Sandra shouted, showing the newspaper she had brought to Caspian.

It contained an article about the lady from the Hystric Kingdom’s delegation who was attacked at last night’s party. Caspian glanced at the newspaper and turned his head away.

“You! Didn’t I tell you to be careful, again and again? What on earth are you trying to do? Why are you acting like this?”

“Why are you making such a fuss over something so minor, Your Majesty? You used to be so calm and composed even in worse situations!”

“What? You…”

“You seem to have become quite frail with age, Your Majesty.”

Caspian let out a small chuckle. Sandra clicked her tongue at her immature son’s remark and spoke again.

“Do you think this is the same as before? It’s not! The other party is a foreign delegation. A foreign princess’s lady-in-waiting!”

Sandra shouted loudly. Her voice was so loud that it made her head ring. Her scolding continued.

“And that’s not even the worst of it! Her father is a minister of a country, and her uncle is the head of a large merchant guild! Did you know that? If you’re going to choose an opponent, you should have chosen properly! How could you pick such a formidable opponent and make such a big mess!”

“…”

Caspian kept his mouth shut. He had no particular rebuttal as he agreed with Sandra on that point. This time, he really had the worst luck.

But thinking that he shouldn’t give up now, Caspian wiped all expressions from his face and feigned innocence.

“It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it! There’s no evidence anyway!”

“What do you mean there’s no evidence!”

But Sandra wasn’t buying it at all. She shouted again furiously.

“Didn’t you go to the minister’s fiancée today?”

Suddenly, Caspian’s face contorted nastily. He hadn’t even imagined that news would have already reached the Empress Dowager’s ears.

“I heard that woman testified to seeing your face!”

“I’m telling you it wasn’t me!”

“You really… You’re going to keep this up till the end! That woman had your bracelet as evidence!”

How dare you mess with someone from the Drea ducal family, what are you trying to do? Unable to contain her anger, Sandra struck Caspian. Ugh, at the stinging blow, Caspian’s body twisted involuntarily.

‘Damn it… That woman took the bracelet…!’

Only then did Caspian realize his bracelet was gone and he clenched his teeth. The situation was getting more and more troublesome.

Caspian immediately lowered his tail. Then, putting on an innocent expression, he said to Sandra.

“Your Majesty, I was wrong. It was a mistake. It’s not what I wanted. That Viscount Farren fellow instigated it, and I was just standing by.”

“Really? You’re saying Viscount Farren started it?”

If that was really true, there was still a chance for salvation. Sandra’s eyes, which had been almost dead, suddenly sparkled as if coming to life. Caspian nodded vigorously at her question.

“Yes, that’s right. That’s what I’m saying. So please, Your Majesty, handle this well, okay? Just pin everything on Viscount Farren. Then it will be cleanly over.”

“…”

Sandra began to turn her head, carefully considering Caspian’s story. Given how sensitive the matter was, she needed to plan carefully for Caspian to escape safely.

Seeing Sandra’s expression change moment by moment, Caspian felt hopeful that she seemed to be almost convinced. He continued speaking, putting on an aggrieved expression.

“At the Drea ducal residence party too, that bastard grabbed Lady Frida’s wrist and caused a scene. Many people saw it. The Duke of Drea and his fiancée were there too.”

“I see. I think I heard about that too. Alright. Then we’ll have to do our best to frame it as Viscount Farren’s doing.”

Sandra’s eyes narrowed as she plotted. Seeing her sharp gaze, Caspian spoke again.

“But Your Majesty.”

He hesitated for a moment, unsure how to phrase it after opening his mouth. Sandra stopped her thoughts and looked at Caspian.

“What is it?”

“That woman.”

“Which woman?”

“The minister of Drea’s fiancée.”

“Why suddenly her?”

Sandra furrowed her brow, looking at Caspian as if she couldn’t understand. He spoke carefully in a lowered voice, even though there was no one eavesdropping.

“She seemed to resemble someone.”

“Resemble who? Who? Don’t keep me in suspense, speak up.”

Sandra urged impatiently, her voice tinged with irritation. Caspian swallowed dryly and finally spoke.

“Veronia.”

“What? Who?”

“Veronia, I mean. Veronia who died in the fire accident 5 years ago! Veronia, the only imperial princess of this empire!”

“…”

Sandra’s face contorted mercilessly for a moment. Has this boy gone mad? He doesn’t seem drunk… They said he was injured, did he get a concussion? Various thoughts tangled in her small head.

And finally, Sandra, coming to her senses, shouted at the top of her lungs.

“What are you saying? Have you lost your mind?”

She raised her tightly clenched fist in the air, ready to strike Caspian at any moment.

“It’s true! That woman seemed to… know something about my past. In an unpleasant way.”

At Caspian’s words, Sandra let out a deep sigh.

“Stop talking nonsense! If it’s about your past, half the nobles in the empire probably know. They’re just keeping quiet about it, that’s all.”

“…”

“So stop this nonsense and think about how to get out of this situation!”

“We need to be in a situation to get out of before thinking about escaping. Why are you still making such a fuss when nothing happened, Your Majesty?”

Thwack, thwack! Sandra’s fists landed squarely on Caspian’s back.

“Mother! Your Grace! Welcome back!”

The first to greet Veronia and Killian upon their return to the mansion was Jediel. The child’s clear voice and bright smile wiped away all the fatigue accumulated during the day.

“Did Jediel have a good day? What did you do?”

“I drew pictures with Grandmother. Grandmother is extremely good at drawing. Jediel wants to become someone who draws as well as Grandmother!”

“Then you’ll have to practice a lot!”

Killian said with a gentle smile, and Jediel nodded vigorously.

“Yes! Grandmother said she would help me practice!”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! Did you thank Grandmother?”

Veronia asked Jediel, but it was the Dowager Duchess who answered, not Jediel.

“Of course. Our Jediel has good manners and always says thank you and expresses gratitude well.”

“Grandmother!”

At the Dowager Duchess’s appearance, Jediel trotted over to her. Veronia thought that children’s intuition was indeed remarkable. Seeing how the child immediately identified the most senior person in the household and acted cute was proof of that.

“We were just about to have a meal. If you haven’t eaten yet, let’s eat together.”

At the Dowager Duchess’s invitation, Killian and Veronia nodded simultaneously.

“Yes, that sounds good, Mother.”

“Yes, I’ll change clothes and come back.”

“Alright. Take your time.”

The Dowager Duchess headed back to the dining room with Jediel, while Veronia and Killian went up to their bedroom on the second floor. A smile never left Veronia’s face as they climbed the stairs.

“You look happy.”

“Yes, I am. It seems Jediel is adapting well to the new life, and the Dowager Duchess is showing a lot of affection for our Jediel, so I’m happy.”

Veronia answered with a radiant smile. Seeing her smile, a smile naturally formed on Killian’s lips as well.

“And you’re even happier because Mother likes you too, aren’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Hohoho, Veronia laughed out loud, covering her mouth with her hand, truly delighted. Killian thought she looked so beautiful.

“Nia, do you know something?”

“What is it?”

“That you are a very beautiful person.”

How can this person suddenly say such embarrassing things so casually, Veronia thought as she laughed with a deflating sound. Her cheeks quickly turned pink.

“Stop saying such nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense, it’s the truth.”

Killian said, taking her hand. For a moment, his blue eyes flickered like flames dancing.

“That’s why I can’t forgive Prince Caspian even more.”

He said with a serious expression and voice. His dark eyebrows, which had been straight, twitched.

“I will make him regret trying to harm you so much that he’ll pound the ground. I’ll make sure he can’t escape, just wait and see.”

“Yes. I believe in you.”

Veronia looked up at Killian and said affectionately. Her voice was so sweet. Killian immediately added the next words.

“Ah, of course, I mean I’ll just put the fork on the table you’ve set.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“It was you who found traces of the magic circle from using the teleportation scroll. And it was you who obtained Prince Caspian’s bracelet today, risking danger.”

“…”

“You also did all the work persuading the other witnesses. So it’s a table you’ve set entirely. If anyone tries to overturn that table, I’ll stop them even if I have to use a fork.”

Can he even make such wordplays? Veronia burst into laughter, finding Killian’s new side surprising and cute.

“Alright. Then I’ll trust in your abilities. You must protect the table I’ve set.”

“Yes. Leave it to me.”

Killian promised, kissing the back of Veronia’s hand.

For some reason, this time things didn’t flow easily according to Sandra or Caspian’s thoughts. It was indeed problematic to have messed with a high-ranking noble of the Hystric Kingdom.

“Your Majesty! What on earth is going on! How dare they put the emperor’s brother on trial!”

Sandra ran to the emperor, pleading and clinging to him.

“What kind of person is Caspian? He’s the prince, second in line for the throne. This is a challenge to imperial authority. How much must they look down on our imperial family to dare think of putting a prince on trial!”

“Your Majesty, please calm down.”

Jonathan gently patted Sandra’s trembling hands.