Crown Prince Siegfried von Agrian and Crown Princess Veronica von Agrian.

The fight between the two royals for the throne was not theirs alone.

The nobles were divided into the Siegfried faction and the Veronica faction, and they closely allied to create the emperor they each desired.

The factions employed various methods to grow their own power, especially the nobles of the Siegfried faction who expanded their influence through marriages.

While Veronica was gradually declining due to failure to catch the perpetrator behind the serial handsome men kidnapping incidents, Siegfried was solidifying his position by increasing his influence with the support of nobles like Marquis Schmidt.

At this time, there was also a neutral faction in the noble society that was preoccupied with factional struggles, and the representative family was Belvedere.

The Belvedere family with their nearly absolute power.

Numerous nobles were eyeing them like predators waiting for a chance to draw them from the neutral faction to their own.

However, Dietrich, who was in charge of the Belvedere family, was well aware of this situation.

Wanting to choose an emperor candidate to support independently without outside interference, he deliberately avoided meeting with nobles.

He refused all letters requesting meetings and purposely did not go to places where nobles gathered.

However, it was not easy to miss high-ranking noble meetings, and when he attended those places, nobles rushed towards him without exception.

In particular, Marquis Schmidt of the Siegfried faction was a major target of caution.

He followed Dietrich around excessively, urging him to marry his daughter.

Around the time he thought he should decide whom to support, he recalled a rumor circulating secretly among the nobles.

‘The mastermind behind the serial handsome men kidnapping incidents is actually Crown Prince Siegfried.’

A sufficiently reasonable inference.

Since Veronica’s position had narrowed since she started investigating the case, Dietrich also suspected this.

‘If that’s true… It means Crown Prince Siegfried has the ability to expand this scheme so greatly.’

It needed to be verified.

Of course, he had absolutely no desire to prove once again that he was handsome. Really.

Anyway, thus Dietrich headed to Hildes Street, despite Nils’ dissuasion.

He thought that surely the kidnapper would be drawn to him, as he was an exceptionally handsome man unparalleled in the world.

(Again, Dietrich was not going to prove that he was handsome.)

So he planned to catch the culprit in reverse when they tried to kidnap him and interrogate them about the mastermind.

Although the initial plan was somewhat disrupted due to the kidnapper’s excellent skills, he was eventually able to catch them.

However, the situation unfolded differently from his expectations.

A face he had briefly seen before on a list of nobles he had his subordinates investigate separately.

Vivian Schmidt, the illegitimate child of Marquis Schmidt.

The culprit was someone he had never even imagined.

Vivian was certainly the child of Marquis Schmidt, and the Marquis was part of the Siegfried faction.

However, that alone was not enough to conclude that Siegfried was behind her.

It was a situation where he needed to observe her closely to understand the exact inside story.

So Dietrich deliberately did not return to the mansion and stayed by her side for a month.

Moreover, the fact of being kidnapped was also a good excuse to miss noble meetings, so being deliberately held captive in Vivian’s hideout was a natural choice for him, so to speak.

Rest and the fun of tormenting her were bonuses.

After observing Vivian for a long time, Dietrich could reach one conclusion.

‘The serial handsome men kidnapping incidents were carried out solely by Vivian Schmidt.’

This meant that this incident was unrelated to Siegfried.

In the end, Dietrich lost interest in the prince.

However, there was someone who kept approaching Dietrich, completely unaware of his anguish.

It was none other than Marquis Schmidt.

From the moment he heard that Dietrich was coming to Crown Princess Veronica’s birthday banquet, he was consumed with the thought of meeting the young marquis and making him his ally.

After arriving at the banquet hall, the Marquis quickly began looking for Dietrich first.

He boldly greeted Dietrich, passing through nobles who wanted to speak to him but were too afraid to even try.

“Young Marquis, it’s hard to see your face.”

“Ah, Marquis Schmidt. It’s been a while.”

Dietrich’s attitude of naturally speaking informally greatly displeased the Marquis, but he couldn’t say anything.

‘He hasn’t even officially inherited the family head position yet. Arrogant bastard.’

It wasn’t a good choice to point it out specifically because of his power that was practically absolute.

Marquis Schmidt looked Dietrich up and down with narrowed eyes.

A wild physique, hair blacker than ink, a sculpted face that seemed to glow even from afar.

The beautiful man was not only exceptional in appearance.

He was also one of the strongest in the empire and a soon-to-be powerful figure as the future Duke Belvedere.

‘Although his arrogance and cruelty are flaws… This much is necessary for Leonie’s partner.’

He planned to marry Leonie to Dietrich.

It was an attempt to seize the best opportunity to increase Siegfried’s power while simultaneously attaching the best man to Leonie.

Although the young marquis did not yet welcome the proposal, the Marquis firmly believed that he would eventually accept this marriage.

‘As the tide increasingly turns in favor of His Highness the Prince, he’ll have no choice but to accept eventually.’

Such was the nature of noble marriages.

“So, have you come to talk about the proposal again? It’s really getting tiresome.”

The Marquis flinched momentarily at Dietrich’s words, as if he had read his thoughts, but soon calmed down and began to speak.

“Don’t you see it now, Young Marquis? That marrying my daughter would be a good choice.”

The Marquis observed the expression of the man standing before him. There was a strange hint of a smile on his lips, which were always cold and sharp.

“Hmm…..”

Dietrich hummed for a moment, stroking his chin as if thinking about something.

Then, as if he had made a decision, he smiled broadly.

It was a beautiful but somewhat eerie expression.

“Well, to tell the truth, I’ve recently become interested in the Marquis’s daughter. Her actions and way of speaking, how should I put it… they’re quite charming.”

“What? You’ve met my daughter before?”

The Marquis was surprised more by the statement suggesting he had met Leonie before than by the first positive response he had received.

“Well, I have met her. I found it impressive how she acts boldly despite being easily frightened.”

‘If Leonie had encountered the Young Marquis, there’s no way she wouldn’t have told me…’

Although slightly puzzled, what mattered most was that Dietrich had finally expressed a positive intention towards this marriage.

The Marquis laughed heartily, delighted.

“Well, that’s good news regardless. In that case, I shall bring Leonie here right away. You should at least greet each other.”

The Marquis immediately looked around to find his precious daughter. However, he froze at Dietrich’s next words.

“Oh? It seems the Marquis is greatly misunderstanding something.”

“Misunderstanding? What on earth do you mean?”

“The one I’m interested in is the eldest daughter.”

“El-eldest daughter? What are you talking about?”

The Marquis frowned at these incomprehensible words. His mouth also gaped open in confusion.

“As far as I know, you have two daughters.”

“When I say my daughter, of course I mean Leon-”

Dietrich cut off the Marquis’s hastily spoken words.

“Surely you’re not trying to say you only have one child? A father who doesn’t even consider his illegitimate child as his own, how truly remarkable.”

“No, I…”

“Having grown up under such a father with twisted values, I can already imagine what that precious daughter of yours is like. If it’s not Miss Vivian, then consider the marriage off.”

Not only insulting me but Leonie as well!

‘What nonsense to speak about that pitiful, tender-hearted child!’

Even if it was Dietrich Belvedere, the Marquis simply could not forgive this.

If he let this slide, his pride as the head of the Schmidt family would crumble.

The Marquis, panting with anger, tried to grab Dietrich’s arm.

The fear he had harbored deep in his heart for Dietrich had already vanished without a trace. The Marquis was blinded by rage.

However, Dietrich lightly brushed off the Marquis’s hand with a contemptuous look.

Then, as if there was nothing more to say, he left his seat.

With long legs proportionate to his large frame, he quickly distanced himself.

The Marquis tried to catch up with him, running, but ultimately failed to do so.

Meanwhile, in a far corner of the banquet hall.

Vivian stood out particularly well, being far from the crowd in the hall packed with nobles.

Thanks to this, Leonie, who easily spotted her half-sister, took one step after another towards her with a face full of mischievous laughter.

‘No, how could that…’

But that smile quickly disappeared. For a moment, Leonie forgot she was at a banquet and scowled fiercely.

An elegant sky-blue dress with flowing lines.

What Vivian was wearing was the very dress she had deliberately ruined a few days ago.

‘A mere illegitimate child who should be in a pitiful state…!’

The water-colored dress that flowed naturally along the curves of her upper body suited Vivian perfectly, even from afar.

Moreover, wasn’t she, who should be alone, chatting with another noble lady?

With a glass of wine in one hand and covering her mouth with the other as she laughed, she looked quite natural.

Leonie was infuriated by the sight of her daring to enjoy the banquet at her own discretion.

Just as she was contemplating ways to remove Vivian from this banquet, something suddenly occurred to her.

‘Even if it goes against banquet etiquette, I’ll look like an affectionate child who loves her sister, so it should be fine.’

Leonie ran over and hugged Vivian tightly from behind.

At the same time, she deliberately struck the wine glass Vivian was holding hard.

“Sister! What are you doing here!”

Though she spoke cheerfully, her mind was full of schemes.

The pale water-colored dress stained with deep purple wine would be quite a sight to see.

Leonie smiled even more brightly with anticipation.

However, something different from her expectations occurred.

“Oh my, Vivian, you should be more careful.”

The moment Vivian dropped the wine glass that Leonie had struck with all her might, someone else caught it with perfect timing.

Faced with this unexpected obstacle, Leonie involuntarily contorted her expression as her scheme was thwarted.

Frowning, she checked the identity of the interferer. She intended to deal with them regardless of who they were.

However, such thoughts subsided in an instant.

‘That person is…’

Although it was a face she had never seen before, she could recognize her.

That the woman before her was Ludovica Belvedere.