As the sound of the door opening was heard, Kedilen rose from his seat and straightened his clothes.

Swallowing nervously, Kedilen turned towards the sound of approaching footsteps.

There stood Jeffrey, who had just entered his room. The handsome man with his usual smooth smile gave Kedilen a deep smile and extended his hand.

“I apologize for keeping you waiting, Marquis. I suddenly had some business to attend to. Please, sit down.”

“It’s alright, Your Highness. I don’t mind.”

“Nonsense.”

Jeffrey chuckled and lightly patted his shoulder.

It was quite a casual gesture, very different from the current Emperor’s dignified and weighty demeanor.

As Jeffrey took his seat, Kedilen swallowed and settled into his chair.

Without even removing his coat, Jeffrey immediately picked up his pen and leaned back in his chair, taking a moment.

In that brief silence, Kedilen quietly observed the Crown Prince. Even as Minister of Commerce, it was very difficult for Kedilen to have a private audience with the Crown Prince like this.

No, it would be more accurate to say that opportunities to see Jeffrey were extremely rare.

The Crown Prince was not only the head of the current parliament but also diligently preparing to succeed the throne as the leader of the Emperor’s direct inspection team in place of the Emperor.

On the other hand, although Kedilen was the Minister of Commerce, he was at the bottom of the upper ceremonial ranks. Even his title of Marquis held little meaning without backing.

While the Erdi Marquis family might be considered a great noble house and at the forefront of new nobility to others, his standing in the imperial court was not very broad.

As much as he had gained popularity among the imperial citizens to reach his current position, the dissatisfaction of those in power was also immense.

As a result, opportunities to sit face-to-face with Crown Prince Jeffrey like this were extremely rare.

“Come to think of it, I didn’t see you at General Sedrick’s retirement ceremony either. I heard you had already left by the time I arrived. I was told you had some matters to attend to.”

It was an unnecessary kindness from the Crown Prince to bring up past events.

Kedilen had been deeply angered that day by the insult he received from Aden and Ludmila’s pathetic behavior.

He gave an awkward smile and nodded slightly. Jeffrey stared at him for a moment before smiling broadly and adjusting his posture.

“I apologize. It seems I’ve brought up an unpleasant memory.”

“It’s fine. Please don’t worry about it.”

“The Marquis is quite broad-minded. To say ‘it’s fine’ so many times in this short conversation.”

Jeffrey crossed his legs and lifted the corners of his mouth as he looked at Kedilen, whose mouth had opened slightly.

He was quite an interesting man.

His abilities were not particularly outstanding, nor did he possess a charm that captivated people.

The only thing worth considering was his title. Even that was from a humble family that had been driven out to the provinces after losing power struggles in the capital in the past.

His eloquence, seemingly brilliant but hollow inside, would only work on the ignorant imperial citizens, and his appearance wasn’t particularly remarkable either.

His attire was decent enough, but it was just a carefully crafted facade.

He was a man who had risen to this position through timing and luck. Truly an unremarkable man.

‘Ah, I almost forgot about Ludmila.’

My beautiful half-sister with burning platinum blonde hair.

Marrying that supposedly insignificant illegitimate child was undoubtedly the greatest stroke of luck for the man before me.

If I had known Ludmila possessed such capabilities, I could have arranged an even more profitable marriage.

Kedilen, who married my half-sister, became the happiest and most fortunate man in the empire. Though it seemed that was no longer the case.

Jeffrey watched Kedilen carefully observing him and slightly twisted the corner of his mouth.

“These days, it seems there are many ears listening. It’s both amusing and saddening to see how they exaggerate and gossip about trivial matters.”

Jeffrey opened his cigar case, took one out, and neatly cut the end.

“Don’t you agree?”

“Pardon?”

“You’ve also been caught up in some unfortunate rumors recently. The rumor that you’ve been violent towards your wife, causing her to run away. Ha ha, isn’t it ridiculous?”

His eyes curved gently as he put the lit cigar to his lips.

“Even if she’s only half, your wife is still royalty. What madman would dare assault a member of the royal family? It’s nonsense.”

“……”

Jeffrey took a deep drag of the burning cigar and exhaled a long stream of smoke.

As the hazy smoke dispersed in the air, Jeffrey narrowed his eyes to observe the blurred figure of the man, and when their eyes met, he raised an eyebrow.

“…I would like to know why you summoned me.”

See that? He doesn’t intend to be mocked until the end, is that it?

Although momentarily displeased by his attempt to salvage his pitiful pride, Jeffrey’s lips curled into an even smoother smile.

With the cigar clenched between his lips, Jeffrey tilted his chin.

“The main point, certainly.”

After exhaling another long stream of smoke, Jeffrey raised his eyes.

“I want to help you.”

“Help… you say?”

“I hear your relationship with Duke Habertz is quite strained. I was told you were thoroughly angered after being insulted at General Sedrick’s retirement ceremony.”

Jeffrey leaned forward, maintaining unwavering eye contact.

“Not only that, but I hear he doesn’t hesitate to look down on you in both private and public settings. It seems you have a lot pent up against him. I’ll help you resolve that.”

He was a man whose pride exceeded his possessions.

For the sake of his honor and pride, he would eagerly welcome my proposal. Kedilen appeared to think for a moment before speaking briefly.

“May I ask what you want from me in return?”

Jeffrey chuckled as if he had expected this, and tilted his chin.

“I merely wish to teach that barbarian who has smeared the Marquis’s face a lesson about his place. I want nothing else from you.”

Jeffrey did not bother to hide his intentions.

Of course, he wasn’t telling everything, but all that mattered to this man was restoring his pride and returning the insult he received from Aden. Nothing else was important.

Kedilen bit his lip and paused for a moment before slowly raising his head.

“What would you have me do?”

An easy man. Could there be anyone easier to handle than this?

Jeffrey put the cigar back to his lips and crossed his legs. Adopting a posture that fully displayed the dignity of royalty and his innate arrogance, Jeffrey looked at Kedilen and smiled faintly.

“Participate in next month’s hunting competition.”

That would be enough – attending an event where anything could happen without seeming strange.

The two weeks passed quite peacefully. Although there were moments of complicated emotions upon receiving letters from Emma detailing her ordeals, fortunately, it seemed the matter had been resolved well.

In her letters, Emma said she had received help from Benjamin in the process of her escape.

Ludmila expressed her gratitude after hearing an explanation about this from Aden.

To be honest, Ludmila had thought she might lose Emma. It may have been cruel, but if she hadn’t been cold-hearted, she could have been in danger herself.

Moreover, even in that difficult and harsh situation, she had prepared a way out for Emma.

It was Emma who abandoned that and returned to danger. Above all, suspicions about Emma had not yet been cleared.

It wouldn’t have been strange no matter what situation arose. In any case, fortunately, the situation was resolved well, and no major incidents occurred afterward.

The time passing quietly without any particular events or accidents indicated that Ludmila’s time to leave this place was gradually approaching.

And as if to prove this, snow had now begun to fall even here in the Send Highlands.

Ludmila, who had returned from horseback riding with Beressa since morning, widened her eyes at the sight of the snow that had just begun to fall.

White snow covering the highlands. While blankly staring at the beautiful scene brought by this exotic landscape, the door opened and Aden appeared.

Ludmila, who had been looking up at the sky, lowered her gaze and smiled brightly at Aden as she dismounted from Rubik.

“Where are you going?”

Ludmila casually asked, noticing that Aden was wearing outdoor clothes rather than his usual attire. Aden nodded briefly and then jerked his chin towards Salom, who had come out behind him.

“I’m going to see the hawks.”

“Hawks?”

As Ludmila tilted her head, Aden smiled briefly.

“There’s a royal hunting festival in two weeks, I hear. I received orders to attend.”

At the mention of the hunting festival, Ludmila’s smiling expression gradually hardened.

Ludmila herself had attended the royal hunting festival a few times. Once as an illegitimate child, and then every year after marriage. She hadn’t experienced particularly good things each time.

It was called a hunting festival, but it was a place where the Emperor, Crown Prince, and those seeking to curry favor with them held sway.

A kind of game where dangerous beasts were released and then hunted.

That meant that anything could happen without seeming strange. In fact, people died every year from being attacked by beasts. Ludmila called it an execution ground.

“…Did Aden attend there every year too?”

Ludmila, who had attended every year, had never seen Aden participate. Why suddenly now? Aden, who had received his coat from Salom, shook his head.

“I received orders to participate this year.”

“Orders?”

“Jeffrey recommended it. Told me to participate.”

Jeffrey Gale.

The heir apparent to the empire and her half-brother. At the same time, the one who had abandoned her in a remote castle of the imperial palace.

What mattered to Jeffrey was the honor of the imperial family and his own authority. As he didn’t care much about Ludmila, an illegitimate child, she hadn’t met Jeffrey very often either.

But every time they met, she saw him only thinking about how to use her, so their relationship wasn’t particularly cordial.

“Well, we had various conversations and it ended up like that. Anyway, would you like to come see the hawks with me?”

Aden gently invited Ludmila, who was anxiously biting her lip as he gazed at her intently.

Her cheeks, flushed from the cold morning air, curled inward and then slowly relaxed.

“Yes, let’s go together.”

Aden gave a quietly approving smile to Ludmila, who had nodded briefly. As if to say that what she was worried about wouldn’t happen. It was also a smile like that of a mother deer watching her struggling fawn.