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“Great grandfather.”

It was Sir Bentier’s grandfather and the most powerful elder of Acreia, Marquis Seeze.

He visited Lady Tory with the same smile as hers. All the maids became rigid and left immediately.

Marquis Seeze asked Lady Tory, “Oh, so you are returning to Yapa?”

“Yes, I should’ve returned a long time ago.”

“Yes, I agree. You are the mistress of that castle, so you should not be absent for too long there. Besides, there has also been very good news recently, so I think it’s the perfect time for you to return.”

The only news that arrived from Yapa was the death of Lady Rebecca. Marquis Seeze was calling this good news, and Tory’s smile faltered a little. Marquis Seeze, unaware of the change in her demeanor, continued with a pleased laugh, “I was never worried about that southern girl because she has always been so weak. Even if she had a son, I knew he was going to be weak just like his mother, but she ended up having a daughter instead. What a wonderful week it has been.”

Marquis Seeze patted her shoulder gently and continued, “Bentier has been acting strangely lately, but I know he is a serious and smart young man, so I am not too worried about him. I am sure he will do the right thing. I also have great trust in you, my child. You are very intelligent too, so I am certain you will do me proud. You know what I am saying, right?”

“Yes, Sir.” Lady Tory bowed obediently, making Marquis Seeze smile proudly.

He slowly unraveled the gift he brought for her. It was a bottle of ice wine from his own winery in the northern region. “Everything we do is for his highness, Tory. You know that, right?”

“Yes, Great grandfather.”

Lady Tory received the bottle with trembling hands as Marquis Seeze continued, “I will tell the maids to take good care of you, alright?”

“Thank you, Sir. I am so grateful for all your help. I don’t know how I will ever thank you for taking such good care of me.”

“Of course, I should be taking good care of you! You are the woman who is going to bear the future emperor after all! You are the woman who will become the next empress!”

Lady Tory smiled shyly. Marquis Seeze said a few more words before leaving. After he was gone, the maids returned and took the bottle of ice wine away. Lady Tory was certain that he probably had a word with the maids.

Tory smiled at the women as if nothing happened.

***

Lady Stra finally woke up after crying herself to sleep. When she heard the news of Lady Rebecca’s death, she couldn’t stop crying.

Still feeling confused and sleepy, all Lady Stra could think about now was how to help Lady Tory. She needed to get up and help get ready to leave Nanaba, but her maids stopped her. The maids told Stra that Lady Tory ordered them to make sure Stra rests well.

‘She is such a kind person.’

To Stra, both Lady Rebecca and Lady Tory were wonderful women. Thinking about Lady Rebecca made Stra begin to cry again. Lady Rebecca, a good person, was dead now. How could this happen? And what about the baby? The newborn would never get to know her own mother.

It was a tragedy, but Lady Stra knew she couldn’t just sit around and drown in sadness. It was very possible that the southern colonies would insist on the emperor taking in another wife from their own region. They might even insist on Lucius the First marrying Lady Rebecca’s sister, claiming that she would take the best care of the newborn princess.

Until now, Lady Stra has been remaining quiet and docile because she was the youngest and the least powerful, but she needed to be stronger now. Her maids told her to rest and they will take care of everything, but Stra needed to work.

‘I can’t just sit still anymore.’

Lady Stra wiped away her tears and stood up to go help Tory. When Lady Tory saw her, she told Stra that it was not necessary for her to help, but Lady Tory still smiled kindly as if she was pleased.

***

A small group was formed to take care of the new princess. The royal doctors were kept busy because they were ordered to take special care of the princess as well as Poliana, who suffered from a recent injury. Normally, they would’ve liked to spend much time treating Poliana, who was a very influential figure, but the doctors were becoming too tired.

So they said the Frau Sneke, “You know the marquess well, so you should be the one taking care of her.”

“That’s right. You should go, Doctor Sneke.”

Frau was half forced to visit Poliana. Just like the other doctors, Frau has been working hard during the past few months. He even lost a little weight, making him look less chubby. Unwilling to look tired in front of his patient, he straightened up before going to visit Poliana.

He knew how close Poliana was to Lady Rebecca, which meant that Poliana must be very upset.

‘I wonder if she will cry… Or maybe she is drunk?’

Frau has never seen Poliana cry before, but her friend just died. It would’ve made sense for Poliana to cry. This was what Frau thought, but he was shocked to see Poliana’s perfectly dry face. Poliana didn’t smell of alcohol either. She looked perfectly fine, making Frau feel uncomfortable.

Only

‘No wonder people call her the cold witch.’

Frau almost felt a little fearful of her, but Poliana seemed oblivious. She stared as Frau changed the bandages on her torso. His hands felt warm to her cold skin. The desperate loneliness she felt seemed to become soothed by his touch. A dog would’ve had a higher temperature, but Poliana decided that this man will have to do.

She said to Frau bluntly, “Let’s get married.”

“Pardon?”

Frau gasped in shock, but Poliana didn’t care. She liked his awkwardness and honesty. She now had regular periods, which meant she could get pregnant now too. If she married him, they could have children and she could have her heir.

Even if she was too old to have a baby, it was still ok. Frau told her before that he didn’t care if they didn’t have any children. Poliana couldn’t endure her loneliness anymore, and that was why she proposed to him

Frau, the gold digger, might just get what he wanted.