Chapter 8

“She is the competent tea expert who helped make the tea. It is this maid who informed me about Mereiza and said that it has the effect of relieving fatigue and helping blood circulation. I’m sure once you have a chance to try it, you will be satisfied if you request this maid.”

“Oh my, you’re thoughtful, too. Thank you so much, Duke.”

“From now in, I will be entrusting this maid with the task of making my tea in the future, and whenever I think of it, I will also send tea to the Empress Dowager.”

As soon as she thought it was in vain because there was no noticeable response, next to the table, the light brown-haired maid’s hand trembled as she was filling the tea back into her empty teacup, and tea splashed on the table.

In an instant, the table became flooded from the tea spilt, and even her jacket was stained.

She bowed and apologized, but the maid glanced at the other maid with anxious eyes.

She couldn’t see her expression because she bowed her head to the fullest, but the maid’s fingertips were shaking slightly.

She swallowed a breath inside.

It is without a doubt. The culprit was the Empress Dowager.

And this maid next to the empress must have delivered poison to the maid in charge of her meal.

“I’m sorry, Duke. Your clothes became a mess.”

However, unlike the maid, the empress looked at her jacket, upset as if it were her own business, without any signs of anxiety.

Unlike the first impression that her head is filled like flower garden, she is a skillful actor.

She could see why Duke Baloa was wary of her.

“No, don’t worry about it.”

She shook her hand with a polite smile.

“I think I need to change before the next meeting”.

She’s figured out what she needs. Shall they get up now?

“I’m sorry, but I think I have to go now.”

The Empress Dowager sighed.

“Of course, of course. You can’t hold on to busy people.”

She politely bowed down and tried to leave, but the Empress Dowager grabbed her sleeve.

“Duke.”

After catching it in a hurry, the Empress Dowager hesitated for a long time.

“I know there are many people who don’t like the duke.”

You tried to poison me, but you’re talking about others.

But she patiently waited for the empress to finish speaking.

“I know that each time, His Majesty has wrapped up the Duke.”

The Empress Dowager, who held me and trembled her fingertips finely, had desperate eyes.

“But you’d better not trust the emperor.”

As soon as she stood without saying anything, the Empress Dowager hurriedly removed her hand.

“I made a fool of myself again.”

Then she struggled to put her original bright smile around her mouth.

“I just wanted to tell you that you can come to me whenever the Duke has a hard time.”

The culprit is definitely the queen.

No matter how much she thought about it, there was a question that could not be solved.

Why?

She’s telling her to come whenever she is having a hard time.

She couldn’t understand what the Empress Dowager was thinking.

It would be nice to know why Duke Baloa kept the Empress Dowager in check. Unfortunately, the duke did not record it.

Even after returning to the office, she couldn’t get rid of the uncomfortable feeling.

“At this rate, I’m about to die because of Duke Baloa’s political opponents even before the national treasury runs out.”

She shivered slightly as she got goosebumps.

“Even if I transmigrated, why did it have to be to a person whom everybody wants to kill?”

Grumbling, she stood in front of the mirror and put her arm through the new jacket.

A strange woman was staring at her in the mirror.

It was a pretty appearance. A face that can be called beautiful when made up.

White hair and dark blue eyes than the first snow. The nose, which is straight underneath it, and the lips that are slightly curled up at the end as if they always had a slight smile.

Overall, the body line was thin, giving off a slightly sensitive and sharp atmosphere, but even that atmosphere suited her well.

However, the management was so bad that it was a waste of her natural beauty.

Due to lack of sleep, the skin was always rough and dark under the eyes due to chronic fatigue.

The dry and cracked lips were filled with minimal color.

The stiff hair, which had no shine at all, was cut near the shoulder, and one eye was covered with thick single lenses.

Duke Baloa actually has a good eyesight.

However, she insisted on wearing one-sided glasses that made her look sharp.

It’s probably the same reason why she boldly cut her hair, which she had grown since she was young, as soon as she got into the running position.

It was not difficult to guess the situation.

Beauty becomes a weakness in the political world.

It was clear that the nobles, who had been in one place for a long time, were not happy with Erina, who had finally reached the position of Duke.

On days when she wore even slightly fancy clothes, they chewed that she was an empty-headed woman who was only interested in dressing up, and it was basic for all kinds of unpleasant eyes to follow if she showed a little femininity in her attitude.

When looking at the diary of the Duke, it was written in detail what she had carried out to win the recognition of the nobles.

She became a whiskey lover, attended regular hunting meetings, and even got a fishing boat.

Even though she tried so hard, she ruled his opponent with fear.

The opponent, who could not give in even with fear, was removed.

That was her own way.

Guiding the emperor inside the conference hall was one of the things the duke had done.

Duke Baloa has removed all his servants so that the emperor can rely only to her.

However, as soon as she reached the hallway outside the emperor’s bedroom, she sensed a strange smell.

Cardan was standing with a woman in front of the bedroom door.

At that moment, she hid behind the corner without realizing it.

The woman’s face was not visible because the two were close to each other, but she couldn’t erase the feeling that she had seen it somewhere.

Looking again, Cardan was putting a woman into his bedroom.

As the woman disappeared through the door, her light brown hair shook.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered.

The Empress Dowager’s maid.

The maid who spilled tea on her jacket had light brown hair like that.

However, the hair color alone could not make her certain.

“What should I do?”

Her worries were brief. She walked right in front of the bedroom door and knocked politely on the door.

“Your Majesty, it’s time for the meeting.”

When there was no answer, she knocked once again.

“Your Majesty, I’m coming in.”

Even if it was not during meetings, it was often for the duke to come and go to the bedroom to wake up the emperor who was taking a nap until late.

So her hands turning the doorknob were relentless. The door is about to open wide.

Like this, a big hand blocked the door.

“Wait a minute.”

Cardan was standing in front of the door gap.

“I see the sun of the empire.”

Instead of being embarrassed, she bowed down with a polite gesture.

“I am concerned that I may have interfered with Your Majesty because of something trivial, but the meeting will begin soon.”

She looked up to check the maid in the bedroom, but she couldn’t see anything because Cardan was so tall.

If so, she has no choice but to go through it somehow. “If you don’t mind, I’ll help you prepare.”

She put a little force to open the door, but the door held by Cardan’s grasp remained motionless.

“It’s okay. I’ve already called a maid to help me prepare.”

So why did you call someone who looks similar to the maid of the Empress Dowager? Suspicious.

“Oh, did you? If so, I will ask the maid a few things and step down.”

She smiled.

No matter what, she has to check the maid’s face.

Cardan’s eyes became sharp for a moment.

“You’re going to do it later, right?”

She couldn’t do anything but shut her mouth because she was overwhelmed by the cold voice that made her shudder.

But she couldn’t give up like this.

“Well, it’ll only take a moment.”

The corners of Cardan’s mouth twisted up.

“Later.”

Cardan looked at the back and gave a troubled expression.

“I can’t come out right now.”

She realized at once what the word meant.

The emperor of the original work was a womanizer until he met the female lead.

In the end, she couldn’t do anything, and she had no choice but to bow politely again.

“Oh, I see. I understand that it is difficult for you to attend today’s meeting.”

As she slowly began to close the door, Cardan’s hand, which was holding the door hard, slipped down.

“Then, have a good time.”

The door clapped and closed with a sound.

Throughout the way to the conference room without the emperor, she was confused with all kinds of thoughts.

In the end, she could not confirm her face, but she was almost convinced that she was the maid of the Empress.

Light brown hair of that color was not very common in this world. If she had to choose, the woman she saw in the portrait and the maid of the Empress Dowager were all there.

Wait, the original heroine had light brown hair, right?

“You have a clear preference.”

However, it was not the time to just think about Cardan’s taste.

If the maid who entered Cardan’s bedroom was really the maid of the Empress.

If the maid is the Emperor’s lover…

“The culprit is the emperor, not the empress.”

‘You’d better not trust the emperor.’

The voice of the empress lingered in her ears.

In the end, she was back to square one.

One thing is certain. It’s just that someone in this imperial palace is trying to kill her.