From early morning, Biare was looking around the chapel while wearing a veil.

Most of the believers were sitting in the front to hear even a little bit of God’s voice, but there was someone sitting in a corner, separate from them.

Upon closer inspection of the person wearing a hat pulled down low to avoid notice, it was indeed the person Biare was looking for.

‘There he is.’

A faint smile appeared on Biare’s lips as she spotted him, and she casually approached to sit beside him.

“If it’s alright with you, may I sit next to you?”

“…What brings the Duke’s daughter all the way here?”

Mateo looked at Biare with a slight frown, seemingly surprised by her appearance.

One of the conditions the previous Duke Kaanerson set when passing down his title to him was to attend mass once a week.

It was unlikely that he, lacking faith, would feel any sense of wonder conversing with believers, so he had probably chosen this quiet early morning to avoid drawing attention.

But now that she had appeared here, Mateo must have felt both bewildered and displeased.

Having somewhat anticipated his reaction, she casually pointed to the purse containing her offering and said:

“I came on an errand for my father, and happened to see a familiar face.”

“The Duke’s daughter seems to have keen eyes.”

To this, Biare merely shrugged with a gentle smile.

However, he was not so dull as to be completely oblivious, being the head of an influential family.

“It seems the Duke’s daughter has something to say to me, does she not?”

“Indeed, you are as sharp as ever, Duke.”

While observing the subtle changes in his expression, Biare unhesitatingly unfolded the stories of Elmada that she had deduced on her own.

Throughout her story, Mateo was trying hard to manage his expression, but he seemed unable to hide his surprise as Biare’s deductions were very close to the truth.

“That’s the extent of my speculation, but I’d like to hear your opinion, Duke.”

At her words, Mateo let out a chuckle, then shook his head and said:

“…I didn’t know the Duke’s daughter had Ekarto as her backer.”

Flashing a grin, Biare clasped her hands together to appear even more devout and replied:

“Well, perhaps something even greater than Ekarto.”

It felt absurd to be committing blasphemy in the grand cathedral that served Ekarto.

It seemed the Duke of Kaanerson felt the same way.

He appeared lost in thought for a moment, then with his hands clasped, gazing far ahead, he said:

“There is one more founder of Elmada besides myself.”

He meant that Elmada’s growth from an unofficial social gathering to a place playing a leading role no less than any other social circle was not due to Mateo’s efforts alone as the operator.

“…Are you saying there’s a co-founder?”

To this, he calmly nodded and continued to tell the story related to Elmada.

According to Mateo, one day someone he had no prior relationship with approached him, and they had an in-depth discussion about imperial politics.

After confirming that their intentions aligned, they founded the unofficial social club called Elmada.

Then they drew in not only the forces of the neutrals and anti-emperor faction, but also the children of the pro-emperor faction who subtly showed political ideologies different from their parents.

It was known to be composed of children from long-established families, but this was merely a superficial facade.

The co-founder said he would work together behind the scenes while hiding his existence, and Mateo Kaanerson, accepting this, became the operator of Elmada.

Mateo said that as he was limited in gathering information as a minor duke, he had been meticulously sharing new information with the co-founder for the past 2 years.

They said they selected information that would be helpful to their forces and subtly leaked it to gossip columns.

In this way, Elmada repeatedly attracted young people who seemed likely to help grow their influence, and one day that person uttered words he normally wouldn’t have, he said.

“He recommended the Duke’s daughter of Ruschef to Elmada.”

“……”

At this, Biare’s blue-green eyes were filled with turmoil like a choppy sea, and she could only stare blankly at Mateo.

“To be frank, I was against having you.”

Biare fully sympathized with his honest confession.

She thought that if she had been the operator, she would never have let herself in either.

There was no one who didn’t know that the Ruschef ducal family had sworn loyalty to the emperor.

There was no need to take the risk of bringing the eldest daughter of Ruschef into Elmada.

“But he said this.”

The Duke’s daughter is different from the people of that family. This time, you can trust me.

Fortunately, as the situation worked out well, she was able to enter Elmada under the pretext of recommendations from Rosalyn and Giuseppe.

“…Is that person Duke Verdeum?”

Biare looked at Duke Kaanerson while trying to suppress her trembling heart, and he merely gave a bitter smile without giving any confirmation.

But Biare could tell.

That she was able to enter the Elmada social club thanks to Dension.

“Of course, the fact that the Duke’s daughter became the Crown Prince’s fiancée was unexpected.”

Mateo added that he was surprised to hear the news of their engagement, but soon felt relieved when Biare came to ask for cooperation.

At this, she smiled awkwardly, feeling as if her mind was full of tangled threads that couldn’t be unraveled.

Why hadn’t Dension in the past told her about Elmada?

Perhaps he had hidden that fact because he couldn’t trust her, thinking she was an unreliable lover.

Biare’s heart was burning black.

Even so, Mateo added that he would not reveal to the co-founder about his current dealings with her.

“Wouldn’t it be better for the Duke’s daughter to speak directly?”

Biare couldn’t easily answer the Duke’s question, unable to sort out her complicated feelings.

“Why are you telling me this?”

Naturally, the other members of the Elmada social club wouldn’t know that Dension was Elmada’s co-founder.

“I consider him a friend in my own way.”

Leaving these meaningful words, Mateo finished his prayer with his hands clasped and stood up first.

After delivering the offering to the grand cathedral, Biare didn’t return straight to the mansion but visited the imperial library.

The imperial library could only be accessed by the imperial family or those who had received permission, and she had been granted access to the library as the Crown Prince’s fiancée.

Perhaps because it was lunchtime, the library was in a state where the librarian had left their post, with only the gatekeeper guarding outside.

Of course, Biare had deliberately come at a time when there were few people, anticipating this.

As she expected, the imperial family would not keep books containing their information in the library like the Ruschef family did.

The reason Biare visited the library anyway was that this place could be used as an excuse to meet the princess.

The Crown Prince, knowing that Biare liked books, wouldn’t be particularly suspicious about this.

There was no better place to have a comfortable meeting with Dorothea than the imperial library.

This place, which seemed to be two or three times the size of the ducal library, had books neatly arranged on wide and tall bookshelves befitting its grand scale.

Biare, who had been calmly strolling through the wide space, slowly examined the library, and hearing the sound of someone nearby, she approached there in one step.

‘Sion…?’

Contrary to her expectation, the source of the sound was not the princess but Dension Verdeum.

Surprised by the unexpected sudden encounter, Biare stumbled backward and ended up bumping into a bookshelf.

At that moment, books that had been placed high on the shelf she had bumped into began to fall on her head.

Faced with the accident that happened in an instant, Biare couldn’t even think of dodging and just squeezed her eyes shut.

However, when she didn’t feel any pain, she curiously opened her eyelids slightly.

Realizing that the man who had suddenly approached her was shielding her with his arms, Biare grabbed his arms.

Hurriedly checking his condition, she saw that the back of his arms was scratched by the books and swollen red.

“Oh no…”

Biare, who had become upset in a way unlike herself, looked at the back of his arms while flustering and said:

“It must hurt a lot. I should treat it right away… No, it would be better to call a doctor.”

“…It’s fine.”

At this, Dension looked at Biare with an indescribable gaze and awkwardly pulled his arm away from her grip.

Biare had to let go of his arm without saying anything else, and silence once again fell over the library where there had been a small commotion.

Until now, she had thought that the only way to protect Dension was to keep him away from the imperial family.

However, he was acting one step ahead of Biare.

She wasn’t sure if she should dare to stand in the way of such a Dension, uncertain about anything.

‘Should I tell you about my future plans?’

Biare recalled her conversation with Mateo at the grand cathedral, but it wasn’t time yet.

She had to end the revenge for Dension’s death in her past life with her own hands. Even if it meant getting dirty blood on her hands.

When Biare raised her lowered head, she met Dension’s cold blue eyes, and at this, he avoided her gaze and said:

“Fortunately, it seems you’re not hurt anywhere.”

“It’s thanks to you, Duke. Thank you for your help.”

“…I only did what I should do as a close aide to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

In the end, it seemed that neither Biare nor Dension had any intention of revealing their plans to each other.

Thinking about their relationship that hadn’t changed much from before to now, a bitter taste lingered in Biare’s mouth.