Marchioness Camellia looked at Skyla with a worried look on her face.

She knew that Skyla didn’t like Marquis Luden.

But her attitude today went too far. She didn’t just rebel, but brought up Grand Duchess Roygar, and it would have intensified the wrath of Marquis Luden.

“But not like that, Skyla.”

“Why? If maternal grandfather’s approval is lost, mother and father will not be the masters of Marquisate Camellia?”

It didn’t seem like a problem that could be solved with just a few words.

Marchioness Camellia looked at her husband. The marquis quickly noticed the Marchioness’ will and stood up.

“I’ll ask them to bring some tea.”

“Please.”

The door closed as Marquis Camellia left.

Marchioness Camellia let out a sigh. She then made a soft voice as if trying to appease her daughter.

“Skyla. I understand why you are angry.”

“No. I’m not angry, I’m just giving you some advice.”

Skyla said.

“No matter how hard mother tries, no matter how obedient you may be, my maternal grandfather will not treat mother more than a servant.”

“Skyla…….”

“Mother’s attitude makes Marquisate Camellia less than a vassal of Marquisate Luden. Even mother knows. Maternal grandfather does not keep his trusted vassal as a servant as he did to mother today.”

Perhaps Marquis Luden knew it, too.

To make Marchioness Camellia feel her own position was the way he could keep her in his hands and rule her for so long.

“Maternal grandfather is taking advantage of what mother wants to be recognized for. Even mother knew it yourself.”

“…….”

“No matter how hard you try, you will never be accepted.”

Skyla said coldly.

Marchioness Camellia would have known it herself. However, this was the desire that the Marchioness had cherished from a very young age, and it could not simply be thrown away.

Marchioness Camellia let out her sigh.

“It’s only natural that he treats me differently from Her Grace. And it was your maternal grandfather who made your father Marquis Camellia.”

“That doesn’t mean that maternal grandfather owned Marquisate Camellia.”

“I’m not talking about simply borrowing the power of the Marquisate Luden during the inheritance process. Even if your father had taken the title, without the support of Marquisate Luden, he would not have been able to enter the social world.”

The noble society is closed.

If you can become a nobleman just because you have a title, what are the new nobles worrying about?

The most important thing is blood ties. If there were no blood ties, there had to be an educational relationship.

If you studied under the same teacher as a traditional noble from childhood, or completed your studies with the support of a great noble, you could be incorporated into the noble society as a vassal of that family.

If not, there must be some delay.

You can only be called ‘someone in a certain region’ until about three generations after you become the Lord, exchange greetings in the local social circle, and establish a relationship with the local community.

Marquisate Camellia couple did not have it.

The Marchioness was the second wife and was an illegitimate child at the time of birth.

It is fine now. Even Marchioness Camellia knew.

Even if she cuts off her relationship with Marquisate Luden, her current authority does not disappear immediately.

Marchioness Camellia was well aware of her own usefulness.

Grand Duchess Roygar was not one to abandon her sister in the first place just because she had a fight with her father.

Grand Duke Roygar would be satisfied with the split of his subordinate powers, and will use Marquisate Camellia as a tool to keep Marquisate Luden in check.

However, Marquisate Camellia will be alienated from the noble society.

The greatest goal of a noble family is to preserve the lineage and pass on prosperity to the next generation.

If they were alienated, they can no longer be called a true noble. That is why no family can live as a single family.

They will become a family of illegitimate children who have risen from the traditional marquis family. Then, unlike before, they could not act as a real great noble.

Like the present Duke Riagan who became loyal to the Emperor and became the ruler of the South, but still was not treated as a Duke by the nobles.

It just took a little bit of patience. At least until the children are all married.

All secrets will end with Marquis Luden and Marchioness Camellia.

Marquisate Luden Heir Apparent, the eldest son of Marquis Luden, was weak in character, far from conspiracies or secrets. So were his children.

In Skyla’s generation, Marquisate Camellia will remain purely a family connected with Marquisate Luden.

It wasn’t that hard to be patient.

It was nothing compared to the time when she slept and woke up in a small room under the attic with the laundry servants and wondered how to get into her father’s eyes.

But Skyla spoke with an upright attitude.

“No. Mother misunderstood that, too. The world has changed. Look at what the world is talking about right now.”

“…….”

“Is it so desperate for Marquisate Camellia to be the vassal of the infamous Marquisate Luden?”

Marchioness Camellia sighed again.

“Skyla, it’s not that simple.”

“Mother. I just want my mother and my family to be treated with the respect they deserve. Mother has already served Marquisate Luden long enough”

Marchioness Camellia was silent for a moment and looked at Skyla.

She knew her daughter well. So she realized that what Skyla said wasn’t just saying.

“What are you going to do?”

“…… nothing.”

Skyla bit her lips.

She went to meet Ian Camellia today.

But she couldn’t tell the story to Marchioness Camellia.

At least, not until Marchioness Camellia cut herself off from Marquis Luden.

Marchioness Camellia said.

“Don’t even think about doing anything. For now, the highest priority is to raise the Grand Duke to the position of Emperor.”

“Yes, I know.”

Skyla replied.

With those words, she has been crushed by all the conflicts so far.

So Skyla became even more frustrated. Because even if it was a victory, it would not be the Marquisate Camellia’s victory.

＊＊＊

Ian Camellia couldn’t hide all of his nervousness and he froze. Then he sat down again.

The accommodation, the hotel, was luxurious. More than 20 guards guarded him tightly. He had three servants to take care of him directly.

The rich scent of summer fruit filled in the basket refreshed the parlor.

However, it was not the case with his heart, which Skyla had stirred up.

“I’m here to propose an arranged marriage.”

Skyla said so.

At first, he didn’t think much of it because a woman claiming to be his cousin, whom he didn’t even know the face of, came to visit him.

He thought she would ask him to drop the case at best.

If she wanted to negotiate properly, Marquis Camellia or the Marchioness would have come.

Thinking she was a woman who looked down on the world, he met her. He intends to send it back to her.

He was going to tell her piece by piece, asking if she knew what her parents did.

But more than that, Skyla didn’t even lower her eyebrows and listened to Ian’s words with a cold face.

She then said

“I understand your grudge. It’s normal. Is that all?”

Ian was perplexed.

“There must have been someone who paid for all these. That person even hired a reliable guard.”

“…….”

“Sir Ian is the party involved in this, but you don’t even know what it is for.”

Ian tried not to let Skyla know that he didn’t know.

Even Ian, who had no experience in such things, knew that information was the basis of negotiations.

However, Skyla seemed to know the answer just by cracking down on Ian’s expression.

Ian couldn’t help but react.

“You mean you know?”

“If you don’t know why this is happening or who is doing it, you cannot survive even if you become Marquis Camellia.”

Those were words that accurately pierced Ian’s anxiety.

Who is behind him?

He thought he knew before. Ian was sure it was from the Lawrence faction.

But Lawrence was dismissed. Ian did not know the exact reason. However, he was dismissed from his post as the Secretary of State and he was placed under house arrest.

If so, who the hell is behind him?

Is it Duke Riagan that Lawrence was trying to bring down? Or is it a fight within the faction of Grand Duke Roygar?

Is it Grand Duke Evron, who has nothing to do with the current conspiracy? Or does he have a personal grudge against Marquisate Luden and Marquisate Camellia?

Ian couldn’t decide. There was too little information.

The capital’s socialites sent him numerous invitations. But they were all sent out of curiosity.

Is Ian real? To what extent is the content of the lawsuit true? How far will this lawsuit affect Marquisate Luden and Marquisate Camellia?

It was difficult to dig up information and make correct judgments in conversations with people that covered the inner intentions and thoughts with a smile.

In fact, Ian had a hard time even staying in it.

Skyla was right. Even if he wins the lawsuit and reclaims the title, he will not be able to survive as Marquis Camellia.

So Skyla’s suggestion was reasonable.

In order to survive as a nobleman, both real power and legitimacy were required.

Her enemy, Ian, had legitimacy, but no practical ability. Raised as the Marquis of Camellia Heir Apparent, Skyla has real power, but her legitimacy has been damaged.

So this combination was complementary. If you look only at the title and family name, that is.

However, Marquisate Camellia was intertwined with Marquisate Luden, and behind Ian was a mastermind with a purpose.

“What is Lady’s purpose? Even if my purpose was not revenge, the fact remains that this will be a blow against Marquis Luden and Lady’s parents.”

“Yes. My purpose partially overlaps with that. To defeat Marquis Luden and take over Marquisate Camellia.”

“Are there any problems with Marquisate Luden?”

“I’m sure Sir Ian knows what it’s like to fight for power within a family of great nobles.”

Skyla said so and stood up.

“I’m going to go down south with my aunt soon. Please remember that you don’t have a lot of time to think about it.”

Ian’s mind was more complicated than that.

The lady who brought him here refused to bring him to her faction.

He had no contacts or information.

So he now felt as if he was groping in the dark and finding his way.

It might have been better to accept Skyla’s proposal, even if it meant to sleep with the enemy.

Of course, the first thing to do is to understand exactly what Skyla’s purpose is and to see if there are any compromises.

Before he did that, he had to decide what his own purpose was. If it’s revenge, what’s the scope of that revenge?

The reverberation Skyla left behind lingered in the parlor for a long time.