The noblewomen who hadn’t expected her to join in flustered about. Rosana expressed her gratitude to Lily with a look. She could clearly see their faces flushing bright red as their lies were exposed. Rosana spoke to the stammering noblewoman.

“Are you even aware that you insulted him—His Majesty?”

“Insulted!”

The startled noblewoman spoke like she was having a fit.

“Didn’t you say he’d been drugged and was acting strange? I can see you have quite the imagination. You share the same thoughts as the young lady beside you.”

Rosana smiled sweetly while delivering a cutting blow. She was saying the woman acted like a young girl despite her age.

“You didn’t finish your sentence, but you said his mind was unsound. I don’t care if you speak vulgarly about me. I’ll gladly accept it as advice. But should you be touching upon the empire’s emperor? Madam, you’ve just sullied your own face.”

In reality, Rosana hadn’t stepped forward first no matter what the nobles said about her. Rather, she accepted it graciously.

Rosana moved because they had brought up Jade. The noblewomen turned pale, unable to say a word like they’d swallowed honey. They rolled their eyes around, but not a single person helped them. They bowed their heads deeply in fear and trembled.

Then the sound of someone quietly whistling could be heard. And the sound of clapping, saying it was impressive. Rosana turned her head toward the sound. There stood a woman with her hair tied tightly back, wearing a uniform.

“Well, we can’t muddy the waters at a banquet our Majesty personally prepared.”

She nodded in agreement. Then she glared at the noblewoman with cynical eyes. Though the corners of her mouth smiled in amusement, her eyes were fierce. 

Not knowing what to do, they stamped their feet, then said sorry in voices as small as ants crawling and disappeared like lightning.

Rosana didn’t block those passing by. She simply quietly raised her head to look at the woman who had intervened. She had a lively impression with her red hair tied up in one bundle.

Among the female nobles, some wives had entered wearing dresses following their husbands, but there were also those who entered as heads of households wearing swords and uniforms. 

Kali was the latter. She stood neatly before Rosana.

“Excuse me. Allow me to introduce myself formally. I’m Kali Kendra.”

Kali knelt on one knee and brought her lips to the back of Rosana’s hand. Rosana observed her bright red eyes carefully. They held goodwill.

She had heard plenty about her. Rosana slightly raised her head to look at Jade sitting in the seat of honor. She was a noble he had personally mentioned.

He was pretending not to know anything, but she could see his fingers irritably tapping the armrest. Though he’d said he would step in when there was danger, he had remarkably refrained from doing so. 

Seeing his lips pressed shut in dissatisfaction, his patience seemed to be reaching its limit. Should she tell him it was enough? This could be called successful.

“Pleased to meet you, Sir Kendra. I’ve heard much about you from His Majesty.”

“Oh, does my lord speak of me? What stories did he tell? I only have memories of rampaging on battlefields, so they couldn’t have been worth hearing.”

“He called you a knight he trusts. He also said you’re an excellent knight. I can tell now that I’ve touched your hands.”

Rosana clasped and felt Kali’s hands. Though hidden by white gloves, she could feel the calluses embedded in her palms. They weren’t soft hands but firm. They didn’t budge even when Rosana applied pressure with her fingers.

“Like Jade. The calluses embedded in your hands prove your life. It must have taken much effort to build these calluses, right?”

Rosana’s face brightened. She was pleased that this noble held goodwill and that she was a vassal Jade trusted.

Kali’s reason for intervening wasn’t anything grand. Louis’s words and other colleagues’ words had echoed in her ears, but she had absolutely no intention of helping, thinking people should handle their own affairs. 

That’s why she’d ignored the urging voices beside her to the end. If they were that worried, they could step forward themselves—why nag at others?

However, hearing Rosana’s words made her body move.

Rosana hadn’t acknowledged the rumors floating around about her. But she said she would accept all those stories with a generous heart. 

However, she showed a hint of anger, saying she couldn’t tolerate the insults toward Jade among the noblewomen’s words. She simply agreed with that opinion.

At first, she’d thought of her as just her lord’s woman. When she saw them showing affection, she’d clapped like a seal, amazed that her lord had finally met a woman. 

But when she spoke confidently to the nobles from the platform, when she acted while calmly ignoring all these gazes and murmuring, she felt favorable toward her.

They say lovers grow similar, and contrary to appearances, she had quite the guts. The corners of Kali’s mouth rose. No knight wouldn’t be pleased to resemble their respected lord. She smiled somewhat sheepishly.

“Ahem, well. That’s right.”

Rosana’s praise didn’t end there. She was pleased that Kali had taken her side and felt a sense of familiarity since she was Jade’s former colleague.

“I heard you’re guarding the northern border. Wasn’t it difficult coming all the way here?”

“It’s quick if you ride on horseback.”

“Didn’t you come by carriage?”

“Carriages are slow and don’t suit my temperament. Horses arrive much faster. And my old friends kept urging me to attend a drinking party after a long time. They took turns sending multiple letters—how could I ignore them?”

Rosana tilted her head. Kali’s voice sounded like she was tattling on someone’s wrongdoing. Rosana drew a question mark in her mind.

“You must be close.”

“We roamed battlefields together.”

“I heard he granted you a castle in recognition of your war achievements. It suits you very well, Sir Kendra.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Kali accepted Rosana’s praise with a cheeky face. Though she’d decided to come out of curiosity, she thought it had been the right choice. There’s no evaluation more accurate than seeing with your own eyes. She had already completely fallen for Rosana.

Kali belonged to the straightforward type with clear likes and dislikes. Lily watched from the side and was impressed. Though she herself had been won over in a similar fashion before, she admired Rosana’s eloquence in handling people well.

On the other hand, Rosana had simply spoken her honest impressions. Rosana was amazed by her accomplishments. 

The fact that she wielded a sword, that she achieved merit on the battlefield, that she received a castle. ‘Kendra’ wasn’t an original surname but one bestowed specifically for her. She couldn’t help but call it impressive. Her pure admiration was enough to break down Kali’s walls.

Kali, who had planned to assess what kind of person she was after checking her out once and give Jade a piece of her mind if she wasn’t good enough, completely forgot those thoughts and inwardly congratulated Jade for finding a good person.

“Are there not many people like Sir Kendra in Astrot?”

Rosana’s eyes widened in surprise. Another noble stood there, having approached without her noticing. It was a young lady wearing a formal suit identical to Kali’s. The sword hanging at her side revealed that she dreamed of being a knight. Rosana answered as kindly as possible.

“Yes, that’s probably true. They’ve decided that swords belong to men.”

In Diovaha, they didn’t distinguish between women and men. Each was passionate about their field of interest.

“That’s why I like Diovaha. I think it’s wonderful to see people say they like what they like and work passionately. In the Astrot Empire, I think roles are determined by rank from birth. Gender is the same. They think women should work inside the home and men outside.”

“What kind of situation is it to distinguish between men’s and women’s roles when their culture is supposed to be refined?”

“Exactly.”

Rosana agreed without hesitation even to words disparaging Astrot. Kali chuckled. Then she spoke to the nobles gradually approaching.

“So if you have questions you want to ask, ask them confidently. When have we ever been people of many words? If you’re curious, you should confront it directly.”

Kali shook her head. Then the irritating murmuring sounds completely disappeared. Here and there, people turned their heads, stung by Kali’s words, and people repeatedly clearing their throats appeared everywhere.

“Didn’t our lady say to see and judge things as they are? If I could hear it, His Majesty probably heard it too, right?”

At Kali’s words, the nobles turned their heads toward Jade with an audible whoosh. Jade was languidly leaning against his chair, thoroughly playing his role as emperor. However, his eyes were shining coldly.

His gaze was cold enough to make one wonder why they hadn’t noticed or felt it until now. Somewhere, the sound of someone gulping echoed.

“Wh-when did we do that? We were just slightly assessing the situation…”

“That’s right!”

Like the one who farted getting angrier, they vehemently denied it. Then they swarmed toward Rosana, acting like they’d never kept their distance.

“I saw you having an interesting conversation earlier—could you tell us more in detail?”

“First identify yourself to Lady Rosana.”

Lily scolded the approaching noble sharply, telling them to reveal who they were. Then he cleared his throat and politely stated his name. 

Lily thoroughly played her role as Rosana’s right hand. Rosana blinked slowly. The scales wavering inside the nobles’ hearts tipped to one side. And it was the change Rosana had hoped for.

“Of course.”

Rosana chattered with a flushed expression. This attention felt unfamiliar yet rewarding. It was a change she had created herself. Watching this, Jade let out a laugh that escaped through his teeth.

Rosana was surrounded by many people. Whether wanting to change their impression even a little or planning to flatter her to be seen favorably, everyone without exception spoke to Rosana.

“My lady, where did you have that dress made? The dress is truly beautiful.”

“It’s a dress made by someone Jade trusts.”

“I can say it suits you so well it’s like it was born for Lady Rosana!”

“Thank you for the compliment. Your dresses are beautiful too. You’ve added accents in various places.”

Praise for the dress and accessories Rosana wore, and

“Weren’t you exhausted dealing with the Ales delegation?”

“Many people helped me. It wasn’t overwhelming.”

“Don’t worry about those noblewomen who just ran away. They’re famous in social circles for running their mouths carelessly.”

Praise poured in for wisely handling the Ales delegation matter and the noblewomen from earlier. Rosana answered the questions pouring from around her as kindly as possible. The swarming crowd was like a swarm of bees.

“I fully understand why His Majesty fell for you, my lady. Being so beautiful and wise, he couldn’t help but be drawn to you.”

Rosana smiled sweetly. Beside her, Kali grumbled, claiming that the intensity of the stares might pierce the back of her head. When Rosana glanced at her, Kali leaned in and whispered softly,  

“Someone far away is sweating bullets.”