Cheston, wrapped in his cloak, sat down and leaned back in his chair. Then he stared at her intently as if waiting for her answer. Whitney carefully responded to his words.

“I thought we needed to quickly determine if it was true. Because there’s not much time left until the debutante ball.”

“Your words sound as if you’d break off the contract if it were true.”

Whitney slowly nodded. He seemed to have already figured out her thoughts. Even if he was an illegitimate child, he was second in line for succession. There would be many with far better conditions than Whitney who would step forward to become his fiancée.

He would face opposition from the queen, but with the king supporting him, as long as he was alive there would be many trying to gain benefits by his side.

“I didn’t think you’d take the contract so lightly. Did you think I would easily pay 10 times the compensation?”

She couldn’t say that wasn’t the case. In fact, though it was said to be 10 times, what amount of money was there that he couldn’t pay? He was a prince of a country.

Whitney didn’t reply and stared blankly at Cheston. There was no one better than Cheston as a figure to shake off her guilt towards him and reclaim her rights. She was desperate, but he was different.

“Don’t worry. What you’re thinking won’t happen. I place quite a bit of importance on trust. If I was going to break it off, I wouldn’t have made the contract in the first place.”

“…Then does that mean I don’t need to worry about the rumors?”

“I’m the one who wants to ask. Why are you concerned about the rumors? What’s the reason you urgently sought to see me right away?”

Cheston’s voice lowered somewhat. Each time his long eyelashes slowly covered his blue eyes, shadows fell, making him look melancholy. Watching as his golden eyelashes gently lowered and rose, a sound of admiration escaped her lips involuntarily.

‘Hmm…’

Whitney deliberately turned her gaze away and organized her thoughts. She pondered what answer Cheston wanted, but since he was someone with fundamentally different thinking from her, the deliberation was meaningless.

“If the contract with Your Highness was broken, I would have had to find someone else. Because I don’t have much time left.”

“…You said it had to be me.”

“Pardon?”

Whitney tilted her head at Cheston’s muttered words.

He remembers what I said.

She spoke frankly. Since Cheston had given her assurance, it was right that she should do the same.

“The queen is plotting something. She’s going to do something different from before.”

“It seems the queen has finally made up her mind.”

Cheston spoke in an indifferent tone, as if he had expected it.

“It took longer than I thought, but I can finally end this wretched business.”

He had the same expression then too. Even when releasing her from prison, Cheston was calmly resigned. The image of him, composed as if foreseeing his own end, came to mind.

“Don’t give up. I told you I would protect Your Highness. Things won’t go the queen’s way.”

At Whitney’s words, Cheston’s eyes widened then narrowed again. He smiled with his eyes and asked her:

“Is receiving the title of head of household really all you want from me?”

“Yes. I’ll be satisfied once I get back my rights.”

“Then couldn’t it be someone other than me?”

“To repay my debt to my aunt who helped me, it has to be Your Highness.”

And I have a debt to repay to Your Highness as well.

Though she couldn’t say it all the way to the end, Whitney continued:

“If Your Highness and I become engaged, His Majesty the King will view the Rubeness family differently.”

“So you’re saying you’ll use me for the Rubeness family’s advancement to the capital.”

Whitney slowly nodded. It was true that she was using him, so she had no intention of denying it.

“Is that all?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking if there are any other reasons.”

“…There are none.”

Cheston let out a hollow laugh. He soon rose from his seat.

“I won’t be the one to break off the engagement first. So the princess doesn’t need to worry. I can say that for certain. You might end up seeing my father, so be mentally prepared at any time.”

“…You mean His Majesty?”

“Lady Orlean. It’s not too late even now. If you want to break it off, say so now.”

Whitney swallowed hard. As he said, if she were to meet the king, it would be difficult to easily break it off. But she had no intention of revoking it now.

“That won’t happen. I’ll proceed according to the contract, so don’t worry.”

“You’ve said it yourself, so I hope you keep your word.”

Blue eyes flashed ominously. Looking like the eyes of a predator hunting weaker prey, Whitney’s mouth dried up even more.

Returning to the mansion, Whitney felt drained of strength. She had been so tense that his gaze seemed to pierce through her whole body, causing her to stand rigidly upright. Perhaps because of that, she felt pain in her back.

Collapsing face-down on the bed, her body ached all over and a groan escaped involuntarily.

“Ouch…”

Whitney, who had been sighing with her face buried, turned over to look at the ceiling. Suddenly she wondered if she should have broken it off when he gave her the chance. The image of His Majesty the King pressing her came to mind, making her chest feel tight.

‘It’s okay. I’m going to prevent that from happening.’

So she wouldn’t face the king in that way. She had also warned Cheston, so he would be careful too, and he would have started investigating what the queen was preparing.

“He felt somewhat different today.”

Whitney abruptly sat up, recalling the scene of their conversation. He was quite different from the Cheston she knew. A bit more sharp-edged, perhaps? Whitney closed her eyes and went over what she had said.

‘Hmm. I don’t think I made any particular mistakes.’

She couldn’t understand why his expression had looked different. Whitney shook her head vigorously and got up from the bed. She sat in the chair to check the pile of letters on the desk, stretching.

“It seems impossible to sleep early today too.”

Whitney tied up her hair and set to organizing the documents. It seemed to be coming together somewhat. Just from what she had been reported, she had filled two notebooks, so if she dug properly, there would be even more corruption.

If only Cecilia could find evidence that she was Louise Ann, they could completely drive those two mother and daughter out of the duke’s residence. They needed to collect decisive evidence so that they couldn’t rightfully request their rights.

Cheston returned to the detached palace. Aaron approached as if he had been waiting, gauging the situation. He entered the office without removing his cloak.

There weren’t many people staying in the detached palace, so there were many empty rooms. Cheston regularly moved rooms because of assassins, but recently he had been staying almost entirely in the office.

Aaron had many questions but asked carefully with a face that was trying hard to hold back:

“How did the contract go?”

“You were hoping it would be broken off. Didn’t you once say she didn’t seem like someone who would lie? How fickle people’s hearts are.”

Aaron scratched his head as he spoke. If things went wrong, he was someone who would kill the princess for Cheston’s sake. If it was for him, Aaron was someone who could even stake his own life.

If the contract cancellation had been confirmed, Aaron would have immediately gone to eliminate Whitney. That way, the person who could become Cheston’s weakness would disappear.

“Well… to be honest, I’m just considering what would be beneficial for Your Highness. Even so, I’ll follow whatever Your Highness decides. It’s good that things were resolved well through talking. Otherwise, we would have had to take care of it.”

See?

He really was waiting for him with the thought of killing her. Cheston sat down in the chair, removing his cloak.

“At times like this, you really are a frightening person.”

“She knows too much about Your Highness. Dangerous elements should be eliminated early on. If you come to trust someone, you have to be prepared for the consequences that come with it.”

“You’re right. That would prevent any situations that might possibly happen to me. She told me the queen is preparing something different.”

“Then she must know what the queen is doing. She might even be someone sent to confuse Your Highness.”

Aaron spoke excitedly, acting as if he might dash out at any moment. Since he hadn’t seen Whitney’s straightforward gaze, he was speaking like that.

There was no wavering in her eyes as she said she would use him. Yet her tone was concise as she said she would protect him. Whitney was certain of her words and actions.

“If the goal was to confuse me, then it succeeded.”

“What do you mean?”

Cheston shrugged lightly. Then he relayed to Aaron what Whitney had said.

“She intends to use me to bring the Rubeness family back to the capital.”

“And what else?”

“To safely inherit the position of head of household.”

“Surely that can’t be all?”

“The princess said so. That that was all.”

But Cheston didn’t believe it. Whitney Orlean clearly had a reason why it had to be him. As Aaron said, it didn’t seem like actions done out of liking him. It looked more like some deeper emotion.

Sadness? No, not pity either.

Rather than such simple emotions, it was a bit more… Cheston recalled the look in Whitney’s eyes when she occasionally glanced at him, and someone else’s image overlapped.

‘Mother.’

Elenia Vert, the mother who gave birth to him – it was similar to the look in her eyes when she gazed at him. Though she had loved him all her life, his mother’s eyes were full of sorrow.

It was as if.

“…Guilt.”

Yes, there was guilt in her eyes as she looked at him.