There’s no way.

The emperor smirked and shook his head.

Even if he had been tired lately, how could he dare to see Lady Medelaine and think of the princess?

Just because only their green eyes resembled each other.

The emperor knew my heart well.

My feelings only extended towards the princess, and there was no need for a substitute. If there was a need for a substitute, he could have brought someone similar to him into the palace.

If only the late Duke Vikaneder hadn’t been there, he could have brought a real princess into the palace.

Unsettled anger and inferiority that I couldn’t digest rose slowly. The emperor, who recalled the late Duke Vikaneder and the princess who ignored me until the end, shook his head.

So, even more so, the lady had to come to the prince’s side. Because the current Duke Vikaneder, resembling the princess, had to feel the profound helplessness and the unbearable misery, just like me.

All of this had to be settled in my son’s generation. I was more than willing to imagine how splendid his wedding ceremony would be.

The emperor’s eyes gradually sparkled strangely.

“Oh, Your Majesty. Tomorrow, observing the tribute from the envoy together….”

The empress, who was elegantly speaking next to him, paused for a moment. The emperor, who had been discussing the envoy with her just a while ago, was looking quietly at a certain place.

The empress subtly followed the emperor’s gaze. And the moment she realized that Olivia was at the end of that gaze, the empress’s eyes widened for a moment, as if surprised.

The lips that had gone up gracefully trembled as if convulsing. The hand holding the armrest of the throne raised the fingernails.

There’s no way. Just for a moment, above Lady’s face, the face of that woman in the portrait flashed by.

Why did the cold green eyes come to mind when the former Duchess came to the palace?

The arrogant and haughty woman who didn’t lower her head even when facing me.

Looking at Olivia’s humble green eyes, the empress tried to calm her pounding heart. But the empress knew very well how ardently the emperor had looked at that woman.

So, if I thought this way, the emperor must have felt something similar…

“Empress.”

At the emperor’s low call, the empress’s heart thumped.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Madelaine Duke will firmly teach the lady during this banquet. Empress, talk to the prince and make sure the lady returns to her place quickly.”

After the emperor’s plain words, devoid of any lingering feelings, the empress exhaled her held breath soundlessly.

Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as I had thought. Upon further consideration, if she resembled the late Duchess, it didn’t make sense for the current Duke to propose to Olivia. How could someone propose to Olivia, a mere commoner, just because there was no one to love?
Even an ordinary person, especially if she is a mother who was brought to the palace and tragically ended her life here, Olivia, who seems to be in a similar position to my mother in her unhappy childhood, Duke Vikaneder clearly had a sinister motive to seek compensation.

If that’s the case, how should we interpret the reason for accepting a half-breed as a fiancee and rejecting my precious daughter, the princess?

It could be a pitiful mother and a lack of affection for her, or perhaps it’s a curse from the late Duke…!

As tension eased, the empress’s eyes widened at the end of her imaginative journey, feeling as if she had approached the correct answer. Unbelievably, with each blink of her long eyelashes, doubt turned into conviction. Soon, the empress’s beautiful red eyes sparkled with interest.

Her red lips, with a hint of a smile, bloomed charmingly. It was regrettable that this pleasant story was still just a hypothesis. However, the empress could present this hypothesis as if it were a fact.

“I should talk to the princess before anything else.”

But before that.

The emperor’s gaze on the princess was unusual. The empress, hiding her thrilled inner thoughts, gracefully laughed and swept away the emperor’s arm.

Facing the emperor’s cool eyes as he turned around, the empress waved her hand toward the wine. Soon, a glass of crimson wine was placed right in front of her.

Raising the glass, the empress sweetly murmured to the emperor.

“… You should call the princess later, and for now, enjoy the banquet. Your Majesty. You have always wished for the prosperity and well-being of the empire, but isn’t it okay to wish for happiness just for yourself for a day?”

“… Is that so?”

“Yes, of course. The hostess of this banquet, the princess, is handling it so well, and if all goes well, a reliable prince will come. Please enjoy this happiness with me, Your Majesty.”

The emperor’s facial muscles gradually relaxed with the pleasant compliments. Soon, the emperor gulped down the wine in one go.

It was the strongest liquor, the emperor’s favorite.