Divlik couldn’t understand how Joseph knew that he was struggling, unable to take Eva to bed.

Where had the information leaked? Thinking about it, there seemed to be no source for the leak. Rumors that Eva had become Divlik’s woman would have already spread far and wide, and the soldiers firmly believed it. At most, those who knew the exact circumstances were, besides Finn, the servants attending Eva, but they had no opportunity to go outside and meet outsiders.

“I understand completely.”

While Divlik’s mind was working through these complex thoughts, Joseph smiled with an expression that suggested he didn’t care either way.

“What exactly do you understand?”

Then Joseph, with a face as if recalling something delicious, stuck out his long tongue and licked the neck of the woman sitting beside him.

“When the taste of a woman you’ve embraced once is good, it’s quite difficult to forget.”

Divlik’s expression hardened for the first time. Was it his imagination that the word “woman” in Joseph’s statement seemed to refer to Eva?

* * *

Eva hadn’t particularly intended to act as the mistress of the castle while Divlik was away. She simply thought that since guests had arrived at the castle and had probably recovered from their journey, they deserved proper hospitality at least once.

“I’ve never tasted such delicious tea even in Elan Castle.”

“I’m glad you like it. It’s tea imported from the Veilen Empire across the mountains to the north. Do you notice the sweet aroma? We don’t have much left, but I’ll have some sent to your quarters.”

“Is it really all right to give us something so precious?”

The women’s expressions, which had been full of wariness, softened as Eva, who had once been empress, unhesitatingly served them herself. The women now properly offered the greetings they had omitted when first meeting Eva.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Eva.”

No matter how formal they tried to be, they didn’t have the dignity of noble ladies, but they weren’t so ill-mannered as to openly disrespect someone showing them kindness.

“But how is it that you, the former emperor’s empress, still remain in this castle?”

However, the women who had just entered the castle yesterday apparently weren’t clever enough to fully understand Eva’s situation yet. With faces full of innocent curiosity, they asked about Eva’s current circumstances.

“Are you staying as the new conqueror’s woman?”

“No. I simply remain in the castle this long because there are unresolved matters between him and me.”

Eva added that the matter would soon be resolved, then asked something she had been curious about.

“By the way, where is Miss Mia? I thought she would be coming with you.”

Though she had simply asked about Mia’s whereabouts, the women’s faces instantly hardened, as if they couldn’t bear being associated with Mia.

“She left the castle early this morning, saying Lord Divlik had given her a task.”

“Lord Divlik? I see.”

What kind of task could it be? Was it an order to remake the medicine that had been thrown away? While Eva was thinking, the women exchanged glances, deciding who should speak first, then opened their mouths.

“Eva, don’t trust that woman too much.”

“Don’t trust her……”

Seeing Eva’s reaction that showed she didn’t understand well, the women unanimously said,

“Since that woman entered the castle, more than a few women have died without reason. All of them were women who attended to Grand Duke Joseph at night.”

“We can’t point fingers directly since there’s no evidence that woman did it, but we all believe she did something.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because whenever a woman died, the opportunity to serve the Grand Duke fell to her.”

Could she really have killed other women to secure opportunities to serve the Grand Duke at night?

* * *

Early the next day. On the way back to Hael, having declined breakfast in Elan and left behind Joseph, who didn’t even bother to see them off, Divlik rode his horse in a half-dazed state, lost in thought.

—When the taste of a woman you’ve embraced once is good, it’s quite difficult to forget.

Even while thinking there was no way the word “woman” there referred to Eva, Divlik still couldn’t shake Joseph’s words from his mind, even now after leaving Elan Castle.

That statement where “woman” sounded like it meant Eva.

That man… did he know more than expected……?

Joseph was famous for one more thing besides his prowess in war:

A man obsessed with women.

Joseph was particularly notorious for coveting other men’s women. As if love and such emotions shouldn’t exist in this world, he especially targeted women in deeply affectionate relationships, including marriages. The rumor that the late-born son of Countess Tenesi, who ruled Karhen, was Joseph’s son was an open secret.

Considering such a man’s habits……

“Lord Divlik? What are you thinking about so intently?”

“Nothing. So, was it confirmed?”

After confirming no one was around, Finn began reporting the situation to Divlik.

“I confirmed the Frentz imperial family’s carriage. I also found traces that former Emperor Fabian had stayed there. However, he doesn’t seem to be in Elan Castle now, though I don’t know how they knew we were coming and cleared out in advance. Since we came seeking an appointment, they probably knew we would come eventually and moved him somewhere else beforehand.”

The reason Finn, despite his small stature, could serve as commander-in-chief and attend Divlik most closely was that Finn excelled at infiltration using that small frame. In battle, the information Finn brought back from secretly infiltrating enemy lines created more advantageous situations for the Blue Wolf than killing a hundred enemy soldiers with a sword.

This time too, while Divlik was conversing with Joseph, Finn had used the excuse of tending to the horses to survey the castle unnoticed.

“That’s unfortunate. If we had found Fabian there, things would have been easier.”

Divlik’s statement about things being easier didn’t just refer to a smooth coronation ceremony or his matter with Eva.

“Finn.”

“Yes, Lord Divlik.”

“I won’t be able to relax even after the coronation ceremony. Tell the commanders in each region not to neglect military training.”

If they had found Fabian there, they could have settled matters on the spot with Joseph, who had broken the peace agreement first, without making a big issue of it—that was the meaning of his words. If Divlik’s assumption was correct that Joseph had no intention of quietly handing over the empire and staying put, it was too early to assume peace.

“What? Is the war not over yet?”

“Didn’t you see earlier? Though I haven’t yet held the coronation ceremony, I am the emperor of Yarden. Yet that man did not receive me as emperor.”

“Are you saying he still has lingering attachments to the Yarden Empire? If so, he could have stopped us before we took the empire.”

“We can’t fully know his mind.”

“Whatever the reason, if you’ve judged it so, Lord Divlik, then it must be right. I’ll send a separate messenger.”

Though Divlik couldn’t explain the exact reason to Finn because he wasn’t yet certain of the situation, there was one more reason he had to be wary of Joseph.

‘Fun.’ Joseph was enjoying this situation.

Joseph was said to be obsessed with women, but that didn’t mean he had a particular interest in women themselves. Joseph often lost interest in women he had taken after destroying someone’s home or even life, and discarded them. To Joseph, everything before him seemed to be nothing more than entertainment to amuse himself.

During this meeting too, Joseph laughed no matter what was said and showed no seriousness. Yet his eyes flashed as he thought of his next move. It was the typical face of someone enjoying a game. Whatever Joseph knew and whatever was in his mind, it was clear that he was enjoying every word and action of Divlik’s right now.

—There’s one thing I’m curious about, Grand Duke.

—What is it?

—Why did your brother leave the empress behind? It doesn’t seem like he was so short on time to escape.

From Joseph’s shrugging shoulders and his entire demeanor as he asked how would he know, Divlik couldn’t get the impression that Joseph truly didn’t know the situation.

—That fellow is inherently cowardly, and if it involves fighting, he gets scared in advance. Who knows? He might have been so frightened that he fled in a hurry, thinking only of saving himself, regardless of the empress or anything else.

Above all, Joseph didn’t seem like a man who could laugh off a situation he didn’t understand. Despite his seemingly sincere smile, he rolled his eyes so intently, trying not to miss even a single breath from Divlik, that Divlik had to heighten his tension to the maximum to avoid revealing even the slightest change in expression before him.

—Give my regards to Eva. Tell her I miss her.

—Were you on good terms with the empress?

—Very good terms. Perhaps even better than with my brother.

Not only did he casually call Eva by name, though she was once the empress of the empire he belonged to…

—Was Divlik your original name? The gray hair resembling a wolf’s fur suits you, but who would name their son “wolf”? I don’t think that’s the case. If I were to give my son an animal name…… I would have called him “lion.”

As evident from the beginning in how he rolled the conversation back and forth with words that could be interpreted in various ways before Divlik, Joseph regarded even Divlik as a mere piece moving in his game.

“That won’t do.”

“Pardon? Lord Divlik? What did you say?”

That won’t do. Once again, having my fate shaken by someone else’s hand—no matter who holds that hand on my neck, I’ll eliminate them, even if I have to kill them.

Instead of answering, Divlik gripped the reins tightly and urged his horse forward in haste.