“What do you mean by going back?”
The Empress Consort’s servant bows with his head on the ground.
“I apologize, Your Highness the Duke. She said she would cancel the interview scheduled for two o’clock today.”
“It was definitely approved until three days ago. I also received a letter of warm hospitality. If she needs time to prepare, please tell her that I will wait until when.”
Of course, the Empress Consort wouldn’t need time to prepare.
It was considered very rude to send a high-ranking aristocrat who had arrived at the Imperial Palace in person and a Duke who had properly entered with permission to receive an audience.
It must have been because of the Emperor’s mysterious temper.
‘It’s all like this.’
At most, because of the Emperor’s ‘mood’.
‘What does it mean to live in the imperial palace as a woman who is not of imperial blood?’
The Duke swallowed her sarcastic smile and then opened her mouth.
“I hope she’s not sick or there’s been a major incident in state affairs, right? If that’s the reason, shouldn’t I, the servant of this country’s Vladin and the head of the Western Council also know?”
When she asked in a very worried tone, the servants didn’t know what to do.
He felt sorry for the kind Duke, and a little resentment toward his master, who sent such a Duke away without showing his face for no particular reason.
“I apologize. Well, it’s not supposed to be like this— but if you have a message, I’ll take responsibility for it. Please tell me.”
This is enough.
Duke Ximel’s eyes glowed faintly.
“Yeah. Thank you. There was an assassination attempt on my daughter not too long ago.”
“Pardon?! Oh, my, how could such a thing happen! Is the princess okay?”
“Fortunately, she’s safe.”
She chose the word carefully.
“However, when I think about it carefully, there is something strange, so I want to report it.”
“What do you mean something strange…?”
“My daughter is only fifteen years old. How easy is it to hold a grudge against someone to the point of threatening her life at that age? Even if there is someone who is against me and tries to hurt my daughter, it doesn’t make sense either, as you know, I don’t have a particularly political opponent.”
“Yes, of course. How could it be possible?”
Crying as if it were his own business, the servant nodded.
“And of all things, why my daughter’s life? And I came to the conclusion when I thought about why, of all things, it was right after being nominated as the candidate for Prince’s wife….”
“Don’t tell me….”
“Perhaps there is someone who really wants to be the Prince’s wife. Someone who will be number one when my daughter disappears.”
Instead of being polite and telling the truth, this servant will make a lot of fuss and exaggerate.
“Oh my… I didn’t know that Bradbury or Menelik could do such a thing.”
It is a bonus to find out about other families that have been nominated for the Prince’s wife, which would have been kept confidential.
Also, this word makes it clear. That Alois was the number one candidate.
Duke Ximel stood up after skillfully arranging her expression.
“Of course, it’s not certain, so I tried to meet and tell Her Highness the Empress Consort. I was worried that I was suspicious of another family even though there was no evidence, and more than anything, I was worried that the selection of the Prince’s wife would sound like the cause of the assassination attempt on my daughter. This is why it sounds like I’m blaming Her Highness Empress Consort and His Highness the Prince.”
“Who in the world would have such a misunderstanding? No, never.”
‘The Empress Consort would do it.’
The Empress Consort, who was already in a state of panic because of the hasty move, must have thought that.
Other nobles must also have their own dissatisfaction because the procedure was omitted.
If, for some reason, the Empress Consort, who usually has a calm attitude, was just trying to hold back her complaints after hearing the noise.
She is a person who prefers to avoid problems rather than solve them herself, so she will definitely try to keep her mouth shut.
‘I’ll keep my mouth shut if you remove Alois from the list, or I’ll move on if you promise me to proceed at a normal pace. This is a very gentle alternative. Even the Empress Consort can’t help it.’
“Then, I will leave.”
“Yes. I will definitely tell Her Highness the Empress Consort.”
The Duke smiled lightly. The servant entered the Empress Consort’s Palace without knowing how conflicted his master might be due to his good intentions.
Step, step.
Only the sound of the Duke’s shoes echoed in the hallway.
The corridors of the Imperial Palace were wide and high. It is fragrant with colorful old paintings and flowers that don’t grow this season.
Entering the imperial palace for the first time, her maid couldn’t hide their admiration.
But the Duke walked past them all with a sneer.
Those who don’t know how much bloodshed on this sparkling floor can admire it.
Those who know even a little bit of the inside just laugh at it.
Even if the flower that grows in the gutter is very pretty, it is still just a gutter.
The Duke, who left the palace without looking back, headed straight to the Duke of Ximel.
“Wife!”
In the distance, she could see her husband.
“Yes. What’s going on?”
“Haa. Wife, there’s something threatening Alois’s life.”
The Duke’s maid, who had heard the entire conversation with the Imperial palace servant, put on a puzzled expression rather than a surprise.
The Duke already knew everything about Princess Alois’s experience, so why did her husband bother to speak?
Wasn’t it something she shared in advance?
The maid tilted her head as she saw the Duke couple walking away, leaving questions behind.
“First of all, the visit to Rodante was confidential, so I put down an order. They have kept their mouths shut, so words will not leak out of the territory.”
“All right. What about the culprit?”
“It wasn’t a situation where I could identify it because he hurt his face. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find out who was behind it.”
“I see.”
The Duke’s husband, who was talking very quickly behind her as she walked quickly, stopped.
His expression became mysterious.
“…Wife?”
“Yes.”
It is an overly calm reaction for someone who heard that their daughter was in danger of dying.
The expression on the husband’s face as he watched the Duke faded in an instant.
“Don’t tell me, you’re the one.”
“Didn’t I tell you?”
The Duke’s lips curled gently.
“Your role is to comfort Alois, and the next thing, I will do it.”
“Margo. No, Margritte.”
“It’s been a while since I heard you say my name. It sounds good.”
The Duke, who answered casually, kept walking.
The Duke’s husband, who had been standing there for a while like he was stuck, looked shocked as he followed her.
“How… Don’t you think how shocked Alois would be if she found out? How on earth.”
“Don’t you know that I’m a person who can even stab my throat if need to?”
“Of course I know! I know it. I know better than anyone. But Alois!”
“You have a loud voice for someone you know. We are passing in front of Alois’s room now.”
The Duke, who had instantly closed her husband’s mouth, added in a perfectly calm tone.
“Of course, if the action didn’t get anything, it would be just gambling and self-destruction. But, Orléans, if I’m going to lose a game, I’ll never start it over.”
“Then…”
“The Empress Consort will come to negotiate with me first.”
Her husband stopped a second time. The Duke also stopped this time.
“R, really?”
“Yes. No one gets hurt, and Ximel gets what we wants. As it has been so far.”
She saw a slightly open door beyond the body of her husband, who was sighing with an expression that he did not know whether he should be happy or not.
It was Alois’s room.
Her platinum-colored hair, which she inherited from her, is visible through the crack in her door.
Unfortunately, the husband’s wish that Alois didn’t know about it seems to be falling apart so quickly.
The expression of the husband, who lowered his eyebrows anxiously, came into the Duke’s view of the scene.
“Wife, then the assassination… Hmm…”
“Yes.”
“You mean his mission was to kill himself without anyone stopping him? Without stabbing Alois?”
“Yes, that’s right. I had the assassination and took a long line. Also, as soon as the performance was over, I told him to approach Alois. It looks suspicious to anyone, so you can find it quickly.”
There is something suspicious about her husband’s question.
The Duke asked with her eyes narrowed.
“Was there any unnecessary disturbance in the process?”
“Unnecessary disturbance… Rather, there was someone who stopped him and protected Alois.”
“Who?”
Guard? Escort knight?
However, if those within her expectations blocked it, her husband couldn’t have reacted like this.
It was when the Duke’s head tilted gently.
“The fact that she was a child… It was a little unusual.”
His answer was really unexpected.
“A child?”
“Yes. There was a child who suddenly appeared and protected Alois. She is said to be a person who is very popular with Baron Felice because she is smart. I sent some presents as a way to express my gratitude and silence her. Is there any problem?”
Thinking about it, the Duke answered briefly.
“Interesting. It would be nice to meet her in person.”
“….”
“Bring it to me, the child.”
****
The Imperial Palace is quiet.
‘It’s good that the class was canceled.’
Delmar, who didn’t know that the water was quiet but noisy under the water, sneaked out of the room.
His eyes are wide open. It’s because he can’t sleep well.
His insomnia remained the same even with fairy tale books, calm music, and swordsmanship classes.
‘I’m tired. There are more classes than before—’
Delmar yawned as he recalled the rather harsh schedule for a twelve-year-old prince to handle.
The staggering steps were half-tied to sleep.
He went to the North Tower a few times in secret because he couldn’t sleep and his eyes were spinning.
The bed Aurelio was using was much harder and more uncomfortable than his bed, but somehow he slept well there.
He might be able to sleep there again, right?
He had a small bit of hope, but even after lying down for ten minutes, his eyes were still bloodshot, and all he could do was sneeze.
‘I heard there’s a sleeping pill, but my mom wouldn’t let me take it.’
In fact, it was a simple matter to ask Radanum.
He asked the servants very carefully if he could take a sleeping pill, but he couldn’t see them after that day, so Delmar thought it was true.
‘Brother Aurelio also took medicine made from Radanum, so there’s nothing I can’t eat.’
Radanum’s room, which he got to by dragging his feet, was unfortunately empty.
The pills piled up in one corner of the room seemed to welcome him, but he couldn’t tell what was what because they weren’t labeled.
Delmar, whose eyes were narrowed, stuck close to the bottle containing the medicine.
‘Anyway, where did Radanum go?’
Come to think of it, Radanum is often away these days.
Where is he going? Delmar was sneaking around the room to check it out when he heard a vague voice.
“…Is it all?”
‘Brother!’
It was Aurelio’s voice.
“What do you mean by going back?”
The Empress Consort’s servant bows with his head on the ground.
“I apologize, Your Highness the Duke. She said she would cancel the interview scheduled for two o’clock today.”
“It was definitely approved until three days ago. I also received a letter of warm hospitality. If she needs time to prepare, please tell her that I will wait until when.”
Of course, the Empress Consort wouldn’t need time to prepare.
It was considered very rude to send a high-ranking aristocrat who had arrived at the Imperial Palace in person and a Duke who had properly entered with permission to receive an audience.
It must have been because of the Emperor’s mysterious temper.
‘It’s all like this.’
At most, because of the Emperor’s ‘mood’.
‘What does it mean to live in the imperial palace as a woman who is not of imperial blood?’
The Duke swallowed her sarcastic smile and then opened her mouth.
“I hope she’s not sick or there’s been a major incident in state affairs, right? If that’s the reason, shouldn’t I, the servant of this country’s Vladin and the head of the Western Council also know?”
When she asked in a very worried tone, the servants didn’t know what to do.
He felt sorry for the kind Duke, and a little resentment toward his master, who sent such a Duke away without showing his face for no particular reason.
“I apologize. Well, it’s not supposed to be like this— but if you have a message, I’ll take responsibility for it. Please tell me.”
This is enough.
Duke Ximel’s eyes glowed faintly.
“Yeah. Thank you. There was an assassination attempt on my daughter not too long ago.”
“Pardon?! Oh, my, how could such a thing happen! Is the princess okay?”
“Fortunately, she’s safe.”
She chose the word carefully.
“However, when I think about it carefully, there is something strange, so I want to report it.”
“What do you mean something strange…?”
“My daughter is only fifteen years old. How easy is it to hold a grudge against someone to the point of threatening her life at that age? Even if there is someone who is against me and tries to hurt my daughter, it doesn’t make sense either, as you know, I don’t have a particularly political opponent.”
“Yes, of course. How could it be possible?”
Crying as if it were his own business, the servant nodded.
“And of all things, why my daughter’s life? And I came to the conclusion when I thought about why, of all things, it was right after being nominated as the candidate for Prince’s wife….”
“Don’t tell me….”
“Perhaps there is someone who really wants to be the Prince’s wife. Someone who will be number one when my daughter disappears.”
Instead of being polite and telling the truth, this servant will make a lot of fuss and exaggerate.
“Oh my… I didn’t know that Bradbury or Menelik could do such a thing.”
It is a bonus to find out about other families that have been nominated for the Prince’s wife, which would have been kept confidential.
Also, this word makes it clear. That Alois was the number one candidate.
Duke Ximel stood up after skillfully arranging her expression.
“Of course, it’s not certain, so I tried to meet and tell Her Highness the Empress Consort. I was worried that I was suspicious of another family even though there was no evidence, and more than anything, I was worried that the selection of the Prince’s wife would sound like the cause of the assassination attempt on my daughter. This is why it sounds like I’m blaming Her Highness Empress Consort and His Highness the Prince.”
“Who in the world would have such a misunderstanding? No, never.”
‘The Empress Consort would do it.’
The Empress Consort, who was already in a state of panic because of the hasty move, must have thought that.
Other nobles must also have their own dissatisfaction because the procedure was omitted.
If, for some reason, the Empress Consort, who usually has a calm attitude, was just trying to hold back her complaints after hearing the noise.
She is a person who prefers to avoid problems rather than solve them herself, so she will definitely try to keep her mouth shut.
‘I’ll keep my mouth shut if you remove Alois from the list, or I’ll move on if you promise me to proceed at a normal pace. This is a very gentle alternative. Even the Empress Consort can’t help it.’
“Then, I will leave.”
“Yes. I will definitely tell Her Highness the Empress Consort.”
The Duke smiled lightly. The servant entered the Empress Consort’s Palace without knowing how conflicted his master might be due to his good intentions.
Step, step.
Only the sound of the Duke’s shoes echoed in the hallway.
The corridors of the Imperial Palace were wide and high. It is fragrant with colorful old paintings and flowers that don’t grow this season.
Entering the imperial palace for the first time, her maid couldn’t hide their admiration.
But the Duke walked past them all with a sneer.
Those who don’t know how much bloodshed on this sparkling floor can admire it.
Those who know even a little bit of the inside just laugh at it.
Even if the flower that grows in the gutter is very pretty, it is still just a gutter.
The Duke, who left the palace without looking back, headed straight to the Duke of Ximel.
“Wife!”
In the distance, she could see her husband.
“Yes. What’s going on?”
“Haa. Wife, there’s something threatening Alois’s life.”
The Duke’s maid, who had heard the entire conversation with the Imperial palace servant, put on a puzzled expression rather than a surprise.
The Duke already knew everything about Princess Alois’s experience, so why did her husband bother to speak?
Wasn’t it something she shared in advance?
The maid tilted her head as she saw the Duke couple walking away, leaving questions behind.
“First of all, the visit to Rodante was confidential, so I put down an order. They have kept their mouths shut, so words will not leak out of the territory.”
“All right. What about the culprit?”
“It wasn’t a situation where I could identify it because he hurt his face. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find out who was behind it.”
“I see.”
The Duke’s husband, who was talking very quickly behind her as she walked quickly, stopped.
His expression became mysterious.
“…Wife?”
“Yes.”
It is an overly calm reaction for someone who heard that their daughter was in danger of dying.
The expression on the husband’s face as he watched the Duke faded in an instant.
“Don’t tell me, you’re the one.”
“Didn’t I tell you?”
The Duke’s lips curled gently.
“Your role is to comfort Alois, and the next thing, I will do it.”
“Margo. No, Margritte.”
“It’s been a while since I heard you say my name. It sounds good.”
The Duke, who answered casually, kept walking.
The Duke’s husband, who had been standing there for a while like he was stuck, looked shocked as he followed her.
“How… Don’t you think how shocked Alois would be if she found out? How on earth.”
“Don’t you know that I’m a person who can even stab my throat if need to?”
“Of course I know! I know it. I know better than anyone. But Alois!”
“You have a loud voice for someone you know. We are passing in front of Alois’s room now.”
The Duke, who had instantly closed her husband’s mouth, added in a perfectly calm tone.
“Of course, if the action didn’t get anything, it would be just gambling and self-destruction. But, Orléans, if I’m going to lose a game, I’ll never start it over.”
“Then…”
“The Empress Consort will come to negotiate with me first.”
Her husband stopped a second time. The Duke also stopped this time.
“R, really?”
“Yes. No one gets hurt, and Ximel gets what we wants. As it has been so far.”
She saw a slightly open door beyond the body of her husband, who was sighing with an expression that he did not know whether he should be happy or not.
It was Alois’s room.
Her platinum-colored hair, which she inherited from her, is visible through the crack in her door.
Unfortunately, the husband’s wish that Alois didn’t know about it seems to be falling apart so quickly.
The expression of the husband, who lowered his eyebrows anxiously, came into the Duke’s view of the scene.
“Wife, then the assassination… Hmm…”
“Yes.”
“You mean his mission was to kill himself without anyone stopping him? Without stabbing Alois?”
“Yes, that’s right. I had the assassination and took a long line. Also, as soon as the performance was over, I told him to approach Alois. It looks suspicious to anyone, so you can find it quickly.”
There is something suspicious about her husband’s question.
The Duke asked with her eyes narrowed.
“Was there any unnecessary disturbance in the process?”
“Unnecessary disturbance… Rather, there was someone who stopped him and protected Alois.”
“Who?”
Guard? Escort knight?
However, if those within her expectations blocked it, her husband couldn’t have reacted like this.
It was when the Duke’s head tilted gently.
“The fact that she was a child… It was a little unusual.”
His answer was really unexpected.
“A child?”
“Yes. There was a child who suddenly appeared and protected Alois. She is said to be a person who is very popular with Baron Felice because she is smart. I sent some presents as a way to express my gratitude and silence her. Is there any problem?”
Thinking about it, the Duke answered briefly.
“Interesting. It would be nice to meet her in person.”
“….”
“Bring it to me, the child.”
****
The Imperial Palace is quiet.
‘It’s good that the class was canceled.’
Delmar, who didn’t know that the water was quiet but noisy under the water, sneaked out of the room.
His eyes are wide open. It’s because he can’t sleep well.
His insomnia remained the same even with fairy tale books, calm music, and swordsmanship classes.
‘I’m tired. There are more classes than before—’
Delmar yawned as he recalled the rather harsh schedule for a twelve-year-old prince to handle.
The staggering steps were half-tied to sleep.
He went to the North Tower a few times in secret because he couldn’t sleep and his eyes were spinning.
The bed Aurelio was using was much harder and more uncomfortable than his bed, but somehow he slept well there.
He might be able to sleep there again, right?
He had a small bit of hope, but even after lying down for ten minutes, his eyes were still bloodshot, and all he could do was sneeze.
‘I heard there’s a sleeping pill, but my mom wouldn’t let me take it.’
In fact, it was a simple matter to ask Radanum.
He asked the servants very carefully if he could take a sleeping pill, but he couldn’t see them after that day, so Delmar thought it was true.
‘Brother Aurelio also took medicine made from Radanum, so there’s nothing I can’t eat.’
Radanum’s room, which he got to by dragging his feet, was unfortunately empty.
The pills piled up in one corner of the room seemed to welcome him, but he couldn’t tell what was what because they weren’t labeled.
Delmar, whose eyes were narrowed, stuck close to the bottle containing the medicine.
‘Anyway, where did Radanum go?’
Come to think of it, Radanum is often away these days.
Where is he going? Delmar was sneaking around the room to check it out when he heard a vague voice.
“…Is it all?”
‘Brother!’
It was Aurelio’s voice.
