Before the jealousy towards Patrick could subside, Harchen saw a tall knight with platinum blonde hair gracefully dismounting from a brown horse.

The knight with mysteriously shining red eyes approached close enough for his robe to touch Patricia’s skirt, and knelt down on his left knee.

When Patricia smiled brightly and extended her hand, he gazed into her eyes for a long time before placing his lips on the back of her hand.

In that instant, Harchen’s blood ran cold.

Damn it, that bastard…

A lightning-sharp gaze pierced through them. The emperor moved closer to Patricia’s side and pulled her shoulder towards himself.

“Patrick Calian Evas. I greet Your Majesty, the Golden Sun of the Burning Empire, Emperor of Karsik.”

“You look well. You must be tired from the journey. Go inside.”

The emperor received the greeting from the captain of the knights, Lean, then turned around. He stood between Patrick and Patricia in front of the stairs. He nodded to Patrick to go behind.

“Who’s that?”

“Eden Patterson. He’s the joint knight for Risha and me.”

“Joint? A knight serving two masters?”

“Well, Risha and I are practically one and the same.”

One and the same…! You’ve gone mad, Patrick.

Harchen used to respect Patrick’s thoughts and words during their academy days. But now, every word he uttered irritated him.

“It’s time to separate now, both body and mind.”

The emperor’s voice carried a subtle pressure and annoyance.

“Hahaha. It seems Your Majesty has fallen head over heels for our Risha.”

Patrick aimed his words at the letter Harchen had sent through Lean, but Harchen was again irked by the word “our.”

In the main palace corridor, the emperor called for the chief attendant.

“Chief attendant. Guide the guests to their respective quarters. Patrick, if you’re up for it, let’s have some tea.”

“Your Majesty. I would like Patrick and Sir Patterson to stay at the White Palace. I’ve prepared guest rooms.”

“There’s a palace for the imperial crown prince.”

I can’t stand that they were together in their mother’s womb, let alone allow them to stay in the White Palace.

Moreover, that platinum blonde…!

Harchen furrowed his brow. It was undoubtedly the vice commander who had known about the princess’s existence during the prisoner interrogation in Pana Fortress.

“Chief attendant, guide them to Notos Palace. And princess, there are many matters to discuss and decide with the imperial officials today. It was originally yesterday’s work.”

Patricia wanted to spend time with Patrick and Eden, just the three of them. There was much to talk about and discuss.

From the recent situations of the empress and emperor to future schedules, and even deciding on living arrangements for Eva and Annie after their return following the national marriage. Especially, she needed to align plans with Eden separately regarding the empress’s disposition. She looked back.

The chief attendant approached Eden, who was climbing the stairs, and greeted him. Eden followed the chief attendant back down the stairs. Patricia silently watched Eden’s retreating figure for a moment.

The emperor glared at that, his eyes narrowing with intensity.

So he was the accomplice who aided in the escape from Pana Fortress.

“Princess, is that… man the vice commander?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Eden Patterson. He is the vice commander and Patrick’s knight.”

“…”

Patricia answered with an expressionless face, then asked Patrick how the Hunsok Amir had used the antidote, and Patrick explained in detail.

Harchen walked a step behind them in the corridor.

Vice Commander Eden Patterson. To think she had guest rooms prepared for such a person in the White Palace in advance. Patrick wasn’t the problem after all.

Harchen had nurtured jealousy with extreme imagination even before knowing his face. Seeing him in person, he remembered.

During their days at Tane Academy, he was always following Patrick like a shadow. Among the noble ladies of the academy, there were famous portraits 1, 2, and 3, and portrait 3 was Eden Patterson.

Haa.

Like pulling on a single stem and unearthing roots along with clumps of soil-covered bulbs, memories buried deep in the abyss were dug up.

At the academy graduation party masquerade, Patrick’s partner was listed as Lady Patterson. Calip had clearly found out that the Patterson viscounty had no ladies, only two young lords.

Yet they deliberately borrowed the Patterson family name… Gasp! Could it be that their relationship had progressed to something like an engagement? Is that why he entered Pana Fortress prepared to die and helped her escape?

Already blinded by jealousy and as if struck by lightning in the brain, Harchen’s imagination grew to extremes.

When deciding on the national marriage, he was confident he could make her fall in love with him. But in the White Palace, she was always worried about Patrick, so he believed that was the reason.

He was willing to be used by her to cure Patrick’s illness and make him emperor. But now.

Ah, so that’s why.

Even when they met in Pana Fortress, she was indifferent and turned her back. She said the kiss with him was like a passing breeze, and that visiting the White Palace was uncomfortable.

Even if they had that kind of relationship, he couldn’t cancel the national marriage and let her go. It was clearly impossible.

Remembering her strange red eyes gazing at Patricia and her wavering attitude, Harchen lost his composure. His chest grew cold.

In a short time, his heart and intestines felt torn apart by powerful thoughts rushing towards catastrophe. It was a painful sensation he had never experienced before in his life.

He felt dizzy as the sunlight stabbed his eyes, emerging from the shadows of the corridor pillars. His mind went blank. Even in the midst of this, there was only one conclusion.

I won’t let you go.

He took large strides. With a cold expression, he silently gripped Patricia’s shoulder tightly. The veins on the back of his hand bulged.

They entered the Helios Room, a small party space on the first floor of the main palace. There was a dance floor in the center, with bar tables for drinking and several round tables for playing trump cards.

Harchen went to the sofa by the window. He sat down askew on the single-seater sofa, crossing his long legs.

Resting his elbow on the armrest and rubbing his brow bone with his index finger, he stared intently as Patrick sat on the three-seater sofa and Patricia sat down right next to him.

There’s plenty of space on the right side too, yet she deliberately sits so close to him.

It felt like his taut blood vessels were being torn apart.

The chief attendant placed iced lemonade, fruit, and cake on the table before leaving.

“Your Majesty, thank you for sending the imperial palace doctor and Amir.”

Yes, ungrateful Patricia. I knew you were using me, but I went along with it only for you and Patrick. Not for your secret lover.

Harchen stared blatantly at Patricia without responding to Patrick’s words of gratitude.

“Your Majesty?”

“Yes, how are you feeling?”

“I feel much better thanks to the antidote.”

Alright, I’ll wait and see for now. Let’s see how far you’ll go, Patricia.

“That’s a relief. How’s the reaction from the empress’s side? I gave mining rights for two gold areas in Kaoshan and one diamond area as a dowry.”

Patricia was inwardly surprised that the emperor inquired about the empress’s recent situation. A dowry? It seemed something had been going back and forth between them without her knowledge.

“As if they’ve been waiting for it, they’ve already handed it over to the Lasbur trading company and likely dispatched an investigation team to Kaoshan.”

“Then she’ll accompany the emperor under the pretext of the national marriage.”

“She might go to Kaoshan and stay for a long time. If that happens, the schedule…”

“Patrick, you look pale. Rest, and we’ll talk about that matter later.”

The emperor glanced briefly at Patricia as he spoke.

Patricia was surprised that the emperor seemed to grasp the political situation in Tane. She got the feeling he knew Patrick’s plans and was cooperating.

However, she felt he was avoiding speaking fully because of her presence. Either way, the thought that the emperor might cooperate with Patrick made her feel as secure as if she had gained a powerful backing.

When the emperor rang a bell, the chief attendant entered. The emperor instructed to prepare a movable chair. It was a means of transport where four attendants directly carried a chair with a base.

A carriage was waiting below the main palace, but to ride it, they would have to walk back through the long corridor.

“No, Your Majesty. I can walk.”

“You’ve already overexerted yourself.”

“Yes, Patrick, rest.”

The emperor glanced at Patricia, who was smiling sweetly at Patrick with honey-dripping eyes.

Patricia stretched her neck to show Patrick the flower, and Patrick said, “Ah, the flower resembles Risha,” in a very affectionate tone, which pricked Harchen’s heart like a nail.

Why is she blushing while telling him the name of the elaborate flower around her neck is Peony?

“Ah, Patrick, there’s something I need to confirm.”

At Harchen’s cold voice, the affectionate blonde couple finally turned their heads.

“Please speak.”

“Did you attend the masquerade graduation party at Tane Academy?”

Patricia’s blue eyes widened at the emperor’s question.

Unable to hide her bewilderment, she bit her lower lip and looked at Patrick. Equally blue eyes met each other as if facing a mirror.

She shook her head slightly with a desperate look. Patrick, as if tired, rubbed his face with his palm and answered the emperor.

“Yes, I attended.”

“Yet I didn’t see you.”

“I did attend, but suddenly felt unwell, so I left immediately.”

“Alone?”

“With my knight Eden. Your Majesty, is there a problem?”

“I lost something on the terrace that day.”

“Oh my, was it something precious?”

Patrick lowered his hand and turned his head slightly, recalling that he had attended the academy graduation party with Risha but left before her.

“Perhaps… very much so?”

The emperor spoke casually, but his cold voice was sharp.

Knock knock knock.

The chief attendant entered with a knock and announced that the movable chair had arrived.

The emperor nodded slightly and asked Patrick:

“Patrick, you must have had a partner, of course?”

Patrick looked at Patricia, Patricia looked at Harchen, and Harchen tilted his head askew as he looked at the two.

“Yes.”

Patricia was the first to avert her gaze. The peony petals hanging from her long, white neck trembled, though there was no wind.

The emperor did not ask who Patrick’s partner was.

“Your Majesty, I think Patrick needs to rest a bit.”

You cunning princess, you didn’t tell Patrick about what happened on the terrace. You kept it to yourself.

“Get up. Princess, you’ll come with me to the office.”

Patricia held Patrick’s hand as he sat in the movable chair. Harchen glared at their intertwining fingers.

“Patrick, rest. I’ll go to Notos Palace. Let’s have dinner together.”

As the movable chair with Patrick seated departed, Patricia and Harchen walked down the corridor towards the office.

After walking in silence for a while, Harchen let out a sigh-like laugh and clenched and unclenched his fist.

Princess, I have no intention of letting you go, so bear with me well by my side.

He looked down at her intently, his eyes gleaming with possessiveness more than ever before. He pulled off his right glove with his teeth. He extended his hand to her.

“Hand.”

He wants to hold hands? With knights and attendants watching everywhere.

Patricia turned her head without answering, with an expression of disbelief.

Harchen smirked, then took her left hand and removed her glove, intertwining his large, long fingers with each of her thin finger joints.

He burrowed into the concave areas to ensure their fingers and palms touched without any gap. A hot current spread through the blood vessels inside her wrist.

“Princess, I think I’ve found the thief who stole what I lost that day. What should I do?”