The name of Roam is absolute. Which means that a precarious Roam had no qualification to hold power.
The danger that nearly occurred because of me was averted through Lilia, but now that has become a bad move, so I must properly clean it up.
Father's determination to present me, the resurrected one, as Roam's successor in place of my sister Frisian was exactly that.
A kind of show to demonstrate that we, as the direct line, still befit the name of Roam.
"May I ask what you plan to do there?"
"Well, I've considered various options, but... I must drive out Sister Frisian first."
If my sister becomes the next Duke, Roam will somehow overcome the crisis. She was someone with that kind of capability.
Therefore, I had no choice but to drive her out completely.
Heinrich, who had fallen silent at my answer, frowned and cautiously began to speak.
"There is something I wish to discuss regarding that matter as well. It seemed the Duke of Roam intended to send the Young Duke to me."
"Ah, my apologies. I made up a vague excuse to my mother, but it seems she took it seriously."
"Will you be the one to resolve this?"
Heinrich had an expression of genuine distaste. I answered him in a gentle tone.
"There will be no cause for your concern."
Even without my intervention, Frisian would never consent to marry into the imperial family. The moment she becomes a person of the imperial family, she can never be the Lord of Roam.
"I know my sister Frisian. She is someone who would do anything to keep from losing her position to me."
Even if that meant accepting a marriage proposal of a rank so low she had never imagined such a thing.
With just a few assumptions, the reactions of the Roam people were plainly visible.
Frisian, unable to accept this and inevitably trying to reclaim the position of Lord while bearing collateral blood, and my mother, who would certainly be unable to accept such conduct from my sister and would be enraged.
And Father, who would absolutely support Mother's wishes, and Seiri, who would hide behind Mother's skirts and be dragged into the succession fight bewilderedly.
Roam's division was a predetermined course.
"Your Highness need only say that, due to the pain of heartbreak, you will focus on state affairs for the time being."
Since he had proven his heart was great enough to remove me from the imperial palace, such an excuse would work for a while.
At my advice, Heinrich, unlike himself, pouted his lips somewhat childishly.
"That is not an excuse but the truth."
"Ah."
As I closed my lips with a flustered face, Heinrich let out a deflated laugh.
He had uttered words that were certainly half-serious as if they were a joke, then changed the subject in a generous voice.
"I pray that your path forward will always be smooth and safe."
"...Thank you."
"That necklace... you may keep it. If you are all right with that."
Heinrich's gaze turned to the necklace around my neck.
I had been unconsciously fidgeting with the communication necklace hanging around my neck when I glanced down.
Honestly, the necklace would be useful to contact Heinrich until I reached the Roam mansion, but I questioned whether there would be any use for it after that ended.
Yet I thought it would be a pity to discard it.
"Contact me when you occasionally need a friend. I will at least listen to your drunken ramblings."
As if guessing my thoughts, Heinrich added. Hearing that, the answer came easily.
"Drunken ramblings is excessive; I will occasionally send my regards."
At my words, Heinrich let out a snort of laughter.
"Very well."
Afterward, we had a leisurely tea time. It was the most comfortable and relaxed tea time I had had since entering the imperial palace.
* * *
Frisian was ultimately driven out of the office.
"Father!"
Frisian's cry filled with dismay did not reach the Duke of Roam, just as it had not for the past several days.
Frisian, who had been treated as the Young Duke all her life, was dragged out into the corridor by servants for the first time in her life. She truly could not believe her situation.
"Let go of me this instant!"
She roughly pushed away the servants and staggered as she righted herself.
"...."
Frisian, who had been glaring at the tightly closed office door with bloodshot eyes, turned her head following the sound of footsteps.
The Duchess of Roam, who had straightened her back elegantly, discovered her and frowned as she stopped.
"Frisian, what is this disgraceful behavior?"
"Disgraceful? Does this look disgraceful to you right now?"
"It is almost time for a precious family member to return. Do you want to ruin what should be a happy reunion?"
At the Duchess of Roam's words, Frisian let out a hollow laugh as if absurd. However, she struggled to suppress her voice that threatened to rise and tried to calm herself.
"Mother, this is truly wrong. Father is making a wrong judgment right now."
At Frisian's words, the Duchess of Roam slightly narrowed the space between her brows.
"How dare you doubt the authority of the Duke of Roam in the house of Roam?"
A rebuking gaze swept over Frisian. Eventually, unable to contain her anger, Frisian raised her voice.
"I have lived as the Young Duke all my life! Does it make sense to cast me aside so suddenly?"
At first, she thought it was a misunderstanding.
Her workload decreased strangely, and the subordinates she had employed began to be assigned to other duties one by one under the Duke's orders.
When the Duke's summons stopped abruptly, even occasions for Frisian to visit the Duke's office disappeared.
In just a few days.
Then recently, the moment she received a sudden notice prohibiting her from attending the imperial banquet held to express gratitude to the resurrected one, Frisian realized.
That something had gone seriously wrong.
"Is bringing Lilia in as an adopted daughter something that has now come back to bite me?"
No matter how much she thought about it, there was no other reason. But Frisian was truly unjust.
The one who first suggested bringing Lilia in as an adopted daughter of Roam was Crown Prince Maxell.
Moreover, even if Frisian had advocated for bringing her in as an adopted daughter, would that have been possible with her power alone!
It was the Duke who decided to accept Lilia after seeing her prophetic abilities, and the Duchess had also agreed to it. So why was she the only one who had to pay the price for that matter?
"Frisian."
The Duchess of Roam called her. Frisian grabbed the Duchess's arm and clung to her.
"Mother, please persuade Father. He won't listen to me."
At her daughter's desperate appeal, the Duchess of Roam hesitated for a moment but soon removed Frisian's hand with a long sigh.
"You need to compose yourself first. Do you intend to greet your sister who has returned after so long in such a state?"
"Right now, her returning is what's important...!"
Frisian was raising her voice as if frustrated when she suddenly stopped speaking.
She looked up at the Duchess of Roam with a dazed face and murmured in a voice that suggested disbelief.
"You said you succeeded in persuading Anelli... Mother said so."
The Duchess of Roam said nothing. She merely gazed at Frisian with the stern face she had shown all her life.
Her mother was someone who suited Roam more than anyone.
To the extent that she had always been proud, thinking that the mistress of such a house needed the strength and dignity like her mother's.
'So in a case like this....'
"Why is Anelli coming to Roam?"
"Frisian. Did you not hear me?"
Words of reproach continued, but Frisian's mind was filled with other thoughts.
"Mother, Anelli would not have agreed to return without a reason."
Muttering to herself, Frisian recalled the family meeting that had taken place some time ago.
The Duchess of Roam, who had met Anelli and returned, said before the family that Anelli was extremely uncomfortable with life in the imperial palace and agreed that if she had to rely somewhere, Roam was suitable.
The people of Roam had thought from before that Roam would be most comfortable for Anelli, so at that time, they did not deeply question the Duchess's words.
After that, the Duchess of Roam... had a long private conversation with the Duke.
'The time when I was pushed out of my duties was....'
After the Duchess of Roam met Anelli.
"Mother, surely...."
Just as Frisian was about to speak as if entranced, the butler came running up from below, out of breath.
"The carriage has passed the main gate!"
"Send all the servants to their quarters. Make sure they keep their mouths tightly shut. Frisian, tidy your appearance and bring Lilia and Seiri with you to come out to the lobby. If you bear the name of Roam, you must naturally participate in welcoming family."
Just then, the Duke, who had heard the commotion in front of the office, opened the door and came out.
The Duchess of Roam calmly conveyed the situation to her husband and then moved downstairs together.
Only Frisian, left alone in the corridor, breathed roughly with a pale face for a long while.
'Already me....'
The servants of Roam, as if they did not see her, busily focused only on their roles.
Some headed quickly to the quarters, and others prepared to serve the visitor who was arriving late at night.
'This cannot be!'
Frisian, who had been standing dazed, roughly turned her body. The Duchess of Roam's words to tidy her appearance had long been forgotten.
'This cannot be!'
She went down the central staircase and reached the lobby in an instant.
In the large lobby, there were only a few key figures among the servants, such as the butler and the head maid. Perhaps because of that, it felt desolate at a glance.
In the center of the lobby, beside the Duke and Duchess of Roam who stood side by side, Seiri was rubbing her sleepy eyes. A little farther away, Lilia also stood with an anxious expression.
"Big sister!"
Lilia, who had been biting her lips and moving anxiously, brightened and called out to Frisian.
However, the Duke and Duchess of Roam did not look back at Frisian. They were gazing at the firmly closed front door.
Frisian, who had stopped in front of the central staircase, also turned her gaze to the front door following them.
Click.
Along with the sound of the doorknob moving, the massive door slowly opened.
At the same time, Frisian muttered as if chewing her words.
"Anelli Roam...."
A terrible feeling, as if she had been covered in filth, enveloped her entire body.
It was the moment she became certain that everything had gone wrong.