At the same time, Duke Debussy was mulling over the contents of the message his only daughter had sent.

‘Is it true that the Emperor has lost his memory?’

For someone who had supposedly lost his memory, he looked far too fine, so he’d been skeptical.

But it seemed his daughter hadn’t been spouting nonsense. Otherwise, there was no way a person could change so drastically in an instant.

The Duke narrowed his eyes and recalled the scene he had just witnessed.

The Emperor had clearly been head over heels for the Empress at first glance.

He had held her hand for quite a while, whatever they were discussing. Then when the Empress left, he even watched her retreating figure until the end.

Regret dripped so obviously from that unnecessarily handsome face that it was glaringly visible even from a distance.

“Good grief. This is absurd. Are they going to play at being lovers or what?”

The Duke clicked his tongue. Fine. Giving him a hundred concessions, the Emperor had no memory, so let’s say that’s why.

“But the Empress didn’t lose her memory too, so why is she going along with it?”

Duke Debussy strained his eyes trying to read the Empress’s lip movements. Unfortunately, he couldn’t tell what she was saying.

Instead, what entered his eyes—Kareina’s reddened cheeks and deeply bowed head—was sufficiently irritating.

That looked exactly like a woman in love acting shy before her lover. Though there was no way the Empress actually loved the Emperor.

“Don’t tell me. Is she trying to seduce him while the Emperor has lost his memory?”

Aha. The Duke clicked his tongue at the audacity. Seen that way, that bewitching behavior made sense. After all, if judged purely by appearance, the Empress was quite pretty.

No. To be objective, she wasn’t just pretty. He knew there had been quite a few nobles drooling over that woman’s fate right after Niyev fell.

Even lower nobles who wouldn’t have dared look at her during her imperial princess days would invariably bring up her pitiful circumstances as drinking snacks once alcohol went down their throats.

Half-serious teasing about taking her as a second wife, or asking if she wouldn’t be grateful to be taken in even as a bedroom slave—such things had been the main repertoire regarding Kareina Adrian back then.

Though after Kareina became Empress and started spitting harsh words at official events, the direction of jokes about her had changed considerably.

“Ha. I thought she was a stiff person who only knew how to charge straight ahead.”

Duke Debussy ground his teeth while watching Kareina’s retreating figure.

“Has she been hiding her tail all this time?”

Judging by the Emperor’s expression, it seemed only a matter of time before the Empress bewitched him.

And if the two really did stick together, Evelyn, who had been a mistress looking only at Raul all this time, would be the only one left with nowhere to go.

His stomach churned thinking of his daughter who still hadn’t escaped her mistress status.

What good did it do to hear people say Evelyn was the real power in the palace, practically the Empress?

In Tirantus, where even the distinction between legal wife and second wife was strict, a mistress was just a mistress. If Evelyn remained a mistress even after bearing a child, that child would be recorded as the Empress’s child.

Moreover, the Emperor seemed intent on genuinely empowering the Empress.

Handing over authority to investigate the carriage accident to the Empress. Everyone knew that Duke Debussy had been in charge of that case until now.

On top of that, the Emperor had even humiliated him in front of everyone. It was only a matter of time before rumors spread that the relationship between the Emperor and his mistress wasn’t what it used to be.

And in fact, the Emperor and Evelyn……

The Duke ground his teeth at the rising fury. Then,

“My lord, will you go see the young lady?”

A clear voice struck the ears of Duke Debussy, whose eyes had been blazing fiercely. The Duke startled back to his senses. Martin, a servant, was looking at him with eyes full of anticipation.

Only then did the Duke realize he was standing in the middle of a palace corridor.

Wondering if other nobles had seen his disturbed expression, the startled Duke quickly composed his face. Martin, who had once served Evelyn and now served the Duke, asked again.

“Lady Evelyn must be waiting eagerly for you as well, my lord.”

“Haha. Would Evelyn do that?”

Laughing weakly, the Duke swallowed a groan inwardly. In fact, he desperately wanted to meet his daughter right away and interrogate her thoroughly about this frustrating situation. Thanks to the palace keeping tight lips, it was nearly impossible to find out about the Emperor’s condition.

He was the most frustrated person.

However, the problem was that Evelyn refused to meet him, her own father. Just a few days ago, he had sent Evelyn a letter saying he would visit her at the palace, but was rejected.

Instead, a rather presumptuous reply came back saying she would handle her own affairs herself.

“Never mind. What good is frequently meeting a daughter who’s entered the palace? Instead, you deliver this item to Evelyn.”

The Duke handed Martin a small package.

“It’s a precious item, so absolutely don’t let anyone catch you.”

At his instruction, Martin’s loyal eyes sparkled as he hid the package deep in his sleeve. Then he disappeared into the depths of the palace with steady steps.

The Duke sighed. He was the type to trust his daughter, but after Evelyn entered the palace, he’d developed a habit of constant suspicion.

Recently, it had been especially bad.

“……Right. That child must have her own thoughts.”

The Duke muttered quietly, then promptly pressed his lips shut.

“Your Majesty. What were you just talking about?”

As soon as they exited the corridor in front of the meeting room, Ginny suddenly asked. Undisguised curiosity sparkled in her smooth brown eyes directed at Kareina.

“You two were holding hands tightly and gazing at each other, and even we who were ten steps away felt so tingly here we thought we’d die holding it in. You must have whispered very sweet words. Right?”

Ginny rolled her hands into circles and thumped her chest while making a fuss.

“That’s an improper question, Ginny. For a mere lady-in-waiting to pry into matters between His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress.”

Maria immediately scolded her. Unlike Ginny, who had lived as a commoner and never learned imperial etiquette, Maria certainly had strict aspects.

However, since she was equally curious, she soon read the room and added,

“Of course they must have exchanged words sweet enough to melt your ears. Don’t you see the gifts arriving at the Empress’s palace every day? The relationship between those two is as hot as Muriel’s sulfur fire.”

Muriel’s sulfur fire? Kareina, recalling what that was, shook her head.

Muriel referred to the giant cauldron in h*ll where Tirantus people who committed evil deeds during their lifetime would fall.

Hellfire. If it looked hot to others’ eyes, and if Raul felt even a little that way too, it was something to be grateful for.

All Kareina had managed to do was say thank you. It was insufficient action if she wanted to do something for Niyev following Puerco’s barbed advice.

Rather, the one who surprised her was Raul. Declaring he would entrust the bombing investigation to her, even exploding in anger at the criticism directed at her during the meeting.

“His Majesty protected me a lot during the meeting. So I just expressed my gratitude.”

“Oh my, well that’s……”

“Though I don’t know if I did it properly.”

It was quite a dry explanation, but to the unmarried ladies-in-waiting, it seemed to sound as romantic as a rescue operation by a knight on a white horse.

Kareina suffered from the untimely gazes of admiration until they arrived at the Empress’s palace.

Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the burdensome stares didn’t last long. The reason was that a figure who appeared before them as soon as they arrived at the Empress’s palace stole their attention.

“It’s been a while, Your Majesty.”

The uninvited guest smiled brightly. Today’s unwelcome visitor was Evelyn Debussy.

Evelyn planted herself in a chair before even being offered a seat.

Kareina let out an empty laugh watching Evelyn shamelessly request tea despite coming without notice.

“Bring herb tea. Warmed.”

In the midst of this, the folds under her round eyes and the curly hair flowing over her rosy cheeks were lovely.

That shamelessness was also possible because she had grown up preciously as a Duke’s treasured daughter. Kareina recalled the content of conversations where her previous ladies-in-waiting had whispered comparisons between her and Evelyn.

They had said Lady Debussy’s disposition was bright and sunny like a butterfly. Meanwhile, Kareina was dark and stifling, so it was natural for His Majesty the Emperor to seek his mistress.

In any case, Evelyn possessed a lovely appearance even to another woman’s eyes. So she must have caught the Emperor’s eye too.

But Kareina quickly shook off the brief thought and opened her mouth.

“It’s almost lunchtime anyway, so why not have a meal instead of tea?”

“Oh my! May I really?”

Kareina nodded and gestured toward the lady-in-waiting who had been about to prepare tea.

Soon meals for two were placed on the long table. Evelyn picked up her fork while spouting meaningless words about how honored she was to be treated to a meal when she’d come without an appointment.

“So. What are you planning to do going forward?”

“About what?”

“About His Majesty the Emperor.”

Kareina, who had been struggling to catch a grape that kept rolling away from her fork, raised her head at Evelyn’s question.

Evelyn was holding a fork and knife in both hands. However, she hadn’t touched her food at all, as her plate before her was clean without a single mark. When their eyes met, Evelyn pressed again as if interrogating.

“Isn’t it uncomfortable suddenly pretending to get along well?”

“Was the reason you came so suddenly…… to worry about me? Worried I might be uncomfortable dealing with a husband without memory?”

Kareina put down her fork and slowly sipped the lukewarm water in her silver cup. Then she gave a hollow answer befitting the rude question.

“It’s natural for an Empress to assist His Majesty the Emperor. You don’t need to worry so kindly.”

However, Evelyn was particularly persistent today.

“Still, until now I’ve been the one serving His Majesty the Emperor. He has particularly difficult aspects to accommodate, so I’m worried Your Majesty the Empress might struggle.”

She lowered her eyebrows and tilted her head while artificially crinkling her eyes.

“If it’s too difficult, please persuade him well and send him to me. I’m used to accommodating his moods. Especially…… in bed.”

Kareina regretted inviting Evelyn to dine. At the statement blatantly reminding her of her relationship with Raul, the lamb she’d just swallowed seemed to stick in her solar plexus.

“Lady Debussy. Since this is a rare occasion, how about focusing on the meal?”

When she didn’t hide her stiff voice, the scarlet eyes rolled dissatisfiedly.

“Still. If it were me, I couldn’t comfortably stay with a husband who even took a mistress.”

Kareina imagined whether Evelyn could have left this room on her own two legs if she and Evelyn had been in a normal Empress-mistress relationship.