Wondering if she’d misheard her, Tiana stared at Alexandra and blinked. What is she talking about? As she looked at Alexandra with shock in her eyes, Alexandra said with a serious look,

“There’s a bit of a rumor going around among the wives and daughters. That Angelica del Verne’s got a secret lover.”

“Wait, what does that mean? More than that, how did the rumor spread?”

“I also don’t really know how it happened, but I guess someone saw Angelica and Emperor Rael together on the day of the tea party.”

“Oh…”

So, someone other than Tiana had seen them together on that day? Well, the venue had been more open than she thought. Tiana hadn’t been able to see them, since she’d been in a blind spot, but someone else might have seen them from somewhere else.

“By the way, is the rumor going around that they’re a couple because they were seen together?”

“I heard that it’s not a normal relationship for the two to have. They say that Angelica was hugging Emperor Rael’s pet, Rose, and he was looking at her, smiling at her…”

“I see.”

Who else had seen them? I’m curious, Tiana thought. Rael, who usually looked at women with no expression on his face, had been smiling and even letting Angelica hold Rose was a big deal.

Every single aristocrat knew how much he cherished Rose. So, Angelica couldn’t have done it without his permission. Because it was the emperor’s pet cat.

Very few people could actually hold Rose, because they weren’t even allowed to touch her unless they got permission from Rael. Lucius and Alexandra for instance. Though Tiana was included now.

Angelica had hugged Rose like that, and not only did Rael stay still, but he had even looked at her with a smile, so the mood between the two must have been bizarre to others.

Even when Tiana looked at them, Rael had had a weird vibe to him.

Thinking deeply, Alexandra said with a baffled look on her face,

“But Rael hardly has a contact point with Angelica, so how did those two… No, it doesn’t make sense that my brother said that Rael has been interested in someone.”

“Right. I also knew about the rumor… It’s shocking. Have you by chance seen Rael?”

“Not yet. The rumor is just starting to take off, and even if I ask him in person, I don’t think he’ll be willing to tell me anything.”

Well, Rael hadn’t even told Lucius, but was Alexandra any different? Rather, he’d hide it even more from her.

Anyhow, what were they going to do about this rumor? It had just started to take off, but if Alexandra already knew this much, it had to have spread to some extent. It was right about time for it to spread throughout the social circles.

Witnesses said that it was inevitable, but the news spreading about the couple was faster than expected.

Was it because their first meeting was fast that the start of the book was fast, too…?’

Even though there hadn’t been much progress in their relationship, now that the rumor has come out first, the possibility of Angelica and the emperor getting tangled up increased. The time of this event was faster than the original story, so their situation was different, but since the word lovers came out, they might even talk about marriage soon.

Tiana didn’t have to stop the rumor since their relationship will continue anyway, but Lucius would be surprised if he found out.

“Since we’re being invited, I thought I’d ask Angelica whether the rumor is true or not.”

“You think she knows about it?”

“Well. She might since it started spreading on the neutralists’ side first.”

“I see.”

Given Angelica’s personality, it was highly possible that she still didn’t know anything about the rumor. Tiana was curious how she’d react when she hears it.

***

“Welcome. Please come in.”

When afternoon came around and Tiana and Alexandra arrived, guests who’d come out to meet them greeted them. Angelica came out to greet them, along with nervous servants and a man who appeared to be a butler.

“Thank you for coming out like this. It is an honor to have you two here.”

“Thank you for your invitation, Angelica.”

“I was glad to see the invitation arriving much faster than I’d expected. Can I look forward to today?”

Angelica said, smiling softly at Alexandra who spoke jokingly,

“Of course. I’ve prepared so much for the two of you, so I hope you have a great time.”

Alexandra and Tiana smiled at the sight of her confidence and followed her inside. It wasn’t flashy, but the clean, simple atmosphere made the two guests feel comfortable.

Tiana had been worried since hearing that the Vernes’ situation wasn’t good, but the mood inside was not bad at all. Their new product had launched, so maybe it was because of that things were looking up.

“This way.”

Angelica walked toward another area on the first floor. Passing through a hallway and turning a corner, there was an opening that seemed to connect to a garden in the back.