Behind Isabelle, a black paw peeked out. 

 “Zeno!” 

 “Woowoowoo!” (Master!) 

 I rose from my seat and immediately spread my arms, and Zeno leaped toward my embrace. 

 “Stop right there.” 

 However, I didn’t feel the soft fur that should have landed in my arms. Hugging air, I slowly raised my head. 

 Blue eyes containing light gleamed coldly. 

 Zeno, caught by the neck in his hand, struggled and howled. 

 “Woowoowoo! Woowoowoo!” (Let go! Damn it!) 

 The wolf’s sad howling echoed throughout the mansion. 

 “That won’t do, having a beast leap at you like that. Especially one as big as a person.” 

 Seeing the look in his eyes that suggested something terrible would happen if Zeno had actually embraced me, I hugged myself tightly and patted my arms. 

 “For some reason I feel cold. Oh my, so cold.” 

 I sat down quietly in the chair with an awkward smile. Zeno whimpered as he took his seat obediently next to us, still caught in Cedric’s grip. 

 “Keeeing.” (Master abandoned me again.) 

 ‘Sorry, but look at that expression. If I welcomed you twice, both of us would……’ 

 I raised my eyebrows apologetically at Zeno’s cold gaze. 

 His yellow eyes narrowed. Though he didn’t respond to my words, his eyes seemed to be cursing. 

 “Let’s end the greetings here and continue our discussion.” 

 The sight of four people sitting around the table felt unnatural. A three-way meeting would have been one thing…… 

 Introducing a man other than Cedric to Isabelle, and conspiring together to deceive Father. 

 With Isabelle joining us here, my curiosity grew even more. I noticed Benjamin occasionally glancing at Isabelle, which bothered me. 

 ‘Do they know each other?’ 

 Benjamin’s green eyes, resembling summer trees, showed a glimpse of tenderness whenever they took in Isabelle. 

 I thought they had no connection. 

 Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked him. 

 “Sir Benjamin, have you perhaps seen Isabelle before?” 

 The green eyes visible between brown eyelashes wavered. I didn’t miss that moment. 

 However, Sir Benjamin quickly composed his expression. Like someone who didn’t want even that briefly revealed emotion to be noticed. 

 “I’ve seen her a few times at banquets.” 

 “I see. Isabelle, have you never seen Sir Benjamin?” 

 “How could I remember just one or two people from banquets? Father never allowed anyone to approach me. You know that, so why ask?” 

 “Was that so? I wouldn’t know since I never properly attended banquets. You were the only one by Father’s side, Isabelle. I was always somewhere far away, present yet not present, before disappearing.” 

 Even when I disappeared, no one looked for me. Most people probably didn’t care whether I attended or not. 

 I didn’t mind either, as I had no interest in banquets. 

 “……I didn’t mean it that way.” 

 “Well, that’s not important. Anyway, you two have never properly met, right?” 

 “It seems Her Highness doesn’t remember me.” 

 Benjamin spoke with an expressionless face. Now came the problem. How to weave a story connecting these two people. 

 Hmm. 

 “By the way, Sir Benjamin, are you good at acting?” 

 Though he seemed quite good at hiding his expressions, he didn’t appear talented at showing them. Meanwhile, Isabelle didn’t know how to hide anything. 

 “You’ll have to act like you’re in love. Will that be alright?” 

 “……It will be fine.” 

 “Do we really have to go that far?” 

 Isabelle looked at me with an expression that said this was nonsense. 

 “We must. To deceive Father, you need to be able to deceive yourself into believing you’re truly in love.” 

 That level of determination was necessary to deceive Father, who sees through everything. 

 Isabelle and Benjamin looked at each other. 

 “……” 

 “……” 

 Both of their heads turned away simultaneously. It happened right as their eyes met. 

 This was problematic. Just looking at their expressions, they would be discovered immediately. 

 Creating a false love story was more complicated than expected, and it needed to be meticulous enough to deceive others. Not only that, but the acting had to support it. 

 “We’ll need some time before meeting Father, it seems.” 

 Cedric, who had been quietly observing this, nodded. Then he brought out a contract and said: 

 “Your story begins not at the banquet, but on the way to the Grand Duke’s residence. Lost in heavy snow, Sir Benjamin, who was participating in snow removal work as volunteer service, happened to meet the Princess, and you both became trapped in a cave.” 

 Being cut off from the outside often makes people depend on those they’re with. 

 Two people who meet in a situation where they can’t request help open their hearts to each other. 

 In this unexpected situation, their feelings for each other gradually deepened, and finally, after hiding from Father’s eyes, they decide to reveal their relationship when the Harvest Festival begins. 

 They had already made their vows to each other. Cedric had meticulously arranged even for a priest to certify their vows. 

 “……When did you prepare all this?” 

 “It was planned from the moment we gave the list to Her Highness the Princess.” 

 What surprised me even more about Cedric’s thorough investigation was that Sir Benjamin had not only been doing regular volunteer work every year but had also frequently visited Lindel, the northern capital. 

 This was because of the advanced snow removal technology developed in the North. Though the imperial capital had snow removal equipment and techniques, other regions had to endure difficult winters when it snowed. 

 Coincidentally, due to Isabelle’s recent rampage, an unusually large amount of snow had fallen, and because of this, Benjamin had been away from the capital continuously to help other regions. 

 ‘Cedric knew Isabelle would choose Benjamin.’ 

 Though he pretended not to know, he must have prepared for all possibilities. 

 “You’ve heard the story? Then from today, you two need to become closer.” 

 Spending time together and seeing each other’s faces daily will create attachment. Above all, I was certain. 

 That Benjamin held Isabelle in his heart. Though I didn’t know the reason, Isabelle would come to like Benjamin. 

 ❖ ❖ ❖ 

 After roughly finishing our discussion, we each returned to our rooms. 

 “Will this really be alright?” 

 “There shouldn’t be any problems. Since everyone agreed……” 

 “I’m not sure if those two can deceive Father’s eyes.” 

 Upon returning to my room, I immediately sent a letter to Father. I added that Cedric and I had arrived early since the Harvest Festival would soon begin. 

 ‘If I don’t send it now, he’ll send people to the mansion again.’ 

 If that happened, they would discover we were already in the capital. So I wrote that we had just arrived last night. 

 I didn’t forget to mention there was no need to visit since we would soon go to the imperial palace. 

 “Send the magic stones little by little, then cut them off.” 

 “That’s the plan. I’ve already destroyed the documents related to Bowell and Paul. They’ve become people who don’t exist anywhere in the capital.” 

 “Father will be furious.” 

 “There are rumors of people dying in the imperial palace.” 

 The more Father loses his self-control, the lower his reputation becomes. 

 Unless the nobles are fools, they must be watching everything. 

 “I wonder how he’ll react if we provoke him a bit more. How far has the sailing ship project progressed in the North?” 

 “I’ll check on it. It should be faster than in the capital.” 

 I decided to keep giving cheese to my friend to receive news about Father’s movements. 

 Though one friend near Mother tells me what she does every day, there hasn’t been anything notable. 

 “How is Lady Clarira?” 

 “The same. They say she just stares out the window every day……” 

 “Has she said anything to her friends?” 

 “She said there’s a key in the Emperor’s right pocket. She said that’s needed to escape…… Could she be imprisoned?” 

 “That’s highly likely.” 

 I dropped my head weakly at Cedric’s words. Prison — though not unexpected, it was devastating. 

 “Still, fortunately, it seems Mother realized I might be able to communicate with mice.” 

 I went to the hole in the wall and called for a mouse. I placed it on my palm and walked to the window. Opening the closed window suddenly, I whistled, and a sparrow flew over. 

 “Tweet tweet.” (Claire, did you call?) 

 “Follow this friend and deliver my message to Mother.” 

 “Tweet!” (Alright!) 

 “Tell her we’ll be coming to the imperial palace soon, so please wait, and that we’ll look for the key then.” 

 “Tweet tweet!” 

 I set the mouse down on the floor. The sparrow and mouse matched their pace as they disappeared outside the mansion. 

 “Mother might only be able to communicate with birds. If my message reaches her, we’ll know.” 

 “Fortunately, the Emperor hasn’t started anything else.” 

 Cedric stared at me intently, like he wanted to ask something. 

 “Your Highness. If you have something to ask, please do.” 

 He doesn’t seem to realize how frightening it is when he just stares without saying anything. 

 Sometimes, when he’s like this, he looks like a clear-eyed madman, making me flinch. 

 “I’m curious what you discussed with the Princess before coming to the room.” 

 “Oh, nothing much.” 

 I just asked for a small event that would make Father anxious. 

 “It seems too noisy outside for nothing much.” 

 Shaaaaa—

 As rain suddenly poured down, I smiled awkwardly.