“What about that bastard?”

“He is one of the servants brought by the imperial attendant. As per His Grace the Grand Duke’s orders, the head butler guided them all to the annex so they could rest and depart tomorrow… But he slipped out alone, stole a grand ducal house uniform, and carried out his assigned task.”

“Come to think of it, wasn’t there a banquet today where all the vassals gathered? It seems he took advantage of the confusion and infiltrated.”

At Shane’s words, Felix hit the table with his fist. The candles on the table flickered.

“No. I deliberately left that bastard alone!”

“That’s right. No one can infiltrate the inner room escaping our eyes.”

Felix and Powell, who were particularly in charge of the secretive aspects and physical movements within the organization, shook their heads in denial.

“We need to find out what his purpose is! No matter how low-ranking, we couldn’t just capture and beat up an imperial servant. So I left him alone and watched what he would do.”

In addition to finding out the purpose, it meant he left him as is so he could thoroughly interrogate and beat him up. ‘Give me a reason to legally beat you up.’ It was truly a remark befitting him.

“I’m guessing he was trying to put back the Emperor’s bestowed gifts that I discarded…”

“That’s right. It seemed he was mixing that into the original tea tin and putting it back.”

Powell affirmed Reynard’s words while laying out more evidence. In the various black tea tin cases that originally filled the shelves of that room, there were tea leaves with slightly different shapes and scents mixed in. It was to the point where one wouldn’t notice without looking closely.

“It’s not like he put poison in it. What a stupid and bizarre thing to do.”

At Shane’s words while shaking his head, Reynard opened his mouth, stroking his chin.

“That bastard might be bait.”

“Bait, you say?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to their lord.

“No matter how I think about it, it’s too obvious and stupid. Rather, the purpose might be something else and that bastard is like a distraction…”

Moreover, the Emperor had no reason to do such a thing. The four people who knew the situation all nodded their heads in agreement.

“Strengthen the security further, and more thoroughly investigate the things that go into my husband’s mouth from now on.”

“Understood.”

Powell nodded his head with discipline. Reynard’s eyes turned to Benson.

“Did you deliver my letter to the sixth?”

Reynard changed the subject, asking if their operation against the 3rd Prince was being properly carried out.

“Yes. As you instructed, I personally delivered the letter to the sixth and explained. In addition, as you ordered upon my return, I also dealt with all the spies hiding in the Wiche Viscounty.”

“Come to think of it, those guys are a bit strange too.”

“What is?”

Felix interjected in the middle of Benson’s report.

“I’m saying I personally investigated those spies. But from the moment I investigated them, they started to withdraw on their own. As if giving up and retreating.”

“That’s right. So we attached another tail to them. The spies we dealt with were the ones who stayed until the end.”

“Good work.”

Reynard praised Benson. It was indeed a judgment befitting the brain of the organization. To know what would happen in the future, gathering more information took precedence over immediate disposal. They had to figure out where the 3rd Prince’s moves were heading and if he was properly biting the bait.

“Seeing as they even withdrew from the Wiche family, they will definitely seek another source of funding and make a move. Our urgent task is to set a very tempting bait that they absolutely cannot ignore.”

“Let’s hope the sixth does a good job with her business.”

“That woman is the one person we can definitely trust when it comes to that. I bet even if she sold a broken horse rein, I would unknowingly buy it.”

At Felix’s words, laughing helplessly as if even he found it absurd, Powell also quietly nodded his head. It was an agreement that he would probably also be among the people buying that trashy item as if enchanted.

“Alright. Let’s disperse for today.”

Reynard said as he got up from his seat.

“Uh? Viscount. What about him?”

At the place Felix pointed his finger while asking, the imperial servant was still struggling and making disgusting groans like a dying pig. Reynard indifferently scanned that sight and ordered.

“Do as you please, First. You can do anything as long as you dig up the mastermind. I’ll take care of the aftermath.”

Tomorrow morning, when the Emperor’s attendant woke up and realized one of the servants was missing, he would set out to find him. But no matter how much they searched and rummaged, they wouldn’t be able to find a single hair.

“Wow. Thanks to that, tonight will be exciting!”

Excitement was evident in Felix’s voice upon hearing Reynard’s order.

“Have a peaceful night.”

Leaving their greetings behind, Reynard left the room. Perhaps Felix had already started his work, as the intruder’s shrill screams echoed, but the moment the heavy iron door closed, the sound disappeared like magic.

* * *

The tea party was a complete failure.

What he had diligently prepared for over a week dispersed like mist, leaving a sense of futility.

Of course, to others who didn’t know anything, it was no different from a successful gathering. However, the personal impression felt by Valentin, the host who had prepared the party for the vassals as the Grand Duchess, was completely different.

2:00 p.m. today.

Invited guests arrived on time at the outdoor tea party set up in the neat garden filled with autumn chrysanthemums. It was a large-scale gathering attended by the spouses of key vassals, or their eldest daughters or omega sons, or all of them. It was a place where Valentin, who would have to lead the companions or children of Dales’ high nobles as the Grand Duchess in the future, introduced and presented himself for the first time.

Throughout the week, Valentin personally selected everything from the desserts to the decorations for the party, the order of the finger foods, the table arrangements, the invitations he wrote himself, and the name cards indicating each person’s seat. Every little detail was touched by Valentin’s hands.

Actually, he had no intention of working this hard. Didn’t his husband say he didn’t have to do anything? However, the reason why Valentin had no choice but to work hard was a bit different.

What had completely dominated Valentin recently. It was none other than depression.

[As long as you don’t overdo it, you can carefully do what you normally do. Rather, moderate exercise and movement eliminate depression and invigorate you.]

The royal physician who saw him lacking energy and feeling depressed lately gave this advice.

[During pregnancy, all kinds of hormones rise several times more than usual. It’s natural to be confused and unable to handle your own emotions. Not knowing why your mood swings, getting angry, and feeling depressed are all normal.]

McClain softly reassured Valentin, saying it was a natural symptom.

‘Yeah. It’s better to constantly be doing something.’

The day after the formal banquet with the vassals, he took a day off without meeting anyone. Confining himself only within the room.

‘I only became more depressed…’

McClain’s words were accurate. If he had been surrounded by newly assigned duties and unfamiliar spaces with nothing to do, lying around in a corner of the room, he would have become more depressed. He would have been digging himself into a deeper hole, thinking, ‘Am I a useless human being?’ while gnawing on cookies or something.

So, for Valentin, having a daily life with little things to do was better. Time passed very well while immersed in it. It was the tea party he had diligently prepared with that mindset.

But had he been too complacent?

They didn’t seem to sincerely enjoy the tea party Valentin had prepared.

“I guess this format is trendy in Eldon?”

“Should I say it’s a new sense? We absolutely can’t keep up with it.”

“Your Grace… Excuse me for the impudent remark, but people here don’t enjoy eating desserts that use so many oriental spices…”

“I expected a more modest occasion, so it’s disappointing.”

Pointless faultfinding about the decorations or tableware Valentin had chosen, words pointing out the wrong judgment about the refreshments. The pitying gazes of the ladies looking at the Grand Duchess who was trying his best to somehow continue the conversation in a pleasant manner in order to lighten the stiff atmosphere.

Of course, not everyone was nitpicking the new Grand Duchess in that way. There were young ladies and gentlemen in Dales’ high society who were interested in Eldon’s high society, and there were several elderly ladies who smiled warmly and treated Valentin like a grandmother looking at her grandson, no matter what he did.

But the human heart is truly strange.

When only two or three out of ten people grumble and nitpick, the remaining seven or eight people who reacted positively become invisible. Positive things easily evaporate, while negative things solidify and stick to Valentin’s heart so tenaciously that it’s sticky.

Even though he tried to focus on the people who were kind and reacted positively, Valentin became more and more exhausted because of the few who made negative remarks.

And in the end, the words of a few people who kept nitpicking until the end and those who tried to stop them added up, leading to an argument. What the hell is this mess…? Valentin was plagued by the feeling of being in a cockfight arena. Naturally, the overall atmosphere became a mess.

“Don’t mind it, Your Grace.”

Today, too, the Marchioness of Wilgrave, the closest aide to the grand ducal house, stroked Valentin’s hand and comforted him. It was as if she had waited for Valentin until the end after the party was over and most people had left for this moment.

“Marchioness Cunningham, who was picking fights about trends or whatnot, is someone who has been reigning like a queen in Dales’ high society, where the position of Grand Duchess has been vacant until now. She’s asserting her authority.”

“If I had spoken less and acted with more dignity as they wanted…”

“Then they would have picked on you for being too prim, saying it’s just like an Eldon person.”

Valentin recalled Count Wharton’s words that he had overheard in the cigar room. He had also pointed out that Valentin was not as outgoing or hearty as the typical Dales-born nobles. With the same personality, if you do this, they criticize you for that, and if you do that, they criticize you for this.

‘What the hell do they want me to do…?’

He couldn’t figure out which tune they wanted him to dance to. It seemed like they only thought about finding fault and nitpicking no matter what Valentin did.

“All those who nitpicked for no reason are Marchioness Cunningham’s faction… And I think it was worse because it was a gathering of only spouses.”

Compared to the previous banquet, it was even more so. Was it better then because the Grand Duke and Reynard were present? He never imagined they would come at him so recklessly.

He knew that the social circles of companions were a slightly different realm from status or titles. Of course, it was true that the higher the status, the more superior one was, but there were more subtle relationships and hierarchies.

Valentin recalled his school days in his previous life. Regardless of visible things like the class president or the top student in the class, the person who was most popular and influential in the class, the real power holder, was someone else. And the students in the classroom implicitly followed the real power’s cues and words rather than the class president’s.

Of course, high society couldn’t be compared to something like a classroom in terms of scale and level, but if you looked at today’s incident as an example, it was no different.