Following the butler’s orders, the servants who picked up the medicinal herb boxes and Ellen headed to the reception room located on the first floor.

Thunk, thunk. The boxes were stacked on the wide table.

“Please convey my gratitude for His Highness’s thoughtfulness. And I’m also grateful to you, Sir, for coming all this way.”

“Not at all. Precious people should naturally be treated as such.”

“I’m grateful that you regard me as precious.”

Ellen said with a chuckle.

“Isn’t your value something you created yourself, my lady? We show such courtesy to you because what you’ve accomplished is remarkable.”

“My goodness. That’s the kind of eloquence that would make other young ladies quite jealous.”

“Is that so?”

Claudius laughed quite refreshingly.

Ellen looked at the medicinal containers and said.

“May I open these boxes?”

“By all means.”

Claudius picked up the container Ellen showed interest in and opened the lid for her.

“Oh my.”

“As you can see, most of them are dried.”

“There are so many varieties. How did you manage to gather all these in such a short time……”

When Ellen showed her admiration openly, Claudius shrugged and said.

“You can see the magic that makes most things possible with a single word from royalty.”

“Ah. That’s certainly true.”

The two people who exchanged jokes like that continued their conversation in a harmonious atmosphere.

“But if they’re dried, wouldn’t the handling method be similar to existing medicinal herbs?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why did you specifically need to inform me about usage……”

Ellen asked with questioning eyes.

“I thought it was such a situation.”

Claudius smiled faintly.

“It’s my chivalry. Lies sometimes save someone, but threats against the weak are merely self-satisfaction of the relatively strong.”

He bowed his head as he said this.

“I apologize if my actions were unpleasant.”

“Not at all. I certainly received help, even if small. Thank you.”

At Ellen’s restraint, he smiled broadly.

“I’m glad to hear that. I wonder if your troubled heart has gained some peace after the young master’s accident.”

“Thanks to you. Still, I’m relieved to hear that he just needs to rest well.”

“Ah, is that so? What a relief.”

He said with delight.

“I was very worried about how you might be, my lady, so I’m also relieved of my worries.”

Claudius, who said this, took out a small pouch from inside his coat and handed it to Ellen.

“What is this?”

“The medicinal herbs are what His Highness sends to the young master. And this is what I’m giving to you, my lady.”

“To me?”

Ellen asked, looking at the small silk pouch placed on her palm.

“Yes. I prepared this because you’ll surely overexert yourself due to the increased workload. To stay healthy and live long with your family, you must also take care of your own health, my lady.”

“Ah…… Thank you.”

When Ellen received the pouch with a bewildered expression, Claudius, seeing that she properly accepted and took care of his gift, stood up from his seat.

“Actually, His Highness Crescent seemed quite eager about hawking with you, my lady…… but seeing you now, I think I should forget to mention what I was going to say.”

“Pardon? No, Sir. It’s a promise I made with my own mouth……”

“Focus on the young master and family matters for now. Guests only cause worry if they stay too long, so I’ll take my leave now. I wish for the young master’s speedy recovery.”

“Ah…… Thank you, Sir.”

Ellen answered, bewildered by the sudden kindness that wasn’t quite kindness.

“Thank you so much for today. Go safely.”

“Not at all. I’ll look forward to seeing you again soon.”

Claudius, who left his farewell, soon departed from the mansion.

* * *

Clatter. Clatter.

The Crient family’s carriage was racing toward the Crown Prince’s palace.

Ellen unusually leaned back against the carriage backrest and sprawled out.

“Ah. I’m so tired.”

She was extremely fatigued from facing a series of unexpected events since morning.

But today was still far from over.

The biggest main point remained — she had to stop by the Avalanche mansion.

Fortunately, the Crient family’s carriage could always pass through the Crown Prince’s palace without any particular inspection.

At news of her visit, Kaiden came rushing out to greet her.

“My lady! What brings you here so suddenly?”

“Your Highness. I’m truly sorry, but may I get straight to the point?”

Ellen, who was really tired, brought up the main topic right away.

Kaiden answered with a cheerful smile.

“It doesn’t matter, so do as you’re comfortable.”

“Then I’ll speak without regard for propriety. To get to the point, we need to go to the Avalanche mansion right now.”

“Right now?”

Kaiden asked back in surprise.

“Yes. I should have told you yesterday, but I was so distracted that I forgot. I’m sorry.”

“No, well…… Yesterday was so hectic that it’s understandable. It’s fine. I was just asking if we’re going right now.”

“I’m glad you say that, Your Highness. To add one more thing, we need to pass a law regarding women inheriting titles.”

“……Wait. What law?”

Kaiden pondered what he had just heard and barely managed to ask a question.

“……What’s this sudden talk about? First, the reason?”

“I should have told you this in advance too, but the situation flowed differently than I expected, so I couldn’t explain in time. I’m sorry.”

Ellen continued while pressing her temples as if getting a headache.

“I’ll explain on the way, so if it interests you, please take the imperial carriage to the Avalanche mansion now.”

It was truly sudden news.

Even if he had heard the story step by step — introduction, main point, conclusion — it would have been a shocking topic, but he was suddenly notified of the conclusion first.

He answered in a daze.

“Alright. Let’s go for now.”

The hastily formed Marquis Avalanche family visiting party sat huddled together in the carriage, all staring intently at Ellen alone.

“My lady. Now let’s hear some explanation.”

Kaiden asked her on behalf of the group.

“We’re going to capture the biggest key needed to bring down Krembell.”

“So…… you’re saying we’re going to win over Marquis Avalanche now?”

“Exactly.”

Ellen answered, clapping her hands.

Terriard, who was listening from the side, asked.

“What connection does that have with women inheriting titles?”

“Because he’s going to adopt Lady Sorbon as his daughter.”

“Why? The marquis could marry, and even if he wanted to adopt, the Sorbon family already has two sons……”

“Yesterday, I met a student at the academy.”

When Ellen suddenly brought up an unrelated topic, Kaiden and Terriard looked at each other in bewilderment.

“The carriage accident that Lady Sorbon suffered this time. He said it was planned by young master Periwinkle.”

“What? Really?”

At her words, Kaiden slapped his knee and sat up straight.

“Yes. There’s even been continuous excessive bullying from before. But why do you think she endured it all alone?”

Kaiden, who was listening to her story, nodded and muttered.

“Because of the relationship between families……”

“That would be it. Count Sorbon even gave up on retaliation as soon as he heard that Periwinkle might be involved.”

“Certainly. Though Sorbon is also a count family, their influence can’t compare to Periwinkle’s.”

When Terriard added this, Kaiden also nodded.

“She’s currently experiencing even death threats from her classmate due to the power structure between families. So what would happen if the marquis, who’s known for loving his niece and is still unmarried without an heir, gets involved in this situation?”

“So the women inheriting titles……”

“Yes. If he simply adopts her, she’ll have to compete to find a higher marriage match and leave her fate to that match’s judgment. I guarantee that Marquis Avalanche isn’t the type to be satisfied with such things.”

“He’ll want to give her a solid status.”

Kaiden muttered, picking up her words.

But Terriard spoke as if not quite convinced.

“But he’s the marquis who has stubbornly maintained neutrality until now. Would he move his heavy body for his niece’s issue, when she’s not even his own child? Honestly, I’m a bit skeptical, Ellen.”

“That’s certainly possible. But there’s nothing bad about trying, right?”

“That’s true, but……”

“And I only invest my time where I’m confident.”

Ellen smiled slyly.

* * *

The main residence of Marquis Avalanche, who works as a central noble, is his mansion in the capital.

He was usually quite a diligent noble, and compared to his wealth and status, his movements were quite simple.

The mansion’s daily life was very quiet.

A mansion where he stayed alone without children or other family.

It was a place where human voices occasionally came out only when Count Myers dropped by for lavish drinking parties or when his nieces and nephews visited.

But such a mansion was visited by noisy non-routine events for who knows how long.

The cause was simple. Visitors had come.

What emerged from the carriage that appeared without notice were three people: a man who identified himself as the crown prince, a knight accompanying him, and one woman.

“……You said this was recruitment, but is it okay to just barge in like this?”

“If we don’t go in right now, we’ll miss the timing. That’s why Your Highness came along in the first place.”

“Ah, so it’s a pass?”

“It depends on how you accept it.”

So the crown prince, hiding nothing from his attire to his title, came barging in noisily.

Marquis Avalanche, who confirmed the crown prince’s face like eating meals at every meeting, had no difficulty recognizing his face.

Moreover, standing beside him was the eldest son of the Count Cheshire family, sufficient to prove his identity.

The middle-aged man who came out with the door flung open and a completely bewildered face greeted the uninvited guests who had pushed in using their status as a weapon.

“Your Highness, what sudden business brings you to such a place?”