"When do you plan to tell them you’re a woman?"

At my question, Laura leaned back on the sofa with her signature smile still on her face. She sipped from the teacup in her hand, and I was about to assume she wouldn’t answer, but to my surprise, she spoke.

"Sooner or later, the truth will come out. I believe I mentioned this before. Why the sudden interest?"

"Look at the situation we’re in. Don’t you feel sorry for yourself?"

I stabbed at the tempting strawberry chocolate cake on the plate in front of me with a fork. There was quite a variety of desserts, ranging from Mont Blancs to mille-feuilles, macarons, and several dozen other types of sweet treats whose names I didn’t even know.

All of them had been sent by Aihenhart to emphasize just how domestic and womanly she was.

"You don’t seem to understand. Being able to exchange gifts with the Crown Prince on a personal level is a great honor. How many people in the Empire do you think can send him something directly, without any inspections?"