“So. She said that?”

“Yes.”

Jane conveyed only objective information, dividing it into introduction, development, turn, and conclusion without stating subjective thoughts. 

Even Malek listened to Jane’s story with slightly surprised eyes. Malek looked through the documents that had been proven false.

“They’re too different. According to the documents, she doesn’t forgive anyone who talks about her.”

“It must be distorted.”

Jade took Rosana’s side. He was surprised by his own sudden words. He tapped the table with his thick, well-formed fingers. Lately, Jade’s mind was filled with Rosana. Even when she wasn’t visible, she was automatically drawn in his mind.

Rosana’s first appearance and her reaction when he handed her the dagger.

‘You don’t need to worry. I’ll live quietly. Without being seen by anyone, and I have no intention of causing trouble just because I’m Empress.’

From what Jade felt, she pursued a quiet life. But in a way, that meant living by letting go of something and going with the flow.

She said even speaking wouldn’t get through. That was the truth. It was strangely different—the Rosana the documents pointed to and the Rosana he had seen and experienced. 

He had heard directly from the merchants’ mouths, from the mouths of the servants who had transported goods.

He didn’t know about the situation in Astrot, but all the stories the merchants had submitted in petitions were things Emma had done. Jade let out a long, deep sigh. 

Why, why had everyone including himself misjudged Rosana? He felt pathetic.

“Malek, how’s the investigation going?”

“I’ve given orders to the spy we planted. Now all that’s left is waiting for results.”

“Tell them to submit results as soon as possible.”

“Yes.”

“Jane. Is there anything else? I’d like to hear your opinion.”

Jane continued slowly.

“Emma is too free-spirited. Even for a long-time personal maid, her attitude is excessive.”

The position of personal maid was special. She could be hands and feet, eyes and ears. 

The personal maid was someone who knew and acted on the master’s intentions better than anyone. That’s why one could think she was acting according to Rosana’s will. 

Jane had actually thought that before.

But she wasn’t, and Jane had been badly burned.

Then she realized. That Emma was excessively insolent, and Rosana was at the level of ignoring, beyond overlooking, Emma’s presumptuous behavior.

“In what way?”

“I watched Lady Rosana closely as Your Majesty ordered. Lady Rosana is a kind person. She even overlooks the maids’ mistakes. Only that person named Emma is the problem. Lady Rosana takes no action, but that personal maid mostly acts on her own.”

“That’s the only possibility. Why… I wonder why she doesn’t stop her.”

“…”

When Jane’s expression became serious, Jade knew there was another reason. Jane had always listened to Rosana from right beside her. Then she knew. She had heard Rosana’s words that seemed about to scatter.

Just the first or second words, but weren’t they telling her to stop…

She hadn’t heard clearly. Rosana’s small voice played a part, but Emma knew so well when she was about to speak that the moment she opened her mouth, Emma would cut her off sharply. 

Emma had great talent for getting under people’s skin. It was inevitable to be drawn to someone picking a fight.

Most of Rosana’s statements were ambiguous, making it difficult to distinguish whether she was stopping or defending Emma. Even when she showed refusal, there were cases where Emma acted on her own.

“She stopped her, but… I think she doesn’t listen.”

Jane knew her own words were absurd. Who would ignore a ducal lady’s words? 

Moreover, she was now someone who would become Empress. But the situation she had experienced was like that.

“The maid’s behavior was similar to coercion.”

“…Coercion.”

Jade had much to think about. Since she was the only maid who had talked back to Jade, he had thought she held special affection for Rosana, but that wasn’t it at all.

“The more I know, the less I understand.”

“What should we do with these letters?”

The sealing on the letters Malek held up bore the Arcadi ducal family’s seal. They were letters sent to her from Rosana’s family home. 

They hadn’t been delivered to Rosana yet. No one knew what content the letters contained. So Jade had confiscated them all.

“Hmm…”

Rosana was rumored to be a villain in the ducal family. But looking at her actions, she wasn’t at all. Then did her family know?

If they knew, why didn’t they improve her image? 

It could spread secretly that her personality was bad, but it was rare for even commoners to badmouth nobles. Moreover, if it was a ducal family, their influence would pierce the sky.

The very fact that there was a performance based on her story was laughable. Wasn’t this completely… mockery? They could have suppressed it with the ducal family’s power.

Jade pondered.

“Hand them over.”

“Are you sure you don’t need to check the contents?”

“Aren’t they letters sent by family? Just deliver them.”

Though it wasn’t appropriate as an order from an emperor wary of Astrot, Malek followed him.

“Yes. Understood.”

“I’ll tell her myself.”

Then the door burst open.

“Your Majesty!”

“What’s the matter?”

Jade’s eyebrows rose sharply. The attendant who had rushed in handed Jade the letter he had brought. His face gradually hardened as he read down the letter. Then he spoke in a serious voice.

“Malek, summon the knights.”

“Yes.”

After seeing Jade’s expression, Malek immediately went to summon the knights without objection. 

Then Jade handed the letters to Jane.

“This won’t do. I’ll be away for a while. Watch over her well.”

“Understood.”

The servants became busy due to the suddenly decided expedition, and the news reached Rosana’s ears as well.

* * *

“Miss. They say the Emperor is departing to subjugate Monsters.”

“Is that so?”

Rosana, who had been quietly reading, replied. Monsters were organisms beyond human control. There were even small countries that perished due to Monsters.

She had never seen Monsters directly. However, she knew people injured by Monsters. In Astrot, Monsters were rare, but occasionally Monsters that came down from the north would appear. 

Once they appeared, it became a troublesome incident to the extent that knights would form separate units to exterminate them.

She knew it was a big deal, but to the extent that the Emperor would depart? Of course, even if his martial arts were outstanding, the fact that the Emperor was leaving the palace felt awkward.

‘Are Monsters a big problem in the Diovaha Empire?’

Their recent meeting had ended badly, but she was worried about him. Since she was nominally the prospective Empress, she wondered if she should go see him off.

“They say he already left?”

“Yes. They say he just left. They say he won’t be able to come for a while? It’ll be nice and quiet. He was rude to you last time too, Miss.”

Emma was talking about when Jade had come with the budget report. Rosana thought it was sufficiently warranted. But Emma was disgusted, saying it was absurd. Rosana quietly spoke words of concern for him.

“I wonder if he’ll get hurt…”

Then Emma trembled and was horrified.

“Why are you worried?! Miss came for marriage, but instead of showing his face once a day, he’s someone who protested about wasting money! It’s questionable whether the wedding is even proceeding well!”

Emma ground her teeth like she couldn’t contain her anger. Then she suddenly grabbed Rosana’s shoulders and said, “Miss, you stay here. I’ll go find out.”

“Em…!”

But before the words could leave her mouth, Emma rushed out. She stared at Emma’s back, acting like she would protect her. Only Rosana’s sighing sound was heard in the room.

After a long while, Emma returned fuming. In her hands were letters. Emma roughly threw the letters on the table.

“I knew it! They were hiding letters the Madam sent!”

There were several letters. Rosana’s heart stirred at the ducal family’s seal stamped clearly. 

Emma said Jane had been hiding the letters. If they were hidden, they shouldn’t have ended up in Emma’s hands. Then it meant Emma had secretly brought them.

“Where did you get these?”

“From that high-nosed head maid Jane’s room. Where else?!”

“Did you enter without permission?”

“It’s not like I can’t enter, right?”

Emma, not understanding the seriousness of the situation, replied nonchalantly. The letters Emma had brought were clearly ones she had found by entering the room and searching without permission. 

Rosana sighed and pressed her forehead. She had nothing to say if accused of sneaking in and doing something.

Due to Jade’s sudden expedition, many servants were mobilized, and Jane, who had been there, had also hurriedly left the letters in her room and helped with preparations. 

Naturally, there were few maids passing through the employee quarters. Emma had taken advantage of that gap to beautifully infiltrate and intercept the letters to be delivered to Rosana. 

Rosana looked at the ducal family’s seal stamped on the letters with sunken eyes.

“Hurry and open them.”

Emma handed Rosana a knife. Rosana had absolutely no desire to read the letters. It was the Duchess who had declared it was the end. It didn’t make sense that she had written a letter. 

Or Amy?

If it was Amy, there was sufficient possibility. But if she wrote a letter, it couldn’t have escaped the Duchess’s ears. Even if Amy wrote it, it must have come to the Diovaha Empire because she had permitted it.

Rosana took a deep breath. Then, like she had made a decision, she closed her eyes tightly and opened them. She slowly turned over the letter envelope to see the sender. Her mother’s name was clearly written.

Rosana’s heart hardened coldly. She who had asserted your story is over, she who had answered she wouldn’t meet her, had written a letter to her. The words that had been stabbed like daggers remained…

‘How shameless.’

She was curious what words were written. Rosana’s eyes rippled with anger. Rosana didn’t dawdle and cut the sealing with the knife. 

Just before unfolding the letter, a dagger suddenly flashed through Rosana’s mind. Rosana’s hand stopped right there. She slowly turned her head, her eyes going to the pillow on the bed.

She had put it inside the pillow so no one would know and had even asked them not to touch it carelessly.

‘No way…’

Without realizing it, she bit her lips tightly. Rosana’s red lips became even redder. Jade had said he discovered the dagger in Rosana’s luggage. Rosana had asked Emma probingly, but Emma didn’t know about the dagger’s existence.

She had assumed another maid or knight, not Emma, had packed it. No… Actually, she had vaguely guessed but deliberately ignored it.

“Hah…”

A short sigh came out. Then she slumped her body and unfolded the letter neatly.

“As expected…”

“What did the Madam say?”

Emma stuck her head out, wanting to see the letter. What was so interesting to see? She thought while looking at Emma’s eyes sparkling brightly. It wasn’t worth mentioning.

“What she’s always said.”

Rosana muttered coldly. It was blatant from the first line.

[Why isn’t it over?]

Before Rosana’s eyes, an image of her tilting her head nonchalantly was drawn. What she wanted was the end of the story.

What was the end of the story her mother truly wanted? She had said she was being sold off to Diovaha for a political marriage. 

She had arrived in Diovaha. Wasn’t that the end? 

Rosana’s hand holding the letter trembled finely. To Rosana, who knew about the dagger’s existence, the letter’s content was automatically interpreted.

‘Why aren’t you dead?’

Rosana raised the corners of her mouth and forced a smile. Then she carefully read through the unfolded letter, chewing on each sentence. 

Words like “Didn’t you receive the gift for you? Then why is there no news?” were written.

‘Is the news you want my death?’

She wasn’t even surprised. She laughed because it was the same as always.

‘So that’s why the dagger appeared.’

Laughter burst from Rosana’s mouth. But somehow it sounded sad. Then urgent knocking on the door was heard, then Jane entered.

“Lady Rosana. By any chance…”

Jane saw the letter Rosana was holding. Rosana showed Jane a faint smile. It would have been good if she had hidden it tightly so no one would find it… Then Emma wouldn’t have found it, and this letter wouldn’t have come to me.

She suppressed the desire to crumple the letter. Instead, she brushed her fingers over the phrases written in the letter. Jane slowly walked toward Rosana.

“There were clear traces of someone infiltrating my room, and the letters disappeared. The letters… went to Lady Rosana.”

“Hmph. The person who hid them is at fault. What’s the reason for not giving Miss the letters that came to her?”

The person who stole the letters boldly stuck out her chest and cornered Jane. Jane replied calmly.