“…What do you mean?”
Nine asked with a frown, and Rondun grinned and held out both index fingers.
“We’re going to swap the souls of the prince and the empress. That way, the empress can become the emperor—in the prince’s body.”
‘And I’ll get to try out a new experiment! This is going to be so exciting!’
From the beginning, all the experiments weren’t meant to fulfill Nine’s desires. Rondun, who was obsessed with experiments, was simply indulging his own cravings.
And Rondun was presenting this new experiment to Nine like a grand and convincing Christmas gift.
“I like my own body. Just focus on getting the results of the experiment! Radinis is starting to change his mind.”
However, Nine’s response was firm. She wanted to ascend to the highest position in her own body.
“You couldn’t even keep your son’s heart loyal, so what have you been doing~?”
Nine screamed at Rondun’s sneer because it reminded her of the person who had dared to come between her and Radinis. It was definitely her fault that Derivis had also changed.
“That Duchess of Judeheart keeps popping up out of nowhere and being a nuisance!!”
Nine had turned a blind eye to the nobles’ corruption, secretly altered the lists of reports that should be submitted to the imperial palace, or helped them submit false reports. She had helped them gain power behind the scenes.
No noble refused her favors. On the contrary, they were eager to cling to her. Nine kept records of these favors and used them to control the nobles. But for the first time, she was infuriated by Rosalie, who ignored her proposal and sided with Derivis.
“Your Majesty, please calm down! You need to control yourself.”
Nine took several deep breaths at Andree’s urging. After a while, she picked up a fan, opened it, and covered her face, avoiding any reflections of her distorted visage in windows or mirrors. She didn’t want to see or show her twisted face.
“…Hmm, the Duchess of Judeheart~.”
Rondun touched his lips.
‘She’s quite the nuisance… I’ll have to turn her into an experiment subject soon~.’
Rondun glanced at Nine, who was still hiding her face with the fan, while harboring sinister thoughts. His mind was full of ideas on how to entice her into his desired experiment.
⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰
Four days had passed since the banquet. Morel, who had come to fit Rosalie’s training outfit, looked quite tired as he adjusted the garment around her waist.
“You look exhausted.”
Rosalie commented, inspecting the new outfit in the mirror with satisfaction. Morel, marking areas for alteration, joined her in gazing at the mirror.
“Orders have been flooding into the tailor shop lately.”
“Oh, congratulations.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Your Grace.”
Morel smiled as Rosalie tilted her head in curiosity.
“Word has spread that I made the dress you wore at the banquet, and now black dresses are all the rage. It seems my value is about to double.”
He then assured Rosalie that he would maintain the current price for her. Rosalie shook her head, declining his generosity.
“No. Your skills are worth that much, so I will pay accordingly.”
“But I owe it to you, Your Grace.”
“I was just the catalyst.”
Morel shook his head, unable to convince the steadfast Rosalie. They finally compromised by having Morel insist on sending her a new dress as a gift instead of raising his prices.
“By the way, it seems that many nobles are eyeing the position of being your potential husband. Do you have any plans for marriage?”
“Hmm… Not yet.”
Marriage—it was the first time she seriously considered it. Since Derivis had started visiting the mansion and Rosalie had taken on the role of the head, the people in the duchy had been careful not to bring it up.
“I suspect you’ll soon receive a flood of marriage proposals at your mansion.”
Even with the scandal involving Derivis, the nobles would slyly include letters with their proposals. The position of the husband of the Duchess of Judeheart was highly coveted.
Rosalie merely laughed off Morel’s confident prediction.
As Morel predicted, a flood of proposals and some unsettling letters arrived at the mansion. Because of this, Erudit and Rosalie were having a serious discussion in the office.
“…It must be the Empress.”
“Indeed. It’s a sign she’s going to start applying serious pressure on us now.”
Erudit held the complaint letters from the nobles that had been delivered to the mansion that morning.
“They’ve put some thought into this. They’re asking us to lower customs fees to match those of Countess Seth’s merchant guild… It’s essentially asking us to give up income from the Yelvi Sea.”
“What will you do?”
“We’ll completely ban the use of the Yelvi Sea except for Countess Seth’s family and the nobles who didn’t sign the complaint.”
In the short term, the duchy would incur losses; but in the long run, those who didn’t use the Yelvi Sea would suffer greatly. After all, it was the safest and shortest sea route.
“Yes, understood. Only those not using it will lose out. The duchy has more than enough income to cover the losses.”
This threat wouldn’t last long. The customs revenue from the Yelvi Sea was significant, but now they had the life stones to compensate for it.
This was Nine’s warning and threat—she was using the nobles to pressure the duchy and warn them not to cross the line.
‘The incident at the banquet must have been the trigger.’
Erudit placed the complaint letters on the table. The Dukedom of Judeheart was strong enough to withstand any attack or threat.
“But if they extend their reach to Countess Seth, then we cannot guarantee their safety.”
“That won’t happen.”
Rosalie stood up and walked to her desk, opened the second drawer, and cleared out the items.
She tapped the bottom, revealing hidden items as the false bottom rotated. She picked up a glowing hairpin.
“I’m heading to the Imperial Palace.”
“What? Now?”
“I’m going for tea.”
Erudit tilted his head, puzzled by the hairpin in Rosalie’s hand. She smiled as she toyed with the hairpin.
“Erudit, I’m the type who handles fights that come my way.”
“Well… I’m aware of that, but….”
It was a well-known fact among the people of the duchy; Rosalie left the mansion with this statement.
Erudit, left alone in the office, felt both eager and anxious about what the Duchess might do next.
⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰
‘Ah, spring must be here.’
Rosalie thought as she looked at the Imperial Palace garden through the window. Winter had receded, and spring was approaching quickly. The palace, eager to welcome spring, was already planting flowers.
“It’s a pretty palace, isn’t it?”
“Indeed.”
Rosalie responded calmly despite the sudden voice. The speaker, Nine, was approaching her from the end of the corridor.
“What brings the Duchess to the Emperor’s palace?”
“His Majesty invited me for tea. And what brings you here, Your Majesty?”
Nine stopped in front of Rosalie, maintaining a noticeable distance that seemed to reflect the tension between them.
“It’s only natural for the Empress to visit the Emperor’s palace.”
Nine smiled softly, then took a step, then another, towards Rosalie. The smile faded from her face with each step.
“The palace is beautiful and truly magnificent. It’s so regal.”
They were now close enough to touch each other’s faces if they extended their arms.
“And that’s why I want it so badly. I want this palace to be entirely mine.”
They were alone in the corridor. Thus, Rosalie could sense Nine’s anger as she revealed her true feelings.
“Coveting what isn’t yours can lead to ruin, Your Majesty.”
And now that they were truly alone, Rosalie expressed her emotions without restraint as well.
“You two talk a lot for people who took my son away.”
Rosalie realized why she had encountered Nine in the Emperor’s palace.
‘She must have asked the Emperor to return Radinis, but it seems it didn’t go well.’
Rosalie stifled a laugh.
Nine lifted Rosalie’s chin with the end of her fan, and Rosalie noticed that Nine’s eyes were muddier than rain-soaked soil, filled with greed and selfishness.
“A gift should have arrived at your mansion this morning.”
“Yes, I received it. But I’m not one to accept gifts without giving something in return, so I came to see Your Majesty.”
Rosalie felt the fan tremble against her chin, sensing Nine’s growing anger.
Nine began to press harder with the fan. Rosalie frowned at the fan pushing against her neck, and the atmosphere between them became tense and cold.
‘I don’t want to get caught up in any more drama, but this is making me lose my temper.’
She could easily knock away Nine’s thin wrist, but the palace was still the palace even though they were alone; it didn’t help that Nine was also the highest-ranking woman in the inner palace.
Rosalie couldn’t recklessly use violence against her and Nine seemed to know this, judging by how she pushed the fan harder against Rosalie’s neck.
“It pains me to see you struggling so hard not to be pushed back.”
Nine’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she sneered. Finally losing her composure, Rosalie grabbed Nine’s fan.
Nine staggered clumsily under Rosalie’s strength. As she regained her balance, Nine glared at the fan in Rosalie’s hand, grinding her teeth audibly.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“The fan was bothering me.”
Rosalie turned slightly and looked out the window that overlooked the garden.
‘Since I’ve done it, I might as well throw it out the window.’
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