Herald got into the carriage, crossed one leg, and buried his body deep into the back of the seat. Amidst the steady sound of horse hooves, the Emperor’s voice lingered in his ears like an afterimage.

“Do you really intend to marry the princess of the Herta Kingdom, Herald?”

The Emperor, a long-time friend of Duke Maximilian, often called Herald, who was the same age as Crown Prince Austin, in a friendly manner. So Herald was not very surprised by the casual way of addressing him. He was only startled by the sudden summoning and the out-of-the-blue question.

The Emperor often showed such unnecessary interest and interfered. For example, when Herald volunteered to go to Cardin, the Emperor strongly opposed it just like Duke Maximilian. It was because he thought of Herald not as a subject, but as a friend’s son or his son’s friend. The nagging to get married whenever he met Herald was for the same reason.

So Herald thought it was in that context this time as well, but judging from the Emperor’s expression, it didn’t seem to be the case.

Then what could it mean? He had a guess, but until he was sure, he thought it best not to answer, so Herald faced the Emperor without a word. Then the Emperor smiled faintly and added:

“I think you stepped up to stop Derius’s marriage… Am I wrong?”

“Even if Your Majesty’s thoughts are correct, does it change anything?”

Startled by the bold answer, the Emperor picked up the coffee cup. However, he didn’t drink it and just stared down at the light brown coffee with milk added. The wrinkles around his eyes were deeper than usual, as if he had a lot on his mind.

Around the time the rising steam dissipated, the Emperor opened his heavy mouth.

“…I already know that the child is dreaming a futile dream of taking the throne with the help of a foreign power. You must have stepped up to stop that. To be precise, it must be at Austin’s request.”

“You are well aware, I see.”

Although that was not his intention at all, nor was it at Austin’s request, Herald calmly asked back.

“Then will you help to prevent this royal marriage from happening?”

“Is there a need to do that? Herald, you are here.”

Herald’s expression hardened as he immediately understood the meaning of that answer. On the other hand, the Emperor smiled contentedly and went on about how Duke Maximilian would be pleased, how he was counting on Herald in the future, and other irrelevant things.

“By the way, Liliana Benjamin, was it? What is your relationship with that viscountess?”

While half-listening to the Emperor’s words of advice, Herald gave rough answers, but he couldn’t do that for this question. Liliana. Just hearing her name stirred up emotions.

Not wanting to be caught with his turbulent feelings, Herald pretended to drink coffee to calm his emotions. Actually drinking the coffee that was bitter enough to sting his tongue helped too.

“We have no relationship. I have merely helped the viscountess a few times when she was in danger, that is all.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

The Emperor stared at Herald meaningfully while stroking his chin, then soon laughed and advised.

“The Herta Kingdom’s delegation is coming to the Empire next week, so make sure to sort it out properly by then. It would be a disgrace to the Empire if there are any unnecessary rumors.”

Herald knew the Emperor didn’t believe his words, but he didn’t deny it further. There was a saying that strong denial is strong affirmation. The Emperor was unlikely to believe him even if he kept denying it.

If they really had some kind of relationship, he wouldn’t have felt so wronged, but since that wasn’t the case, it was irritating. He had even confessed to Lily several times but was rejected. Nevertheless, he couldn’t give up and kept lingering, so the urging from those around him to quickly sort out the relationship felt even more disagreeable.

Whatever choice he made, it had to be entirely of his own will. Herald had no intention of following anyone’s words.

‘For now, it’s fortunate that the Emperor knows the Second Prince’s intentions.’

He thought the Emperor didn’t know since he took no action, but that wasn’t the case. He must have stayed still, thinking Austin would take care of it.

His sly personality hasn’t changed from the past.

Herald smiled cynically and looked out the window. The carriage had already left the capital and entered the royal city. Herald, who was watching people moving busily with their own purposes, suddenly tapped on the window connected to the driver’s seat.

As the carriage soon stopped, Herald got off immediately. The coachman, wondering what was going on, widened his eyes as Herald stopped in front of a flower shop. Passersby also whispered, seeing a noble who looked to be of high status buying flowers.

Unfazed by the pouring gazes, a faint smile spread across Herald’s lips as he bought a bouquet. Just imagining Lily’s appearance embracing an armful of flowers made him smile automatically.

“You have arrived, Commander.”

Even though he had rushed here, eager to see that sight, only Dillon and the servants were there to greet him. Thinking she might come down late, he looked towards the central stairs, and the maid who attended to Lily spoke.

“The madam is currently in the bath. She fell while taking a walk in the garden and got dirty.”

“She fell? Is she hurt anywhere?”

“Fortunately, no.”

“Still, just in case, call a physician.”

The maid answered that she would and disappeared with quick steps.

Herald wanted to rush to Lily right away, but he couldn’t since he heard she was in the bath. It wasn’t polite to wait in the room without the owner present, so after instructing the maid to let him know when Lily came out, he headed to his own room.

“What is that bouquet you are holding?”

Dillon asked, following behind him.

“To give to the viscountess?”

“If you know, why ask?”

“Well… Ah, never mind.”

Dillon ruffled his hair, exuding an air of having a lot to say but not saying it.

“Rather, I have something to tell you, Commander.”

“Speak.”

“It’s about the Rebecca family.”

“What about… Ah.”

Belatedly recalling Louis Rebecca, the former fiancé of Kennedy Stacy and the dog of Count Stacy, Herald let out a short exclamation.

“Come in.”

Since it wasn’t a conversation to have in the hallway, Herald let Dillon into the bedroom. And after carefully putting down the bouquet he had been holding onto the sofa, he poured water into a cup and asked.

“Did you find out any new information?”

“Yes. Looking into it, it seems the engagement was not unilaterally broken off by the Stacy family to the Rebecca family, but a mutual agreement. From the very beginning of the engagement, in fact.”

A frown formed between Herald’s brows as he drank the cold water.

“Then the fuss he made at the time of the broken engagement, saying how could they do this, was an act?”

“Most likely. Seeing how Louis Rebecca laughed, saying it was hard to please a troublesome woman like Kennedy Stacy, it seems certain.”

If Count Stacy had unilaterally declared the broken engagement, Louis Rebecca would have clung to Kennedy Stacy’s skirt. After all, she and her family were the only way for him to rise in status.

But considering he said such things, it was clear that he had been promised something better than the title of son-in-law to the Stacy family.

“When we looked into the Rebecca family before, there were no records of anyone getting a good government post or suddenly increasing their wealth.”

Putting down the empty cup on the table, Herald muttered as if talking to himself.

“Yes. We checked everything, even the secret vaults in the bank, but their assets did not increase at all. As for government posts, he was rather demoted from an investigator in the capital to an investigator in a small city.”

As Dillon reiterated the facts he already knew, Herald tilted his head at an angle.

“Then did the Rebecca family clean up after Count Stacy without any compensation?”

“It seems someone else paid the Rebecca family on behalf of Count Stacy.”

“Someone else? Surely not Viscountess Ariane or the Second Prince?”

“No. It’s not certain yet as we’re still looking into it, but… based on the circumstances, it seems to be the Herta royal family.”

“…!”

As an unexpected name popped up, Herald’s eyes narrowed. Dillon was also very surprised when he first learned of this fact, so he fully understood Herald’s feelings and told him what he had found out.

“Two years ago, the Herta royal family auctioned off land with a gold mine, and a foreigner won the bid for that land.”

“That foreigner must be from the Rebecca family.”

“Yes. It seems they handed it over under the guise of an auction. Since the land is in the Herta Kingdom and the ownership hasn’t been fully transferred to the Rebecca family yet, we failed to discover it during the previous investigation.”

“That’s understandable.”

Who would have thought that a faraway foreign land was given as compensation? They never even dreamed that the Herta Kingdom would be directly involved.

That means the connection between the Second Prince and the Herta Kingdom is stronger than they thought.

“This has become a headache.”

Less than an hour had passed since Herald was confident he could prevent the Second Prince from marrying the princess of the Herta Kingdom, but now that confidence was fading.

Herald let out a deep sigh but still praised Dillon.

“Good work. You managed to find out that the Rebecca family has land hidden in a foreign country.”

Dillon glanced at the bouquet neatly placed on the table and slowly opened his mouth.

“It’s thanks to the viscountess’s help.”

“…Lily?”

When Herald asked back in surprise, Dillon spilled everything about the mutual favors between him and Lily. After hearing the whole story, Herald gave a hollow laugh.

“You used her again.”

“It’s not using, it’s a deal. This time, I made sure the viscountess didn’t get hurt in body and mind.”

As Dillon emphasized ‘mind’ and held his head high as if he had done nothing wrong, Herald clicked his tongue.

At that moment, the maid reported that Lily had finished bathing and come out.

“I’ll go check if her body and mind are unharmed as you say, so wait.”

Leaving a warning to Dillon, Herald picked up the bouquet and left the bedroom.