Medea placed the papers on the table one by one. It was a portrait the size of a palm.
"Sir, there's something you need to do for me."
"Countess Beaumont, Lady Evelyn, Dean Clarice, aren't they all the Empress Dowager's confidants?"
Kensington recognized some familiar faces.
Countess Beaumont was a childhood friend of the Empress Dowager, with whom she had grown up from a young age.
Lady Evelyn was a former finance officer of the Crown Prince, who came to the castle with him and was now in charge of the household affairs of the Crown Prince.
Dean Clarice was the headmistress of the Saint's Ladies' Academy and was in charge of the education of the royal family and the noble ladies, including the 4th Princess Angelique.
"Your Highness, would you like to find out their weaknesses? I will begin the investigation immediately. However, I judged them to be unrelated to politics and did not assign them separate Foxes. My God, no matter how hard I try, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to secure meaningful information before the tea party."
"There's no need to investigate. I already know."
"Yes?"
"Do you remember when the golden chest that was sent to the Empress disappeared?"
Medea added a little touch to the portrait of the Countess Beaumont on the table.
"That's right, the culprit is Countess Beaumont. When the Empress Dowager became infertile due to drugs, she stole everything. The Empress Dowager didn't even ask about the disappearance of the money because she was afraid that her daughter would suffer."
"This, this is..."
"Lady Evelyn was a widow, so she caused her husband's eldest son to become disabled in an accident to make her newborn son her heir."
Medea continued speaking nonchalantly.
"The noble Mother Clarice, the paragon of the saintly noblewomen, has an illegitimate child from an affair with a married man."
In the previous life, the 4th Princess' faction was prosperous enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the 3rd Prince's faction. These were the secrets that Medea had obtained when she was targeting the 4th Princess.
"Your Highness, is this, is this true? Are these people really..."
Kensington's eyes opened wide.
"Well. I don't know if it's really true."
Medea shrugged her shoulders naturally and held the portrait out to Kensington.
"Sir, now let the foxes relay this news to the parties involved. Then they will know on their own, won't they?"
But Kensington knew.
'That is the truth. This is their leash.'
If she had not been sure, his lord would not have given him the order in the first place.
"Your Highness, how did you find out these things?"
The inside story of the incidents that even Kensington, the head of the spy agency, was unaware of was so secretive and ugly.
What Medea brought was not simply the corruption or bribery of the nobles.
A vassal who betrayed his master at the most painful moment, a fight for succession disguised as an accident, and the true nature of a scholar wearing a noble mask.
These were truths that would shock the world and destroy their lives in an instant.
"I will move immediately. If this weakness exists, no matter what scheme the Empress Dowager has hatched, they will eventually have no choice but to abandon their master."
"At least they'll try to protect me. Because the moment I fall, that'll be the day they fall too."
Medea smiled knowingly.
"But be careful."
Kensington looked at Medea with worried eyes.
'The Katzen Imperial Family is as deep and dark as the mountains surrounding it, so even those as lofty and strong as Mountain cannot survive under its thick shadow.'
Kensington, who was reminded of Empress Eleanor, immediately lowered his head.
Anyway.
As someone who had spent his entire life in Katzen, Kensington's intuition that there was a trap hidden in the tea party was correct.
The problem was that Kensington wasn't the only one who noticed this.
A few days ago, in the entertainment district of the capital.
The innermost room of a secret club, accessible only to high-ranking officials. A fire crackled in the fireplace inside.
"Bring me more. More! Is there any more alcohol?"
Jason shook the bottle roughly. The empty bottle gave off only a strong scent.
He was already very drunk.
His once-shiny hair was a mess, and his once-impeccable clothes were gone.
His smooth skin was parched and, with the alcohol in his system, looked almost like a carrot.
"Your Highness, you have already drunk too much. I suggest you refrain from drinking for tonight..."
"Didn't I tell you to bring it?"
Clang-!
The bottle of liquor he threw hit the fireplace and shattered into pieces.
The servant hurriedly left, saying, "Eek." and went to get some drinks.
"...How, to me... How could you...
to me..."
Jason, left alone, muttered.
Beyond the flickering flames of the fireplace, a phantom image of Cesare and Medea appeared.
Those two are a couple.
Medea's husband was not him, but that hateful bastard who was always a blot on his life.
"...She's mine. She was my woman. It wasn't you, it was me... Me!"
Jealousy. Anger. Helplessness.
Unable to swallow his raw emotions, Jason abruptly stood up and roughly swept everything off the table.
Prang!
The sound of things breaking and shattering was deafening.
"I'll bring it back. Everything you took from me...!"
He repeated, panting, his eyes bloodshot.
“Daaaaaaah!”
"Your Highness, hold on tight. Who has hurt Your Highness's heart like this?"
Just as he was about to burst out laughing again, a soft hand touched Jason's chin.
Sweet innocence. Flirty words. She was the singer of this club.
The woman sat down next to Jason, seemingly oblivious to the chaos unfolding beneath her feet.
It was surprisingly natural to focus solely on the man in front of her.
"What can you do on your own?"
Jason snorted.
He didn't stop her from touching his face, even though he didn't hide the fact that he was blatantly ignoring her.
"Did you go to the casino again? I told you not to fight."
"..."
"Oh my, it's really dangerous there because there are only scary people there. What would happen if someone as noble as Your Highness, the Grand Duke, gets hurt?"
"If I don't do that..."
Even though he picked fights and punched others a lot, the image of Medea never went away.
"Yes?"
Gahee, who was kissing Jason's wounded hand, opened her eyes wide.
"You need to open your eyes a little wider. Don't laugh so hard."
"Your Highness...?"
"Have you forgotten all about being so worn out and naive?"
"Ah, it hurts, Your Highness...."
Jason gripped her chin hard and turned it this way and that.
"Look at me with eyes that say you can't stand loving me. Like I'm the only one in your world, like you'd do anything for me..."
Perhaps because he had missed her so much that his bones were tingling, it wasn't that difficult to put Medea's face over this woman's.
"Medea. Dea, my wife... my love..."
He bent down.
Gahee stiffened. It wasn't just because the strong scent of alcohol coming from him stung her nose.
'Medea?'
Since it was a high-class club, they had memorized the names of all the royal family members and high-ranking nobles.
Is it just a coincidence that the name of the woman he's calling is the same as the First Princess?
'That can't be true. But they're family.'
Even though the Grand Duke of Castulo may have lost all of his former glory, he would not be so shameless as to covet his cousin's wife.
"Answer me, Dea."
At that moment, Jason grabbed the woman's chin again and forced it.
"Your Highness."
"Tell me, you're coming back to me. Tell me that you chose that kid to remind me of my mistakes. Tell me that you still love me, that you're mine..."
'Me', even the titles were all mixed up now.
Gahee found it a little funny that even the shabby Grand Duke had dreams of the throne in his heart.
"Your Highness, please don't be so rough with me. I'm supposed to perform at the tea party Her Majesty the Empress is hosting in a few days."
She acted cute and pushed Jason's chest away.
"The new First Princess is coming, so even I, a lowly person, wouldn't want to go looking all dirty?"
"The First Princess? At the Empress' tea party?"
"Yes, yes..."
At that moment, Jason's pupils, which had been dimly open, came into focus. Gahee felt a little creeped out by the sight.
"There are no others, no others?"
"Aside from me, there are three or four of my colleagues who are going too. It's our first time going to the palace, so we're all very excited. Who could have imagined that we would meet such precious people?"
Jason could no longer hear Gahee's voice full of anticipation.
He knows the Empress Dowager.
How could a woman with such a strong sense of class consciousness, like the mother of the 4th Princess, allow a vulgar singer to perform at her tea party? But...
It makes sense if Medea is there.
This tea party was a trap aimed at Medea.
'Look, Medea. What difference does it make if you marry that bastard Cesare? You will have more enemies and be in more danger than in your last life.'
A strange light appeared in Jason's eyes.
'This is my chance. I have to make Dea realize that he is the worst choice.'
"Oh, where are you going, Your Highness?"
He got up from his seat in a hurry.
He didn't even notice that Gahee, who was leaning against him, was getting messed up.
"Your Highness, Your Highness?"
The groom waiting in front of the club looked surprised.
I thought you'd be out by morning, you're so drunk today, but you're out already?
"I'm going to the Northern Prince's mansion."
The Emperor had taken the Prince of Castullo back from Jason three years ago and sent him to Armandi in the north.
And Jason joined hands with the black magicians and eliminated the Northern Barons, who were the Emperor's men at the time.
The current Northern lords were clearly Jason's allies, if not his allies. They knew each other's backgrounds and families well.
'The daughter of the Northern Prince had wanted Cesare for a long time. There was even talk of them being engaged at one point.'
So much so that instead of following her family north, she remained in the city just because Cesare was there.
"At this hour?"
Even though they are very close, wouldn't it be a bit rude to do this at this hour of the night?
But before the coachman could even hesitate, another order came flying in.
"And I heard that Eastern Empress is having a tea party. See if I can get an invitation."
"Yes? Yes."
"If you find Countess Olcaine Delgano, it won't be hard. Let's go."
Clink, clank.
The carriage set off.
Jason glanced out the window. The pitch-black night was just like his life without her.
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