“A woman who satisfies Your Majesty after so long has appeared—if you wish to enjoy her more, shouldn’t you exercise some restraint?”

The concubine was probably dreaming of trampling her incompetent husband and ascending the golden stairs. But those stairs were clearly a shortcut to the guillotine.

The mother Lexion knew hated disrespectful and vulgar people. The concubine who failed to understand her place would eventually meet her demise at his mother’s hands. The Emperor, whom she considered her shield, would stand back with his hands behind his back, observing like a third party.

“Why is that topic coming up here!”

Having his personal matters pointed out by his son, the Emperor raised his voice in a disgruntled tone.

“I meant that I understand Your Majesty’s feelings. Your reason for keeping an impertinent but fierce cat by your side.”

“You…… do you truly see the Saintess as a woman?!”

“It’s true that I feel some affection for her.”

Affection was affection. He had been in heat since the founding ceremony banquet when she avoided his gaze on the terrace, exposing her peach-colored nape as if asking to be bitten. Since then, he had felt lust like a beast in heat. He simply hadn’t acted like a thoughtless youth driven by desire.

“But I’m not blind. I’m not the type with a trivial personality who stakes everything on love like my brother.”

Lexion casually waved to the nobles who were calling out to him in adoration. It was true that he currently showed an unacceptable obsession toward her, but he hadn’t lost his judgment to the point where his reason was paralyzed by mere puppy love.

“What’s most important to me is the Empire I will rule in the future. I’ve merely changed my approach to utilize her as much as possible. I have everything planned, so Your Majesty need not worry.”

“Do you think I worry because I want to? The Baron has changed his tune. Hah! He boldly criticized the tax issue in the assembly. Should I continue to stand by and watch even now?”

“Your Majesty, see the forest, not just the trees. All this time, the imperial family’s main enemies haven’t been the rats that cling to one power holder or another, but the beasts that have grown enormous.”

“Who doesn’t know that? That’s why I said the Saintess should disappear, didn’t I!”

“You know well that they’re targeting the elixir and plotting behind the scenes for mining rights. The period during which the imperial family can wield elixir as a weapon against them is running short. To create elixir with Your Majesty’s special ability, magic stones are needed—”

Lexion’s elegantly drawn arrow flew magnificently, embedding itself in the center without the slightest deviation.

“Soon they’ll be the imperial family’s lifeline. But from what I know, less than 30% of the magic stones remain in the imperial possession. Even considering future mining yields, it seems we won’t last ten years.”

“……”

Lexion’s arrow must have hit the Emperor’s vital point too, as his stern face showed signs of distress.

“Your Majesty, if we run out of magic stones, we’ll be the ones who have to swallow our pride and extend our hands from an equal position. This would only give wings to the already well-fed beasts. So I’m asking you to set aside trivial emotions and carefully consider the imperial family’s prestige.”

“……”

The Emperor’s mouth remained shut like a clam. A chilling wariness crept up in him toward Lexion, who clearly saw through the magic stone situation that only he should have known.

“Your Majesty, it’s your turn.”

When there was no notable movement from the wavering Emperor, an attendant respectfully announced his turn.

The observing nobles, sensing the subtle current between father and son, began to murmur, covering their mouths.

“Right, ahem……”

The Emperor drew his bowstring with a collapsed posture. The arrow barely grazed the target and fell limply into the grass.

Lexion aimed his final arrow. Looking at the target, he superimposed Jeff’s face kissing Estelle’s hand. Considering the Emperor’s face, he should have deliberately missed to create a tie, or hit the edge of the target to secure victory by a narrow margin.

However, Lexion, with a textbook-perfect posture embodying imperial dignity, drew his bowstring without the slightest hesitation.

Crack!

The arrow, flying at a terrifying speed, shattered the center and passed straight through. The nobles’ admiration and praise poured toward him all at once.

“Hmm—!”

The humiliated Emperor looked at Lexion with reproachful eyes, but he smiled languidly.

There was no need to particularly cater to the old lion who was struggling disgracefully, unwilling to relinquish his power.

* * *

“Hey, look there! Isn’t that His Highness Alexis?”

“Yes…… I think so……! My goodness, what brings him here? And who’s that woman beside him?”

“Judging by the silver hair, isn’t that the Saintess? He must have come to escort her personally! How…… thoughtful of him!”

Estelle, having alighted from the carriage, entered the largest clothing store in the street, paying no heed to the whispering around her. It was a store she had visited with Jeff even before her regression. Several clerks welcomed Jeff warmly, and the elegant interior was filled with the subtle fragrance of flowers.

“My goodness! Your Highness, it’s been a while!”

The store owner, spotting Jeff, rushed over to greet him. She was a viscountess who had amassed wealth through exceptional business acumen rather than a keen sense of design. Though she was the owner of the most successful clothing store in the capital, her dresses had stubbornly maintained a conservative style for years, until about a year later when she would surrender her throne to a back-alley clothing store whose main customers were courtesans.

Unable to endure that humiliation, the viscountess recklessly expanded her business and lost most of her earnings. Around that time, her husband fell into gambling and squandered their remaining fortune. The viscountess then fell into alcoholism and ended her life miserably.

“I heard Your Highness had already left Alphion……!”

Estelle gazed with a peculiar look at the viscountess’s plump, glossy face. It was a completely different face from the haggard appearance she had seen at the courthouse during the divorce case that had stirred up the capital. She was a successful woman, more capable than her husband, but became isolated in society from the moment she filed for divorce.

The reason was that she, as a woman, had shamelessly sought divorce.

Estelle had also attended that trial. She wished she could have hurled divorce papers at Lexion right there. It was an impossible wish in noble society.

After the trial, when the verdict to maintain the marriage was announced, the viscountess had wailed desperately. At that time, Estelle had pitied the viscountess, who was shackled no differently from herself. Although she had spread false rumors defaming Estelle, on that day, she truly felt sorry for her.

“How long will you be staying in the capital?”

“I’ll be leaving right away.”

“Oh my, what a shame! I was hoping you could attend the party the day after tomorrow…… You know, that young lady I mentioned before will be attending this party. If the two of you stood side by side, you would make such a well-matched pair……”

Estelle barely suppressed a scoff that almost escaped her lips. One of the viscountess’s business skills was matchmaking between families. It was a moment when her talent shone, but the viscountess was completely deluding herself. The probability of Jeff showing interest in that young lady was close to the probability of Lexion kneeling down and repenting for his wrongs before her regression.

“How is Miss Otis doing?”

“That tomboy is still the same.”

Listening to their conversation, Estelle recalled a freckle-faced girl. She was the only daughter of a vassal closely tied to the Alexis family.

Otis had always envied her silk-like hair. Though not an outstanding beauty, Estelle thought she was truly a lovely girl.

“Today we came to see a dress for Lady Arcis.”

“Ah…… I see.”

The viscountess looked at Estelle with an unfriendly gaze. It was a familiar look.

While the Saintess was a sacred figure among common people who were familiar with legends, in the authoritative noble society, most viewed her as little more than a high-class pr*stitute. Since the history of Saintesses was recorded in detail by each family, it was a product of the nobles seeing and learning exactly that.