“You’re not as clueless as I thought.”

Sophia didn’t reply. If she really weren’t clueless, she wouldn’t have let herself fall into such a situation.

“It’s not like we used you because we wanted to. No matter how much influence we have as a ducal family, there are things even we can’t avoid. Robert and Isabelle are not a good match. The Empress and the Cressida family don’t want them to marry either.”

“It would be perfect if Frederick married Isabelle, wouldn’t it? Assuming that’s even possible.”

The Duchess smiled as she responded.

“You think we don’t know that? Of course, it’s not easy. But creating distance between Robert and Isabelle is just the first step. What’s scary is the idea of angering the future emperor.”

“So you’re certain Frederick will be the emperor?”

“Of course. Everyone knows that. Just because Robert bears the name of House Uranos doesn’t mean he’ll be emperor. He has no chance. But since the future emperor doesn’t want Wiscombe to be close to Robert, we had no choice.”

“You don’t need to tell me all of this. Just let me know what you want me to do.”

“Very well. The campaign against Robert will begin soon. The first step is the rude behavior he displayed at the debutante. Leaving you behind was incredibly discourteous, wasn’t it? We’ll embellish it with more small incidents, and soon the papers will be full of stories.”

Sophia looked confused.

“Is that really necessary? From what you’ve said, everyone already knows Robert won’t be emperor. Why bother ruining him?”

“That’s the essence of a succession battle. Even the smallest hope or possibility must be snuffed out. As this debutante incident escalates, Robert may come to resent you. So, it’s best you return to Ariel as soon as possible. Forget about what’s happening in the capital—it no longer concerns you. No matter how angry Robert is, he won’t come all the way to Ariel.”

The Duchess handed Sophia a crimson velvet pouch.

“Fifty gold coins. Consider it a contribution to your dowry. It’s a gift from your aunt.”

Sophia stared at the pouch. The velvet shimmered beautifully in the light. She took it in silence. One of her predictions had come true, but she didn’t feel any satisfaction.

The Duchess smiled, clearly pleased by how easily Sophia accepted the money.

“You said you were going to visit the Finega family. It would be best to say your goodbyes today.”

Sophia held onto the pouch tightly, but she didn’t reply. Without waiting for an answer, the Duchess rose gracefully and left the drawing room.

***

When Sophia’s carriage arrived at the Finega estate, Helen rushed out to meet her, opening the carriage door even before it came to a full stop.

“Sophia! Are you okay?”

As Sophia stepped out, she replied, “Of course I am… No, actually, I’m not sure. I have a favor to ask.”

Helen widened her eyes in surprise.

“A favor? For me?”

“Yes. I need you to gather the recent articles and gossip from the magazines and newspapers. And I want to know what your friends are saying, especially about Prince Frederick and Prince Robert.”

Helen hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly.

“Alright, I can do that.”

Sophia, noticing Helen’s hesitation, asked in concern.

“Is there already talk about me?”

“Let’s go inside and talk,” Helen said, gently hugging Sophia as they entered the house. Mrs. Finega deliberately left the two girls alone, sensing they needed privacy.

Just from Mrs. Finega’s expression, Sophia could tell that the articles and rumors were likely much worse than she had anticipated.

Helen led Sophia, not to the drawing room, but to her own bedroom. On the bed, there was a neat row of magazines, suggesting Helen had already gathered every piece of gossip and news she could find.

Handing a magazine to Sophia, Helen said, “Start by reading the parts I marked. Just from the articles, it seems like you should be bedridden, not out and about.”

Sophia opened the magazine Helen had given her. The first thing that caught her eye was the large headline on the folded page:

“The Most Miserable Woman in Uranos!”

The articles were both what Sophia had expected and more than she had imagined.

The content across the magazines and newspapers was all similar. They portrayed Sophia as a woman who had been publicly humiliated by Prince Robert, left in a daze, and had endured the most tragic debutante in history.

There were far more articles than Sophia had expected, and almost all of them exaggerated her suffering as though it had inflicted an irreparable wound that would ruin the rest of her life.

Sophia was lost in thought. She had not anticipated that her sitting down for most of the debutante would become such widespread gossip. Though unintentional, her actions had definitely worsened Prince Robert’s situation.

“What’s with these illustrations?”

There were many drawings of a woman sitting with her face buried in her hands or a figure hidden among a crowd. They had made the event as dramatic and scandalous as possible.

After flipping through a few more magazines, Sophia turned to Helen and asked, “So, enough about my misfortune. What’s the public opinion on Prince Robert?”

Helen frowned. To her, what had happened to Sophia was far more important than any rude prince. But as Sophia pressed her, she relented and explained.

“Prince Robert was never really popular to begin with. It’s not that an unmarried prince can’t have fans, but Prince Frederick was always in a league of his own. He has a huge following.”

With a gesture from Sophia to continue, Helen went on.

“People viewed Robert as a quiet prince at best, but to others, he seemed to lack presence entirely. Now, there are tons of articles criticizing him for ignoring and mistreating a lady of lower rank. Everyone’s badmouthing him. Most of the gossip magazine readers are either commoners or young ladies of lower nobility, so the backlash against Prince Robert is intense.”

Sophia agreed with Helen’s assessment. But she couldn’t help wondering whether this kind of public opinion had any real bearing on the succession.

Helen didn’t forget to mention Frederick and Isabelle as well.

“Didn’t Prince Frederick and Lady Isabelle Wiscombe dance together? People are saying that’s why Prince Robert got angry and abandoned you. It’s a tale of an older brother jealous of his younger brother. It was quite the scene—him leaving his partner in a fit of jealousy. It was too much, really.”

Sophia spoke thoughtfully, “Yes, that’s the angle they’re pushing, isn’t it?”

“Who is?” Helen asked, confused.

“They’re painting a picture of Robert as the unworthy older brother who’s envious and resentful of his more successful sibling, Frederick. If things keep going like this, Robert could really be backed into a corner. He’ll be furious too—having to deal with a broken heart and now slander.”

“But, Sophia, you don’t need to be worrying about him. What he did was unforgivable, prince or not. I’d say even worse things, but he’s royalty, so I’m holding back.”

“I’d like to ignore it too, but since I’m involved, I have to be concerned about the damage this will do to me.”

“Ah! You mean Prince Robert could blame you for all the negative press he’s getting, right? He might even try to retaliate. What should we do? Should we hire mercenaries to protect you?”

Sophia thought that if Prince Robert truly sought revenge against her, Wiscombe and Prince Frederick would certainly celebrate.

‘Surely, Robert isn’t that foolish.’

Calming Helen, who was starting to get worked up, Sophia said, “This is all just speculation for now. Robert might not blame me at all. I was just caught up in this. He’ll be too busy dealing with the loss of Isabelle and the public criticism to direct his anger at me.”

“You’re right. He should blame the Wiscombe family. They’re the ones who used you to break up Robert and Isabelle.”

Though Sophia didn’t completely agree, she could see how one might interpret the situation that way.

‘A tragic love story between Robert and Isabelle. Not a bad idea. It would make for a classic romance novel. Someone could definitely use this.’

But would any magazine or newspaper have a reason to write an article that favored Prince Robert?

‘Tying Robert and Isabelle together wouldn’t hurt Gareth, but why would anyone defend Robert and risk antagonizing the Empress and Prince Frederick? This is just gossip, after all.’

Sophia nodded. Both Gareth and Wiscombe might not be fond of the Cressida family, but they wouldn’t risk stirring up trouble unless they faced real harm.

‘Even the Duchess of Wiscombe hinted at being pressured by the Empress. Gareth’s household probably isn’t much different.’

For hours, Sophia pored over Frederick’s exploits from the scrapbook Helen had compiled. Despite Helen’s efforts to seem indifferent, the collection revealed her as a die-hard fan of Frederick.

The scrapbook also included the names of noblemen close to Frederick, as well as mentions of how much his maternal uncle, Lord Cressida, and his grandfather, Count Cressida, adored him.

Sophia ended up learning more about Prince Frederick from Helen than she had expected, even more than from Mrs. Finega or her husband.

It was well-known that the bond between Frederick and the Cressida family was strong. But as Sophia read through the materials, she noticed something: Robert was completely absent from the narrative.

The Cressidas were clearly on Frederick’s side, and anyone could see that Robert was not part of their bloodline.

The favoritism was proof that Robert wasn’t the Empress’s son. This was why people in the capital believed that, despite being the eldest, Robert could never become the crown prince.

Sophia spent the rest of the day in Helen’s room, reading and discussing the articles with her. Mrs. Finega insisted she stay for dinner, but Sophia declined and returned to the Wiscombe estate.

“I’ll stay a little longer and make the most of it. I’ll have a full dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow.”

She planned to read through all the magazines Helen had given her that night. Even though they were mostly gossip, they still revealed some of the hidden rivalries and scandals among the capital’s nobles.

‘And I’ll make sure to burn through some of those expensive wax candles too.’

Sophia entertained herself with the thought of draining Wiscombe’s wealth, no matter how trivial.

While lost in these musings, the carriage suddenly jolted to a stop with a clatter. Before she could open the window to see what was happening, the door swung open.

***

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