Aster sat silently in his room. A month had passed since the winter feast and it was finally the end of the year. There was a new year party in Golden Camellia Empire, but he still had two weeks before that. Aster had grown accustomed with the palace and those ridiculous rules made by Empress and Emperor.

He fiddled with his food, a warm chicken soup with few pastry and fruits for his breakfast to warm his body. After the winter feast, Charles suddenly disappeared. There was no sign of him anywhere, no personal letter, Charles just disappeared into thin air. Aster inquired about Charles to Rosalie, but Rosalie said that Emperor had something urgent for Charles to handle.

Though, he was unsure about Charles' whereabouts, he couldn't lie that it was convenient for him, because he didn't know how to face Charles now. He had doubt for him, but Charles he knew wasn't such a manipulative person.

'Is it really Charles who set me up there or… this was just a trap to set a conflict between us?' Aster pondered.

Aster now realized that he couldn't accept any word thrown at him immediately. He needed to consider whether the said word was true or not. He couldn't even trust his cousins, they had their own mysterious interest.

'The only people I can trust are my parents and Ramuja…' Aster lamented.

Just before he started eating, there was a knock on the door. Aster back stiffened immediately. Rosalie's maid had already delivered the food today. Other than that maid, no one visited him.

'Empress' people? Or Emperor's?' Aster turned vigilant.

"Who?" Aster asked.

The one behind the closed door immediately answered, "Aster, this is your mother."

Aster heard that familiar soft voice, his mother's beautiful face immediately appeared in his mind. Aster rushed to the door and opened it. There, he saw his mother standing with her amiable face. Aster saw her mother's face looked tired, not as fresh as usual, but her beauty never faded. She wore a thicker blue dress with a sapphire pin decorating her golden hair.

Aster's eyes welled up and he hugged his mother immediately.

"Mom…" Aster mumbled. He missed his mother so much, too much that he started dreaming about his mother, his duchy, his servant…

Grand Duchess smiled and patted his hair. "You left the duchy for half a year, yet you are still very spoiled. How can this be?" Grand Duchess joked.

Aster lifted his head to see his mother's face once more. He could see his mother's dark eye bags and her cheek got thinner considerably.

'Who made her like this?' Aster felt there was a rage in his heart, there must be someone who hated them so much, that made said person to torture his mother like this.

'Was it Empress? That wretched hag!' Aster cursed in his heart.

"Let's just talk inside, I don't have much time here." Grand Duchess said.

Aster led his mother to his room. He was glad that he finally switched to a proper room after Charles helped him, otherwise, his mother must be saddened if he saw him tortured here.

"Mom, how can you visit me? I thought Emperor and Empress wont let me meet any guest." Aster questioned.

"… I had a deal with my Emperor brother," Grand Duchess said hesitantly.

"What deal?" Aster had a bad premonition of such deal, when it came to dealing with the royals, there must be something very grave waiting as the consequence.

His mother, Grand Duchess seemed to be very reluctant to answer his question. Grand Duchess sighed, "My brother asked our duchy's allegiance to help funding Empire campaign to the east. The gold wasn't the problem, we have enough to fund the entire campaign for few years with the spare money. But, the problem is… they want the money and supply to be distributed in our duchy name…"

"That… that means we are publicly under Emperor's allegiance? What about your noble faction, mother, they might misunderstand!" Aster was honestly panicked, his duchy was the richest, but political faction should be maintained because it would bring unnecessary trouble to the duchy.

Grand Duchess' eyes welled up, she was about to cry in front of her son. She took a handkerchief and wiped his eyes before tears streamed down to her cheek.

Aster was stressed out. He never saw his mother cried in front of him.

"I just want to see you, my son. I am really worried about you, especially after there was a rumor that Gamasiel, king of vassal kingdom Rhea harassed you. I'm afraid that you had an incident… and I cannot protect you," Grand Duchess lamented. "Even if I had to deal countless night of troubles, I still need to see you!"

Aster hugged his mother again. Those dark eye bags, thinner cheek, and haggard face must've been because she had to deal with her noble faction.

'All that just to see me, check if I'm okay…' Aster's hug tightened. Truly, the only people who cared for him were his parents and his personal servant.

Aster talked for almost an hour with her mother. However, all she asked was about his treatment. His mother knew that the treatment inside the palace and his grand duchy must be different. Aster replied with lies just to pacify his over worried mother.

"I must leave now. My Emperor brother and his wife would punish you if I stayed for too long. Especially his wife, the Empress…"

"Take care, my son. It would take me another half a year or more just to visit you again… but I will try to find a way." Grand Duchess rubbed his son's cheek and smiled.

Aster didn't say yes immediately. He stared at his tired mother, and then said. "You shouldn't visit me again until I finished my time here. Mom, I don't want to see you like this…"

Grand Duchess bit her lower lip, then she smiled and just left without saying anything anymore.

Aster sighed. He missed his mother so much, but if the cost was for her to be physically and psychologically tortured, then he might just endured this.

'That Empress, I will find a way.' Aster's heart raged once more.

***

Grand Duchess smiled in satisfaction and left his son room. She headed to the Golden Princess pavilion, her niece's pavilion.

Rosalie was sitting quietly, waiting for her aunt duchess. However, if someone observed carefully, she kept fiddling the handle of the cup. It was obvious that she was nervous.

Grand Duchess entered the door and immediately sat directly opposite of her niece. They stared to each other for a second before Rosalie opened her lips. "Greeting to Aunt Duchess..."

"No need for unnecessary greeting, I want to hear the report from you," Grand Duchess said with a smile, but her sharp tone stabbed Rosalie's gut immediately.

"Yes, currently, the scandal has been spread wide, but still as a gossip. However, the gossip that Aster was harassed by Gamasiel already damaged his reputation, and his fiancé Claudia Hunder had already withdrawn all the funding and her family turned their back from Kingdom of Rhea. Hunder family also naturally withdrawn from Mother Empress side." Rosalie said.

"Then, about Gamasiel and Lady Merse from the house of Thana?"

"Gamasiel is unable to meet Aster and naturally unable to clarify the rumor. Besides, the one who spread the rumor is his fiancé, Claudia. People will immediately believe it." Rosalie paused, then she continued. "About Lady Thana, she began to inquire about Aster, does Aunt Duchess really want Aster to be a bait to trap her?" Rosalie questioned with doubt.

Grand Duchess laughed, as if it was something funny. "Oh my, I wont ever let my son fell into that predatory woman. Don't worry, I will trap her until she regrets looking at my son, I will make her suffer a fate worse than death." Grand Duchess said with a light chuckle.

Rosalie shivered. "With Claudia Hunder's withdrawal, Gamasiel's scandal and soon, Lady Thana fell from grace. My Mother Empress' influence will be cut by half…"

"Naturally, we just need to eliminate her family and we can eliminate her head soon," Grand Duchess said.

Rosalie took a deep breath. She was unsure when she became a ruthless woman, to be able to plan her own mother's demise…

But she had to do it, because her mother was indeed the true obstacle for her love…

"Aunt Duchess, what about Aster? Do we still need to… torture him like this? He already lost most of his naivety, I don't think..."

"I don't need your advice, my wise niece." Grand Duchess sneered. "This is his training. He is my son. Naturally, he can endure it."

Rosalie didn't want to ask more about Aster. She was scared that talking about Aster too much would trigger Aunt Duchess' anger.

"About Charles…" Rosalie wanted to inquire about her brother sudden disappearance, but Aunt Duchess just laughed.

"HAHAHA, that stupid Crown Prince! Don't worry, I already tasked your Emperor father to station him immediately for at least two months to a war in the border." Grand Duchess sneered, "Daringly touching my son, a Crown Prince must be disciplined."

"… I understand…" Rosalie said hopelessly. She just felt too powerless in front of her aunt duchess. She was too cunning and ruthless.

"Oh, my dear niece, worry not. About your love to that marquis from house of Viete… I will find a way to cripple him. After we killed your mother, that handsome marquis will be in your hand." Grand Duchess pacified her.

Rosalie's defeated face immediately brightened. The golden circle in her pupils wavered. That marquis…

"Yes, Aunt Duchess. Thank you!" Rosalie said. All her worries and woes disappeared in an instant with that magic word.

'My beloved Marquis, Florentino Viete. My handsome Floren…' Rosalie imagined that handsome marquis she always loved.

Grand Duchess sneered in her heart. She mocked her niece who was too easy to trick. To be called a golden princess, but too easy to be swayed, Grand Duchess was slightly annoyed by her niece's behavior.