I smiled sarcastically to hear the man’s angry tone. As I slowly turned back, I saw a man with light purple hair staring at me as if he was dumbfounded.

Suddenly, I felt it was fun because I could get even with him for his slandering yesterday.

“You must be Earl Hamel. What business has brought you here?”

“Don’t you know why I have come? Why are you wearing such a dress here? What the heck are you doing here?”

“Well? I certainly wore a formal dress according to the imperial custom. I don’t know why you are upset about me.”

When I tilted my head, he said with an annoying voice, “Ha, formal dress? Do you think it’s a formal dress?”

“Hmm, it looks like you don’t have a good eyesight. Don’t you see the crest of my family sewn on the collar or this brooch?”

I smiled and pointed at the collar of my dress. The dress made with black satinette was clearly embroidered with the spears and shields in silver. Other than that, my dress was a typical dress for official occasions.

It was typically a woman’s formal dress in a neat style, but after Mrs. Rosa adjusted it this morning, it was changed into a colorful dress. The upper part was the same as the existing one, but the lower part below the waist consisted of a skirt that gradually turned red with red satin padded down. Because of the wide satin red satinette, the red skirt, with a large wave pattern without a pannier, was shining brightly with a cubic decoration.

So, it was obviously too colorful to be seen as a formal dress.

Nonetheless, one of the reasons I wore this dress was because there was no restriction on the color of the dress under the imperial law, and the other was …

“Do you think it’s a formal dress just because you have the family crest and brooch? How can you have that vulgar color on a formal dress like that?”

“What did you say, Earl Hamel?”

Yes, this was what I was looking for.

A smile came to my lips. I expected it when he dared to slander me as an infertile woman at the meeting yesterday, but I didn’t know he would take my bait like this.

“It looks like you began to insult me yesterday, and you are not stopping. I think you also know what you have just said is a grave insult to me.”

“Well, I just…”

“I repeatedly tolerated your insults in order not to make any dispute at this place where we’re supposed to discuss the emperor’s coronation ceremony, but you are continuing to disgrace the honor of my family and mine. I really can’t tolerate this anymore.”

“What the heck…!”

“What’s going on here? Why are you quarrelling?”

When I was trying to cut him off, I heard somebody interrupting coldly.

When I slowly looked around, I saw the emperor also surprised at my outfit. But he asked me blankly, pretending that he didn’t notice it, “I think I heard you mentioning the honor of your family.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. At yesterday’s meeting Earl Hamel insulted me with vulgar language that I couldn’t even repeat. Nevertheless, I tried to tolerate him, but he again defiled the honor of my family and mine with vulgar expressions. So, as the representative of the Monique family, I am formally asking for a duel with his family to gain his territory.”

“What? To gain my territory?”

“A fight between the two families over each other’s territory?”

Those around us began to whisper here and there.

The noble faction was holding their breath, while the pro-emperor faction was looking at us with interest. Based on the objective estimates of each other’s power, there were few in the empire that could win against the Monique family, so it was almost certain that the Hamel family would lose, if they engaged in the fight.

At that moment, the son of Marquis Mirwa standing among them stepped forward.

“Lady Monique, could you please calm down? Isn’t it an important place to discuss His Majesty’s coronation procedure? I’m afraid the families are going to fight before the coronation ceremony, which I think is a great disloyalty to the imperial family.”

“I know. That’s why our family has been tolerating lots of things until now, including Earl Lanier’s wicked scheme and Earl Hamel’s slandering yesterday.”

“Of course, I know that the Monique family has been patient for a long time, so…”

“Stop it. If you keep quarrelling like this, we can’t even have a break time. So, let’s resume the meeting and discuss this matter first.”

The emperor, who stopped the son of Marquis Mirwa, turned quickly and walked up to the head table.

When everyone went back and sat down, the emperor turned to me and asked, “Is it true that you are going to ask for a duel with the Hamel family for the control of each other’s territory?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. In order to restore my family’s honor, I cannot ignore the insults anymore.”

“Hmm, I think her reason is plausible enough. What are you going to do, Earl Hamel? Let me hear your opinion.”

“… ”

The son of Marquis Mirwa asked for a say on behalf of Earl Hamel and said, “I think Earl Hamel is repenting. So, please accept his apologies and show mercy on him. Foreign delegations are arriving in droves to attend the upcoming coronation ceremony, so I’m afraid that the two families’ duel will give them a bad impression.”

“I think that’s a good point. But I can’t allow the honor of the Monique family, one of the founding families in this empire, to be disgraced without taking any action. Besides, I couldn’t save my face because of Earl Lanier’s wickeds scheme. Apologies alone won’t be enough.”

“Your Majesty, please…”

“Let’s do this. Earl Hamel, please offer formal apologies to Lady Monique in the name of the Hamel family, and hand over the mining rights of the emerald mine in your territory to the Monique family.”

“Your Majesty, that’s too harsh…!”

With great satisfaction, I smiled at Earl Hamel who stood up, stunned.

I didn’t know I would get this kind of unexpected bonanza because I just wanted to flatten him out.

“If you don’t like my proposal, you can accept her proposal.”

“… No, Your Majesty. Thank you for your consideration.”

“Do you accept my arbitration proposal?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will. ”

“Good. Let’s wrap up this matter here.”

Although I achieved satisfactory results, I had some more work to do.

I asked for the right to speak, and said, looking up at the head table.

“Please forgive me for saying something that is not on today’s agenda. I would like to tell you that starting tomorrow, as the representative of the Monique family I won’t have to attend this meeting.”

“… What do you mean?”

“It’s a matter related to Earl Lanier. I can’t help but deplore the fact that he has not yet been punished for his crime. Of course, I know that you have refrained from punishing him because of the upcoming coronation ceremony. But I think it’s a problem that the investigation into his crime is very slow. So, I would like to request you to hand over the right to investigate everything related to Earl Lanier to the Monique family.”

“That ‘s outrageous!”

“You should not give her the right, Your Majesty!”

As soon as I made the request, I smiled sarcastically at the noble faction who sprang to their feet to balk at my request. No matter how much they opposed, they wouldn’t get anywhere. In fact, the late emperor agreed to give the Monique family the right to investigate all the matters related to the Lanier case when he was in grave illness.

Did the emperor notice my intention? After pondering over something for a moment, he raised his right hand to silence them.

“Well, I can’t accept your request, Lady Monique. Regardless of the breakoff of our engagement, Earl Lanier attempted to kill my fiance by poisoning. This could be considered an attempt to poison the royal family, so I think it is appropriate for the imperial family to have the right to punish him.”

“… ”

“For the same reason, I can’t hand over the investigation right.”

“That’s a wise decision, Your Majesty.”

The noble faction seemed greatly relieved with a big smile, but their triumphant smile was fleeting.

The emperor continued, “However, Lady Monique’s argument also makes sense. So, let’s do this. The imperial family has the basic investigation right, but the Monique family can also investigate as much they want.”

“No, you shouldn’t allow it, Your Majesty!”

“Please don’t allow a joint investigation!”