“……Surely Flora wouldn’t swing a sword in front of His Majesty…… It can’t be…… Unless she wants to die, she wouldn’t do that no matter how thoughtless she is…… Yeah, that’s right…… Thinking logically, you’d have to be crazy to swing a sword in that place.”

Not wanting to be implicated for bringing Flora, Heriot tried hard to think positively like that.

But unable to erase the anxiety that kept surging up, he couldn’t control his chattering mouth and muttered again.

“No. What if His Majesty hands her a handkerchief or something……”

At Heriot’s anxious fretting worried about needlessly incurring the Emperor’s wrath, Claude spoke dryly.

“Then go check.”

“……Should I?”

As Heriot quickly stood up, thinking he should at least go peek at the atmosphere, he suddenly looked at the Duke with suspicious eyes. Somehow he seemed uncomfortable.

“Tell me honestly. Your Grace is concerned right now too.”

“Why would I be?”

In fact, Claude had kept his lips firmly sealed except for very brief responses to nobles who occasionally spoke to him.

So thinking that he, too, was burdened with complicated thoughts, Heriot continued speaking.

“The moment Flora puts a sword to the Emperor’s neck, that damage will come straight back to us.”

Is that so.

Though Heriot seemed nervous that Flora might put a sword to the Emperor’s neck, Claude hadn’t even thought about that.

Though he pretended to be casual and relaxed in every way, honestly he too was trying hard to suppress his gradually growing anxious feelings.

As much as he couldn’t smoothly pass over the Emperor’s interest, the moment that sticky gaze had traced over Flora kept coming to mind.

“So you’re not going?”

“Ah, yes. I’ll go quickly.”

Heriot immediately bowed his head and headed to the second floor. Claude watched his subordinate walk away and cleansed his palate with bitter wine.

Though she was a woman he had planned to send whenever the Emperor called, he didn’t need to care more than this. Yet, why did his mood feel so foul that even he found it hard to understand?

Was it because they spent one night together that he couldn’t even remember? Suddenly, Flora’s clear eyes looking at him came to mind.

Just then Heriot pushed through the crowd of people and urgently opened his mouth,

“Your Grace! They’re gone!”

“……Explain so I can understand.”

“The reception room is completely empty. Neither His Majesty nor Flora—no one is there.”

Finally, cracks appeared in Claude’s face that had been leisurely until now.

* * *

Flora quietly opened and closed the door as she came out. Since it was a room in quite a remote part of the building, it took a long time just to find the exit and come outside.

Darkness enveloped the surroundings outside, with only a few dim lights in the distance faintly revealing the path.

She couldn’t tell if the banquet had ended, or where this was.

‘How do I get back from here?’

Flora looked with bewildered eyes at the darkness that had settled before her.

Though the Duke’s mansion was incredibly large, the palace was vast like several decent-sized villages put together, making everywhere look the same.

I can just ask any servants I meet along the way.

Thinking simply like that, Flora slowly strolled through the garden. She had been suffocating in the heavy dress all day, but feeling the breeze made her mood much better.

As she was about to pass a deserted corner, she suddenly sensed a presence from the dark trees. Flora was about to quickly go on alert when she relaxed upon seeing the face revealed in the moonlight.

It was surely the Duke whom she thought had left.

“Did the servant not even tell you the way? This is the path to the palace hunting grounds.”

“I didn’t know. Since I don’t know the way……”

“If you don’t know the way, you should have waited there. What confidence made you walk around when you’re lost?”

He clicked his tongue lowly.

“I think we’ll find the path if we keep going. However……”

Flora looked up at the Duke who emanated a cold aura. His appearance was unexpected yet welcome, as she thought he was either still in the banquet hall or had already left.

Did he come to get me on purpose?

“……Were you waiting for me?”

“I thought you might be poking around here and there by now.”

Ah. He was worried I might cause trouble like before.

Flora lowered her head dejectedly and mumbled.

“I didn’t do anything improper.”

“What did you do inside?”

“Nothing really. We just talked.”

Claude’s eyes narrowed sharply.

A man and woman just having a conversation in a sealed room without even a servant present?

What fool would believe that?

Flora had been gone for two hours, and even accounting for travel time, that was quite long just for a conversation.

Like a male catching a suspicious scent, he asked.

“What did you talk about?”

“That……”

Flora hesitated with a face that seemed unsure if she should tell, not readily offering an answer.

His gaze gradually darkened as he read her repeated attempts to hide something.

“Did the Emperor tell you not to tell me?”

At the sharply pointed question, Flora blinked several times before nodding. He let out an exasperated sigh at the absurd response.

He ran his large hand over his face. Though the answer was unsatisfying, given they were in the palace with many listening ears, he decided to let it go for now.

“Let’s go back.”

Though he had been about to interrogate what conversation they had, the Duke turned his steps toward the opposite direction.

Following after him as he strode away with long steps, Flora asked.

“Where are we going? Back to the banquet hall?”

“Home.”

The curt reply ended there, but to Flora, it was a welcome sound.

As if suddenly coming to her senses, Flora quickly lifted her skirts and hastened her steps. The word ‘home’ brought relief to a corner of her heart.

Soon, a bright clearing appeared in the distance.

Flora looked back. It seemed they had wandered in strange places with the path right in front of them.

“……My lord finds his way well.”

Hearing that, Claude briefly looked speechless.

Flora followed along well, looking around in wonder while marveling at something not particularly impressive. At times like this, she truly seemed like an innocent woman who knew nothing.

“Of course I know the palace layout better than you. I come here almost daily.”

True, since he frequents the palace. Realizing it was a foolish question, Flora’s earlobes flushed slightly.

Just then, something like a sobbing sound came from somewhere. It seemed to be a mix of a thin, high-pitched voice and something like an animal’s breathing.

“There’s some sound coming from over there……”

“Don’t mind it.”

“But still……”

As Flora tried to turn her head toward the sound, a firm hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and turned her around. Her steps changed direction in the confusion.

“It’s the sound of couples from the banquet getting intimate.”

Flora’s eyes widened as she belatedly understood the meaning of ‘getting intimate.’ But Claude moved on indifferently as if he heard nothing, and Flora also followed with her lips tightly sealed.

Looking at the Duke’s imposing back, Flora glanced down at her hand in his grip. Her hand looked very small enclosed in his. As she had felt while dancing, his hand was very warm.

Why was my lord there?

For a chance encounter, the place where she met the Duke was quite secluded. However, that thought was soon erased, buried under his occasional habit of smoking cigars.

Before long, they completely emerged from the dark rear garden. The brightly lit clearing was a waiting area with carriages lined up in a row.

Heriot, who had been standing in front of a familiar carriage, brightened upon seeing them but then turned his eyes to Flora.

“Where on earth did you go? Do you know how much trouble we had looking for you?”

Flora blinked at Heriot’s immediate angry outburst. She silently glanced up at the Duke.

Wasn’t it a chance encounter?

But he simply approached the carriage with no expression.

“Your Grace, where did you find her?”

“She found her way back just fine.”

“What? But you went all the way to the Emperor’s palace—”

“We’re leaving.”

Claude cut off his adjutant’s next words and entered the carriage. After seeing Heriot mount his horse with a puzzled look, Flora also climbed into the carriage.

Someone was watching the departing group from a distance.

“What are you looking at, Sir Rickizen?”

The delegation leaving the banquet hall asked Rickizen who had suddenly stopped. Then they understood as they turned toward where his gaze lingered.

“Ah, Duke Heinst. The woman beside the Duke…… is she his lover?”

“Huh…… Even a man said to have no blood or tears wouldn’t tell his lover about what he’s done.”

The delegates clicked their tongues, recalling how he had lost a significant portion of his forces in the South.