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nAstelle was left alone with Kaizen.

n‘What do you want to talk about?’

nHer relationship with Kaizen did not improve even after the marriage.

n‘On the contrary, I think it was more comfortable when we traveled back then.’

nAt least they had a casual conversation at that time.

nAfter their marriage, the two became more distant.

nKaizen just looked at Astelle without saying a word.

nHe looked a little sad.

n‘What’s wrong with you?’

nKaizen slowly approached Astelle.

nDeep anger fluttered in his dark red eyes.

nAstelle realized later.

nKaizen wasn’t sad, but he was furious.

n“Until when do I have to be the last to know?”

n“Your Majesty, I–”

n“Since when did you know about the secret letter?”

nKaizen cut off Astelle’s words coldly.

nAstelle looked at him calmly and confessed, “Lady Florin came to me and threatened me with the secret letter.”

nFrom Florin who brought the secret letter, to the conversation with her father, Astelle told him everything from the start.

n“……why are you only telling me now?”

n“I thought Your Majesty already knew of my father’s plans.”

nAstelle thought Kaizen already knew all the plans her father, the Duke of Reston, had come up with.

nThat was why he postponed the tour.

nBut there was an assassination attempt in the middle.

nIf she were Kaizen, she would have fully realized that she had been tricked.

nHis voice trembling with anger was heard.

n“You know everything so well, so you must also know why I didn’t fully expose the duke’s sins.”

nKaizen gritted his teeth and looked at Astelle.

nI think it was because there was no evidence.

nI wanted to say that, but,

nI know it wasn’t just because of that.

n“I know.”

n“Why?”

n“……it must be because of Theor.”

nShortly after he returned to the capital, he must have tried to uncover the real culprit of the assassination.

nBut around that time, Theor incident happened1.

n1 it was when Theor drank Lintail fruit juice.

nKaizen seemed to have covered up the assassination case because of Theor.

nBecause Astelle’s father, the Duke of Reston, was Theor’s maternal grandfather.

nIf the details of the assassination attempt were uncovered, Theor and Astelle would be in trouble.

nAstelle guessed so.

n“Even though you know that……!”

nKaizen managed to hold back his anger.

n“Your Majesty.”

nAstelle glanced back at the tightly closed door.

nThis is the emperor’s palace. There are ministers, maids, and guard knights outside the door.

nIn a place like this, the emperor and empress could not argue while raising their voices. Astelle quickly bowed her head.

nShe said, “Your Majesty must be busy with government affairs, so I will return to the empress’ palace. See you in the evening……”

nIf you want to fight, let’s do it in the empress’ palace this evening. That was what Astelle meant.

nBut Kaizen had no intention of putting up with it even for an hour.

nAstelle turned around and was about to go outside, but Kaizen came closer and grabbed her wrist.

n“If we are in a contractual relationship, shouldn’t we keep trust in each other? If something like this happens, you have to tell me first.”

n“I told you last time, I can’t tell you until I have solid evidence.”

nI didn’t know if the secret letter was actually in Florin’s hands or where it was hidden, so I couldn’t tell Kaizen.

nAstelle slowly pulled her wrist caught by Kaizen. He looked at her with disappointed eyes and smiled bitterly.

n“So did you call your father to discuss it? Did you do it because you thought your father would believe you even without evidence?”

n“I was just trying to ask the person involved.”

nIt was a secret letter written by my father, so naturally, I had no choice but to call my father and ask him.

nAstelle didn’t understand why she was having this pointless conversation with Kaizen.

nWas this something worth arguing about while shouting in the imperial palace?

nAt Astelle’s calm attitude, Kaizen looked at her in disbelief.

n“So you are saying that your father is more trustworthy than me. You must be such a dutiful daughter that you trusted your father who kicked you out of the family and abandoned you.”

nBy this time, Astelle had run out of patience as well.

n“Aren’t you the same?”

n“What?”

n“Didn’t you do the same as my father did, Your Majesty?”

n“……!”

nBoth her father and Kaizen are the same. They both used her when she was needed and treated her well, but abandoned her without hesitation when she was no longer useful.

nStill, Astelle trusted her father more than Kaizen.

n“Your Majesty can always abandon me at any time if you change your mind, but my father can’t anymore.”

nKaizen could bring in another woman at any time and have a new baby, but Astelle and Theor were the only hope for the Duke of Reston.

n“That’s the only difference between the two of you. And I already don’t have any trust in either of you anymore.”

n“……”

nKaizen stood still with a pale face.

nHis red eyes, which had been cold all along, trembled in shock.

nHe looks like he never imagined he would hear this from Astelle.

nThen what did he think she would say?

nAfter confessing her heart to this man frankly, Astelle realized she had been here too long.

nAstelle turned her gaze away from Kaizen, who was standing still with a hurt expression.

n“If you allow it, I will return to the empress’ palace now.”

nIf you want to talk more, go to the empress’ palace and let’s talk quietly.

nSeeing Kaizen’s expression, it looks like he won’t be coming to the empress’ palace for a while.

nAstelle bowed her head without hesitation and tried to step out of the door.

nAt that moment, a careful knock was heard.

n“Oh…… um, Your Majesty.”

nVellian carefully opened the door with a troubled expression as if he didn’t want to come in.

nA few minutes later, Kaizen answered, “……what’s going on?”

n“Well, that’s…… the young lady of the Croychen family has come to admit her guilt.”

nAstelle, who was standing still after missing the time to go out, asked in surprise, “Florin?”

nShe knew Florin had a bold personality, but she was still a little surprised.

nShe didn’t expect her to come and admit her guilt. But Vellian shook his head in a hurry.

n“No, this is the third young lady.”

n***

nNaen swallowed dry saliva as she looked back at the luxurious decorations in the imperial palace hallway.

nShe had visited the imperial palace once or twice before, during an event.

nAlthough she had made her socialite debut, her mother didn’t take her much to social events.

nStill, when a large-scale banquet was held, the whole family would sometimes enter the imperial palace together.

nAt that time, the imperial palace was as beautiful as it is now.

n‘It’s amazing Florin will live in a place like this.’

nThat’s what she thought at the time.

nBut now, Naen felt burdened by this beautiful palace.

n“Don’t worry too much. It’s just a formality.”

nBefore leaving the mansion, her father, Marquis Croychen, said so.

nThe Marquis explained the situation to Naen, who was standing in a daze; all of this is just a formality.

nHer second sister fell into the duke’s trap. The situation was so urgent that there was no time for her to make things right. At this rate, her poor second sister would be in trouble.

nHer second sister was supposed to be the empress in the future.

nNow that her mother and eldest sister have been kicked out of the capital, her second sister is the only hope for the family.

nSo she was asked to be in charge of the duke’s work on behalf of Florin.

nIt took Naen a long time to properly understand what the ‘duke’s work’ was.

nIt was a complicated matter that was difficult for Naen, who only lived in the mansion, to only do embroidery.

n“I-is it okay to say that I did that?”

n“Yes. After you confess, other ministers who are my friends will protect you. Then you can go to your sister’s place and stay with her for a while.”

nThe sister her father spoke of was her eldest sister, Marianne.

nMarianne was staying in a convent by the sea.

nIt was not unusual for a young lady of a noble family to stay in a convent.

nDaughters of poor noble families often went to convents to study.

nIt would not be a difficult environment since it was originally a place for noble ladies to live.

nThe marquis comforted Naen so hard, despite the fact that he himself had never visited his eldest daughter.

nNaen’s second sister, Florin, who caused this incident, also said while holding her hand, “Don’t worry. I’ll never let you suffer.”

nNaen wanted to shake off Florin’s hand, but she couldn’t because she was afraid.

nActually, she had no desire to take the blame on behalf of her second sister.

nAlthough her eldest sister, Marianne, didn’t really like her much, they were close because they grew up together and fought since childhood.

nBut Florin, who grew up alone in the countryside, was a stranger to her even though she was her biological older sister.

nHowever, Naen could not disobey the orders of her father and Florin.

nNaen was indeed young, but she could understand the situation to a certain extent.

nIf she refused their request, living in a mansion would be worse than living in a convent.

n“Miss Naen?”

nStanding blankly in the hallway, a guard knight called her.

n“His Majesty is calling.”

nNaen followed the knight with trembling legs.

nThe place she entered was a reception room in the palace of His Majesty the Emperor.

nThe emperor sat in the front, and several nobles stood around.

nNext to the emperor, a woman with platinum hair was watching Naen intently.

n‘Oh, Your Majesty the Empress.’

nAlthough Naen was unable to attend the charity ball back then, she had caught a glimpse of the empress on the national wedding day at the temple.

n“Are you going to admit your guilt?”

nAs she looked at the empress, she heard an angry voice from the front.

nIt was the voice of His Majesty the Emperor.

n“Y-yes, Your Majesty. I……”

nEven though it was a very important moment, her gaze continued to be drawn to the empress’ light green, glass-like eyes.

nWith a trembling voice, Naen said the words that had been prepared in the mansion, “I was the one who framed the Duke.”

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