“Wouldn’t it be fine even if they marry since Marquis Evansi shows no intention of returning to politics? Besides, he doesn’t seem likely to pass the title to Lord Devon right away. And even if Lord Devon inherits the title, I don’t think it would matter much.”

“If he’d pass it to Devon instead, I wouldn’t have to worry this much.”

Devon is easy to handle. Though there’s the Lydia issue between them, they were never particularly close siblings to begin with.

Since Devon readily approved the engagement cancellation and agreed to Giselle’s adoption into the Evansi family, the matter with Lydia wasn’t really an issue between them.

However, Lydia became a problem with Marquis Evansi.

She was already a beloved daughter, but when she stayed by his sickbed while no one else visited, and even found a cure that saved his life,

How precious must Lydia be in the marquis’s eyes now?

Though no child had been born yet, if Richard’s daughter had done the same for him, he would have given her his liver, gallbladder, everything.

“And in the midst of all this, the empress!”

Richard shouted uncharacteristically. He thought she was smart, but hadn’t she made things worse?

Giselle had stolen Lydia’s achievements as her own.

At first, when she started distributing the cure for the White Ghost disease, he let her be, thinking she might be trying to build her own power base, but it gradually worsened until she now bore the title of saintess.

He would have welcomed it if she had earned the title through her own merit, but this was essentially stealing Lydia’s achievements.

Why touch Lydia’s achievements of all things? Was she trying to completely antagonize Marquis Evansi?

“It’s not enough to appease the marquis, and now the empress is obsessed with playing saintess.”

Giselle wore dresses modeled after priestess robes and filled the Empress’s Palace garden entirely with yellow dandelions.

She seemed intent on cementing her image as the saintess who drove away the White Ghost disease, but Richard strongly disliked it.

But Richard endured. He had heard that a pregnant woman’s stability meant the fetus’s stability.

“Your Majesty, you’re late.”

Despite suppressing his temper to enter, the first thing he heard upon opening the door was Giselle’s voice informing him he was late for the examination.

“I was busy. So how’s the baby? Everything’s fine, right?”

Richard quickly approached and took Giselle’s hand, intending to soothe her before she could complain further.

“Your Majesty.”

Giselle exhaled softly and spoke gently while looking at Richard.

“We’ve had our imperial wedding, so please refrain from speaking informally. It doesn’t sound good to the servants.”

So now she wants to be treated as empress? Richard was dumbfounded, but since it was a reasonable request, he nodded halfheartedly.

“Right. No, I mean, yes, merciful empress.”

For a moment, Giselle’s insides turned at Richard’s sarcasm.

However, she patiently let it slide and asked with a smile.

“I heard Marquis Evansi has gone into seclusion, why don’t we send him to his marquisate? And summon Devon to the imperial palace,”

“Empress. I’ll handle such matters myself. Please focus only on prenatal care.”

“Your Majesty, don’t think of this as nagging and listen. I’m saying this all for your sake.”

“……”

For my sake? If you truly thought of me, shouldn’t you help me rest comfortably? Isn’t that a wife’s duty?

“I understand. We shall do so, Empress.”

Though his voice came out stiff up to his throat, Richard suppressed it again.

And Richard wondered: is this truly what married life is like?

‘If I had married Lydia instead, it might have been easier just buying her jewels and lace.’

Richard quietly released Giselle’s hand and shifted his gaze to the window.

* * *

After receiving the same report as Richard, Devon rushed to Marquis Evansi and told him the contents of the report.

Marquis Evansi immediately took action to prevent the emperor from interfering between them.

Through the high priest he already knew, he completely removed Lydia from the priestess registry.

However, unaware that she was no longer a priestess, Lydia was leisurely having tea in the Edis mansion’s garden.

Originally, she planned to bring back the books she had finished reading, tease Arsen a bit to deceive the mansion’s staff, see Maria and Nella’s faces, and return.

But on her way to the library, she met Mallan, and he invited her to have cookies and tea he bought from Count Wonde’s territory.

Lydia, who had something to ask Mallan anyway, sat with him at the tea table in the mansion’s back garden.

“The weather is warm and pleasant in the borderlands during summer.”

“I think so too.”

“Ah, right! Mallan, could you perhaps get these books? Wellington needs them.”

Lydia pulled out a paper with book titles written on it and handed it to Mallan.

He nodded while looking at the paper he received.

“Of course. It’s not a difficult task at all.”

“Thank you.”

Just when the cookies and tea should have arrived, Mallan suddenly stood up.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I just remembered an urgent matter. May I leave first, Priestess?”

“What?”

Before Lydia could answer, Mallan bowed quickly and disappeared completely.

While Lydia was rolling her round pupils in confusion after sending Mallan off with an “oh,” Arsen appeared like a savior.

With a tray holding teacups.

Since she had planned to tease Arsen anyway, Lydia made a big fuss about how nice it was to have tea alone with Arsen.

As if for someone watching them from the mansion to hear.

“That’s not it.”

But Arsen challenged Lydia’s approach.

“You didn’t act like this when having tea with the emperor.”

Strange. She thought she had hummed happily because Richard made time for her, but what else did she do?

“First, you caressed the emperor’s leg with your toes.”

“……You, you saw that?”

She thought she did it where others couldn’t see, thought it was a secret act between Richard and her, but he saw it?

Though it was all in the past, Lydia blushed from embarrassment.

While clearly seeing this, Arsen boldly demanded she do the ‘same’ and that she should do it ‘properly’.

Finally, Lydia crossed her legs and gently stroked Arsen’s calf with her toes.

This really seemed like something children shouldn’t see, she wondered how she did this to Richard even in crowded places before.

“Is, is this okay?”

“No. You also hand-fed cookies to the emperor. Like this.”

Arsen picked up the cookies Mallan bought and brought them to Lydia’s lips.

“Now, say ah.”

Lydia opened her lips to eat the cookie Arsen offered, worried his arm might feel awkward.

“Don’t stop below.”

Don’t stop below? Lydia, who had unconsciously stopped her foot, moved her leg again.

While trying to eat the cookie Arsen offered again,

“……?”

Her eyes met directly with Mallan who was in a corner of the mansion, supposedly having urgent business.

And simultaneously, the cookie entered her mouth.

She automatically bit down when something entered her mouth, but squish, she felt a texture that definitely couldn’t come from a cookie.

“You shouldn’t bite my finger.”

“Uh, I’m sorry, Sir Arsen.”

Lydia flustered over the teeth marks on his finger.

“Over there, Mallan, Mallan……”

Was he watching us?

When Arsen turned his head, the spot where Mallan had been was empty.

“Mallan was watching us. I’m not lying.”

“I know. I felt eyes from behind since earlier. It was Mallan who gave Kedrick the hint to bring tea when you were here.”

“What? I didn’t even see Sir Kedrick.”

When did he give the hint when we came together from the library?

Lydia blinked in confusion.

“But why did Mallan and Sir Kedrick tell you to bring tea?”

“Because they want us to work out well.”

What? This time she was truly perplexed.

She had no idea Mallan and Kedrick thought that way.

“They must want to help because they think I like you!”

However, it was a good signal. It meant Arsen’s closest confidants, Kedrick and Mallan, had fallen for Lydia and Arsen’s scheme.

It was unexpected that they approved of her as Arsen’s match, but that didn’t matter.

“That’s probably not it.”

Arsen’s muttering was too quiet to reach Lydia across the table.

Mallan and Kedrick were helping Arsen, not Lydia.

With this golden opportunity where Lydia showed interest in Arsen, they feared their socially awkward commander might miss it.

Lydia probably didn’t know.

That from the moment she entered the mansion, Kedrick had circled around her like a hawk hunting prey, telling Arsen the timing to approach her.

The tea time could have been brought to the library, but Mallan deliberately led Lydia to the tea table in the back garden for the atmosphere.

Not knowing Lydia was pretending to be interested in Arsen.

Looking at it this way, they’re both deceived without knowing.

Unable to correct this situation, Arsen thought he should just let it flow naturally while unconsciously fiddling with the finger Lydia had bitten.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt?”

It was done without any intention.

Though a bit perverse, he didn’t want to lose the sensation of where Lydia’s lips had touched.

But Lydia seemed to understand it differently.

“I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You can bite harder.”

Bite harder? Isn’t it wrong to bite someone’s finger?

Whether Lydia wondered or not, Arsen picked up a cookie and held it out to her.

“Bite as much as you want.”

Did Sir Arsen drink something?

Lydia thought Arsen’s attitude was somehow strange today.