Although she wanted to say something more to the Duke, she couldn’t say anything because the carriage had already started moving.

And when Lea arrived at the mansion, she had to endure Dmitry’s nagging for over an hour.

The Botox developed by Lea was a huge hit.

There was no madam who didn’t know about Botox, and due to the insufficient quantity already produced, the popularity skyrocketed to the point of making reservations for purchases.

And with the fact that the person who developed the drug was Bellarus Young Lady becoming known to the public, there was no one in the capital who didn’t know Lea. The rumor even reached the royal palace.

“So, the granddaughter of the Bellarus Duke has appeared?”

“Yes, Empress Mama.”

The man spoke while sitting on the chair, quietly sipping his tea.

‘The enemy’s daughter from the Bellarus Duke.’

Feeling the pressure in the empress’s gaze, the man’s body trembled slightly.

“I heard that the trendy drug called Botox these days was also developed by that young lady.”

“Botox?”

The empress had also heard about Botox from the salon. She had seen with her own eyes the wrinkles of the madams who had taken the drug neatly smoothed out.

So she had been looking into obtaining the drug herself.

‘The one who made it was the Bellarus lady.’

The empress playfully tapped her fingers, expressing interest.

“And this is just a rumor, but…”

“What is it?”

“There’s a rumor that the Bellarus lady had a secret meeting with Duke Heidern at the masquerade.”

“The granddaughter of Bellarus Duke and Duke Heidern?”

‘Tsk.’

Of all things, it was a rumor about the entanglement between Akkia and the only successor of the Bellarus family. He wasn’t even a man with enough strength to lift a spoon properly.

But somehow, he had recovered from his illness and gained strength day by day, and now he was in charge of affairs.

‘He was supposed to relax in the back room and enjoy his life.’

When an unpleasant premonition struck, the empress tapped the end of her teacup with her hand.

‘I have a bad feeling.’

Moreover, he had been given the rights to the hot spring business by the Bellarus Duke, and his momentum was rising day by day.

At this rate, if the Bellarus Duke allows the relationship between the two…

The empress shuddered at the thought of a terrible scenario and wrinkled her nose.

‘The lad who couldn’t even look me in the eye when he was young.’

Akkia always hid behind his mother’s skirt and couldn’t even look her in the eye.

And after the empress ascended to the throne, when it was time for him to enter the palace, he hid in the prince’s palace by himself.

‘This can’t go on.’

The empress wanted to ascend to the position of empress herself, but she couldn’t.

When she had a son, she was happy, thinking she might inherit the throne. However, as if it were obvious, the throne returned to the grandson, Philip III.

Unable to become empress and with the disgrace of her eldest son not becoming emperor, the humiliation was indescribable.

She was left with just a corner of the palace for the rest of her life.
After Philip III ascended to the throne, Akkia was born. Akkia, a distant prince not much older than Ile, the grandson of the empress, grew up in the palace, learning imperial studies, unlike Ile.

It must have been challenging for the empress to watch Akkia grow up, unlike Ile, who learned imperial studies.

However, after the death of Emperor Philip’s empress, Akkia became increasingly frail day by day.

From such a weakened Akkia, the empress found a faint hope.

Namely,

‘Making my grandson the emperor.’

And she realized her unfulfilled dream through Ile. Akkia, who had been expelled from the Heidern territory, longed for the day of his death, but he returned like this.

Thinking of the marquis who might still be imprisoned by Akkia, the empress clenched her fist. Then she slowly lifted the eyelids that had been lowered.

“However, being the granddaughter of the Bellarus family. So, you’re the daughter of the deceased Ariel, right? You must have handled it well back then, didn’t you?”

“W-Well, that is…”

The frigid gaze of the empress reached Si-jong. When the man hesitated to answer the empress’s question, her narrowed eyes intensified.

Twenty-two years ago, the empress had planned to kidnap her daughter, who had run away with the knights to catch the weaknesses of the Bellarus Duke.

During that process, the knights, the daughter of the duke, and even the child in her womb were said to have died.

‘If I had known that my granddaughter was alive, I would have taken action sooner.’

If that had happened, Akkia, who now had the Bellarus Duke’s family on his back, wouldn’t have seen the light of day. The empress sighed as if regretful.

“Go to the capital today and tell Ile to tidy up the Rose Palace. It should be thoroughly arranged.”

The Rose Palace was where empresses of the empire stayed for generations. And the current emperor didn’t even have an engaged partner, yet he was asked to tidy up the Rose Palace.

‘Surely not.’

Si-jong’s mind was busy rolling over thoughts, and his eyes shook belatedly. She stopped flicking her finger, which had been bouncing off the table, as if reading Si-jong’s thoughts.

“Yes, indeed. It’s about time I see my great-grandson.”