At Martin’s unexpected words, Evelyn felt as if her heart had dropped.

“What did you just say…?”

Evelyn stammered as she asked Martin.

It was because she felt she had to confirm what she’d just heard.

Perhaps anticipating her reaction, Martin calmly repeated the same words.

“I know that Your Majesty is not the real Princess Ophelia.”

Evelyn was so shocked she couldn’t even blink properly. Her eyebrows trembled, and her fingertips felt as if they were turning cold.

She already knew it from Reynard. That there were people who knew she was an imposter.

But to have someone state it so directly to her was a great shock.

Unable to control her trembling hands, Evelyn clenched her skirt tightly.

Then, forcing her barely moving lips, she managed to ask him a question.

“May I ask why you suddenly brought that up?”

“It’s because of what happened at the ball.”

“…”

“I heard there was a conflict between you and Lady Emmett at the ball. Is that true?”

Martin asked Evelyn in a tone that bordered on interrogation.

After a brief hesitation, Evelyn nodded and answered.

“Yes, that’s right. But as far as I know, the matter ended with Lady Emmett offering me an apology.”

“Yes. That’s how it was relayed to me as well.”

“Then why…?”

“I came here because, in my judgment, the matter won’t end there.”

Martin paused briefly, then took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

His sigh only made Evelyn more anxious.

“What do you mean it won’t end there?”

“Her Majesty the Empress may not know the political landscape of Bait, but the Emmett duchy was one of the major factions that supported the late emperor. Do you know how His Majesty ascended to the throne?”

At Martin’s question, Evelyn began to slowly recall.

The rumor said Reynard had killed his father and brothers to ascend the throne—a cruel and depraved act.

“He… his father and brothers…”

Even though Evelyn couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence, Martin seemed to realize that she knew at least part of the truth and continued his explanation.

“He killed the late emperor and the other heirs to the throne, and that’s how he became the current emperor. It seems that story reached even Hesta.”

“Yes.”

“Then this will be easier to explain. The Emmett family had been working to place Lady Emmett as the empress to keep His Majesty in check. But then, Hesta invaded Bait, and the plan fell apart.”

Given Bait’s military strength, Reynard didn’t even need to join the war for them to win against Hesta.

Hesta had already suffered consecutive defeats aside from the two surprise attacks.

It had always been a mystery why Reynard would personally lead the troops in such a situation, but now, that mystery seemed to be unraveling.

“Then when Princess Ophelia was sent from Hesta and he accepted her…?”

“No. In truth, he had no intention of accepting her.”

“…!”

Startled, Evelyn opened her eyes wide at Martin’s words.

Martin, nodding as if to show he understood her reaction, continued speaking.

“Originally, even if Princess Ophelia came, he had no intention of accepting her and had planned to continue attacking Hesta. Haven’t you heard about this?”

It was only then that Evelyn recalled what Glenna had said.

That for some reason, Reynard had postponed the conquest of Hesta by a year.

That meant, originally, Bait’s goal was to march forward and conquer Hesta without delay.

Pieces of the puzzle she hadn’t realized before were starting to fall into place.

“But then His Majesty suddenly changed the plan.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure. I honestly don’t know the reason either.”

As Martin answered, his gaze lingered on her.

He seemed to suspect that Evelyn herself might be the reason.

And that wasn’t too far from the truth.

Until then, Reynard had always said he would conquer Hesta regardless of Princess Ophelia’s arrival—but the timing of his sudden change in plans coincided with when he first encountered Evelyn.

Moreover, Martin was still troubled by something Reynard had said.

Reynard already knew about Evelyn.

According to what he had said where Hesta’s soldiers lay dead, he had already met Evelyn before.

But judging from Martin’s perspective, Evelyn didn’t seem to remember him at all.

“Anyway, the important point is that when the plan was disrupted, you were turned into Princess Ophelia and made Empress.”

“…”

“His Majesty may have his own reasons, but by making you the Empress, the Emmett family’s plans fell apart. Given the circumstances, the Emmetts won’t sit still.”

“Then what should I do?”

“First, we’ll need to see how they respond before we can decide how to react on our side, but I came to you because I thought it best that you remain alert regarding this matter.”

Evelyn nodded in agreement at Martin’s words. In any case, Martin was one of Reynard’s loyal subordinates.

He surely wouldn’t want things to head in a direction that would harm him.

“For now, we’ll proceed with the empress’s education as much as possible, so I’d like you to be aware of that.”

“What kind of education are we talking about?”

“You’ll be taught court etiquette and the current state of affairs in Bait.”

“Ah, I see.”

Indeed, Evelyn lacked many things. At Hesta, they hadn’t bothered to educate her, since they planned to kill her before she ever met Reynard anyway.

She had picked up some knowledge of imperial etiquette just by growing up within the palace walls, but beyond that, she knew nothing. 

Moreover, she had lived her entire life as a maid. Now that such a person wore the ill-fitting clothes of an empress, how ridiculous must she appear?

“When does the education begin?”

If possible, she wanted to start right away, even today. But it was already late, and it would be unreasonable to begin now.

“There’s a ball tomorrow, so please attend that first. We’ll begin the day after.”

Evelyn nodded at Martin’s words.

“Then what should I do tomorrow?”

“Just sit on the imperial throne. That will be enough.”

If all she had to do was sit in a chair and do nothing, she could manage that. It was better than having to mingle with others and risk being exposed as a maid.

Evelyn inwardly sighed in relief and agreed.

“I’ll do that.”

“If Lady Emmett or any other noble comes to visit, simply remain seated and claim you’re tired.”

“All right.”

“Then, I’ll take my leave now.”

“Yes. Please be careful on your way.”

As Evelyn spoke politely, Martin paused for a moment before turning back to look at her. 

His face was filled with concern. But Evelyn couldn’t understand why he was looking at her like that and felt a bit flustered.

“Is something wrong?”

Martin let out a quiet sigh. Then he shook his head, dismissing her question.

“No, nothing. I’ll see you again the day after tomorrow.”

“All right.”

After a brief pause, Martin turned and left the bedchamber. Evelyn remained standing and watched his back as he walked away. At last, the door closed, and she was alone in the room.

Feeling drained, Evelyn slumped down onto the sofa. She was still overwhelmed and terrified by the reality that she had become empress.

‘What if they find out I’m an impostor?’

Would she be executed for deceiving the royal family? A few grim thoughts flitted through her mind.

Of course, the fact that Reynard had known her true identity from the beginning might be taken into consideration, but that didn’t change the fact that she had deceived others.

As her worries lingered, the night grew deeper.