As soon as the door closed behind Lucas, who had been assigned a room in the annex following the servant’s guidance, he frowned deeply.

“To treat a guest like this in such a prosperous domain.”

The room was furnished with minimal furniture, but everything was covered with white cloths, as if it hadn’t been used for a long time. Moreover, there was only a basket with water and bread, without even the cheap wine usually given to guests.

“As I always say at times like this, you could simply reveal Your Highness’s identity.”

“Then the lords would make a fuss, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep!”

Although the problem could be solved if he stopped his wandering and carried out his duties as the Crown Prince, Cedric gave up on saying anything more.

“Once I return to the imperial palace, this freedom will end anyway.”

When the Crown Prince first said he would leave on a journey for self-training, the Emperor welcomed it as a manly decision. But when that period stretched to six years, he sternly ordered him to return.

“Your Highness is the only one who will succeed this empire…”

“I know my duty. When I saw the Emperor last year, he looked much thinner.”

Lucas was the precious son born to the Emperor in his late years. Naturally, as Lucas grew up, the Emperor became elderly, and his health deteriorated to the point where it was difficult for him to handle state affairs.

“I suppose once I return to the palace, my fate will be decided.”

The Emperor was already thinking about abdication. His intention was to protect the Crown Prince, who was only twenty years old, as much as possible while he was still alive and raise him to be an excellent emperor for the sake of his future.

“As you promised, you must return to the capital immediately after finishing your reconnaissance of Astel.”

“…I know.”

Lucas answered as if annoyed and turned away abruptly. Cedric hurriedly removed the cloths and tidied up the sleeping area.

“Your Highness, aren’t you hungry? At least there’s water and bread.”

“You eat it.”

Lucas’s face was sullen as he sat down on the bed. It seemed that his imagined reunion with his fiancée had started off very differently from what he had expected.

“I’ve heard that other women run out to greet their fiancés without even putting on shoes when they return from afar, overjoyed.”

“Then you should have revealed your identity.”

Hmph, Lucas made a spiteful sound and lay down on the bed. Although Serena hadn’t actually done anything, he seemed to be in a bad mood all by himself.

When he had his engagement ceremony at 16, his feelings were, of course, anger and humiliation.

However, as he wandered afterwards, Serena became his goal and ideal. Now that he had grown to the point where there was no one left to compete with, it was time to honor the engagement.

‘Your Highness, how you’ve become so strong…’

In Lucas’s imagination, Serena would shyly whisper with those unforgettable blue eyes. She would be twenty-four this year, so how long must she have waited for the engagement?

If she had been hurt by the long wait, he intended to comfort her himself.

“What hurt.”

He muttered to himself so that no one could hear. Looking at the Astel domain he had seen from the hill, he could roughly tell how Serena, the acting duchess, had been doing.

At least it was clear that she hadn’t spent her years crying over a fiancé who had left abruptly.

“I didn’t necessarily want her to cry and wail, but seeing how she’s set up surveillance like this, she’s not too pleased.”

“Yes, two… no, about three surveillance units have been assigned. It seems we’ve aroused suspicion.”

“Well, that suspicion will be cleared up tomorrow.”

His anger towards her was only momentary. It had already been six years, and during that time, Serena had firmly established herself as a kind of benchmark in Lucas’s heart.

Every time he underwent the grueling training and wandering he had never experienced before, what strengthened Lucas’s resolve was imagining himself standing proudly beside Serena.

“Tch.”

Since he hadn’t met Serena yet, there was no way to know if she had forgotten him. However, seeing the dazzling night of the Astel domain, he doubted if she had even thought of his existence.

“…That, I cannot forgive.”

Lucas glared at the empty space with his still sharp eyes. He had never forgotten Serena’s existence for a moment. He had assumed Serena would naturally do the same, but it was a night when anger inexplicably welled up in his chest.

* * *

Unlike other noble ladies, Serena’s morning started early.

Typically, noble young ladies and ladies would not leave their beds until late morning and even have their meals in bed as was customary, but Serena had done away with all that when she came to the Astel domain.

“My lady, good morning.”

“Morning, Anna.”

Today too, Serena washed her face briskly without anyone’s assistance and wiped away the moisture. Though she wore a simple dress she usually wore with no accessories, her beauty at twenty was truly fresh.

“My lady, good morning.”

As soon as Serena finished her morning preparations in an instant, the head servant Peter greeted her. It was the moment when Astel’s daily routine began.

However, today, an unpleasant task awaited, unlike usual. Before dealing with the suspicious guest who had arrived the night before, she couldn’t do anything else.

“Was there nothing unusual last night?”

“No, I personally kept watch all night and assigned other servants as well, but he didn’t even leave the room.”

“Hmm… We can’t jump to conclusions based on just that.”

While Serena was deep in thought, Anna was doing what she claimed was her own duty of arranging Serena’s hair. Even so, it was always just tying it up high in a single ponytail and inserting a pin, as Serena preferred.

“Yes, I think the same. We can’t do anything else until the outsider is surely gone.”

Peter’s words were right, but it was a harsh thing to say to Serena, who was passionate about Astel’s growth day and night.

“Hmph, we just need to drive him out as quickly as possible.”

Everyone nodded at the correct statement.

“More importantly, my lady. Last night’s guest wishes to meet with you today.”

Serena furrowed her fine eyebrows at the troublesome words.

“If he was a spy, I thought he would show some suspicious movement during the night… Was there really nothing?”

If there had been even one suspicious action, they could have easily driven him out using that as a pretext, and they wouldn’t be blamed later regardless of what his identity turned out to be.

“We had people secretly watch him all night, but there were no suspicious circumstances. He didn’t even send out carrier pigeons or anything.”

“Tch.”

What Peter described was the surveillance system Serena had created. It wasn’t just about being wary of outsiders, but also about anticipating and monitoring what they might do, which naturally included the movement of carrier pigeons.

How many protagonists in the novels she had read in her past life had faced crises due to carrier pigeons? Now that she had become Serena, she had to dig up all her past memories and use them thoroughly.

“I was going to drive him out immediately if he showed any suspicious movements.”

In the past, when Serena prohibited access, the Grand Duke of Farel, adjacent to Astel, had sent countless carrier pigeons, inciting her anger.

Of course, those carrier pigeons were now locked in cages, plump and raising excellent offspring. Apart from anger, Serena’s belief was to use what could be used.

“Could it be a new harassment from the Grand Duke of Farel?”

“It doesn’t seem to be anyone associated with the Grand Duchy of Farel. After all, they had an imperial pass to begin with.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Serena belatedly recalled the important fact. She had heard that imperial passes were always granted directly by the Emperor, so the Grand Duke couldn’t possibly have one.

“I humbly suggest, could it perhaps be related to His Highness the Crown Prince?”

At Peter’s words, Serena made an incredulous expression and let out a small laugh.

“He and I are less than strangers. Don’t you know that after seeing the past six years? Besides, why would His Highness the Crown Prince pretend to be a wandering knight?”

This time, even Peter seemed to agree. It was very regrettable, but as Serena said, there had been no interaction between the two in the six years since their engagement ceremony. No meetings, not even a single letter.

“It’s annoying, so let’s deal with it quickly. I’ll meet him in the reception room on the first floor. Make it 30 minutes before lunchtime. I don’t want to see him for long.”

“Yes, I will convey that.”

“Oh, did you happen to see the color of his hair or any distinguishing features?”

This was another thought that had occurred to her the night before. There were quite a few cases where appearance could be used as a clue to trace someone’s origin to a powerful family.

“No, it was dark and he was wearing a hood, so I couldn’t see.”

“I see, alright.”

They would naturally find out soon enough when they met him. And for now, the priority was to quickly drive out the suspicious guest and return to the domain’s affairs.

* * *

When the servant brought in a simple breakfast and withdrew, Lucas made another displeased expression. He seemed stiff from skipping his daily routine of swinging his sword at dawn.

However, suddenly swinging a sword from dawn at the ducal residence would only cause trouble.

“She acts like she’s the master here. How dare she arbitrarily decide when to grant me an audience.”

Cedric now had nothing more to say and just stared blankly at the Crown Prince. Well, who told him to hide that noble and lofty status of his?

“Let’s start with the meal first.”

As the servant placed the tray on the table, a delicious aroma wafted through the air. Although the menu itself was common – eggs with bacon – the quality was visibly extraordinary.

“There’s definitely something special about Astel.”

Cedric remarked, looking at the plump egg yolk.

“You’d only see something like this in the imperial palace.”

At those words, Lucas also surveyed the plate. Not only were the eggs excellent, but the bacon was no less impressive than what you’d find at a banquet of a capital noble.

“Indeed.”

Now Lucas too was seriously beginning to wonder about Astel domain’s secret.

“There’s something about Astel.”

During his long wanderings, Lucas had seen domains more fertile than this and domains larger than this. But the impression given by Astel was vastly different from their prosperity.

“If that special something turns out to be my fiancée, that would be perfect.”

His manly, strong jaw and lips tensed slightly. At the same time, a strange emotion flickered in his deep, elegant dark eyes.