“I…,” Adele’s throat trembled thinly with the intuition that this would be a shocking story. She barely composed herself.

“I don’t know what Your Highness is asking me. What I should hear from my husband.”

“Isn’t Her Majesty pushing for the annulment of your marriage with the Duke?”

As Adele looked at him with a bewildered expression, Mikhail lightly clicked his tongue. A thin gaze, as if looking at something pitiful or regrettable, fell on her face.

“You really didn’t know.”

Her mouth became dry. Adele realized that her palms were sweaty.

Mikhail sighed deeply, then brushed aside his disheveled hair with his hand in the breeze.

“I thought the Duke must have explained somewhat about this crazy situation to you… But did he agree to this annulment as well? If so, perhaps I misjudged him.”

Mikhail’s cold voice carried a strong contempt towards Valentin. Adele bit her lip in confusion.

She clutched the edge of her skirt multiple times in vain. Whether to believe Prince Mikhail or not, she found the story too bewildering to respond easily.

“If what he said is true, when did this start?”

Come to think of it, since coming to the palace, Valentin had become incredibly busy. Not only did he leave his seat even in the middle of the night, but there were days when she didn’t even see his face.

Even on days when he returned early, he would be promptly summoned by the queen for urgent matters.

“I can’t fully believe it, but it’s not entirely baseless either. The Prince wouldn’t have any reason to lie to me.”

Her thoughts kept drifting negatively. The fact that he seemed so hasty to hide something, not providing proper explanations.

What if all of this was a prelude to pushing her away?

“…Could it be that he’s really preparing for a rebellion?”

If Valentin were not a demon but a human, he might silently agree with the Emperor’s insane plan. Adele pondered, but why? Why would ‘he’ agree to the annulment?

“Maybe he thought it was a better condition to fulfill the first contract?”

At the sudden thought, she felt a chill. If it was really treason.

“If that were the case, he should have told me first. Even now, since I was bedridden, we haven’t had a proper conversation. Until now, I only heard what Prince Mikhail unilaterally claimed.”

Maybe it’s a lie. Just as Adele’s eyes began to narrow with suspicion, she vividly remembered Shalote’s visit a few days ago.

The disdainful voice and gaze that reverberated sharply inside the tent.

Stuck in this corner, she had no way of knowing what was happening outside.
The blame I received that day, looking back, was entirely justified.

If Shalote had known about this situation from the beginning, Adele, hiding without knowing anything and just listening to the Duke’s words, would have seemed pitiful.

“Adeleheit, your complexion.”

She instinctively pushed away Mikhail’s hand trying to support her.

It was, in fact, partly a learned caution. Since she was very young, whenever the Crown Prince showed even a little interest in her, Shalote’s torment became so severe that she could endure it only with difficulty.

From the time he was not engaged to Adele until she got married and went to the north.

“I’m fine. Just a bit dizzy… It’ll be okay if I catch my breath for a moment.”

Although it was surprising that the habit of being cautious during that time suddenly emerged when she faced him, it was rather fortunate at the moment.

It made her look composed even in the midst of great confusion.

Mikhail, who looked disappointed after being rejected twice, forced a low laugh.

“You seem to frequently avoid my hand.”

“I… apologize for my shortcomings. But, if I just… take a moment to catch my breath, I’ll be okay.”

“Take your time, then.”

“If what you told me is true…”

While Adele was catching her breath with dizziness, she spoke steadily.

“No matter what Her Majesty says, I cannot break the sacred vow made in front of the Morrigan. And turning it into invalidity is even more… impossible. I won’t just stand still at the Grand Ritual.”

“It seems like he somewhat agrees with the Grand Ritual. If only we could find a way for it to be an annulment, not a divorce.”

“…”

“From the beginning, the story that Duke Ansgar wanted Shalote was well known. And my mother would pave the way under my son’s feet even if she had to thoroughly investigate his foundation.”

Adele replied calmly after finally stopping her panting.

“Even if that’s the case, my father, Viscount Reihenau, will not agree.”

The Viscount’s long-cherished dream was to connect the Imperial Family and Reihenau through a marriage.

No matter how much the Emperor tries to push it, it would be difficult without the Viscount’s agreement. However, Mikhail shook his head, saying that the premise was wrong.

“Well, he’s been overshadowing my mother for quite some time now. You probably didn’t know.”

“…”