# Chapter 41
Chapter 41
“Lord Raphael is on his way, so wait a moment.
Annie swallowed.
Usually it was Jeremy, Raphael's right-hand man, who came to this room for reports.
But why was Raphael coming today?
Soon, the door opened and an elegant silhouette could be seen through the translucent sides of the marquee.
She bowed immediately.
“Greetings, Lord Kedrey.
“Sit down.
He sat down in a chair and motioned for her to do the same.
Normally, reports from the princess's palace were useless.
Placing a spy in the princess's palace was to be meticulous, not because there would be a lot of high-quality information.
However, since some time ago, urgent reports were frequently arriving from the princess's palace.
Furthermore, Cayena recognized the duchy's spy as competent and now considered her a close friend.
Thanks to this, Raphael obtained information faster and more accurately than anyone else in the capital.
Raphael opened his mouth.
“What happened?
Annie revealed everything that happened in the imperial palace today: Olivia Grace arrived a day earlier than expected, the incident in the central kitchen, Mrs.
Helier's crimes, and the emperor's reaction – she conveyed all these events in detail.
The spy planted with the knights also gave news similar to what Annie told the duchy.
Princess Cayena issued an imperial order to seize the Helier family's assets and search for a traitor's seal.
There was an old story about the symbol of a treacherous family, but almost no one in the capital knew the story because of its age.
A young woman like Cayena wouldn't have much reason to find him before.
The princess seemed to possess a lot of strange information.
There were some things she could have learned by paying close attention.
However, Raphael knew that Cayena's environment did not support these things.
– Exactly how did she learn all this?”
Today, he received confirmation that Rita Brukin was suffering from insanity, just as Cayena had said.
There was news that it could even be genetic.
Furthermore, Olivia Grace entered the imperial palace.
Raphael didn't need to raise his hand.
He had seen neither head nor tail of the three women his mother tried to marry.
Has your perfectionist mother's plan ever gone so wrong?
As far as he knew, this was the first time.
“Are there any other unusual movements?
In response to her question, Annie pondered Cayena's recent actions.
“Nothing else is notable except that she has been reading travelogues from each region.
“Travel diaries?
Thinking back, he found her in the imperial library.
“What is the reasoning behind this?
Annie told him what she had heard.
“She said she would read about summer vacation spots.
Every summer, Cayena took a month-long vacation to the southern beaches.
But a member of the imperial family severed connections with the place where they had stayed two years ago after a disagreement.
“You mentioned her old nanny.
Is this Baron Elivan's wife?
“Yes, she is.
Baroness Elivan has not yet responded, but I will pass the information on to you as soon as she contacts the princess.
Raphael nodded.
Looking at the situation, if Baroness Elivan entered the palace, there was a high possibility that she would become the head maid.
“I have to put someone there too, to keep an eye on it.”
Annie brought another important report.
“And last night, the prince went to His Highness's chambers.
“Shouldn't he be under house arrest?
“Yes.
There seems to be a secret passage in the princess's room.
It was natural for each room in the castle to have a secret passage.
“There were some loud noises briefly coming from the room.
With that, Raphael frowned.
It didn't seem like a pleasant situation.
No, he was sure Rezef went to see Cayena with resentment.
“But there was not a single rumor about it.
Instead, the prince’s palace is silent.”
Raphael thought that Cayena must have placated Rezef.
But what she might have said to Rezef, he didn't know.
He could only assume it had something to do with political power.
“More things I need to learn.”
Whenever Cayena moved, things got noisy, like the wind blowing over a field of reeds.
His level of influence had grown to a level that could not be ignored.
At least, that's what Raphael thought.
He made Annie athe question he had never asked before.
“What do you think of the princess these days?
Annie was briefly disturbed by the perplexing question.
But as she was quick-witted and quick, she quickly found a suitable answer.
“She is fair and wise.
A fair and wise princess.
It didn't make sense.
But, strangely, Raphael believed it.
“Oh, and…
Raphael looked curiously at Annie.
Annie hesitated for a moment and then spoke.
“I heard her say she hopes Lord Kedrey gets along with Lady Grace.
He frowned slightly.
“Lady Grace again.”
Since that meeting some time ago, Cayena has repeatedly mentioned Olivia Grace.
What kind of trick did she have in mind?
Raphael acknowledged his words with a nod and handed Jeremy a bag.
Jeremy crossed the marquee and handed Annie the bag.
She gratefully received the payment and again followed the servant out of the room.
No matter how many pieces of the puzzle he picked up about Cayena, Raphael couldn't understand the bigger picture.
This confused him.
It was as if the pieces belonged to different puzzles.
“It’s doubtful she’s supporting Rezef as emperor, but it doesn’t seem like she’s trying to gain power for herself.”
And the strangest part of it all was himself.
Raphael continued to pay attention to Cayena's actions and wonder about them.
He couldn't ignore her.
She was like a thorn in his finger.
Raphael even felt frustrated because he couldn't make an appointment to talk to her.
Right now, he was just the heir, not the duke.
He deliberately hadn't succeeded his father yet and was isolating himself.
“But it would be nice if I had the authority to talk to her more often…”
Raphael left the annex and entered the ornate Vila Kedrey.
He seemed lost in thought as he walked.
Then he asked Jeremy, “Is there any way to see the princess casually?”
To get the right answer, you had to face the problem.
The next day, Cayena stopped the inspection as if nothing had happened.
However, everyone in the palace was terrified of ending up like the chef or Mrs.
Helier.
They hunkered down, but at the same time they had to move more efficiently than they had in years as they had to take on the work of those who were trapped.
Due to personnel relocations in the morning, the arrival of the princess's new ladies-in-waiting attracted less attention.
Julia Evans and Susan Lepore watched as a servant hurried to the princess's palace to announce her arrival.
She didn't expect much, but Julia was a little disappointed by the cold reception.
“Things seem a little messy…
Julia was excited to come to Alquiem.
The capital city!
The romance and emotion of it couldn't be expressed in words.
Julia was a lively lady, bored by the standards of eastern men.
They were ugly and not at all elegant.
For Julia, these facts were more painful than anything.
When she was chosen as a court lady in the princess's palace, she was so moved that she screamed.
Finally, she would be able to leave the dull old countryside!
"Tea parties!
Cakes!
Dresses!"
She entered the imperial palace anticipating a world of elegance and style.
However, the atmosphere in the imperial palace was a little strange.
Julia, the jewel of the Evans family, was being treated like cold leftovers.
She looked at Susan Lepore, who was standing next to her with an apathetic face.
“She looks stern.”
Susan's chocolate brown hair, deep purple eyes, and haughty expression made her look like an elegant jaguar.
Although Julia smiled and tried to talk to her, Susan responded only with brief answers.
“Well, at least she’s pretty.”
Julia hid her proud feelings by combing her curly golden hair with her fingers.
Her own beauty was considerably greater.
She was often called the most beautiful woman in the east.
“Even in the capital, I didn’t see anyone more beautiful than me.”
How beautiful would Princess Cayena be, who was known as the greatest beauty in the empire?
At that moment, the servant returned with a senior lady-in-waiting.