Although I had some guesses, taking action now without knowing the full story could potentially backfire.

In situations like this, changing the subject was the best course of action.

As the commotion grew louder and people looked around nervously, Casius spoke with grave seriousness.

“We’ll decide on the imperial national project after the investigation is completed at the next meeting.”

‘National project? I wondered why they suddenly brought up Rosemary’s monsters, but this was the reason?’

The situation quickly came together in my mind.

Rosemary County, where monsters shouldn’t appear. A project involving Duke Diarob and Duke Bashuvir.

‘Could it be turning Rosemary into an autonomous tourist region?’

No matter how I thought about it, this was the only national project that couldn’t have monsters.

‘Were they trying to give such an enormous project to Rosemary County?’

Now I understood why Diarob took such a risk to call me here.

Looking at the expressions of Duke Diarob and Duke Bashuvir, I became certain of my prediction.

The fact that Casius had moved again to look after Rosemary created gentle ripples across my heart.

But now was not the time to be intoxicated by such ripples.

An undisguised cold aura was evident on Casius’s face as he looked at me.

A tense atmosphere settled over the nobles watching us.

‘They’re probably pondering which side to take regarding my relationship with Casius.’

Given that I had reported seeing monsters in Rosemary, it was difficult to expect a good outcome here.

It was better to wait for the meeting to end quickly.

At that moment, Duke Bashuvir spoke up, breaking the thick tension that had formed in the space.

“Your Majesty, may I humbly offer a word?”

Casius was the one who most needed to change the subject to avoid further discussion of the national project.

Since Bashuvir was an imperial faction noble and eager to please Casius, there was no chance he would speak nonsense here.

Casius nodded, giving Bashuvir permission to speak.

Only then did Duke Bashuvir pay his respects and open his mouth.

“Shouldn’t the national project be carried out under thorough verification?”

Contrary to expectations that he would avoid mentioning the national project altogether, it was surprising that he brought it up.

The nobles began to gauge the duke’s intentions at this unexpected remark, while Casius stared at him expressionlessly.

Judging from Bashuvir’s actions so far, he always moved with intent.

‘I thought he was going to bring up making Iblina Winterdel the empress now. Since the Winterdel duchy is also promoting tourism… Is that why he’s doing this?’

But even for that purpose, there was no reason to stir things up by mentioning Rosemary County, which was already settled.

Moreover, Duke Bashuvir’s eyes were still shining like a bird eyeing its prey.

That kept raising ominous questions.

But according to what Diarob had found out recently, there was never any written agreement from the start, and Casius had already cut off the issue of bringing in an empress…

Looking at Bashuvir’s current attitude, he didn’t seem to have given up on the idea of making his daughter empress.

At that moment, Duke Bashuvir raised an ominous topic.

“I wonder if this unfortunate incident in the imperial family occurred due to the absence of an aide.”

Typically, major state events like the hunting festival were managed down to the last detail by an aide.

But Casius had kept that position vacant since I disappeared.

‘Why suddenly bring up the aide position…? Could it be… Is he trying to put Iblina in that position?’

It seemed he was aiming for the aide position to prepare for the future, since he couldn’t make his daughter empress.

Even I thought that trying to put his daughter in the aide position was realistically the best alternative for Duke Bashuvir.

First, the aide spends the most time with the emperor and can exercise significant authority.

Second, as in my case, there was the possibility of the emperor falling for them.

The aide position now had a symbolic meaning in many ways, with the image of Rachel firmly established.

None of the nobles here were unaware of this.

The timing of bringing this up now was also impeccable.

Currently, among the empire’s five ducal families, all except Duke Bashuvir were aligned with Diarob.

In the current situation, if an aide were to be appointed, Casius was likely to favor Bashuvir.

‘He must have calculated all of this before making his move.’

Bashuvir didn’t take any further direct action this time either.

After lighting the fire, he stepped back and once again just observed the imperial faction nobles’ growing clamor.

“Your Majesty, Duke Bashuvir’s words are absolutely right.”

“You can no longer leave the aide position vacant if you are to lead the empire now.”

Diarob’s subordinates couldn’t hide their displeasure, but they had no justification to prevent the appointment of an aide at this point.

After all, there had never been an emperor in the history of the empire who didn’t have an aide.

Casius, as expected, played along with Duke Bashuvir’s transparent words.

“The aide position has been vacant for a long time. Who do you think would be suitable for that position?”

When Casius showed interest in appointing an aide, the nobles rushed in like moths to a flame, starting to recommend their own children.

Of course, the candidates being mentioned were the children of the ducal families, excluding Diarob’s.

To summarize, there were three young lords from the ducal families and Lady Iblina Winterdel.

Given the current situation, it was highly unlikely that the children of Diarob’s subordinates would be appointed.

Casius was likely to favor the Winterdel ducal family, who were imperial faction nobles, in order to keep Diarob’s faction in check.

Moreover, since the aide issue was brought up suddenly, Diarob hadn’t had time to make a move.

This whole situation led to increased unity among the three ducal families aligned with Diarob.

“How can we appoint a woman as Your Majesty’s aide?”

“That’s right. It’s unthinkable.”

“If foreign guests were to see such a sight, they would laugh at us.”

These were the reasons I had heard ad nauseam when I was Rachel, about why I should never be appointed as an aide.

Although the empire claimed to strive for equality, there was still a strong negative view towards appointing women to high positions.

‘To think that this would now become a knife stabbing Iblina Winterdel.’

I had mixed feelings about it.

The imperial faction nobles’ reactions clearly revealed how negative the overall social atmosphere was towards this issue.

Even though they should have been supporting Iblina, they showed hesitation on this matter alone.

Despite Lady Iblina objectively being far superior in scholarship and merit compared to the other three young lords.

Despite being the child of a ducal family, this was the reaction. I wondered what Casius had to endure when he appointed me, from a viscount’s family, as his aide.

I could now understand more clearly why he had prevented me from attending meetings back then.

While Casius had the compelling reason of love at that time, now he had no reason to risk so much to appoint Lady Iblina as his aide.

‘What choice will Casius make?’

Politically speaking, I should hope he wouldn’t choose someone from the three ducal families aligned with Diarob.

If that happened, it would only embolden Diarob, whose influence was already soaring.

It would put even more power in the hands of someone whose arrogance was already unbearable.

All power needs balance, and Casius, who was about to ascend to the throne, needed his own faction even more.

If I were his aide now, I would advise him to choose Lady Iblina.

But part of me also hoped Casius wouldn’t choose her.

After all, Duke Bashuvir’s intentions were all too clear.

Although I had never actually seen Iblina, her reputation preceded her.

When I was an aide, the rumors about Iblina were so impressive that her brilliance was apparent even without seeing her.

I still remembered the buzz about her being a prodigy at the Continental Academy.

But she was also the person behind numerous incidents.

At least according to my investigations.

I didn’t think she was any less cunning than Bashuvir, if not more so.

Perhaps even this was an illusion I had created while looking at the current unsatisfactory situation.

While I was lost in such idle thoughts, the imperial faction nobles finally regained their unity.

What roused them was none other than my past self, Rachel.

“Your Majesty, isn’t there a recent precedent of a female aide?”

“That’s right. There was no disagreement that Rachel Rosemary was an outstanding aide.”

The room was filled with heated energy from the opposition between the two sides.

Casius, who had been listening with a dry expression, spoke up after a brief moment.

“I have heard enough of your opinions.”

Casius’s gaze, a blue so deep it was almost ash-gray, shifted towards me.

“It is right that I choose my own aide.”

A sardonic smile soon bloomed on his face.

“I will appoint Iblina Winterdel as my aide.”

“……!”