The emperor arrived to find Ariadne and Lorelei still locked in their heated exchange, which resembled a childish tantrum more than a proper argument.

Not even in his wildest dreams had the emperor imagined that his chosen successor would behave so ignorantly and vulgarly in public.

Lorelei had never shown anything like this in his presence before.

He had entered quietly, drawn by the unusually large crowd gathered outside the wedding hall. But he had not expected to walk into a spectacle of this magnitude.

At first, he remained silent.

Fortunately, the Duke and Duchess of Ambrose, the Young Lord of Derayan, and his second daughter’s husband all sensed his intentions and made no move to interfere.

Because of that, he heard every word: Lorelei’s outrageous accusations, her shameless defiance, and her complete lack of restraint.

How dare she!

How dare she act as though the throne had belonged to her all along and all power were hers to command?

He had not even formally appointed her as crown princess, yet she was already acting as if she owned the entire empire.

The emperor suddenly found himself questioning whether entrusting his beloved wife and son to someone like Lorelei had been the right decision.

He had heard that the boy favored his younger sister far more than his eldest daughter.

As he watched his second daughter calmly observing her surroundings, he recalled their conversation from the night before.

“Your Majesty. Please reconsider making Lorelei the next emperor.”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

His daughter had come to see him late the previous night.

Perhaps feeling emotional about the approaching wedding, she had brought a bottle of wine and asked him lots of questions about her late mother.

Then she changed the subject to Lorelei. She told him that Lorelei had already lost the trust of most people in the palace because she constantly threatened and intimidated others, using her status as a weapon to get her own way.

She said that, when things didn’t go her way, Lorelei would throw objects and hit people without hesitation.

“Your Majesty, Lorelei is not fit to be emperor. If she ascends the throne, the smallest slight from the Empress or the prince will make her cast them aside instantly.”

His daughter had told him that Lorelei had planned to ruin her wedding, and that he should see for himself what happened the following day.

If Lorelei intended to ruin the wedding, he would ruin her life in return.

At the time, he dismissed this, assuming that Lorelei was simply upset that her younger sister was getting married first. But now, having witnessed everything with his own eyes, he realized that it went far beyond mere jealousy.

She had belittled the throne, raised her hand against those she should have respected, and displayed none of the dignity or composure that an emperor must possess.

The emperor felt a deep, heavy disappointment.

To make matters worse, he had not known that she coveted Duke Ambrose as well, the husband of Peyton’s beloved daughter and one of his most loyal allies.

Desiring a married man… Desiring that man of all people?

He realized that this could easily spiral into a political catastrophe.

This was why Sylvia had approached him with such seriousness.

She was willing to sacrifice her once-in-a-lifetime wedding day to ensure that Lorelei would never become crown princess.

At last, the emperor understood.

He had known far too little about Lorelei. At the same time, the emperor realized how little attention he had paid to Sylvia.

He felt the weight of his failures as both emperor and father. On top of that, he felt a rising fury towards his eldest daughter, who had humiliated him in front of so many nobles.

Pale with shock, the emperor looked at Lorelei and spoke in a heavy voice.

“I have not yet granted you the title of crown princess, Lorelei.”

“Your Majesty!”

Lorelei screamed, her voice rising to a near-shrill pitch.

Although she had not yet been formally named crown princess, she already behaved as though the title were hers by right.

She stood before him now in the same bridesmaid dress Sylvia had once proudly shown them, but it was buried beneath an obscene amount of jewels.

If this was how she acted now, how much worse would her excesses become if she ever gained real power?

In that moment, all his hopes and expectations for his eldest daughter seemed to crumble.

“Do you understand what you’ve done? How could you try to ruin your sister’s one precious day?”

“She started it! Sylvia ruined me! Why didn’t you marry me to Duke Ambrose?!”

“Lorelei!”

It was hopeless.

Even in this situation, Lorelei cared only about what she wanted.

The emperor realized he had to put an end to this disgrace at once.

“Guards! Detain the First Princess in her chambers at once!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty! Father! What did I do wrong?! Detain me?! For what?!”

Even as the palace knights hurried towards her, Lorelei insisted that she had done nothing wrong. Her shrill voice echoed through the corridor as she screamed about what her father had or hadn’t done for her.

The humiliation was unbearable.

Lorelei had always been ambitious, sometimes excessively so, but she had always tried to fulfil her duties.

Ambition and the desire to better oneself are qualities that an emperor should possess, and he had sometimes viewed these traits as her strengths.

Compared to Sylvia, who seldom left the palace, Lorelei’s strong reputation in society seemed like a valuable advantage.

That was why he had trusted her. He had never imagined that things could go so catastrophically wrong. He wanted nothing more than to shrink away in shame, but he was the emperor.

He could not.

His fists trembled as he forced himself to turn towards the Marquis of Peyton, who had quietly stepped closer.

When he finally spoke, it was with profound remorse.

“I am sorry for how this turned out, Marquis.”

“…It is nothing, Your Majesty.”

“Today was your son’s special day. My failure in raising my child ruined it. I am sorry.”

“Please do not say such things, Your Majesty.”

“I doubt the ceremony can continue as it is. If you are willing, I can choose another date and inform you.”

“I believe that is something Your Highness should ask the princess and my son rather than me…”

At the marquis’s words, he glanced sideways. Sylvia was now standing beside the duke and duchess.

The emperor sighed softly and approached his younger daughter.

“I am sorry, Sylvia. If you wish, we can hold the ceremony on another day.”

“I’m fine, Your Majesty. Thank you for listening to me.”

He had always thought his younger daughter quiet and reserved, but she was far more thoughtful and insightful than he had realized.

She was even trying to make things easier for him.

This filled him with both guilt and gratitude.

The emperor gently patted Sylvia on the shoulder, turned, and left the hall. There were plenty of matters he needed to address, and even more he needed to reflect upon.

He moved swiftly down the corridor, ordering the gathered nobles to be silent.

Many had attended the ceremony, but far more had not.

With foreign envoys present for the wedding, he still needed to rearrange their schedules, and he had to act quickly.

As he strode through the hallway, he organized the tasks ahead in his mind.

He could not suppress his sigh over the consequences of his own foolishness.

***

“Are you all right, Your Highness?”

Once the emperor had left, Ariadne turned to Sylvia. Although Sylvia had been prepared to sacrifice her own wedding to expose the truth, the ceremony would still have to be postponed.

Having heard the torrent of insults Lorelei had screamed, even Ariadne felt the urge to scrub her ears clean.

If Ariadne had found it unbearable, how much worse must Sylvia, the direct target, have found it?

Ariadne looked at Sylvia, clearly worried, but to her surprise, Sylvia offered a small, relieved smile.

“I’m fine. It’s not like the ceremony was completely ruined. It’s just delayed.”

“But still…”

“It’s fine. It’s not being canceled, so there’s nothing to worry about. We’ll hold it properly next time.”

Standing behind her, Heidel wrapped an arm around her shoulders and added: That was why Sylvia had asked the stylists to tone down her makeup and hair, anticipating something like this.

“I even wore my backup dress today, just in case. The real one is still at the boutique.”

“Ah… now that you mention it…”

Looking closely, Ariadne realized the dress Sylvia wore wasn’t the wedding gown she had seen before.
So Sylvia truly had prepared for a moment like this.

Ariadne let out a small, disbelieving laugh.

“You’re incredible, Your Highness.”

“Incredible? Hardly. I’m just glad we were able to reveal the truth.”

Sylvia returned the smile with playful mischief. Then she shifted her gaze toward the clusters of nobles gathered throughout the hall.

“More importantly, when else would we have gathered this many nobles in one place? Telling a handful of people wouldn’t have spread the truth at all.”

Following Sylvia’s gaze, Ariadne saw groups of nobles scattered everywhere. Most of those who lived in the capital appeared to be present — far more than she had expected.

Realizing that all those people had been watching them, Ariadne felt her face heat up instantly. She quickly turned her head the other way, trying to hide the bright flush rising in her cheeks.

“Oh, and thank you for today, Duchess. You were amazing.”

“M-me? What did I do…”

She had spoken boldly because anger had driven her, but now that she reviewed her own words, embarrassment crashed over her in full force.

‘Who am I to shout like that at a princess?’

Well, Lorelei was in the wrong. But still, in front of so many people… Ariadne’s face burned even hotter. She covered her cheeks with both hands and lowered her head, wishing she could disappear into a hole in the floor. Beside her, Sylvia let out a small laugh, which Ariadne pretended not to notice.

“Well then, since the ceremony’s been postponed, why don’t we all take a break? We’ve been running nonstop until today.”

The five of them — Sylvia included, who had been busier than anyone else over the past few weeks — looked around at one another.

Everyone showed some degree of exhaustion.

Jade, who had been darting between boutiques and noblewomen to spread rumors, let his shoulders drop as he nodded.

“Thank you for saying it first. I’ve been wondering when I’d finally get a chance to rest.”

“You worked hard, Lord Derayan.”

“Please, think nothing of it. Then, I’ll take my leave.”

See you at the real wedding!

After saying this, Jade departed, accompanied by a small group of noblewomen.

His walk home did not look like it would be peaceful.

Watching him go, Sylvia turned to the others and smiled.

“All right, let’s all head out.”