“You’re more innocent than I thought, Sir Madelaine. Are you still playing the noble?”

…Of course, between me and Jade Madelaine, it was nothing but useless words.
Despite keeping a reasonable distance, Jade Madelaine could easily narrow this gap and approach me.

Without easing the tension, Jade Madelaine spoke intermittently.

“No matter how much she received the Duke’s oath, Olivia is still mine…”

Jade paused for a moment, pursing his lips. The suppressed emotions swallowed in silence were glaringly visible on his distorted face.

Younger sister.

Although regretful emotions were evident from the sight of her persistently banging on the gates of the Bikanthar Ducal Castle every morning, regardless of how many times she was expelled, that had nothing to do with Winstor.

Whether someone got scolded, wandered with an unsavory reputation among nearby inns, or faced nocturnal hardships didn’t concern Winstor. Instead, he had a different focus.

Early this morning, a command received directly from the Duke just before departure.

“…Since you’re a bit slow on the news, let me inform you confidentially,”

Winstor Kelter’s voice lowered discreetly. Jade clenched his fists. Even the sensation of the fingernails digging into the palm wasn’t properly felt.

Jade was a born knight. He judged that he must bend now with a sharp insight that could clearly determine the upper hand.

“The reason I’m doing this isn’t just because the lady received the Duke’s oath.”

Then what else?

The words he was about to reflexively utter vanished in an instant. Winstor’s voice continued, bottomless.

“I, too, have sworn to the lady. No, the entire Bikanthar has sworn allegiance to the lady.”

“…”

“Bikanthar’s oath is not light. The knights of Bikanthar, who didn’t kneel even in front of the Emperor, pledged allegiance to the lady in just a few weeks.”

No words could be brought forth.

Jade knew well how meaningful the ‘Lady’s Oath’ was to a knight.

So, from the moment the Duke said he had sworn to Olivia, Jade’s heart had been pounding.

But in the end, all of Bikanthar swore allegiance to Olivia.

It was an impeccably complete loyalty.

“To whom did you swear allegiance? What about the Madelaine knights?”

It was simultaneously a profound sense of defeat.

He had never once thought of swearing allegiance to Olivia, not even for a moment. That girl…

Olivia…

“Oh… now that I think about it, Lady Madelaine, who you so love, hasn’t even had her debutante ball yet, right? It’s surprising to find time for such matters here. It seems you have an exceptionally deep sibling bond, almost tear-inducing.”

Jade’s face, unable to respond, looked pitiful. Winstor chuckled. Then, with a hint of kindness, he gave some helpful advice.

“If I were you, Knight, I would focus on more productive tasks.”

“…For example, how the Princess, who used to dabble in Katanta’s own realm, managed to produce a report on Bikanthar’s mining operations.”

“…”
“If not, how about spreading stories about how our lady makes Bikanthar shine?”

“…”

“Or perhaps tales about the lady who is admired enough to receive the escort of all of Bikanthar even on this morning.”

Jade, who had been thinking about what that had to do with anything, paused for a moment. Winstor, as if to say, “Did you just notice now?” grinned annoyingly.

“The situation is different from when you came from the capital. Knights ready to step forward honorably the moment anyone dares to disrespect the lady are abundant.”

“…Since we’re already expelling her, might as well spread stories about Olivia when we go to the capital.”

If it was a rumor borrowed from Jade Madelaine’s mouth, it was certain.

Winstor, proud of so definitively handling the Duke’s orders, added with a smug smile.

“Of course, the Duke is at the forefront.”

“…”

“Unlike the Madelaine Duchy.”

Jade’s eyes lost their black shine. His stoic figure wavered without a tremor. Without a trace of compassion, Winstor turned away from that sight.

Dian, who had been watching it all from behind, stifled a laugh. If she were a Marleyn Duchy supporter, she might have been nervous, but Winstor behaved extremely ruthlessly.

“Do you have any unfortunate connection with Jade Madelaine?”

Instead of answering, Winstor shrugged.

Unfortunate connection. This was an attitude of conceding and conceding. As the second knight of the lady and someone who witnessed everything that happened in the capital.

It was only natural.

Tiaze Palace at noon.

Maria widened her blue eyes, looking down the palace corridor.

“W-What is this…”

“The Crown Prince ordered it.”

Despite the astonished voice, Lady Sofron, the Viscountess, answered calmly.

“Leopold?”

At the disrespectful address, Viscountess Sofron’s eyebrows twitched. However, Maria was too shocked by the sight of Tiaze Palace to notice anything.

After meeting the Princess, it had only been three days since she couldn’t come to the palace due to illness. During that time, the palace I had carefully nurtured had strangely returned to its strange state.

Most of all, these tacky blue roses!

Instead of the lush Lycianthuses, wickerwork and blue roses had once again taken their place. Maria’s mood turned chaotic at this subtle color.

No, actually, I was already angry as soon as I entered this palace.

Lady Sofron, who sternly looked down her nose at me, and the maids watching this situation as if waiting for me to react.

Above all, even Leopold, who ordered the change, which made me angry.

How could he do this to me? I’m sick and he didn’t even send a letter!

“…You were ordered to change by His Highness. Can you change like this without my permission?”

Even the maids standing behind were startled at the sharp voice.
A bright blue fury flashed over her sparkling blue eyes. However, even when faced with that gaze, Viscountess Sofron remained unfazed.

Knowing this fact, Maria felt helpless.

Viscountess Sofron was the lady-in-waiting at Tiaze Palace. In the absence of an official Crown Princess, it was natural for her to heed the Crown Prince’s orders.

“Tea!”

At Maria’s sharp command, Viscountess Sofron’s face momentarily clouded. However, the maids promptly followed Maria’s orders. One of them quickly brought out the tea.

As Maria observed the tea set spread out on the table, her discomfort grew once again.

“This isn’t my tea set!”

It was a green tea pot with carvings of imported flowers from the Kingdom of Geoswin. This tea pot, one of only two sets in the empire, had been used by Maria since the moment she entered Tiaze Palace.

Initially, she found the green flower patterns tacky, but Leopold oddly enjoyed drinking tea from this pot. As a result, it became Maria’s accustomed tea pot.

However, Viscountess Sofron nonchalantly replied, “While I was taking care of the tea pot, I took care of everything.”

“Not both sets?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Her attitude, as if asking what went wrong, fueled Maria’s anger. She couldn’t take it any longer.

Maria looked at Viscountess Sofron squarely, her eyes burning with a peculiar light.

“Did you not know that I liked that tea pot the most?”

“…Since you haven’t been here for a few days, I thought I’d take care of it in the meantime.”

In fact, she had started taking care of it as soon as she saw the carriage coming. This was Lady Madelaine’s tea pot.

Viscountess Sofron’s indifferent response skillfully avoided any points of contention. Consequently, Maria’s anger rose even more. The blue eyes that had sparked flames momentarily turned as cold as ice.

In the strange atmosphere, as Viscountess Sofron hesitated for a moment, Maria laughed brightly.

Then.

“Ah!”

A tearing scream echoed throughout Tiaze Palace.