looked at him.

In reality, before my regression, the situation in the north and east was already serious by the time everyone found out.

A quarter of the total population had already died, and there was no way to seek help from outside.

In the case of the east, if someone hadn’t noticed, there was even a possibility it would have just disappeared.

The north’s situation was somewhat better, so it was discovered and dealt with a bit faster.

So for me, knowing everything, I thought it would be better to deal with it as quickly as possible if I could.

The safest way to deal with it is prevention, after all.

“I sent all the supplies the merchant guild could provide, and told them to distribute everything in Your Majesty’s name.”

“What? But those are Amelia’s things.”

Leoprick slightly furrowed his brow at my words.

He blinked with a face that didn’t quite understand, then looked straight at me.

“Amelia. I said you could do whatever you want, but I didn’t say you could use my name.”

“But you said you wouldn’t do anything until the messenger returns anyway, and that I could do whatever I want, didn’t you?”

However, at my following words, his mouth closed into a straight line.

“Weren’t you planning to provide supplies as soon as the messenger returns?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Then, it doesn’t seem wrong that I acted on that, adding a bit of my own will by sending supplies in advance.”

I countered Leoprick’s words with a rather brazen face.

If you said I could do as I please, you can’t say otherwise now.

I shrugged my shoulders and picked up a cookie.

“I only used the authority you gave me, Your Majesty. It’s too late to take it back now.”

He gave a hollow laugh at my words.

He leaned back on the sofa with a smile on his lips.

“Well, I’ll admit that was my mistake.”

“Thank you for admitting it, Your Majesty.”

“But I won’t sit idle when it comes to preparing something for the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration.”

He said in a slightly playful voice.

Hearing those words, I couldn’t hide the slightly stinging feeling in my heart.

Was I already found out?

Recently, I had been discreetly inquiring about jewelers.

Someone tight-lipped and reliable.

It seemed about time to return Isolde’s Tear.

Since I had taken the jewel that was originally embedded in the Empress’s crown as it was, there was no need for separate craftsmanship, but I needed a smokescreen.

While pretending to prepare a gift for the Empress by finding a jeweler, secretly delivering it to Leoprick.

Then he would think what I gave him was a gift for the Empress, not Isolde’s Tear.

Of course, finding a jeweler itself was just for deception, but I didn’t expect Leoprick to catch on so quickly.

I brushed off cookie crumbs and replied nonchalantly, pretending not to know.

“Still, it’s the first anniversary since we married. I should prepare something.”

It wasn’t strange in itself for me to prepare a gift for the Empress, so I planned to push on like this until I found the right time. But Leoprick didn’t seem to like even that.

“We haven’t been married long, Amelia. I was planning to prepare yours as well, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

“But I can’t do nothing, Your Majesty.”

“When I say you don’t need to worry, it literally means you don’t have to do anything.”

The back-and-forth went on longer than usual.

He came out with an unusually stern attitude, unlike his usual self.

After answering in a firm tone, he ran his hand through his hair and let out a small sigh.

“You’re busy enough as it is. I know my mother’s tastes better, so I’ll take care of it.”

“By that logic, Your Majesty is even busier than I am. Shouldn’t you worry about yourself before worrying about me?”

It was truly puzzling.

Why was he taking such a hard line, not allowing me to make any preparations for the Empress Dowager’s birthday?

This makes me think there’s another meaning behind it, rather than just worrying about me.

I was slightly frowning, trying to gauge his true intentions, when it happened.

“Your Highness, I apologize for the wai… Your Majesty!”

Betty, who had been away, returned.

Then she was startled to see Leoprick sitting there.

“No need to be so surprised.”

“I-I didn’t know Your Majesty was here.”

Leoprick smiled gently at Betty, who was flustered and didn’t know what to do.

Then he stood up from his seat.

“I just stopped by briefly, so don’t worry about it. I was about to leave anyway.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Don’t mind me and just give what you’re holding to the Princess.”

Leoprick gestured to Betty with a smile.

At those words, I turned to see Betty holding a small plate with dessert.

Just as I thought he was going to leave the room, he turned his head to look at me.

“Amelia. I’ll say it again, but you don’t need to prepare anything for this banquet.”

Do you understand? He seemed to ask again, wanting confirmation from me.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

I answered only that way, without giving a yes or no answer.

I didn’t know why he was acting like this, but I intended to do what I needed to do anyway.

It seems Lady Gilloyt hasn’t changed at all.

Leoprick thought so as he left Amelia’s reception room.

That woman, not much different from his aunt, had always been like that.

She always put herself first without considering others’ feelings, and didn’t care that many people were displeased by her inconsiderate attitude.

And decisively,

“She was a person who coveted things beyond her station.”

Leoprick walked down the corridor with a dark expression, thinking about Lady Gilloyt and Adela Gilloyt.

When Amelia said she was meeting Adela Gilloyt, he didn’t show it but was worried inside.

Adela was skilled at wearing masks, and in that field, she was more skilled than anyone else he knew.

Pretending to be smart, pretending to be wise, completely hiding her sinister and dark inner thoughts.

Adela Gilloyt was a dangerous person.

If he hadn’t been a similar person to her, it might have been quite difficult to see through her true nature, but unfortunately, Leoprick was also accustomed to wearing masks.

So he had tried to avoid encountering her as much as possible from before.

Why did Amelia suddenly become interested in that woman?

In fact, he had gone there to ask about that, but ended up talking about other things and coming back.

Considering how she changed the subject earlier, it seems she won’t easily talk about it, so should he look into it separately?

He pondered where to start investigating as he walked down the long corridor.

If it was for the reason he thought, he’d have to stop Amelia right away, he thought.