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“Do you know who arranged Kirke and the Empress’s marriage?”

“Huh?” 

It was a rather unexpected question. I blinked and looked at Axel, who tilted his head to one side.

“It was our Duke who recommended the current Empress to Kirke. Back then, she was Lady Adele, the daughter of Count Siora.”

The fact that the Duke had orchestrated Kirke’s marriage was news to me. But it wasn’t surprising, considering that I had never been particularly interested in the social dynamics even back when I was a dark mage. Axel seemed to have anticipated my reaction as he continued his explanation.

“Lady Adele wasn’t a strong candidate for Empress. Many supporters of the former Emperor were determined to see someone else on the throne.”

“And Kirke, of course, wouldn’t stand by and let that happen.”

“Exactly.”

Axel stroked his chin as he recalled the situation at the time. With most of the powerful nobles supporting the former Emperor, Kirke’s options were very limited. The only families he could truly rely on were the Elpinard Duchy and the Kol Marquisate. The ideal scenario would have been for the Empress to come from one of these families, but unfortunately, there wasn’t a suitable candidate.

“Count Siora’s family, the Empress’s natal family, was a small house with little influence in the central court. Initially, they even refused the royal marriage proposal because they had no ambition for power.”

The Siora County was located in the western region, far from the capital. It was a peaceful area where agriculture was predominant, and it was largely detached from the central power struggles. Lady Adele, the eldest daughter of Count Siora, grew up in such an environment. The people of the region remembered her as a calm, modest, and kind-hearted young woman.

When the Duke of Elpinard approached Count Siora to discuss the possibility of Lady Adele becoming the Empress, the Count had reportedly turned pale and waved his hands in refusal, saying, “My daughter is not fit to be an Empress.”

However, Axel thought that the Siora family was actually the perfect match. With a timid father, there was no chance of Lady Adele’s family gaining excessive influence even if she became Empress.

“It was only after our Duke promised to support Lady Adele’s life in the capital that Count Siora finally relented.”

Lady Adele was a wise woman who understood her position.

“The Empress knew very well that the most crucial piece to solidifying her status was the support of the Elpinard Duchy. That’s why she treated our house as if it were her own.”

But at some point, the Empress’s visits became less frequent. This was around the time when the pressure on her increased due to her failure to conceive an heir. She minimized her public appearances and stayed out of the spotlight. Then, she suddenly reemerged, announcing her pregnancy and returning to her former prominence.

“I’ve watched the Empress since she was Lady Adele. She was never the type to cause such disruption in social circles, so it has to be one of two things,” Axel said, leading me to eagerly raise my hand and shout the answer.

“Either we misjudged her character from the beginning, or there’s someone strange influencing her!”

“Exactly,” Axel said with a sly grin, glancing briefly out the window. Though it wasn’t clearly visible, the direction he looked in was where the Imperial Palace stood.

“It seems our Duke suspects the latter scenario. He suggested to Kirke that they set a trap to catch the rat,” Axel explained.

“So that’s what it was,” I said, finally understanding the bigger picture. The fact that I had never been invited to a party was just a convenient pretext.

Now that things were becoming clearer, I nodded in agreement. ‘I knew it. The Duke wouldn’t be petty enough to make a fuss over something as trivial as party invitations.’

“But the other nobles who were invited to the party don’t know about the hidden intentions. I was surprised to hear that many of them chose our side, even though I thought they’d all go to the Empress’s party.”

“Ah, there’s a good reason for that. We’re going to display the actual prophecy book that’s kept in the Ivory Tower.”

“Is that allowed?” I asked, surprised. I had always thought the prophecy book was kept hidden and never shown to the public.

“It’s an event that used to happen regularly. They don’t reveal the contents of the prophecy, just the physical book itself. It’s meant to show that the divine will still guides the Empire,” Axel said, looking rather annoyed by the whole ritual. His disdain was typical of a mage who didn’t believe in divine beings.

“After my mother passed away, Elpinard stopped hosting such events, but it seems they’re taking this chance to revive the tradition. After all, Elpinard is a family that upholds the words of the gods,” he added.

“I see…” I trailed off, momentarily lost for words as Axel mentioned his late mother. Was this the right time to offer my condolences?

As I hesitated, Axel let out a small laugh and ruffled my hair lightly. 

“Besides, it’s only natural that our retainers would attend if ordered, and there are many families indebted to Elpinard. If we apply some pressure, they’ll have no choice but to join us.”

The way Axel quickly changed the subject made it clear that he didn’t need any consolation, so I decided to follow his lead.

“Indebted? You mean they borrowed money?”

“Not exactly. It’s more like they’ve received investments in their businesses. If Elpinard were to call in those investments, several families would collapse. If we use that to our advantage, they can’t resist,” Axel explained.

“Oh, come on. That sounds like blackmail.”

The upright Duke wouldn’t resort to something like that! ‘Sure, he might come across as intimidating when he’s expressionless and serious, so some people might mistake his intent for blackmail, but that’s not who he really is!’

My reaction must have seemed ridiculous to Axel, as he let out a disbelieving chuckle.

“I don’t know what kind of image you have of my father, but he must’ve done an excellent job maintaining it.”

“It’s not just an image. That’s who he truly is.”

“…You’re completely fooled, aren’t you?” Axel clicked his tongue as he stood up, suddenly extending his hand towards me.

“Anyway, given the situation, you’ll need to practice your dancing. After all, you’ll be the star of the party,” Axel said.

“Dance practice?” I blinked at Axel’s outstretched hand and couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Despite their different personalities, it was clear that Axel and Noah were indeed related, especially when they both acted in such similar ways.

“What’s so funny?” Axel frowned as he watched me clutching my stomach from laughing.

“If you don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of everyone, you need to practice until you can dance perfectly.”

“I know. That’s why I’ve been practicing hard.”

“What?” Axel’s expression hardened.

“You wouldn’t practice social dances alone, so who’s been playing the role of your partner?”

“Who else in this house has the time to dance with me? Only Noah.”

“Ah.” 

The moment Noah’s name left my lips, Axel’s stiff expression softened considerably.

“That guy is far from being a good teacher. You should learn from me instead.”

“Do you even have time to dance with me? You’ve been so busy with everything going on.”

I blinked up at Axel. Although the party had briefly distracted me, I was well aware that this wasn’t a peaceful time. The former Emperor was coming to the capital soon. Though it was technically to a royal villa near the capital, it would still have significant influence over the city, making it as good as him coming to the capital itself.

Axel had been busy preparing for that situation.

‘If only Servian would return soon, it would take some of the burden off Axel.’

Servian, who had left the capital while I was temporarily dead, was taking longer than expected to return. 

‘He probably got sidetracked after discovering some mysterious artifact or something.’

It was an obvious scenario, even without seeing it.

“No matter how busy I am, I won’t allow my sister to become a laughingstock in front of other nobles because of some clumsy dancing.”

“Laughingstock? I’m not that bad!”

Thanks to my diligent practice with Noah, I’d gotten pretty good, or so I thought!

Axel looked me up and down skeptically, clearly unimpressed with my confidence. Without asking for permission, he suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Hey, hey, hey!”

I was pulled up from my seat by Axel’s firm grip.

“If you’re so confident…”

With a slight tug, Axel drew me closer, closing the distance between us in an instant. Startled, I looked up at him, only to see him smile and nod toward me.

“Let’s see just how well you can dance. Time to find out if Noah’s been a good teacher.”