ITIF Chapter 24

Restraint

His tall frame and sleek yet solid physique were clearly visible through his perfectly fitted suit.

His black hair, slicked back with pomade, gleamed with luster, and confidence emanated from his sun-like red eyes that gazed straight ahead.

His golden-ratio features formed perfect symmetry, drawing admiration even from other men.

“Welcome, Duke Cardia.”

Duke Blatnik greeted Kavelaseth as he leisurely walked into the hall.

Count Frederick stared intently at Kavelaseth.

“It’s been a while, Duke Blatnik.”

Among the many gazes directed at him, Kavelaseth noticed one that felt somewhat different in nature.

It wasn’t only women who expressed attraction to handsome men.

In men’s society, hierarchies were established for various reasons—status, wealth, power—but appearance also played its significant role.

He was well accustomed to lewd gazes that seemed to devour him.

However, Kavelaseth didn’t so much as furrow his brow, instead turning his head toward the person sending him that persistent stare.

Contrary to his expectation that it would be some notorious sodomite, the person staring at him was an unexpected figure.

‘Count Frederick… I suppose.’

Kavelaseth immediately recognized the identity of the handsome young man who was staring at him so intently.

Today he had attended because of the upcoming Crown Prince investiture ceremony, but Kavelaseth rarely visited this place.

Moreover, as a gathering of the Empire’s highest power elite, there were hardly any young people like Kavelaseth to be found.

Unless a son had inherited the family due to the early death of the previous head.

Since he was already acquainted with the main figures of the gathering, it was quite possible to predict that this unfamiliar young man would be Count Frederick.

“So you are Duke Cardia.”

Count Frederick spoke first, looking directly into his eyes.

“I believe this is our first meeting?”

“Yes, this is the first time I’m seeing you up close in person. Though I’ve glimpsed you from afar at other places a few times.”

Kavelaseth searched his memory to find any connection with Count Frederick.

‘He says he’s seen me at other places…’

As Kavelaseth briefly searched his memory, he recalled Count Frederick hovering around Princess Trinity.

Princess Trinity, who had been mentioned as the next emperor, was always composed and had a very strong sense of responsibility.

While some nobles viewed such traits unfavorably, the general atmosphere was welcoming, calling it the ideal image of an emperor.

At that time, Kavelaseth’s evaluation of Princess Trinity herself wasn’t particularly bad either.

But at some point, Princess Trinity changed.

She began to enjoy nightlife and started associating with nobles of rather poor quality.

Whether low-quality people swarmed around her due to her corruption, or conversely, whether Princess Trinity changed through associating with such people, the reason was unknown, but she suddenly became different.

Of course, there was also an atmosphere that welcomed this change.

While mocking it as behavior befitting the daughter of the tyrant emperor who had murdered his brother and usurped the throne, some people secretly wanted to place her on the throne.

An emperor who wasted time indulging in pleasures and neglected state affairs—this was perfect as a puppet for the Empire’s power elite.

It was undoubtedly an ideal situation for advancing their own interests under the emperor’s name.

Count Frederick was among the many who hovered around such Princess Trinity.

Of course, he had never once attended meetings to defend Princess Trinity.

Not only Kavelaseth but other nobles as well would not have been able to find any connection between Princess Trinity and Count Frederick.

And for good reason.

According to his known reputation, Count Frederick was someone who, if he held the upper hand, would hold it, but was not the type to do others’ dirty work.

At that time, Kavelaseth remembered wondering why Count Frederick was associating with an abandoned princess who had no maternal family to protect her.

Although Princess Trinity seemed to be favored as the next emperor at the time, there were quite a few who viewed her prospects pessimistically.

Kavelaseth was also among those who viewed her pessimistically.

Because the princess had no proper faction to protect her.

The previous empress had died early, and the previous empress’s family had suddenly left social circles after the empress’s death.

And the current empress, who succeeded the deceased previous empress, soon gave birth to a son.

If not for the oracle that the emperor’s first child, if a prince, would overthrow his father, it would have been natural for Joshua to become the next emperor.

Of course, Joshua wasn’t the first child, but he was the first son, which was why the emperor still remained wary of the oracle.

But the fact that the empress firmly controlled all matters, large and small, in the imperial palace was itself an unstable factor for Princess Trinity.

So for Princess Trinity, surviving within the imperial palace would have been the priority, let alone becoming emperor.

Of course, she ended up dying in enemy territory anyway.

‘Romantic feelings… perhaps?’

The conclusion he reached while inferring the relationship between Count Frederick and Princess Trinity was just that.

Practically speaking, the Frederick family was an old and established house, and if it was to protect the family, it was clear who he should ally with.

He should never have stood behind Princess Trinity.

So the only conclusion he could draw was romantic feelings, nothing more.

Kavelaseth organized his thoughts and stared intently at Count Frederick.

‘Then what’s his relationship with Duke Amaterasu’s daughter?’

Meanwhile, Count Frederick wondered about Kavelaseth’s intent stare directed at him.

‘It feels like my face is going to get a hole in it…’

Why was he staring like that? Count Frederick recalled memories related to Duke Cardia to find the reason.

‘Hmm…’

But no particular connection with Duke Cardia came to mind.

Then suddenly, the face of a woman with clear eyes flashed before him.

Duke Amaterasu’s daughter.

He didn’t know why, of all times, at this moment, Giselle Grante’s face suddenly came to mind.

But she was the only person related to Duke Cardia that he could think of.

‘Does he know about Duke Amaterasu’s daughter recently following me?’

About going to find Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter together too?

‘I should look into this.’

Just as Count Frederick made this decision, Duke Blatnik, the chairman of this gathering, spoke.

“Now that everyone seems to have gathered, let’s begin the demonstration.”

With those words, the servants of the Blatnik ducal house moved busily.

Count Frederick’s eyebrow raised as he quietly watched this scene.

‘Don’t tell me? “I don’t want it myself, but it’s too valuable to give to others,” is that it…’

Count Frederick glanced at Duke Cardia with slightly contemptuous eyes.

But unaware of Count Frederick’s thoughts, Duke Cardia only stared straight ahead with emotionless eyes.

****

It was when Giselle Grante was sitting in the duke’s garden, bathed in warm sunlight, sipping fragrant tea with steam rising from her cup.

“A letter has arrived for you, Miss.”

Recently, several noble houses had begun sending invitations to tea parties and balls.

Giselle Grante had them occasionally collected and brought all at once.

So the fact that they brought her a letter while she was taking a rest could be interpreted as something a bit special.

As she looked toward the letter, the butler continued.

“It appears to be from the imperial palace.”

“The imperial palace…”

Giselle Grante opened the envelope and took out the letter.

Then several freshly dried flower petals fluttered down.

From that alone, Giselle Grante recognized who had sent this letter.

‘The Empress, I suppose.’

After reading through the not-very-long letter, the butler asked.

“What is the content that troubles you so?”

His voice was heavy with concern.

Only then did she realize that her expression had been poor throughout reading the Empress’s letter, and she hastily tried to smile.

“Miss Giselle, is it unpleasant content?”

The butler asked again, reading her expression.

He seemed curious about the contents of the letter from the imperial palace. And he would need to know the contents to report to Duke Amaterasu as well.

“Her Majesty the Empress has sent me an invitation to a tea party.”

“……”

The butler’s expression became peculiar for a moment.

After the death of Duke Amaterasu’s wife, Duke Amaterasu and the young duke had lived quietly in the Amaterasu duchy.

They rarely came to the capital except for annual events like New Year’s or Foundation Day, and naturally, their visits to the imperial palace were also few and far between.

Since the position of the Amaterasu ducal house’s mistress was currently vacant, normally Giselle Grante would have taken on that role, but she had hidden away in the Amaterasu duchy after suffering great embarrassment at a social gathering.

Since she was now staying in the capital following her attendance at Princess Trinity’s memorial service, it was perhaps natural that she had become a major topic of interest in the Empire’s social circles.

However…

“I want to organize my thoughts alone. I’ll call if I need help.”

“Ah, understood.”

The butler bowed and turned toward the mansion.

But his brow was slightly furrowed.

‘He’ll report this to Duke Amaterasu, won’t he?’

Giselle Grante watched the butler’s retreating figure before lowering her gaze.

And she looked down at the letter bearing the Empress’s seal.

‘She’s quite impatient too.’

She had expected this day to come from the moment she began frequenting Countess Tarel’s salon.

The timing was just a bit earlier than she had anticipated.

‘What business does our Her Majesty the Empress have in summoning me?’

The corners of Giselle Grante’s mouth curved up pleasantly.

The thought of facing the Empress again—the one who had taken everything from her—made her fingertips tremble with anticipation.

It was a pleasant tremor from pure excitement, not fear or nervousness.

Like when drawing a bowstring taut toward prey.

Giselle Grante drained the remaining tea in her cup in one gulp and stood up.

Then she hurried to prepare to go out. Before going to the Empress’s tea party, there was a place she needed to visit first.