“Excuse me, Count.”

Early in the morning, the servant who came to the bedroom to attend was startled to find Herald lying diagonally with his back against the armrest of the sofa. The clothes that had been left on the bed for him to change into were still in place. Seeing that the pillow and blanket were also undisturbed, it seemed he had stayed up all night.

The servant didn’t know for what reason Herald had spent the night with his eyes open, but one thing was certain – it wasn’t a good reason. It was evident just by looking at his expression, which seemed to be draped in the curtain of night. The atmosphere he exuded was also ominous, making it difficult for the servant to easily strike up a conversation.

However, one couldn’t dither forever.

“Shall I prepare the water for washing up?”

As it was almost time for breakfast, the servant mustered up the courage to ask. But there was no answer in return. He just stared blankly at the ceiling as if something was stuck there.

Just as the servant was about to turn around, thinking it would be best to quietly withdraw without causing any disturbance, the awaited response was heard.

“Cold water, please.”

“Yes, I understand!”

The servant who left the bedroom with a booming reply returned shortly with a basin and towel.

Awakening his hazy mind by washing his face with cold water, Herald wiped the droplets that had collected on the tip of his chin while looking at his reflection in the basin.

The worsening condition of Grace Benjamin was due to Fredrick Benjamin.

Herald had expected that the scoundrel must have done something to the snacks, but he hadn’t thought he would play such a vicious prank to this extent.

While surprised, Herald was also puzzled.

If by any chance Grace Benjamin were to die, Liliana’s only weakness would disappear, so why did Fredrick do this?

Of course, even if Grace Benjamin’s illness was completely cured, the weakness would still disappear. So it could be to prevent that from happening, but it seemed too risky for that purpose alone. If the goal was simply to prevent the illness from being cured, there would have been other easier ways, so there must be a reason why he specifically chose this method.

The wet lips that had been pondering the question he couldn’t find an answer to even after thinking all night curved diagonally. Wiping his wet face with a towel, Herald looked out the window that had already brightened.

The main reason he had stayed up all night was not just his curiosity about Fredrick’s intentions, but something else.

Whether or not to tell Liliana Benjamin about this matter.

Unlike the incident with Madison Benjamin, this incident was not related to the Second Prince, so he could tell her without Austin’s permission.

If Liliana found out about this, she would surely be furious and try to divorce Fredrick.

Just thinking about that made him want to tell her right away, but the reason he hesitated to do so was that the image of her suffering from a terrible fever kept coming to his mind. She had already been deeply hurt, and he didn’t want to see her in pain again from another deep wound.

However, it was not something that could be hidden forever. It was not just any matter, but something about her cherished mother, so Liliana needed to know all the more.

What should he do? Herald, who had been gazing at the sunlight brilliantly shattering along the lattice of the window, turned to look at the servant.

“How is the Viscountess Benjamin’s condition? Did the physician come by this morning?”

“Yes. I heard that she has improved enough to no longer need the medication.”

“Is that so?”

It’s not that he didn’t trust the physician, but he still needed to see for himself and decide what to do.

Putting a small comma in the concern he had been pondering over for a whole day without finding an answer, Herald handed the wet towel to the servant and headed to the breakfast room.

[This is the timeline separator]

Herald told him to take a good rest today since he had worked hard, but Dillon couldn’t do that. How could he? The information he had brought would explode like a time bomb the moment it reached Liliana’s ears.

“Are you going to tell everything to the Viscountess Benjamin?”

When Dillon asked worriedly, Herald smiled cryptically and asked back.

“Well, would it be good if I did?”

If he only thought about her, he wanted to say yes, but when he involved Herald in his thoughts, Dillon couldn’t give any answer.

“Rest well. See you tomorrow.”

As if he hadn’t expected an answer from the beginning, Herald patted Dillon’s shoulder and went out.

Dillon, who still hadn’t heard an answer, tried to follow Herald to ask, but stopped in his tracks. It was obvious that he wouldn’t get an answer even if he asked.

He had planned to wake up early and see what Herald would do, but the plan went awry from the start. Dillon, who woke up to the sound of birds chirping cozily, checked that the current time was 2 PM and was astonished.

“Oh, no! This is serious!”

There was no time to think about what might have happened. For now, it seemed he needed to meet Herald, so he hurriedly ran to his bedroom.

“Oh, Viscount Lamford?”

Dillon, who was about to go up the central stairs after passing through the long corridor, stopped when he heard Liliana’s voice. Turning his head, he saw Liliana wearing a thin shawl. Seeing Emily holding a parasol, it seemed they had just returned from a walk.

“I heard you were away for an important matter, but you’ve returned.”

“Yes. I came back at dawn. But…”

Dillon trailed off and closely examined Liliana’s expression. Her green eyes were full of life like a tree in early summer, and a smile played on her lips. It was definitely not an expression someone hugging a time bomb would make.

It seems the Commander hasn’t told her yet. Then when does he plan to tell her? He’s not going to keep hiding it, is he?

“Is there something on my face?”

Liliana covered her cheeks with both hands, feeling embarrassed as Dillon stared at her intently, especially since the traces of fever blisters had not completely disappeared yet.

“Ah, no. I have been rude.”

Only then did Dillon realize he had been disrespectful to the Lady, so he placed his hand on his chest and politely apologized.

“The aftereffects of the illness have not completely subsided, so I inadvertently committed a rudeness. I apologize, Lady.”

“Ah, it’s alright. It can happen.”

Seeing Liliana smiling as innocently as a pear blossom, Dillon felt a pang of conscience, but he ignored it. It wasn’t the first or second time he had done something against his conscience, so there was nothing new about it.

“Are you going to see the Count?”

“Yes. Was the Count with you?”

If Liliana had gone for a walk, there was a high possibility that Herald had accompanied her.

“No. The Count returned to the Duke’s residence after breakfast.”

“What?”

Dillon had thought they hadn’t returned together because Herald had stepped away for a moment, but he was taken aback when he heard that he had left altogether.

“Did the Commander really return to the Duke’s residence?”

“Yes. He said he would come back tomorrow because his parents would worry if he was away for too long.”

Did Herald really go to the Maximilian Duke’s residence?

“I see. Then I’ll take my leave, Lady.”

Somehow feeling an ominous premonition that it wasn’t the case, Dillon hurriedly bid farewell and left the place.

[This is the timeline separator]

Contrary to Dillon’s concern, Herald was at the Maximilian Duke’s residence.

“…”

With a terrifying expression that looked like it could devour a person.

The cause of his anger and irritation was none other than the letter sent by the Emperor. It was also the reason he had returned to the Maximilian Duke’s residence immediately after breakfast.

Although there was a lot written in the letter with a golden border, it could be simply summarized in one sentence:

[He was to go as a representative of the Empire along with the Second Prince to greet the delegation from the Herta Kingdom.]

It was sudden, but Herald understood why the Emperor had issued such an order. That’s why he was even more irritated. Herald let out a deep sigh and brushed back his disheveled hair.

“I shouldn’t have accepted Father’s proposal.”

If he had known it would become this troublesome, he would have refused and found another way. Herald sighed repeatedly as much as he regretted and neatly folded the letter, placing it on the desk. He wanted to crumple it up, but he couldn’t do that to a letter personally written by the Emperor.

“I have to go.”

As a noble and knight of the Empire, he could not disobey the Emperor’s order.

Of course, he could persistently persuade the Emperor by visiting him and saying he didn’t want to do it, or get help from Austin, the Crown Prince, to change the imperial order.

But was there really a need to go that far?

Judging from the actions of the Herta Kingdom and the Second Prince, the likelihood of him getting along well with the Herta Princess was close to zero.

Moreover, he was not going alone to greet them, but together with the Second Prince, so Herald thought it would be better to obey without causing any trouble and sent a reply to the Emperor saying he would do so.

“It’s been hard to see my little brother lately.”

It was right after that Hamilton came to see him. Although there was dissatisfaction and worry in his gaze as he looked at Herald, Herald didn’t ask. Whatever his brother was worried about, it was surely an unnecessary concern. There was no need to ask.

“What is it?”

“This.”

Herald’s eyes narrowed when he saw the lavish golden envelope Hamilton held out. The Empress’s seal was clearly stamped on the sealing wax.

“I went to the Imperial Palace and met Her Majesty the Empress on my way out. She asked me to pass this on to you.”

“…”

After the Emperor, it was the Empress’s turn. Even without reading the letter, Herald felt like he knew what she had written to him about, so he pressed his throbbing temples tightly.

“It doesn’t seem to be to your liking.”

“Yeah. I already have a lot to do, and it’s a bit troublesome to be sought out from here and there.”

At the frank and straightforward answer, Hamilton chuckled and patted his shoulder.

“Even if it’s troublesome, what can you do? You have to go when Her Majesty the Empress summons you.”

“…”

The hand that had been rubbing around his eyes paused. Slowly pushing up his eyelids, Herald looked at his brother who was smiling compliantly for a moment and then nodded.