“You should have prevented her from entering high society.”

Violet said as she put down her teacup. The queen lowered her eyes and clicked her tongue as she watched Violet express her opinion.

“If you want something, you should think about obtaining it. Princess, don’t forget that I am on your side, not anyone else’s. Who else would understand your heart from a foreign land?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I share the same feelings as Your Majesty.”

While the queen loved the king, she did not love Karl. She thought it was better to be unhappy with someone you don’t love than to be unhappy with someone you do love.

At least, being with someone you love wouldn’t subject you to the torture of false hope. However, she had no intention of overturning her engagement to Karl. If she did, the Kingdom of Petontra would not accept her.

The reason Violet stepped in to stop Melissa was partly because she found Melissa objectionable, but also because of a small hope that arose from her conversation with Lady Rubeness.

“Melissa wasn’t the only witness. If I help you, what will you give me in return, my lady?”

“It depends on what the princess wants. Of course, I’ll have to verify the value of the cards you’re showing me.”

At Lady Rubeness’s words, Violet told her what she had seen. From Cheston following a knight elsewhere to Whitney’s words leading her to the beach, where she saw Melissa embracing Karl after he had fallen quickly from a low place and washed up on the shore.

She had only confirmed that Melissa’s claim of saving Karl was true, not agreeing with the testimony that Cheston had pushed him. So the king hadn’t discussed what she had said either.

“I don’t want this engagement. That’s why I hope Melissa and His Highness Karl have feelings for each other. The person I want is someone else.”

“…Could it be that the one you want is His Highness Cheston?”

“I’m not sure if I should be happy or sad. With my heart so exposed, he probably knows too. I want His Highness Cheston, not the engagement to His Highness Karl. So, Lady Rubeness, you know what you need to do, right?”

Dragging this out would ultimately work against Cheston. To testify to a princess’s words, one needed to be able to prove it. The king judged such matters fairly, and since there were still many who sided with His Highness Karl, the outcome was more or less decided.

“I’m not sure, but one thing is certain: Whitney is keeping her distance from His Highness Cheston. That means there’s something others don’t know.”

“Are you telling me I have a chance?”

“That’s up to you, Princess. Isn’t a royal engagement about more than just feelings? If you want His Highness Cheston, I believe you won’t just stand by and watch him fall apart.”

“You’re right. I had no intention of doing so. Then let’s do this.”

Later, Lady Rubeness met with Lady Orlean. What they wanted was to stand at the center of power, so just telling them that things had gone wrong and they might not be able to enter high society would be enough to snap them to attention.

In the end, things unfolded as Violet had thought, and she was quite satisfied with the result. She put down her teacup and spoke to the queen.

“Are you happy here, Your Majesty?”

“I see now that you’re still young, Princess. Happiness is what you make of it. I’ve found much happiness and amusement here. Of course, not everything goes my way… Do I look unhappy to you, Princess?”

“To be honest, you don’t look happy.”

Violet called a maid and asked for her cold tea to be replaced with a warm cup. The queen maintained her smile as she looked at Violet.

“If I appear unhappy, there’s nothing I can do about that. But thanks to me, the people of the Kingdom of Karulo can be happy, so I think it’s for the best. If you could be happy at the cost of the people of Petontra becoming unhappy, what would you choose, Princess?”

The queen took a sip, savoring the aroma of the tea. It was certainly a difficult choice. The reason she had come here wasn’t for herself, but for the Kingdom of Petontra.

“We’re not unaware of what we are. So we have no choice but to find happiness where we can. Do you think I love the king?”

The queen’s smile seemed somewhat distorted. Violet couldn’t answer that question. She wasn’t sure about the queen’s feelings, which she thought she had known.

Karl was furious. He had thought Violet’s behavior had been strange lately, and sure enough, she was interested in Cheston.

‘How dare she, while by my side.’

He had left it alone because Cheston wasn’t showing interest in Violet, but now it seemed he couldn’t just leave it be.

He had approached Melissa because it seemed Cheston was interested in her, but now he wondered if even that might have been an act. If Melissa had insisted on her testimony to the end, it wouldn’t have ended so futilely.

He couldn’t believe there were no consequences for his near-death experience. Not only had he failed to get rid of Cheston, but he also had to endure the king’s pathetic gaze. And what about revealing the incompetence of his own knights?

Karl had lost more than he had gained from this incident.

Karl felt that if he stayed like this, he might not be able to contain his anger and do something rash. Finally, he stormed out of his room and headed to the training grounds.

‘I can’t trust even mother now.’

As he swung his sword, Karl’s anger continued to intensify. He had always done what his mother wanted, but never had he felt as miserable as this time.

He believed he had truly almost died, and when he learned that all of this was planned by his mother, he got goosebumps. He was now afraid of a mother who would so casually treat her son’s life as expendable to get what she wanted.

If it was an unwanted marriage to begin with, why not just not do it? How could they hope to gain anything else if they couldn’t even capture a heart?

It seemed like he needed to do something on his own now. Cheston also seemed to have become impertinent, which was irritating. Perhaps things had started to feel different since that woman had arrived.

‘Whitney Orlean.’

While he didn’t completely believe Melissa’s words, from what he could see, it seemed like there would be a big commotion at the Orlean estate. Since the Rubeness family was behind Whitney, the stage was probably already set.

He called for knights for sparring and swung his sword indiscriminately. He was relentless, knowing they wouldn’t dare act rashly against him.

“Ugh.”

The sharp blade of the sword grazed the flesh of the knights as it passed. The captain of the knights could only clench his fist, unable to intervene. As one fell, unable to use his strength, another stepped forward to cross swords.

It was sparring in name only, merely a tool to vent Karl’s anger. They were trained knights with aura, superior in skill to Karl. Karl knew this, but knowing they couldn’t harm his body, he thoroughly enjoyed this time.

The knights barely deflected the sword without properly looking at Karl. If they properly received it, they would have to bear the brunt of his fiery temper, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Brother.”

At that moment, Cheston entered, drawing his sword. The knights’ expressions brightened instantly. Even if they tried not to show it, the moment he appeared, they no longer had to spar with Karl.

“If you needed to spar, why didn’t you tell me? What fun is there in tormenting knights who can barely use their strength and keep falling?”

“…Tormenting? This is all part of the sparring. If they don’t like it, they can leave the royal family and become mercenaries or private soldiers. They’re all doing it for money anyway.”

“It’s troublesome to speak of the knights’ pride in such a way. These are royal guards who protect the royal family with a sense of duty. Wouldn’t they be hurt if their soon-to-be lord speaks like that?”

Seeing Cheston’s face as he approached with a smile, Karl’s irritation surged again. The tone trying to teach him, the arrogant look in his eyes.

His disheveled hair and relaxed movements, everything about him was irritating. He simply disliked his very existence.

‘I should have gotten rid of him this time.’

His teeth gritted as he recalled that Violet was interested in Cheston. He hated the hypocrisy of always stepping in for the sake of the knights, even though he couldn’t properly point his sword at him in a sword match anyway.

“If they don’t like such a lord, they can leave. They stay because they can’t do that. Subordinates can be replaced easily.”

Karl giggled and pointed his sword at Cheston. The knights soon withdrew, leaving only the two of them in the training grounds.

“This is why you don’t improve, brother. You treat the knights as mere objects for venting your anger, so there’s no change. How distressed would His Majesty be if he knew this fact.”

“Shut up! If only you hadn’t been born, it wouldn’t have come to this! You, the son of a concubine! How unsightly you are, pretending to be noble with your dirty bloodline. You bastard who can’t even point a sword at me.”

He raised his sword high and brought it down towards Cheston. However, Cheston lightly pushed it away and smiled. His blue eyes curved prettily as he spoke to Karl.

“Do you really think I can’t point my sword at you?”

Cheston’s sword lightly traced an arc and pointed at Karl’s neck. It was so fast that Karl couldn’t even dodge it.

“It was too easy, so I didn’t feel like it. And now that feeling might change. Since you keep provoking me, I think it might be a brother’s duty to respond. What do you think?”

Karl swallowed hard as he looked at the sword that was almost, but not quite, touching his neck. There was sincerity in the killing intent in those blue eyes.