Today's Goal is a Safe Divorce!

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Chapter 21

“I will briefly tell you about basic etiquette, including housekeeping.”

“I look forward to your kind cooperation.”

“It seems that Your Grace already knows a certain amount of etiquette, so it’s nice to save time.”

Although the Countess had never informed Elysia of noble etiquette, she acted wisely on her own. She learned over the shoulders and learned a lot from the maids’ mouths.

“First of all, it is the history of the empire. The Caesar Empire was founded by the first emperor, Dmitryi Caesar. And, it was the first Grand Duke Raphael who helped him. Recognized for their contribution to the country’s founding, Grand Duchy Raphael is currently the only Grand Duchy of the Empire.”

It was the first time she had heard of it because she had never really learned about the history of the empire. Elysia was intrigued by the parts that were not properly covered in the book.

“Below it is the four Duchies. However, Your Grace doesn’t have to worry about it at all. The power of Grand Duchy Raphael in Caesar’s empire is actually more than that of a Grand Duchy. It’s the only family that is not bound by the Imperial Family. Because they have autonomy, even if they rebel, it’s impossible to say anything.”

This is what she read in a book. Strangely, the power of Grand Duchy Raphael in the Caesar Empire exceeded that of the Imperial Family. It was to the extent that she felt that the Imperial Family was only an illusion. Grand Duchy Raphael was just like a country.

“You mean they were allowed to rebel?”

“Well… You might think so. I mean, even if they rebel, they won’t be counted as a traitor. This was because they were recognized as a country with autonomy. Of course, there has never been a sign of treason from the Grand Duchy.”

“…Not even once?”

“Yes.”

Damon Raphael did the rebellion that never happened in history.

He was said to be the first Grand Duke to rebel.

“That explains why the position of the Grand Duchess in the Caesar Empire is high. From now on, Your Grace has no one to pay attention to except for the Emperor and the Empress.”

Elysia was surprised to hear that she didn’t have to worry about anyone other than the Emperor and the Empress.

It was because she had just realized Damon’s power, which she had only heard of in words. Perhaps one of the reasons he rebelled was not just boredom. His character was annoyed to bow down to the emperor and empress, so he might have rebelled.

“Do you know the names of the current Emperor and Empress?”

“Ah… No.”

Embarrassed, Elysia did not even know the names of the Emperor and the Empress. She was confined to the county, and the only thing she did every day was work, so she could not have received such an education. Even the maids could not know the names of the Emperor and the Empress because they could not call them carelessly.

“It’s okay if you don’t know.”

However, Estelle didn’t ridicule or criticize her for not knowing. She just gave her a warm smile.

It was also very fortunate that her teacher was changed from Countess Arianne to Estelle. If Arianne had been in charge as before, it was clear how much she would have been ignored.

“There is no shame in not knowing. It’s just something you haven’t learned yet.”

“Thank you, Estelle.”

“The Emperor’s name is Arno Caesar. The Empress is Cassandra Caesar. Even though you probably won’t call her directly, it’s good to have that in mind.”

Elysia quietly nodded her head up and down at Estelle’s friendly words.

Come to think of it, it seemed that the Emperor’s name was Arno. It had been twenty years since she was born as Elysia, so she couldn’t remember properly, but it was a familiar name because she saw it in the novels.

“The Empress, Cassandra, was the only daughter of Duchy Drake. The current Emperor was the only Crown Prince.

This was something she knew. She heard the maids talk about the story of the Drake’s only daughter, who would ascend to the throne as the Empress.

“I think I’ve heard that.”

“The Drake family is the most powerful among the four major Duchies. In fact, there was no distinction between the four major Duchies, but… The noble society implicitly acknowledges it.”

“Then, you mean the Drakes are the most important family?”

This was a story that only those who belonged to the noble society could tell.

“Oh! It’s something you don’t have to worry about, Your Grace. I’m just letting you know. No matter how the Drake family is, they are nothing compared to Duchy Raphael.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. What is important now is the flow of the social world.”

“The flow of the social world?”

“Since Your Grace has not made a debut in the social world right now, I think it would be better to know in advance. Now the social world is divided into two major categories.”

It was the same everywhere. Even in noble societies, it was the same.

“Right now, the social world is divided into pro-Empress, and anti-Empress forces.”

Elysia widened her eyes at the words that there were those who follow the Empress and those who did not. She only thought that if one were in the position of the Empress, no one would disobey her.

“Yes?”

“I am only explaining this for the sake of understanding, although they’re not actually called by this name. In reality, the group was divided into the group following the Empress and the group following Lady Armando.”

When it comes to Duchy Armando, it was one of the four Duchies.

No matter how, Elysia knew about the family name of the four Duchies. The Drakes, the Caspians, the Christians, and the Armandos.

Nonetheless, it was only knowing that much. Elysia did not know about the current situation of each Duchy.

“There were only two daughters in the four Duchies’ family. Right now, Empress Cassandra and Lady Sierra Armando.”

Of the four Duchies, only two daughters. There were only two outcomes in this case. Either they get along really well, or they don’t really get along.

Listening to Estelle, it seemed closer to the latter.

“At first, the two ladies didn’t get along well. They didn’t like each other, but they weren’t overtly hostile. But there was an incident that turned them hostile.”

“…Incident?”

Elysia listened to the story of the incident that had turned their relationship hostile. She wondered what the power was that even divided the social world. This was unheard of even by the maids.

“Yes, there are only two ducal ladies in the Empire, so they were very interested in their marriage partner.”

They were certainly interested if there were only two ducal ladies in the country.

“The Empress Cassandra was older. So, she rushed to get married even more. Usually, ducal ladies are more likely to go to other empires or become empresses.”

“Or, also the Grand Duchess.”

“That… It could be. But, as you know, the Grand Duke chose only Your Grace.”

Elysia thanked Estelle for her kindness to leave the talk about the Grand Duchess in case she gets hurt. Even though Damon never hurt her, it felt good that Estelle cared.

“Then, of course, the remaining seat would be the Empress’.”

“I see.”

“And, the winner was the older, Cassandra. From then on, the flow of the social world began to diverge.”

To summarize Estelle’s words, while fighting for the position of the Empress, the powers were divided. It was somewhat understandable. It was likely enough.

“When the Empress is openly active in the social world, all eyes are on her. That was why the hand that the Empress put forth is Countess Arianne.”

“Countess Arianne…?”

“Originally, Countess Arianne was the one who worked as a maid since the Empress’ maiden days. Then, she entered the Imperial Family, and the Empress recognized her abilities, and she was able to ascend to the rank of Countess. Currently, she is the Empress’s closest aide in name and reality. She is one of the Empress’ handmaidens.”

The Empress’s handmaidens. Elysia didn’t know what that meant.

“The Empress’s handmaidens wield tremendous power in the social world. Instead of doing the direct social activity, the Empress does it through her handmaidens.”

“…That’s what it means.”

“Among those handmaidens, Countess Arianne is considered to be the leader.”

When she thinks of Countess Arianne, whom she had met a few days ago, she could hardly be called a leader. She didn’t think that would fit Countess Arianne.

“Then… What group does my mother, Countess Caitlyn belong to?”

“Countess Caitlyn?”

“Yes.”

Despite the fact that she already knew that Angelina was the empress’s person, Elysia wanted to be more certain.

“She must be on the Empress’s side, although it wasn’t long before she did that.”

“Do I have to become the Empress’s side?”

After all, she was Caitlyn’s daughter. There was no way that the Empress did not know about it.

“It’s Your Grace’s choice. If Your Grace wants to belong to the Empress’s power, you can, and if you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

“Can I be seen as separate from County Caitlyn?”

“As soon as you become Grand Duchess, everything can become separate. All you have to do is do what you want to do.”

It was possible for the Grand Duchess to have the power to be loved. Her fate was that of the neglected Grand Duchess to be poisoned by Damon.

“Do whatever I want…”

“Yes, you don’t have to worry.”

It was something she had felt before, but Estelle reassured her excessively. She tried to calm her down, telling Elysia not to pay any attention and both were fine.

“Mrs, no, Estelle, what faction are you?”

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