n

n

n

nFritz took her hand.

nAstelle turned to her brother.

nShe could feel he was trying to comfort her.

n“Astelle.”

nOn the other hand, Kaizen, who was surrounded by his men, approached this way.

nPeople’s attention was more focused on them.

nAstelle grabbed the hem of her skirt and bowed her waist.

n“Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor, Lord of the Empire.”

nThere was no reply.

nWhen she lifted her head, red eyes full of complex emotions were staring at her.

n‘Is meeting me so unpleasant?’

nAlthough she was divorced, she was Kaizen’s fiancee from an early age, and she was briefly the empress’ seat.

nSuch a woman disappeared suddenly, and gave birth to and raised an illegitimate child in the countryside.

nAstelle had never thought from Kaizen’s point of view, and she thought it might be offensive to him.

n‘Why did you hold a ball and force me to attend if you hate to see me?’

nI can understand his feelings, but his actions are completely incomprehensible.

nIf he simply wanted to harass Astelle himself, he would not have had to hold a ball at the Imperial Palace and force her to attend like this.

nFritz, who was next to her, also bowed.

n“Greetings, Your Majesty, it is an infinite honor for us to hold our family’s charity ball at the Imperial Palace.”

nKaizen didn’t answer but looked at Astelle.

n“After the ball, I have something to tell you.”

n“Is that something Your Majesty can’t tell now?”

n“No. Not now.”

nHe looked like he was angry, but his tone was surprisingly calm.

nRed eyes filled with unknown emotions.

n“I’ll tell you formally when it’s over.”

n“……”

nWhat?

nWhat are you going to talk about?

nThere was no way that Kaizen had anything serious to say to Astelle at this time.

n‘It must be about Theor.’

nBewildered, Fritz looked at Astelle worriedly.

nAstelle had a bad premonition, but did not show it, and showed a hospitality smile instead.

nShe bowed her head lightly with a smile on her face.

n“I will take your orders, Your Majesty.”

n

n***

n

nKaizen was watching Astelle as she left.

nAstelle went upstairs with Fritz.

nGuests stayed in the banquet hall until the ball started, or spent time in the parlor or balcony near the banquet hall.

nThere was still time until the ball started, so Kaizen wanted to spend some time in a quiet place for a while.

nNow, at the ballroom, Astelle was only a subject of curiosity and was not welcomed.

nThe moment Kaizen met Astelle, complex emotions were mixed into one.

nHe hated Astelle and resented her.

n‘She was raising a child by herself.’

nOn the day of the reunion after six years, it was ridiculous to think of Astelle, who introduced Theor as her nephew with such a shameless face.

nWho is the child’s father?

nAccording to what he found out when researching Astelle’s whereabouts, there was no man by Astelle’s side for the past six years.

nJudging from that, it seems that she did not have a deep relationship with the child’s father.

nSeeing that he left behind a woman who had given birth to his own child, he must not have been a proper human being.

nAnd Astelle gave birth to such a man’s child.

nThe more he thought about it, the more he was furious.

nOn the other hand, he felt sorry for Astelle.

nAfter being abandoned by her family, the duke’s daughter, the princess of the empire, gave birth to a child without a father.

nKaizen could not have imagined how difficult it must have been for her to give birth and raise a child because she was not well-off.

nAstelle couldn’t even tell that he was her own child.

nConflicting emotions confused his mind.

nHowever, in the midst of confusion, one thing was certain.

nKaizen didn’t want Astelle to suffer because of this.

nKaizen looked back at the Marquis and Marchioness Croychen, who were sitting on the other side of the ballroom.

nHe was thinking of getting rid of them to prevent this fact from being revealed.

nBut anyway, it was impossible to hide the child’s origin forever.

nAstelle and the Marquis of Carlenberg did not handle the birth of the child perfectly.

nThey did not take care of the maid who was registered as the child’s biological mother, nor did they get rid of the midwife who helped with the delivery.

nThe maid was found by the Croychen family before Kaizen.

nAccording to the investigation, this fact is already secretly shared among the nobles.

nIf this is revealed, Astelle will be humiliated and shamed as the woman who bore an illegitimate child.

nKaizen couldn’t stand to watch Astelle suffer humiliation.

n“What happened to what I told you to prepare?”

nVellian approached with hesitation at Kaizen’s question.

nHe said, “Your Majesty, the preparations are done……”

nVellian spoke his words helplessly.

nHe felt like his head was going to explode since yesterday.

nHe wished that the emperor would come to his senses and make a normal judgment even now, but Kaizen had no intention of changing his mind.

n“Prepare thoroughly, we’ll carry out as planned.”

n

n***

n

n“Are you okay?”

nAs soon as she left the banquet hall and came out into the hallway, Fritz asked worriedly.

n“It’s okay. Nothing will happen.”

nShe just had to meet Kaizen.

nHe asked her to wait because he had something to say.

nShe didn’t know what he was going to talk about, but she was sure it was related to Theor.

n“I’ll go to the balcony and rest for a while.”

n“Yes, that would be great.”

nShe will meet her father if she stays here.

nFritz took the lead and headed for the stairs.

nThis is the outer palace of the imperial palace used as a banquet hall, so the balcony was on the upper floor.

n“Fritz.”

nAs they were heading up the stairs to the balcony upstairs, someone called Fritz.

nLooking back, he was one of Fritz’s old friends.

n“Princess Astelle. It’s been a long time. I heard that you have returned to the capital, but……”

nFritz’s friend blurred the end of his words as if embarrassed.

nEven after hearing that Astelle came to the capital, he couldn’t come and say hello, probably afraid of what others might say.

nLike Fritz, his friend was also treated coldly in society.

nIn the past, a small number of prestigious nobles, so-called great nobles, occupied the social world.

nThe ladies who reigned as queens of the social world were always the mistresses of the prestigious dukes.

nBut now the great nobles lost their power, and the remaining families barely survived.

nOf course, he must have been a cold meal in the social world. T

/N: cold meal refers to something that has been abandoned

n“I’ll be upstairs.”

nAstelle walked away so the two of them could have a conversation.

nShe was going up the stairs and there was someone coming down from above.

nShe was a maid holding a bowl.

nIt seems she is carrying food.

nAstelle grabbed her skirt and went up the stairs without a second thought.

nIt was about halfway down the stairs when the maid stopped to make way for Astelle,

n“Ouch!”

nThe maid with the bowl lost balance, stumbled, and fell on the stairs.

nAs the bowl tipped over, the soup in it splashed in all directions.

nThe maid fell on the floor and begged for forgiveness.

n“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

nThe hem of Astelle’s dress was wet from the splash of soup.

nThe worst thing was her shoes.

nBecause she was holding her skirt up while going up the stairs.

nAs the bowl tipped over, a lot of soup broth splashed on the front of her shoes.

n‘Oh my…… I can’t go back to the ballroom like this.’

n“Lady Astelle, are you okay?”

nHannah stared at the kneeling maid.

nThe maid lifted her head, and then she looked at Hannah’s piercing gaze and banged her head to the floor again.

nAstelle asked, “Do you know each other?”

n“Yes, she is the maid of the empty empress palace.”

nThe Empress Palace.

nFor the past 6 years, the Empress Palace had no owner.

nHowever, even if it is a palace without an owner, the Empress Palace cannot be left unattended.

nThe maids in charge of the palace must have remained in it.

n“How did you make such a mistake?” asked Hannah.

nHer cold voice contained a stinging rebuke.

nThe maid was startled for a moment.

n“Sorry, I’m sorry.”

n“It’s okay, Hannah.”

nAstelle, who was examining her skirt, soothed Hannah.

nInterrogating the maid won’t change anything.

nShe didn’t even want to deal with such a reckless mistake.

n“You need to change your dress. Shall we go back to the mansion?”

nSeeing Hannah’s worried expression on her face, Astelle looked back to the ballroom door under the stairs.

nShe had some time before the ball started, but she thought it would take her enough time to go to the mansion.

n“P-Princess……”

nThe maid, who was still kneeling on the floor, raised her head.

nShe said, “The princess’ dress and shoes remain at the Empress Palace.”

n“Don’t lie. All of Lady Astelle’s belongings are in the chamber of the Crown Princess palace.”

nIt was in the Crown Princess palace where Astelle spent her first night after marrying Kaizen.

nAt that time, Kaizen was the Crown Prince.

nThe next day, he became emperor, but Astelle could not cross the threshold of the Empress Palace.

nAs soon as she gained the status of Empress, she divorced and left the Imperial Palace.

nTo Hannah’s disbelief, the maid refuted as if it was unfair.

nShe said, “His Majesty has given the order to move them to the Empress Palace.”

n“What?”

n‘Why did he give such an order?’

n