At that moment, Yuri Hsien’s eyes shot open.

“Haah… Haah…”

Her breaths were rapid, like someone who had just sprinted. With widened eyes, she looked up at the ceiling. Her chest was aching, pounding erratically like someone who had just regained their breath. She continued to exhale sharply as her eyes darted around.

“Where is this…”

Her throat was so dry that even swallowing hurt. Without even thinking to clear her throat, Yuri Hsien’s sole focus was on surveying her surroundings.

Yuri Hsien knew this place very well.

‘Townhouse…’

The sunlight was shining down, a truly peaceful morning.

“Tsk tsk tsk, together again today.”

“I really can’t fathom what they’re thinking.”

“Do they even have thoughts? If they did, they wouldn’t do that.”

Tsk tsk tsk, another clucking sound erupted. Nobles who had just exited a regular meeting once again saw Benjamin and Lapellian rolling around together in a corner of the garden and commented.

“Hee hee hee, Your Highness, you really~”

“Seriously. I only see you.”

Even in broad daylight, the intimate whispers of love blew in the wind. The neutral faction, upon hearing this, lowered their heads with noticeably ashen faces.

“When I heard that Prince Hescliffe was not the savior of Princess Windsor, the world seemed to turn yellow.”

“Even sprinkling ash on a finished meal won’t do any good.”

Neither well-regarded in the eyes of the pro-empress faction nor in those of the neutral faction following Windsor, the latter could only feel distaste. The nobles supporting the empress even forgot about the silence and began to genuinely sympathize, escalating to showing their frustration.

“Why is Windsor so quiet!”

“It’s the calm before the storm. Given that the opponent is the crown prince, Duke Windsor knows better than to act recklessly.”

“I heard there’s even talk of Solzerellian Empire’s first independent duchy in the conference.”

Yes, perhaps becoming an independent duchy was the best course of action. The pitiable state of Windsor’s only princess was too wretched not to feel for. They hoped she’d find happiness without entanglement with the imperial family of Solzerellian…

While these discussions were happening, the few neutral faction nobles clenched their fists in anger. They glanced at Benjamin with eyes filled with disappointment and resentment before turning away.

Even as the sound of retreating nobles filled the air, Benjamin remained indifferent, only gazing at Lapellian, who he held in his arms.

This Benjamin was the real Benjamin.

[If you fail again and leave your seat, I’ll pass all the discarded letters from the Crown Prince to the princess.]

It was because Michel had raised the stakes by waving around Letter B, which he considered his last resort.

[Lapellian, you really can hold your liquor. I’ve never seen anyone outdrink General Callis. You don’t even get drunk and pretend to, trying to undress. It’s beyond embarrassing, it’s agonizing.]

He even choked up while saying this, so he couldn’t be harsh on Michel. Since he had succeeded in a small revenge on her, there was really no reason to make her suffer more.

‘I’m concerned that I didn’t confirm Yuri Hsien’s awakening…’

Yuri Hsien had not woken up even once during the three days of continuous travel by carriage.

Benjamin continued to infuse her with his vital energy, so her health should be fine, but he was still worried. He knew that after enduring dangerous situations like kidnapping or being taken hostage, she always suffered from nightmares.

‘When she was nearly mistreated by Hescliffe, she didn’t come to her senses for quite some time.’

With the unresolved issue and this new one, he was worried there might be something wrong with her physically. He wanted to confirm Yuri Hsien’s awakening before returning, if possible.
Yuri Hsien and Wergen had a few matters to discuss… Lost in thought, Benjamin was interrupted by Rapine’s call.

“So, um… Your Highness?”

“…”

“Your Highness, Your Highness!”

It was only after calling Benjamin multiple times that Rapine noticed his focused gaze on her, and her eyes trembled anxiously.

“What are you… thinking so deeply about?”

As Rapine awkwardly grinned and asked, Benjamin patted her waist, saying it was nothing. At that dull touch, Rapine’s heart sank.

Last night, when they had drinks together, Benjamin ultimately did not hug Rapine. At that time, despite her attempts to seduce him, Rapine felt a mix of perplexity and anxiety at Benjamin’s unresponsive behavior.

‘He clearly loves me, so why doesn’t he hug me?’

In the bar where Kendalri worked, the men said so—they wanted to sleep with Kendalri because they loved her. Those men said this even to young Rapine, urging her to persuade Kendalri, saying that a mother might listen to her daughter.

[What are you telling her now?!]

Of course, every time that happened, Kendalri would rush in and glare, making the men retreat. But even then, Kendalri’s gaze couldn’t completely clear Rapine’s thoughts.