“Yes, Your Majesty. Otherwise, would that dignified duke have dared to oppose His Majesty the Emperor?”

Marchioness Cheshire unfurled her silk fan, waving it just beneath her ample chin. Her strangely gleaming eyes and flushed face were clear signs of her excitement over the matter.

This time, Countess Havel, the most talkative of the five ladies, took up where the marchioness left off.

“I heard that the woman Baron Adrian broke off his engagement with remarried almost immediately, to Viscount Dallas.”

“Wasn’t that the third marriage for Viscount Dallas, not even a second?”

Recalling Viscount Dallas, now fifty with a belly that seemed ready to burst, Empress Vivian took a sip of her tea to stifle her astonishment.

Countess Havel nearly laughed out loud at the shared thought, but barely maintained her composure as she continued.

“Back then, Baron Adrian had no noble title and was sent to war immediately after the engagement, so they split within six months. If she had waited five years, she could now be the young wife of a promising baron. What a shame.”

“Five years! Who could wait that long?”

“Well, perhaps she could have held out for three. A naval officer’s salary should have been enough for a modest social life, but perhaps she was just too ambitious.”

“A modest life? With that income, she couldn’t even host a simple tea party.”

As these society ladies, all experts in gossip, voiced their feigned pity, their eyes shone with peculiar intensity, and their lips curved ever so slightly.

Among them, Empress Vivian alone remained inscrutable, sipping her tea. She alone seemed genuinely sympathetic to the situation.

“It seems I must call upon Yelodia soon to console her heart.”

“Your Majesty the Empress, your kindness knows no bounds.”

“Indeed. I’ve never met anyone with a heart as gentle as Her Majesty’s.”

The noblewomen chorused their praises, each taking turns to laud the Empress.

Empress Vivian lowered her gaze with a chaste, pure expression as she savored their fervent compliments.

This moment always thrilled and delighted her.

The more compliments she received, the grander and more generous her heart felt.

‘Baron Adrian, was it…?’

Though faintly intrigued, Empress Vivian’s expression quickly turned indifferent. The rank of baron was too lowly, too insignificant for her to take seriously.

‘He’s won the Emperor’s favor. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to meet him once.’

But what truly piqued her interest was the thought of witnessing Duke Xavier’s expression firsthand.

That duke, who so often sided with the Emperor and treated her, the Empress, as though she were a mere nuisance.

Now that same duke would have to marry off his precious daughter to an uncouth soldier. He was likely regretting it deeply.

With a serene look of concern, the Empress spoke up.

“In any case, this is a grand occasion for the Imperial family, so I’ll need to prepare an engagement gift for Yelodia.”

“You are as thoughtful as ever.”

“People ought to appreciate the Empress’s boundless compassion.”

Once more, the noblewomen showered her with sincere compliments.

With a deep sense of satisfaction, Empress Vivian’s crimson irises gleamed.

＊ ＊ ＊

The servant’s voice calling Hester sounded unusually excited today.

“Sir, Lady Yelodia has requested to see you. What should I tell her?”

“Yedi wants to see me?”

Hester’s voice was half-drowsy. His medicine-fogged mind felt sluggish, and his entire body felt as if submerged in water.

The servant asked with a concerned expression.

“Are you able to get up? Should I let the young lady know that you’re feeling unwell?”

With a tired sigh, Hester shook his head. He couldn’t lie in bed forever just because he was unwell.

Besides, he sorely missed his sister, whom he hadn’t seen even once over the past two weeks, despite living under the same roof.

“Warn Yedi to keep her distance from me, and open the window a bit for ventilation.”

“Aren’t you cold?”

“It’s fine.”

Hester struggled into a seated position, silently cursing his frail body. He felt dizzy at once—this year’s flu seemed to have lasting aftereffects.

The servant, after briefly opening the window, closed it firmly and added wood to the fireplace. The room soon warmed up.

Hester stifled a cough and fixed his gaze on the door.

Before long, the bedroom door quietly opened, and a glimpse of red hair appeared before disappearing again. Hester wore a gentle smile.

“Yedi, come in.”

“Are you really okay?”

Her tentative voice sounded from behind the door.

Hester chuckled softly and gave a small wave.

“Come on in.”

In the next moment, Yelodia’s head poked through the doorway. Her light rose-colored hair swayed gently.

“Brother, are you really alright?”

“I’m fine. Just another day or two in bed, and I’ll be as good as new. I go through this every year. More than that, I want to know how you’ve been.”

Finally, Yelodia took a bold step into the room. Her elegant cream-colored dress swayed with her movement, and she held her bonnet with its ornate lace in one hand.

Hester looked at his sister, who seemed somewhat tense, with a playful gaze.

“Would you like to come closer?”

The perceptive servant moved a chair for Yelodia to sit. She sat facing Hester, clutching her bonnet with both hands.

“Hester, you look really unwell.”

“It’s because I don’t have much appetite.”

Hester answered matter-of-factly, as if stating an obvious truth. Yelodia pouted, and Hester couldn’t help but chuckle.

“That dress suits you well. I guess it’s fully spring now.”

“Mm, the weather has gotten so warm. It feels like summer might come soon.”

“Is that so? I need to go out before summer comes. I’ve been lying in bed so much I hardly know what’s happening outside the window.”

Hester looked a bit disappointed, and Yelodia’s heart ached along with him.

“When will you return to the academy?”

“I’ve taken leave until next week, so I’ll go back the week after. You’ll come visit often, right?”

“Even when I visit, you’re usually too busy to spend time with me.”

“I was just too busy last year. Things have eased up this year, so it’ll be fine.”

Instead of replying, Yelodia nodded enthusiastically.

Having graduated with honors from the Royal Academy, Hester had stayed on as an assistant professor, researching ancient history. His exceptional talent made people think he’d soon be appointed as a professor, but his fragile health worried those around him.

He would catch colds with each change of season, and whenever an epidemic hit the capital, he was often one of the first affected. During such times, the emperor himself would send medicine to the Xavier household.

“Now, tell me. Stop fidgeting like a restless puppy.”

“W-What? A puppy? That’s so mean.”

Though Yelodia grumbled, she kept glancing at Hester. With a faint smile, Hester waited patiently for her to speak.

After shifting her eyes around for a while, Yelodia finally spoke, her words cryptic.

“Since it’s spring, I was just wondering… What do you think about me… um, seeing someone?”

“Of course, it’s something to celebrate. Why, has some eligible young man in Feorn caught your eye?”

“No, it’s not that… I mean, at some point, I’ll have to get engaged too… and I thought it might be fine if I was introduced to someone nice…”

Fiddling nervously with her bonnet, Yelodia murmured. A subtle change flickered across Hester’s expression, and his voice grew slightly lower.

“Someone nice? Who?”

“No, I was just saying. No need to get so serious.”

Afraid her third brother might faint, Yelodia looked unsteady. But Hester, who knew his sister well, saw right through her.

“Something is definitely up.”

He’d already felt something odd lately about the unusually lively atmosphere in the household.

Thinking it was time to find out why the servants seemed eager to speak to him or were suddenly fidgeting around, Hester calmly spoke to prevent Yelodia from being alarmed.

“Yedi, you can tell me honestly; I won’t be surprised. What exactly is going on in the household these days?”

“Well, the thing is… actually…”

Yelodia glanced at Hester, hesitating before closing her mouth again, still reluctant to speak.

At that moment, a loud, irritable voice interrupted them.

“It sounds like Yedi is getting engaged.”

“…What?”

Hester looked up at Fabian, who had briskly entered the room, his expression stunned.

Fabian sneered, as if displeased with his brother.

“How long are you going to lie around like that? Planning to emerge from your room next year?”

“Never mind that—what are you talking about? Why would Yedi be engaged?”

“I don’t know the reasons either. But since His Majesty the Emperor is overseeing it, it looks like a wedding will happen soon enough.”

“….”

Hester couldn’t close his mouth. His mind was too stunned to fully process Fabian’s words.

The Emperor was overseeing Yelodia’s marriage. Yelodia’s marriage… Marriage?!

Terrified, Hester asked, “With whom, exactly?”

“With Baron Edward Kieri Adrian.”

“….”

Hester stared blankly up at Fabian.

“Who’s that supposed to be?”