“Uh, well…”

“If you’ve started to speak, finish your sentence. Aren’t you now a proper member of the imperial family? You can’t go around speaking so vaguely.”

“Yes, you’re right. That was my mistake.”

“Don’t say it was a mistake. Royals are people who make decisions, not people who make mistakes. Even if something goes wrong, it’s the fault of those beneath you.”

“Thank you for your advice.”

She learned something new. To survive in the imperial palace, you had to be shameless.

Barbara, who had been staring at April quietly nodding, gave a faint smile and then cleared her throat.

“Hm, the highest elder in the palace is Her Majesty the Empress, but I can also be considered an elder, so come visit me often.”

“Yes! I understand.”

“The second prince’s palace garden is beautiful, so I’ll come visit sometimes.”

“It would be an honor.”

April smiled, thinking how elegantly Barbara had just suggested they become friends. There was still quite a bit of tea left in her cup, but Barbara stood up and said her farewells, leaving April alone.

As Barbara exited the second prince’s palace, one of her maids following behind spoke up first.

“What should we do?”

“Leave her be. She’s nothing special.”

“Pardon?”

If April had lost her senses and behaved rudely toward a royal, Barbara wouldn’t have let it go. If April, as a duke’s daughter, had failed to show proper respect, Barbara would have torn her pride to shreds, but the girl was perfectly fine.

She didn’t flaunt her status as the duke’s daughter, nor did she look down on Barbara for being a divorcée.

‘Actually, it felt more like she looked up to me…’

Barbara closed her eyes tightly for a moment to clear her mind. There was a reason for everything she did. Lately, the emperor’s gaze had become unusual.

The way he looked at her had changed, and the way he looked at her younger brothers had changed as well. All of this began after Calsion came into the palace.

‘Why did he bring that child to the palace? No matter how much gossip there was among the people, there was nothing he couldn’t ignore if he put his mind to it…’

Barbara pondered deeply about what the emperor’s intentions could be.

‘Could he really be considering making that child the crown prince?’

Barbara imagined Calsion as the crown prince and tried to predict how the palace would change.

‘If that happens, the moon of the empire won’t stay quiet. She firmly believes her own blood must inherit the throne.’

Thinking of the empress, Barbara smiled bitterly.

She had no lingering affection for her mother or brothers. Hadn’t they sent her off to another empire’s prince against her will and wrung an enormous dowry from it?

After learning that all that money went into her brother, the first prince’s, pockets, Barbara no longer considered them family. That was also why, when she returned to the Isper Empire with a fortune, she handed all the money over to the emperor.

To her mother, only her sons were children; Barbara was just a means to make money. But the emperor was different. He gave her a portion of the settlement she’d brought, and not only that, he provided her with a monthly allowance to maintain her dignity. Even though she’d returned divorced and brought shame, he still looked after her.

‘It’s not much compared to what I gave, but…’

Even that was enough. As long as the emperor lived, she could live comfortably under his protection for life.

But now it was time to think about what came next. Her brothers were fools, and her mother was just greedy. So only one option remained.

“Second prince Calsion.”

“Yes?”

“No, nothing.”

Calsion was the only choice. To maintain her power in the palace, she had to join hands with Calsion. To do that, she needed to figure out what kind of person his consort was, which was why she had deliberately sought out April.

‘She seemed gentle.’

Unlike Calsion, she looked like someone Barbara could sway. And it didn’t seem like she held any ill will toward Barbara.

‘Or maybe not.’

Perhaps it was all just a mask. Everyone who had approached Barbara so far had turned out to be extraordinary. Barbara felt the need to investigate April further.

“Call for Sir Eaton.”

“What do you need Sir Eaton for…?”

“Just do it.”

Eaton was a knight of the princess’s palace and one of Barbara’s most frequently used hands. Unbeknownst to most, he was also a member of her information guild. But the maids, unaware of this, sometimes overstepped their bounds, just like now.

At Barbara’s words, her personal maid hesitated. A proper lady did not summon an unmarried knight for personal matters.

Ever since Barbara returned divorced, there had been rumors that she occasionally called knights for secret pleasures, so her personal maid tried to dissuade her carefully.

“If you have something to relay, please tell me. I can deliver your message to Sir Eaton.”

“When did I say I had something to say? Just go call him.”

Barbara knew what her maid was worried about, but she could just ignore people’s gossip. No one dared to say such things to her face. And even if someone did, she could just talk back.

‘Even if the rumors were true, there are plenty who behave far worse than me—like noble ladies who steal other women’s husbands, or those who covet the wives of nobles with lower ranks. Knowing the dark side of the nobility, Barbara realized that nothing anyone said about her really mattered.’

If someone spoke harshly, she could simply respond even more harshly. As long as she had the emperor’s protection, no one could treat her carelessly.

When her personal maid still didn’t leave, Barbara’s eyes grew cold.

“What are you doing?”

“Your Highness, if it’s not urgent, perhaps you could call him later…”

“You.”

Barbara’s pale finger pointed to the maid standing behind her personal maid.

“Did you call, Your Highness?”

“You go. And you’ll take over the position of personal maid from now on.”

“Gasp… Th-thank you!”

The maid who had just been demoted from the position of personal maid bowed her head deeply and stepped back. Barbara’s chilly voice followed her.

“You don’t need to come in from tomorrow.”

“Y-Your Highness!”

“I don’t need a dog that thinks. I need one that listens.”

At Barbara’s cold words, the shoulders of the watching maids hunched.

“What are you doing? Get her out.”

At her final command, the maids rushed over and dragged out the former personal maid.

***

After meeting Barbara, April was able to spend her days leisurely. For some reason, the empress didn’t call for her, and though she considered going to greet her first, she decided not to stir up any trouble and chose to remain quiet.

It was the same with Calsion. Other than occasionally sharing a formal meal, there was no reason to meet.

‘This is what you call the ideal contract marriage!’

April was quite pleased with the current situation. This was the ideal married life she had hoped for: a perfect life without interfering or clinging to each other.

If she could just see out the duration and get a clean divorce, it would be perfect. Lost in happy thoughts, April stared blankly at the trees in the garden.

That was when she saw it—a squirrel running across the grass. No, it was limping along.

April absentmindedly watched the squirrel, then saw a hawk flying above it. When she heard the hawk’s long cry as it targeted the squirrel, April flinched. Jarenne, who was watching April from behind, observed her sudden movement.

“Oh my, there’s a squirrel over there…!”

April blocked Jarenne’s view and approached the squirrel. As she stood up and moved, Jarenne also stepped forward, but April was faster.

She sat down where the squirrel was and cupped it in her hands. Just before Jarenne could reach her, a small white light glimmered in April’s hands, and the squirrel tilted its head inside her grasp. Smiling at the cute sight, April watched as the squirrel jumped out of her hands.

April’s face lit up as she watched the squirrel dash away. Jarenne, coming up beside her, had been just a moment too late to see what she’d done.

“It ran away.”

“It did, didn’t it?”

Realizing that Jarenne hadn’t seen what she’d done, April stood up. She lightly brushed off her skirt, but the hem was already stained with grass. Noticing the green-stained skirt, Jarenne made a suggestion.

“You should go inside and change your clothes.”

“Oh, right.”

As April began to walk slowly, Jarenne followed behind. Jarenne’s eyes didn’t leave April’s back.