Nocturne shook his head with a blank expression.

“I have no idea.”

A hidden treasure of the imperial family.

‘This is news that would make our master go crazy and rush over.’

It was a topic perfect for stimulating magicians whose eyes light up at new and mysterious things.

Dietrich’s forehead wrinkled at Nocturne’s ignorance.

“You’re saying you’re hearing this for the first time too.”

“Of course. A hidden treasure? If I had known about it, I would have stolen it long ago.”

“Then is Princess Ariana lying?”

But that didn’t make sense. The Ariana Jeneger that Dietrich knew wasn’t someone who would tell irresponsible lies for momentary gain.

She wasn’t that stupid either.

“Princess Ariana told you this?”

“When I rejected her marriage proposal, she then asked if I knew about the imperial treasure. She said it was a shame, as it could have helped me.”

Nocturne chuckled as he observed Dietrich’s expression becoming serious.

He was newly impressed by Princess Ariana for making Dietrich worry to this extent.

“Princess Ariana, she seems really smart. She made you feel uneasy even after rejecting her proposal. Sounds like an offer thrown to make you reconsider after being rejected, doesn’t it?”

Nocturne clicked his tongue at Ariana’s ploy.

It was certain that the imperial family was missing out on the smartest and wisest talent.

While someone as sharp-minded as Ariana was around, they had appointed her foolish brother who only chased after women as the crown prince.

“Well, if that’s what you came to ask about, should I sneak a look at the records in the magic tower?”

At those words, a light swirled in Dietrich’s mysterious blue-green eyes that had been lowly submerged.

“Can you do that?”

“Well, that’s not difficult. I’m bored to the point of yawning just being here anyway.”

In the magic tower, Nocturne was known in a word as a ‘friendly weirdo’, or ‘friweirdo’ for short.

He was known as an extraordinary magician who reached the 6th circle at a young age with his genius magical abilities, but he was also a person skilled at slacking off and tormenting the great magician Hudson.

Every magician in the tower respected him but also clicked their tongues at him.

A brilliant talent had emerged from the Frey Marquis family, which had produced capable magicians for generations, but how could he be so lazy?

Although Nocturne only thought about playing around instead of doing the magical research he was supposed to, he never caused harm to others.

So people simply couldn’t hate him. Although he acted in ways that seemed friendly yet incomprehensible, he was always a pleasant person.

Dietrich also considered such a Nocturne as his only friend.

Even Dietrich, who thought trusting people was akin to suicide, felt it was okay when it came to Nocturne.

“Was there no other clue besides the words ‘imperial treasure’?”

“That was all.”

“Hmm, I see for now. So what will you do for me in return?”

Nocturne asked with a bright, pretty smile.

Dietrich replied calmly with an expression that said he had expected this.

“What do you want?”

The tendencies of magicians don’t change easily.

Magicians who entered the tower and only did research tended to spend large sums of money at once.

That’s why they demanded enormous amounts of gold and treasures from those who requested their help.

So everyone found it difficult to receive help from magicians.

Despite their great abilities and knowledge that could solve problems faster, it was hard for anyone other than nobles with tremendous wealth to ask for their assistance.

However, Dietrich could easily give whatever Nocturne wanted, regardless of the amount.

For him, money was something that got in the way.

“What do you want?”

Nocturne leaned back on the sofa and stroked his chin.

“Ah, it’s difficult. I can’t think of anything right away.”

“Wouldn’t money do?”

“Come on, am I someone who moves for money?”

But contrary to Dietrich’s expectation, Nocturne didn’t seem interested in money at all.

“Despite how I look, I’m still the heir to the Frey Marquis family! I don’t need money!”

Dietrich let out a deep sigh. This became more troublesome.

It would be simple if it could be resolved with money.

Dietrich slowly rose from his seat.

Anyway, he had made the request, so whatever Nocturne wanted, he just had to give it to him.

“If you have something you want, contact me separately later.”

“No matter what it is?”

“As long as it’s not my life or my family.”

“Dietrich, that’s a very dangerous thing to say. You don’t know what I might want.”

“Will you do something harmful to me?”

At the calm but unwavering low voice, Nocturne, who was about to tease Dietrich, closed his mouth tightly.

The meaning contained in that single sentence was ‘I trust you’.

“I’ll be going now. It’s already past breakfast time.”

Since when did he care about eating breakfast?

Nocturne tilted his head, knowing well that Dietrich didn’t eat meals at the mansion.

But before he could ask, Dietrich had already disappeared.

“Yaaaawn……”

Nocturne yawned widely and roughly brushed through his soft brown hair.

Thanks to the interesting news his friend brought early in the morning, today seemed like it would be quite enjoyable.

[This is the timeline separator]

Returning to the mansion, Dietrich immediately checked in front of his office.

Although breakfast time had long passed, he wondered if Heidi might be waiting.

‘She’s not here.’

But the area around the office was quiet as always.

Dietrich looked around the silent office area unnecessarily and smirked as if he had expected this.

Whether he was disappointed or relieved that Heidi wasn’t waiting.

He slightly checked his wristwatch and nodded.

It’s really fortunate she’s not waiting.

If she had waited, she would have had to stand holding cold food.

‘Maybe she went to the kitchen.’

He slowly grabbed the office doorknob.

Creak, as the door opened and he entered the room, his pupils dilated slightly.

His gaze automatically went to the tray neatly placed on the office desk.

He approached the desk with quick steps.

On the tray, a white cloth was covering it to prevent dust from getting in.

And on the paper placed next to it, there was a tiny drawing.

As he carefully examined the drawing of steaming hot food and cold food, a smile slowly appeared on his lips.

He could immediately tell who had drawn it with their poor drawing skills.

“Geez. She’s really bad at drawing.”

He grumbled as he picked up the paper and opened the office desk drawer.

Then he carefully put the paper inside.

He took a bite of the cold bread after removing the cloth covering the food.

Although cold, the bread was soft and chewy. He wasn’t hungry at all, but somehow he didn’t want to leave the food uneaten.

He dipped the bread in the savory cream soup and ate it. And soon he finished all the food.

After eating, he felt his empty stomach becoming full.

Feeling satiated, he plopped down on the office sofa. Leaning back deeply, he felt drowsy.

He took a moment to catch his breath and recalled the events that had been troubling his mind since yesterday.

[Marry me.] [No.]

Despite cutting it off sharply, Princess Ariana smiled as if she had expected it. Standing up straight, she said confidently.

[It would be a marriage with many benefits for you, young lord.] [I’ll be the judge of that.] [That’s unfortunate. I need you.]

Need, not love.

Dietrich couldn’t help but admit that Ariana was very similar to himself.

Her gentle and elegant outer appearance was just for show.

Like him, she probably wouldn’t hesitate to do anything for her goals.

Although he had refused then, now that he thought about it carefully, marrying Princess Ariana would indeed have many benefits for him, as she said.

He had boasted that he didn’t need the power of the foolish emperor, but with the help of the imperial family, it would be much easier to become the head of the Delgado family.

If the imperial family, who had the final approval rights for the succession of the duke title, supported him.

‘The duchess’s expression would be worth seeing.’

Moreover, Princess Ariana had subtly revealed her ambition for the throne.

[Anyway, I need this empire. Aren’t you curious what kind of country it would be where no one starves to death or trembles under the threat of war?] [I wonder.] [When that time comes, you might regret it. I’ve never failed to achieve what I want.]

If he married Princess Ariana and she became empress, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Chronotia Empire would become the country of the Delgados.

‘So the emperor must extremely dislike Princess Ariana ascending to the throne.’

To connect the Delgado family with Princess Ariana, the premise that she would not ascend to the throne was necessary.

The emperor had planned to send her to the academy for a long time to prevent her from aiming for the throne, but the princess was smarter than he thought.

So he came up with a stronger way to bind the princess’s hands and feet.

He put forward a new condition for ascending to the throne.

Rumors were already rife in the imperial palace that the emperor had created a proposal stating that only the eldest son could ascend to the throne.

Of course, it would require the approval of the majority of the nobles.

The emperor had no choice but to check the princess from ascending to the throne to this extent.

If the princess became empress, it was obvious that it would give wings to the already enormous Delgado family, which was beyond the imperial family’s control.

It was perhaps the most effective and feasible way to teach a lesson to the idiotic emperor and the duchess.

Dietrich wanted to applaud Princess Ariana, who had already calculated all this and thrown him an attractive proposal before disappearing.

Of course, he had no intention of reaching out to anyone to become the family head.

‘I might regret not accepting that proposal.’

Then a clear face came to mind.

He suddenly stood up from his seat. Then he picked up the tray that was on the desk.

He had a place to go.