Adrian swept his hair back and sighed.

On one hand, he understood why Lilburn was acting this way, but he didn’t like Layla being spoken of badly.

Adrian also silently glared at Lilburn.

However, the winner of this staring contest between the two disgruntled men could only be Adrian in the end.

Lilburn’s brows furrowed deeply as he snatched the bloodstained handkerchief from Adrian’s hand and took out his own handkerchief from his pocket to give to him instead.

“I will take care of burning Your Highness’s handkerchief. Please get some rest.”

As Lilburn turned to leave, Adrian said one last thing.

“Layla will be coming around evening.”

Lilburn stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look at him. It was a gesture asking if there was anything more to say. Adrian informed him of a part of his plans that Lilburn was unaware of.

“Prepare a ship and escorts to depart tomorrow. There should be at least a few decent mercenaries in this country.”

“A ship and escorts?”

“We need to safely send Layla back to Wessex. Who knows what that bastard Reynold might do.”

Even if he couldn’t board the ship with her, Adrian wanted to help Layla return to her homeland without any issues until the very end.

However, these words seemed to anger Lilburn again. He pressed his temples as if his head was throbbing.

But this time, he didn’t raise his voice or speak at length. He merely looked at the love-blind crown prince with pitiful eyes and stated the reality.

“……But the 7th Prince is imprisoned, is he not? He shouldn’t be able to do anything.”

“There will still be people he can manipulate in there.”

With his black heart, there was no telling what harm he might inflict on Layla. Of course, if he laid a hand on Layla one more time, Adrian planned to make him so miserable that he would no longer want to live in this world.

Lilburn shook his head as if giving up on arguing. He realized that debating would only make his mouth hurt, so he quickly surrendered.

“Very well. Since you would be anxious sending her off with only mercenaries, shall we also assign two of our men to accompany them?”

“Two of our men… Then make one of them Mason.”

“……”

Upon hearing the name Mason, Lilburn’s eyes widened again, prompting Adrian to ask.

“Any objections?”

“None.”

“How unusual for us to reach an agreement.”

“I’ve finally learned how to converse with Your Highness.”

Lilburn replied sarcastically, and Adrian let out a chuckle.

After the door closed with a click, Adrian couldn’t hold back any longer and grimaced. His hands hastily undid his cravat and tore open his shirt.

The area around his neck was flushed red from enduring the pain. With trembling hands, he propped his forehead and sighed.

“Hah……”

Looking at the mirror on the nearby dressing table, he saw his own face, pale to the point where even his lips had lost color.

Adrian’s violet eyes wavered.

He was fortunate this wasn’t Harkin. Showing such weakness would make him an easy target to get his throat ripped out by someone.

Brushing back his silver hair drenched with sweat from his forehead, Adrian mocked himself.

“A complete mess.”

Even Adrian was aware that he was pushing himself too hard. However, when it came to Layla, he couldn’t suppress the surge of emotions welling up inside him.

Perhaps it was due to the lingering attachment to a relationship he had already lost once.

Or.

〈My first love died.〉

Perhaps it was out of spite towards her who seemed to have forgotten about him.

He hadn’t removed her from his heart for a single moment in the past decade, so the thought of Layla going around saying such things about him filled him with a terrible feeling.

He had been trying to convince himself that it was okay even if she didn’t choose him, but that self-suggestion had been brutally shattered.

That’s right, it’s not okay.

Adrian desperately wished for her to love him again.

If given the chance, he wanted to cast aside all his pride and cling to her with utmost desperation.

As she had told Millay, Layla left the royal palace a little later in the afternoon.

Although King Filmer had provided Layla with a room out of courtesy, he had only reluctantly expelled Reynold due to pressure and didn’t particularly find the public situation agreeable, so he didn’t go out of his way to detain Layla.

Instead, he provided a carriage for Layla to use until she returned to Wessex in a few days and showed consideration for her to stay comfortably outside the palace. He had arranged a room for her at a high-end hotel operated by an influential noble family.

Layla didn’t outright refuse such hospitality from the royal family, but as promised, she headed to Millay’s temporary residence first.

Inside the carriage traversing the wide streets of the capital, Layla’s lady-in-waiting quietly gazed out the window and asked.

“Shall I just go and receive the dress from Lord Millay?”

Layla, who had been absentmindedly looking at the passing scenery with a somewhat dazed expression, refocused her blurred eyes.

The lady-in-waiting’s words meant that if that was all, she would get off alone and bring it.

“Ah, well……”

Layla hastily searched for an excuse and thought of the necklace around her neck. Fiddling with the diamond necklace Maeve had put on her that morning, Layla said.

“I think I should personally return this. ……I feel like I should properly express my gratitude to Lord Millay.”

With that, she read her own inner desire to see Millay again, even if she had to force it.

Her heart pounded, wondering if the lady-in-waiting could also see through her intentions, but fortunately, a usual response came back.

“Then I will keep Your Highness’s dress in the carriage, so please take your time talking with the viscount and come out.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Layla nodded and turned her head back to the window.

Fortunately, as mentioned earlier, the carriage arrived when the red sunset had deeply settled in the sky. It was a relief to reach before it got too dark.

The carriage stopped in the small garden within the main gate of the residence, and soon the door opened. Immediately, Millay, who had been waiting in front like at the palace earlier, appeared.

Following her lady-in-waiting, who had gotten off first holding Lilburn’s hand, Layla took Millay’s hand.

Millay expertly escorted her and gave her a kind smile.

“I hope there were no troubles at the palace?”

Layla, conscious of his warm and firm hand firmly holding hers, gave a small nod.

“Yes, thanks to you, Lord Millay.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Millay, who had been worried that King Filmer might push another prince or the princes might take it upon themselves to court Layla now that the 7th Prince had been expelled, was truly relieved that his imagination didn’t come true.

This kingdom was bound to go bankrupt and collapse soon anyway.

Of course, Layla, unaware of the underlying meaning, felt a fluttering sensation in her heart at his kind concern.

‘I wonder if he has a lover in Harkin.’

Judging from the contents of the contract he had allegedly made with Reynold, he seemed to have considerable financial means. If his viscount status wasn’t fabricated, he would be quite popular in high society.

Above all, everyone would likely be misled by his ingrained manners and overflowing kindness.

……Just like herself.

Layla became extremely tense at the sensation of his presence transmitted through their joined hands.

She desperately wanted to know his true identity, but it seemed difficult to do so in the presence of her lady-in-waiting, so she restrained herself.

Entering the residence’s hall bathed in the glow of the sunset, Layla, led by Millay’s hand, brought up her reason for visiting.

“Lord Millay, by any chance, my dress…?”

“I will have the servants load it onto the carriage you arrived in shortly.”

Satisfied with the clear answer that left no room for further questions, Layla glanced at her lady-in-waiting. The lady-in-waiting promptly nodded, indicating she understood.

Observing their signals, Millay gestured towards the drawing room and asked Layla.

“More importantly, I have an urgent matter to discuss with you. May I escort you to the drawing room?”

Layla noticed the drawing room where servants were busily coming and going, seeming to prepare to receive a guest. As she nodded, Millay moved in that direction. Maeve, as if intending to gather Layla’s belongings, took her lady-in-waiting and disappeared somewhere.

As they entered the drawing room filled with the aroma of tea and sweet pastries, the intensity of the sunset rapidly faded.

While the servants lit the fireplace in the drawing room and brought in lamps, Layla sat facing Millay with a table between them.

And it was only natural for her gaze to be drawn to a certain object placed on the table.

As Layla stared intently at it, Millay asked a question with unclear intentions.

“I suppose it will still be some time before Your Highness returns to Wessex?”

Layla, who had been urgently averting her eyes from the object on the table, nodded her head.

“It’s scheduled for seven days from now. I had planned to stay longer after the engagement.”

Wessex and Filmer did not share a border, and to return in the shortest time, one had to pass through about two countries in between. Naturally, when entering each territory, separate permission had to be obtained from each country in advance. Just because the engagement was broken off didn’t mean she could leave Filmer immediately.

However, Millay pushed the object on the table towards Layla and made an entirely unexpected proposal.

“I will help Your Highness return to Wessex as quickly as possible.”