“Anne... lo–long time no see.”

After much struggle, Muen still forced himself to climb into the carriage, meeting the meaningful gaze of his personal maid.

Anne’s appearance was as composed as ever. Wearing her fitted maid uniform, she sat with her back perfectly straight, hands resting neatly upon her knees. Every gesture of hers seemed measured by a ruler—elegant and precise.

“Long, it hasn’t been. Didn’t we see each other just a few days ago? But young master...”

Anne’s gaze fell upon him, her expression carrying a half-smile, half-sneer.

“Why is young master soaking wet from head to toe?”

“Ah, that...”

I can’t exactly tell you that in order to cover certain traces, I jumped into the river myself, can I...

Muen forced a crooked smile and said:

“I was just so happy thinking I’d get to see you, Anne, that I decided to bathe first before coming.”

“Oh? Young master took a bath... then why are even your clothes drenched?”

“Well... I washed them along with myself. Isn’t that more formal?”

“Is that so? But then why...”

Anne’s delicate nose twitched slightly. Her gaze swept once across Muen’s lower body, then casually flicked to the far distance outside the window. A faint smile appeared on her lips.

“I can’t help but feel there’s a strange scent lingering on you~”

“Wh—”

Muen shivered, nearly leaping out of his seat.

Even after ruining his own image, enduring the Silent Ones’ looks like he was insane, and deliberately plunging into the river—she could still smell it? Anne, your nose is sharper than a Snake-Man’s?

But he forced himself to stay calm.

Experience told him—in these moments, panic meant death. The more panicked, the faster you died.

“I-it’s perfume. The scent you noticed on me, Anne, is probably leftover perfume clinging to my clothes.” Muen kept a straight face, spouting nonsense.

“This perfume... is quite unique, isn’t it?”

“Purely natural. Unique is normal, haha—completely normal.”

“...”

Anne narrowed her eyes, staring at him for a long time. The atmosphere inside the carriage seemed to freeze.

In that cramped, oppressive silence, Muen felt his heartbeat accelerating, threatening to break through his chest—until Anne suddenly smiled radiantly.

“Why is young master so nervous? As your personal maid, do you think I’d doubt your words?”

“N-no, of course not. I also trust you unconditionally, Anne. You’re one of the people closest to me.” Muen wiped the water droplets from his forehead as he spoke.

“Hearing that from young master makes me happier than you can imagine.”

Anne’s smile bloomed. On her refined and elegant face, a rare trace of shyness appeared.

But soon, her expression grew serious.

“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. I came this time for business.”

“Business?”

“There are two matters. First, earlier today, both the palace and several nobles suddenly sent many gifts.”

“Gifts... why at this time?”

“The palace officials said it was a reward from His Majesty himself, in recognition of the Campbell family’s outstanding contribution during this recent crisis.

As for the nobles, they always send things, but this time there were many more than usual. Still, we handled them as before—all returned.”

“Outstanding contribution?”

Muen arched a brow, bewildered.

What contribution?

During this whole incident, the Duke was away leading troops, the Duchess was in the countryside for her pregnancy. To say the Campbell family contributed nothing would be an understatement—they were completely uninvolved.

The only one who had thrown himself into the whirlpool was Muen himself, risking everything to save his senior sister.

But he had never mobilized the Ducal Estate’s power. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

From the moment he saw the Silent Ones encircle the area, he knew: whatever he had done in the heart of this storm, it could not be called “turning the tide.” At most, it was adding a flourish.

Even without him, the Evil God’s plan most likely would have failed.

Nothing would have changed... except that his senior sister might truly have died.

Well, and maybe the Moon could have struggled a little longer.

But no matter how he saw it, his deeds could hardly be called “outstanding contribution.”

Let alone...

He had only just walked out of the Dark Moon Mist, yet the palace gifts had arrived before him. The timing didn’t make sense at all.

“I heard that after this incident, many of the nobles in the capital suffered heavy losses.” Anne’s tone carried a pointed hint.

“...Is that so?”

Muen blinked, then quickly caught on.

Thanks to the Emperor’s brilliant maneuvering, Belrand’s noble factions had suffered devastating blows. They wouldn’t recover for quite some time.

Meanwhile, the Campbell house—loyal royalists—though they had done nothing, had also lost nothing. With imperial authority now strengthened, this shift in balance left them with enormous benefits.

Though it also meant they would attract even more jealousy.

“So being short on family members has its perks after all...”

Muen sighed, emotions mixed.

Normally, the higher a noble’s status, the more they wished for imperial power to wane.

But among the great houses, the Campbell family was the odd exception.

Generation after generation, only a single heir. With no sprawling branches, they lacked the greatest tool of noble politics—marriage alliances.

After all, there was only one Duke Campbell, and only one son. They couldn’t exactly marry dozens of noble daughters, could they?

Thus, the Campbell house could only rely on the Duke’s might, gathering a crowd of lesser nobles, becoming the spearhead of the royalist faction.

“Thinking about it now, in the original novel, Muen Campbell was stripped of his nobility and made a commoner, ending in tragedy, with even the Ducal Estate forbidden from interfering. It was definitely not as simple as it looked—surely the work of other nobles.”

Muen thought grimly.

There were many who couldn’t stand to see a powerful Duke standing so close to the throne, even tied by marriage to the imperial family.

Yet even after he—the original Muen—had committed such vile acts, disgracing the princess so publicly, the punishment had only been the stripping of his title, without shaking the Campbell house’s foundation. That alone showed the Emperor’s deep trust in the Campbell family.

“Eh? Wait, no, that still doesn’t explain why the palace would suddenly send gifts at this point. Isn’t that just painting a target on us?”

“On that note, when the palace delivered the gifts, they also brought a message.”

For some reason, Muen felt Anne’s tone grow oddly strange.

“What message?” he asked curiously.

“They said...”

Anne paused, then spoke with an unmistakable sourness.

“That the Ducal Estate should begin preparations. In a few months’ time, young master—you and Princess Celicia’s... engagement ceremony.”