In a way, Lady Marina was involved in the circumstances that led to Carl losing his parents.

Carl’s father, Prince Meinhardt, voluntarily left the capital to avoid being a threat to his older brother, as he was often mentioned in discussions of competence due to the Crown Prince of Bayern’s weak health.

The imperial army was divided into three types: the Primo, who protected the imperial family; the Alter, who protected the capital; and the Tertio, who protected the provinces outside the capital. Prince Meinhardt rose to the position of battalion commander in the Tertio and defended the empire’s borders, showing no interest in the throne.

However, even Prince Meinhardt must have seemed threatening in Lady Marina’s eyes, as she incited Emperor Alexander to continuously send Meinhardt to dangerous battles on the frontier.

Meinhardt, who did his best to protect the empire without regard for his own safety on the front lines, died heroically in battle. At that time, Carl was only three years old. Since his mother had passed away giving birth to him, Carl became an orphan at the age of three, losing his father as well.

This was the reason why Franz had no choice but to be treated as an unwelcome guest.

“This time, we must expose the ugliness of those damned bastards. Carl, you’re the only one I trust.”

The crown would have been too heavy for his young nephew to bear. The throne would have been too large for a mere 14-year-old to sit on.

Lady Pulcheria never had a moment’s peace after placing her young nephew on the throne. Her anxiety only grew as Franz roamed freely within the imperial castle. And in the end, her ominous prediction came true.

Upon hearing the news of Emperor Maximilian’s death, Lady Pulcheria fainted from the shock. Carl was worried that she might collapse again, unable to control her agitation.

“Aunt, please do not be too angry. It is bad for your health.”

“How can I lie down and sleep until the culprit is revealed? Oh, God…”

Lady Pulcheria took out a handkerchief and pressed it against the corners of her eyes. She could not easily shed tears until the culprit was found and punished.

Once everything was brought to light and the sinner paid for their sins, she would wail with all her heart. Lady Pulcheria swallowed her tears of blood inwardly.

In the meantime, the Franz couple may have hidden the true cause of death by claiming that the previous emperor died of old age and the former crown prince died of a chronic illness, but for Maximilian, the current emperor, there was no natural cause to use as an excuse.

Therefore, all the imperial citizens would question Maximilian’s death and wonder about the one who drove the poor young emperor to his demise. In other words, amidst everyone’s attention and interest, the stage would be set to identify the culprit behind the emperor’s assassination.

And Carl was entrusted with that crucial task. As the head of the imperial investigation team and the temporary military authority, as well as a family member, he was determined to find the person who killed his cousin, the emperor.

In addition to that, he had a mountain of other tasks to handle, but investigating the emperor’s assassination had to be the top priority. And also…

As Carl was organizing his thoughts, a familiar silhouette entered his field of vision. Although buried among the all-black attire, her violet hair was easily noticeable.

“…Celeste.”

His affair with her was also one of the important matters he had to handle. No, it wasn’t just one of them, but the “most important” thing that needed to be addressed.

His gaze naturally circled around her vicinity. The child was nowhere to be seen. Given the nature of the occasion, it seemed the child had not accompanied her. A short sigh of what might have been disappointment escaped his lips.

“By the way, Carl. I heard a new rumor.”

Lady Pulcheria whispered in a low voice after composing herself.

“It was a rumor of a kind I had never heard before.”

“What rumor are you referring to?”

“It was a rumor about you, and well…”

He could roughly guess what she was going to say. Ever since he appeared at the train station with Celeste, third-rate newspapers had been churning out all sorts of gossip on a daily basis.

“They say you have a woman now.”

“That is indeed a type of rumor I have never heard before.”

“That’s what I’m saying. So at first, I thought it was nonsense.”

“You thought well.”

“But there seems to be some basis for it, Carl.”

“…”

“Do you have nothing to say to me about that rumor?”

“What would you like me to say, Aunt?”

“It would be nice if you could at least tell me whether the rumor is true or not. And if it is true, to what extent.”

“Well. I myself am not sure about the veracity of it either.”

“Oh, you frustrating boy. Do you want to tease your powerless old aunt like that?”

Carl smiled faintly. It wasn’t an occasion to show a smile, but his aunt’s playful grumbling sounded quite amusing to him.

“I don’t know how much of the story you have heard, but…”

“But?”

“It’s true.”

“What?”

“It’s true. All the rumors you may have heard, Aunt.”

Lady Pulcheria barely restrained herself from jumping out of her seat. She opened her mouth wide and turned to look beside her, but Carl was sitting calmly in his place.

“Then, does that mean…”

“Yes. So I intend to get married.”

“What, what?”

“Since we cannot hold any ceremonies for a while after the state funeral, it cannot be done immediately, but I am considering when would be a good time.”

“Is the other person… the one I am thinking of?”

“If you heard the right rumors. Yes.”

Carl was very careful and thoughtful before making any decision, but once he reached a conclusion, he never looked back. It was thanks to this personality that he rose to the position of head of the imperial investigation team.

Lady Pulcheria stammered, repeating interjections like “huh,” “well,” “I,” and “my.” She seemed to have no idea what to say.

No, why did the boy who used to regard women as less than the stones on the street suddenly change like this? No matter how much she thought about it, Pulcheria could not understand Carl’s abrupt behavior.

When she first heard that he had suddenly appeared at the train station with the young lady of Count Louisette, no, she had inherited the title, so she was now a proper countess. Anyway, when she heard that he had escorted the person from the Louisette family all the way to her residence, Pulcheria thought it was merely a work-related matter that the woman was involved in.

However, as time passed, the words reaching her ears began to spread into a different kind of rumor.

His Grace, the Grand Duke Albrecht, had volunteered to go on a business trip to the provinces under the pretext of an investigation in order to enjoy a secret love affair, and he had already entered into an irreversible relationship with his lover…

Yes, it was fine up to that point. Until she found out that the partner happened to be one of the people involved in a scandal with that Franz bastard.

Pulcheria was quite anxious when her nephew, who acted as if he had no interest in women, was approaching the age of marriageability and even surpassing it. So at first, she was pleased with such scandals about Carl.

However, if the partner was not a woman of virtuous reputation, and moreover, if she was a woman who had been rumored to have an illicit relationship with the despised bloodline, then the situation was different.

She glanced sideways and saw Carl gazing at something. Following his gaze, she noticed a person with a remarkably eye-catching appearance, and Pulcheria fell into serious thought.

He was a nephew she cherished as much as her own child. He was a flawless and excellent talent, intelligent and level-headed, but the fact that he was involved with a woman of not-so-good reputation, despite being ignorant about women, did not sit well with her.

What should she do about this? A frown formed on Pulcheria’s forehead.

The long and lengthy funeral had now reached its final stages. As it was the state funeral of His Majesty the Emperor, the funeral would continue for two more days even after today’s event. When asked if she had to come out like this every single day, fortunately, that was not the case.

Seeing me feeling relieved, Hannah quickly asked if I was uncomfortable somewhere. It seemed impolite to express discomfort about a mere chair in the face of someone’s death, so I shook my head in embarrassment.

Fourteen years old. In Korea, it would have been only the first year of middle school. For what reason did he pass away at such a young age? I stood still for a moment and paid my respects to His Majesty the Emperor, whose face I did not know.

“Countess. I think we can start moving now.”

Except for a few noble ladies, most people had already left their seats. Even those who remained seemed to be just wandering around to approach Lady Pulcheria rather than to pay their respects to His Majesty the Emperor.

I casually scanned the noble ladies gathering around Lady Pulcheria with my eyes and checked the seat next to me. It was the seat where Carl had been sitting until a little while ago, but he had quickly left as soon as the ceremony ended.

Still, it had been a few days since I last saw him, so I thought he would at least say something to me. I had expected Carl to at least make eye contact with me from afar, but he disappeared in an instant when I took my eyes off him for a brief moment.

“What is he so busy with?”

“Are you referring to His Grace the Grand Duke? I know, right? He seems to be very busy. It must be because he is acting on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor.”

Noticing my disappointment, Hannah offered an explanation that wasn’t quite an explanation, saying that Carl would be extremely busy. Then she proceeded to arrange the hem of my skirt again.