After canceling her morning schedule due to a headache and getting a good rest, Madam Peggy came in with letters that had arrived for her.

“Your Majesty the Empress, are you feeling better? Should I call a doctor?”

“No. I feel better after sleeping.”

“Um……”

It seemed strange that Madam Peggy was hesitating to hand over the letters, looking at her nervously and fidgeting.

“Is something wrong?”

“Well…… Princess Hyrelia from the Kingdom of Hazel wants to have dinner together. What should we do? Would it be better to decline?”

“No. It’s proper etiquette to accept the invitation. She’s a guest from an allied country who came to congratulate us.”

That Night, After, Epilogue

As Charte headed to his palace with a serious face and no words, Viscount Catano and Guard Captain Rad worried that something bad might have happened the previous night.

After exchanging glances for a while, Viscount Catano hesitantly spoke up.

“Your Majesty, how did you injure your hand? I’ll call for a doctor immediately.”

“Ah, this is from breaking a cup…… Call the doctor later, and prepare a cold bath for me.”

After Charte entered the bathroom, Guard Captain Rad spoke to Viscount Catano with a serious expression.

“It’s clear. He’s trying to cool his heat with cold water.”

“It seems they’ve definitely had their first marital quarrel, so we should be especially careful with the servants and maids in the emperor’s palace and Empress’s Palace today. To think they’re already fighting……”

“I’m already worried that he might cancel next week’s consummation.”

While they were worrying, Charte still had his eyes closed in the bathtub with a serious expression.

“So those four are finally meeting in one place? To cut off the story at such a moment……”

He suddenly felt dizzy with curiosity.

Looking at his injured hand, irritation finally showed on Charte’s face, and he jumped up from the bathtub with a shout.

Outside, Catano and Rad shook their heads upon hearing the emperor’s angry voice.

* * *

Viviana enjoyed each day lately.

Thanks to their acquaintance at the last party, she received invitations from Hyrelia and could now attend tea parties at the Seventh Annex Palace.

Under Hyrelia’s special trust, she had even built decent friendships with noble ladies who had previously looked down on her as just a wealthy upstart noble.

Those who had dismissed her with their petty power now knelt before greater power.

Moreover, tonight she was scheduled to meet that lucky girl, Leila.

She planned to crush that high nose of hers and gift her misery tonight.

Though Leila seemed to have everything, she couldn’t obtain the emperor’s love.

That wasn’t something you could get through luck!

Thinking about Leila’s deficiency gave Viviana great energy in her life.

She looked at her maids with a satisfied face as she put on her dress.

The maids helping her dress carefully observed her mood before speaking.

“You look so beautiful, Miss!”

“You’ll certainly be the star tonight, Miss!”

“Really? I haven’t even put on makeup yet and I’m already that impressive? By the way, hasn’t she come back yet? I sent her on a simple errand because she’s useless, but she’s as slow as a slug! She can’t do anything right.”

“Sister, I’m back.”

“Why are you so late!”

“I walked there and back. You said I couldn’t take a carriage……”

“Are you saying it’s my fault you’re late? Since when have you been riding in carriages! You and your mother both don’t know your place.”

Mary bowed her head as if reflecting on her mistake, biting her lip to suppress her anger.

She had gone to a hair accessory shop on Viviana’s orders.

It was a specially ordered item to match the dress Viviana would wear today.

It was a large ribbon accessory, and she had walked carefully, treating it like treasure to prevent any damage, which made her even later.

A flashy dress with gold and green, dripping with necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings, and now a giant ribbon too…

Like her personality, Viviana’s clothing was excessive in every way.

Except for her thoughts…… Viviana was a person severely lacking in what should truly be abundant.

After raging for a while, she got angry again, claiming Mary had wasted her precious preparation time.

“Useless your entire life! Get out and go to your own room!”

Mary went to her room with a dejected face.

As soon as she descended the stairs to the kitchen, she felt unpleasant dampness and smelled mold.

Mary’s room was just a bed placed in a basement storage room.

Mary’s birth mother had been a maid in a marquis’s household.

Being a pure beauty, she caught the eye of the lustful Baron Anderson and became pregnant.

Eventually, as time passed and her belly grew, she could no longer hide it and was expelled from the marquis’s house, leading her to knock on Baron Anderson’s door.

Because of this incident, Baron Anderson, who had been on the rise in his family, fell out of favor with the marquis.

In the end, unable to succeed as an official, he prospered as a corrupt loan shark who enjoyed wine and women.

The baroness was also steeped in vanity and extravagance, and Viviana was the same.

The three of them never considered Mary family, treating her more like a traitor who ruined their family, and always mistreated her.

They thought of her as an unpaid maid and worked her mercilessly.

Mary had cursed and despised the three of them her entire life.

She never forgot her vow to escape and take revenge.

That’s why she had drawn up a grand plan and acted at the diplomatic delegation party.

In fact, she had attended that party secretly.

After returning, she received a terrible scolding from the baroness and Viviana.

She was slapped until her face was unrecognizably swollen, her altered dress was torn to pieces, and she was punished with three days of cleaning while starving.

She expected to receive a message from the empress after tonight’s dinner hosted by Princess Hyrelia of the Kingdom of Hazel.

If no message came, she would take action herself, so it didn’t matter either way.

The empress had no special connections in high society.

Before becoming empress, Leila never appeared at social gatherings unless her attendance was mandatory.

Despite being in a position to dominate high society, she had never used that power.

As a result, high society currently lacked a ruler, leading to intense power struggles.

Leila’s weak social network seemed like great fortune for Mary.

Unlike when she was a noble lady, the empress would need eyes and ears.

Mary only hoped that Viviana would behave as rudely as possible tonight.

The cunning Mary knew well.

That wishing alone wouldn’t make things happen, so she planned to upset Viviana once more before she left.

The self-centered Viviana would surely be unable to hide her irritation.

Because this was a dinner with Leila, whom she had one-sidedly considered a rival her entire life.

Mary felt delighted just thinking about Viviana’s misdeeds.

Judging by the busy, bustling atmosphere on the first floor, they seemed to be seeing Viviana off.

Mary took this opportunity to quickly go to Viviana’s room, rummage through the trash, and secretly pocket several memo notes.

Just then, the door opened, and a maid entered, seeing Mary and speaking sharply.

“What are you doing here?”

Mary, changing her expression to one of utmost politeness and innocence, spoke in a submissive voice.

“I came to apologize to my sister, but has she already left?”

“She’s preparing to depart. Hurry and go see her.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Mary quickly went downstairs to the first floor. Spotting Viviana about to leave, she greeted her with a bright voice.

“Sister! I almost missed saying goodbye. Have a good—ack!”

While greeting her, Mary rushed forward, pretending to trip, and splashed mud onto the hem of Viviana’s dress.

All the maids in the house rushed to Viviana and quickly wiped it off, but a faint stain remained.

As Viviana approached to hit Mary, the butler said,

“We’re already quite delayed. You mustn’t be any later.”

Viviana had to suppress her boiling anger and reluctantly went to the carriage.

Being late to a meeting with people of higher status would be a major discourtesy.

Inside the carriage, Viviana looked at the stain on her dress, her face contorted with rage as if she might go insane.

“Useless, worthless woman who’s never been any help! She should just stay in her room and reflect!”

The murderous intent emanating from Viviana filled the carriage with a chilling, venomous air.

“That woman is like a stain on our family, and she’s left a stain on my life! I’m furious! Furious! I’ll kill her!”

* * *

The dinner that Madam Peggy had mentioned with difficulty a few days ago was today.

Perhaps because it was an invitation from the emperor’s ex-wife’s sister, the maids in charge of dressing her were particularly zealous today.

They were as enthusiastic as if she were attending an ex-boyfriend’s wedding or meeting her husband’s mistress.

But she was really fine with it.

In truth, she had nothing to worry about.

The emperor and she weren’t in a romantic relationship, and though the princess wasn’t friendly toward her, she understood the situation.

Judging from the previous incident in the lounge, the princess was clearly inviting her to hurt her, but she was confident she wouldn’t be hurt.

She neither loved Emperor Charte nor had any interest in anyone here.

Having come to another world for unknown reasons and with her life in constant danger, such antagonism was a trivial matter.

But to match the maids’ mood, she pretended to be solemn.

“Hmm? A tiara too? That seems excessive……”

The maids looked concerned.

“Do a half-up style.”

The maids then added waves to the ends of her hair, gathered the hair above both ears as if doing a half-up style, tied it in two strands, then took some hair below that and began braiding it in multiple strands.

The hair braided in two different ways complemented the wavy loose hair well.

They decorated the two-strand braids with purple flowers to add subtle interest.

She had put effort into being respectful, and she liked the outfit and hairstyle that didn’t overshadow the host.

“I really like it. Thank you for your hard work today.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Everyone’s faces brightened with joy, improving her mood as well.

“Let’s go now, Madam Peggy.”

And so, with her pure appearance, she entered enemy territory.

Upon her arrival, Princess Hyrelia welcomed her warmly.