Family council.

At those words, Lucretia’s heart sank.

The Zepher family held a monthly gathering where all family members assembled. Lucretia, the Marquis’s illegitimate daughter, was no exception.

It was a time to confirm the achievements family members had accumulated for the family over the month.

Her half-siblings Eleonoa and brother Pierre generally received rewards. But Lucretia did not.

『Why haven’t you mastered healing arts beyond this level yet? Pathetic!』

『It can’t be helped, Father. Half of that child’s blood is lowborn.』

『True. Since she came from that wicked woman’s belly, it must be hard to handle something as holy as healing arts.』

The family council was the time Lucretia feared most.

Despite the saying that a married daughter is an outsider, it seemed she still had to attend the family council.

Though it was despairing, Lucretia didn’t think of rebelling.

Not simply because he was her biological father. Marquis Zepher literally held Lucretia’s lifeline in his grasp.

After dismissing the maids and bathing alone, Lucretia gazed at her reflection in the mirror with weary eyes. Not docile-looking dark brown eyes, but vivid purple eyes met her gaze.

Whenever she faced these eyes, Lucretia became aware of her position. If it became known that fairy blood flowed through her veins, she wouldn’t be able to set foot in the Empress’s Palace, let alone this Empire.

And her father was the only person who knew that fact.

Recalling a few days ago when Kyrion had grabbed her chin, Lucretia shuddered weakly.

‘It was too close.’

And the Emperor’s gaze was too intense. As if it would instantly see through the truth behind her fake eyes.

‘If he finds out……’

The Emperor would never let the daughter of a monster who deceived him live.

Lucretia clenched both fists. Perhaps from thinking frightening thoughts, her head began to throb.

—May I enter, Your Majesty the Empress?

Clara’s voice came from outside the door.

But before she could say anything, Clara entered without permission and said with a slight smile.

“Are you going to sleep? I’ll light some incense for you.”

“……Yes.”

Clara skillfully rummaged through the lowest drawer of the nightstand and pulled out a pile of crushed herbs from a paper bag.

When she lit the incense with the herbs, a languid fragrance quickly spread through the bedroom.

Feeling her headache wash away, Lucretia burrowed into the bed.

“If the amount seems insufficient, please say so anytime, Miss.”

Turning away, Clara whispered.

“If the prescription runs short and you have another fit like a beast like last time…… Whew. It would truly be a disaster.”

Clara shuddered as if the mere thought was frightening.

Born with fairy blood, Lucretia also suffered from mana poisoning. Without periodically borrowing the power of a special herb called elnash leaves that calmed mana, headaches would come.

Once, when elnash leaves were forbidden as punishment, on the third day she collapsed with such a severe headache it felt like her head would split.

“By the way, the elnash leaves will run out soon. Hurry and get more from the Marquis. Don’t fall out of favor again by doing something wrong and have them forbidden like last time.”

Clara’s warning buzzed in her ears.

Lucretia closed her weary eyes.

※※※

Despite the Marquis’s warning, Lucretia made no progress over the following days.

There was still no contact from the Imperial Household Department telling her to come for the handover.

Her relationship with the Emperor was the same.

Lucretia did her utmost to meet the Emperor face-to-face even once. She went to the banquet hall at mealtimes, lingered around the training grounds the Emperor was said to frequent, and even stopped the Emperor’s aide in the corridor to ask about his whereabouts.

But nothing worked.

Despite living in the same palace, she couldn’t make contact with the Emperor at all.

She wondered if she even existed in the Emperor’s mind.

One morning, after spending days in anxiety and helplessness, Clara cheerfully spoke as she drew back the curtains.

“Good morning, Your Majesty. It’s the kind of exciting weather that makes you feel like you’ll finally receive the news you’ve been waiting for, isn’t it?”

As she said this, Clara secretly dropped something beside Lucretia.

The something was a note. Lucretia instantly realized it was a message from Marquis Zepher.

After sending all the maids and servants away, Lucretia opened the note with trembling hands.

[I’ve struck a deal with the Imperial Household Department. You’ll receive word to come for the handover sometime this afternoon. You’ve been resting lazily all this time, so now it’s your turn to earn your keep.

I’ll keep this brief. You must take command of the preparations for the upcoming hunting festival. The hunting festival is traditionally handled by the Imperial Household Department under the Empress’s jurisdiction, so it shouldn’t be difficult. At the very least, you must not be excluded from the hunting festival preparations. Absolutely not.]

The color drained from Lucretia’s face.

‘Is he planning to interfere with the hunting festival?’

The hunting festival was the most important event in the Siegfried Empire.

So if she could access internal information related to the hunting festival in advance, he could reap enormous benefits.

The Marquis had always said it. That he’d spent astronomical sums to push Lucretia into the Empress’s seat, and that he would definitely recoup more than double that from Lucretia.

It seemed he was about to begin that ‘recoupment’ in earnest.

By using her.

“……”

Her heart felt heavy as if a stone had been placed on it.

Imperial affairs must never leak outside the palace. What Marquis Zepher had just ordered her in writing was clearly an act of treason.

Though she knew the Marquis had placed her in the Empress’s seat for this very purpose, her mind grew troubled anew.

This was only the beginning.

‘That’s right, I expected this. From now on, Father will try to exploit my position for all kinds of benefits.’

Despite knowing this, she couldn’t see any way to resist.

If she resisted, she would first have her supply of Elnash leaves restricted. Imagining herself pathetically having a seizure in the middle of the palace, just as Clara had said, made Lucretia feel dizzy.

It felt like foolishly looking up at the sky from inside a pit she couldn’t escape.

The note’s contents didn’t end there.

[It seems you still haven’t captured the Emperor’s heart at all. How incompetent.

Prepare for consummation soon. Even an Emperor can’t ignore his marital duties forever.]

What does this mean? Lucretia stared at the last sentence for a long while.

It sounded as if he had some method to make the Emperor seek her out.

When the sun slanted across the sky, the head maid Zeina knocked cautiously.

—Someone from the Imperial Household Department has come, Your Majesty.

“Ah, I’ll come out now.”

Lucretia was guided and entered the Imperial Household Department office for the first time.

“Welcome, Your Majesty.”

A tall young man greeted her.

“I am Jereon Johannes. I have the honor of meeting you, Your Majesty. It is a day filled with the Earth’s blessings.”

On the way, Zeina had whispered that the young, smooth-faced Count Johannes was the real power who effectively oversaw all the Imperial Household Department’s affairs.

Lucretia felt vivid emotions in the Count’s gaze as he greeted her. Beyond wariness—it was clear hostility.

「There’s a rumor that Count Johannes’s younger sister, Lady Evelyn, was once quite a strong candidate for Empress. He might be wary of Your Majesty. How presumptuous!」

She also recalled a story Clara had picked up.

Lucretia maintained a calm expression and pretended not to notice the hostility Count Johannes failed to conceal.

“I heard that Your Majesty wishes to take charge of the household affairs.”

Count Johannes’s gaze on Lucretia was oddly sharp.

It was the look one might give a thoughtless daughter who runs crying to her parents the moment things don’t go her way.

“I apologize for not being able to proceed with the handover immediately. We judged that Your Majesty might not yet have the capacity to handle the palace’s household affairs. Entering the palace itself must have been a tremendous change for you.”

“I understand. But I think I’ve grown quite accustomed to palace life now. Don’t you think it’s about time I got involved in the household affairs?”

“Yes, I understand what you mean. However, with all due respect, Your Majesty.”

Count Johannes’s eyes gleamed coldly like a snake’s.

“Speak.”

“Palace affairs are entirely the palace’s responsibility. The House of Lords has no business interfering.”

It was a blatant demand—’Don’t report palace affairs to the Marquis.’

Having flustered Lucretia, the Count immediately changed the subject without giving her time to respond.

“Then let’s begin the handover right away. I’ve organized it into documents for your convenience. The list of tasks Your Majesty will oversee is as follows. Please read it.”

“Thank you.”

Lucretia concealed her tension and read through the documents Count Johannes handed her.

The more she read, the more bewilderment filled her expression.

“Count Johannes. This is……”

“Is there a problem?”

Count Johannes asked with his smooth face.

Lucretia couldn’t continue speaking and looked down at the document again.

The matters listed there were as follows:

[Regarding the change of wallpaper in the Empress’s Palace.]

[Regarding the type of cotton in the bedding of the Empress’s Palace bedroom.]

[Regarding the bristle quality of garden brooms.]

[Regarding the color of toilets for servants.]

Lucretia’s eyes filled with bewilderment.

They were all trivial matters. Among the uniformly insignificant issues, there wasn’t a single item that seemed even slightly important.

Moreover, the further down she read, the more it seemed to contain an intent to insult her.

“Is this…… everything you’re handing over to me?”

“Of course it’s not everything, Your Majesty. We were concerned it would be difficult for you to adapt if you took on too many tasks at once.”

Was this really the result of concern?

Lucretia looked down at the excessively trivial list again and bit the inside of her mouth.

If they had truly been worried about her, they would have helped her handle more worthwhile tasks.

Feeling her chest tighten with frustration, Lucretia clenched her teeth slightly.

She recalled the message from Marquis Zepher she’d received this morning.

[At the very least, you must not be excluded from the hunting festival preparations. Absolutely not.]

Recalling the letter’s contents, Lucretia squeezed her eyes shut.

The word ‘absolutely’ swam before her eyes.

Whenever she failed at something he emphasized that strongly, severe punishment always followed.

In the worst case, she might not receive her supply of Elnash leaves.

Elnash leaves were an extremely rare herb, handled exclusively by the trading company controlled by Marquis Zepher, so there was no other way to obtain them.

“……The Empress’s Palace interior decoration doesn’t need to be changed. It’s fine as it is. More importantly, Count.”

Lucretia decided to get straight to the point.

“Isn’t the hunting festival coming up soon?”

“……Ah, yes. That’s correct, but.”

At the mention of the ‘hunting festival,’ Count Johannes nodded with an oddly reluctant attitude.

“I understand that it’s tradition for the Empress to directly oversee major national events. I know I’m still quite lacking, having only recently arrived, but what do you think about my getting involved starting with this event?”