“I’m sorry to say this, but could you put off punishing him for a while?”

“Um? What is the reason? ”

“Anyway, he is not the mastermind, right? I would like to find who is the true culprit on this occasion.”

“Hmm, so you want to take him as a bait to get the mastermind?” he said after pondering over something for a minute, “Okay. I will hand over the right to investigate this matter to the Monique family.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“But this incident is a challenge not only to the Monique family, but to the imperial family.

So, I can’t keep putting off his punishment. I’ll give him a three-month grace period. As for the rest of the investigation, consult with Duke Verita.”

“Okay. Thank you, Your Highness. ”

When I bowed my head to express my gratitude, he smiled, looking at me quietly, and said, “I didn’t feel good because you were blaming yourself all along. As you came forward actively like this, I feel much better. You seem more vibrant now.”

“… ”

I felt something warm from his cold voice this time. I suddenly felt thirsty when I saw his soft eyes and relaxed mouth. As he smacked his dry lips, he paused for a moment and approached me.

At that moment, a sharp noise was heard, breaking the silence. A little later, a familiar man came in, bowing to the crown prince.

“… Come on in, Marquis.”

“I’ve come here as you want to see me, Your Highness.”

“Well, I feel a bit uncomfortable as I have to let Lady Monique go home alone. As you worked hard to defend the palace, you can call it a day and go home with her.”

“But Your Highness…”

“It’s fine. I have Earl Penril and Duke Lars with me, so I won’t worry. Go home and have a good rest.”

After waving at him as if it’s not a big deal, he turned quickly without listening to my father.

While watching him approaching the emperor for a moment, I stepped out of the bedroom with my father.

Duke Jenna, sitting in the waiting room, saw me and my father and stood up, clenching his teeth. Beside him were Jiun and Marquis Mirwa’s son.

“Oh, it’s true that the crown prince allowed Lady Monique to see the emperor.”

“Yes, as you see her now. What more do you want to check?”

“Huh, I don’t know what the crown prince is thinking. How can he allow in the culprit who made the emperor’s condition worse like that?”

“Watch your language, Duke Jena. Good. As you said, let’s assume my daughter caused trouble to the emperor. It seems you have forgotten the fact that you might have been the in-law of the main culprit who has almost killed my daughter?”

“What the heck are you talking about?”

“Calm down, Duke Jena.”

Marquis Mirwa’s son dissuaded him and stepped forward on his behalf.

“It seems both of you are very tense now. Marquis Monique, I hope you could understand Duke Jena’s nervousness as his request to see the emperor was denied when the emperor’s condition was so bad.”

“… ”

Bowing to my father slightly, he continued politely, “It’s so regrettable. Who knew Earl Lanier committed such an unscrupulous crime? Duke Jena is also extremely upset with his heinous crime. How can you commit such a crime as a human?”

“… You bet. I’m afraid there will be another man like him in this world.”

‘… I will. I’m afraid there will be another person who can commit such an unpardonable crime.”

“Who else dare think of that?”

I looked at Marquis Mirwa who was speaking to my father glibly. I thought he was a good-for-nothing guy because he belonged to neither the knights division nor the government, even though he went up to the capital for several months. Given the way he spoke to my father, I discovered that he was no ordinary man.

While I was examining him slowly, I noticed a brooch on the coat hanging on his collar. It had a snake with three eyes coiling a weight that’s horizontal, and ivy engraved on it.

Come to think of it, he is the successor of his family. As expected, nobody can be the successor of a marquis family without the proper qualifications. There are not many who could calmly speak to my father who had a cold and sharp expression.

“Lady Monique.”

“Yes?”

“I’m relieved to see that you are well and safe. I guess the emperor will be very pleased to hear this news about you. ”

“… Thank you.”

When I lowered my head, my father, who was listening to him with an uncomfortable expression, said, “Then, let me leave first. As you know, I’ve been reunited with my daughter only recently. Besides, as the crown prince has clearly said he would not allow anybody to see the emperor, you had better go back now.”

“Let’s go, Tia. ”

“Sure, Daddy.”

As I turned around following my father, my eyes suddenly met Jiun’s eyes. At the moment, her black eyes sparkled sharply.

I stopped there and stared at her. ‘If you were responsible for poisoning me, and if you did the same crime against me in the past, I will not let you get away with it this time.’

When I was having a staring match with her for a moment, my father, who was walking a couple steps ahead, looked back with a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong with you, honey?”

“Oh, it’s nothing, Daddy.”

“Let’s go back. You look very tired. ”

My father reached out to me and gently wrapped my shoulders.

When I began to walk, almost held against his broad chest, I suddenly saw the scenery outside the window. The dark clouds in the sky were gathering all over the capital.

I moaned in spite of myself at the ominous feeling that something bad was coming.

A silver lady with a red thread hanging around her waist danced on a white cloth. Red rose petals bloomed wherever her footsteps passed. The bright petals smiled and waved their hands, and the silver lady who looked at it burst into laughter.

After completing the last leaf of the red rose coiling around a silver sword, I put down the needle with a satisfying smile. Then, I tied it with the red thread wrapped around the needle waist, and cut it neatly with scissors.

Holding the finished scarf, I double checked for any mistakes. Under the crest of the Duke Lars family beautifully embroidered on the corner of a white fabric were engraved Carsein’s initials in gorgeous cursive.

‘I guess this is more than enough.’

Lina asked, watching me carefully checking the condition of the scarf.

“Are you finished? You’ve been working on it for several days.”

“Yes, all done!”

“You really did a good job, my lady. I think he will like it very much.”

“Do you think so?”

“Absolutely. How can he hate this gift that reflects your sincerity? Ah, he stopped by to learn fencing a little while ago. Should I ask him to come back after he is done?”

“Yes, please.”

With a satisfied smile, Lina went out, saying that she would convey the message to Carsein.

I put the finely folded white scarf on the bedside table and opened the letter from Frincia on the table next to my bed. When I saw it, a smile came on my face before I knew it.

It’s already been ten days since I got up from the bed.

In the meantime, I corresponded with Frincia by letters to gather information about what’s going on in the social circles. Today’s letter was also related to that.

I was worried that I was losing to Jiun because I couldn’t find any proper candidate to replace me. Fortunately, with Frincia’s support, Earl Whir’s daughter, Grace, seemed to be in the spotlight in the social clubs these days. This led the noble faction to discuss the matter of promoting Grace as the crown prince’s concubine. If things go well smoothly, I felt it might be easy to get freed from the imperial family as I planned initially.

‘Now, can I just concentrate on digging into Duke Jena?’

I thought about it, but it seemed like that I could for the time being, unless something new came in.

I took out a tea set while feeling relaxed after a long time. A young man with red hair entered the room as I was enjoying the strong, brewed flavor of the lavender. He stopped for a moment while trying to greet me with a smile, and slightly frowned as if he was dissatisfied.

“Hi, Sein. What’s wrong?”