I followed a female servant towards a nearby restaurant.
This servant was Iris's personal servant. She was the one that brought me the news about Iris and asked me to come here with her.
We were then led towards a private room where a nervous girl with beautiful violet hair and brown eyes was waiting for me.
As soon as she saw me enter, she stood up and rushed towards me.
"Claus!"
I received Iris hug and kissed her lips softly. I could feel Iris's body relaxing and her nervousness fading away slowly.
The servant that led me here was very understanding of the situation. She bowed silently and left the private room, closing the door behind us.
When Iris saw the actions of her servant, she blushed slightly and put her head on my chest. I found her so cute that I lifted her chin and kissed her lips slowly.
Our kiss lasted for almost one minute, but when I thought I could get a bit more of love in this private room, Iris separated her lips from mine and looked at me nervously.
"… C-Claus, we need to talk… I-I left my house secretly so I don't have much time. I fear someone will discover I left if I took too much time."
I nodded and caressed Iris's hair. I then pulled her towards a nearby chair and sat down with her on my lap.
"… I heard a bit from your personal servant. It looks like you are very worried." I said with a gentle smile.
Iris nodded and bit her lips worriedly. "… Of course, I'm worried… They are planning to marry me to Bryan even after he is dead… I thought I had already escaped from his shadow, but it's still chasing after me… Claus, you are the only man I want to marry… Even if this marriage is nothing more than a political move, I don't want to marry anyone else…"
I curved my lips up with a soft smile. This cute girl...
I then hugged her waist and kissed her head.
"I'm glad to hear that. You don't need to worry. Tell me about the situation. I'll find a solution to ut."
Iris's expression relaxed visibly. She then started to tell me about what happened.
According to her, there are some rumors around the capital about the two of us having an illicit relationship despite her identity Bryan's fiancée. That rumor even hinted that we could have plotted Bryan's death to eliminate him and finally to be together.
Obviously, such rumors are very serious.
And these rumors reached the ears of her father and some important members of her family.
Iris's family is rather powerful, but it's just that. Although they are nobles, they can't be compared to the most powerful nobles of the empire.
If noble families like the Riea family, Carmell family, or Ferret family are the strongest families in the empire, then families like the Hera family (Mia's family and Alan's fiancée's family) are in the second tier, and families like the Nier family which is the family of my fiancée, Clara, or Iris's Siris family are in the third tier.
By the way, my mother's family, the Quin family, is at most a fourth-tier noble family. They are almost commoners.
In other words, Iris's family is too weak to face such accusations.
If for some reason, these rumors reach the ears of the empress or the emperor, there is a chance of the entire Siris family being exterminated. That risk is even higher now that the situation in the empire is so tense.
Moreover, Iris's father knows about his daughter's feelings towards me. Due to that, he is even warier of these rumors.
Thus, he did not hesitate to put Iris in house arrest as soon as he heard about it. Afterward, he told her about his plans to ask the emperor to marry her in posthumous marriage to the deceased Bryan.
"… My father has not talked to the emperor yet, but he is planning to do it tomorrow. Claus, what are we going to do?" Iris asked in a panic.
I could not help but put on a strange expression.
I'm sure there is no way for the truth about Bryan's 'death' to be leaked. In other words, these rumors are completely fabricated.
That is the reason I'm so amused.
To think the people behind the rumors coincidentally reached the right answer just like that.
I let out a soft chuckle and patted Iris's head.
"Don't worry, I'll take of the situation."
"Really?" Iris asked with an expectant expression.
I nodded and kissed her lips.
"Of course. You are my woman, how can I let you marry someone else, even if he is already dead? And don't worry, I promise you I'll marry you soon."
"Claus…" Iris looked at me with wet eyes. She seemed so lovestruck that her eyes had turned misty.
Seeing her like that, I kissed her lips again.
My hands moved towards her clothes, sliding down her dress and slowly revealing her creamy white shoulder. Iris blushed slightly and cooperated with my kiss, showing me her most loving expression.
But when she realized I was about to remove her dress completely, she stopped my arm.
With a slightly panicked expression, Iris looked up at me.
"… C-Claus, not now… I must return already."
I sighed in disappointment and kissed her cheek.
I guess no sex for now.
"Don't worry. We will have more than enough opportunities in the future."
Iris's cheek turned red and she kissed my lips while giggling happily. She then stood up hurriedly and fixed her clothes before looking at me with an unwilling expression.
"… I must go now."
I nodded. "I'll be leaving the capital for a while in two days. But don't worry, I'll take care of your situation before that. Sorry, we will not be able to meet for a while."
Iris's expression dimmed slightly, but she nodded in understanding.
"I understand, I love you." She then pecked my lips one last time and left.
When Iris was gone, I curved my lips up.
It looks like some people are becoming impatient.
The rumor about Iris and me, it's obvious it aims to increase the tension between Dina's faction and the Alan (the empress)'s faction.
With the empire at the edge of the chaos, some people can't wait anymore.
Thus, they are planning to use this rumor to force me to act as the spearhead of the conflict, starting the civil war and making Dina's faction endure the brunt of the first round of retaliation of the empire.
Like that, they will weaken both of our factions at the same time.
Good strategy, but in the end, they are still underestimating me.
Plus, I think I have an idea of who is behind it.
And to confirm my suspicions, I closed my eyes.
With a thought, Akashic Sigh was activated.
Even although I'm very far from being as good as Ysnay when it comes to using fate, I can still find this little information easily.
Quickly, my consciousness enveloped the entire capital. It then searched for the information I needed.
After three seconds, I opened my eyes again.
As expected, it was the Carmell family.
How interesting.
But do you think I care about these little tricks?
Quite the opposite. These rumors are very convenient in a certain way. After all, I can use them to lay the groundwork for my future marriage with Iris.
As for the reactions of the empress and the emperor or the thoughts of Iris's father… Heh, at the current point, there is no need to keep too much of a low profile.