The news arrived at the tail end of summer. The letter that came when we could feel autumn approaching in the cool weather surprised both Father and me.

“Come to the Imperial Palace?”

Of course, being summoned to the Imperial Palace wasn’t particularly unusual. I was royalty now and engaged, so I’d expected the Emperor to be curious about Fazel.

But the timing was the problem.

The Empress had just given birth. If an heir was born, they should be caring for that child—so why did he want to see me?

I wasn’t thinking wrong, was I?

Father lifted his head toward me, his chin resting in his hand. Watching him sit at his desk with a serious, contemplative expression, I made a stern face too.

“When a child is born, close associates are invited. Those people are usually considered ones who will bestow blessings on the child.”

Because so many things happened at the Imperial Palace, especially when the Emperor’s first child was born, the ironclad rule was that only the Empress, Emperor, and wet nurse would see the baby.

Yet here they were, asking me to come see and bless my younger cousin.

“What could be the intention?”

Father pondered as well, then shrugged his shoulders.

“How would I know what’s in His Majesty’s mind?”

“You really can’t guess at all?”

At my pressing, Father smiled faintly.

“You need to figure it out yourself.”

“Father!”

“That’s also part of being a Count. Besides, it’s not that you have no idea at all—it seems you just want me to confirm your suspicions, right?”

Father’s words hit the mark.

I grumbled to myself before finally confessing my thoughts to Father.

“I think he’s trying to see if I have ambitions.”

“Right?”

“It seems he deliberately elevated my status and invited me to this precious occasion to find out if I’m interested in the throne or not.”

When people move from a low position to a high one, their mindset changes and their hidden nature emerges. That’s why people who suddenly get promoted or become overnight millionaires often become personality disasters.

Some become arrogant and make mistakes.

I sighed.

“His Majesty really does things on a grand scale.”

After saying that, I looked at the letter made of high-quality paper. It simply said they hoped I would come to the Imperial Palace on this day.

What noble could refuse this invitation? They’d have to cancel existing plans to go.

I pressed my head down and sighed.

First, since Fazel was also invited, I should let him know about this.

I decided to summon my fiancé Fazel.

He’d told me from now on, if I had business, I should summon him to the castle. It might look bad to others if I went to him.

‘I also need to have dinner with the Duke.’

For now, I’d coordinated a dinner date with him. The Duke agreed to come to our territory reasonably soon.

Duke Zieten was still in the capital.

‘In that case.’

It wouldn’t be bad to meet and have dinner together in the capital.

I should discuss this with Fazel too. I sat in the drawing room waiting for Fazel, drinking tea.

Then I looked at the teapot. The teapot elaborately crafted in gold was extremely expensive. Since Duke Zieten had given it as a gift, I was using it carefully.

If I didn’t use it, who knows what he’d say.

And if I used it carelessly, he’d probably say something too.

‘They’re both difficult people.’

Duke Zieten wasn’t an ordinary person, and His Majesty the Emperor wasn’t ordinary either. Just as I was wracking my brain over how to deal with them, Fazel entered.

Today he wore a white shirt and pants. The short-sleeved shirt suited him well. Perhaps because the weather was hot, he’d undone a couple buttons, and his collarbone was so pretty I found myself staring without realizing it.

“Louelle, what’s wrong?”

“Hm?”

“Did I get something on me?”

Fazel seemed flustered that I was staring at him. I quickly averted my gaze and made a serious expression.

“Something’s come up.”

“What is it?”

“His Majesty the Emperor has invited us to the Imperial Palace.”

his eyes widened.

“At this time?”

The basic rule was not to show the child even to close associates for three months until the newborn adjusted. So summoning me at this time was truly unprecedented.

Fazel also seemed to sense something was amiss, watching me with anxious eyes.

“Louelle, there’s nothing wrong, is there?”

“Well… there might be.”

Fazel pondered briefly, then spoke in a serious voice.

“Tell me if there’s anything I can help with.”

I went through some trouble to hear those words from him.

I risked my life, after all.

“Thank you.”

Nertian sending assassins was absolutely not a good thing. But it was true that it helped a little in making Fazel let go of his doubts about my feelings.

‘I really am lucky.’

Things are working out well.

I smiled gently and offered Fazel tea. Fazel looked at the teapot and made a serious expression.

“You actually use that thing.”

“I can’t just keep it on display.”

“If it were me, I’d be too nervous to use it.”

Tell me about it.

The person who made that teapot was also the empire’s finest craftsman. With the craftsman’s name on it and made of gold, how valuable must it be?

Fazel’s hands trembled slightly as he poured tea from the teapot.

“If it breaks, he’ll give us another one.”

“Even so.”

He wrote in his letter that if the teapot broke, it could be repaired, and to send it to the Duke’s household anytime. Fazel and I recalled that letter and shook our heads.

In some ways, our family had wealth too, but it seemed we couldn’t compare to the Duke’s household.

“But will it really be okay?”

“Who knows. Fazel and I might be put to the test.”

Fazel frowned and sighed.

“After all, you’re royalty, and there aren’t many other royals.”

“Plus, the problem is that Mother was the previous Emperor’s eldest daughter.”

I shook my head.

If they shortened Mother’s life to make her die young, that should have been enough—why bother me, her daughter, too?

If this was how it would be, they shouldn’t have returned my royal status in the first place.

“I understand His Majesty’s feelings too.”

At Fazel’s words, I tilted my head.

“He wants to care for the daughter of his sister who essentially died for him, but it would be troublesome if that daughter had ambitions.”

Fazel accurately summarized the core issue. It was exactly what I’d been thinking.

In the original novel, the Emperor was portrayed as a cold person. Later, when the female protagonist chose the male protagonist as her husband, he sent Fazel, whose body hadn’t recovered, to the demon dragon’s hunting grounds.

Fazel, accepting that order, suffered terribly in the demon dragon’s hunting grounds and died.

Perhaps because of that, I didn’t view the Emperor’s actions favorably. I always thought and thought again that there must be some trick.

Despite being so careful, I hadn’t done anything to catch the Emperor’s eye until now.

I watched Fazel with calm eyes.

“How about having dinner with Duke Zieten in the capital?”

Fazel nodded in agreement.

“That seems better. After all, that would be more convenient for him too.”

Fazel absolutely never called Duke Zieten father.

He swept back his hair. Then his engagement ring sparkled, catching the lamplight.

“You’re wearing the ring well.”

“It’s a promise.”

After saying that, Fazel looked at his hand. He examined the ring from various angles, then smiled faintly.

“It was burdensome at first, but now it’s fine.”

“Really?”

Fazel nodded and stared at me intently.

“I understand what’s happening. But when are we going to the capital?”

“Next week.”

“That’s soon.”

“Let’s take Master Trean too if possible. Since his family home is in the capital, he might want to go.”

More importantly, there might be a chance to introduce Fazel to Master Trean’s connections.

I turned various ideas over in my mind.

“You’re really clever.”

“Why?”

“You’re thinking of gathering Master Trean’s connections in one place, aren’t you?”

“How did you know?”

I looked at Fazel with wonder, amazed he’d read my thoughts. At first, he used to mutter to me often that he couldn’t read me.

“I just had a feeling.”

Fazel said that and blushed slightly.

“You always think of my benefit first.”

“Because you’re my fiancé?”

I deliberately trailed off. I didn’t want to reveal my feelings to him yet. We’d only just become friends—if he learned my feelings, he might run away.

Confessing would only happen when he came to genuinely like me.

I looked at him, hoping that time would come soon.

Fazel looked at me, tilted his head, then smiled gently.

It was a truly beautiful smile.

* * *

The title Fazel would receive was the same as mine—Count. I’d expected the Duke’s household to give him some insignificant territory, but it was decided to be a reasonably prosperous place where the people lived quite well.

However, formally inheriting the territory would happen after he came of age.

Until then, since the Duke was his biological father, he would manage it.

Still, these were pretty good conditions, so Fazel was satisfied.

When we went to the capital this time, he might formally receive the territory and Count title.

“I’m glad things are going well for Fazel.”

I smiled brightly and spoke to Marlene. She echoed my sentiment while wiping my hair.

“Right. It’s good for you too when Lord Fazel does well, miss.”

Marlene applied oil to my hair. Then she used a magically powered heating tool to add curls.

This place used many magically operated household items. However, they were the exclusive domain of nobles and hadn’t yet spread to commoners.

I examined the shape of my curled hair. An extremely cute girl was before my eyes.

While I was debating whether to tie up or let down my hair, Father opened the door and entered.

“Are you all ready?”

Today was the day we departed for the Imperial Palace. Father had finished preparing early. Since it was my first outing in a while, it took longer than expected.

“Should I tie up my hair or leave it down?”

Father watched quietly, then answered after deliberating.

“Leave it down.”

“Okay.”

“Shouldn’t you ask Fazel about these things?”

I shook my head.

“I don’t want to reveal my feelings to Fazel yet.”

After saying that, I let my hair down. Finally, I sprayed on a nice-smelling perfume and stood up.

The perfume Mother used when she was alive had a wonderful scent. Both Father and I liked it, so I sprayed it often.

I planned to wear this perfume at the Imperial Palace too.

I stood up, took Father’s hand, and walked down the corridor.

“Is Fazel here?”

“He’s already arrived. With Suran.”

“Ah.”

“Suran said she came to see us off. It would be nice if she could come along.”

“It can’t be helped. Lady Suran has a lot of work.”

Since Suran started teaching me, she’d been getting lessons little by little. Suran went to teach other classes whenever her schedule had openings.

Word of her skills spread gradually, and parents with young children even started making reservations for lessons with Suran years in advance.

Teaching me was the cause of the word-of-mouth, but ultimately, Suran’s ability was what seized the opportunity. I was proud that she was my teacher.

As we approached the front entrance, I saw Fazel and Suran sitting in chairs.

“Hello.”