The next item on the schedule was for Evelyn to learn about the political situation in Bait from Martin.

When she arrived at her office, Martin was already waiting inside.

“You’ve arrived?”

“Yes. Please, have a seat.”

When Evelyn gestured for him to sit, Martin, who had risen to greet her, sat back down on the sofa.

Evelyn watched him and took a seat across from him.

“I thought it might be helpful, so I brought these. Please read and familiarize yourself with the materials whenever you have time.”

“What are these?”

The materials Martin had brought were a registry of the nobles within Bait.

Alongside simple portraits, names, titles, and characteristics were meticulously documented.

“It’s a noble registry. You’ll be meeting many of them in the future—it’s better if you know who they are.”

He was right.

Unless she planned to live in seclusion, it was inevitable that she would meet with nobles while staying here.

So, it was best to know who she would encounter and what kind of actions they were known for.

“All right. I’ll make sure to study it.”

Though uncertain, Evelyn nodded in response.

As he listened to her answer, Martin pulled out the next set of materials he had prepared and handed them to her.

“This contains a summary of Bait’s current internal affairs. Most of the information I’ll be providing from now on will be in there, so it would be good to review it alongside the registry.”

“Yes.”

“And, Your Majesty.”

As soon as she answered, he called out to her.

Taking her eyes off the documents, Evelyn looked at Martin.

“Yes? What is it?”

He frowned slightly, as if something was bothering him.

Sensing she had made some kind of mistake, Evelyn anxiously watched him.

“How long are you going to keep speaking to me so formally?”

Letting out a quiet sigh, Martin asked her the question bluntly.

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Evelyn stared at him, eyes wide.

“It seems you’ve forgotten, but you are now the Empress of Bait. For someone in your position to continue speaking so formally to a subordinate like me might look strange to others.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just not used to it…”

“Whatever profession you held before, or what kind of person you were—it doesn’t matter. What matters now is that you are the Empress of Bait.”

Evelyn fell silent at Martin’s words.

“I understand that it’s unfamiliar. But you must adapt, at least while you’re in Bait.”

For someone like Evelyn, who had lived her whole life as a maid, it wasn’t easy to change her manner of speaking and carry herself differently overnight.

Still, that didn’t mean she could stubbornly cling to her past ways.

“All right… I’ll try.”

Evelyn awkwardly dropped the honorifics with Martin.

“It may feel uncomfortable now because you’re not used to it, but you’ll get used to it soon. You must.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

As he said, it felt awkward for now, but it was something she had to grow accustomed to.

“Good. Then, let’s begin.”

“Yes—um, okay.”

Evelyn had instinctively started to reply formally again but quickly corrected herself. She had caught the wrinkle that was just about to form on Martin’s brow.

“By the way, I have a few questions. Would you be willing to answer them…?”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

“You already know that I’m the fake Princess Ophelia.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Martin agreed without hesitation.

“Do you also know what kind of position I held before this…?”

“No. I haven’t been informed to that extent.”

This time, Martin answered firmly.

“Even if I was someone from a very low status, is it really all right for me to be in the position of Empress?”

This had always been a question that lingered in Evelyn’s mind.

If Martin knew that she was a fake Princess Ophelia, wouldn’t it bother him that someone like her had become the Empress of Bait? Wouldn’t it feel wrong to him that she was speaking informally to him?

Martin quietly looked at Evelyn.

His gaze was calm and still, making it difficult to read what he was thinking.

How much time passed like that?

Just as his gaze was beginning to feel burdensome, he, who had been silent for quite some time, finally opened his mouth.

“I can’t say that it’s not true.”

“……”

“I don’t know what His Majesty the Emperor was thinking when he made you Empress. I suspect it was to keep the Duke of Emmett in check, but… well. I don’t believe that’s all there is to it.”

“Then what?”

“His Majesty already has the support of many nobles. Although, admittedly, he lacks a bit in terms of legitimacy. He’s not the late emperor’s firstborn, after all.”

Evelyn had heard a little of this as well.

Originally, Reynard was the third prince of the Bait Empire, and among his brothers, he had been the furthest from the imperial throne.

Moreover, after his mother, the late Empress, and her family were deposed and ruined for rebelling, he became even more distant from succession.

No one had thought he would ever become emperor.

“But His Majesty proved his strength and abilities from the bottom and rose to where he is now.”

Martin continued, offering a brief summary of Reynard’s path to the throne.

As he began to stand out and earn the trust of the nobility, the first and second princes began to check him. Of course, it wasn’t just simple political resistance.

Reynard had faced life-threatening danger from assassins sent by his own brothers.

And in the end, he claimed the imperial throne with the blood of those same brothers who had tried to kill him—or so Martin explained.

“There were, of course, people who objected to His Majesty’s methods. People like Duke Emmett, for instance. They were originally among the forces trying to install the first prince, who was the crown prince at the time, so their resistance was expected.”

Evelyn had heard this story before—in passing, when she had learned about Greta. It was when she was told that the Emmett family had tried to make Greta the fiancée of the then crown prince.

When Evelyn nodded, signaling her understanding, Martin continued.

“But had they not done so, His Majesty’s life would have been in danger. Everyone in Bait knows that. Especially those of us who have served him up close.”

“…I see.”

“It seems I’ve digressed. In any case, I am one of those who have witnessed what His Majesty went through to reach this position. And in all that time, not once have I seen him make a wrong decision. That is why I am prepared to follow any decision His Majesty makes. And that includes you.”

Martin’s eyes showed no trace of doubt as he spoke. From that, Evelyn could tell just how deeply he trusted and followed Reynard.

“Even if you were once a slave in Hesta, it doesn’t matter. His Majesty has declared you Princess Ophelia, and to me, you are Princess Ophelia— and now, Empress of Bait. Nothing beyond that is important to me.”

Martin completely trusted Reynard’s decisions. And he did not question them. That much, Evelyn could clearly feel.

It was the same thing Reynard had once said to her in the past. At that time too, he had told her that if he called her Princess Ophelia, then everyone else would treat her as such.

Back then, she thought he simply meant that because he was the emperor, others would naturally follow his lead.

She hadn’t realized that hidden within those words was a depth of trust and loyalty she couldn’t have imagined.

“Do you think the others feel the same?”

“Yes. I believe they do.”

Martin answered without a hint of hesitation. That was how confident he was.

“Do you need further explanation?”

Martin asked Evelyn.

She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

“No. That’s enough.”

She had always been anxious and afraid— worried that if anyone found out she was a fake Princess Ophelia, she might be killed.

But perhaps that fear had been pointless.

If they were followers of Reynard, then to them, Evelyn was Princess Ophelia and the Empress of Bait.