After the Emperor’s passing and the nobles had their time of mourning, the condolences from the nobility continued.

In the procession of carriages coming in a line, a carriage with the crest of Viscount Claire stopped.

As the door opened, Etienne, wearing a veiled riding hat, stepped down. She lifted her head, taking in the castle she had frequently visited.

Her butler, who had come with her, spoke to her.

“Why are you like this?”

“I feel strange.”

Even though it was a familiar place, it felt unfamiliar to her.

“I thought it was a familiar place, but it feels strange.”

As a result, every detail of the castle seemed new. Even a single crest felt unfamiliar, and the ivy encircling the outer wall seemed fascinating. The butler silently waited as Etienne stood there, quietly observing these things.

Then, as if he had spotted someone, he stepped aside. Quietly occupying the space, Fernand entered.

“It’s not over yet.”

As Etienne slowly turned her head to look at the castle, Fernand was already gazing at her.

“It’s a shame to give up everything with just one confession.”

“What do you mean? Are you saying you’ll keep confessing?”

“Yeah.”

Fernand easily responded, tapping Etienne’s hat lightly. In response to the seemingly trivial joke he used to make with her, Etienne touched her hat and gave him a charming expression.

“Let’s go.”

“You go first.”
When Etienne hesitated and said she would stay a little longer, Fernand did not insist twice and took the first step.

Watching his back, Etienne lowered the veil covering her eyes a bit more.

“What are you thinking this time?”

“I thought I was a real fool.”

In her past life, she never had the courage to confess to Fernand like a fool. She thought that if she was rejected, she would never see him again.

“Originally, I never thought I was a fool…”

Etienne sighed. She was full of love for Fernand, but that was just her own misconception.

“Why couldn’t I gather the courage to confess several times?”

“In such cases, there’s usually one reason.”

The butler, who approached again, responded to Etienne’s soliloquy.

“If someone likes another person, even confessing once takes great courage. Since they know they will likely be rejected, they may not consider confessing twice.”

Feeling embarrassed, Etienne looked at the butler.

“Shall we go inside then?”

Pointing inside, the butler spoke, and Etienne erased all the conversations she had in her mind until now.

For the sake of welcoming the mourners.

In front of the coffin where the deceased emperor lay, white chrysanthemums placed by mourners filled the scene.

These flowers were laid to honor him, but ironically, the strong fragrance of the flowers was causing her head to ache.
Etienne looked at the emperor’s crown from a distance when she heard a conversation somewhere.

“Now the Crown Prince will become the emperor, right?”

“That’s obvious.”

“Then what will happen to Prince Ludvi?”

“Well, if things go well, he could become the Grand Duke, but…”

The person answering trailed off. The response seemed negative, as Ludvi, among those who had the right to the throne, had shown the most ambition towards the imperial throne.

Listening to their conversation, Etienne looked at Reihardt and Ludvi.

In her past life, Reihardt wasn’t here. So, there was no problem with Ludvi becoming the next emperor. However, the situation was different now. Reihardt was alive, and Ludvi couldn’t hide his ambitions.

“Ludvi doesn’t seem like he’ll stay quiet…”

If it’s just her worry, it would be great, but it probably wouldn’t be the case. Ludvi is the person who killed Reihardt. Knowing that he could kill Reihardt again, Etienne looked at the two of them uneasily.

“Then, naturally, Empress Lena will also be pushed aside.”

“Poor thing. She was once called the flower of the empire, but look at her now. She couldn’t live as splendidly as anyone thought. She couldn’t even pray properly due to being pushed aside by the empress and had to live her life hiding because of her son.”
Their conversation topic shifted from Ludvi to Empress Lena. Etienne’s gaze naturally landed on Lena, who stood behind them, among the women, giving off the most dazzling impression.

Before becoming the empire’s empress, Lena was called the flower of society and had the nickname Marigold.

“Well, when Ludvi became the emperor, Lena bloomed more splendidly than anyone else.”

Now that her son had become the emperor, who could stop Lena from blooming? Although a bit late, people used to say that her life had blossomed anew.

“Huh?”

When Etienne made a surprised sound due to a sudden thought, the voices that were whispering disappeared.

“Why are you like that?”

At her mother’s question, Etienne shook her head.

“It’s nothing. It’s really nothing.”

Currently, Reihardt is the only person I can share my thoughts with.

Etienne anxiously looked around.