Roselyn pulled out another letter enclosed in the envelope. After reading its contents, she frowned as if disappointed.

“Elder sister is in the Grand Duke’s castle now, it says. Given there’s no particular mention, it seems her health isn’t seriously affected.”

“We also received word from our informant sent to Maris. It seems the Grand Duchess was briefly hospitalized at Maris General Hospital before being discharged soon after.”

“Hmph! I suppose she’s recuperating at the Grand Duke’s castle after being discharged.”

“This confirms that the Grand Duke rescued the Grand Duchess, but… there’s one strange point.”

“A strange point?”

“Douglas said he hid the Grand Duchess in a sealed room on the ship heading to Marquis Chalet’s territory. I heard it was a space doubly constructed on the floor of the engine room at the very bottom of the ship, a place that could never be discovered from the outside.”

Katrina sent her informant to Maris to understand the details of the Grand Duchess’s rescue and erase any traces that might remain.

The informant who went to Maris secretly recruited a security officer who participated in the search for the Grand Duchess. Through the security officer, they learned the detailed circumstances of the Grand Duchess’s rescue.

“The Grand Duke himself searched the ship, and when he arrived at the engine room, he was certain the Grand Duchess was inside.”

“He was certain?”

“Yes. He said the Grand Duchess’s scent was coming from inside.”

“Scent…!”

Roselyn’s eyes widened in shock at Katrina’s mention of the word scent. Roselyn shook her head as if it couldn’t be possible.

“That’s impossible! Elder sister, elder sister couldn’t have a scent!”

“What do you mean she couldn’t have a scent?”

“Well… elder sister is the only one in our family who was born without a scent as a harmony!”

“A harmony without a scent?”

It was a family secret, but they were already in the same boat with Katrina. Roselyn began to speak as if she had made up her mind.

“It hasn’t been revealed outside because it’s a family secret, but… everyone in our Fluor family is born with the scent of their birth flower. It’s a genetic proof that all direct descendants of Fluor should have, but elder sister was the only one born without a scent.”

“That’s a very interesting story. I didn’t know the Fluor family had such a secret… Then, your scent too?”

“Y-yes. My scent too…”

Katrina had always thought Roselyn simply liked rose perfume, as she always had a strong rose scent. Katrina, finding it fascinating that it was body odor rather than perfume, asked again, and Roselyn, momentarily flustered, answered in a trembling voice.

‘I’ve shared the secret, but… there’s no need to talk about anything beyond that.’

Roselyn composed herself and calmly arranged her expression.

“Hmm, I see. But the Grand Duchess not having a scent… is there some problem with that?”

“You must know that elder sister and I have different birth mothers. The previous Countess gave birth to elder sister, who had no scent, and died after being suspected of infidelity. Elder sister was fortunately raised in our family, but she was constantly plagued by doubts about her birth.”

“Now I understand why the Grand Duchess has been in seclusion and hasn’t made her debut in society.”

Katrina nodded, then suddenly sharpened her gaze and asked.

“But, how could the Grand Duke alone smell the Grand Duchess’s scent that no one else had ever detected?”

“Are you sure the Grand Duke smelled elder sister’s scent?”

“Yes. They say the Grand Duke alone smelled the Grand Duchess’s scent that no one else near the sealed room could detect. As if following that scent, the Grand Duchess was hidden right below where the Grand Duke stopped walking.”

“That… that’s absolutely impossible. Some incorrect information must have been passed on.”

Roselyn shook her head, denying the fact Katrina had conveyed.

‘It’s absolutely, absolutely impossible.’

If elder sister had a scent… If elder sister wasn’t a Fluor harmony…

Roselyn shuddered all over, feeling as if her own existence was being denied. It felt like the ground she had been standing on while trampling Aidel was crumbling away in an instant.

“I too prefer the Grand Duchess to be born without a scent and with doubts about her birth. It would be a good weakness to exploit. But our informant has never made a mistake before.”

Katrina said with narrowed eyes and a face still shrouded in doubt.

“There’s no way that cold-headed Grand Duke would have talked nonsense… and I don’t understand how only the Grand Duke found the sealed room that no one else could find. We need to look into the Grand Duchess’s scent.”

At Katrina’s gaze urging her to find out the reason, Roselyn reluctantly replied.

“I’ll look into whether there was a scent in the family that only reacted to specific individuals.”

“Don’t forget. Every little piece of information from the Grand Duke’s side is important to us right now.”

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Especially because of this Grand Duchess kidnapping, the Grand Duke’s vigilance will have increased even more.”

The plan to weaken the Grand Duke’s power by disposing of the Grand Duchess this time had failed. And the Grand Duke thoroughly punished Douglas and Marquis Chalet, who were involved in the incident, as if to set an example.

However, he did not mention anything about the Grand Duchess’s kidnapping externally. Katrina couldn’t shake off her uneasiness about this fact.

It could have been to protect the Grand Duchess’s honor, but… the Grand Duchess’s kidnapping could have been linked to high treason and punished, yet leaving room for punishment was unlike the Grand Duke.

“There’s no way the Grand Duke has given up his suspicion that we’re behind this incident. I heard from the informant that there are no remaining clues, but we should prepare for the worst. How is the Emperor’s side these days?”

“At the last audience, when Count Rifenser and Viscount Desen expressed concern about the Grand Duke who strongly pushed for the capital lockdown, he looked very displeased.”

“Keep instilling anxiety that the Grand Duke’s power might surpass the Emperor’s. That anxiety will become our weapon.”

Katrina lifted the teacup on the table, twisting her lips upward. Her eyes gleamed cunningly as she looked into the teacup filled with reddish-brown tea.

“So that’s what happened.”

Rainien’s sympathetic gaze settled on Aidel’s face. He was having dinner with Aidel in the banquet hall of the Grand Duke’s castle, listening to the detailed events that had happened to her.

Aidel calmly unfolded her story, but during the process… just imagining how afraid and painful the time she spent alone must have been made his heart ache.

She must have been the one who suffered the most, yet Aidel thought of the other girls first and worried about their situation.

“It’s fortunate that the girls involved in the crime are safe, but… there’s no guarantee that something like this won’t happen again.”

“Using young girls for crime… it’s a sad affair.”

“That’s right. Both Ena, who was threatened by Douglas, and Joy and the other girls who were kidnapped with me are all victims.”

‘And… Dylan too.’

Aidel swallowed her words, inwardly recalling Dylan, who had been sentenced to prison for this incident.

Although Dylan was Douglas’s accomplice, she too was another victim. Her choice to release Joy was surely influenced by memories of her past as a victim.

‘Victims should not become perpetrators to protect themselves.’

To prevent this, it was necessary to establish a foundation where children, especially those without parents, could be safely protected and become independent members of society. So that they would no longer be exploited for crime or participate in crime due to hunger.

“I’d like to expand the scope of the child labor improvement plan I had as a topic for the public administration theory assignment last time, and additionally review the child protection law.”

Aidel decided to review not only labor but also the overall protection of children within the social system.

After discussing the additional direction she had in mind with Rainien, Aidel added with a thoughtful expression.

“And… apart from the assignment, there’s another field I’d like to review additionally.”

“What field is that?”

“The human rights field regarding women’s rights.”

The world was especially harsh to women.

Ena had to receive less pay than boys her age for the same hours of work. Joy and the other girls were kidnapped for the purpose of exploiting female sexuality. Knowing this reality, Dylan also chose to dress as a man, abandoning her gender.

All of this was because they were women.

‘And I too… because I’m a noble woman, I can’t even be independent without getting divorced.’

This also reminded her once again of her own situation.

‘Women’s rights need to be improved.’

It was a resolution Aidel had made while organizing her thoughts throughout her recovery. She wanted to prepare an improvement plan so that women’s rights, which were not guaranteed in the overall laws and social culture of the Yupiter Empire, could be realized.

“Currently, there’s a lack of protection for women’s rights in Yupiter. I want to change this, but… honestly, Rainien is the only person I can share these thoughts with.”

The Yupiter Empire had a strict and conservative noble culture. When she, as the Grand Duchess, discussed the charter of women’s rights, the social impact would be beyond imagination.

She believed that Rainien, as a person from another empire who respected her as a friend rather than as the Grand Duchess, could share thoughts objectively without any prejudice.

“Women’s rights… Actually, I know an expert on this very well.”

“An expert?”

“Yes, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she’s lived her entire life for women’s rights.”

Rainien smiled softly, recalling a woman who ran around regardless of her dress attire. His aqua-blue eyes were tinged with a longing light.

“To think there’s such a person! If possible, I’d like to meet her and seek advice. Could you introduce her to me?”

“Of course. She already has a favorable impression of you, Aidel, so she’ll surely be delighted to meet you. However…”

Rainien nodded readily at Aidel’s request for an introduction, but soon trailed off. After being lost in thought for a moment, he looked at Aidel and opened his mouth.

“To meet that expert directly, you’ll have to go to the Lisandro Empire.”

“…!”

Aidel’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden statement. Rainien urged Aidel again with a firm gaze.

“If you’re alright with it… I’d like to invite you to the Lisandro Empire. When it comes to women’s human rights, the knowledge from our empire will be of great help. Moreover, there’s an academic conference on the subject coming up soon.”

Rainien had despaired when he couldn’t be of any help during this kidnapping incident. He keenly felt how powerless he was in the Yupiter Empire.

However, in his homeland, the Lisandro Empire, he could be of strength to her. With a desire to make up for it even a little, he pleaded in an earnest voice.

“Come with me. To the Lisandro Empire.”