In fact, there were only a few people in the mansion that day who could understand the situation in detail as much as he did. And not many people could gossip about it without his permission. Accordingly, it was neither Roxanne nor Marianne who could spread such rumors. At the end of the day, it was Ober himself or a servant or maid who spread the rumors with Ober’s tacit agreement.

‘Rotten egg! You’ve made up all these rumors! If I see you about this, you will certainly try to comfort me, saying I don’t have to worry..”

Marianne kept walking, stamping on the innocent ground. Cordelli quickly read her mind and followed her silently.

The surroundings around her changed quickly. As she passed through the flower walls tangled with rose bushes, an empty lot suddenly appeared. It was a courtyard with an aspen forest on the left and a small pond on the right. In the back, the flower garden was lined up like a shield.

Marianne slowly stopped, glancing over the thick grass.

“Lady, Lord Iric will be waiting for you at the front door. Wouldn’t it be better for you to go back? You’ll be in big trouble if you get lost because the road here is not familiar to me.. ”

Cordelli was about to recommend her to go back with an anxious look when she heard something.

“Haat!”

There was the lively sound of iron clapping.

They were blinded by a dazzling sharp light that popped out to the side of a large cottonwood tree. When they looked again a little later, it was the reflected light of two knives. As if they were practicing swordsmanship, two men were entangled in wielding their swords.

Whenever their swords clanked, a pair of blades gracefully cut through the wind. There was no hesitation in the motion of them pushing and attacking each other.

Even though Marianne and Cordelli were not well versed in swordsmanship, they could immediately realize that their skills were outstanding.

“Oh my god! Isn’t he the Grand Duke?” Cordelli asked, pointing to one of them.

In Marianne’s eyes, his long white hair and tall height obviously belonged Grand Duke Christopher.

“Next to him.. I can’t see his face well. I don’t think he is the emperor. Given his hair color, he looks like the emperor’s relative..”

Marianne narrowed her eyes to check out who he was.

His golden hair tied up like the Grand Duke’s fluttered in the air. He put on a loose white shirt, navy blue pants and leather boots that rose above the knees, with his sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Every time he wielded the sword, his strong muscles were revealed openly. He was shorter than the average adult, but his long legs and straight shoulders were steady and firm.

He was a young man who looked like a boy in her eyes.

“It’s strange. As I far as I know, there are no relatives of the emperor who are around your age. As you know, the emperor has no brothers, the Grand Duke is unmarried, and the first daughter of the late empress has long been the empress of Faisal. Duchess Lamont doesn’t have a son..”

Reciting the emperor’s family line, Cordelli shook her head.

While recalling each of the characters she mentioned, Marianne suddenly opened her mouth as if she realized something.

Her friend Evelyn, who she left behind in the north, often wore pants and rode a horse.

For example, if she held a sword, she could easily defeat any beginner swordsman. She also bet money on shooting a bow to hit the leaves and took Marianne’s money by winning every time. When she was banned from going out, she had her arm broken while climbing a wall secretly. She even played cricket in the middle of his garden with servants and maids.

Just like aristocrats and commoners were different in their jobs, they thought gentlemen and ladies had separate roles in society. People blamed Evelyn, saying her reckless behavior was not suitable for a lady. By their standards, Evelyn was something like a “freak.’

But Marianne liked Evelyn for that. Evelyn was more dynamic and vibrant when she rode on the field, wearing a cumbersome dress than when she was in a room with Marianne, reading books and stroking a brush, which she didn’t like at all.

In that respect, Marianne felt that the energetic young man should not necessarily be a son of the Frey family.

“Miss Rane!”

Marianne shouted as loudly as she could. Then, the person wielding a sword over there turned to Marianne and shouted back, “Ugh? Marie!”

Soon, that familiar figure raised her hands as if to welcome her.

As soon as she confirmed Marianne’s presence, Rane threw away the sword she was holding.

The early summer wind cooled the sweat on her forehead and neck. Her bright smile seemed liberated and refreshing like a bird in the meadows.

“Oh my gosh. How did you know I was here? This garden is located in a remote area, so there are few people coming here. Did you come to see me? Or my uncle?”

“No.. I just go here while walking along this way. I don’t know my way around the Imperial Palace. Sorry. Did I disturb you? I was so glad to see you..”

“Haha. That’s fine. Anyway, I almost won the game!”

Rane laughed a hearty laugh, showing off her skills. Marianne smiled.

Rane had the power to make the other party comfortable and pleasant.

“By the way, we’ve not seen each other for a long time. I was really worried as you had an accident in Roshan. I earnestly waited for your return as much as my mother’s. I heard that fortunately you weren’t seriously hurt, but when I saw the emperor this morning, he looked pretty much haggard, so I was worried about you, too..”

Rane babbled about lots of things that Marianne didn’t ask. Marianne frowned a bit while listening to her.

“Does he look very bad?”

“Well, as you know, he doesn’t take care of himself, so it’s nothing new. By the way, didn’t you come here to see the emperor?”

“Oh, he said he was in a meeting, so I said I would come back later.”

“Later?”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t ask Lord Kloud to tell the emperor that you were here?”

“Nope.”

“Why? If Kloud told him about you, he would have delayed the meeting to meet you.”

“As he was busy, I felt like I couldn’t go through the trouble of..”

“Hummm..”

Rane narrowed her eyes with a dissatisfied look. Her olive-eyed pupil resembling her mother’s glanced at Marianne.

“Mary, would you like to take a walk with me if you have time?”

“Sure, that sounds good.”

“Then, wait a moment.”

As soon as she was done, Rane turned and started to run. She quickly ran away and picked up the sword she had left behind and explained something to Duke Christopher.

Hearing what she said, he turned his eyes at Marianne. Marianne politely put her hands on her chest and slightly lifted the hem of her dress to show manners. Christopher also slightly bowed to her.

He soon disappeared into the cottonwood forest without any resistance. Unlike Rane who was in comfortable slacks, he was formally dressed. His well-groomed lapels and neat hair left strange afterimages in her mind.

“All good now. Let’s go.”

Rane quickly came back and offered to walk together, pointing to a pond nearby.

“I heard that the lotus planted in that pond is a very rare species. I hear you love flowers, correct? Let’s take a look at them now.”

Marianne gladly nodded her head. Rane asked to escort her, reaching out with an exaggerated gesture.

“Let’s go, lady!”

Smiling at her sly move, Marianne put her hand on her arm.

Quick-witted, Cordelli walked back one step and watched. Her white face had a bright smile as if the dark clouds covering her head had disappeared.

“By the way, you are not surprised?”

“Do I have to be?”

“Well, when I’m wielding a sword like this, they usually open their eyes wide and shut their mouths first as if they had seen a crazy woman. My maid Nancy is still scared about coming near me like she was five years ago.”

Rane’s eyes glared in a funny way. Marianne could not hide the laughter at that.

Cordelli, who was squinting, furtively covered her mouth, biting her lip.

“Don’t you feel I’m strange?”

“Well, not at all. I have a friend in Lennox who looks just like you. I’ve already seen lots of funny stuff that she did before.”

“A friend like me?” Rane asked with a curious look. Marianne gave her a big nod.

“So, I don’t think your actions are strange. Just a little.. It’s different.”

“Something different.. Wow, that’s a moderate expression. I would cite your expression as one of the best three moderate expressions.”

They are His Majesty, my mother, father, uncle. And the next person is..

Rane pointed to her with her eyes.