Alicia, who had fallen asleep in Amy’s arms after crying for a long time, woke up the next day pressing her throbbing head with one hand, facing an unwanted reality.

“……The Duke of Diaz will be coming and going from the Imperial Palace for the time being?”

“Yes.”

Mina quickly answered Alicia’s question and observed her reaction.

Whether aware of Mina’s gaze or not, Alicia, now holding her head with both hands, let out a long sigh.

With Killian’s early return and the appearance of the beast calling a person’s name, specifically her own, she had thought things would be different from the past.

But……

‘I thought I had corrected my mistake, so why is the same thing happening again?’

Before the regression, the Emperor, who had finally given in to Alicia’s passionate love, allowed her marriage to Killian.

Unable to contain her joy, Alicia sent a proposal she had written herself to the Binion Duchy even before spring arrived, and Killian, who returned to the capital in early spring, went back and forth to the Imperial Palace preparing for the engagement until the banquet.

She later learned that Killian had intended to reject Alicia’s proposal.

What made him change his mind was the Emperor’s letter that arrived after Alicia’s proposal.

After receiving various deal contents along with orders, Killian finally accepted Alicia’s proposal and allowed the announcement of their engagement at the spring banquet.

‘Permission… thinking about it now, it was really absurd.’

Rather than following the Emperor’s orders, he nodded as if granting her desperate plea.

It was proof that Killian did not want to marry Alicia, and also a signal that the Emperor’s power would not have much effect on him in the future.

Why didn’t she realize it then?

She had brought an enormous power that even the Emperor had to step back from.

Feeling another wave of regret washing over her, Alicia got off the bed, finished her morning wash, and organized her thoughts as she changed clothes.

‘Whatever my feelings are, one thing is certain. I won’t marry Killian.’

She admits that she has fallen for Killian once again.

However, her determination not to repeat past mistakes was also sincere.

So there’s only one thing Alicia needs to do.

‘Avoid him as much as possible.’

For such a serious contemplation, the conclusion was too weak, but honestly, she couldn’t think of any other way.

Since he was coming and going, not staying at the Imperial Palace, she wouldn’t need to avoid him for long.

‘He’s coming and going under the pretext of preparing for the banquet, so Killian’s range of activities is more or less set.’

She doesn’t know the real reason why Killian is coming and going to the Imperial Palace.

She could only guess that it might be related to his early return, or more precisely, related to the beast.

But whatever the real reason, the public reason for Killian’s frequent visits to the Imperial Palace was that the three Dukes of the Empire were the protagonists of this year’s spring banquet.

As it’s a big event held every year without fail, occasionally when there’s something to celebrate or commemorate in the Empire, the spring banquet becomes a festival centered around that event.

Before the regression, around this time, the spring banquet had become a celebration of Alicia and Killian’s engagement, which wasn’t that special when you think about it.

[It was thanks to the three Dukes responsible for the Empire’s four borders that we were able to safely greet the new spring.]

Last night, it was said that the Emperor’s words had spread, and news that the Dukes were returning to the capital earlier than usual was spreading in the capital.

It had all happened in just one night.

“Will the other two Dukes also head straight to the Imperial Palace?”

“Yes, they say they’ll arrive within a week at the latest.”

Alicia, who had finished her morning grooming and sat at the table on the balcony, slowly closed and opened her eyes, feeling the warm spring sunlight.

“Sienna was in charge of overseeing the preparation for the banquet from this spring, right?”

“Yes, from this year, Her Highness the Crown Princess will be in charge. It’s the first task she’s taken on since the wedding, so she’s paying a lot of attention to it.”

Before the regression, Alicia had taken charge of preparing for the banquet, using the excuse that it would be burdensome for Sienna to take on such a big task less than a year after becoming family.

While there was a strong desire to prepare the banquet featuring herself and Killian with her own hands, there was also anxiety from seeing Killian still meeting with Cheryl.

‘Back then, I was under the delusion that once we got engaged, once we got married, he would become mine.’

Moreover, as rumors spread that the reason Killian was getting engaged to Alicia instead of his lover Cheryl was for his own benefit, the number of women approaching him with conditions that could be ‘beneficial’ to him increased.

Although he was a man who spread frightening rumors, Killian’s handsome appearance and the power he held in his hands were extremely attractive.

There had been women trying to approach him before, but Killian had never had anyone other than Cheryl by his side.

However, by getting engaged to Alicia, Killian had put his own marriage up as a tradeable item for profit, so who wouldn’t be tempted?

While they couldn’t become the official wife because of Alicia’s presence, there was hope that they could at least secure a position as a concubine.

There were countless women eager to seize the opportunity to stand beside him, whether as the husband of the Imperial Princess or as a Duke of the Empire.

‘As a result, I became incredibly sensitive.’

She became sensitive and irritable.

She couldn’t bear the gazes of women directed at Killian.

How many were there who threw themselves at him to seize the opportunity?

So Alicia made her second mistake.

“How were the servants and maids in charge of the guests decided?”

“Two senior staff and five junior staff each from the Crown Prince’s Palace and the Imperial Princess’s Palace were chosen.”

“Who are the senior maids chosen from the Imperial Princess’s Palace?”

“Isabel, the second daughter of Count Fleming.”

“Ah……”

Yes, she wouldn’t miss this chance.

Alicia nodded, recalling her second mistake from before the regression.

Isabel was a noble lady who often caused trouble with desires beyond her station as a senior maid in the Imperial Princess’s Palace.

However, since the Fleming family was a wealthy merchant family and one of the pillars of the pro-Emperor nobles, even when she caused trouble, it was always settled without much rumor spreading, so not many people knew about it.

The reason Alicia had accepted her as a maid in the Imperial Princess’s Palace was because the Fleming family was a merchant family competing with the Louis County family.

Originally, she should have welcomed the eldest daughter, but it was said that Isabel had insisted on entering the maid position.

As the daughter of a family with moderate power and a lot of money, she naturally wanted to become Alicia’s confidant, but Alicia already had Amy and Mina.

Was it because she couldn’t get a position to satisfy her greed?

Isabel was among those who threw themselves at the opportunity upon hearing the news of Alicia and Killian’s engagement.

‘She volunteered to serve Killian. And then she caused trouble.’

Isabel’s attempt to seduce Killian, relying only on her beauty and her family’s wealth, was quickly exposed.

When Alicia found out that a maid who served her had tried to seduce Killian, she became so angry that she punished Isabel with a ban from ever setting foot in the capital while alive.

‘……Up to this point might have been fine.’

If it had ended with just being expelled from the capital, there might not have been a big problem.

However, an incident occurred during the process of expulsion.

It was a problem that arose because Isabel had earned the dislike of many due to her usually poor conduct.

Others who didn’t view her favorably used Alicia’s punishment as an excuse to harm Isabel.

As a result, Isabel suffered severe injuries to her face and body, and unable to bear her disfigured appearance, she committed suicide.

When Alicia belatedly learned of this and punished those who had harmed Isabel, it was already too late.

Count Fleming came to bear a grudge against Alicia, who had driven his daughter to death, and Killian, who had provided the cause, which led to various problems later when she ascended to the Emperor’s throne.

‘It was the birth of anti-Emperor nobles, neither pro-Emperor nor pro-nobility.’

Count Fleming, a merchant family comparable to the Louis County family with enormous wealth, created his own faction using his riches and used that power to pressure Alicia.

It was a somewhat unfair situation for Alicia.

All she had done was impose a punishment.

However, in Count Fleming’s eyes, Alicia appeared to be the enemy who had driven his daughter to death by imposing an excessive punishment out of obsession with her love.

Because of this, Alicia, who had suffered under his pressure throughout her reign, vowed to correct this second mistake now that she had another chance.

It was unknown whether Isabel would try to seduce Killian this time as well.

But given that Isabel always ruined things with her greed, it wasn’t an impossibility.

Moreover, she considered Cheryl from the Louis County family as her rival.

Even if Killian hadn’t put his marriage up for trade in this life, she might still move to seduce him just to suppress Cheryl.

‘She won’t have confidence in winning Killian’s heart, so she won’t rashly jump in like last time.’

To that extent, Sienna should be able to handle it wisely.

If she crosses the line again and makes a big issue this time, Alicia was thinking of protecting Isabel so that those who held grudges against her couldn’t harm her.

Yes, that was the plan.

“Mina, say that again. What did you say?”

“They say Isabel hid in the changing room and tried to pounce on Duke Diaz.”

“……What?”

“It seems she was determined, as she was wearing only a negligee……”

Was she not just lacking in plans, but actually stupid?

Alicia, now accustomed to the familiar headache, held her throbbing head with both hands and let out another long sigh.