Dorothea had her maid help Biare try on the dress, and fortunately, since they were similar in size, the dress fit Biare well.

It seemed she had given Biare the most impressive dress she owned.

With the maid’s help, Biare adjusted her outfit and headed to where the princess was waiting in the room.

“I am overwhelmed by Your Highness’s consideration.”

“Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any problem with the size.”

Dorothea dismissed the maid who had brought tea and looked at her with folded arms.

“So… what is it that the duchess wants to tell me?”

Dorothea, somewhat sharply, cast a piercing gaze as if trying to see through her, to which Biare responded with a gentle smile.

“I simply wish to help Your Highness.”

“Do you know what that means right now?”

“Yes. I will be a strong support for Your Highness, who will become the next Sun.”

“Hmm, but as far as I know, the duchess is meeting me for the first time today?”

Dorothea Lua Kartos, no matter how much she deceived people’s eyes with her sickly image, couldn’t hide her ambitious red eyes filled with ambition.

However, since Dorothea didn’t seem to possess the arrogance born of self-importance like her brother, Biare thought she was a suitable candidate for the throne.

‘If the current crown prince is not to ascend to the throne, the princess would be the best option.’

Making Dorothea emperor instead of Ivan would also be a good choice for the imperial citizens.

Despite growing up in an unfavorable environment, she who didn’t cower and hid her fangs in front of them was an essential figure for Biare’s plan.

However, there was no need to reveal her detailed emotions to her, so Biare simply answered with a clear smile and a natural demeanor.

“I’m embarrassed to say, but I have an eye for people.”

“I expect Duke Ruschef has no such intention.”

“I am not my father’s person. This is my own decision.”

Biare took a sip of the tea placed in front of her and explained the situation to Dorothea in a serious voice.

“I’m creating a force equal to the emperor’s faction. I’m planning to meet Count Lapiers soon at the hunting competition.”

Although Dorothea tried to hide her expression, she couldn’t conceal the momentary agitation that showed. The current Count Lapiers was her maternal grandfather.

The decisive reason why the late empress’s backing was inevitably weak was because she had severed ties with the Lapiers family.

The Lapiers family had a long history of producing imperial knight commanders for generations, but as internal power struggles spread, a bloodbath ensued.

Although the family tragedy was being hushed up and not known to the public, they eventually declared neutrality and withdrew from politics.

This incident happened during the previous reign, so Dorothea’s maternal grandfather opposed his youngest daughter becoming empress, and finally chose to sever ties with his daughter, whom he resented for turning her back on the family.

Thus, the empress was unable to meet her family members until her death, which was information Biare had obtained through Burnout 34.

“Are you saying you’re going to persuade Count Lapiers in front of me?”

Dorothea was looking at her with suspicious eyes, as if she couldn’t believe it.

Meeting her gaze calmly, Biare recalled Count Lapiers, who was part of her plan.

Even though he had left politics and was living in his territory, it was said that he would travel to the capital on the day of the hunting competition.

It was known among the public that the head of the Lapiers family, renowned for their martial prowess, attended the hunting competition, but Biare thought differently.

The count, feeling guilty towards his daughter and granddaughter, would want to help the princess secretly from behind.

That’s why he had been consistently attending the hunting competition, hoping to perhaps meet his granddaughter.

No matter how distinct the royal bloodline Dorothea possessed, it was an unchangeable fact that Lapiers blood also flowed through her veins.

‘Surely, Dorothea, you must hate the royal family.’

Among the royals, no one had protected the empress who had been erased from the Lapiers family lineage.

To the public, the empress’s death was known to be due to puerperal fever, but in fact, the one who killed the empress was none other than the empress dowager.

It was common knowledge how fatal even a small amount of poison could be to a new mother who had just given birth.

However, the imperial family remained silent about the empress’s death. Even the emperor who had once favored her.

In the end, it was said that no one cared about the well-being of the empress who died after ingesting poison.

Count Lapiers, who would regret that incident for a long time, would want to help his granddaughter left alone in the imperial family out of pity.

“Persuade? That’s preposterous, Your Highness.”

Dorothea raised one eyebrow and stared at Biare intently, as if telling her to continue speaking.

To this, Biare smiled faintly, took a sip from her teacup to moisten her throat, and added.

“I’m simply asking for ‘cooperation.'”

“…I’m curious what the duchess wants so badly to go to such lengths.”

It would be difficult for an ordinary person to understand burning the opportunity to become the next empress of the Marta Empire and turning it into ashes.

Even the nobles Biare had to persuade so far had all questioned her dubiously.

“If I say it’s for the same reason as Your Highness… would that be an answer?”

Dorothea, finding it hard to understand the meaning of that answer, shrugged and replied.

“Well, I can see that the duchess has her own circumstances.”

After finishing negotiations with the princess and returning to the duke’s residence, Biare pulled out a stack of documents from her study desk drawer.

It was a document containing Duke Verdeum’s movements over the past year, which she had previously asked Fabian to obtain.

“I didn’t expect it to be brought so quickly.”

Biare, unable to suppress a wry smile at the intelligence capabilities of Burnout 34, calmly composed herself and opened the first page of the document.

“Hah.”

After turning the last page, Biare let out a deep sigh and put down the stack of documents she was holding onto the desk.

In the past, he seemed unwilling to have Biare involved in Verdeum family matters, so she could only watch from afar.

There were times when she felt hurt, wishing he would rely on her even a little, but she couldn’t express those feelings.

At the same time, she belatedly regretted whether she had burdened Dension.

The reason he was so cautious around Biare was probably because she was the daughter of Duke Ruschef, who had sworn loyalty to the imperial family.

Recalling Dension’s actions over the past year, she covered her face with her hands once and then brushed them down.

The document clearly contained records of Dension going down to the Verdeum territory under the pretext of inspecting the domain, investigating the truth behind the accident of the previous duke and duchess.

‘I should have this information completely destroyed without a trace.’

Moreover, since he generally didn’t enjoy social gatherings, he spent most of his time at the Verdeum mansion, and there were no other notable activities.

It was clean, without even showing details of which families Dension had interactions with. Except for one person.

‘Why was Sion meeting regularly with Duke Kaanderson?’

Since he didn’t keep even close friends or acquaintances he met regularly in the past, Biare was surprised by this information.

According to the document, Dension had been interacting with Duke Kaanderson since he was a viscount.

The relationship between the Verdeum and Kaanderson families wasn’t close enough for regular visits, making their meetings even more puzzling.

Biare began to feel anxious, thinking she might be missing something.

Since even Burnout 34 couldn’t uncover the reason for their close relationship, she bit her lower lip slightly and twirled a lock of her hair, wondering what it could be.

No matter how much she thought about it, the only thing she could associate with Duke Kaanderson was the Elmada Social Club, which kept bothering her.

The Elmada Social Club, founded two years ago, had shown frighteningly rapid growth and now stood at the center of social circles.

They had formed such a large force that they even influenced gossip magazines in the Marta Empire, fearlessly exposing the private lives of not only nobles but also the imperial family.

At first, Biare thought the Elmada Social Club consisted only of nobles from long-established families.

However, after becoming a member and experiencing it firsthand, there were differences from what she had known through information.

At Elmada, not only rumors circulating in social circles but also members’ opinions were exchanged in a free atmosphere.

Just as one cannot judge a person by appearances alone, naturally, one could grasp their ideologies by conversing with them for a long time.

The members who were children of pro-emperor families all had one thing in common: their political leanings differed from those of their parents.

‘If they were cleverly selected to include only such individuals?’

In the end, it could be concluded that they had gathered people who were either neutral or shared the same views as the anti-emperor faction in one place.

The fact that Rosalyn, the young lady of the pro-emperor Dantereo family, was drawn into this place meant that they had cleverly used her to spread influence in social circles.

It was also quite suspicious that she, a member of the Ruschef family, loyal snakes of the imperial family, was able to enter Elmada.

There were many other questionable points, so she brushed back her hair and let out a shallow sigh.

How Dension and Mateo were connected.

Determined to subtly investigate this, Biare thought she should approach Duke Kaanderson again soon.