Crown Prince Ferus was immersed in his work after returning from the banquet.

There was much for him to handle in place of the Emperor, who was bedridden due to illness.

Perhaps because the Emperor’s proxy was a position that tested one’s abilities as an Emperor, the formalities and procedures were even more complex and strict than those of the actual Emperor.

Ferus moved his hand while keeping his eyes fixed on the documents.

Prince Vapor, sitting on the sofa opposite the office with a slightly anxious look, broached the subject.

“Elder brother, are you really thinking of divorcing those two?”

“Why are you suddenly bringing up that matter again?”

Prince Vapor scratched the back of his head awkwardly and avoided eye contact.

“No, just… It seems like those two are getting along quite well unexpectedly.”

“It only appears that way.”

“I’m worried that by stirring things up with talk of divorce when they’re getting along, we’ll only end up offending the Divine Dragon.”

“Do you think leaving them be will lead to a better result than divorcing them?”

Crown Prince Ferus’s hand stopped. He put down his quill pen irritably and ran his hand through his hair.

“That thing is a monster.”

“It’s a Divine Dragon, so of course it’s not human.”

“Have you ever thought about what it means for a non-human being to associate with humans, Vapor?”

“……”

“The Divine Dragon can kill us.”

“Ah,” Vapor laughed as if it was absurd.

“Elder brother, you’re being too extreme.”

“If we don’t consider and prepare for the worst, we cannot run a country. Vapor, you should know that as a member of the imperial family.”

Crown Prince Ferus had disliked Orbis from the beginning. Vapor thought it was because Orbis’s existence reminded his proud elder brother that there was a being above him.

In fact, Ferus disliked him because the Divine Dragon kept coming and going from the imperial palace. Vapor could understand that much.

But at some point, Ferus began to be wary of the Divine Dragon Orbis for another reason. It was probably from the time he started showing interest in Litania.

“To that monster, humans are just toys to play with for a while.”

“Even if we’re toys… she’s a princess of low birth anyway. Would it be a big problem even if something went wrong?”

“What do you think a dragon is?”

Ferus asked. Vapor rolled his eyes as if trying to come up with an answer.

“Uh, um… A supreme being?”

“From a dragon’s perspective, humans are no different from insects.”

The relationship between dragons and humans is like that between humans and ants.

It was impossible to form a true cooperative relationship, and it was even more impossible to understand each other by sharing hearts.

From the beginning, they were beings that could not and should not mix.

The unpleasant feeling that had been vaguely bothering him since hearing rumors of Orbis getting close to Litania reached its peak when the Emperor approved their marriage.

“But according to others who attended the banquet, they really seemed to be getting along well. They might even be in love.”

“Love?”

Ferus snorted.

“A dragon loving a human is like a human loving an ant.”

It might not be a lie that they love. They might indeed love. However.

“If you pet it saying it’s cute, it will die crushed under your finger.”

It’s not out of any malice. Rather, it’s closer to affection and care. But even with just a slight application of finger pressure, the ant is crushed to death.

“A dragon’s love is no different from a disaster.”

Ferus knew this well.

The scene of corpses strewn about that he always saw in his dreams.

It was the sight of Orbis mercilessly eliminating everything that Litania cast her gaze upon.

“It’s better for everyone to cut it off before it gets deeper.”

“…Is that so? They might lash out in anger instead.”

“That’s why we should secretly convey it only to Litania. The most important thing is to nullify the legal marriage status.”

He picked up his quill pen again.

Seeing the Crown Prince return to work with a stern expression, Vapor fiddled with his fingers for a moment, trying to choose his words, but deciding against it, he simply stood up.

As he approached the door to knock once, signaling his intention to leave, Ferus blurted out something else instead of a farewell.

“That way, other countries won’t pick fights with us either.”

The morning of the hunting festival dawned.

Litania and Orbis prepared to attend the hunting festival hosted by the imperial family.

‘This time I’ve got proper hunting attire instead of riding clothes.’

Litania shrugged her shoulders in satisfaction as she looked at herself in the mirror.

The hunting outfit she wore was a design that combined elegance and practicality. Based on a deep forest green, it had elaborate golden embroidery on the shoulders and sleeve ends.

‘Not too rugged, but not so flashy as to forget practicality.’

The outfit was slightly cinched below the chest with a belt to accentuate the waistline, and the bottom was a slim, straight design for ease of movement.

‘As expected of Raven. Even the hunting outfit is perfect.’

Litania planned to reward the raven-like tailor who had made great contributions to this spring’s festival once again when she returned.

‘Seeing that he likes eye dishes, he seems to have an interest in gourmet food… I don’t know why he likes such things, but I should ask Pepper to prepare some.’

At first, it felt a bit bizarre, but come to think of it, there are cases in the world where people eat animal intestines or brains. She wanted to respect the diverse tastes of her servants.

Litania braided her hair down neatly and fixed it, then inserted a small golden hairpin.

“Good, perfect!”

“What’s so perfect?”

The tent of the ladies’ waiting room was lifted, and Princess Herna entered.

Ugh. For a moment, Litania felt like the brioche she ate in the morning was coming back up, but she swallowed hard.

‘Nothing happened at the ballroom either. It’ll be fine.’

And now, mediocre provocations didn’t bother her at all.

There’s nothing more wasteful than trying to understand or persuade someone who pours out hatred for no reason.

The best response was to ignore it.

“Someone like you doesn’t suit Lord Orbis the Divine Dragon.”

“Oh, really? It seems you’re the one lacking in taste. Everyone at the ballroom was saying what a wonderful couple we make.”

No matter how much you envy, it doesn’t affect me at all.

…Implying this, she retorted, and Herna glared at Litania with a sharp look.

“How much trouble are you planning to cause at this hunting festival?”

“If you’re not cursing me before it’s even started, why don’t you keep such words to yourself?”

I’ve even practiced horseback riding, you know? I learned directly from Orbis?

Litania was about to shrug and boast, but thinking she might lose to Herna in riding skills, she kept her mouth shut.

“You seem to have enough free time to pick fights with people who are just minding their own business. Why don’t you focus on preparing for the hunting festival?”

“My preparations are always thorough. You should be the one to be careful. Don’t run into beasts or fall into traps like before.”

Is she really cursing me?

Litania was about to just leave, but feeling annoyed, she turned back and snapped at Herna.

“Try to have a better attitude. That’s why you have such bad luck.”

Although she didn’t know whether Herna actually had good or bad luck, she mocked her, implying that no matter how much she coveted Orbis, he was already her husband.

Sure enough, Herna’s face crumpled up.

It was strange that she showed such persistent malice when confronting her directly would only hurt herself.

‘To say it’s because she’s set up as a villain… isn’t it lacking in plausibility to display such unreasonable malice?’

Like the perverted Crown Prince Snow or the seemingly unhinged Vapor, for Litania, Herna was the most difficult being in the world to understand.

‘I don’t know why she lives like that.’

Litania shook her head vigorously to shake off the thoughts and headed to the hunting grounds.

At the hunting grounds, nobles were already gathered under the banners of each family.

Even the noble ladies who usually chatted while fanning themselves had their hair neatly tied up and wore comfortable hunting clothes, while the young gentlemen expecting fierce competition were in quite formal attire.

The fresh spring atmosphere had passed, and hot excitement and anticipation grew in its place.

“I heard that the Marquis and Marchioness of Aeternitas will also attend this spring’s hunting festival.”

“They came last year too, but left right away.”

“Last year, they didn’t come to attend the hunting festival.”

How will the Divine Dragon hunt?

Everyone knew the legend that dragons rule all the beasts of the world. However, opinions were divided on whether that legend was true.

“Normally, we would predict His Highness the Crown Prince’s victory, but it’s unfortunate that he’s absent this time.”

“You never know. The Marquis might catch the best game and set a new record.”

Crown Prince Ferus couldn’t attend the hunting festival as he was performing duties as the Emperor’s proxy.

“Come to think of it, last year…”

“It was suspended due to the search for missing persons. In the end, there was no winner that year.”

As the conversation went back and forth, it spread into gossip. Soon, talk about Litania also quickly became a topic. People whispered to each other about the incident at last year’s hunting festival.