Casius clenched his fist tightly.

‘Vivian said that.’

The words Vivian had spoken and her expressions flashed through Casius’s mind one by one.

Rationally speaking, it didn’t seem like Vivian was lying.

However, Duke Diarob’s relaxed demeanor was enough to numb Casius’s reason.

The fact that it was about the issue of Rosemary Territory made it even more so.

‘If all of this is a trap set by Diarob…’

Around him, the noisy voices of the nobles rained down.

“If that’s really the case, it’s nonsense to carry out such an important project in Rosemary Territory.”

“That’s right. How can we conduct a tourism business in such a wicked land?”

“The prestige of the empire will plummet.”

As soon as they had a justification, Diarob’s minions began to spread their wings like fish in water.

Even the neutral nobles, after gauging the situation, began to add their voices one by one.

In this situation, even Casius couldn’t openly silence them.

Rather, he had to find a way out by breaking through head-on.

Casius decided to test Vivian Snowfell at this point.

Whether she would properly act for his sake, or if even that was a lie concocted with her father.

“Let’s hear what Bi has to say. Bring her in.”

In the tense atmosphere of the conference hall, Tikan, gripping his sweat, bowed to his lord’s command and stepped outside.

Passing by Siron, Tikan comforted his father and lord with his eyes.

Not long after Tikan had left, Vivian Snowfell appeared in the quiet conference hall.

All eyes focused on her as she entered with her hair neatly tied up, and tension thickly permeated the space.

Duke Diarob gazed at his daughter without a shred of doubt.

His eyes were full of confidence, believing without question that she would speak of seeing a monster.

Behind him, Casius, whose thoughts were unreadable but who appeared tense, was looking at her.

*

As the arrangement of the nobles came into view, everything became clear.

The hierarchy and relationships among the nobles seemed to have changed little from before.

Now that the previous emperor had passed away, things would gradually change, but it seemed that hadn’t happened yet.

Walking on the red carpet into the hall.

My father’s figure, dressed in his usual immaculate suit, came into view.

His slightly bowed head and startled eyes made me sense that something was wrong.

Unlike my father, Duke Diarob’s triumphant, gleaming eyes were unbearably arrogant.

On the way here, Tikan hadn’t said a word and his steps showed no consideration.

That was how he behaved when he was angry.

In fact, I had a rough idea of what kind of conversations might have taken place on the way here.

Seeing the situation, I was certain that I had been called here regarding Rosemary.

“What is the matter?”

Although my question was directed at Casius, the answer was intercepted from an unexpected source.

“Did Your Highness truly see a monster in Rosemary Territory?”

It was Duke Bashubir Winterdell.

His ambiguous attitude with an unreadable expression was typical of Duke Bashubir.

The Duke I knew was by no means an easy opponent.

‘Suddenly asking if I saw a monster in Rosemary? What’s his intention?’

The presence or absence of monsters in a territory could easily make or break its reputation.

‘Is this a ploy to set a trap to attack Rosemary Territory?’

But there was no reason for him, who was currently gaining attention as a pro-imperial noble, to attack Rosemary.

Above all, he had been leading the sympathetic public opinion towards Rosemary in various clubs until now.

There was no reason for him to suddenly flip his stance now.

Moreover, there was a subtle sharpness in his tone just now.

Judging by his voice, which seemed to be pressing me, it sounded like he meant it couldn’t be true.

His furtive glances at Casius… Ah, now I understood.

Duke Bashubir was now trying to win Casius’s favor by attacking Snowfell.

‘Is he already making moves to make Iblina Winterdell the empress?’

While my mind was racing, the nobles were just staring at my mouth.

As if urging me to quickly give the right answer.

As I was rolling my eyes, wondering how to respond, I met Duke Diarob’s gaze.

He didn’t miss the opportunity and spoke to me as if admonishing.

“Wasn’t the fall from the horse during this hunting festival due to Rosemary’s monster?”

‘How did the trap issue turn into a monster problem?’

Without knowing the full story, it was impossible to make a clear inference, but one thing was certain.

What Diarob wanted was for me to answer that there were monsters in Rosemary.

Duke Diarob’s eyes curved gently. As if looking at his beloved daughter.

But I knew well that what was contained in them was strong coercion.

On the opposite side, Duke Bashubir, who had pressed me earlier, had a faint smile on his lips.

As if he knew what answer I would give.

If I were to answer here that I had seen a monster, the relationship between Casius and me would grow distant.

The one who would benefit from this situation would undoubtedly be Duke Bashubir, who would be fixated on making his daughter the empress.

As I maintained silence to organize my thoughts, the nobles began to murmur.

It was Diarob who suppressed it.

“It seems my daughter is very nervous, participating in a conference hall for the first time.”

As everyone seemed to nod in agreement with Duke Diarob’s words, Duke Bashubir cut in.

“When you ascend to the position of empress, you’ll have to handle such matters as easily as drinking soup.”

Duke Bashubir’s words seemed to be for my benefit, but they clearly contained thorns aimed at me.

None of the nobles here would fail to understand that it was saying I wasn’t suitable for the position of empress.

Diarob, gritting his teeth, tried to compose himself and turned his head towards me.

“Don’t worry and just say what you told your father, Your Highness.”

The duke’s acting was very convincing, even though we had never had such a conversation.

It was just the right appearance to make anyone think I had really seen a monster.

The more so, the deeper Casius’s suspicion would grow.

‘How did Diarob and I end up separated…’

It was nothing short of a disaster.

Though I had been trying to ignore it, Casius’s gaze was now too sharp to avoid any longer.

As I turned my head, he pierced through me with his lowered eyes.

Casius, who had been staring at me intently without avoiding my gaze, soon raised his hand.

At his intimidating action, silence instantly fell over the hall.

Casius swept his gaze over the silent hall once before turning back to me.

“Was Bi’s accident really caused by a monster in Rosemary?”

There was an indecipherable light in the blue gaze that met mine. At the same time, a deep tremor was etched in it.

The promise I had made to him flashed through my mind.

The promise to keep quiet about the trap issue in exchange for coming once a week.

If I broke that, I wouldn’t be able to even step on his shadow in the future.

But if I say no here?

I would be suspected by Duke Diarob.

This was betrayal towards Snowfell, without even room for excuse.

It was a dizzying situation, a checkmate no matter which side I chose.

But I had to choose one side.

Having to choose between the worst and the lesser evil was terrible, but the conclusion came easily.

“It’s true that my fall from the horse was due to a monster.”

The nobles’ murmurs instantly filled the hall.

“So there really was a monster on Mount Evella?”

“…Yes.”

Upon receiving confirmation again, the nobles’ reactions were immediately divided.

Duke Diarob couldn’t hide his satisfied smile as he looked at me, while Duke Bashubir, who rarely showed his emotions, wore a faint smile.

As I turned my head, I saw my father.

Father’s face was impassive, but there was a troubled light in his slightly wrinkled appearance.

My heart ached as if it would tear.

Where I forcibly turned my gaze, contempt that wasn’t even hidden was directed at me.

It was Tikan.

The mischievous smile that always used to play pranks on me was nowhere to be seen, and only a gaze as if looking at a devil was cast on his face.

Behind him, Casius, whom I had been trying to avoid, was staring at me in a way I couldn’t escape.

His expressionless face, all the more terrifyingly cold, made it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

The only thing certain was that the contempt contained in it was more, if not less, than Tikan’s.

‘What must he be thinking of me now?’

It would have been better if he had at least shown anger, but his expression was dry as if it would crack.

That awakened anxiety and made my heart pound.

But this level of pressure was something I had already gone through countless times.

At times like this, I needed to pull myself together.

‘Why has such a heated debate erupted over the Rosemary monster? Was there any benefit for Duke Diarob in attacking Rosemary now?’