“I’m glad you found your place, Etricia.”
I lifted my gaze from my shoes at the sudden remark. The emperor wore an unusually gentle expression.
“Thanks to you, I’ll have at least enough dignity to share a drink when I reunite with Count Buell.”
Though I still worry about my son. He added a bitter smile. The unshakable presence he once had softened slightly as his eyes narrowed.
But I felt a sudden chill. I had experienced something similar before. As my father’s illness worsened, he often spoke weakly in a daze, saying he was worried about leaving me alone.
For a moment, doubt crept in. Could there be something wrong with the emperor’s health?
Even a mere rumor about the emperor’s health could shift the tides of politics. Those with the same ambitions would soon band together. To prevent such a thing, the emperor would surely hide any illness, no matter what.
He smiled at me as I stared at him in silence. The wrinkles around his eyes deepened, as if they held the weight of his emotions.
He looked too healthy for me to suspect anything based on a mere gut feeling.
I glanced at him briefly before forcing a smile.
Like treasures in my memories vanishing one by one, I hated the thought of losing yet another kind adult in my life—just as I had lost my father.
“You must stay healthy until we meet again, Your Majesty.”
Hoping that my uneasy feeling was just a mistake, I ended our meeting in peaceful conversation.
Why is the imperial palace so big? Well, of course, it’s big—it’s the imperial palace.
I fluttered my fan with a coy lift of my eyes.
After my private audience with the emperor, I had been following a knight’s guidance out of the palace. However, the knight suddenly ran off, claiming he urgently needed to use the restroom, leaving me stranded.
I had planned to file my divorce papers and pick up Lilien after her confectionery class, but even after a long wait, the knight had not returned.
Just as I sighed and closed my fan, voices echoed through the open hallway. I glanced around and spotted knights passing by in the distance.
“The knights who returned from the latest subjugation received medals and bonuses.”
“Yeah, I heard. Damn it, if I had known, I would have gone too. Remember how I was sent to those monster-infested areas in allied nations for years?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. That was just low-level monsters. Plus, you only made it back because Duke Mipedian joined the campaign.”
At the mention of Edmund, my ears perked up, and I pressed myself against the corner of the hallway. Their voices became clearer.
“Yeah, I know. Honestly, who would’ve thought they’d survive? Most of the knights who volunteered were low-ranking nobles, commoners struggling with financial hardship, or younger sons who couldn’t inherit a title. They were a ragtag bunch desperate to climb the ranks.”
“Hey, be careful what you say. Even if we’re imperial knights, we still serve under the duke’s command.”
“Tsk, those subjugation unit guys are annoyingly loyal to each other. Remember when the deputy commander of the 3rd Division insulted Tale for being a commoner during training? They nearly beat him to death.”
I recognized the name—Tale. Rail’s twin brother. So he wasn’t just one of Edmund’s subordinates; he had actually fought in the subjugation campaign.
As I pondered, the knights continued their conversation.
“Yeah, I remember. They all jumped in, and it turned into a bloody fight. Ha! Your face swelled up like you got stung by a bee.”
“Damn those subjugation knights! They’re nothing special. The only reason they managed to defeat the monsters in the Zeder Forest was because Lebron was there. Any of us could have done the same with Lebron!”
“Oh, really? You?”
“I told you at the tavern! When I was deployed, I nearly became a living legend!”
“Oh yeah, you were the one clutching Lebron with both hands and praying, right? Everyone was talking about it.”
“You!”
The bickering knights were getting closer.
Monsters, huh? As the only daughter of Count Buell, who owned a Lebron mine, I had always felt that battles were a distant concern. Just imagining those war-torn battlefields sent shivers down my spine.
But thanks to the Imperial Mage Tower’s defenses, the royal family’s tactics, and the church’s support, monster outbreaks had been under control—except for the Zeder Forest massacre caused by a horde of high-level monsters.
Even when the Saintess vanished and battles became harder, the discovery of Lebron had stabilized things.
For most people, including myself, monsters were seen as disasters or natural calamities—something theoretical, never personally experienced.
Of course, I knew the facts. It just all felt distant.
The history of warfare, doctrine, philosophy, humanities, administration, economics, and the empire’s mandatory magic and holy power exams… I had learned all of it through private education, though I had never attended the academy.
But this was my first time hearing about the inner workings of the knights so closely.
“Oh, speaking of which, your fiancée was completely mesmerized by Duke Mipedian at the banquet. You okay with that? Ha, if you break off another engagement, no matchmaker will take you seriously.”
“Shut up! I don’t get it. Sure, he’s talented, but he’s not that handsome!”
What did I just hear?
I had been listening with a proud smile, like a parent hearing their child praised, but my expression twitched.
I narrowed my eyes and glared at the corridor where the knights would soon appear.
If Edmund isn’t handsome, then what does that make the other men in the empire? A fish market?
“Every time women gather, all they talk about is him. I don’t get it. He looks like some spoiled nobleman.”
Spoiled nobleman? That basically meant he was undeniably handsome. Even his fellow knight chuckled.
“But if someone told you that you look like him, you’d be thrilled, wouldn’t you?”
“What? No way! My face is way better!”
“Keep your voice down. Someone might hear—”
At that moment, I gracefully stepped out from behind the corner, half-covering my face with my fan.
The more composed knight immediately noticed my attire, straightened up, and bowed politely, his face tinged with awkwardness.
“My apologies, madam. I hope we didn’t startle you.”
“Not at all. I was the one who suddenly appeared.”
“No, it’s our fault. A delicate lady like yourself must have been alarmed by our chatter.”
His conduct was impeccable. He didn’t introduce himself because there was no need—this was just a brief encounter.
But compared to him…
I turned to the other knight, the one who had been rambling. Our eyes met, and I gave him a sweet smile.
He stared at me, stunned, until his companion nudged his side, making him bow hastily.
“Ah, I—uh—apologize for the noise.”
“It’s fine.”
Because I’m about to make some noise myself.
I fixed my gaze on the knight who had insulted Edmund and said, “Did you know, Sir Knight?”
“Huh? Know what?”
He looked at me, flustered, with a faint hope in his eyes.
I tapped my lips lightly with my fan and smiled.
“Even insects have a head, a thorax, and an abdomen.”
“…What?”
Why is it so hard for some people to understand simple explanations?
“Just because you run doesn’t mean you’re the same.”
A moment later, the knight’s dull eyes sharpened dangerously.
“…What did you just say?”
His voice boiled with rage. He soon muttered that he had never been so insulted, his face turning red and pale as he gritted his teeth.
“Hey, stop it.”
His fellow knight pulled at his wrist with a troubled look, but the fight had already begun.
I looked into the knight’s twisted, vicious face and smiled brightly.
“People might talk behind someone’s back when no one’s around, but it was very careless of you to badmouth Duke Mipedian in such a wide hallway. That goes against knightly honor, so I suggest you restrain yourself from now on. For the sake of your own dignity.”
Click.
I heard the sound of teeth grinding. The knight glared at me, breathing heavily through his nose.
I had sensed it earlier when bonuses were mentioned—he had a strong inferiority complex.
Or maybe he was just plain stupid.
“For a noble lady, you sure act like you know a lot. Chivalry, huh. Women always seem to throw that word around when it suits them. I guess you’re a big supporter of Duke Mipedian too.”
He was trying to provoke me, asking if that’s why I was angry.
I gently lowered my eyes.
“Of course. He’s someone the public calls a hero.”
“Ha. You say such misleading things so casually. I think I should give you some advice.
Careless words can put your husband in a difficult spot, so be careful—understand?”
The knight tilted his chin and twisted his lips.
He looked at me with contempt, speaking in an arrogant tone like he was superior.
I lifted one eyebrow and curled one side of my mouth.
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that. Thank you for your concern.
But I’ll be filing for divorce soon. So once I’m no longer married, it won’t be a problem, right?”
“Divorce? Ha, you’re getting divorced…”
The knight, thinking he had found something to mock, let out a snort and turned his head—
—but then his face froze as if he’d seen a ghost.
He stared at me again, eyes scanning my appearance in detail.
His lips parted slightly.
“No way…”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Scandal, leaving home, announcing a divorce.
On top of that, my mother-in-law’s abuse, Devon’s affairs and tax evasion, and a forged will had turned me into a public symbol of bad luck and pity.
But I was also someone who had close ties with Duke Mipedian’s household and would inherit the Lebron mine and business once the ruling was final.
When Devon became the target of public blame due to his trial, my image had been completely torn apart by those who enjoyed other people’s misfortunes.
To the point that support letters from noble ladies and young women tripled.
