‘It’s done.’

Elliope felt as if she could hear the sound of the trap she had set being triggered. At that moment, a thrilling sensation brushed against her skin and she allowed herself a small smile.

At that smile, Theodor stared at her in silence. Normally such a look would have ruined her mood, but instead she found herself enjoying it.

‘Now you will be escorted by the highest authority in the Grand Duchy, Miss Marte.’

Instead of saying the words aloud, Elliope simply gave a slight nod of greeting.

At that moment, there was a distinct click of the tongue, expressing clear displeasure.

“Tsk, tsk.”

It was then that Elliope noticed someone else sitting at the far end of the long dining table.

Draped in an expensive purple cloak – a garment reserved for ambassador of the Imperial Court – it was obvious that this person was the ambassador sent by the Imperial Family.

‘To summon me so suddenly, just to see the imperial ambassador.’

It seemed that Theodor was anxious to get things over with as quickly as possible.

“Bringing yet another guest – they might think you’re here for a casual visit, wouldn’t they?”

The ambassador said this, glaring at Elliope before shifting his gaze to Kallian.

Kallian stared at the ambassador with his usual indifferent expression. Whether the man was from the Imperial Court or elsewhere, he showed no sign of nervousness or fear.

On the contrary, there was even a certain serenity in the way he stood, radiating an air of unshakable confidence.

“…….”

The ambassador seemed to have noticed as well.

It was obvious that he was scrutinising Kallian, calculating something in his mind with a furrowed brow. At that moment, however, there was something else that seemed to concern him more.

Meanwhile, Elliope subtly shifted her gaze to watch the interaction between Charlotte and Theodor.

Charlotte, who had been smiling slightly as she surveyed the lavish feast spread across the long dining table, suddenly widened her eyes as she noticed the ambassador wrapped in a purple cloak.

Her crimson eyes sparkled in the light of the chandelier.

Theodor glanced briefly at Charlotte before turning his sharp gaze to Elliope, as if to glare at her.

Although his look was a little confusing, it did not worry her. After all, she had already arranged for them to meet.

‘What happens next is practically set in stone.’

The thought alone gave her a feeling of ease.

Elliope felt as if she could easily let go of whatever sharp words the imperial ambassador, who had come as the Emperor’s representative, might throw at her. The feeling that everything was finally over gradually eased her remaining tension.

“…Ha.”

She let out a small sigh and, without realising it, stroked Kallian’s arm, forgetting the awkwardness of the situation for a moment.

At that moment, Kallian, who had been standing there with a blank expression on his face, turned his gaze to her.

“…….”

It seemed as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just closed his mouth in silence.

Meanwhile, Charlotte, who had been watching the situation carefully, finally spoke – without taking her eyes off the Imperial Ambassador.

“It looks like this is as far as I can accompany you.”

Charlotte smiled brightly.

Elliope gave a small, apologetic response.

“I’m sorry, Miss Marte. After insisting you come.”

“It’s all right. I’ll wait outside.”

Elliope wanted to stop her from leaving, to make her sit next to Theodor, but she knew this was no place for Charlotte to remain.

Soon Charlotte bowed politely and left the dining room with the knight.

When she saw a servant approaching, Elliope assumed they were probably escorting her to a reception room.

Thud.

As the heavy doors of the dining hall slammed shut, the room fell silent again.

Theodor, who had been idly twirling his knife, smiled as he spoke.

“Come, have a seat. Otherwise, how are we supposed to have a conversation?”

Moments later, the Grand Duchy’s servants appeared, pulling out chairs one by one.

Elliope was led to a seat diagonally opposite Theodor.

The distance was closer than expected, which was a little unsettling, but she didn’t want to show it.

Besides, within three years Theodor would surely meet his end because of Charlotte, so she figured she could bear that.

As Kallian and Elliope settled into their seats, Theodor finally spoke again.

“All right. Let’s start where we left off. Since Viscount Elsen is here in person, that should make things easier.”

The imperial ambassador looked at Elliope with a calmer expression than expected.

“I’ve heard all about the returned maids. Is it true?”

Instead of answering, Elliope silently raised her left hand – the one adorned with her wedding ring from Kallian.

“I have no intention of apologising.”

“…….”

“I am now this man’s wife.”

As she said these words, Elliope lowered her hand and gently took Kallian’s, sitting to her left.

Her touch was cautious in its own way.

She could feel Kallian respond by gently intertwining their fingers, his grip firm yet gentle.

Whatever lingering disappointment he might have felt, he had not forgotten his duty.

The ambassador’s gaze grew more cautious.

‘I expected him to lash out in anger, especially after his earlier sarcasm.’

It was a strangely unexpected moment.

The ambassador clucked his tongue before speaking.

“Before you two arrived, I had a rather lengthy discussion with His Grace, the Grand Duke of Ilmos.”

“I see.”

“In any case, wasn’t Her Highness, the Imperial Princess, sent here to marry His Grace?”

“That is correct.”

How fortunate she wasn’t.

Elliope looked at Theodor.

All she could think was how incredibly lucky she was not to have become that man’s wife.

Though her marriage had been a choice made out of necessity, at least when she was with Kallian, she was happy.

Even if they argued sometimes and things didn’t always go smoothly…

The thought suddenly took her by surprise.

‘Happy?’

She’d spent her whole life feeling like she didn’t even understand the concept of happiness.

‘I was happy.’

…and that was why she’d been so scared and afraid. Even now, that fear remained.

A subtle ripple stirred deep inside her.

Whether Kallian realised it or not, he was simply watching them with a sharp gaze, as if observing something carefully. It was as if the Ambassador and Theodor weren’t even in the room.

The ambassador, suppressing his irritation, continued.

“To think that a princess raised with such care would cause such a scandal.”

“…….”

“You could have been a Grand Duchess – the wife of none other than the Grand Duke of Ilmos. How did this happen?”

The remark struck Elliope as so absurd that she almost burst out laughing.

‘Raised up with care?’

It was only a few months ago that the Emperor had sought her out.

Before that, he hadn’t cared if her mother had died of illness, or what hardships she had endured as a servant in the palace.

And even when he took her in under the guise of being a princess, she was never truly treated with care.

On the surface he pretended to cherish her, but behind closed doors he severely restricted her food, claiming she must not gain weight.

When she struggled to keep up with her etiquette training, he punished her with brutal severity.

Her education was superficial – more than that, the focus of her training was learning how to please a man in bed, taught to her by the palace maids.

To the Emperor, she was not a daughter, but a commodity – an intricately crafted doll to be sold.

The anger he felt now was not that of a father furious that his beloved daughter had fallen for a villain. Rather, it was the anger of a merchant whose product had been ruined and rendered useless.

Still, she felt no need to argue.

In the end, both the Emperor and Theodor had treated her as they pleased.

And no matter what she said, people like them would never change.

The Ambassador let out a deep sigh before muttering something to himself.

It sounded like something along the lines of “That’s why illegitimate children are a problem…”, but Elliope felt no anger at the remark.

There was no point in getting upset – what had happened had happened, and there was nothing they could do about it now.

“She was sent away with a generous dowry… Needless to say, His Majesty is furious.”

“…….”

“The Grand Duchy of Ilmos has also suffered a loss.”

“As for the dowry, it should still be in the Grand Duchy. I didn’t take any of it.”

If she could have taken it with her and given it to Kallian, that would have been ideal.

But since she had to flee in such a hurry, she had left with nothing but herself.

And Kallian, for his part, didn’t seem to care about the dowry at all.

“And as for the losses suffered by the Grand Duchy…”

He meant to say that sending Princess Leanne would solve the matter.

After all, Theodor must have already asked the ambassador for Princess Leanne.

Of course, the Imperial Family would never actually send Leanne, and Theodor would probably be satisfied with just Charlotte.

But before Elliope could finish her sentence, the ambassador quickly interrupted.

“I have already discussed this matter with His Grace, the Grand Duke.”

The ambassador’s gaze immediately shifted to Kallian, who had been watching Elliope silently the entire time with an indifferent expression on his face.

A feeling of foreboding brushed against Elliope’s chest.

“Since your husband is also a viscount…”

“…….”

“We are considering making a claim for compensation from the private assets of the Viscount of Elsen.”

“How did it come to this?”

Without realising it, Elliope clenched her fists.

Not herself, but Kallian – he was the one who would have to bear the loss?

Besides, it was Theodor himself who had made Kallian a viscount.

He had put Kallian in this position, and now he wanted compensation from the very land he had given him?

“Of course, that is only natural. After calculating the estimated amount of compensation… it was determined to be around 50 million gold.”

Elliope’s eyes widened.

Her clenched fists hurt from how hard she was clenching them.

“Fifty million gold…”

That was more than five times the dowry she had brought.

Even if they gathered all the liquid assets available in the Viscountcy of Elsen, there was no guarantee that they could reach this astronomical sum – it was an overwhelming figure, far beyond their reach.

“On what basis was this calculation made?”

“We calculated the estimated profits that would have been made if the unification of the Grand Duchy of Ilmos and the Imperial Palace had gone as planned.”

A lie.

In her past life, even if she had become the Grand Duchess as planned, neither the Grand Duchy nor the Imperial Palace had gained or lost anything.

The only one who had suffered – who had been left to wither and die – was her, Elliope.

Instinctively, she shot a sharp glance at Theodor.

The corners of his lips turned up in amusement, as if amused by her reaction.

‘I forgot.’

She had forgotten how cunning and despicable this man really was.

A deep sense of self-reproach followed.

Elliope bit down hard on her lower lip.

She couldn’t let Kallian suffer such a great loss because of her.

‘It would be better if I were the one sentenced to be flogged instead.’

Just as she was about to say these words –

“Do you really think 50 million gold will be enough?”

Kallian, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke.

At the same time, he placed his hand gently over Elliope’s.