Seeing Viscount Wolfe looking happy, Emmett felt as if his heart was being torn apart. What on earth had he done in the past? He felt like he was an unforgivable, heinous person...
However, Viscount Wolfe instead reached out his hand and raised Emmett up.
"It's alright. It was unavoidable..."
"But the fact that I committed a wrong remains unchanged. You may resent me. If there's anything you need, I will help with anything."
"No, there's nothing like that. Ah, but..."
"What is it?"
"I would like my son's remains to be buried in the cemetery for meritorious subjects."
"Of course, I will do that. Your son's name will be added to the list of meritorious subjects."
Because what he wished for was so modest, Emmett felt an even stronger sense of guilt.
"Grand Duke Lartman."
"Yes, Viscount Wolfe."
"I am truly alright, so you can live without harboring guilt anymore."
"..."
"Serve Her Majesty well. That's all I wish for."
Viscount Wolfe said this while grasping Emmett's hand tightly, and Emmett could answer this emphatically.
"Yes, I will certainly do so."
As they were finishing their conversation, two figures entered the room.
Liv, and Anne Wolfe.
Liv pushed Anne's back towards where Viscount Wolfe was, speaking softly as if to soothe her.
"Anne, you have the right to go and hear the conversation too."
"Ah..."
Seeing her grandfather and the man standing before him, Anne stood there awkwardly.
The person who had caused her father's death. If it were an ordinary person, they would have lost their reason and rushed at him immediately, but Anne was rational and strong enough to be chosen as the Emperor's maid. For now, Emmett was the Emperor's husband and also the greatest meritorious subject, so she couldn't get angry recklessly. Moreover, it was actually the previous Emperor August who had killed her father...
However, people can't always act rationally. Feeling too wronged by her situation where she couldn't even express her anger despite it welling up, Anne shed tears.
"...Miss Wolfe."
Emmett slowly began to speak to Anne.
"No words can excuse my unforgivable sin, but I want to apologize. I'm sorry for only letting you know the truth now. And for committing an indelible sin."
"Sob, I... I know... that it was all August's fault..."
It was an era where one had to follow whatever August ordered. Until just a few weeks ago, this country was like that.
"But I just... find it hard to control my emotions..."
"I understand. Resent and hate me for the rest of your life."
"I won't forgive you..."
Because Anne was genuinely resenting him, Emmett rather felt a sense of relief. Only if someone hated him for life could he live with his sin in his heart.
"I'm so angry at Your Grace, and I'll never forget this anger for the rest of my life. But at the same time, I'll serve Her Majesty for life... Because our Wolfe family's loyalty to Her Majesty won't change, apart from my anger towards Your Grace."
"Thank you for saying that."
After hearing Anne's words, Liv placed her hand on Anne's back and patted it lightly. Perhaps because someone was comforting her, Anne began to sob even more sorrowfully.
Liv and Emmett's eyes met in the air. Sadness, apology, and gratitude mixed in the pupils of the two.
* * *
Even if Emmett had faced his sins, Liv's matters weren't completely settled.
"Here are the completed historical records. Would you check if it's alright for this to be passed down to future generations?"
Elena placed a book on the table, and Liv picked it up. She could feel the other maids glancing at it with interested looks.
Liv was currently enjoying a break for the weekend. Of course, there was a mountain of work, so she couldn't fully rest. The only difference was that she was working in Liv's room instead of the office.
"No problem. Proceed as it is."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Elena took the book and left the room, and Maria poured tea into Liv's cup. Greta wasn't visible as she had gone out to work with Emmett's head servant.
In one corner of the room, Olivia and Anne were organizing records about imperial knights who had been loyal to August.
"No, that's not right. This family has been a knight family for generations."
"Ah..."
"And the Carosa family are traitors."
In fact, it was closer to Anne, who knew knight families well, picking on Olivia.
If one were to pick the maids who got along the worst, it would be Anne and Olivia. The other maids were wary of Olivia but were too soft-hearted to pick on her. However, Anne, who had grown up rough and was uninhibited in everything, openly disliked Olivia.
Liv thought it wasn't desirable for the maids to not get along well, but at the same time, she knew that if she intervened, the problem could become bigger.
In fact, it was true that Olivia had wronged Liv in the past. However, if Olivia's attitude towards Liv was sincere, eventually the other maids would open their hearts to Olivia too. Therefore, the key to solving this problem lay with Olivia. After all, Liv had only chosen those with such tolerance as maids in the first place.
Meanwhile, Olivia, who had been constantly pointed out by Anne, seemed to get annoyed and glared at Anne with sharp eyes.
"Are you going to keep doing this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Ha, I might know less about knight families than you, but I excel in other refined knowledge more than you."
"Well, I didn't mean to look down on you."
"I was educated thoroughly from a younger age than you. I grew up as an excellent noble young lady under my parents' care."
Olivia meant to bring up the thorough education she had received, but it also seemed to point out that Anne had lost her father at a young age. As soon as the topic of her father came up, a murderous look appeared in Anne's eyes.
Even though she had been promoted to a meritorious subject, Anne was upset because the topic of her deceased father had come up. And above all, the reason why it wasn't good to talk about the late Viscount Wolfe was...
'Because he died because of Emmett.'
The Emperor's husband had killed a meritorious subject, and that meritorious subject's daughter was now working under the Emperor. Olivia had essentially mocked Anne for working under the imperial family that had killed her father. Although Emmett had apologized to the Wolfe family recently, most people didn't know the inside story.
It wouldn't have been strange for Liv to scold Olivia here, but Anne spoke first.
"Are you trying to mock me about my father now?"
"Th-That's not it... Of course, Miss Wolfe's father was an admirable person. He even became a meritorious subject recently..."
Olivia, realizing she had made a slip of the tongue, continued speaking in a trembling voice.
"Yes, thank you for congratulating me on my father becoming a meritorious subject. But Miss Gentzen..."
Anne's gray eyes pierced Olivia.
"Rather than being concerned about other people's affairs, you should worry about your own future."
"What..."
For a moment, Olivia trembled at the threatening-sounding words, but she wasn't one to back down easily either. The frustration she had felt from being ostracized among Liv's maids exploded.
"I heard that Grand Duke Lartman personally appointed the meritorious subjects."
"That issue is all in the past. I'm curious about your intention in mentioning a problem that I no longer care about."
"What did I do to deserve this?"
As the sparks between them intensified, Maria was fidgeting and watching Liv's reaction. It seemed like Anne might bring out a sword from somewhere and draw it at any moment, so Liv intervened.
"It would be good to stop there."
"Ah, Your Majesty..."
Only then did Olivia's face turn pale, realizing that she had offended not only Anne but also Liv.
"It would be better for you to get along well with each other. It seems even less appropriate to have this conversation in front of me."
"...I apologize."
Anne bowed her head, and Olivia bit her lip hard. At that moment, Elena and Greta, seeming to have finished their tasks, opened the door and entered. Greta noticed the unusual atmosphere in the room and watched Liv's reaction.
"Your Majesty, did any mistake happen..."
"It's fine. They're still not used to the imperial atmosphere, so such mistakes happen."
In fact, this problem stemmed from the other maids being wary of Olivia. The more cornered Olivia felt, the more she tried to hurt others. Liv felt she should take this opportunity to tell the maids that she didn't dislike Olivia.
"I don't dwell on past matters. As Anne said, past events are all over."
Although it seemed to be about the conversation between Olivia and Anne that had just occurred, everyone in the room knew it was actually referring to how Olivia had bullied Liv in the past.
"We can't be stuck in the past forever. Everyone makes mistakes. Isn't that right?"
"That's right, Your Majesty."
As if trying to lighten the mood, Greta shared her own experience.
"I once broke off my engagement because I misunderstood that my fiancé was having an affair, but he was actually innocent. Looking back, it's something I regret. This shows that everyone makes mistakes."
"I, when I first came to the capital as a child, spoke informally to a young lady, who turned out to be a marchioness...! Fortunately, that lady was pleased, asking if she looked that young..."
Following Greta, Maria also talked about something that had happened to her, and Anne opened her mouth too.
"...When I first learned to use a sword, I was intoxicated by my own strength and hurt someone else."
Elena and Olivia didn't speak. Knowing what they regretted, Liv didn't press them. Instead, she shared something that had happened to her.
"I used to... not get along well with Miss Zibel. Wishing for her to leave social circles, I once revealed her weakness to the traitor August. Looking back, it's something I regret."
As if it was a story no one had known, the maids' eyes widened. Especially Olivia, who had been part of Zibel's group, had eyes that looked like they might pop out at any moment.