Eve felt odd at his declaration. Even though she was a duchess, in her past life she had died as insignificant as a Parisian life… Who would have thought that she’d end up using that as a contract condition.

‘…Is this person really the Emperor?’

Eve looked at Charles with new eyes. Feeling the heat of her gaze in a performative way, Charles looked away.

“Anyway, I delayed time.”

“Time?”

“Yesterday I asked Bonaparte to delay Cecilia’s becoming Empress as long as possible. The announcement was made today, but the actual marriage will take some time.”

Curious about Charles’ explanation, Eve asked, “Does that mean… you knew this was going to happen?”

“Yes. That Arsen is deeply in love with her, and that she controls Arsen.”

“I see.”

Eve nodded. Although she did not know the details, after Arsen became Emperor, they, who had been separated for a while, finally met again as if by fate.

Yes, as if by fate.

Going back three years, an unexpected event occurred where Arsen and Charles switched bodies. Although this changed the past she knew, it didn’t matter.

Maybe it’s divine intervention to eliminate both of them at once.

Eve rather accepted this fate. If it wasn’t fate, she would have twisted it anyway. There was nothing she couldn’t do after coming back from death.

Soon Eve wrote and signed another contract with the same content and gave it to Charles.

Just after Charles had finished signing it a knock at the door diverted their attention.

“Come in.”

“Who…”

As Eve was about to ask the identity of the unfamiliar voice, Charles silently opened the door. Entering hastily was Duke Bonaparte.

“Ah, Your Excellency.”

“Duchess.”

Seeing Eve’s surprised expression, Bonaparte greeted her lightly, then turned to Charles and got right to the point.

“How are things, Your Majesty?”

“I have decided to work with Eve.”

Relieved, Bonaparte nodded to Eve.

“Thank you, Madame.”

“Don’t mention it. We’ll work together for each other’s sake.”

Seeing Bonaparte address Charles as “Your Majesty,” Eve confirmed that Charles was indeed the Emperor.

In that case, this could be an opportunity for me as well. Even though I have lost my status, an emperor is still an emperor. It’s not easy to have an emperor and a duke on my side.

I have to make the most of their power, especially the Duke’s power.

Lost in thought, Eve wore a serious expression. Suddenly, Bonaparte’s random remark caught her off guard and left her stunned.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Your Majesty’s chastity.”

“Pardon?”

“Ouch!”

Blinking in surprise at what she had just heard, Charles brushed off Bonaparte’s joke.

“What nonsense in front of Eve.”

“Isn’t this an important matter…! You frightened her with your talk of getting pregnant before marriage and being thrown out of power. But even so, you can still do that.”

“What does it matter…”

“It matters! Even if it’s only on the surface, shouldn’t Your Majesty’s beautiful and pure body be protected?”

Eve was at a loss as to how to handle this conversation. Well… the queen kept women at a distance… But still… Um, yes…

Seeing Eve’s embarrassed expression, Charles’ face turned unusually red.

“Eve, don’t worry about it.”

“Oh, yes. It’s a problem I’ve never had to consider before…”

No, had she? She had once fed someone so much eel that… Someone who didn’t need it…

“Eve, that’s enough.”

Sensing where Eve’s mind was going, Charles interrupted. Eve avoided eye contact in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry. I mean, for a lot of things.”

“…Let’s stop this pointless conversation.”

After Charles said this with flushed cheeks and cold eyes fixed on Bonaparte, muttering under his breath, “You’re dead to me,” Bonaparte looked unfairly innocent. Outside, Tiago struggled to hold back his laughter, overhearing the entire conversation.

“Anyway, Duchess, I’ll leave it up to you.”

“I’m going to need a lot of help from you.”

After things were roughly sorted out, Eve asked, “So what do we do now?”

“The urgent matters we must deal with are threefold. First, stop the false Emperor’s marriage. Second, stop the expansion of the palace. Third, strengthen the defense of the western border.”

None of these were easy tasks. Bonaparte looked at them with a dark expression and continued.

“I will gather noble opinions to somehow resolve the expansion of the palace.”

“Is that possible? The rumors have spread because of Marquis Chesscone’s interference.”

“The palace expansion has mixed opinions among the nobles. It’s not favorable to Marquis Chesscone either, so there shouldn’t be any significant obstacles.”

Agreeing with Bonaparte’s opinion, Eve spoke up.

“I will ask Noah to strengthen the defense of the western border. The northern border guarded by this child is still stable, and the western border isn’t too far to the north. If necessary, we can mobilize the Laurent family’s military forces. There’s a risk of attracting attention, but…”

“Do you mean Margrave Verratti? If you give the order, it’ll be perfect. If we mobilize the Laurent family’s forces, we can pretend that it’s Bonaparte’s forces. It’s more justified to mobilize the forces of our house, the Duke’s, than the Laurent family’s.”

“Fortunately. So, the remaining question is…”

“How to delay the false Emperor’s marriage.”

Finding no easy solution to their problem, Eve and Bonaparte were lost in thought when Charles spoke lightly.

“I have an idea about that. But it will take some time.”

“Time?”

“You’ll know gradually.”

Charles said with a smile. Not understanding English, Eve tilted her head, but somehow… she believed that if he was the Emperor she knew, he would have amazing strategies for the people of the Empire.

“Alright. Shall we shake hands then?”

Charles finally said and held out his hand. Eve hesitated for a moment before taking it. It was her hated husband’s hand, but strangely, maybe because of the mood, it didn’t feel that way anymore.

“I’m al…”

When Bonaparte reached for his hand, Charles briskly pushed it away.

“Don’t touch me. Get away.”

“Oh, Your Majesty!”

“Let’s go, Eve. You haven’t even had breakfast because of that garbage.”

“Uh… right.”

Were the Emperor and the Duke always like this? Eve awkwardly made eye contact with Bonaparte, who was left alone, and nodded in acknowledgement.

“Until next time, Your Grace.”

“Yes, Duchess…”

Leaving the room and heading for the dining area, Eve suddenly looked at Charles’ back and said, “Thank you.”

“… “

At the sudden expression of gratitude, Charles glanced back for a moment, then simply smiled broadly instead of saying anything.

After finishing the meal and returning directly to the Fontaine family, Eve called for Noah.

Without beating around the bush, she got right to the point.

“Noah, I have a request.”

“Whatever it is, please tell me, milady.”

Noah’s face was incredibly trusting. It wasn’t comforting to send a precious sibling to a dangerous place, but he had sworn to protect the land, even if it meant change. Surely he knew that this proposal would be accepted.

“I want you to go to the western border and help stop the invasion of immigrants there.”

“Me?”

“This is also an order from the Emperor.”

Eva took out a decree with the Emperor’s seal that Bonaparte had prepared. Noah took it, examined it, still somewhat skeptical, and asked, “But why is my lady giving this to me instead of the Emperor?”

“You’re rarely at the palace, and it’s inconvenient to receive orders, so he asked me to deliver it instead.”

“Ah, I see.”

“And bring the soldiers of the Laurent family. We can’t leave the northern border empty.”

“Can I mobilize the Laurent family soldiers?”

“We will move them under Bonaparte’s forces. Bonaparte’s actual troops will also accompany them.”

‘Why go to such lengths? They handled it as if they didn’t want it to be discovered.’

Noah had his doubts, but His Majesty’s orders were absolute. There must have been reasons for the cancellation of the divorce and the change in atmosphere since his return from the palace.

With boundless confidence, he nodded and stood up.

“I will visit my aunt and leave in two days.”

“So soon?”

“No time to lose for the better. I’ll visit Duke Bonaparte personally.”

“Thank you, Noah.”

“You don’t have to thank me. It’s all for the country.”

“Yes. But always be careful, okay? You’re the most precious thing to me.”

At Eve’s urging, Noah smiled brightly.

“Yes, milady.”

That’s one thing settled for the time being.

* * *

*Later, in the newspapers.

<The woman who appeared as if by magic, the Emperor’s mistress and future Empress ‘Cecilia de Girard,’ who is she? 〉

<Prospective Empress Cecilia, successfully concludes her first banquet… 〉

<Prospective Empress Cecilia, the dress she wore is a masterpiece by Véronique! Its price is almost 3 million gold… 〉

“Ugh, annoying.”

Reading the newspapers filled with talk of Cecilia, Eve became irritated. It had been about a month since Arsen had announced Cecilia as Empress, and the public was abuzz with stories about her sudden “comet-like” appearance.