Before I knew it, a week had passed since I kidnapped Dietrich.

“How long do you intend to stay like this?”

I asked, looking at Dietrich lying comfortably on the bed as if it were his own bedroom.

“Hmm, do you want me to leave? I thought this was why you brought me here in the first place.”

“Well, I can’t say that’s not true… But aren’t you busy? You’re a Marquis, aren’t you? A Marquis.”

“The lady is right. I am indeed a very busy person.”

“Then how about going out that door? I’ll let you go. Let’s get you back home.”

I stretched out my arms in a gesture for him to leave, but Dietrich just smirked and shook his head.

It meant refusal.

‘Why is he really acting like this?’

I couldn’t understand why he was refusing when the person who had confined him was personally offering to send him home.

At first, I thought he might be planning to rest since he was kidnapped anyway, but now it didn’t seem like that was the case.

‘If he had planned to rest, he wouldn’t have been bothering me every day like this.’

Was it all a dream that he had behaved so quietly on the day I kidnapped Melphis?

Since then, Dietrich has been even more zealously following me around.

Even when I got angry and told him to stay put, he said that the promise only meant for one day and ignored my words.

So I’ve been trying to persuade him to go back every day, but…

‘I never thought it would be this ineffective.’

I sighed deeply with my forehead lowered, then looked up at him.

“No, you said you’re a busy person. Why aren’t you leaving? You must have a schedule too.”

“A schedule… Hmm. Come to think of it… I had a high-ranking nobles’ meeting today.”

High-ranking nobles’ meeting.

At the collection of words that sounded important just by hearing them, I opened my eyes wide.

“What? Then you should hurry and leave. What are you doing here?”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you said. There’s a more important issue at hand.”

Dietrich, who had been lying arrogantly on the bed, sat up and pulled me towards him.

“Lady Vivian. It seems you’ve forgotten our promise.”

“What? What promise did I make with you?”

I tilted my head, not understanding what he meant.

“You really did forget. You called me ‘you’ again. Didn’t we agree that you would call me ‘Dietrich’ instead of ‘you’?”

As I continued to look puzzled, he shook his head.

“It seems Lady Vivian is only good at kidnapping but not so much at remembering. Ah, come to think of it, they say memory deteriorates when you frequently see handsome people.”

“What?”

“Now I see it was my fault. I should apologize.”

At this utterly absurd statement, I forgot my original purpose and just gaped blankly.

I have no idea what’s going on in this person’s head.

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The grand conference room in the Imperial Palace was filled with people due to the quarterly high-ranking nobles’ meeting.

Behind the nobles seated in a row around the long table stood their aides.

At the deepest part of the conference room sat the Emperor, along with the First Prince Siegfried and the Second Princess Veronica.

Within the solemn atmosphere of the conference room, an invisible battle of nerves was silently unfolding.

Siegfried and Veronica.

Everyone in the conference room knew that these two were engaged in a fierce battle for the throne.

Originally, Veronica was considered the closest to becoming the next Emperor.

However, the situation changed drastically when she took charge of the serial handsome men kidnapping case.

While she was stuck on an unsolved case, Siegfried, who had been lying low, rose up fiercely.

He single-handedly took care of tasks that Veronica would have handled originally, and quickly gained the Emperor’s favor.

It was so bad that rumors were quietly circulating that Siegfried might be behind the kidnapping case.

Veronica, born of the Empress, and Siegfried, born of the Second Imperial Consort.

Their relationship, which was already distant to begin with, became even more wary of each other in the struggle for the throne.

Just like now.

The long-lasting battle of nerves ended when Veronica turned her head away first.

‘I’ve unknowingly engaged in such childish behavior… This isn’t what’s important right now.’

She pressed her throbbing temples.

What she needed now was not this trivial battle of nerves, but to gain the Emperor’s favor.

Her father, the 34th Emperor of the Agrian Empire, was quite moody.

He received decent reviews as an emperor, but as a father or husband, he was nothing short of the worst.

Her father, who kept several concubines despite having the Empress, her mother.

She never expected affection from him in the first place, given their relationship.

However, gaining his favor was a different matter altogether.

She had a reason why she needed to become the Emperor by any means necessary.

Veronica swept her gaze over the nobles with a calm and cool expression.

Among the tightly seated nobles, only one seat stood out as empty.

It was the seat of the Belvedere family.

Behind the empty seat stood Nils, the aide, but Dietrich himself didn’t seem to be in attendance.

The seat was too clean for him to have just stepped out momentarily.

‘Dietrich Belvedere. Absent again, I see.’

The Marquis Belvedere was an arrogant man.

He acted as if he were already a Duke, even though he hadn’t officially inherited the title yet.

Moreover, he often arbitrarily skipped meetings hosted by the Imperial family, and his attitude was nothing short of arrogant.

‘Yet his work is so impeccable that it’s hard to find fault…’

Veronica, a perfectionist, didn’t particularly like him.

And the same went for the Emperor.

In the quiet and strict atmosphere, the Emperor cleared his throat. It was a signal to pay attention.

“We shall begin the 113th high-ranking nobles’ meeting. However… there’s an empty seat.”

His low voice was filled with displeasure.

Nils, standing behind the empty seat, calmly endured the Emperor’s sharp glare.

He should have brought Dietrich somehow, but who could have predicted the variable of kidnapping.

If it was a sin not to have calculated such a variable, Nils silently bore the reproachful gaze.

All the while, he mentally vowed that he would quit this job someday.

“Since the master you serve hasn’t come, you may leave. After the meeting ends, you’ll need to explain in detail what exactly happened.”

“Yes, I will obey your command.”

Nils bowed his head and quietly walked out of the conference room.

Fervently hoping that Dietrich would be released as soon as possible.

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Having finished his private audience with the Emperor, Nils quickly left the conference room with quiet steps.

During the audience, he had relayed the news of Dietrich’s kidnapping. He also added that this was the reason for his absence from the meeting.

The Emperor said he understood the reason, but his face remained completely stiff.

His expression seemed to be a mixture of negative emotions such as anger and displeasure.

Nils hurried outside as soon as he was given permission to leave.

To avoid any unnecessary trouble, he needed to get out of there quickly.

He relayed the Emperor’s message to Princess Veronica von Agrian, who was waiting outside the conference room.

“His Imperial Majesty has ordered you to enter alone.”

At Nils’ words, Veronica felt her throat go dry.

Ordering a private audience. It was clear that the Emperor’s mood had soured considerably.

And as she entered, she could immediately tell that her prediction was correct.

“What kind of disgrace is this because of you!”

The outburst came along with a cup of cold tea flying through the air.

Veronica saw the threatening teacup coming but stood still with her eyes tightly shut, taking the hit.

The cup that struck her temple left a red mark on her skin.

Being drenched in tea was an added bonus. It was fortunate that the tea had cooled down.

Veronica kept her head bowed and offered repeated words of apology.

“I apologize, Your Imperial Majesty. I will rectify this.”

“Do you even know what you’re apologizing for! Marquis Belvedere has fallen victim to that handsome men kidnapper. If the Imperial Princess had caught the culprit in time, we wouldn’t be having this problem!”

“……”

At the mention of the Empire’s greatest sword master falling victim, the Princess’s body instantly stiffened.

It was no wonder that she hadn’t been able to catch the culprit no matter what methods she used.

The Princess lamented inwardly, biting the inside of her cheek.

“Three months.”

“……”

“Catch them within three months.”

In the frigid atmosphere, those resolute words heavily descended upon Veronica’s head.

‘…I suppose there won’t be a next time if I fail.’

Realizing the situation was more serious than expected, Veronica carefully chose her words.

She needed to propose a plan that was different from before, one that even the Emperor would approve of.

In that moment, a suspicion grew in her mind.

‘Does it make sense that Dietrich Belvedere was kidnapped?’

It wasn’t just anyone, but ‘that’ Dietrich.

Even if he were kidnapped and confined, it wouldn’t be a big deal for him to break down the building and escape.

One suspicion led to another. Her thoughts flowed at an unusually rapid pace.

And in that brief moment, Veronica was able to reach one conclusion.

“…I will hold a banquet.”

“What’s this sudden talk of holding a banquet?”

She carefully opened her mouth while observing the Emperor’s dubious expression.

“There is someone I suspect to be the culprit. I wish to invite every single person around this individual and observe their movements. We will surely find a clue about the case.”

Dietrich, who was caught suspiciously easily.

Veronica focused on the possibility that he had allowed himself to be kidnapped intentionally.

‘The easiest way to escape the investigation net is to pretend to be a victim yourself.’

Moreover, Dietrich was currently in marriage talks with a noble from Siegfried’s faction.

There were plenty of reasons for him to keep her in check.

Various factors were pointing to him.

‘Even if he’s not the direct culprit, there’s bound to be at least a small connection with the real culprit.’

The Emperor silently listened to her story, staring intently at her resolute expression.

Fortunately, the Emperor, who had been enraged earlier, now nodded as if his mood had improved.

“I thought you were achieving nothing by just chasing after the culprit’s tail, but that wasn’t the case. Go ahead and do it.”

Watching this, Veronica’s teal eyes quietly blazed.

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