At the end of countless endless wars, the social circles of the New Eaton Empire were more bustling than ever before. This was due to the incessant gossip pouring out within the New Eaton Empire.

The hastily concluded return ceremony of the imperial army after the sudden disappearance of the commander was like that, as was the victory banquet without its protagonist, and so was the increasingly sharp conflict of opinions between the imperial family and the noble faction.

Even after the war ended, the New Eaton Empire had no quiet days. Already within the empire, a fierce power struggle to gain greater authority was in full swing.

It all started with the absence of Grand Duke Gwendhill, who had been the central pillar of the imperial family and noble faction.

[Did the Grand Duke really die?] [Oh my, I heard rumors that he went missing.] [That can’t be. Surely His Majesty wouldn’t have let a traitor live.]

Grand Duke Gwendhill, who was said to have been immediately executed after his treasonous plans were exposed just before the return ceremony, was the talk of the town wherever one went.

It was perfect for heating up the social atmosphere where dark jealousy stirred rather than boring peace.

And it was proving quite useful for the noble faction that had been controlling all the trends in social circles.

“Marquis, I heard you had an audience with His Majesty today. How was it?”

“Did he still order a search, unable to let go of his attachment to the traitor?”

“Tch! Of course the owner of the imperial throne would look for the hunting dog he used to command like a limb.”

“Hahaha, that’s right!”

In the gathering place set up within the brilliantly lit banquet hall, secretive conversations were taking place. It was a scene too boisterous to be called secretive, yet too base in its greed to be called boisterous.

In the midst of it all, a red-haired nobleman with a languid and gentle atmosphere slowly swirled his wine glass with his chin resting on his hand.

“Well, I suppose he’s still not feeling the reality of it.”

The reddish-brown eyes visible through the red wine were as deep as blood.

“He must be afraid, confused, worried…”

All the nobles present listened intently to the red-haired nobleman’s words, holding their breath.

The red-haired nobleman slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

“It would be easier if he just accepted it.”

The nobleman with red hair and reddish-brown eyes, Darhan Bridend, leisurely took a sip of wine.

Unlike his lips curved in a kind and gentle smile, his eyes were shining coldly and cruelly.

The nobles who had been watching Darhan, the leader of the noble faction, burst into laughter with a “haha”.

“But he’ll give up soon enough. How long can he hold out when the hunting dog that served as his faithful shield has disappeared?”

The New Eaton Imperial Family was nothing special except for their bloodline. They were ordinary people with no exceptional talent in magic or swordsmanship. Yet, throughout the long history of New Eaton, there had never been a change in the bloodline that occupied the imperial throne.

It’s not that there were no rebellions in the long history.

However, there had never been a single case of a successful rebellion.

‘Like a cunning snake.’

The owners of the imperial throne ruling the New Eaton Empire had been crafty and cunning for generations.

Merciless to enemies, and terribly cherishing of allies, the reputation of being a wise ruler was only partial. The Emperor of New Eaton was skilled in persuasion and conciliation, and knew how to deploy tactics and strategies in the right place at the right time.

Using the carrot and stick appropriately, he pretended to respect the noble faction while keeping them under his feet, and while pretending to share power, he looked after the imperial family’s interests first.

‘Moreover, he even established a symbiotic relationship with Gwendhill.’

In short, there were no gaps.

The noble faction that had been at odds with such an emperor had been trampled upon for many long years. The noble faction, which had somehow endured humiliating years by flattering the emperor and prostrating at his feet, finally cultivated the courage to look the emperor in the eye as equals.

“I wonder how His Majesty feels now. The Grand Duke, who always returned safely from countless battlefields, disappeared from the world overnight. He must be dumbfounded.”

“Well, I’d say he’s more likely desperate. He’s in a position where he has to beg us nobles, whom he’s been mistreating all this time, for help.”

“All of this is thanks to Marquis Bridend.”

The nobles praised Darhan in subtle tones.

Darhan continued to savor his wine without any particular reaction.

Then the nobles began to reveal their true thoughts more boldly.

“Come to think of it, the Grand Duke was human after all. They say his only weakness was a thigh injury.”

“You never know about people. Whether he was lost in sentiment or overconfident, to think he’d be ambushed.”

“That’s how thoroughly we prepared. Didn’t we push hard, sending even expensive dark mages and assassins?”

“The poison we researched for years because of Gwendhill’s damned constitution finally bore fruit.”

Huahahaha.

Though they lowered their voices, the noble faction was unrestrained in the banquet hall where many ears were listening.

The tide had already turned. How many would try to go against the flow of the power structure shifting once again?

“……”

However, Darhan remained vigilant.

The flow of power forcibly grasped through assassination could easily be reversed at any time.

‘That cunning snake must know. He won’t believe in Gwendhill’s death unless we bring his head.’

Who was Leodelt Gwendhill? He was the Grand Duke of the New Eaton Empire and the invincible sword protecting the New Eaton Imperial Family, far from being a traitor. The charge of treason against Leodelt was a groundless accusation, but it had to be treason for immediate execution to be possible.

That’s why Darhan pushed forward, knowing it was a reckless move.

The dead don’t speak, do they? That’s why it was all the more necessary to bring Leodelt Gwendhill’s head.

‘Those fools, dropping him off a cliff.’

As a result, due to failing to find Leodelt Gwendhill’s corpse, a hitch occurred in the perfect plan.

Darhan quietly gritted his teeth at the nobles foolishly laughing and chattering in front of him.

‘Parasites.’

It was a completely different inner thought from his attitude of leaving the nobles’ chatter alone just moments ago.

‘I suppose I’ll have to clean up soon.’

He could just charge them with appropriate crimes and eliminate them.

For now, it would be troublesome if the number of nobles decreased, but soon the forces supporting the noble faction were expected to grow larger.

‘With Gwendhill gone and if the emperor falls too, the young crown prince will be nothing but a puppet.’

Everything was going smoothly.

Although Gwendhill’s subordinates were still running around, a body without a head couldn’t move properly anyway.

‘Once Leodelt Gwendhill’s death is officially announced, the Gwendhill Grand Duke’s house will be torn apart that very day.’

Then naturally, that vast grand duchy would become Bridend’s property.

The fortune of the grand duke’s house, said to be piled up like mountains, would also be confiscated.

Imagining the power and wealth that would soon be in his grasp, Darhan’s cold gaze softened.

“By the way, Marquis, when do you plan to marry?”

“That’s right. All the women of New Eaton are eyeing the empty spot beside you, Marquis.”

The nobles, sensing Darhan’s mood, changed the topic on their own.

Darhan smoothly raised the corners of his mouth.

He shrugged his shoulders lightly.

“With the goal in sight, I don’t have much time to look elsewhere.”

“Hahaha, that’s true. Your eyes are set quite high, Marquis.”

“Of course. Is it easy to find a spouse who can modestly support a man doing great things?”

Everyone knew about Darhan’s colorful history with women and his dissolute private life, but externally, he was maintaining a thorough bachelor image without a single illegitimate child, so there was no problem.

If one could occupy the position of the noble faction leader’s wife, Darhan’s personal history was not even a flaw.

“Marquis, do you perhaps have your eye on any young lady these days?”

Eyes burned with desire for the position of Marquis Bridend’s father-in-law.

Darhan smiled slightly and held back his words.

He was already approaching the age of thirty.

If he delayed the marriage issue any further, he risked being branded as a man with issues.

“Well…”

However, he had no intention of getting involved with a mediocre family.

Marriage between nobles was a union of families. Darhan, who had already grasped great power, did not want to share what was his.

It was then.

Along with the sound of the banquet hall doors opening, a cry announcing an entrance echoed through the hall.

“Marquis Gathers Knocharff and his fiancée, Lady Eris Bian, are entering!”

The title of marquis was not common in the New Eaton Empire.

Naturally, Darhan’s gaze turned to the couple just entering across the banquet hall.

“…Hooh.”

An interested smile spread across Darhan’s face.

It wasn’t just Darhan. All eyes in the hall were on the young lady being escorted by a pot-bellied middle-aged nobleman.

She was a beauty stunning enough to make one lose their senses.

“Eris Bian?”

“A young lady I’ve never seen before…?”

“Hmm… Was there such a beauty?”

The ‘Eris Bian’ lady, who had all eyes in the hall focused on her, had half of her long straight hair twisted up and secured with a lace pin, and wore a tight-fitting dress that revealed her figure.

Her light gray hair shimmered like silver under the banquet hall lights.

“Truly, she’s beautiful”

Along with her unique hair color and red eyes, her eye smile and fresh smile were captivating.

Above all, the mole under her left eye looked very alluring.

And Eris Bian, who had instantly become the protagonist of the banquet, hid a satisfied smile at her successful social debut.

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Five years. It had been a full five years. It was the time she had wasted in her prime years to become ‘Eris Bian’.

However, the moment she entered the banquet hall, she felt rewarded for those five years of wasted time.

Finally, her perfect identity laundering as ‘Eris Bian’ was complete.

“Everyone is looking only at the princess…, no, my fiancée.”

The pot-bellied middle-aged man escorting her grinned with an elated face.

He was a typical nouveau riche, full of vanity and desire for ostentation.

‘How stupid.’

Arisbian, who had started a new life as ‘Eris Bian’, inwardly sneered.

She found the fool who unnecessarily voiced the obvious pathetic, but she didn’t show it.

After all, thanks to having this stupid man as her official fiancé, she had successfully and dramatically made her mark on the New Eaton Empire nobles as ‘Eris Bian’.

‘For now, having this kind of man as a fiancé is beneficial, so it can’t be helped.’

As she intended, people around were already shooting envious glances, as if the pot-bellied man had an undeservingly beautiful fiancée. It flared up even more since Gathers was a marquis from a family with neither a long history nor prestige.

Coveting and desiring the most valuable thing others possessed was the nature of nobles.

Of course, the same was true for Arisbian.

‘It’s a pity it’s not an imperial ball, but as expected of a banquet that invited the noble faction leader, the guests seem well-selected.’

Though the scale wasn’t quite satisfactory, it wasn’t bad that it was a refined banquet where low-ranking nobles couldn’t poke their noses in.

Arisbian moved her steps with a slowly melting eye smile.

She enjoyed the nobles’ greedy, jealous gazes that she hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Ahem, shall we get a bit closer? Come to think of it, you’re my fiancée now, so I should show more affection.”

“……”

Gathers caressed Arisbian’s hand with a lecherous gaze.

Arisbian lowered her gaze shyly, conscious of the surrounding gazes.

She inwardly gritted her teeth.

‘Not knowing your place and trying to climb up?’

Although Arisbian was the princess of a fallen kingdom, noble royal blood flowed in her veins. She had no intention of living as a woman of someone like Gathers Knocharff.

‘Although Gathers is a marquis, he’s no different from an honorary noble with a tiny fief the size of a fingernail.’

It meant that someone like Gathers was of no help at all to her social climbing.

‘If I’m going to aim for the position of a marchioness in the New Eaton Empire anyway…’

Arisbian naturally pulled Gathers’ arm to change direction.

Then she checked the direction of the grouped noble faction. Beyond the nobles standing as if enchanted by her beauty, a slightly different gaze was felt.

A red-haired nobleman was watching her as if observing.

‘Found him.’

As they got closer, the brooch design worn by the red-haired nobleman became clearer.

There was only one family in the empire with a scorpion emblem.

‘Darhan Bridend!’

Already knowing Darhan in detail through background checks, Arisbian was full of confidence.

Finally standing before the noble faction, Arisbian spoke first without waiting for Gathers’ introduction.

Darhan preferred proactive women over submissive ones.

“It’s my first time greeting you, Marquis Bridend. I’m ‘Eris’, daughter of the Bian family.”

Arisbian greeted Darhan with a shy smile.

The only person who could bring her the wealth and power she had enjoyed as a princess was the Marquis Bridend before her eyes.

Arisbian was confident in her beauty, and she had never failed in seduction before.

“Yes, Lady ‘Eris Bian’. It’s nice to meet you.”

Arisbian hid a triumphant smile.

Arisbian was certain.

As much as she had overcome hardships and trials, only flower paths would unfold before her from now on.

Isn’t it a truly fair and just reward?

Just then, the music began. The majestic melody seemed to celebrate the glamorous restart of life.