Daphne hadn’t expected to face Kartun so soon.

‘I thought I’d have time to gather information from Gabriel….’

She regretted being too complacent, but it was already too late.

Eventually, the door opened and he entered. At the familiar yet unfamiliar sight, Daphne’s heart began to race.

His hair looked as if it would stain black if brushed with fingers, and beneath thick, even eyebrows, his hazelnut eyes gleamed.

He looked much younger than when she’d last seen him, but his flawless face remained beautiful.

‘In my previous life, I only saw him in armor….’

He even wore armor to their wedding.

Having just dealt with suddenly awakened monsters, his armor was stained with their viscous blood.

The uniform he wore now had minimal decorations, but perhaps due to his exceptional physique, it looked remarkably handsome.

Though he wasn’t carrying the longsword he usually wore like an extension of his body, his gait exuded confidence—his body itself was a weapon.

With his painted-on gentle smile, everything about him was perfect.

Daphne couldn’t take her eyes off Kartun, who had been her comrade-in-arms on the front lines in her past life, as well as her husband.

The western forest, the main habitat of monsters, was included in the Grand Duke’s territory.

Two hundred years ago, the previous Grand Duke sealed the monster king there, bringing peace to the continent. Since then, people called it the “Forest of Sleeping Monsters,” and the grand ducal family had guarded it for generations.

The “Forest of Sleeping Monsters” was literally sleeping, which meant small monsters still occasionally awakened. He had successfully repelled them, winning every skirmish, large and small.

‘He’ll achieve even greater feats in the future. If there are no variables, that is. But what brings him here? In my previous life, he never came to the capital after becoming Grand Duke….’

Kartun was Emperor Olivia’s uncle. For a young Emperor without an heir and with no support except Werner, the Grand Duke could be a threatening presence.

If he wanted, he could recruit the noble faction and seize the throne. Well aware of this situation, Kartun had kept his distance from the capital, as if to cut off any such possibility at the root.

‘He couldn’t have suddenly developed a thirst for power.’

If it were anyone else, perhaps, but not Kartun.

In her previous life, he lived solely with the mission of protecting people from monsters.

‘Really?’

People were complex beings. She had often seen emotions change countless times, causing people to abandon their sense of mission. Above all, Daphne had died before Kartun.

‘How did he live after I died?’

She couldn’t know. So she would have to get to know him from now on.

As these thoughts crossed her mind, she realized how tense she had become.

Had he noticed her tension? Kartun had been staring at Daphne since entering the audience chamber.

Their gazes locked intensely in midair.

His brown eyes, like a predator hiding a trap, seemed to covet her clear purple eyes, refusing to look away from her.

Ahem!

Only when the Emperor cleared her throat did Daphne lower her eyes first. Kartun glanced at the Emperor with slight disappointment and said to Daphne:

“Your Majesty doesn’t hate bathing—she fears water.”

The Emperor’s expression immediately darkened.

A subject mentioning the Emperor’s weakness in public was unimaginable. Had it been anyone else, the Emperor would have thrown a fit.

But even the world’s most temperamental person had to restrain herself before Kartun’s overwhelming presence. He was a Swordmaster with such developed energy perception that he could hear conversations inside the audience chamber while standing outside.

He continued speaking.

“Despite living inconspicuously, assassination attempts still occurred. She once entered a bathtub laced with poison, and her skin dissolved.”

She was only five years old.

The Emperor, seemingly recalling the horrific memory, nestled into Daphne’s arms.

Daphne was equally flustered. She had unintentionally heard something that could become the Emperor’s weakness.

In such situations, pretending to be an ignorant lady was most advantageous. She patted the Emperor comfortingly and said with sympathy:

“Your Majesty, I’m truly sorry. I had no idea……”

“It’s fine. How could you have known the Grand Duke would say such things?”

Though the Emperor indirectly reprimanded him, Kartun casually ignored it.

“Your Majesty, stop being petulant and properly receive your subject.”

Tsk!

The cunning Emperor had intended to keep him standing as punishment for broadcasting her past. Of course, he firmly rejected this.

The Emperor reluctantly extended her hand to Kartun. However, Kartun merely looked at her hand.

Traditionally, when the Emperor offered their hand, it carried special meaning. It signified a warm welcome, congratulations, or marked the subject as particularly cherished.

In such cases, one should take the hand with both of theirs and respectfully press their forehead to the back of the Emperor’s hand, yet Kartun didn’t move an inch.

“Lady Daphne is right. You should bathe; otherwise, I might also fall ill.”

The chief chamberlain was shocked by his statement, while Daphne glanced between the Emperor and Kartun, trying to read the situation.

Even though time had been reversed, he seemed to have changed too much.

As commander of the continent’s most powerful knight order and as Grand Duke, his straightforwardness in speaking his mind and acting on his decisions applied to everyone, regardless of who they were.

Even so, saying he couldn’t press his forehead to her hand because she was dirty?

It was completely unlike him.

The Emperor, seemingly perplexed, looked at Daphne. Kartun firmly stated:

“Your Majesty should not be looking at a mere powerless lady.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

The Emperor’s voice revealed her helplessness before a formidable opponent.

“You should have glared at me, then executed the chief chamberlain and the lady who heard your weakness. Then you should have dealt with me too.”

The temperature in the audience chamber instantly dropped at his shocking statement.

After a heavy silence, the Emperor spoke quietly. The playfulness in her voice had completely disappeared, replaced by seriousness.

“As you know, Grand Duke, I don’t have the power to eliminate you.”

As if determined to thoroughly educate her during his visit to the capital, Kartun offered an even more shocking response.

“If I were in your position, I would first kill those two as an example. Then I would secretly build my strength and eventually eliminate you. Time creates weaknesses even in strong enemies.”

Listening to the conversation between the Emperor and Kartun, Daphne couldn’t control her expression.

‘Could he be calculating to drive a wedge between Father and the Emperor?’

Otherwise, he wouldn’t casually suggest k*lling a loyal subject’s daughter.

Kartun continued with a nonchalant expression.

“The method of keeping others off-balance with your fluctuating moods and youthful situation has its limits.”

In short, he was advising her not to use shallow tactics.

“Establish your own authority and stand firm each day. That’s what I would do if I were Emperor.”

With this final statement, the audience chamber turned to ice. His words could be misinterpreted as revealing ambition for power.

Daphne was shocked.

Kartun was never one to speak idly. Nor was he foolish enough not to understand the implications of his words.

‘Why has he changed so drastically?’

Though his tone was gentle and relaxed, the powerful energy emanating from him made her knees weak.

It truly felt as if her head might roll if she stayed any longer.

‘After getting this second chance at life… This absolutely cannot happen!’

Kartun watched Daphne’s face turn pale and smiled coldly, as if wondering what was wrong. Then he reached into his coat.

In that instant, Daphne moved instinctively.

As Kartun pulled something from his coat, she lunged at the Emperor. She covered the Emperor with her body and flattened herself on the floor.

“D-Daphne?”

At the Emperor’s confused call, Daphne opened her tightly shut eyes.

What Kartun had taken out wasn’t a dagger but a small box.

Daphne rose hesitantly.

Given Kartun’s large frame, he had many places to conceal weap*ns. He particularly favored carrying daggers throughout his body.

Of course, during combat, he primarily used his longsword. But since monsters tended to attack in groups from all directions, he frequently threw daggers.

Taking anything out in the Emperor’s presence was forbidden. When he suddenly reached into his coat, Daphne had immediately thought of a dagger.

After all, hadn’t he just threatened to kill them? That’s why her body had moved automatically.

She straightened the Emperor’s clothes while mumbling:

“I’m truly sorry. I once saw my father draw a dagger in a similar manner.”

That was a lie, of course.

It was a defensive movement ingrained from her past life.

Unable to say that, she used Werner as an excuse. Was her hastily constructed excuse too clumsy? Kartun gave her a meaningful look.

His gaze was so piercing that Daphne added more to her explanation.

“So without thinking… Your Highness would never do such a thing… I’ve committed a grave offense. Please forgive me.”

“No, I understand. After hearing someone calmly talk about k*lling us, if the Grand Duke reached into his coat, I would have reacted the same way.”

The Emperor also seemed quite startled, her face pale. Still, she composed herself to comfort Daphne and then glared at the chief chamberlain who had been standing there blankly.