The fragile mistress blinked her large eyes, expressing concern.

The first beastkin who mentioned humans looked embarrassed.

“Ah, I was thoughtless in my chatter.”

“No, thank you for being considerate.”

Titiye replied kindly.

She was warmly regarded by those around her.

“How can she be so kind?”

“She’s as deep and thoughtful inside as she is beautiful. I heard the Empress strongly opposed Titiye’s entry into the palace. Despite that, she’s defending her.”

“Ah… that’s…”

Titiye hesitated, seeming troubled.

As everyone looked at her with sympathy, she managed a smile.

“I believe the Empress will understand my sincerity someday.”

“They say being too kind only leads to being taken advantage of.”

Despite the beastkin’s insistence, Titiye only responded with a bright smile.

Everyone admired Titiye’s unusual gentleness for a mistress.

Amid the warm atmosphere, a young lady spoke up.

“Did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

Her voice took on a secretive tone.

“Rumor has it that different males visit the Empress’s palace every night.”

“Oh my!”

The nobles’ eyes sparkled at the sensational rumor.

The rumor spread like wildfire.

“I heard it too. She calls them regardless of species.”

“Changing males every night?”

“Well, she’s human. She couldn’t even make a mate bond with His Majesty. Maybe it’s been happening for quite some time.”

Following the discussion of human promiscuity, the rumors about the Empress’s nights grew more dramatic.

“She’s been misnamed all this time.”

“What nickname?”

“The Cold-blooded Empress.”

A nickname given for her fairness in public matters, but personal coldness towards those who approached her with emotion.

It was said that the Empress, a human in a beastkin empire, had blue blood running through her veins instead of red.

While continuing their chatter, they watched Titiye’s reaction.

She clasped her hands, smiling as if genuinely pleased.

“I’m relieved. I was worried. Worried the Empress might be lonely because of me. I’m glad she’s not spending every night alone.”

Rather than seizing the chance to criticize the Empress, Titiye refrained from joining the provocative rumor.

Observing this, some young nobles expressed their disappointment.

“But I was rejected.”

“Me too.”

The otter young noble who had been rejected by Sephia earlier was also present.

Titiye apologized with a sorry face.

“Sorry, it seems I was wrong to encourage you to approach the Empress.”

“Oh, Titiye, you have nothing to apologize for. It seems the Empress just doesn’t fancy us.”

A noblewoman’s comment led to laughter among the beastkin.

“She must have high standards, being human.”

“I wonder what her type is? Perhaps a carnivore?”

“Or maybe a gentle herbivore?”

The truth was, the rumors about the Empress had been circulating since yesterday, when she was absent.

Sephia had no choice but to listen to these rumors as they spread.

And she saw it.

Titiye’s eyes, at that moment, met hers.

In the split second their eyes met, Titiye was smiling triumphantly.

The source of the rumors was closer than expected.

Enraged to the point of exploding, a maid was about to confront Titiye.

“I’ll show her…!”

“Wait a moment.”

Sephia tried to intervene, but the maid was quicker.

Even Lady Remodi, who usually restrained the fiery maid, let go this time.

As the maid rushed forward, someone stepped in front of her.

“Ah!”
The maid, having hit her nose against the man’s chest, clutched her face in pain.

The young nobleman, who had suddenly approached, didn’t apologize to the injured maid but instead scolded her.

“Ah, what? You’re in the way.”

“How dare you! Who suddenly pushed into me?” the maid retorted.

It was the young noble who had abruptly entered from the left and collided with her.

He then dismissively pushed her aside.

“Ah!”

“Betty!”

Alarmed, Lady Remodi caught Betty as she nearly fell to the floor.

Such rudeness to the Empress’s maid was unthinkable.

The small commotion drew everyone’s attention, hardening Sephia’s expression.

Yet, the young noble, unconcerned, presented a flamboyant greeting to Sephia.

“Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Gelard Louvre.”

With his brown hair slicked back and brown eyes, the young noble’s appearance held a somewhat untrustworthy air.

Louvre. Sephia’s eyes chilled at the mention of the name that had troubled her numerous times.

“Thank you for the introduction. I was actually curious about who you were.”

“Ah, has the Empress been waiting for me? I heard from my mother that I have a good reputation in the capital.”

It was still early in the celebration, and Gelard’s nose was already red from drinking.

Sephia had heard about the Louvre family’s eldest son.

‘A drunkard and worthless trash.’

He had even missed the first day of the Victory Celebration because he was inebriated.

Gelard continued, oblivious to Sephia’s silence.

“I heard you invite different men to your palace every night. I assure you, I won’t be easily replaced if you invite me to your chamber.”

His statement shocked even those who were gossiping about Sephia.

Openly uttering such an affront to the Empress was unthinkable.

Sephia’s expression turned even colder.

“You seem to be gravely mistaken. The only reason I asked for your name was to hold you accountable for your rudeness to my maid.”

“Was she Your Majesty’s maid? I didn’t know.”

Gelard shrugged off the incident, clearly unaware of the gravity of his actions.

“And if she wasn’t my maid? Does that erase the disrespect you showed Betty?”

“That was a mistake on my part.”

Gelard scratched his head, his staggering suggesting he wasn’t entirely sober.

Engaging further with the drunken noble seemed pointless to Sephia.

“That’s enough. I must attend to my maid. The disrespect you and your family have shown today will not be forgotten.”

She noticed blood on the maid’s cheek where they had collided.

As Sephia moved toward Betty, Gelard tried to grab her wrist.

“Wait, don’t go…!”

But his drunken attempt failed to reach Sephia.

“Ah!”

“Get lost.”

Roxan had firmly grabbed Gelard’s arm, twisting it and throwing the young noble to the ground.

Half-folded and thrown, Gelard bounced across the floor, crashing into a wall.

“My son, my boy!”
Belatedly realizing who caused the commotion, Countess Louvre hurried over and embraced Gelard. Blood profusely flowed from his crooked nose, which hit the wall, grotesquely staining his face.

“This impudence will be addressed with the entire Louvre family later,” Roxan stated, his expression emotionless.

Countess Louvre, about to protest, closed her mouth. Soon, the knights escorted out Gelard, the instigator of the disturbance.

“Oh, where are they taking my son?” she cried, following them tearfully.

The commotion subsided.

Around Sephia were the male beasts who had been rejected by her or had attempted to approach her, now observing the situation.

The Star of Ishtar.

These shameless males, aiming to reach their goals by winning over Sephia, the most exalted woman in the empire.

They hesitantly retreated, witnessing the bloodied and carried-away Gelard.

Such a ruckus in the banquet hall.

Roxan appeared before a slightly dazed Sephia.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m not,” Sephia replied, realizing the one truly hurt was the carried-away male, not herself.

Roxan sighed and turned to Sephia’s maids.

“It seems you’ve been pricked by a brooch. Let’s get you treated. I’ll stay with Her Majesty.”

“Thank you,” she said, grateful.

The maids, admiring Roxan like a hero, nodded in agreement. The injury, though a facial one, was minor.

However, the observant maids disappeared in unison.

Left alone with Roxan, Sephia was about to express her gratitude when he mentioned, “I’ve heard some strange rumors going around.”

He too had heard.

Although the rumor had spread far and wide, it left a bitter taste in Sephia’s mouth.