“Ah, so you are Cazerose. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“…I am deeply honored, Your Majesty.”

The woman in the black veil sat across from her.

Cazerose respectfully bowed her head to Emperor Rozebeta.

She was the grandmother of the woman who gave birth to her.

Even though, in her position, she could be considered a grandmother, Cazerose was doing her utmost to show respect to the person sitting in front of her.

It wasn’t just a simple family relationship but rather the hierarchy of emperor and princess.

Moreover, unlike her relatively warm relationship with her mother, Cazerose had only heard the emperor’s name before; this was the first time she was actually meeting him.

It was naturally burdensome to treat her so casually.

However…

Despite her situation, Emperor Rozebeta’s voice was warmly laced with an affectionate tone as he looked at Cazerose.

“I’ve heard quite a bit about you, but this is our first meeting. Truly… you look just like your mother from the very first glance.”

Although she couldn’t see his exact expression due to the veil, it was easy for Cazerose to sense a warm smile on her lips.

In a nutshell, it was the very image of a grandmother looking at her granddaughter.

Cazerose began to feel a strange emotion regarding this fact, and then the emperor continued speaking in a slightly calm tone.

“I found your letter quite fascinating. Of course, aside from what you mentioned, there were other aspects, but nonetheless, I decided to proceed by accepting your opinion.”

“Thank you for listening to the plea of a young girl, Your Majesty.”

Cazerose spoke politely in response to the emperor, and upon hearing her words, he chuckled softly.

“Hehe… I only believed it was best for me to do so. Of course, from your perspective, you likely wanted to assist your knight, didn’t you?”

“!…?”

The emperor mentioned something unexpected.

Cazerose’s expression stiffened slightly, and she turned her gaze to her mother sitting beside her.

At that moment, her mother’s expression came into view.

It was as if her face was saying, “So what about it?”

‘She already spilled everything… about me and Mr. Santana…’

From the context, it seemed they had communicated about this beforehand, and Cazerose felt a slight dizziness at the realization that her private matter was, of all people, brought to the emperor’s ears, making it so-called ‘public.’

While it was indeed fortunate that the emperor had allowed this, it was also worrisome that if he had taken offense at her situation, it could have caused problems not only for her but also for Santana.

In that sense, Cazerose couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of relief that the emperor had accepted her words despite knowing the circumstances.

And.

While observing Cazerose, who was internally sighing, the emperor spoke in a seemingly gleeful tone as he looked at Cazerose and the duchess beside her.

“However, isn’t it amusing? The princess of the Dragona Empire sneaks into a paladin and falls in love with the heir of a count who was hiding their identity. What a bizarre coincidence.”

“I find it more of an unwelcome coincidence. I mean, really… how could a princess, no matter how young, fall for a boy and do such things…”

The duchess replied, with a hint of apology and dissatisfaction in her tone.

Even though the policy shift forced her to comply with this situation, she still didn’t seem pleased with it.

No matter how important love was, the fact that it made the emperor take action was something she couldn’t look upon positively, especially given her deep respect for her mother.

“Hehe.”

At that moment, the emperor chuckled even more while looking at the duchess and said to her, “It was certainly a bit excessive… raising a girl who would fall for a boy and cause unimaginable chaos; honestly, it was quite the challenge for me as a mother.”

“Excuse me?”

“Uh… Mother… that’s…”

The emperor brought up something unexpected.

Cazerose and the duchess both began to show a hint of embarrassment on their faces as they heard this…

And while observing the two, the emperor spoke with a nostalgic tone.

“It’s not about the country, but Kattlena, you really did some strange things for a boy, didn’t you? I still remember you clinging onto that servant while staying up all night to teach him after saying you wanted him to enroll in the academy.”

“Ah… no… well, I thought he could manage it…”

“Oh, was that so? Yet, I also recall you crying in my arms towards the end…”

“…”

While not exactly a dark history, it was certainly an embarrassing story.

The duchess turned away, her face turning red, while the emperor continued joyfully.

“And as a result of that hard work, that servant did get into the academy, and eventually, everything turned out how you wanted.”

“Uh-huh…”

“Ah…”

Hearing stories of her father, whom she had never known well, Cazerose discovered an unexpected side to her seemingly perfect, somewhat cold mother.

It made her realize they shared some similarities.

‘Though she doesn’t show it, I guess Mother is surprisingly romantic…’

With that thought, Cazerose started to slightly change her image of her mother.

Additionally, despite such a past, she couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied with her mother for not acknowledging her love in another sense.

Putting aside political matters, she hoped her mother would acknowledge her as a daughter…

Meanwhile, while she was lost in those thoughts, the emperor spoke in a light tone… yet with a seriousness that made it sound anything but light.

“In that regard, our granddaughter must succeed in this task to secure her love, just like her mother, right? No matter the difficulties, she must succeed.”

“Ah… yes, of course. I won’t disappoint you.”

“Good, I have high hopes.”

For the sake of winning love, and also for national interests, it was a task that absolutely had to succeed.

Cazerose said this with even more determination, and the emperor nodded in satisfaction as he watched her.

At that moment…

“Your Majesty, just a moment.”

Suddenly, a shadowy figure appeared as if out of nowhere.

The figure whispered softly into the emperor’s ear upon showing himself, and the emperor listened for a moment.

After a brief report, that figure vanished like a shadow once more.

The emperor then exhibited a slightly changed demeanor as he spoke to the duchess and Cazerose.

“Oh dear… It seems my invited guest has arrived. I’m sorry, but we must wrap up our time with the children here.”

His tone was surprisingly sincere and regretful.

Seeing this, the duchess gave a bittersweet smile.

“It seems you are always busy, even here. Not having enough time to chat leisurely…”

“That’s just the job of an emperor. Governing this vast land isn’t easy at all. Given that, I wish I could hand over my position to your sister and retire sooner…”

“Considering Eliose’s character, it might be a while before that happens. She still thinks this country can’t be led without her mother. It might be easier with Senel, to be honest.”

“Sigh. Who knows where that child is or what she’s doing now? I just hope she finds a good man and gets married while she’s out.”

For Cazerose, these conversations felt a bit distant.

With that last remark, the three of them stood up, returning to their respective duties once more.

Once again feeling that life in a leadership position had little room for leisure.