Annoyed? Amelia could only blink in confusion at his words. She couldn’t understand why he would say such a thing in this situation. Was his intention to embarrass her in front of everyone? If not, there was no reason for this now.
  
“But I don’t know the reason either.”
  
It was bad of him to shake her like that without even knowing the reason. It was hard to grasp his suddenly changed mind. Raphael originally hated it when Amelia called him by his name. That’s why she called him Your Grace, the Grand Duke. To avoid going against his mood even a little.
  
But now he’s telling her to call him by his name. What kind of tune is he asking her to dance to? She hadn’t done it because he said he hated it.
  
“Sit down.”

“Ah, yes……. Thank you.”
  
Unlike her, who couldn’t get her act together even in this situation, Raphael was natural in everything. He took her hand more nobly than anyone, guided her, and even seated her in a chair. She looked even more foolish at that moment.
  
Amelia bit her lip at Raphael’s action of sitting down next to her as if it was nothing. No matter how hard she tried to understand him, she couldn’t.
  
Raphael Lloyd Siegfried. A character who could kill even the Emperor, the father of the ultimate villain in the universe, and also the original villain himself. There was no one who could stop him.
  
“Thank you for coming to the Founding Festival. Grand, Duke Grand Duchess.”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s an honor for me.”
  
Already the center of attention, the Emperor mentioned her and Raphael as soon as the meal started. Her scared expression from the balcony disappeared, and she involuntarily bowed her head at the Emperor’s gentle gaze towards her.
  
She struggled with a sudden surge of nausea. It wouldn’t have been this bad if she hadn’t met the Emperor on the balcony. But the look in the Emperor’s eyes as he approached her earlier was real. His eyes sincerely wanted to push her off and kill her.
  
“Is the Grand Duchess feeling unwell?”

“Pardon?”

“You seemed a bit unwell earlier too.”
  
But now, as if that never happened, he was concerned about her. She knew that the Emperor wasn’t a gentle person. She had read the original work… but she had heard the Emperor’s voice from the room next to the auction house. His yelling and smashing everything were still vivid to her.
  
“It must be because it’s my first time attending the Founding Festival banquet.”
  
Honestly, she hadn’t thought that yelling would be directed at her. To the Emperor, she was just an uninteresting Grand Duchess. But his attitude just before couldn’t be seen that way.
  
“It seems Your Majesty is very interested in my wife’s health.”

“It’s her first time attending as a Grand Duchess; I should be concerned.”
  
Fortunately, they were in a public place now. Raphael was by her side, and there were people all around. He couldn’t corner her like before. Even knowing that fact, her hands trembled with fear.
  
Why did he look at me with those eyes?
  
“Your Majesty should pay attention to the Empress next to you. I’ll take care of my wife.”

“If you’re feeling unwell, you can stay in the palace for a day.”
  
The Emperor quickly passed off Raphael’s words with a friendly smile. She thought that by attending the Founding Festival banquet, everything would be resolved. Instead, attending only led to various incidents happening. Her hair and eye color matched those of the imperial family, surprisingly similar to Aaron, with whom she had no blood relation at all.
  
And the Emperor tried to kill her when he first saw her.
  
“Your Majesty seems to have forgotten something.”
  
Amelia was startled by Raphael’s chilling tone. He was still angry.
  
“That it takes less than five minutes to go from the Siegfried Grand Duchy to the imperial palace.”

“Indeed… if you’re not feeling well, it’s better to rest somewhere comfortable.”
  
With the Emperor’s chuckle, the conversation came to a close. But no one at the table could laugh.
  
No one misunderstood his words. It wasn’t just about being able to go to Siegfried territory quickly if needed. He was warning the Emperor that he could invade the palace at any time.
  

***

  
What she couldn’t understand above all was the Emperor’s attitude. It was a situation that clearly warranted anger, yet there wasn’t even a hint of displeasure in him. No, it seemed like he wasn’t angry at all. Crucially, people’s reactions were not normal either.
  
It was as if they were all calm about something that amounted to declaring rebellion. As if such an event was natural.
  
“Amelia.”

“Ah……”
  
In this situation, only he looked at her properly and sanely. It felt like her head would overload with things she couldn’t accept. Yes, she knew that the power of the grand ducal family was stronger than the imperial authority. That’s why Aaron and the Emperor used all sorts of vile methods to overturn it.
  
But that was after Raphael died and Leonel became the Grand Duke of Siegfried. Now that Raphael is the Grand Duke, his power seems even more immense.
  
“Are you really feeling unwell?”
  
She was startled by his hand gently caressing her cheek. This man was too intimate. Even among the married nobles, it was better to keep up appearances. Maintaining a proper distance in public was normal.
  
“No, I’m fine.”

“Looks like the Grand Duchess gets along well with the Grand Duke.”
  
He pretended to praise her with a smile, but she knew it wasn’t really a compliment. Raphael must have noticed it too, since his hand stopped caressing her cheek immediately. His eyes narrowed sharply again.
  
“I’m really envious.”

“That’s right. You have such a good relationship, so why did those bad rumors spread?”
  
Rumor? Whether she immediately forgot the envy she mentioned or not, sympathy for her quickly spread. It was mainly led by Marchioness Kent and Marchioness Lancaster. Amelia realized that the Empress had joined them as she watched with a smile without saying anything. There couldn’t have been silence without reason.
  
She wished Raphael would just let it go… But judging by his reaction, that seemed unlikely. Amelia sighed inwardly and slowly took his hand down from her face. She worried he might insist on keeping it there, but thankfully he didn’t.
  
“That can happen.”
  
For now, since they were outwardly praising comments about her, she couldn’t get angry. If she got angry here, she would be seen as weird or overly sensitive. And thanking them with a smile would have made her look foolish.
  
“Aren’t rumors always like that?”

“What?”

“What do you mean?”

Truly, the nobles’ way of speaking didn’t sit well with her. If Raphael had intervened here instead, the situation might have been resolved. But that was temporary. For the noblewomen, their husband’s affection and power were important, but so was their own position. There was no such thing as eternal love from a husband. Perhaps they didn’t even realize how important it might be.
Among the noblewomen, there were no truly happy ones who received their husband’s love. Most had entered into strategic marriages, and not committing adultery was considered odd.

“It seems like the rumors about the two of you not getting along were all lies.”

“It seems so. That couldn’t be.”

As she seemed to counterattack, I couldn’t help but laugh at her hurried attempt to smooth things over. The Empress was still looking this way with a pleasant smile. Seeing this, I could tell they were truly a match made in heaven for the Emperor. It must be why they keep getting along well and maintaining their marriage.

“Isn’t there a rumor that Your Majesty the Emperor and Your Majesty the Empress aren’t getting along?”

“That’s…….”

For a brief moment, the Empress’s lips quivered. I was impressed by how quickly she regained her smile.

The gaze of the two duchesses began to shake violently.

“But that’s not true at all. Maybe the proper stories haven’t reached Siegfried’s territory.”

It was obvious. They must have gathered all sorts of information from Siegfried to find a flaw in her.

“Rumors are just rumors, it seems.”

“…….”

“Isn’t that right?”

The paper given by the Master didn’t just contain the weaknesses of the nobles. It also had the secrets of the imperial family.