The flower of the imperial palace. No one knew how magnificent and noble Princess Reina Franz was better than the maids in this reception room.

Her beautifully painted lips hissed and her breathing became rough.

“How dare he act so irresponsibly to Her Highness the princess!”

A scolding voice came from behind the princess. It was the Countess of Ruhas. The princess’s eyes softened slightly at the words of the countess who had taken care of her since childhood.

The countess, keenly observing her, exaggerated her anger.

“Your Highness. Do not even bother with Sir Madeleine. He is not worth wrinkling your beautiful brow.”

The countess’s action of gently brushing the princess’s hair with a soft comb eased the princess’s sharp nerves.

Right. He’s a man not worth my anger. There are countless ways to regain the mine without Jade Madeleine.

As the princess’s expression relaxed, the maids behind her approached and whispered.

“You are correct, Your Highness. He was so rude. He does not deserve the title of war hero.”

“…It seems that those with the title of war hero are all reckless.”

The maids looked at each other with slightly relieved eyes at the princess’s slow words. The displeased expression had subsided, but the sharp attitude had largely disappeared.

The Countess of Ruhas, gathering momentum, spoke sweetly.

“Your Highness. Forget about it. I will call Count Ublur quickly. How about watching a play in the meantime?”

“A play?”

“Yes. The troupe that entertained you at the summer palace is waiting for Your Highness.”

A troupe. The princess suddenly cheered up. The troubling thoughts of the mine and Jade Madeleine’s rude attitude washed away.

I have my nanny, the Countess of Ruhas, and the maids who loyally serve me. Just because I lost Olivia, that halfwit, nothing will change.

Even though the mine now belongs to Olivia Madeleine.

The princess nodded with a generous face. Then, the troupe outside the door quickly entered.

The performance began.

.

.

.

The troupe’s dazzling acts were in full swing. In one corner of the princess’s reception room, one of the maids suddenly looked at the actors with a curious face and walked toward the leader.

“Leader, I have something I’m curious about.”

“Yes. Please tell me, ma’am.”

“Weren’t there also a brownhaired male actor? He looked ordinary but seemed quite handsome at a glance.”

The maid spoke calmly, subtly hinting at the leader. It was not uncommon for the young noble women maids to take troupe actors as lovers.
The director who had been thinking carefully snapped his fingers and exclaimed, “Ah!”

“Ah, he’s not a formally trained actor, but a wandering actor who briefly looked over the practice. He once played a spear in the Summer Palace when the main actor was out sick.”

“He didn’t come in here, did he?”

“Yes. Our troupe is not so lacking as to bring such a newcomer into the sacred palace.”

The director, who hadn’t noticed the subtle words, strongly denied it. In the end, the maid turned around, swallowing her disappointment.

The director breathed a sigh of relief, “Phew.” Then he looked at the performance with a disappointed face.

The newcomer actor who appeared at the most needed moment, as if he had fallen from the sky.

“It’s disappointing, but there’s nothing we can do. It would be nice to go to the palace together.”

“It’s okay. I, well.”

The face that seemed disappointed when he saw her at the last farewell party came to mind.

In the director’s head, immersed in the memories of that day, the memory of how often the princess had drunk and called the troupe was washed away as if it had been washed away.

How many troupes followed the princess every time she traveled for recuperation, how much money the selected troupes made, the fact that he told such trivial stories was also the case.

(This is a time separator.)

Conrad frowned at Jade coming into his office.

“Jade, isn’t it your working time now?”

“……Brother.”

But when Jade called him in a low voice, Conrad thought something was wrong.

The face that was tanned by the sun was pale. Conrad put down the document he was reading and nodded his head towards his aide. The quickwitted aide went out of the office as soon as permission was given.

As the door closed, Conrad spoke.

“What’s the matter? Why is your complexion like that?”

His brother, who had not been coming to the ducal house for several days, was already on edge. At this abrupt reaction of his younger brother, he became more concerned.

“Brother, you didn’t know either.”

“What.”

“Olivia. That child was treated like that.”

Stuttering, Jade couldn’t continue to speak. But Conrad raised his eyebrows.

Olivia. A name that has been irritating the ducal house recently, Conrad reacted sensitively.

“What did you hear that made you like this? What did she do?”

She said she left for Vicander today. Did she cause something more? But Jade mumbled with a blank face.

“The princess, she called her a half.”

“So.”