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n“Excuse me, Marchioness, I am not in a position to meddle in His Majesty’s decisions.”

nAstelle, who had been listening quietly, answered calmly.

n“I was only invited to participate in His Majesty’s party to the capital. I do not have the authority to advise or meddle in how His Majesty punishes criminals.”

n“Did you just say my daughter is a criminal?”

nThe Marchioness asked with a sharp voice.

nDoesn’t this Marchioness know that Marianne got caught while rummaging through someone else’s medicine box and trying to secretly put a suspicious drug inside?

nOr did she ignore it because she didn’t think it was a crime?

nEither way, she wasn’t the kind of person Astelle wanted to deal with.

nAstelle said with an innocent expression.

n“Isn’t that what most people in prison are called?”

n“Hey, Lady Astelle!”

nThe Marchioness did not try to hide the hostility towards Astelle.

n“As you know, my husband, the Marquis of Croychen is the Minister of State. My daughter, Florin is His Majesty’s fiancée, and she will soon become the Empress. You don’t seem to know anything about what happened in the capital.”

n‘This is the first time I’ve heard of the emperor’s engagement here.’

n“You must be proud of having a wonderful husband and daughter.”

nAlthough her daughter, Florin wasn’t engaged yet, the behavior of the Marchioness was absurd.

nCome to think of it, Marianne’s behavior looked like this woman.

nAt Astelle’s sarcastic remarks, the Marchioness raised her voice even more.

n“My daughter is getting engaged soon…!”

n“Marchioness.”

nAstelle cut off her words in a cold tone.

n“Lady Marianne was trying to put poison in my medicine box and she was caught. I’m not sure why I have to save Lady Marianne. In my common sense, shouldn’t I be asking that Lady Marianne be punished more severely?”

nIf Marianne’s evil plan succeeded, Astelle would have been in a much more difficult position than the present Marianne.

nThe fact that the deposed empress hid poison and came to meet the emperor would seem like an attempt to poison him.

nIf things went wrong, not only Astelle, but Theor and her grandfather, and maybe even her father and brother in the capital, were involved.

nRather, if Marianne was caught stealing Astelle’s belongings or trying to physically harm her, she might have been tempted to understand a little bit under the premise that she would regret it.

nBut this was hardly forgivable.

nAt that, the Marchioness kept her mouth shut.

nShe just stared at Astelle with a grudge-filled gaze.

nShe seemed to be angry because Astelle did not comply with her request, but it was useless anger.

nKaizen will handle whatever Astelle says.

n“His Majesty was not very angry, so there is nothing to worry about. He was just offended that something like that happened during the tour.”

nKaizen was not angry with Marianne.

nHe was just upset.

nHe must have thought it was annoying because he had a needless problem.

nKaizen that Astelle knew was such a person.

nA man who thinks that all problems between women are useless emotional battles.

n“Lady Marianne is still a young lady, and her father, Marquis Croychen, is trusted by His Majesty, so I don’t think he will punish her too much. I don’t think you need any help.”

nAfter all, Astelle was the only one who suffered damage.

nIt was not likely that Kaizen would execute or punish a young noble girl for the suffering Astelle had endured.

nThe emperor not going to kill the minister’s daughter in exchange for being loyal to him.

n“If you don’t have any more business, I want you to go back now.”

nAstelle turned to get out.

nThen the Marchioness from behind tried to catch Astelle.

n“Hey there. Lady Astelle!”

n“Marchioness.”

nAstelle spoke coldly, cutting off the Marchioness’ words.

n“You came into the room without permission, and now you are speaking informally to me? You are very rude.”

nThe Marchioness glared at Astelle and trembled at her humiliation.

nA hateful voice leaked out of her mouth.

n“Ha! You were kicked out of the empress seat…!”

nIt seems that she wanted to say something on the subject of the expelled empress.

nBut the Marchioness did not finish her words.

nAt that moment, the door next to her suddenly swung open.

n“What is this?”

nIt was Kaizen.

nThe Marchioness was startled, and she hurriedly bowed her head.

nHe surprised Astelle as well.

n‘When did you come?’

nSince when has he been eavesdropping on the conversation?

nWhile Astelle looked at him with bewilderment, Kaizen looked straight at the Marchioness with burning red eyes.

n“Since when has a Marchioness been able to talk loudly in my palace?”

nBlatant ridicule was evident on his handsome face.

nThe Marchioness hurriedly bowed her head with a bewildered expression.

n“Y-Your Majesty. I’m sorry, sorry. I was just talking to Lady Astelle… I’m sorry.”

nKaizen gave such a cold stare to the Marchioness.

n“Astelle is my guest, and you came without permission and threatened her.”

n“Y-Your Majesty… it’s not…”

nThe Marchioness turned white and stuttered.

nKaizen ordered coldly.

n“Go away now. And never come here again without my permission.”

n“Y-Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll keep that in mind.”

nThe Marchioness bowed her back deeply and saluted Astelle as well.

n“Then, excuse me.”

nAs the Marchioness hurriedly greeted her and ran away, Kaizen approached Astelle.

n“I’m sorry I made you deal with something unnecessary.”

n“It’s fine, Your Majesty.”

nAs this happened, the Marchioness seemed to hate Astelle even more, but she had no choice.

n“But what did you come here for?”

nShe wondered if something had happened, so she got a little worried.

nBut Kaizen answered her bluntly.

n“I came to visit your maternal grandfather, the Marquis.”

n“… pardon?”

nFor a moment, she wondered what this meant.

nKaizen frowned.

n“Why? Is there any problem?”

n“Ah… no.”

nIt’s a sudden visit…

nHer maternal grandfather, the Marquis of Carlenberg, and Kaizen never even talked to each other in private, let alone close friends.

nBut why did you suddenly come to visit him?

nDoes he care because he thinks he’s ill?

nAlthough there is no way Kaizen has such a concerned side.

nAstelle hid her thoughts and thanked him.

n“Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty. My grandfather will be grateful.”

n“Are you okay with your body? You’re a patient too, but I heard you visited him often. Shouldn’t you be getting some rest?”

n“As you can see, I am very well. I’m worried about my grandfather who is sicker than me.”

n‘Actually, my grandfather is fine, though.’

nStill, it’s not been too long since we arrived, and I can’t say that he has already gotten better.

nAfter a few days, maybe her grandfather can say that he is slowly recovering.

nAstelle, pretending to be worried, answered calmly.

n“Still, my grandfather recovered a lot after seeing Theor. All thanks to Your Majesty. Thank you very much.”

n“……”

nKaizen looked like he wanted to say something more, but he bit his mouth.

nThe conversation ended there.

nThe two walked down the hallway without a word.

n* * *

nAstelle led Kaizen into her grandfather’s bedroom.

nKaizen walked down the brightly lit hallway.

nDenz Castle was a luxurious palace.

nEven the annex to the west was full of delicate decorations down to the corner of the hallway.

nAs Kaizen followed Astelle, he recalled a story he had just heard from the servants.

nThe servant said that Astelle had sent out a servant to the Marquis.

n“She sent out the servant? Why?”

n“Lady Astelle said that she would take care of the Marquis herself.”

n“Why would she do such a thing?”

nThe servant’s explanation followed.

n“It is said that the Marquis doesn’t like having strangers by his side.”

nThe more he listened to the explanation, the more he was surprised.

nWhy is that old man so picky when he doesn’t even have the money to pay his own servants?

nHe hates strangers, so he treats Astelle like a maid…

nKaizen glanced at Astelle’s back in front of him and clicked his tongue.

nAstelle stopped at the door to the Marquis’ bedroom.

n“Grandpa, I will go in.”

nAstelle opened the door with a light knock.

nAs soon as they entered the room, the Marquis lying on the bed found Kaizen and got up.

n“It’s okay, lie down.”

nKaizen refused his greeting.

nAfter those words, he sat back leaning on the back of the bed.

n“I see you, the lord of the empire.”

nAstelle’s maternal grandfather had the impression of a decent old gentleman.

nPerhaps because of his neat appearance, this old man was more like a scholar than a soldier, Kaizen thought.

nHis complexion is calm and his eyes are clear on the subject of an old man.

nHe didn’t look like a patient no matter how much I looked at him.

n‘Because of that old man, I moved here quickly from the previous schedule.’

nSeeing that he looked much better than expected, Kaizen even felt a sense of disappointment.

nAstelle closed the window that was open.

nThere was an empty medicine bowl on the table by the window.

nSeeing this, Kaizen realized that Astelle was in charge of the Marquis’ medicine in person.

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