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However… They exchanged glances, bewildered by the emperor’s attitude. He had changed the punishment as if he had been waiting for it.

Then, they lowered their heads right away.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The nobles left the emperor’s quarters.

Princess Cayena was no longer in her previous spot where she had been kneeling.

“Recently, the relationship between His Majesty and Her Highness has been good. It’s quite useful, isn’t it?”

The credit for today definitely went to Cayena.

Zenon looked at them as if they were pathetic. They were so delighted with the easy victory.

‘Do they not recall who was to blame for Prince Rezef to receive the emperor’s ire in the first place?‘

Only their families were splendid. As people, they were matchless idiots.

***

It was an exaggeration to say that Cayena had fallen.

‘I was on my knees for three hours and couldn’t get up.’

When they saw her sink to the floor, people panicked, thinking that Cayena had collapsed.

Her thin clothes as well as her blue lips and face, pale from the cold, sparked the misunderstanding.

“You’ve worked hard, Your Highness,” said Vera, massaging Cayena’s legs.

“You’ve also worked hard for me.”

“It isn’t like that.”

Cayena wore the simplest inside clothes that she had. She had been kneeling in an out-of-fashion dress, with all the decorations peeling off.

“What would you have done if His Majesty did not change his mind?”

Cayena, who was warming up with some hot tea, said with a smile,

“It would not have been possible for my father to give such an order unless he really intended to keep Rezef from the crown.”

“Why, I…I suppose so.”

When Vera heard it, she thought that it must be so.

If he was put on “indefinite probation,” it meant that Rezef would not be considered as a possible successor.

Considering the emperor’s cold disposition, it would have been more comfortable for him to pull Rezef down from the battle for the crown.

“This was a test. He must have been watching how I would deal with it.”

Did she really make such a calculation in that moment?

Vera shut her mouth. Cayena had been able to keep a cool mindset without shedding blood nor tears. The blood of the imperial family surely flowed differently from that of ordinary people.

Then, suddenly, she became curious.

“If so, did Your Highness pass the test?”

Instead of answering, Cayena smiled brightly.

At that time, they heard a knock, and Annie entered the room.

“Your Highness, Grand Chamberlain Luden has asked to see you.”

“Let him in.”

The emperor’s old chamberlain, Luden came in holding a box wrapped in cloth.

“How are you feeling, Your Highness?”

“I feel fine.”

He held out the box in front of him.

Vera quickly approached him and received the box.

“His Highness’s probation has been adjusted to be ten days long.”

“I am overwhelmed by the generosity of my father.”

Vera opened the box and held it out for Cayena. Inside was a jeweled key.

“There is an imperial order.”

At those words, Cayena kneeled on the floor. The same was true for Vera, who sank down on one knee.

“Listen, Cayena Hill, the First Princess of Eldaim.”

Luden straightened his back and conveyed the Imperial Order.

“The First Prince of Eldaim, Rezef Hill, had been judged incapable of ruling over the ladies-in-waiting, so during his probation, his authority over the internal affairs of this palace shall be transferred temporarily to the First Princess, Cayena Hill.”

Unknowingly, Vera tightly gripped the box in her hands.

‘It’s temporary, but for the first time, real power has been given to the princess!‘

Cayena was undisturbed despite receiving her first real power in 19 years.

“Thank you.”

No, what 19 years?

In her first life, she couldn’t get any real power even as she died. One of her nicknames was ‘Paper Princess,’ so she could see how deep the disgrace went.

“My sincere congratulations, Your Highness.”

Luden bowed deeply and congratulated Cayena.

Cayena got up with Vera’s support. She took the key inside the box.

It was an ornate, gilded key. It was a key that was managed by generations of empresses, and the key that her mother had once held.

“I am still young and I am lacking in many areas, so I am in your care.”

“Your Highness, you will do a great job.”

Luden praised her once again.

“Please understand that the situation being what it is, it’s only a small, temporary change in your authority.”

“How could I not know?”

Luden smiled kindly and then excused himself, withdrawing from the room.

“Your Highness.”

Vera looked at Cayena as if she felt overwhelmed.

Cayena put the key back into the box and said, teasing Vera, “It’s only the beginning. Are you so intimidated by this little power?”

“But…”

The probation was only for ten days.

During that time, Rezef’s people could take care of the palace. It was not necessary to change the person in charge like this. However, the emperor handed over the authority to Cayena.

‘He’s officially announcing that she has the ability to govern.‘

Like Cayena said, this was only the beginning.

“It looks like I got the answer right.”

Vera was worried that the princess’s petition to the emperor might have crossed the line.

But looking at the results that came back, she regretted that she had dared to doubt the princess. She was curious about Cayena’s next move, as she had made the first move perfectly.

“What is your next plan?”

Cayena sighed at the question.

There were piles of work to do.

If she didn’t take care of them in the proper order, everything would be messed up.

‘And all of the tasks are very important.’

“First of all, I have to choose a lady-in-waiting for myself. I will formally select Olivia Grace with His Majesty’s edict.”

Vera was puzzled by the name.

“Isn’t that lady already being recruited by His Highness Rezef?”

“The Grace family is sponsored by Kedrey dukedom. So how could they obey Rezef’s request to bring her in as my lady-in-waiting?”

She even sent a letter through Annie so that the lady wouldn’t accept.

Everything was for this day.

“If she came in at Rezef’s request, it would mean that the Kedreys directly or indirectly support him as the successor. So they’ll be stalling as much as possible.

“But the story would be different if it were His Majesty’s edict.”

At Vera’s words, Cayena smiled and looked at her fondly.

“Yes, you’re right.”

Selecting new ladies-in-waiting and having them enter the palace was very important work. One had to consider what family the lady would be in contact with and what kind of power the lady would have in the future.

‘Olivia, the protagonist of this world and the most powerful card, must become one of my people.’

Also, it would be good to offer her protection, as Olivia was defenseless, like she was in the open sea.

Rezef and Heinrich would not be able to touch her easily if she became Cayena’s court lady.

Cayena drank some more warm tea.

“The tea tastes very good.”

Cayena’s composure seemed to make Vera more impatient.

“His Highness’s probation will only last ten days. What else will you do during this time?”

Cayena put the teacup down on the side table next to her.

“I’ll turn them against each other.”

Cayena laughed a little while saying so.

Coming between two sides… Wasn’t this a really wicked trick?

It was a trick that deserved to be regarded as a nasty and dirty trick, but it was also a way to get big gains.

“Turn them… against each other?”

Vera speculated that one of those people Cayena would interfere with was Rezef. However, she couldn’t easily come up with who she would be separating from him.

As she fell deep into thought, Cayena told her the answer.

“Zenon Evans.”

Rezef’s lieutenant and one of the key figures of the Imperial Prince’s faction.

He would be the target of her plans.

~~~