The issue of joint subjugations was important enough to be everyone’s greatest concern.
Handling it poorly meant one was unfit even to fulfill the basic duties of a noble.
Perhaps Duke Gloria sensed the increasingly uncomfortable gazes on him.
Unable to watch any longer, he lightly dismissed Hedmilton and hurriedly placed a hand over his chest.
He nodded politely toward Eren, and as if he had never been angry at all, spoke smoothly,
“Your Highness, let us discuss this matter later. It seems my subordinate has misunderstood something.”
“I doubt it. It doesn’t seem to be a misunderstanding.”
Eren cut him off coldly, but Duke Gloria was no longer listening.
Acting very much as though he were conscious of the eyes around him, he offered a perfunctory bow and practically dragged Hedmilton away.
Left behind, Diana alone now had to endure Eren’s sharp gaze.
And with the much larger Jeyord standing crookedly to the side, watching with interest, the pressure on her was considerable.
“Uh, well…”
Diana rolled her eyes nervously before giving a shy smile.
“Please don’t be too harsh on my father. I thought it might be better for me to handle the important matters of the House going forward. And I felt bad when the aides kept changing.”
Not missing the chance, Liselotte quickly nodded.
“Exactly. It really was exhausting having them change so often. Every single letter meant a new aide.”
It wasn’t a lie.
They really had changed the aide every time a letter was sent.
In that sense, she was directly expressing just how difficult the Eastern side had made the negotiations.
But Diana seemed to think Liselotte was agreeing with her, and her expression brightened.
“Right? I knew it must have been hard, so I tried to take over instead.”
Jeyord, who had been standing to the side as if watching a fire for entertainment, crossed his arms and tilted his head.
“But didn’t my Lady know very little about subjugations? I thought work like this would be too much for you because of your weak health! You must have gotten much better!”
Jeyord Seten. From today onward, Liselotte decided to consider him one of Eren’s close friends.
‘He’s just a little clueless, but isn’t he a decent person?’
Eren’s opinion was not included in this decision, but the fact that Jeyord treated him—someone with nomadic blood—so casually was already admirable.
Perhaps that was why Eren also dealt with him to a reasonable extent.
As Jeyord’s booming voice rang out, Diana’s complexion grew increasingly pale.
Her large eyes quivered anxiously as she spoke in a trembling voice,
“Exactly… It’s hard for me too…”
Even though they were the ones who had caused damage, the current situation made it look as if Liselotte had been the one tormenting Diana.
Somehow, Diana appeared even more pitiful.
Just as Liselotte’s lips threatened to twitch—
From outside the hall, a servant’s loud voice announced an entrance:
“His Highness the Crown Prince is entering!”
In an instant, the crowd parted like a receding tide, forming a path with the door at the center.
Liselotte had no choice but to move aside as well.
When she stepped back together with Diana, the heavy arched doors opened.
Through them entered Valen, with deep violet hair and a face that looked slightly tense.
One by one, people bowed their heads respectfully.
Liselotte was no exception.
Step, step. His footsteps approached.
In Liselotte’s lowered field of vision, a pair of luxurious shoes came into view.
A moment later, Valen’s voice sounded above her head.
“Diana. You don’t look well.”
“N-no, I’m fine.”
Liselotte sensed Diana lifting her head beside her.
When she also raised her upper body from her bow, she found herself face to face with Valen’s expressionless face.
Anyone could tell from the subtle hostility radiating off him that they didn’t get along.
Their eyes met, but Valen swept his gaze across her face with thinly veiled irritation.
Then, ignoring Liselotte entirely, he turned to Eren and greeted him,
“Grand Duke Keilos. You must be tired from such a long journey.”
The hostility he had shown toward Liselotte vanished behind a polite smile.
Valen even displayed a mild friendliness.
“I’ve heard rumors that relations between the East and the North have soured recently. If there’s any misunderstanding, I thought it best for both sides to resolve it directly, so I arranged this gathering.”
Eren quietly listened to him, not even blinking.
With the same blunt, cold expression as always, he looked at Valen and answered dryly,
“So you think it was a misunderstanding.”
At that unexpected rebuttal, Valen looked slightly taken aback.
Eren then lightly wrapped his arm around Liselotte’s shoulder.
“The person directly involved is right in front of you. I don’t see why you’re asking me.”
“Y-Your Highness.”
Liselotte could only stare at Valen with wide eyes.
Because Eren had pulled her closer, her shoulder was pressed tightly against his torso.
From the outside, they would look like a close couple.
Valen’s pale eyes — the same color as Lizerote’s — stared straight at her.
Then his gaze naturally shifted to Diana beside her.
True to her reputation as a terminal patient, her lips had gone pale.
‘What… what is that? Why does she look so unwell…?’
She looked so bad that Liselotte wondered for a moment if they would have to handle a corpse in the middle of the banquet.
Since her illness wasn’t a lie, a chill crept down Liselotte’s spine.
Vaken noticed it as well and quickly leaned toward Diana.
“Diana. Are you feeling unwell?”
“I-I’m fine. I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation…”
Valen straightened again and asked Liselotte,
“I heard you handled the matter with the East.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“You were interested in subjugations? The last thing I remember is you threatening me to hand over the fairy’s sapphire.”
Fairy’s sapphire? The name alone was enough to stir anyone’s curiosity.
But the jewel wasn’t the point right now.
Liselotte answered calmly,
“I studied a bit. After becoming the Grand Duchess, I had no desire to stay ignorant and end up as a monster’s meal.”
“That’s all you have to say about subjugations?”
Valen frowned as if he couldn’t believe it.
To be fair, they had been married for at most four months.
In that short time, expecting her to master an entirely new region, its terrain, unfamiliar subjugation force, and monster types was nearly impossible.
Especially if she were still the old ‘Liselotte’, who had avoided everything related to laws or monsters.
In reality, even in House Keilos, what she handled wasn’t the subjugations themselves — only the coordination role between the parties involved.
If she didn’t want to keep getting dragged around by Valen like this in the future, she needed to make things clear.
Liselotte drew a firm, cool line.
“What more do you want me to say?”
“What?”
Valen asked back as if he had no idea what she was talking about.
Liselotte still smiled politely as she answered,
“Didn’t you hold this banquet already having decided on the answer you wanted?”
She had no desire to explain that she had changed.
She had handled everything according to regulation, and whether Diana lied or deceived him, it was Valen who chose to believe her.
That meant he already had a fixed conclusion about the person called Liselotte.
Convincing someone like that was not easy.
It was something she had learned over a lifetime.
No matter how many times she shouted the truth, all it ever did was strengthen the other person’s preconceived notions.
At her surprisingly firm reply, Valen’s eyes wavered.
Supporting the shoulders of the swaying, unsteady Diana, he asked,
“What are you trying to say?”
“Just believe whatever you want to believe, Brother. I won’t bother to argue against your opinion.”
Of course, the responsibility for that choice was his alone.
And since the old Liselotte truly had done terrible things, she did not want to fight by attacking or defending herself.
She simply wanted this: for her to live her life in the North, and for him to live his life in the Capital — without interfering in each other’s affairs.
