“You’re not going?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I’d like to ask the opposite. Why should I go?”

How am I supposed to know? In the original story, you visited the Imperial Palace, didn’t you?

“Don’t you have any business? Like something to do at the Imperial Palace?”

“No.”

Ilion’s firm response left me speechless.

Then how did you meet the Saintess back then? Did you just make up an excuse to go to the Imperial Palace?

My goodness. You must have been quite smitten with the Saintess from the start, weren’t you?

While this new insight into the original story was quite intriguing, it wasn’t entirely pleasant.

It only strengthened my resolve. I couldn’t back down now.

“I need to return the painting to His Majesty anyway, so why don’t we go today?”

“Today?”

“Yes!”

“We could go another time…”

“No! Let’s go today! If you won’t go, I’ll go by myself.”

And if I say this, Ilion will reluctantly follow.

Well, if he wants to see what happens when he sends me alone, that’s fine too.

As I smiled at him, forcing him to make a choice, Ilion finally agreed with a very reluctant expression.

And so, we arrived in front of the Imperial Palace.

I stepped back and looked at him.

“Go return the painting. I’ll rest in the garden for a bit.”

Ilion looked at me with puzzled eyes.

“Didn’t you come to see His Majesty?”

As if. Klaus is the second person I least want to meet since being reincarnated as Ravenne.

For your information, you’re number one.

“Do I really have to go? It’s just returning the painting, isn’t it?”

“You were so insistent on coming earlier.”

He looked at me with a reproachful gaze, seemingly asking why I had begged to come if this was how I was going to act.

“A woman’s heart is like a reed, changing dozens of times a day. Who can be blamed for that?”

“If there’s anyone to blame, it’s you…”

“Then, I’ll wait outside.”

I quickly waved my hand and ran out to the garden, not giving Ilion a chance to speak.

Compared to before when he completely ignored my nonsense, he had started to respond a bit lately, but Ilion wasn’t fundamentally strong in verbal sparring.

He had a somewhat rigid side, trying to respond rationally to my illogical nonsense, but how could that work?

Perhaps because I had been shivering in a cold region until yesterday, the warm sunlight couldn’t have been more welcome. And on such a nice day, the Saintess would surely come out to the garden.

A week after arriving at the Imperial Palace, the Saintess witnesses a maid dying before her eyes and gradually becomes isolated in the palace.

The servants, afraid of the Emperor, stayed away from the Saintess as much as possible, and the Saintess herself didn’t call on the servants unless necessary.

With no one to talk to, she spent days like a mute, and feeling stifled, the Saintess came out to the garden every day to relieve that suffocation. That’s when she happens to meet Ilion, who had stopped by the Imperial Palace.

That was their second meeting.

As soon as I entered the garden, I could immediately spot the pure white platinum hair gently swaying in the wind.

The scene was so picturesque, for a moment I felt as if I had stepped into a garden where angels lived.

“Hello?”

Having laughed and cried while reading the novel, I felt a familiarity as if meeting an old friend. Was that why?

My voice betrayed an excessive joy for someone meeting a stranger for the first time.

“Hello.”

Artia greeted me with a slightly guarded expression. It was an understandable reaction. Nominally, she was a guest of the Empire, but in reality, she was a prisoner of war.

To her, I was just one of the nobles from an enemy country.

“I’m Ravenne Rischefeld. You’re Saintess Artia, right?”

“…Yes. But why…”

“I happened to stop by the Imperial Palace and saw a familiar face. May I sit here for a moment?”

Artia thought for a moment, then nodded, saying I could.

Although she didn’t seem particularly welcoming, I smiled obliviously and asked a nearby servant for a cup of tea.

“How are you finding your stay at the Imperial Palace?”

“It’s manageable. I’m receiving treatment beyond what I deserve.”

Artia looked a bit tired as she said this. Well, it was natural to be tired after all that had happened in the past week.

I asked her various questions. If she had any difficulties during her stay, if the palace food suited her taste.

Each time, she made an effort to say everything was fine. That was all. She didn’t seem inclined to share her true feelings or continue the conversation with me.

Needless to say, she had no reason to be kind to me. But I had to keep acting friendly towards her.

To get to the main point.

***

“Ravenne didn’t come?”

How could he speak her name so affectionately when they had barely met? Ilion felt a twisting sensation in his gut as he looked at the Emperor.

“She’s waiting outside.”

“Is that so? Since she’s here, why not have a cup of tea together?”

“Don’t you have other appointments later?”

“I can postpone them.”

“There’s no need for that. My wife will understand.”

Klaus burst into laughter as he watched Ilion beating around the bush, clearly not wanting to show her.

“Alright, I understand. I’ll back down today. But the Duke is truly busy. When did you find time to visit Porto?”

“I just went briefly to enjoy the festival. My wife likes crab.”

Klaus inwardly sneered as he watched Ilion lie so calmly.

Klaus’s interest was not in the welfare of the imperial citizens, but in starting wars, so he didn’t care how the lords managed their territories.

He was aware but chose to ignore it. As long as they didn’t go against his wishes.

But Ilion had been acting like a slippery eel, going against his intentions lately.

On top of that, he was receiving praise from the imperial citizens. Wasn’t he playing quite a convincing game of king?

“The lord of Porto has been sending detailed petitions. I, of course, trust you and will ignore the lord’s words to an extent, but try not to stir things up too much here and there. You should consider my position as the mediator, shouldn’t you?”

Ilion kept his mouth shut with a hardened expression.

Klaus’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

Other men would answer promptly at his slightest word. They would show false loyalty out of fear of losing their heads.

However, both the previous Duke and the one before him, who were praised as founding contributors and said to dedicate their lives to the imperial family, showed no loyalty to him, the Emperor.

Was it because he was an illegitimate son who had usurped the throne by cutting off the legitimate heir’s neck? Klaus felt his insides twisting as he looked down at him.

“I trust both the previous Duke and you quite a bit. Your family has shown loyalty to the imperial family as founding contributors.”

Klaus continued, narrowing his blue eyes.

“So I believe you’ve resolved this matter well in your own way, and I won’t bring it up again. However, from now on, leave the affairs of other territories to their respective lords. Let’s avoid causing each other to blush.”

He wasn’t particularly concerned about the welfare of the lord of Porto, whose name he didn’t even know.

Whether the nobles tore each other apart or not was beyond his interest. He just didn’t like Ilion’s attitude.

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Although he finally got the answer he wanted from him, he didn’t feel particularly good about it.

Klaus’s blue eyes followed Ilion as he turned to close the door and leave.

He was still a thorn in his side.

“Loyalty is good, but one shouldn’t forget who they serve. What use is a dog that doesn’t recognize its master?”

A dog that didn’t recognize its master was useless.

***

“The garden is really beautiful. Do you have a favorite flower, Saintess?”

“Well… Not particularly.”

The relentless back-and-forth of the conversation continued. I thought I had gotten used to it while dealing with Ilion, but Ilion was a gentleman in comparison.

Right, there’s always someone better.

“By the way, I like marigolds, and if you steep them in water…”

“Ah…”

Artia, who had been uninterested throughout the conversation, seemed to have noticed something. I thought she had finally become interested in what I was saying, but her gaze was directed elsewhere.

Following her gaze, I saw Ilion coming this way. Judging by her reaction, it seems they had met at the banquet.

It wasn’t the worst situation. I was worried they might not have met at all, but if they weren’t complete strangers, things might go more smoothly.

“Come to think of it, my fiancé hasn’t been feeling well lately.”

At my words, Artia finally looked at me with interest.

“It seems the medicine isn’t working well either. Um, if it’s alright with you, could you perhaps bestow a blessing on him, Saintess?”

“A blessing…?”

“These days, I’m really worried he might break if touched, or be blown away by the wind. Of course, I know it’s shameless of me to ask such a favor, but…”

As I trailed off, she thought for a moment and then reluctantly nodded.

“If that’s the case, I can help.”

“Oh my, really? Thank you so much! Actually, he’s coming over there right now. Oh, and please keep it a secret that I asked for this.”

My request made her expression puzzled, but I pretended not to notice and waved at Ilion to come over.

“Let’s go back now.”

As soon as Ilion reached the table, he urged us to leave.

“What’s the rush? The garden is beautiful, why don’t we look around with the Saintess before we go?”

“Is this why you begged to come to the Imperial Palace?”

“What do you mean, ‘is this why’?”

“To avoid work and waste time.”

As always, he was the evil employer who couldn’t stand to see me having fun.

Well, I admit I’ve been trying to slack off quite often. But today, I came here all because of you, okay? So could you please put away that suspicious look?

To appease him, who seemed to be in a bad mood, I raised both hands in surrender and said,

“Alright, I’ll go home. But before that, I’m going to the restroom for a moment. Why don’t you chat with the Saintess in the meantime?”

His face showed a ‘why should I?’ expression, but I forcibly pulled his collar and sat him down where I had been sitting.

“Stay seated. I’ll be right back!”

Yeah, I’ll be right back. In about 30 minutes?

That should be enough time for them to chat and for him to receive a blessing. If he questions why I’m late, I can just say I got lost in the Imperial Palace.

It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve gotten lost, would it?

With a plausible excuse prepared, I headed into the Imperial Palace with light steps.

The one thing I overlooked in this plan was the fact that I truly had a poor sense of direction, enough to actually get lost.

“……”

And usually, people with poor direction try to find their way by feeling alone.

Despite being lost, I was still armed with unfounded confidence and was boldly roaming the Imperial Palace.

“To make such a novice mistake, are you in your right mind?”

Just then, a thunderous voice echoed through the corridor.

Unable to miss such an interesting spectacle, I immediately turned towards the direction of the sound.

After all, watching someone else get scolded is the next best thing to watching a fire.

“But, I clearly said it didn’t seem right, but Lord Dimitri…”

“Are you talking back to me now?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Hiding to one side and observing, I saw a familiar face.

What was his name again? The blue-haired mage who had helped me before was being continuously scolded by a middle-aged man who seemed to be his superior.

From what I could hear, it seemed he was being scolded for something that wasn’t even his fault…

Since he helped me last time, should I help him today?