Who is it?
It felt like something very clear yet difficult to grasp. Lilian, who had been listening quietly until this time, picked up her medicinal pipe. It was a habit when she was lost in thought.
The smell of burning wet firewood spread with the smoke.
“Perhaps…”
Lily’s eyes twinkled sharply into the air above her.
Damian, Matteo, and Ivan waited for Lily’s next words.
But Lilian seemed reluctant to say her guess. Damian felt an indescribably itchy feeling at the slightly frowning expression on her face, but he held it in for now.
“Your Highness?”
When Ivan looked at her and urged, she spoke with difficulty, with a reluctant expression uncharacteristic of Lily.
“This is simply how I feel, but…I’m not sure if it’s Madam Rachel.”
“…pardon?”
It was such a huge statement that he couldn’t understand it right away.
‘So what Her Highness is saying….’
That Madam Rachel gave Duke Ghibelli false information?
Even though the one who said that was Lilian, Matteo and Ivan were bewildered. It was such an absurd speculation that they should be.
Who was Rachel? She’s the number one contributor under Claude.
Appearing by Claude’s side right after the late Emperor Idoel’s death, she made the greatest contribution to transforming Claude from a potential emperor to an emperor.
“Your Highness, I apologize for saying this, but that can’t be the case. Well, if it was the information Madam Rachel gave, Duke Ghibelli would have trusted it unconditionally, but it’s a little too much to doubt her…”
“You’re right. Madam Rachel won’t do that. No, she can’t.”
Lily knew why.
“Because the moment Emperor Claude falls, Madam Rachel loses her way to live.”
“That’s correct.”
Everyone else, even Claude himself, had at least one way to survive his downfall. But not Rachel.
Rachel, as a pawn, has dipped her hand in all sorts of dirty work. In addition, as Claude’s advisor and mistress, she had been hit with the arrows of public opinion. Thanks to this, even five year old beggars on the street who didn’t know anything, cursed at the Emperor’s mistress.
It was no exaggeration to say that there’s no way Rachel, the enemy of all, could survive. If Claude lost the political battle, he would give the advisor, whom everyone hates, to the people as prey for resentment and find a way to survive.
“I’m sorry, but, Your Highness, that woman is someone who thoroughly calculates even luxury and pleasure. Not only could she not do that, but she couldn’t make that mistake.”
Ivan was furious, but had already admitted long ago that Rachel far surpassed him as a secretary.
Lily also agreed, but couldn’t erase her confused expression.
At that time, Damian, who had been silent the whole time, opened his mouth.
“Is there any reason you think so?”
“It’s not a valid reason like Sir Ivan’s, but…”
“If it’s what you think, it’s worth listening to.”
It was Damian who’s literally crazy for Lily, but this wasn’t just because of sheer love.
Lilian was both someone he loved and a trusted partner.
Damian decided that it’s worth listening to Lilian as a Grand Duke for the first time in a while.
Encouraged by Damian’s trust, Lilian managed to speak out.
“It’s said that Madam Rachel is such a vicious and thorough woman, but in fact, I have never suffered as much as I was prepared for when I came to the capital.”
“…”
“To be honest, I sometimes forget about her. It’s not just that I haven’t been hit, but I’ve never felt her presence.”
“But the assassins came for Her Majesty…”
“If she really wanted to kill me, is that really her best? Having an assassin infiltrate the house where the Imperial Army’s Marshal lives?”
There’s still a lot of uncertainty about that assassination attempt.
In Lilian’s opinion, both then and this time seemed to have been done by the same person for the same purpose.
“It might be a leap to think that that person might be Madam Rachel…”
“But the very fact that you brought it up means that Aunt leans quite a bit in that direction.”
“Madam Rachel, whom I met, fell far short of that notoriety. I can’t compare her with the Madam Rachel from before.”
“That…”
Ivan hesitated but thought that Lilian was right.
Since the beginning of this conversation, Madam Rachel has certainly been negligent. At most, she tried to attach Ethan Schmidt to Lily, and even provoked Marianne.
If Madam Rachel not working was the cause of Claude behaving surprisingly stupidly at unexpected times lately…it made amazing sense.
Damian groaned.
“At least it seems true that she’s neglecting her work. So, what will that woman gain by acting against my brother?”
“That…I don’t know either.”
After a moment of silence, Ivan shook his head and changed the subject.
“There are too few clues right now to draw conclusions. First of all, we will try to gather information on this matter first.”
“Sir Ivan is right.”
Lily also agreed. Matteo was deep in thought before opening his mouth.
“But at least it’s true that Madam Rachel has been negligent. I think there might be something we can do in the meantime.”
***
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Claude wasn’t greatly angered by Duke Ghibelli’s arbitrariness.
He simply summoned Duke Ghibelli with a careless attitude and made a formal reprimand.
“I thought His Majesty would be very angry.”
The Emperor’s attendants were even whispering.
“Isn’t this person different?”
Among them, a veteran clicked his tongue and explained.
“At that time, Viscount Modsul lost two assassins who were the property of His Majesty the Emperor. However, His Majesty didn’t lose anything in this case.”
“Aha.”
As he said, Claude didn’t lose anything in this case.
Protecting the Duke of Ghibelli from allegations was an easy task for the Emperor. Rather, the Emperor was enjoying the sense of superiority that comes from ignoring the request of the Crown Prince faction aristocrats urging a strict investigation.
Duke Ghibelli’s unrepentant excessive loyalty to solidify his position under him also amused him.
“And the biggest cause of all. It seems that His Majesty has been in a good mood lately.”
Just then, someone approached the attendants who were chatting with low voices.
The palace attendants hurriedly stopped talking.
“A, Ahem. We greet Countess Seomina.”
It was Countess Seomina, the head lady-in-waiting of the Empress’ palace.
“What are you doing here?”
When Countess Seomina glanced at her, the maid standing behind delivered a small box to the attendants.
“This is a gift from Her Majesty. A while ago, she heard that His Majesty’s handkerchief was very worn out and was bothering him.”
“Your Majesty the Empress has put her heart into it. Even His Majesty will be very pleased.”
“And the Empress asked if His Majesty could have dinner together at the Empress’ palace tonight.”
“Oh dear, is that so? His Majesty must have been waiting for you.”
The other attendants exchanged glances behind the veteran attendant who accepted it with admiration.
Recently, the relationship between the emperor and the empress has noticeably improved. Thanks to this, even the Emperor, who had never had a comfortable day after the Reconciliation, became very generous.
“His Majesty is seeing Madam Rachel. I thought she was in favor.”
“Ah, that’s not it. Why did His Majesty become the Emperor in the first place? Even Madam Rachel resembles Her Majesty…”
“Stop!”
Once on the current, it took an instant for the conversation to flow to the line it shouldn’t cross.
“Listen, you talk too much! Everyone is talking lightly. You haven’t forgotten that you’ll become a source of shame for your family, right?”
The veteran attendant sternly looked at the attendants who hurriedly lowered their heads.
But he had no intention of spending a long time scolding these frivolous bastards.
‘I have to deliver Her Majesty’s message to His Majesty immediately!’
Recently, a trend has spread among the attendants of the imperial palace.
As Madam Rachel began to struggle with the Emperor’s wrath, the attendants put off delivering the bad news. When they became a messenger, they reduced and concealed the facts as much as possible.
On the other hand, to deliver the good news, they competed.
‘If you only deliver good news like this, beating the current Chief Chamberlain is not just a dream.’
The attendant’s thoughts of running away in one month were far from loyalty.
***
Of course, Claude didn’t neglect everything in the honeymoon that came back.
It was embarrassing, but the electors was a card that he couldn’t throw away yet. Claude asked for a trick to calm the hearts of the electors, who were shaken by the Crown Prince faction, and Rachel replied as follows.
“It would be good to remind them of what only Your Majesty can give.”
It was a reminder of what a great honor it was to be the host of the meeting of the electors.
Rachel’s words sounded like very good advice for Claude, who grew up under an emperor who constantly tested and compared the abilities of his sons.
Claude sent each precious treasure to the three electors, along with a letter in his own handwriting, saying, ‘I want to give you a congratulatory gift.’
Each of the three electors thanked the emperor, and Claude quickly concluded that he seized the electors again with that.
And the next day, an invitation to a dinner party was sent in Lily’s name to the six electors. At the end of the invitation, Lilian intentionally left the signature as ‘Madam of Hemenlinna’.
In doing so, the form of having a simple dinner meeting was established by the wife of an elector inviting the other electors.
Surprisingly, it was Matteo who planned this meeting.
“You’re acting aggressively, unlike before.”
“It’s about time for that.”
Leaning by the window of Matteo’s study, Damian looked at his nephew, who was checking the correspondence from the electors, without hiding it.
It came to his eyes that the child who looked like Idoel was showing an attitude that Idoel would never take.
If Ivan had been here, he would have said that the nurturing environment during adolescence was important, and that it’s Damian’s fault that he trampled on the barely sprouted sprouts even though he couldn’t grow them well…
If the Great Feudal Lord of Hemenlinna, his maternal grandfather, had been alive in this place, he would have clicked his tongue, saying that he was a mutant from the time he was born.
Come to think of it, Damian’s maternal grandfather was the only one who talked about Rupenwein’s bloodline like that.
They weren’t particularly close, but hearing those rants made him feel refreshed.
“…why are you looking at me like that?”
The boy grumbled, unable to bear the silent gaze. Damian responded with a careless tone.
“What kind of Emperor do you want to be?”
“Why are you asking that?”
On the face of the nephew who asked, ‘What did this person eat wrong?’ was written in big letters.
“Can’t I just be curious?”
“Come again?”
Matteo was sarcastic, but Damian, the impudent man, wouldn’t budge.
Eventually, the less brazen Matteo sighed and gave Damian the answer he wanted.
“No matter what, it won’t be as lenient as His late Majesty the Emperor.”
Damian’s eyes widened slightly, then a small smile slowly spread.
He tried to be detached but the boy was furious.
“Does it look funny to you?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Damian shook his head.
“Just…seeing how you reply, I think you’ll last longer than older brother.”
And with that, he’ll remain a son who doesn’t resemble Idoel until the end.
He thought that even the dead would want that. Damian nodded his head.
“It’s not bad. Do your best.”
“Pardon…?”
It was probably the first encouragement Damian gave to Matteo, but…
Matteo’s expression didn’t look like someone who had been encouraged. Rather, he thought this.
‘Did he finally go crazy…?’
Regarding his nephew’s absurd thoughts, it wasn’t Damian’s business.
Support from childhood.
Damian, who unilaterally brushed off the remaining sediment from the sluggish relationship, just left the place refreshed.
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