/
A familiar voice called out to her. It was Marchioness Bennett, Countess Adriel and Countess Aurix who came to see their children.
“Ah, Madams. It’s good to see you.”
Sera bowed and greeted them with a welcoming expression. The madams also greeted her with joy and surrounded her in no time.
“Edward was very disappointed that you’re not by his side anymore, Miss Sera.”
“It’s the same with Clara. She always asks when she could see you, but maybe because she saw your face today, Miss Sera, that’s why she’s in such a good mood.”
“I can hear the rumors all the way across the capital that Miss Sera has captured the hearts of Their Highnesses. Thanks to you, His Majesty’s beauty is shining again, so it’s become a mess here and there.”
Sera laughed in an embarrassed manner as though she was abashed to talk about their regrets of not having Sera by their side. It was an undeserved compliment.
“By the way, there’s a lot of young ladies
 a lot of people who’ve attended.”
Countess Aurix shook her head as she saw the young ladies who were sitting next to Rosé and Ferre, who were both ripping off the wrappers of their gifts.
No matter how much you look at it, those noble daughters looked like adults. No matter how obvious their intentions were, it was just so easy to uncover. Unless they were around the age of seven years old, it couldn’t have looked good for them to show their faces at the imperial palace now.
“But it’s not like I can’t understand at all. Who in this empire wouldn’t want to be His Majesty’s woman? Anyone would try their best to catch His Majesty’s fancy here. Isn’t that right, Miss Sera?”
“Ah
 That’s right.”
His Majesty’s woman. Puzzled by the unfamiliar phrase that she had never thought of, Sera replied a second too late.
“Since the late Emperor and Empress had such a pure and noble love, I believe that His Majesty would want the same. I don’t know who the next empress will be, but I already envy her. His Majesty’s love!”
“Right? Wouldn’t he look at only one person for the rest of his life? Just like His late Majesty Endymion.”
“When will His Majesty’s lover appear? I hope there’ll be talks of marriage soon
”
Each of the three madams were engrossed in their conversation, stretching their imagination. Not having any idea of this, Sera nodded quietly as she recalled Helios’ age.
‘His Majesty is definitely at the right age to welcome an empress any time.’
Helios was 27 years old.
It was very rare in history for a crown prince not to have a crown princess, and it was considered to be very late for an emperor to marry at this age. Moreover, Helios wasn’t just a crown prince anymore but an emperor already. He also had the obligation to continue the lineage, so the matter of marriage was urgent.
Even in his days as the crown prince, it’s often rumored that he would welcome a crown princess soon, so he was surely under much more pressure to welcome an empress now.
Sera could have quietly stepped back and removed herself from the madams’ conversation, but she remained in her seat because she grew curious after hearing the mention of the next empress.
“Maybe
 Isn’t Ducal Princess Saruvia Cross a strong empress candidate?”
Countess Aurix looked pointedly at the woman standing next to Helios in the distance. Not only the madams but also Sera naturally followed her gaze.
Somehow, Duke Bethman had disappeared by Helios’ side even though he’d been sticking to him like gum earlier. Now, there was a woman with long, bright red hair standing next to Helios, her hair gracefully cascading down her back. Like a red rose in a red dress, her slender figure was apparent, and her gorgeous beauty was mesmerizing even from afar.
“Ah. If it’s the Cross Duchy, it’s definitely possible. Their family’s so good at handling magic, more than any other household!”
“More than anyone else?”
“It’s an open secret that Lady Cross has been harboring feelings for His Majesty ever since they were young. His Majesty might also have feelings for the lady, too.”
“Right. There might be something going on that we don’t know.”
Each of the madams continued to talk about the relationship between the two. Sera was hearing this story for the first time, but she somehow couldn’t take her eyes off of Helios and Saruvia, who were still together.
‘His Majesty might be harboring feelings
’
Somehow, Saruvia and Helios looked very friendly with each other. It seemed like Sera was seeing an unfamiliar facial expression just now, but now that she looked again, it seemed to her like Helios was smiling affectionately.
‘But isn’t His Majesty just kind to everyone?’
Sera wondered if his eyes ever curved so beautifully whenever he smiled at her, too. Whenever he talked to her with a gentle voice or with a tone mixed with laughter, or when he treated her with divine power when she got injured. Everything.
However, she couldn’t find the answer. His deep purple eyes would hold affection towards anyone, and he would treat everyone the same.
‘His Majesty is equally amicable to everyone.’
Even towards her, who was nothing more than RosĂ© and Ferre’s tutor.
Still closely watching, Sera saw Saruvia’s hand slightly touching Helios’ arm. With sophisticated black nail polish, her fine hands wrapped over his arm, which Sera herself had never touched, let alone reach.
She was a little jealous. The ducal princess was good at magic and had a high status in society. What an unfair world. Sera stopped watching the two and turned her head to the side.
‘What’s wrong with me?’
But one thing was clear—that it seemed like His Majesty also had feelings for Saruvia. Thinking about this made Sera nauseous.
‘Why do I feel terrible all of a sudden.’
Sera bit her lips without realizing it.
But at that moment—
“Don’t! I said don’t!”
A sharp voice rang from the back. Sera turned around urgently and found the owner of the voice.
“Just what on earth
!”
Immediately astonished, Sera’s face quickly turned white.
RosĂ© was on top of a boy’s body.
It was Elijah, Duke Bethmann’s son.
And the one who screamed was Elijah, not Rosé.