Unless all the nobles governing that territory were massacred, the Emperor couldn’t arbitrarily reclaim it. Yet the Grand Duke’s territory was to be handed over to the next Emperor upon ascension.

‘This can’t be all.’

She had a feeling there might be more reasons why the Grand Duke needed to become Emperor.

Following him around as his aide like this, she was starting to see the circumstances bit by bit.

‘This is another world, not just inside a novel.’

It was a real world where she couldn’t rely on the fragmentary content she had only seen in the novel.

Elena watched Count Ephraim’s back as he remained seated while she closed the door herself.

‘The person who will become the Crown Prince’s advisor.’

Elena, who had turned slightly to close the door, quickly turned her body to close the distance that had opened with the Grand Duke.

“Ah!”

Elena flinched and closed her eyes as if there was a wall in front of her. A very brief moment of surprise and urgent movement to avoid collision occurred with whatever was blocking her path.

Elena, who had instinctively closed and opened her eyes, looked up.

She had expected the person blocking her way to be Senior Quiet or even Grand Duke Rudfelix, but it was an unexpected figure.

“I was just on my way to meet the Count…”

His eyes curved mischievously as if saying ‘Who might this young lady be?’

His uninhibited gaze openly examined her.

He seemed drawn to her wearing a uniform rather than a dress.

His gaze was like someone wondering ‘Where did such a rare creature pop out from?’

The man’s sky-blue hair swayed, framing his white face with striking red lips. His obsidian-black eyes sparkled like he was looking at an interesting toy.

‘I didn’t pop out.’

Strictly speaking, she was on her way out of the conference room and couldn’t proceed because of the person blocking her way.

Though she thought this, she couldn’t voice it, perhaps because her knees felt weak for some reason.

‘He’s different from the Grand Duke.’

This was her second encounter with a character from the novel, but the feeling was completely different. While she had blankly stared at the Grand Duke because he seemed so otherworldly, meeting this man’s eyes was uncomfortable.

“What a lovely lady in such fine clothes.”

His fingers casually touched her collar as he fiddled with it.

‘What the.’

A shiver ran down her spine as she felt repulsion.

Elena saw the imperial crest prominently displayed on the man’s shoulder. Though she had stayed still because his whole being screamed ‘I am the Crown Prince,’ she hadn’t expected him to touch her like this.

“You know who I am, right?”

“You are the small sun that illuminates the Empire.”

“Oh? You do know.”

The man drew out a long “hmm.” While it was natural for her to know him, he didn’t know who she was.

His interest seemed to grow at this imbalance. Elena’s unease increased as his lips stretched into a tight smile.

“You’re wearing the same clothes as that man?”

As he spoke, he removed his hand from her collar.

At that moment, Elena quickly turned her shoulder slightly, wanting to avoid him, but his hand was faster.

Unable to fully turn her body away, his hand was about to touch her shoulder.

‘Why is he doing this?’

Though Elena didn’t know why he reached out his hand mid-sentence, she instinctively turned her shoulder away from him due to an unexplainable aversion.

“Ah.”

Elena let out a sound.

A hand touched her shoulder.

Though she turned to avoid being grabbed, she knew it would make contact. Still, she made the sound because she was startled by the man who suddenly intervened.

Rudfelix quickly approached and wrapped his arm around Elena’s shoulder.

As her body turned completely sideways, the door opened behind her.

Hearing the sound of a latch unlocking, Elena looked back. Count Ephraim came out and was surprised to see Rudfelix still there, then showed another look of surprise at seeing the new figure.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

“It’s been a while, teacher.”

Crown Prince Suharto wrinkled his nose and lowered his hand that had been raised in the air. He had known the door would open behind the female aide and tried to push her aside to avoid a collision, but Rudfelix had intervened. He grabbed his aide’s shoulder and turned her sideways as the door opened.

Thanks to that, Suharto’s hand was left awkwardly suspended in the air.

“I was a step too late.”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind.”

Though Count Ephraim asked again not knowing what was going on, Suharto just waved his suspended hand dismissively.

It wounded his pride that he couldn’t read Rudfelix’s movement, but there was no point in mentioning it here.

‘Why didn’t I think the door would open?’

There was no reason for the Count to stay in the conference room, yet she hadn’t thought to move aside, causing this situation. Elena awkwardly fiddled with the corner of her notebook, blaming herself for not moving sooner.

Her superior’s hand still on her shoulder felt very burdensome. Still, she was relieved it was her superior and not the Crown Prince.

‘What? Why am I thinking it’s better this way? Am I crazy?’

Elena was confused by her own thought that it was better because it wasn’t the Crown Prince but him.

“Step aside.”

As Rudfelix applied pressure with his hand, Elena made a small hop to move to the corner. She almost lost her balance forward, but Quiet caught her so she avoided an unseemly fall.

“Thank you.”

Finally facing her most comfortable companion, a smile appeared on Elena’s face. Quiet gave her a reassuring look as he stood in front of her.

Only after standing behind Quiet did Elena’s breathing become free, and she hugged her notebook tightly.

The Crown Prince’s gaze still lingered in her mind. Though similar to Rudfelix, the air around him that made people tense affected her.

‘I met the male protagonist but somehow he’s scary.’

He wasn’t the image of the protagonist she had imagined. His smile was natural but not pure.

“On my way to find my teacher, I met quite an interesting friend.”

Having become the ‘interesting friend,’ Elena pretended not to notice and fixed her protruding clothes. Since she lowered her head to avoid his gaze, she didn’t see Suharto looking at her like a cute child.

“I thought I would have to return without seeing Your Highness.”

“I’ve been away from the palace hunting. When I heard my teacher had come, I rushed back.”

“You came for me? Thank you.”

Count Ephraim bowed his head gratefully, feeling reassured.

“I accept your thanks well. But I heard you’re worried about your territory, is everything alright?”

“Yes.”

Though Count Ephraim ended up explaining his territory’s situation in the hallway, he figured it didn’t matter since everyone present already knew the circumstances. Especially since Grand Duke Rudfelix was still standing there, he thought it was a good opportunity to emphasize his point again.

“The war shows no signs of ending, and though I’ve mobilized as many troops as possible, there’s a limit to protecting the territory’s people. So I came to His Majesty seeking stability for my people, at least until the war ends.”

“Your expression suggests it didn’t go well.”

“Yes. His Majesty said there’s no suitable territory immediately available, and unless someone willingly offers part of their land, it will take time.”

Elena glanced at Rudfelix while listening to Count Ephraim’s circumstances, which were becoming clearer than when she heard them in the conference room.

‘So that’s why Count Ephraim thought of the Grand Duke.’

Though she hadn’t visited the Grand Duchy herself, she knew it was as vast as a small kingdom. If the Count’s people could come, there was plenty of spare land to accommodate them.

“Willingly offering part of one’s land… That’s not an easy condition.”

Even if the Grand Duke permitted and accepted the territory’s people, their lord would still be Count Ephraim. Since they weren’t coming as slaves, it could result in two lords for one land.

Suharto looked at Rudfelix. He seemed to understand why he was here.

“Well, the Grand Duke would have the capacity to accept the territory’s people. So, did he agree?”

His tone changed completely when addressing the Grand Duke compared to the Count. Rudfelix was clearly someone who held succession rights to the throne along with the Crown Prince.

Though it was a casual question, such a sharp atmosphere surrounded the two men that one could almost hear electricity crackling between them.

“I haven’t answered yet.”

Rudfelix omitted detailed explanations. Since the perceptive Crown Prince was only curious about the conclusion anyway, he gave just a simple answer matching that.

“In that case, I’d like to offer my teacher some help, what do you think?”

Count Ephraim, who had been quiet knowing the Grand Duke and Crown Prince’s relationship wasn’t good originally, was startled when addressed.

Trying to force himself to stay calm, he responded to Suharto’s words.

“You mean me?”

“I’ll provide some of my troops. If they protect your people, you won’t need to trouble yourself going to the Grand Duchy. How about it?”