The funeral of Duke Rodwell proceeded very quietly. At the duke’s family cemetery, only about ten nobles, including Isabelle, were present. Even the grandson, Duke Rustis, arrived unexpectedly after a few days due to a sudden illness. Isabelle explained that she couldn’t inform people about the sudden death of the duke, but everyone seemed to be aware. They avoided attending the funeral, fearing the emperor’s scrutiny.

“Still, I was surprised that not a single person from the aristocracy attended.”

“They must have all gone to Her Majesty’s banquet, especially since it was a place to welcome the Papal Investigator.”

“Her Majesty deliberately chose today, right? As if asking us to choose between the two.”

“It’s too harsh. She was supposed to be the leader of the nobility, and yet, she arranged such a modest funeral.”

“Now is not the time to worry about others. Let’s hurry back.”

It’s a strange thing. The more muted the words, the more clearly they reached the ears. The murmurings reached Isabelle’s ears distinctly, even though she didn’t want to hear them. It wasn’t the first time. On the day they buried her husband, the former emperor, people watched for the new emperor’s reactions. Back then, there was a solid background with her father and the nobility.

However, Jan turned out to be more cunning and malicious than she thought. In the end, even her father…

Jan Valencia!

I’ll tear you apart, no matter what it takes!

“If living like this, I might as well go to the battlefield right away.”

Isabelle quickly turned around. The day had darkened, and no one was visible in the park cemetery. There was only a tall man standing alone behind the tree.

Wearing a hood deep on his head, he nodded briefly toward Isabelle.

“I need to meet Leana.”

“Have you decided to be on my side?”

“I don’t like taking sides much. But it seems better to tidy up before going to Rusulph.”

Isabelle’s expression brightened.

“That’s enough.”
“I don’t particularly like taking sides. However, it seems prudent to tidy up before heading to Rusulph.”

Isabelle’s expression brightened.

“That should be sufficient.”

Kristin, who insisted on going to Rusulph, eventually returned to Greenhill. Despite Adele’s persuasion to take Leana with her, she was somewhat curious about the child’s origin, especially the story about the father who had the same face as her. And keeping Jan alive seemed dangerous.

The aristocracy easily turned their backs on Isabelle, and with a Papal Investigator sent for investigation, leaving him alone was risky. Well, this was by no means to help Duke Rodwell or Leana.

However, the two who returned as the duke heard an unexpected story.

“What, they came from the imperial palace?”

As Isabelle’s voice rose, the stewards and servants were perplexed, not knowing what to do.

“Even if we tried to stop them, they barged in like a storm, and we couldn’t help it.”

Isabelle couldn’t contain her boiling anger. On top of arranging a banquet to coincide with her father’s funeral, they invaded her house during the absence of the mansion. Without any prior notice!

No matter how much of an emperor he was, if her father had been alive, it would have been unimaginable.

“Why didn’t you inform me?”

“Well, it seems we all suddenly fell asleep. When we opened our eyes, they were gone, and that child…”

Before the steward’s words could finish, Isabelle rushed up to the second floor.

The room where Leana stayed was empty.

“This… can’t be!”

As she screamed, the steward who followed her had a face that looked like he might cry.

“We also don’t know what happened. It wasn’t possession by a ghost or anything. We all just fell asleep. He had burns on half of his face, and his eyes didn’t look human…”

“It must be magic.”

Isabelle turned to Kristin’s voice.

“Magic?”

“Kenny. The Emperor’s mage. The Emperor seems to need a top-class mage right now, so he took Leana.”

Kristin, who had been leaning against the doorframe, looked around the room.

Seeing that things were still in order, it seemed like Leana had gone willingly.

“Why does the Emperor need a top-class mage?”

“Let’s talk about that after bringing the child back.”

Instead of answering, he deeply pulled the hood again and left the room.

The imperial dining room.

The Emperor’s banquet ended before early evening.

Because the top-ranking priest sent by the Papal Investigator openly disliked the banquet. He didn’t touch the food at all, and he often gave anxiety to the nobles who approached and tried to talk.

As a result, the atmosphere quickly froze, and the nobles went back to their homes one by one.
“Considering the war ended not too long ago, everyone seems quite relaxed.”

“Well, I appreciate that.”

The sarcasm was evident, but Jan responded with a mild expression and a friendly attitude.

The investigator named Maurice appeared to be in his mid-twenties, a young priest. With fair skin and a handsome face, he looked like a boy.