"It’s just that there were bad rumors about me when His Majesty and I just got married. Haha," Arabella tried to laugh it off and change the topic.

But with both Raymond and Ferdinand looking at her, she could not.

Alwin did not even try to help her and just busied himself with his meal.

[You brought that on yourself.] Alwin thought.

Arabella wanted to step on his foot but she could not reach it.

"Ah, I see the bad rumors," Raymond nodded his head in understanding.

"Why? Are there still people spreading bad rumors about you? I thought they already stopped after I made that edict," Ferdinand frowned.

"What edict?" Arabella tilted her head and Ferdinand looked away. His ears turned red.

"I just remembered I have something to talk about with the elders," Ferdinand said and left their table before Arabella could reply.

Ferdinand avoided Arabella because he was embarrassed to tell her something. He even quickly thought about something else so she would not be able to hear it from his thoughts. But she was not about to let it pass.

"What was that about?" Arabella asked Raymond.

"Haha. I guess His Majesty did not tell you," Raymond chuckled.

"About what?" Arabella was even more curious now.

"When you attended the celebration at the Great Elder’s residence and there were rumors about you creating a harem of your own, His Majesty was furious when he heard about it.

He issued an edict to warn everyone that those who slander and disrespect Your Majesty would not only be fined but could be punished with death.

Meanwhile, those who report those who spread false rumors about you would be rewarded handsomely.

The knights have caught quite a lot of people and they were fined and imprisoned so the rumors died down," Raymond explained and Arabella blinked repeatedly.

She did not even know Ferdinand did something like that.

Since Arabella was already part of Valeria’s royalty, slandering her was already akin to slandering Ferdinand so they could already be punished according to the law if they said something like that in front of knights or officials.

However, despite the law, it was not something that was followed strictly since people always had their thoughts and opinions. This was why rumors could still fly freely.

But with the handsome rewards that Ferdinand added through his edict, a lot of people dared to report others to get the rewards.

It also showed the people that Ferdinand valued Arabella that much since he did not even want bad rumors about her to spread, and thus, did something about it.

Thus, even though there may still be people who have bad opinions of her, they did not dare voice it out because others might report them.

"Oh my! I did not even know. It seems I have to thank His Majesty," Arabella could not help but smile.

Ferdinand was taking care of her behind her back.

’Geez. He didn’t need to be shy about it,’ seeing him embarrassed about it earlier, Arabella wanted to tease him later.

"What are you talking about?" Ferdinand returned because he could not take seeing Arabella and Raymond speak with each other animatedly.

[She was all smiles while she was speaking with Raymond. And this bastard was laughing too. I should have sent him home after all.] Ferdinand internally complained.

"I just asked him about the edict," Arabella replied when Ferdinand had fully seated himself again. Arabella beamed at her husband and said, "Thank you for doing that for me."

Ferdinand’s ears turned red but he maintained his poker face just in case some of the guests were looking their way.

"You don’t have to thank me. It’s my duty as your husband," Ferdinand tried to act nonchalant about it and continued eating.

[She would not say I was selfishly using my authority, right?]

’Of course, not!’ Arabella thought when she heard his thoughts.

After all, if the rumors had continued to spread it would have been difficult for it to stop unless something more scandalous got the attention of the masses.

But what would be more scandalous than the new Empress getting a harem of her own to mock their Emperor?

Those rumors would have stayed for a while.

In her past life, Fermin had already passed away when she learned that the masses once thought she was having an affair with someone. It was one of the reasons why she was not welcomed in the empire. It lasted for years.

Back then, they even suspected her child may have been Prince Andrew’s. However, when she gave birth, Fermin looked exactly like Ferdinand. And yet, all sorts of rumors still persisted about her.

Thanks to Ferdinand’s edict, Arabella did not have to suffer from those rumors anymore and she would not need to hire the journalists to clear her name from those rumors.

"Even so, I still want to thank you," Arabella added and Ferdinand took a gulp of his drink.

"I just helped a little. Your actions are what truly shut them up," Ferdinand said.

"My actions?"

Arabella could not recall doing anything to shut them up. She was planning something but was not able to do it due to how busy she became and everything that happened so far made her forget all about the rumors.

"Everything," Ferdinand said, and Arabella was even more confused.

[No wonder they did not understand each other in the past. She could be so dense at times while smart other times.] Alwin thought and Arabella threw him a glare.

"What is ’everything’ supposed to mean?" Arabella further asked despite the look Alwin was giving her.

[Is she playing innocent or just really dense? Or does she want us to praise her or something? I was the one who did most of the work though.]

’This brat. Why won’t he just say it out loud if he has something to say? What a nice friend and ally I have here,’ Arabella almost rolled her eyes at Alwin.

"Hiring assistants from the most powerful houses of Valeria for one," Raymond answered since Ferdinand and Alwin were not explaining anything.

"Oh, I see..." Arabella was thinking about something else so those did not cross her mind.

"It greatly helped to improve Your Majesty’s reputation since you earned the support of the said houses. They also helped to clear the rumors," Raymond explained.

"Ah, indeed. I heard they helped out. I am very much grateful for it," Arabella had heard about it from her assistants’ thoughts.

Raymond explained that because she hired one of their family members, the most powerful houses noted that she recognized their value. Thus, they decided to support her for now.