Catherine seriously grabbed Nancy and asked. There’s nothing particularly wrong…… Having spent half a year without any pain thanks to suppressants and painkillers, honestly, she’s not sure if she’s sick even now.

“Rather than your body being sick, my lady seems like someone whose heart is sick.”

“Wh……y?”

“Because my lady looks too lethargic. Even now, honestly, you look more like someone who has hidden themselves away due to loneliness rather than someone with a serious illness.”

I apologize if I disturbed your mood with presumptuous words. Nancy carefully apologized to Catherine and smiled. Still, feeling that she was deliberately trying to speak cheerfully, Catherine couldn’t say, ‘I’m terminally ill.’

Around that time, the butler came looking for Catherine.

“My lady, a message has arrived from the imperial family.”

“Suddenly?”

“Ah, I should have told you yesterday, but I missed the opportunity.”

The butler carefully reported that he was only telling her now.

“The message says to enter the palace as soon as day breaks tomorrow. Now that His Grace has also arrived, it’s time to show your face to His Majesty.”

Does this mean I have to continue this clumsy act with this extremely weak body even at the imperial court? It’s already difficult, and I’m struggling to hide it in front of Lorendis…….

The meeting with the imperial family, where this clumsy act absolutely must not be discovered, is approaching.

* * *

“Just answer politely to His Majesty’s questions.”

The carriage with the laurel emblem clearly imprinted crossed the imperial security checkpoint. Seeing that emblem, the imperial guard immediately opened the entrance. From the entrance, a wide garden spread out. Rather than flowers, thick trees were planted, giving a neat yet grand impression.

“Your Grace, you’ve arrived? His Majesty will be pleased. Please visit the capital often. Your visits are too infrequent.”

“What is there to see in my old great-uncle that I should come often?”

His low whispered voice was filled with sincerity. Not sarcastic, but indifferent as if having a casual conversation. The attendant also laughed pleasantly and brushed it off, saying, ‘Your Grace is still the same.’

From the entrance of the imperial palace, statues of previous imperial family members were erected. The figure wearing a crown and holding a staff looked dignified. The attendant guided them to the reception room, and the gold-plated main palace door opened.

“The Helen couple has entered, Your Majesty.”

“Come in. Let me see the face of that foolish fellow.”

Tessler Vallerhard. Tessler was the fifth emperor of the Vallerhard Empire and the biggest pillar supporting Vallerhard.

The emperor, having governed Vallerhard for a long time, had not lost his dignity even in his old age. His deep eyes were still sharp and keen. Sitting on the throne, he rested his chin on his hand and quietly looked down at the couple.

“It’s been a very long time. Duke Helen. And even Lady Helen. I worry that I might have inconvenienced two people whose faces are hard to see by making them come here.”

“I pay my respects to Your Majesty.”

“Has Lady Helen been keeping well?”

They exchanged light greetings first. His gesture of tapping the throne appeared bored. White hair showed between his dark brown hair. There were wrinkles around his eyes, but perhaps because he often made expressions, the space between his eyebrows and the corners of his eyes were particularly prominent. The deeply etched wrinkles furrowed once more.

“I’ve been well. I should have come to pay my respects to the imperial palace first, but I apologize for not being able to leave Helen often.”

“It’s natural for Lady Helen to protect Helen while Duke Helen wanders the battlefield.”

Tessler lightly waved his hand, saying he wouldn’t make a long story out of nothing. The reception room had one wall filled with glass windows, covered with gold-threaded curtains. From the golden waves occupying one wall to the map of the empire spread out behind the throne. Just this was enough to create an overwhelming presence.

“Vallerhard has become powerful thanks largely to Duke Helen. I will greatly reward your efforts so far. The battle with the barbarians was led by the Helen family, and it’s also true that Vallerhard has remained strong because of Helen. It’s right to show the empire’s sincerity by bestowing a great medal on Helen.”

“I didn’t do it expecting a reward.”

“Indeed. I told you to stop, and you stubbornly left…… Merit is merit, and personal matters are personal matters. Helen is one of the pillars supporting Vallerhard. Although it’s uncertain whether the foundation connecting that pillar will be maintained.”

What Tessler is pointing out is Catherine’s family. A rural viscount’s family. With the head of the family missing, the family has also lost its way, and Tessler sharply pointed out that aspect.

“I have no major objection to this marriage, but not everyone is like me.”

Be careful, with those words, Tessler fell silent. The significance Lorendis holds in Helen is beyond imagination, so no one dares to express objections, but other imperial citizens are different.

“There should not be even a small flaw in this marriage. Remember that. This marriage had strange aspects from the beginning. Whatever it is, put it back in its place.”

Your Majesty. We were incompatible from the start. We walked different paths, and it’s a long way to return, and it’s a story I can’t even tell Your Majesty. It’s not a small flaw but a very big one, and Your Majesty would be greatly angered.

Lorendis glanced down at Catherine and answered in a casual tone.

“There won’t be any noise.”

Tessler held his head and sighed.

“Arrogant fellow.”

Catherine’s lips trembled before she reluctantly closed them.

Lorendis’s cold gaze touched her. Catherine also shrank under that coercive gaze. After closing her lips and taking a step back, Tessler indifferently rested his chin on his hand.

“Lady Helen, you understood, right? Even if that fellow doesn’t, I believe you understood my meaning.”

“Yes. I understood.”

“Don’t feel hurt that I’m too heartless. I just brought up a realistic conversation as a great elder of the imperial family. The couple should return to their places now. The business is finished. Go out now.”

Tessler was crooked. The chief attendant led them outside, and Lorendis left without lingering. Tessler muttered, ‘Look at that fellow. That fellow,’ saying it was outrageous, but they had already left.

Tessler clicked his tongue. Where would that family’s traits go? He resembles the previous Duke of Helen, with a difficult temperament. Foolish fellow. A cold-hearted fellow who doesn’t even blink at words said out of concern for him.

“Rotten to the core.”

Tessler’s harsh words followed behind them.

* * *

“His Majesty seems to care greatly for Lorendis.”

‘This marriage had strange aspects from the beginning. Put it back in its place.’

This marriage was full of flaws from the start.

“His Majesty also seems to want a divorce.”

“You seem pleased to have someone on your side. That expression looks better, which somehow makes me displeased.”

She had taken divorce lightly because she knew of her approaching death, not thinking of the person who would be left behind. She had planned to stay at a sanatorium for a few months and then quietly die away…….

“Your body?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking if there’s anywhere you’re feeling unwell.”

Helen’s carriage was just passing through the city gate. Just as they had passed through before, the exit path was also clean. Are we going back to the laurel castle now, or will we just pass through the capital, which I’m seeing for the first time, by carriage?

Vallerhard seemed like a developed civilized society. Tall buildings pierced the sky high, but Catherine’s eyes looking at that sight were lowered.

“Are you sick somewhere?”

“No.”

“Tell me if you’re sick. Dr. Dennis will probably provide a diagnosis by tomorrow. Then your current expression will also be explained, so I won’t pry further.”

His voice was indifferent, and that tone without any highs or lows represented his steady personality. Helen’s carriage crossed the capital and entered the central area.

“Why did you hurry? I heard that usually when you leave Helen, you often wander for several years.”

“Because my wife, who seems completely detached from the world, appears to harbor some strange feelings in Helen, I can’t leave my place vacant for long.”

Catherine fumbled with her expression. Is that visible on her face? She thought she had hidden it well, but it seems useless against Lorendis.

“Where are we going?”

“We’ll stay at the townhouse for one night. I’m exhausted. If there’s nothing more to say, can I close my eyes for a moment?”

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s fine, let’s just be quiet today.”

Catherine responded with silence instead of an answer. As if that silence was enough of an answer, he crossed his arms and leaned his head against the wall.

Sitting with his long legs crossed and leaning crookedly, he looked arrogant. The uniform with blue banners and red epaulettes was stiff, and the leather shoes were shiny.

“Your Grace.”

Around that time, the carriage stopped. Brady, who had climbed onto the coachman’s seat, announced quietly.