Lost in thought, Anna stood up, slightly lifted the curtain, and peered outside.

“My goodness.”

It had been a little noisy outside for a while now.

“Miss, the Duke is here at the Astel estate!”

Serena didn’t seem surprised; she just smirked.

“Of course, he’s impulsive.”

“Huh? Not only that, but something big might happen at the Astel estate!”

Lucas’s stubbornness was well-known, and the Duke of Parel was no easy opponent. Putting those two in the same room was asking for trouble.

“Miss, please go out and stop them.”

“No.”

Serena rebelliously buried herself deeper into the blanket.

“I’ve been too sick to hear anything. Okay?”

“But Miss…”

“We have the Astel Knights; we’ll be fine. Just let me know the outcome.”

Serena’s eyes sparkled as if discussing something delightful.

Word of the uninvited guest soon reached the villa where the Crown Prince was staying. Unlike the unfazed Serena, Lucas steeled his face and strapped on his sword.

“Your Highness, such people are beneath your notice. Why bother confronting them?”

“I should be thanking him for coming today. I had been planning to go and nail him down.”

Lucas had been uneasy since he heard that the Duke of Parel had proposed to Serena over ten times in the last six years.

Now that the man had dared to trespass into his estate, Lucas couldn’t be more grateful.

“Let’s go.”

Before Cedric could dissuade him further, Lucas, now armed, briskly walked out of the villa, heading toward the courtyard where the Duke’s horse was stationed.

“Your Highness, let me speak first.”

Cedric rushed to intervene as they looked down at them from their horses, but Lucas shook his head.

“I should introduce myself.”

Opposites attract, as they say. Calmly, Lucas took a few steps forward, standing right in front of the horse. It was his first encounter with the red-eyed Duke.

“It’s been noisy outside, so I came out to see.”

Lucas spoke first.

“The Duchess is down with a cold; could you please keep it down?”

Hyde clenched his teeth unwittingly upon hearing Lucas speak as if they were already married.

“By the way, I am Lucas Thern, the Crown Prince of this empire.”

Still gritting his teeth, Hyde dismounted. Lucas had craftily mentioned his identity first, leaving him no choice.

“And you are…? I haven’t seen you around the empire.”
Lucas’s provocative words, spoken in a low, leisurely voice, deeply irritated Hyde.

The audacity of appearing lethargic from the ducal mansion where he couldn’t even stay a single day, and speaking as though Serena was already his wife, infuriated him more than anything.

“I greet Your Highness. I am Duke Hyde Farell of the Farell Grand Duchy.”

Upon showing the bare minimum of respect, Lucas merely nodded his head.

“The Duchess has caught a minor cold, and since I, her fiancé, am here, you may leave without concern.”

Lucas spoke, arrogantly lifting his chin. It was somewhat gratifying to know that he was in no way physically inferior to Hyde, a man armed to the teeth from a family of warriors.

“Excuse me, but this is also my first time seeing Your Highness here.”

Hyde looked at Lucas with red eyes.

“For the past six years, it’s been a place I’ve frequented like home.”

This time, his taunt scratched at Lucas’s temper. His six-year absence was also why Lucas was currently being ignored by his fiancée.

The notion that the Duke freely visited here made Lucas feel as though he had almost lost his betrothed.

“Is that so? I heard you were banished from Astel.”

“That’s… something akin to a game I’m playing with the Duchess.”

Lucas chuckled softly. That short laugh was more effective in digging into Hyde than any other words.

“If you know Astel that well, you must also know about the hill that gives a panoramic view.”

“How would I know just that place?”

An irritant, this man. Lucas briefly glared at Hyde before turning to Cedric to call for his horse.

Soon, the giant black horse that had always accompanied the crown prince came out, kicking up dust with its hooves.

Without any assistance, Lucas quickly mounted the massive horse and took hold of the reins.

“See you on the hill.”

Triggered by his words, Hyde mounted his own horse.

“It’s not exactly a race, so don’t push yourself too much, Duke.”

Lucas’s words kicked up a dusty wind as he vanished. Hyde also swallowed his irritation and spurred his horse forward.

At this moment, racing wasn’t the issue. It was a war where the pride of one man against another was at stake.