I hadn’t looked out the window of my room for the past few days.

After Aden left, Ludmila had mostly just slept in her room due to various matters.

The longest she had stayed was recently when she was stuck at her desk drafting the organizational restructuring plan. Other than that, she only stayed briefly.

So even when walking with Aden last night, she only thought he was escorting her to her quarters, unable to imagine that beautiful white plum trees would be planted at the end of the path he was leading her on.

The trees with beautiful white petals visible beyond the window.

Even when asked when they were planted, Aden just smiled quietly.

‘It’s late, but happy birthday.’

The tree full of white petals revealing itself amidst the lights dispelling the darkness was captured in Ludmila’s eyes.

It was a gift she had never received before.

Beautiful jewels and luxurious precious metals. Or dresses and paintings. Most gifts in the Empire were displays of wealth and prosperity.

At a glance, it seemed like a culture where the giver showed off and revealed their presence more than the receiver.

As such, lyrical gifts like flowers were generally not received.

That’s why Aden’s gift was even more wondrous and made her heart flutter. She never imagined she would receive a birthday gift here.

‘But, did I ever tell him my birthday?’

Ludmila had not easily revealed information or details about herself since coming here.

For fear that someone might recognize her, she hid everything except her name Ludmila.

Of course, that included information like her birthday as well.

So even though yesterday was her birthday, Ludmila kept her mouth shut.

She wasn’t the type to place much importance on birthdays to begin with. So she never expected to receive a gift like this.

When she received the white plum blossoms last time, she wondered if Aden knew it was her birthday, but quickly dismissed the thought.

It seemed too implausible at the time. But now that implausible scenario had become reality before her eyes.

A subtle feeling came over her in that moment.

Feeling embarrassed and flustered, she fidgeted with her hands and couldn’t even manage to thank Aden as he hurriedly left after being summoned by Salom.

Ludmila let out a low sigh and bit her lip lightly as she turned her head.

The now-familiar scenery and room. It had been over a month, approaching two months since she started staying here.

After that time passes, only half of her stay here will remain.

That meant the date of her departure from this place was drawing near, and at the same time, it meant she was one step closer to her revenge and survival.

But why did it feel so regretful?

She had desperately wished for time to pass quickly, even by just one day, but lately that felt regrettable.

How nice it would be if she could stay here just a little longer.

As Ludmila had such futile thoughts, her eyes sank quietly into darkness, entangled with complexity and heaviness.

“Then I’ll take care of it as discussed. Please rest well.”

Salom bowed his head and withdrew. When the door closed, the silence and tranquility that followed swept over Aden.

Having received reports immediately upon returning home, Aden removed the coat he hadn’t even taken off yet and let out a sigh before taking off all his upper garments.

His solid upper body revealed as the clothes came off. The scars and traces of stab wounds etched on that body were illuminated by the soft candlelight.

Aden headed straight for the bathroom, finished undressing, and sank deep into the bathtub.

Exhaling a slow sigh from his lips, he ran his wet hand through his hair and languidly opened his eyes.

‘I had so much I wanted to say to the Duke. But it was hard to see him, so I gave up. How fortunate that I got to see him like this?’

Toong-.

With the sound of water dripping into the tub, Jeffrey’s voice rose to mind and Aden’s eyes narrowed.

The meeting with him was unexpected from Aden’s perspective as well.

Everyone knew the relationship between the Imperial family and the Khan clan was hostile, but in reality it was even worse than it appeared on the surface.

The incident between his mother, Olua, and the Emperor made the relationship between the Empire and the Khan clan irreparable.

The current Emperor took his mother away as if seizing her, made her his plaything, and eventually sent her back along with Beressa.

Because of that incident, his mother took her own life and his father, unable to accept it, passed on the title to him and withdrew from family affairs.

The one who led a family to ruin was the current Emperor. And Jeffrey was the successor to that Emperor and his spitting image.

He and Aden were essentially like oil and water, unable to mix. Yet that man had shown himself.

‘I hear there seems to be some misunderstanding. Clear it up. Should we dwell on such trivial matters?’

With a smooth, annoying smile just like his father’s.

‘Was the regular inspection of Havertz this year? Every year it’s passed without any issues, so I believe this year will be the same.’

Regular inspection.

It was an annual event carried out under the pretext of oppressing the distant Khan clan, not knowing when they might reunite and revolt again.

Whether they were truly loyal to the Imperial family and Empire, whether they had increased their military beyond what was necessary. Whether they were plotting any actions to rebel against the Empire.

It was an act of nitpicking on small things to pressure and exhaust the other party.

If they failed here, there would be regular audits, irregular inspections, and even fines.

It was such a troublesome affair that Havertz would heavily bribe the inspectors who came here just to barely pass.

There were about 4-5 such inspections and audits of Havertz each year.

All of this was the Empire’s scheme to oppress Havertz, keep them from breaking free, and use them as pawns.

‘There’s a hunting competition next month. It seems Havertz hasn’t participated every year, but how about attending this year? Ah, of course it’s not mandatory. But I’d like it if the Duke could come.’

And using that as an excuse to summon him to the hunting competition was a despicable, filthy act.

Aden rose from his seat, gritting his teeth.

As if trying to wash away the filthy thoughts, Aden poured cold water all over his body, deep loathing in his eyes.

After a quick wash, Aden came out with only a towel covering his lower body. Letting out a long sigh at the hot air filling the room, he opened the window.

Cool wind rushed into the room, cooling his body and the room, and it felt like air was seeping into his stuffy head.

And a subtle fragrance was carried on that wind.

It was the scent of white plum blossoms.

“The fragrance wasn’t that strong.”

While not scentless, it shouldn’t have been noticeable from this far away.

Yet that scent flew in from a place not visible from his window and brushed his nose.

Revealing a presence he thought wasn’t there made him think of someone.

As that person’s image formed in his mind, a faint smile appeared on Aden’s lips.

The resolve to have a drink tonight that had filled him with unpleasantness just moments ago dissipated so easily it seemed pointless.

Smiling languidly, Aden turned and walked toward his desk.

The organizational chart Salom had brought caught his eye. It was part of the reason he had urgently sought him out.

While there were lacking areas, it was work he had been unable to do and had postponed until now.

A rather ideally composed restructuring plan was laid out before his eyes.

“I knew this would happen.”

He knew she wouldn’t stay still even if told to, so he left without saying much.

But upon returning, he ended up receiving an unexpected gift.

Who was giving a gift to whom? Aden neatly folded away his disappointment at not being able to properly celebrate Ludmila’s birthday due to meeting Jeffrey. It was in the past now.

Instead of reaching for the wine glass on the shelf, Aden turned, holding a cup of cold water.

The cool breeze carrying a subtle fragrance filled the room.

The commotion broke out early in the morning.

The disturbance that erupted while Aden, who had returned yesterday, was having breakfast with Ludmila ruined what should have been the peaceful start to the day.

“It’s Barhan.”

Salom, who had left the dining room saying he would find out what was going on, returned and reported quietly.

Barhan was the person in charge of exporting lumber.

At the familiar name, Ludmila turned her head, and Salom gave her a gentle smile before shifting his gaze to Aden.

“He says he has something urgent to tell you.”

“Tell him I’ll schedule a meeting after the meal is over.”

“Well… he says it’s a very urgent matter. He knows it’s rude, but he’s causing a disturbance saying he must see you now.”

Aden furrowed his brow at Salom’s words. Unlike with other lords, it wasn’t particularly difficult to see Aden here.

He could be seen just by asking in advance. There was no need to cause a commotion like this or insist forcefully.

Ludmila, who had noticed this while staying here, also tilted her head, finding Barhan’s attitude strange.

“Just because he’s causing a disturbance, do I have any reason to comply with his demands?”

“That’s…”

“Even if he’s an official of the castle, procedures must be followed. We’re not casual acquaintances meeting on the street. Tell him to follow proper procedures if he wants to handle official business.”

“…Understood.”

As expected. Aden valued principles at times like this.

The butler, knowing what answer would come, nodded without looking particularly surprised and turned around.

“But Aden. If he says he has something important to say, wouldn’t it be alright to call him in briefly to hear him out?”

It was then that Ludmila’s voice was heard. The butler grimaced at her angelic voice trying to persuade Aden.

No matter who she was, Aden was quite stubborn. That was putting it nicely – less charitably, he lacked flexibility.

So her suggestion would likely bear no fruit, unfortunately.

“If that’s the case… it wouldn’t be bad.”

“…Pardon?”

But words different from his thoughts flowed out.

Salom turned back in surprise as Aden nodded with an easy smile and jerked his chin toward him.

“Bring him in.”

It was the most surprising sight in Salom’s entire career as a butler.