“To find out if she will attend?”

At Raphael’s lowered voice, Amelia squirmed and broke out in a cold sweat. He seemed ready to just chase the people out. That wasn’t what she wanted.

“Our Empress has no manners as a host.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

Of course, she didn’t like the Empress’s arrogance in demanding attendance along with the invitation. But if she missed this opportunity, she might not get another chance to meet the Empress.

“I’m fine.”

“Amelia?”

“Tell Her Majesty I will attend.”

She hurriedly spoke before Raphael could stop her. He surely wouldn’t want her to attend the tea party.

“And I think it would be best if you leave quickly. His Grace is not in a good mood.”

“Yes, yes! Understood.”

The delegation hurriedly left the room the moment she finished speaking. It was quite amusing to see them flustered, fearing Raphael might chase after them, but she couldn’t laugh. Normally, he wouldn’t have let them go so easily.

“…Shall we return to our room as well?”

She began to feel uneasy at Raphael’s lack of response. The only reason he hadn’t stopped the delegation was that she was sitting on his thigh. Amelia wrapped her arms around his neck to continue talking, deliberately blocking him. There was no way Raphael hadn’t noticed her intention.

“I want to go to the tea party.”

“…….”

“Emila is also attending.”

She was the one getting anxious due to his still unreadable expression. Surely he wouldn’t say no until the end? But she had already told the delegation she would attend. The Empress had sent people directly, so it wouldn’t be good to reverse her decision.

“It doesn’t seem bad.”

“What?”

What doesn’t seem bad? That she would attend the tea party?

“My wife taking the first step forward, I mean.”

It wasn’t that she couldn’t read his emotions; he was simply out of his mind. Amelia quickly got up and moved away from Raphael. Being alone with him in an enclosed space was indeed dangerous.

“It’s attractive to see you doing whatever it takes to get what you want.”

“Are you crazy?”

She was taken aback by Raphael’s casual strange remarks. How could he say such things without blinking an eye?

“Is it strange for me to find my wife attractive?”

There was no need to listen further. Amelia quickly left the reception room and fled. Every time he acted like that, she fell into a profound delusion. The absurd delusion that Raphael might love her.

He was just amused by her reactions.

***

The strange atmosphere persisted. She avoided him, but as long as they were in the same castle, she couldn’t completely avoid Raphael.

“Mother?”

“Oh… Leonel.”

It was to the extent that she often found herself dazed even when spending time with Leonel. Even when she went out to escape him, it was the same.

“Are we not going out today?”

“Do you want to go out?”

“Yes.”

Amelia gave a weary smile at Leonel’s desire to go out. She had realized something over the past few days.

“You’re going to the palace tomorrow. So I want to go out today… Is that okay?”

“Of course, it’s possible.”

At first, she couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t intended to run away, but she couldn’t accept how easily he had found her. So, she had gone out several more times, not to run away but to leave the castle. But each time, he found her without fail.

No matter how many different methods she tried, it was useless. It was common for him to catch her before she even left, and even if she managed to leave the castle, he would somehow appear beside her. Sometimes, she would find Raphael already at the destination before she arrived. It seemed impossible to escape from him.

“Do you think Father will come with us today too?”

Even when she said she wanted to spend time alone with her son, he didn’t listen at all. She was worried about whether she could escape him tomorrow when the security was already so tight.

“We’re not leaving the territory today, so it should be fine.”

She had to visit the palace tomorrow, so she didn’t have the energy to go to another territory. Besides, Raphael rarely came to find her if she stayed within the territory. He was too busy to follow her around constantly. After several tests, she found that as long as she didn’t leave Siegfried, his surveillance was lax.

It was like a game of hide and seek. From his perspective, it was just a fun amusement, but for her, it was a matter of life and death.

“I want to go to the dessert shop we visited last time.”

“That’s a good idea.”

She didn’t know Leonel liked desserts. In the original story, Leonel was uninterested in food, just like Raphael. The natural physique of Siegfried seemed to be such that they didn’t need to eat much. Even when Sierra liked desserts, Leonel would just watch quietly.

“I’m really happy!”

It was also surprising to see him so cheerful. When she first met Leonel, he couldn’t even make eye contact with her, let alone smile. Although he still tried hard not to be disliked, expressing his emotions was a big change.

“Didn’t you dislike desserts before?”

“Oh, I couldn’t taste them.”

“Taste?”

“Yes. Father probably couldn’t either.”

She didn’t understand what he meant by not being able to taste. Was it because he had been through so much that he couldn’t taste anything?

“But I’m glad I have Mother!”

What did liking desserts have to do with her? Amelia watched Leonel intently as he eagerly used his fork.

“Father has been joining meals more often recently.”

“Does that have anything to do with it?”

“Of course.”

Amelia had no idea what Leonel was talking about. She thought Raphael joined meals just to tease her…

“Shall we stay out until dinner?”

“I’m fine with that.”

It had been difficult to face Raphael recently. Ever since he mentioned the kiss… things kept turning strange.

“Shall we go to the bookstore after we finish eating?”

Actually, it would be more convenient to go to the merchantry, but she didn’t. These days, there were exactly two people she wanted to avoid the most: the Master and Raphael.

“Not going to the merchantry?”

“Oh… I don’t think there’s a need to go that far.”

Oddly enough, whenever she met either of them, she ended up getting swept away. By the time she came to her senses, it was already too late to do anything. No matter how distracted she was, she should have listened carefully to the Master’s last words before leaving.

“Do you still… meet him these days?”

“Huh?”

“That man.”

By ‘that man,’ did he mean the Master?

“James.”

“I only meet him when I visit the merchantry for work.”

Leonel’s appearance, bristling like a cat whose territory had been invaded, made her burst into laughter. It was cute how Leonel had been wary of the Master since last time. She just wanted to spend time without any worries like this. Without thinking about the imperial family, Raphael, or the Master.

“But mother….”

She wondered why Leonel was particularly hesitant to speak. Recently, Leonel hadn’t hidden his thoughts.

“What is it?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

She wanted to press further, but she knew Leonel wouldn’t open his mouth. When he suddenly came up and grabbed her hand tightly, she couldn’t say anything.

“Let’s go quickly.”

The bookstore was quite small. If she had known, it might have been better to visit the merchantry. She was scared to meet the Master again. Especially after hearing that the Emperor had requested an investigation on her. The Master had no reason to protect her.

“Leonel, can you pick out some books here for a moment?”

“Mother?”

Just as she was about to enter the bookstore, she saw someone who shouldn’t be there. Silver hair that should never be seen in Siegfried.

It was definitely the First Prince.

“There…!”

She ran to where the First Prince had gone. Her eyes weren’t mistaken.

“Are you crazy?”

“Master?”

As she turned the corner, she was lifted off her feet and saw the Master’s blazing eyes right in front of her.