Rockfort merely nodded at Rils’s words.

He too was among those left behind, so there was no need or reason to say more.

“Now only one disposition remains.”

Rils calmly gazed at Rockfort. True to his nature of always revealing his true feelings through his face and actions, it was obvious he had something to say.

“You mean…… the lady.”

“Yes.”

Rils answered without hesitation to Rockfort’s question.

He was referring to Louisa, the only person from House Belest who was still confined without having received any disposition.

“Looking at your face, it seems you already have something to say to me.”

“I’m honored, but…… that is correct.”

Rils’s expression was unusually resolute. He must have certainly made a firm decision within.

Louisa’s disposition was a problem with many considerations from various angles. But it seemed that everyone, from Elia whom Rockfort prioritized most, to Rils standing before him now, harbored the same intention.

“Although she acted on instigation…… Lady Louisa confessed all the truth from the beginning and begged forgiveness from Her Majesty the Empress.”

Afterward, the person who interrogated Louisa was Rils himself.

It was a natural progression, considering Rils’s nature, that he felt deep pain beneath Louisa’s calm and detached attitude, and secretly sympathized with her situation.

“Also, if there had been no variables in the plan…… that day, Lady Louisa would have shown loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress, and stood as a faithful witness in the holy trial.”

Rils was openly defending Louisa, but Rockfort didn’t find that fact particularly unpleasant.

It was all information he had already heard from Elia.

“The empress said the same.”

A faint color appeared on Rils’s face.

It was thanks to his time by Rockfort’s side, observing how much the empress’s opinions were respected.

“However, it remains difficult to determine her disposition. With House Belest exterminated, even her immediate status is unclear.”

That wasn’t the only problem.

It was also ambiguous whether Louisa, raised as a tool of the empress dowager, should be punished, or whether her courage in confessing the truth and attempting to escape her fate should be rewarded.

“It’s also difficult to measure her merits and sins.”

At Rockfort’s indifferent tone, Rils hesitated briefly before opening his lips.

“Then, how would you measure my merits?”

“……Suddenly?”

Rils nodded his head stubbornly.

“I know well that I am Your Majesty’s subject and younger cousin, so naturally I must devote lifelong loyalty. However, if we must count merits…… how would you measure mine?”

Looking at Rils’s purple-tinged eyes that resembled his own, Rockfort roughly understood the entire situation.

Despite his large, burly physique, he had a warmer and kinder heart than most people, and something more important than freedom had emerged for him.

Like a true cousin, Rils’s expression now resembled Rockfort’s when someone as important as ruling this empire had appeared in his life.

“You say loyalty is natural, yet you seek merit?”

Rils hesitated with a confused expression, as if this was an unexpected response. His appearance was exactly the same as when he was young, which made Rockfort let out a small chuckle.

“I know your merits. That you shared all the burdens I should have carried, that you silently handled matters that were difficult for me to address personally.”

True to his straightforward nature, Rils’s expression immediately brightened.

“What do you wish from me?”

Since Rils’s intentions were completely transparent, Rockfort asked directly.

“I want to…… give my merits to Lady Louisa.”

Though he had always known Rils was unusual since childhood, his words constantly surprised Rockfort. When Rockfort’s expression wrinkled involuntarily, Rils glanced around cautiously and looked at Rockfort like a dejected puppy.

“Stop! How many times must I tell you not to look at me that way?”

“When did I ever……”

“Anyone watching would think I’m the most wicked person in the world.”

Rockfort grimaced and waved his hand, but Rils paid no attention and abruptly stepped two paces closer.

“I warn you, if you make contact with me, I’ll banish you immediately, merits or not.”

“……Yes.”

Seeing him stop in his tracks, one couldn’t deny that he was truly a loyal grand duke and cousin.

Besides, Rockfort had already decided to treat Louisa leniently according to Elia’s wishes, so there would be no problem in handing her over to this suitable person who had just appeared.

“Finish what you were saying.”

“Give my merits to Lady Louisa. And…… free her from the name Belest.”

Rockfort silently looked at Rils.

“I must soon return to the Grand Duchy of Amid. On that journey…… I want to take Lady Louisa with me.”

“What do you intend to do with her?”

“As I am also a sovereign, I will give the lady an appropriate status and position so she can live a peaceful life.”

Indeed, there was no place for Louisa to live in this empire.

If she kept the Belest name, she would be a criminal’s daughter, and if she abandoned it, she would be nothing more than a commoner orphan without any support.

“I guarantee in my name that Lady Louisa will never again be involved in any incident.”

Rils firmly drove in the nail.

“Do you understand how weighty those words are?”

Louisa was a woman raised as a tool of the empress dowager and House Belest.

Since one can know ten fathoms of water but not one fathom of a person’s mind, it was possible she merely wanted to betray the empress dowager, and a burning ambition like Cassandra’s might exist beneath that elegant face.

“Yes, I understand.”

Hah…… Rockfort exhaled a long breath.

“By Your Majesty’s order, I interrogated Lady Louisa several times. And…… I trust my judgment regarding her.”

Having come this far, the illness was severe enough that his stubbornness couldn’t be broken.

“To my eyes, Lady Louisa appeared as nothing but one of the victims of this entire incident.”

Rils was a man with a much warmer and kinder heart than ordinary people, but he could not be called foolish, either as a sovereign or as a person.

Rather, while the texture of his character differed from Rockfort’s, his ability and insight were similar.

“Do you pity that lady?”

“Yes.”

Rils’s honest answer as always pleased Rockfort.

“But it’s not just sympathy. I highly respect her courage, will, and calm, deep heart.”

Without further questioning, Rils willingly revealed his inner thoughts.

“……So after all this lengthy explanation, you’re saying the new status and position you’ll give her is Grand Duchess of Amid?”

Instantly, Rils’s face turned bright red.

“What? Grand Duchess…… what? No, I never said……”

Seeing him frantically grabbing at random words, it was clear that even Louisa, the object of his burning heart, was still unaware of this matter.

“Well…… there’s nothing impossible about it, but that might just be my own thought, and also, I……”

Rockfort raised his hand, leaving Rils deeply immersed in his own imagination.

“Enough!”

There was no need to listen further.

With Rils’s heart so firm, who could stop him, and there was no particular reason to do so.

“I have decided.”

At Rockfort’s resolute words, Rils’s eyes grew round.

“I sentence Louisa Belest to death.”

“Your Majesty……!”

“However, I permit the Grand Duke of Amid to take one nameless lady from the empress’s quarters.”

Rils’s large eyes blinked.

He seemed busy interpreting in his mind what Rockfort’s mischievous permission meant.

And a little later, having realized Rockfort’s generous disposition, Rils rushed toward Rockfort with the brightest smile in the world and his bear-like physique, embracing him so tightly it felt like his body would burst, and lifting him into the air.

“Your Majesty! I love……”

Thud, the astonished Rockfort punched Rils in the solar plexus and knocked him down, which should be considered self-defense.

* * *

At dinner, Elia lovingly watched Kaya handling her utensils quite properly.

Kaya, who once seemed impossible to raise because she was so scattered and uncontrollable, was brightening day by day and adapting to life in this imperial palace.

“Kaya has really grown a lot. Do children normally grow so quickly……”

At Elia’s affectionate words, Leticia couldn’t hide her pleased smile. Despite the great misfortune in the mother and daughter’s past, they had now found happiness and stability.

“Children seem to grow differently every day. Even as her mother, I’m surprised daily.”

Munching away, cutting her steak and eating it neatly, Kaya had now even learned the level of etiquette that one shouldn’t speak with food in one’s mouth.

Considering their first meeting when she stole Elia’s omelet and hid under the table, it was truly an unbelievable change and something to be grateful for.

“Hannah, Kaya likes it, so bring more steak.”

“Yes. Today’s food is especially delicious, so I’ll bring more for Her Majesty the Empress and the princess as well.”

At Hannah’s respectful words, Leticia shook her head and picked up her water glass.

“I’m already full, so serve more to Her Majesty the Empress and Kaya.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The food in the empress’s quarters was prepared with great care for Elia, who had recently lost some weight, and Kaya, who was growing rapidly.

Leticia made a curious expression as she alternately watched Kaya, with her small cheeks full of veal steak, and Elia, who put pieces of meat into her mouth with elegant and quick hand movements.

“Should I serve dessert to Your Highness first? The citrus sherbet that Her Majesty the Empress praised yesterday is excellent.”

Hannah also looked at Leticia with a curious smile.

As if giving some sort of hint.

“Yes. Come to think of it, I really loved citrus when I was pregnant with Kaya. Looking back, I ate it without ever getting tired of it.”

Hesitantly, Elia’s fork paused for a moment, which Leticia’s sharp eyes couldn’t miss.

“I…… I……”

Elia hurriedly swallowed her food and wiped her lips with a napkin, unusually trailing off.

“Your Majesty.”

Leticia rose elegantly from her seat and bowed deeply toward Elia.

“Princess! When you suddenly do this……”

“Congratulations.”

Before Elia could stand up, Leticia approached first and warmly embraced her shoulders.

At this, Elia’s cheeks turned indescribably red.

“It’s still…… early, so I couldn’t say anything.”

“Am I then the first person to hear this joyful news?”

Elia smiled and shook her head. She smiled faintly and shyly opened her mouth.