‘Aaaaaahhh! Why did I say that?!’

A secret? A secret!!

There were so many better reasons he could have given for keeping the trial preparations confidential!

‘Am I crazy? Am I out of my mind? Are you even a lawyer?’

He felt utterly embarrassed. He had gone through the trouble of visiting to share information about the trial preparations, and then, in his panic, he ended up blurting out something as ridiculous as “It’s a secret.”

“Aaaaaah!”

While the servants in the palace passed by, casting fleeting glances at Felio, who was tearing at his hair with silent screams, the man himself seemed oblivious to the surrounding gazes.

‘Why did I do that? What on earth was there to be flustered about in front of that witch? Ughhhh!!’

Felio’s silent screams continued until he left the palace and returned to his residence.

Meanwhile, in Ermedeline’s bedroom, where Felio had hastily exited.

“W-What, what was that?”

It took a while before Rooney and Ermedeline finally found their voices.

“That’s right. What was that just now?”

“Is it because the trial preparation process is supposed to be a secret?”

“Well, for now, yes… but didn’t he seem a bit off?”

“Yes. He seemed a bit insane, didn’t he?”

Insane. There was no better word to describe his state just a moment ago.

“That’s right. He didn’t seem in his right mind… We should ask him to visit again once he calms down.”

“Hmph. I knew something like this would happen someday.”

“Huh? How did you know something like this would happen?”

“That guy! Always with that stern expression and actions. And how mismatched are his clothes? He must have some grudges piled up, not just one or two places. I’m sure he’s been cursed with a lack of sanity by someone!”

“What?”

Ermedeline found it hard to entirely dismiss Rooney’s exaggerations, even though they were quite absurd and made her burst into laughter.

“He’s definitely not the easiest personality…”

“But he does help me a lot with my work. In a courtyard where even the maids avoid me, Duke Felio is actually quite a helpful person.”

“Empress, Your Majesty! Were you always so accommodating? That guy isn’t helping you out of the goodness of his heart!”

“Well, that could be true too…”

Honestly, as someone who knows the original story, Ermedeline found it hard to completely trust Felio.

In the original story, Felio was one of the most active participants in dethroning Ermedeline and subjecting her to a trial by fire.

Thinking back to Felio’s stern gaze when they first met, Ermedeline inwardly sighed.

‘I’ll accept the help for now, but don’t trust him too much!’

Ermedeline managed a strained smile in response to Rooney’s determined words.

“I know, I know… But there’s really no one else to trust right now.”

After saying those words, she felt an unexpected surge of emotions. There was a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Why wouldn’t there be!!”

Rooney boldly opened her eyes wide and brought her face close to Ermedeline’s.

“I may not be as rich or noble as the lady-in-waiting, and I may not be as smart as the duke, but you can absolutely trust me! I mean it!”

She seemed to be trying to convey her determination, even clenching her lips tightly.

‘How, how cute.’

Finally, the melancholy on Ermedeline’s face faded away, replaced by a smile.

“Yeah. I feel really reassured with you around.”

***

Surprised by the changes in his own heart, Henry emptied his savings. He purchased a pair of exquisite earrings for Valliere. These earrings were adorned with hundreds of diamonds surrounding a large emerald, a rare find even for an emperor.

Ordinary people would be too afraid to even touch such earrings, given their price, but Henry lightly picked them up and examined them, tilting them to catch the light from various angles.

‘Perfect! These should suit Valliere perfectly!’

Satisfied with his choice, Henry carefully placed the earrings in an intricately crafted jewelry box, impressed by the fine craftsmanship. He wore a contented smile, reflecting on his decision.

“How does it look? Is it okay?”

Valliere, who had been looking in the mirror until a moment ago, quickly returned to her bed when Henry entered the room. She had noticed that Henry became softer when she was unwell.

“Thanks to your concern, I’m feeling much better,” Valliere said with a faint smile as she looked up at Henri.

Henry, seeing his frail lover, couldn’t help but sigh, feeling compassion.

“Seeing you in so much pain makes my heart ache too.”

“Yes, I don’t want to be unwell either… My body just hasn’t been cooperating,” Valliere replied with a tremor in her voice.

Unconsciously, Henri’s eyebrows twitched at Valliere’s response. It was so different.

In the past, Valliere would have jumped up and pretended to be fine, trying to reassure Henry when he asked. Henry felt his heart grow colder again, but he made an effort to treat his lover with as much tenderness as possible.

Driven by the desire to keep her by his side, he didn’t want to be a hypocrite who made his lover feel unwelcome in the palace just because he disliked her changed demeanor.

“I’ve instructed my priests to pray more fervently for your recovery, and the Empire’s top physicians are taking care of you. You should get better soon.”

“Well, these days, I feel like I won’t get better at all…”

The once radiant yellow hue on Valliere’s face was now veiled with dark gray clouds.

“Yeah, I haven’t been paying enough attention to you lately. I’ll make sure to be more attentive in the future…”

“Her Majesty the Empress.”

Valliere interrupted Henri’s attempts at consolation with a soft but firm tone. She had never had much interest in what Henri was saying in the first place.

“Why the Empress?”

“Lately, she has been getting involved with Prince Felio quite often. Isn’t that a bit strange?”

“Didn’t we talk about that before?”

“So, what’s the big deal this time? They’re meeting to discuss some matter, aren’t they?”

Henry felt irritation welling up again. Despite his efforts to visit and bring gifts, Valliere kept talking about her. She used to always inquire about his well-being and check on his condition whenever she saw his face. Now, it made him wonder if the woman in front of him was the same person.

“It’s really something unrelated to you. Besides, it will become public knowledge soon…”

“So, if it’s going to become public knowledge soon, why not just tell me now?”

Despite his growing frustration with Valliere, who seemed determined not to say anything today, Henry exercised patience until the end.

“There’s going to be a trial. Haven’t you heard about the assassination case? As for the rest, it’s still in progress, so it’s difficult to talk about.”

“But in that funeral case, you weren’t the victim, were you, Your Majesty? It’s not even a case against House de Françoise like last time, and it’s a clear-cut case with a known culprit. Why does the duke have to be the defense attorney?”

“I’m feeling quite tired today. Let’s talk about it another time.”

Feeling suddenly fatigued, Henry decided to cut the conversation short and turn away.

Henry was hesitant to continue the conversation, fearing that saying anything more might truly hurt Valliere. He still regretted the harsh words Valliere had uttered in anger over the shallow attitude she displayed during the garden party.

He didn’t want to add to the weight on her heart.

“You didn’t respond to what I said! You never tell me what’s important! Don’t you think I’m in pain because of you?”

After speaking, Valliere deliberately cleared her throat and pretended to cough dryly, exhaling smoke-like breath. It was a behavior she often exhibited in her past life, allowing her to keep coughing until her face turned red.

With a sigh, Henry reluctantly approached Valliere and offered her a glass of water.

“What do I have to hide? It’s just that I can’t casually disclose information about a case that’s under preparation according to the imperial law. Please don’t be upset,” he reassured her.

Henry was a ruler who didn’t tolerate even the slightest gap in his own personality due to his meticulous nature, despite his sincere feelings for his lover. Valliere eventually had to give up on hearing a response from him.

Although she wished they would never meet again, today happened to be the day they had scheduled to meet with the contractors for the construction of the orphanage and discuss building materials.

So, with a heavy heart, Valliere decided to abandon any thoughts of hearing Henri’s reply.

Meanwhile, Felio was on his way to the planned orphanage construction site. He had considered faking illness after drinking a weak curse potion to avoid facing Ermedeline, but duty-bound within the empire with no one else to challenge, he couldn’t execute his plan. Thus, he ended up arriving at the orphanage site, despite not wanting to see Ermedeline the next day.

As he looked around, he saw no other carriages except for the one he had arrived in. He had arrived first.

‘This works out perfectly. Let’s get to work.’

The planned construction site was already filled with piles to be used for construction, and Felio was eager to inspect them now.

If she intended to use the orphanage as a new testing ground for curse magic, she might even install hidden runes on the ground to make them inconspicuous.

While Felio was typically known as a scholar and lawyer studying the law, his true identity was that of a wizard. Despite his nickname as the “Ice Prince,” he was a fire mage. Due to his personality, he was deeply involved in research on runes and potion crafting.

The influence of this mysterious power that had been passed down through generations in the Batistian Dukedom, which had once been a small noble house but had grown to establish its own nation and become a founding hero of the Trivian Empire, played a significant role.

Although the immense magical power that had once allowed them to govern a small principality had mostly been lost over the generations, making large-scale magic impossible, the presence of a mage on the battlefield was still invaluable.

Despite their weakened state, their magic remained potent, and as a result, they still enjoyed the right to rule their territory like kings.

‘Hmm, doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. Is she really building the orphanage for purely altruistic reasons?’

As Felio leaned down, almost touching the ground with his face, he was suddenly startled by the appearance of someone’s face right in front of him.

“Did you find any interesting bugs?”

“Eeek!”

Ermedeline’s sudden appearance made Felio emit a strange scream and jump backward in surprise.

“Why are you so startled? I knew everyone was afraid of me, but even the duke? Are your guts smaller than I thought?”

Ermedeline had experienced Felio’s outwardly gruff demeanor, but in reality, he was straightforward and not very good at hiding his emotions. In other words, he enjoyed teasing people.

Even though it was all in good fun, Ermedeline felt a slight pang of guilt when she saw Felio sitting on the ground with a bewildered expression and his bottom firmly planted.

‘Did I startle you that much? For a grown man, you’re quite a coward.’

Ermedeline approached Felio, who still seemed unable to get up, and extended her hand to help him up.

“Grab my hand and get up. Your white coat will get dirty.”

Despite feeling guilty for startling him, Ermedeline extended her hand with the kindest smile she could manage. However, Felio just stared at her with a puzzled expression, his eyes narrowing.

“No. I knocked you down, so I should help you get up…”

“Oh, I see.”

Only then did Felio seem to realize the situation and reluctantly reached out his hand.

‘What’ is this?’ he wondered.

His slender, long, and delicate hand was trembling slightly.

“I won’t use any curses, so you can hold on without worry,” Ermedeline assured him.

Felio hesitated for a moment but eventually reached out and grasped her hand. There was an intense trembling sensation where their hands met.

“Stop trembling so much! I told you I won’t curse you!”

Ermedeline exerted some force to help him stand, but once Felio was on his feet, he started swaying unsteadily once again, appearing weak.

“Is there something hurting? Your face is so red. Did you catch a cold?”

Ermedeline unconsciously reached out toward his face, as if to take his temperature. It wasn’t the most appropriate action for an empress, but it was a habit from her time spent with the younger orphans.

Felio, taken aback, instinctively swatted her hand away, and he did so quite forcefully.