CH 25

[What are you talking about?]

[If you didn’t like that your owner changed, I’ll send you back to Theo.]

Although I was starting to feel a bit attached, I decided to be considerate of the spirit who might have fallen into unrequited love.

The spirit was also a being with its own consciousness, and it was somewhat pitiful that it was trapped in a notebook, being bought and sold. As soon as I finished writing, the spirit quickly wrote a response as if it had been waiting.

[Don’t ever send me back, and I think you’re mistaken. I don’t like Theo.]

It doesn’t look like you don’t him. Before I could respond, the spirit continued.

[I like you, Master Lethenia, and I’ll be by your side for the rest of my life.]

It wasn’t what I had anticipated. With the unexpectedly firm response, I couldn’t insist any further.

But I couldn’t help but chuckle at the desperation in the spirit’s last words. Somehow, the invisible spirit started to look a little cute.

Rosetin entered the Empress’s palace to fulfill her role as a maid.

“I would like to send an official greeting to the Empress. I am Rosetin Bedos, appointed as a maid of the Empress’s Palace.”

Rosetin was as beautiful and charming as ever. Just as described in the original story, she was someone who seemed to exude a floral fragrance with every step.

I had something special in mind to make her stand out even more. Of course, the meaning behind it was to wish her well in the future.

<Do you have to make Rosetin your maid?>

I remembered what Ian said at Vanessa Palace. He was already reluctant to keep Rosetin near the empress. It will be difficult to survive if you are constantly mistaken for speculating on her.

In any case, there is only one strategy I can take in this situation. Get along well with Rosetin.

The position I had chosen was “a generous empress who takes a young lady of a county, who is said to be the emperor’s mistress, as a maid, and supports her and the emperor’s love affair in both heart and mind.”

“In regards to maid duties, Stella will be a great help. But before that…”

“Your Majesty, I have brought the royal exclusive designer, Catalina Fontes.”

I called the newly minted imperial clothes designer for a huge prize. Although Catalina was a rookie designer from the countryside, her skills were excellent, and above all, she was filled with ambition, which I liked. I instructed her to make a dress that would suit Rosetin.

Catalina’s eyes glistened as soon as she heard my command. It seemed that she was resentful that she could not show off her skills at the birthday banquet of the Empress, which is one of the few big events of the year.

It was because I was so concerned about Rosetin that I was churning around the banquet hall in an all-black, dreary ghost fashion. The splendid dresses she had diligently made went unnoticed. Moreover, I chose the most outdated and old-fashioned dress she had, which could have hurt her pride.

Her assistant skillfully measured Rosetin with a measuring tape. Beside her, Catalina moved her pen without hesitation, as if inspiration was flooding in. I turned to Catalina.

“It has to be a dark purple dress.”

It was because I recalled Ian’s expression as he stared in awe at Rosetin, wearing a deep purple dress in the original story.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Catalina’s eyes glistened as soon as she heard my order, like a mercenary about to slay a dragon. All of these were considered necessary processes to make the future story smooth.

Ian would fall in love with Rosetin as planned, and I would make the woman he loved the Empress, and that would be that.

I’ll just ignore Lethenia’s feelings and do my job.

My uncontrollable emotions were getting worse by the day, but there was a solution. A love potion. I never thought I’d need it this badly, but I should be grateful that such a setting even existed in this world.

While Catalina sketched out Rosetin’s dress, I made my way to Stella. As soon as I sat down by the table, Stella handed me the wad of papers she was carrying at her side.

“These are the materials related to His Majesty the Emperor that you mentioned last time.”

It was a document containing personal information about Ian. She probably thought I had requested it to win Ian’s favor. However, in reality, it was one of the means to help the protagonist, Rosetin.

As I skimmed through the contents, it was clear that Stella’s information-gathering abilities were top-notch. Beyond the official profile, there was a lot of stuff I would never have known.

“It’s better than I expected.”

“Yes. It’s high-level information that I’ve obtained by digging into the childhood attendants, maids, and even the nobles who frequently interacted with Emperor Ian.”

Stella replied with a proud look on her face. Looking back, the depth of the information Stella had brought so far was remarkable, and there were many topics that others couldn’t easily know.

I became a little curious. How could an ordinary noblewoman like her gather such intimate information?

“Stella, where does this information come from?”

Stella’s face hardened slightly at my lighthearted question. When I looked at her in wonder, she hesitated for a moment and opened her mouth carefully as if she had made up her mind. Her response was quite unexpected.

“My father, Count Arthur Clemere, is the head of Priodos secret organization. I am also in charge of a subordinate organization and oversee its operations.”

Stella calmly began to unfold the story about her family. Her father, Count Clemiere, had an information organization that had been passed down for several generations.

It was such a secretive group that even the lower-level members were difficult to identify, despite its immense size, and the identity of the leader was unknown.

It was a phantom organization without substance, one that Duke Bledel, who had been in power for so long, had tried to uncover, but never could.

Stella fiddled with the teacup in front of her.

“To be honest… Before I entered as a maid, I also heard stories about the Bledel family from my father. and I’ve come to suspect that Her Majesty is much different from the rumors. The Duchy of Bledel is off-limits to even our organization, so I don’t know their deepest secrets, but I do know one thing.”

“…….”

“Duke Bledel cares very much for his wife. …… and her second daughter.”

Stella said in a bitter voice as she looked into my eyes. I wondered if this was why she was so friendly to Lethenia, unlike the other maids.

I replied with a weak smile, telling her not to worry about it.

“None of that matters now.”

“Actually, he doesn’t even know I’m giving this to the Empress, he just thinks I’m researching it for reference in my duties as your maid.”

“…….”

“I only hope that what I’ve given you will be of some benefit to your relationship.”

Stella left her meaningful words and walked away for a moment. The image of Ian depicted in the information she had investigated was quite different from his current appearance, giving me a slight shiver. He seemed like a human being who wouldn’t bleed even if he stabbed him, but when he was young, he seemed to be very close to Lethenia.

There was also a lot about Lethenia in the document. Ian’s childhood was filled with her. The two cared very much for each other.

Their story, which is quite different from now, somehow touched my heart. The Ian of her past, the Ian she missed so much, is now gone. Time cannot be turned back, and a heart that has left cannot be held.

If only she could admit it, it would make her feel better.

The rift between them began when the Emperor fell ill with an incurable disease of unknown cause. Following the death of the Emperor, there was also the questionable demise of the Empress, the “mysterious carriage accident” of the chamberlain, and the disappearance of the secret royal order… The message conveyed by Stella’s information was clear.

Duke Bledel had something to do with the death of the Empress and Emperor. Ian knows that. Considering the ambitions of Duke Bledel, it wasn’t particularly surprising. I remembered Stella’s words.

Perhaps she passed this data in the hope that the misunderstanding with him would not deepen, but there was one thing she overlooked.

Ian would tear the Duchy of Bledel to pieces. Duke Bledel and Ian were ironclad enemies, so Lethenia’s relationship with Ian was hopeless.

This meant that Lethenia could not remain by his side, either as an empress or as a lover.

‘If he finds out about Lethenia’s birth…….’

The fact that Lethenia was not the Duke’s biological daughter might temporarily defuse Ian’s anger, but it would not be a reason to spare her life. On the contrary, it would likely be the opposite. She had lied about her birth and become an Empress, a capital offense punishable by death. It doesn’t matter how she got there. In this rigid and ignorant world, there was no rational system like a fair trial. It was unfair for Lethenia, who knew nothing, but it was not a matter that would end with her abdication.

The moment Ian finds out, he would have Bledel executed as if he had been waiting for it. With such an overwhelming justification, there would be no reason to continue a futile battle with the Duke.

All the plans I had been preparing would be in vain. The Emperor’s faction would not remain idle, with the Empress at the center of the storm.

Would Ian give up such a golden opportunity to save Lethenia? The two of them had been nothing more than a past connection, and they were not currently in a particularly special relationship. If anything, it would have been better if they had become nothing more than acquaintances.

Crucially, in the original story, he learned about Lethenia’s birth before she died, but the fact that he still sentenced her to death…… also meant that she wasn’t that important to him.

No matter how good their relationship was, the past is the past. As I was look at the data again, I saw someone approaching me in the distance.