-105-
“He wants to see me, Your Majesty?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Weren’t the rumors about today supposed to have spread negatively? So why summon me?
This was the second time Rayel had sought me out. Actually, this was the first time he requested a private meeting. During our first encounter, there was the excuse that Lucius would accompany me.
Even if I liked the original Rayel as much as Angelica did, the current Rayel was different from the original, so I felt a little nervous about meeting him. Noticing my unease, Lucius took my hand and said:
“He’s not trying to scold you, Tiana. As I mentioned earlier, he actually said he wants to praise you.”
“Praise me? From His Majesty?”
“Yes. He also wants to convey his gratitude.”
“Hm… I see.”
Rayel intends to praise me and express his thanks. Does that mean my actions today were truly commendable? I had been the only one willing to step forward without worrying about what others thought, acting with the sense of responsibility expected of a Grand Duchess.
Of course, part of it was also to scold the young ladies mocking Angelica and to stop them from speaking carelessly. That reason was probably stronger.
I felt a little dizzy at receiving such high praise, but well, it’s a good thing, so there’s no reason to refuse.
“And he also said there’s something he wants to discuss with you,” Lucius added.
“Discuss? About what?”
“Perhaps about Lady Verner. With today’s events, talk about His Majesty’s relationship with Lady Verner has started resurfacing.”
“Ah, right.”
Since Lady Esmeda had taken on the role of spreading rumors, it was natural that the word had gotten around.
‘And today, my actions weren’t exactly ordinary.’
When the topic of Angelica and Rayel first came up, I didn’t intervene. I had reprimanded the young ladies who spoke carelessly about the ‘Empress,’ but I didn’t speak ill of Angelica, who had become the center of attention.
If anything, I had seemed to defend her. When I warned Lady Adena, I only said good things about Angelica.
How might my actions have appeared to those at today’s gathering? As the wife of the representative of the aristocratic faction and a Grand Duchess, I had defended a neutral-party young lady who might become the Empress.
That could cause some confusion among the aristocrats. By acknowledging a young lady from a different faction, I had, in effect, given her recognition. The neutral faction might not care as much, but for the aristocrats, it was unusual. Yet my support of Angelica wouldn’t harm them.
I had maintained contact with Angelica, and many knew I viewed her favorably. It had been clear since I helped at the Verner family’s tea party.
No matter the chatter, neither the aristocrats nor the neutral faction would care too much. Who could oppose my wish to get along with her? Neither Lucius nor I would face any objections.
‘Though there’s someone who might take issue.’
Duke Calvino. News traveled fast; he probably knows everything by now. Still, he likely has no ill thoughts about Angelica. He would probably see it as a good thing.
Even in the original story, he supported Angelica enough to make Rayel suspicious when she was mentioned as a potential Empress. Later, I realized that was part of his plan to leverage social rank. From Duke Calvino’s perspective, the Emperor’s consort being a countess, rather than a duchess or marquise, was an opportunity to gain leverage over the Emperor.
If his intentions haven’t changed from the original story, he’ll pretend to support her again. His goal was always to widen the gap between Lucius and Rayel.
For now, though, my support of Angelica won’t interfere with Rayel, so it’s safe to wait and see. There are bigger problems to deal with.
‘The Emperor’s faction. And Marquis Even.’
Marquis Even’s maneuvers had pulled about half of the neutral aristocrats into the Emperor’s faction. This disrupted the delicate balance, concentrating power within Marquis Even’s circle.
Even if the impact wasn’t significant yet, it was as if a sub-faction had formed. Would other Emperor’s faction nobles simply watch as Marquis Even and his followers gained influence?
Even was ambitious—both in business and power. There was no way he would remain passive while the important position of Empress was at stake.
‘He had a daughter, didn’t he? Lady Even, perhaps.’
From what I remembered, she was about my age. That meant Even could use his daughter strategically, as Angelica’s rank made her vulnerable.
Still, we couldn’t lose. No matter how Even acted, we had ways to counter him. I was here, Lucius was here, and Rayel was here. Alexander too. And there were plenty of other nobles we could sway.
We couldn’t let anything ruin our lady’s path to success.
The day after my conversation with Lucius, I went straight to the palace. Upon entering the main gate, attendants and servants, seemingly expecting us, came to greet us.
“Welcome, Your Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess. His Majesty awaits you this way.”
A formally polite attendant led Lucius and me inside. As we walked down the corridor toward the reception room, he turned and guided us toward the garden, taking the secluded path we had walked before.
At the end of the long path was Rayel’s secret garden. Sunlight poured through the trees, illuminating Rayel standing with Rose. I followed the attendant.
“Your Majesty, the Duke and Duchess have arrived.”
“Meow~”
Rose, who had gotten there before Rayel, greeted Lucius and me. She scampered to our legs, rubbing against us and letting out an adorably affectionate cry.
“Ah, you’re here.”
Rayel, leaning against a tree, strolled over leisurely. He gave a subtle signal, and the attendant quietly bowed before leaving the garden.
“Meow!”
“Looks like she’s happy to see us after a while.”
Watching Rose play at our feet, Rayel gave a small smile. He glanced at Lucius briefly before turning his attention to me.
“I heard you made quite a spectacle.”
“A spectacle?”
“Your heroic tale from yesterday has spread. You supposedly scolded the birds that left a light nest after spotting prey in the high branches.”
“Haha….”
I didn’t think it was exactly a heroic tale. But “birds,” huh. Rayel had a precise metaphor. When I had heard from Lucius about the birds that had gone over to Marquis Even, I understood why it was troublesome.
Seeing him appear unchanged brought me some relief. Perhaps he had already prepared some countermeasures, even if he was deliberately concealing them.
Rayel bent slowly and patted Rose on the back. Observing her happily accepting the gesture, I said:
“I only warned those young ladies who didn’t understand the situation. There are more people than you’d expect who can’t distinguish between what should or shouldn’t be said aloud.”
“That’s the nature of birds,” he said.
“I heard you had trouble with the leader of those birds,” I added.
“Ah, that leader. Yes. It was an unforeseen variable. I didn’t expect him to act at this time.”
Rayel’s brow furrowed, and he clicked his tongue in mild annoyance. After a moment, he slowly turned to look at me.
“…It might be due to the influence of her return.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.”
He murmured softly. When I looked puzzled, he shook his head. I thought I had heard him say “the influence of her return.”
Return? Who? Me? No, he must mean Tiana. Only I knew that the Tiana who had existed previously had been possessed by someone from the modern era.
Those who originally knew Tiana had temporarily experienced a strange shift due to the accident. They believed Tiana had returned after the possession ended. Rayel had confirmed this through his cryptic questions earlier.
‘But what does he mean by “the influence of returning to the original Tiana”?’
In truth, I had changed bodies again as a possessor, so the real Tiana hadn’t actually returned. If she had, the original story would have continued, and Marquis Even wouldn’t have acted as he did. He wouldn’t have drawn neutral aristocrats into the Emperor’s faction or disrupted the balance of noble factions.
Many changes occurred due to my possession, and Marquis Even was surely one of the affected characters. Even I couldn’t have predicted some of these variables.
‘…Wait.’
What did Rayel say earlier? “An unexpected variable”? Marquis Even? Why?
He was a concern because a former Emperor’s faction noble had suddenly drawn neutral aristocrats into politics unexpectedly. In delicate politics, figures like Marquis Even sometimes act in unforeseen ways.
‘But Rayel said he didn’t expect him to act at this time.’
It was as if he knew Marquis Even would cause a stir, but at a different time.
Was Marquis Even’s action something Rayel hadn’t anticipated, or something he did anticipate?
Does he know Marquis Even wasn’t originally supposed to be the “variable” at this time? How?
‘Could it be…’
The déjà vu I felt from our first meeting. The male lead acting so differently from the original story. Even other characters had changed from what I remembered, so I had only thought he was “different.”
His more proactive personality, and his knowledge of a “variable” even I didn’t know about…
‘Could it be that he…’
had undergone a “regression” himself, just like in the original story.
