In the western part of the palace, a small star palace tinged with green.

Lucia, who had climbed over the fence, worried about being seen by the guards, absentmindedly brushed off her skirt.

As she walked a little further through the garden, she saw elegant ladies with parasols.

Like the colorful flowers of the evergreen garden, they easily divided into two groups, forming the symmetry of the garden.

“Oh my! Lady Lucia! Welcome! We were just wondering how you have been!”

“Indeed. Lady Marien just dropped by to say hello. It’s a shame you couldn’t see her. Maybe we should organize a tea gathering next time.”

At the greeting of Mera and Serdin, the eyes of the assembled ladies focused on them.

The kindergarten had beginner and advanced classes, as well as a graduation class.

In short, there were 12 class representatives, and the highranking ladies and the upandcoming nobles each had their own domain.

As Lucia entered the domain of the newcomers, they began to whisper among themselves.

“That lady with the black hair is…?”

“Yes, it seems so. From what I heard from the lady who left earlier, her husband died in the war. Which region she’s from exactly…”

Lucia heard their whispers from afar.

‘Which lady talked about me? Ah, it must be Marien.’

Lucia thought of Marien, who had just come by, at the words of those women whispering false information.

She seemed to be concerned about revealing that she was the captain of the Black Knights, like the Aces.

‘So that’s why she has been ignoring me since our time as class representatives.’

Lucia remembered how she used to divert the eyes of the ladies while being entangled with Leon.

She found Marien, a chatterbox, to be tiring, but she promised to repay her someday for her supportive actions.

“This place is magnificent! Having the opportunity to be in this palace, my husband has never been here either. Thanks to Princess Char, it’s a feast for the eyes! Hohoho.”

While one group was happily chattering away, the highranking noble ladies looked down on them and sneered.

“Just look at those smiling faces. They don’t even know who they are meeting.”

“Hehe, exactly.”

Though Lucia found their insinuations annoying, just then, a rather strictlooking steward of the star palace appeared to start the tour.

“Her Majesty the Empress is waiting. Now, follow me.”

Two groups of ladies followed her into the banquet hall.

Whether it was the excited ladies or the arrogant ones,

In all of their minds was the same wish: that the location for their children’s excursion be their own domain.

The annual gathering of all kindergarten students was divided into a presentation and a fall outing.

Especially the fall outing was an excellent opportunity to impress upon the influential noble children the beauty of their domain during the harvest season.

Moreover, with Princess Char, who the Emperor dearly loved, being present, the atmosphere couldn’t be anything but intense.

However, the atmosphere was shattered when they arrived at the oddly suspicious venue.

All they could see was pitchblack darkness.

Even ignoring the fact that a bright and elegant banquet hall didn’t appear in everyone’s mind, this dark space showed absolutely nothing.

Just when the small, anxious breaths grew louder,

Suddenly, a strong light illuminated the center of the banquet hall.

The ladies squinted due to the sudden light.

As their vision recovered,

“Oh my, what’s that?”

A tower of champagne glasses, sparkling among the intense light, became visible.

“Ah!”

“Mama!”

Clowns with humorous makeup quickly climbed onto each other’s shoulders and popped a bottle of premium champagne at the top of the tower.

Then, coralcolored bubbles cascaded down like glittering pearls, and along with the spectacle, the stage lit up with lively music and dancers began their routines and tricks.

The atmosphere was anything but fitting for the Empress’s banquet hall.
Moreover, the absurd faces of the noblewomen changed seriously, illuminated by the table’s playing cards, exotic mahjong, and hazy smoke from the water pipes.

So, anyone could see that this place was utterly, completely.

Indistinguishable from the depraved shows held by nobles in some back alley.

But as if to say that this grand chaos was not yet over, a swing descended from the ceiling.

On that swing, a beautiful woman with long pink hair landed gracefully in the center of the stage.

And she, spreading her slender arms like wings, said,

“Now, I have prepared for you, weary from childcare! Forget your parental roles for a moment and take a break!”

She was clearly the woman who should be more elegant, noble, and wise than anyone else in the world, Queen Robina Eldarion.

But completely different from expectations, the noblewomen who had been avoiding each other could only widen their eyes in shock, as if they were chickens surprised in a coop.

At that moment, in Eldarion Kindergarten,