Five years since becoming the Empire.

The ranking of the merged large and small countries was already quite established, but there was still one of the two that hadn’t decided on the surname.

Either there were no families to be sorted out, or the family was so great that it was still difficult to sort out.

So, every lady gathered here, like journalists on a burst pipe, added one question at a time.

“I was curious too! Even though her husband was a knight?”

“That’s right. And there are rumors that she is connected with Lord Leon. What kind of relationship is that?”

“Again, I heard that she is close to Princess Charlotte, so do you have a friendship with Lady Hwangbi? Or…”

Anna’s expression became interesting at those questions.

She had only intended to gather information about the unique black hair and the representative of the sparrow half, but it seemed to have led to a place she hadn’t expected.
So, when she saw that black hair, she casually mentioned the person who came to her mind.

“Did you all know? The black monster of the Empire. The fearsome commander of the Black Knights is named Lucia.”

At her words, everyone’s eyes widened.

Of course, no one was unaware that the commander of the Black Knights had taken childcare leave.

However, the reason Niya couldn’t easily connect that news to Lucia was because she didn’t have information about the child.

In other words, since it was absurd for a child to take childcare leave at the age of five, it wasn’t even clear whether the child was one or two years old.

So, there was no basis to assume that the child attended kindergarten, but when Anna saw her, it was enough to suspect that she emitted an aura similar to a child.

Thus, in her words that were not aimed at the core but hit the core, the late autumn garden, now quiet, was filled only with the sound of rustling leaves.

And laughter, initiated by someone unknown, erupted here and there.

“Oh my! Marquis. There’s no way! Look at the lady’s wrist!”

“That’s right. According to what I heard from my husband, it’s said that she’s a monster with muscles attached to a larger height than a man, making it impossible to distinguish whether she’s a woman or a man. Hohoho.”

“Commander of the Black Knights, Lady Lucia? Would you mind flexing a bit?”

Those were words made up by their husbands.

Although they hadn’t seen Lucia properly, it was probably nonsense they made up because if the black monster turned out to be a woman with a smaller and more ordinary build than themselves, their pride would be hurt.

As the teasing sounds of those women didn’t stop,

Suddenly, two ladies sitting next to Lucia stood up, hitting the table.

“Stop it! Raising a child alone is unimaginably difficult, but you’re really going too far!”

“That’s right! Moreover, for those who haven’t experienced war, how can you laugh so directly about losing a husband…! How can you laugh at such a sad thing?”

Merah and Serdin’s wives, who trembled with anger as if they would leave the place immediately, covered their uncomfortable expressions with fans, and the ladies who had been teasing for a long time closed their mouths.

In that atmosphere, it seemed difficult for this gathering to end well.

Then Anna calmly began to mediate.

“Calm down, everyone. It seems like my question ruined the mood. What should we do?”

Although she tried to control the atmosphere quite well, her words didn’t stop.

“But… knowing the origin is quite an important issue, I think. Wouldn’t it be better to build friendships with people you are sure of?”

Anna didn’t hide it.

She hadn’t participated in this gathering as a mother like the other ladies.

So, she could openly state her somewhat uncomfortable purpose of clearly selecting her young master’s friends.

Then, with one or two nods, the heads of almost all the ladies turned, and the tone of the atmosphere changed.

Now, almost every lady focused on what answer Lucia would give.

“…….”
Under the inevitable pressure, Lucia momentarily forgot her words. She faced the venomous eyes demanding an explanation.

‘Even if they have met under the supervision of the current headmistress, is title really that important? What do these noble ladies plan to do with their children in the long run?’

Disgust surged within her. These grand and noble noblewomen probably enjoyed music instead of screams in crucial exhibitions, and drank warm tea instead of blood-stained mud baths.

From this perspective, it wasn’t unreasonable for Lucia, who had led on the battlefield, to develop an aversion to nobility.

However, now it was unavoidable to blend into this atmosphere for a more critical future.

However, it was an atmosphere where even if she told the truth, it wouldn’t be believed.

But then, it happened.

Servants rushed in from somewhere.

As they began to whisper something urgently into Anna’s ear,

“Oh my, is the atmosphere already ending?”

A natural and cheerful voice, pretending not to know anything.

The uninvited protagonist was Lobina Hwangbi, with her gorgeous pink hair.