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The Empress was originally busy managing the inner palace, so she attended gatherings and banquets.

However, Roxana rarely attended meetings hosted by her.

That was why today’s meeting was special.

Why would the Empress invite me at this time? I didn’t have a very good feeling about it. As I meekly sat down in front of the dresser, Tien touched my hair as Joan brought me a dress to wear to the Imperial Palace.

“Young lady, wear this necklace.”

Tien placed the necklace that the Crown Prince had given me the other day on the table. It was the first time I had been invited by the Empress, and I was as nervous as she was. However, when I saw the maids of honor chatting with each other, even more nervous than I was, I was rather calmed by their appearance.

I wore a dark blue dress with a sapphire necklace and earrings, and a wide-brimmed hat. I then put on a pair of light gloves and held a lacy parasol in my hand.

When I went downstairs, I found that a carriage had already arrived and was waiting for me. It was a gift from the imperial family.

I rode in the carriage with the imperial knights escorting me.

The horseman swung the whip once and the carriage began to move forward. As I gazed through the closed glass window at the scenery outside, I thought back to yesterday.

Claire had conspired with her own servant to entrap me.

In the process, many people, including Lady Evans, were about to be harmed along with me. However, I think it was probably me that Claire was targeting from the beginning. In the end, her plan was foiled by the second Prince. And the only one who was taken away was the maid.

But I couldn’t put the annoying thought out of my mind. It must have taken Claire a while to realize how the job had gone after all the commotion.

As far as I know, Baron Dana can’t afford many servants.

Besides, Claire’s maid had been handling her business for a long time.

If Claire cared about her, she would probably visit the Crown Prince by now and ask him for help to get the maid out.

But since the job was already finished and all the people on site were scattered, the Crown Prince could not hold me responsible any longer.

Of course, his behavior was always unexpected to me, so I wasn’t sure how he would behave for Claire this time.

I didn’t want anything “unexpected” to happen anymore.

Besides, if I remembered the cocky maid’s attitude towards me yesterday in front of the second Prince, it was impossible to overlook this time.

The maid dared to try to frame me.

But to be released after only one day, isn’t that a very easy and light punishment?

I had no intention of letting the maid go so easily.

The carriage that had been running for a while stopped when I awoke from my reverie. As I stepped out of the carriage, I was greeted by the attendants who were waiting for me in front of the castle gate.

The servant led me to the West Palace, where the Empress lived.

I could not take knights with swords into the palace, so I had to leave the knights who had come with me outside.

I was accompanied only by Annie and walked slowly along with the imperial servant. On the path leading to the West Palace, roses and lilies were arranged in a regular pattern.

A large artificial pond in a corner of the garden was filled with fish in gorgeous colors.

Standing in front of the palace, I finally tensed and stiffened at the thought that the Empress was in there.

I followed the servant into the Imperial Palace. A little further in, past the white stone building, several noble ladies, including the Empress, had arrived and were chatting among themselves.

As soon as I spotted them, they also spotted me. I made eye contact with one of them. She bent the corners of her eyes and smiled gently. Her gaze was kind and friendly to me.

“Princess Lillian.”

The Empress called out to me. I greeted her, trying to keep up with the rest of the crowd.

“I’m here to see the Empress.”

“Please take a seat here.”

The Empress pointed to the vacant seat next to her. It was a bit of a burden, but I had no other choice. I meekly sat down next to the Empress. The servant spontaneously poured tea into my cup.

As I took my seat, everyone’s eyes turned to me. The number of people gathered for the tea party was small, but except for me, the rest were all members of the Empress’s entourage. So naturally I had to be nervous.

I brought the teacup to my lips and tasted it. I may have been mistaken, but the tea tasted very similar to what I drank at Hermes.

As I pondered for a while, thinking of Elvin’s face that I had met a few days ago, a noble lady sitting across from me asked,

“Does the tea suit your palate?”

“Yes, it’s delicious.”

“Then it’s good. Try this too.”

I nodded, and the Empress smiled. I did as she suggested and took a bite of the snack in front of me. It looked delicious, and the fancy shaped snack was not too sweet, and had a luxurious taste.

They said that the new imperial chef was outstanding, and they didn’t seem to be just talking.

“What do you think? Do you like it?”

“Yes, Empress. And I’m honored to be here today.”

“I thought you had a pretty face, but you have a beautiful voice too.”

“I’m flattered.”

The Empress’s face as she gazed at me was filled with great compassion.

Today, she looked like a completely different person than she did when I saw her in public.

The Empress who treated me friendly felt like a kind but uncomfortable relative adult. All of them, including the Empress, who were now gathered at the table, were very friendly to me and the tea and snacks prepared for me were marvelously delicious.

However, my mind was rather more uncomfortable than it would have been in a banquet hall full of people.

“You don’t have to be so polite. We’ll be a family soon.”

I nearly spat out the tea in my mouth at the casual words of the Empress. Roxana and the Crown Prince were already engaged and were planning to get married next year. I already knew this, but I was prepared to do something about it, and after hearing about it from others, I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.

However, I seemed to be the only one here who was surprised by the Empress’s blatant attitude. While I was trying to keep a smile and calm down my surprised mind, the Empress continued.

“To be blessed with such a fine wife. Jeremy is a lucky man.”

In the Empress’s mind, it seemed that my marriage to the Crown Prince was already a foregone conclusion.

“The Princess is beautiful and the Crown Prince is also outstanding, so it’s a blessing for them both. Don’t you think so?”

“That’s right. I’m already looking forward to it. I wonder how grand the wedding will be next year.”

“It’s coming up soon, so I’ll start preparing my formal attire.”

“Isn’t it too early for formal wear?”

“No. Only six months left. It’s better to prepare early and wait than to prepare late and be overwhelmed by the schedule.”

The other ladies naturally added in. I chuckled awkwardly and silently brought the teacup to my mouth. Unlike earlier, I couldn’t taste the tea.

Unlike yesterday, the sky was cloudless and the weather was sunny. The air was cool because it had rained the day before, but not so cool that it felt chilly in the warm sunshine.

In the peaceful atmosphere, friendly words came and went, the party continued with different thoughts. The noble ladies were kind to me and the Empress took good care of me.

But the Empress’s attitude towards me was so burdensome that I feared she might have taken the snack I had just eaten.

“I have summoned you today, Princess, because there is something I wish to discuss with you.”

The Empress, who had been talking meaninglessly for a while until the warm steamy tea had cooled, finally cut to the chase. I looked at her, unperturbed by the anxiety of not knowing what her next words would be.

“Next month will be the princess’s birthday. I would like to hold a birthday banquet for you at the Crystal Palace, what do you think?”

The Crystal Palace was located in the imperial Palace, and although the building was not made of crystal, it was as shining and beautiful as its name implied.

It was often used by the imperial family to host important banquets and events. However, there have been only a few times when it has been opened for this purpose and not for the royal family.

The Crown Prince and I were engaged, but we hadn’t married yet.

Therefore, I was not a member of the royal family. So it was out of line for me to hold a birthday party.

Perhaps the Empress was worried about the rumors between me and the Crown Prince the other day? Or was it because of the news of the Duke’s victory?

I didn’t know the exact reason, but judging from the Empress’s attitude today, she seemed to want to proceed with the marriage as soon as possible. From the beginning, the Empress was kind to me, and her face was full of compassion as she looked at me.

But from the beginning, the Empress did not care about my reaction. She didn’t even seem to think that I would reject her questions. Her attitude was very similar to the Crown Prince’s arrogant attitude.

I did not immediately know whether this attitude of the Empress would benefit me or bring disaster. But this time, it would bring about no small amount of change.

“I’ll follow the Empress’s will.”

I bowed my head slightly.

It was not easy to correct prejudices once they had been engraved in people’s minds. Despite the change in appearance, many of them were still hostile. It was like Claire’s maid yesterday.

It was quite unnatural for a maid to behave in such a cheeky manner in front of a Princess.

From this point of view, I think this was a good opportunity for me to change people’s perception. It would allow me to imprint in their minds once again the prestige of the Duke of Lillian and our place in the world.

There was no special way to refuse the Empress’s favor, so it was better to take advantage of what was available as much as possible.

”I hope you can reply quickly. Then I’ll send someone to the Duke’s residence so I can discuss it with him.”

The Empress smiled in satisfaction. It took a while, but the tea party was over nonetheless. One by one, the ladies left their seats. I also got up to leave. The Empress stopped me.

“Princess, why are you in such a hurry? Is there something you are busy with?”

When I hesitated and couldn’t answer easily because I didn’t understand her intention, the Empress asked softly.

“If you are not too busy, why don’t you take a walk with me and then go back?”