When Karim opened the case, its contents were revealed.

“This is… a ribbon.”

Disappointment flickered across Karim’s face as he inspected the contents. All that fuss for a mere ribbon? Seeing Karim’s lukewarm reaction, Monique, as if expecting it, chuckled and took out the ribbon from the case.

The importance lay on the inside of the ribbon.

“Yes, it’s a ribbon. A ribbon embroidered with the Hessen family crest.”

“……!”

Surprise flashed across Karim’s face. But it was too soon to be astonished. Monique flipped the ribbon to show the embroidery on the inside. There, ‘L.H.’ was stitched.

“A ribbon with the Hessen family crest and these initials. What do you think it signifies?”

“……An heirloom of Lowell Hessen?”

“No, no, Lord Grotear. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have needed to call you, right?”

Monique tucked the ribbon back into the case with a smug gesture.

“This is ‘evidence that Lowell Hessen is alive.'”

Finally, Karim realized what Monique was getting at. Surely Monique wasn’t claiming Lowell’s survival based on just a ribbon? Karim knew Monique had been obsessing over ‘Lowell Hessen’ lately. Not long ago, she had urgently summoned him to talk about the same.

[There’s a rumor that Lowell Hessen is alive. I spoke with Lady Annet, and it seemed like she knew something. If we persuade her well, we might obtain better information….]

At the time, Karim couldn’t understand Monique’s fixation on how to coax Annet, biting her nails in frustration. It was incomprehensible to him why she would summon him for such trivial stories.

“Are you suggesting we fabricate Lowell Hessen’s survival?”

“Fabricate? That’s an odd way to put it. We’re just discovering her after she was thought to be dead.”

It sounded as if Monique was correcting Karim’s words, but essentially, she was not denying what he said.

“We happened to find out about it, happened to find her traces in Grotear territory. She’s suffering from amnesia due to the Hessen family fire, unable to remember anything, and hasn’t been discovered until now… but we found her.”

In summary, she was suggesting they use this to create a fake ‘Lowell Hessen.’

“But even if we don’t find her, with this item we can propose a good deal to the Emperor. It’s the only heirloom of his first love, he’d surely pay a high price to have it.”

“Your point is valid, but where did you get this?”

“There are ways.”

Monique’s eyes narrowed slyly, though in reality, her scheme was simpler than Karim thought.

‘Just lucky.’

Who would have known that this item arrived by parcel just as she was visiting Cheyenne Palace?

Monique often visited Annet unexpectedly, considering her an innocent lady raised sheltered like a greenhouse flower. She took Annet lightly, visiting her without notice, parading around the empty palace as if it were her own, flaunting her power.

That day was one such occasion.

[Empress Dowager? Lady Annet is not here at the moment….] [So, I’ll wait. Bring me some tea. How can you be so oblivious? What are you even good for?] [Oh… I’m sorry.]

Aside from a new maid she hadn’t seen before, it was an unremarkable day.
The maid with the purplish hair seemed new and became noticeably flustered when Monique scolded her. Perhaps not wanting to be scolded further, she hurried off to fetch tea.

It was only after the maid left that Monique understood why she had been so flustered.

“What’s this? A parcel?”

The maid had left behind parcels meant for Annet. They couldn’t be casually shown to outsiders, hence the maid’s confusion. But for Monique, this was a fortunate occurrence.

She tore open the accompanying letter and slightly opened the parcel.

That’s when she found it.

Lowell’s hair ribbon that would bring her back to the center of power!

‘I couldn’t bring the letter, it would’ve been too obvious.’

She could just claim the parcel was lost on the way. No harm there.

Monique waved her fan smugly and laughed arrogantly.

“This was supposed to go to Lady Annet. I got lucky and laid my hands on it.”

“Come to think of it, you mentioned Lowell Hessen seemed alive the other day. That she knows something… it seems quite likely now.”

“That’s right. So, to find ‘Lowell Hessen’… I need to coax more information out of Lady Annet. She seems completely ignorant of high society.”

From a few conversations, it was clear she knew nothing about society, not even court etiquette to Monique’s surprise.

“Being her chaperone and guiding her around will naturally make her rely on me. How would she manage in society without a proper guide?”

“Very true.”

“Lady Annet should be thankful to me, really.”

Monique waved her fan again, convinced that without her, Annet would have been easy prey in society. But Monique’s intentions for bringing up Annet weren’t just this.

“So, Lord Grotear. I was thinking of increasing my social activities to better coax Lady Annet. You know how expensive that can be, and I can’t just dress modestly – that’d be beneath me…”

Karim’s eyes narrowed slightly. Despite her lengthy talk, Monique’s intent was simple.

‘She’s asking for money.’

Knowing her lavish spending habits, Karim found it amusing. Her spendthrift ways had almost severed ties with her own family.

But money is a universal key that works everywhere.

Karim smiled congenially and presented a small chest.

“I thought as much. Take this for now, and I’ll send more checks. If it’s not enough, feel free to tell me.”

“Oh my, you don’t have to go that far. Thank you so much.”

“Don’t mention it. I should be thanking you. Thanks to the Empress Dowager, I can live in peace. With His Majesty’s condition, we never know what might happen.”

After exchanging pleasantries, Karim left Monique’s palace with a smile.

Once alone, Monique excitedly opened the chest given by Karim.

Inside lay a stunningly beautiful large diamond.

‘How much is this worth?’

With this, she could easily buy a mansion.

And to think he’s sending more checks on top of this!
The mere thought was exhilarating. Of course, living as the Empress Dowager, she wasn’t exactly short on funds for maintaining dignity, but Monique longed for the vanity she could indulge in high society.

“I’m sick of being cooped up in the palace. I’m the only adult in the royal family, how come the only person looking for me is Lord Grotear?”

It was natural for no one to seek her out since she hadn’t initiated any salons or tea parties. But how could she afford to throw lavish parties when her only income was for maintaining dignity? As funds became tight, naturally, Monique’s spending had to be curtailed.

But now, things were different. Annet Martinek had provided her with a splendid source of funds!

She could already envision opulent chandeliers and luxurious banquet halls. Gentlemen lining up to kiss her hand, young ladies eager to address her as their godmother and seek her attention.

She stood in front of a mirror, reflecting her appearance here and there.

‘I’m still young. I look younger than my age.’

It wasn’t uncommon for high-ranking noblewomen to have several lovers. Young, handsome men as adopted sons or guardians, whom they paraded as lovers. There was no reason she couldn’t do the same.

“The days of being stuck here in boredom are over.”

‘I’m still at an age where I can bloom in life. I too can…!’ Repeating this like a mantra, Monique opened her desk drawer. Inside was a treasure she had been guarding for the past few days.

The Tillemann Memorial Concert invitation. Her dreams of a glamorous new life were set to begin here.

‘Peter, that damned boy, can be useful at times.’

After this banquet, everything would change. Her life, the nobles’ perceptions of her.

Holding the invitation, greed flickered in Monique’s eyes as she ran her fingers over it.