The Crown Prince’s question was very concise. That made it even more intimidating.

As he met the unwavering gaze, Dexter could clearly understand why he had been summoned.

Ludmila Perez.

The purpose was the illegitimate child of the imperial family who had caused a stir in the empire and disappeared, and the lady of the Erdi Marquis family.

Biting his lip and swallowing a sigh, he blamed himself.

He should have anticipated that the Crown Prince’s purpose in summoning him could be about the Marchioness.

Focused only on recent articles and the Crown Prince, he had failed to consider the past articles that had sold the hottest.

Wiping away the sweat that wouldn’t stop flowing from his palms, Dexter knew that the longer the silence dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for him.

But he didn’t know what to say. However, at some point, curiosity took over instead.

Did he really need to be this nervous? All he had done was publish the infertility article Ludmila had requested and tacitly allow her escape at the time.

That was all.

Moreover, he didn’t know Ludmila’s whereabouts either.

Their last meeting was when she left the capital, promising to repay the favor she owed him someday.

He didn’t know where Ludmila had gone.

“You seem deep in thought.”

What snapped him out of his reverie was Jeffrey’s voice, accompanied by a soft chuckle.

Raising his head, Dexter let out a quiet gasp, as if realizing before whom he had been keeping silent.

“Just answer truthfully. If you know, say you know. If you don’t, say you don’t. There’s no need to lie.”

Though the tone was gentle, as if trying to soothe him, it ultimately meant that lying would not be tolerated.

Dexter licked his dry lips and dropped his tense shoulders. I haven’t done anything wrong.

Reminding himself of this fact, he calmly began to speak.

“I apologize, Your Highness. I don’t know where the Marchioness has gone either. The information I have is only what I’ve gathered myself, not received from the Marchioness.”

“Is that so.”

Seeing the monotonous smile and single nod, Dexter shook his head with an apologetic expression.

“I’ve already been asked about the Marchioness’s whereabouts several times by others and Marquis Erdi, and my answer has always been the same.”

“That you don’t know her location, I see.”

Dexter nodded and gauged the Crown Prince’s reaction.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to be of help to Your Highness, but I couldn’t. Please forgive me.”

“Forgiveness? It’s alright. I feel a bit uneasy that I might have spoken too forcefully. I have no intention of causing you any disadvantage, so please don’t worry about that.”

Jeffrey smiled and stood up. Smoothing out his wrinkled clothes, he stared blankly at the curtained window.

“Do you know? Ludmila used to attend the eve festival every time after her marriage. Now that there’s no one who takes her presence here for granted, it feels somewhat empty.”

“You must be greatly distressed, Your Highness.”

“Yes, that’s right. If there was a problem, she should have at least contacted me. I’m angry at my sister who disappeared without a word, and I’m ashamed of myself for not understanding her feelings.”

Jeffrey turned his head, still wearing that smooth smile.

Too natural to the point of seeming artificial, that smile felt eerie to Dexter, who swallowed hard.

Jeffrey slowly approached and placed his hand on Dexter’s shoulder.

“If you pity me, I would be grateful if you could inform me as soon as you hear any information about Ludmila. It seems you know more about her than I do and are closer to her…”

Trailing off, Jeffrey gently closed his eyes and applied pressure to his hand.

As the expensive fabric slowly crumpled, Dexter’s face twisted slightly.

The more pressure was applied, the more intense pain Dexter felt, and soon his mouth opened.

“Please, help me.”

Just as a scream of pain was about to escape his open mouth, the pressure suddenly disappeared.

As the hand lifted and the pain subsided, he could feel his heart pounding violently. Dexter swallowed and nodded.

Seemingly satisfied with the response, Jeffrey nodded once vertically and turned around.

“Then I’ll be going now. It would be troublesome to be late for the eve festival. Ah, I’ll tell the servant to escort you comfortably to your mansion, so I hope you have a good night.”

With those final words, Jeffrey turned and disappeared through the door. Until the opened door closed, Dexter, who had been watching, slowly gripped his own shoulder.

The heat and pain that remained there were still vividly pounding his heart.

The Crown Prince’s appearance was always splendid. Making his appearance only towards the end of the eve festival, he captured everyone’s attention.

After dancing the first dance with Ruby, the noble daughter of Duke Celano who would become his Crown Princess, amidst the pouring gazes, he headed towards Aden, who was tilting his wine glass without mingling with the crowd.

The nobles who had been waiting for a chance to speak with Jeffrey let out sighs of disappointment as they watched him approach Aden.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey, who had reached Aden, flashed a smooth smile at the gaze that turned to him.

“So, how do you like your first eve festival? I instructed the chef to prepare Khan cuisine, trying to be considerate of the Duke.”

He rolled his eyes diagonally to examine the plate that Aden seemed to have touched just moments ago.

Untouched pickled lamb and dishes devoid of any flavor were placed there.

“Did it suit your taste?”

Aden was the only one eating such dishes here.

At a glance, the dishes seemed to have been made with the intention of being considerate to him, but in the end, it was to insult him.

A deep smile spread across Jeffrey’s lips, not bothering to deny the underlying purpose.

“…The menu was fine.”

As if mocking the nobles who had been glancing with contempt, calling it the loathsome food of barbarians, Aden pierced the lamb with his fork and pushed it into his mouth.

Next came the high-quality grape wine from the imperial family and the famous cheese from the empire.

Jeffrey’s thick eyebrows twitched at the sight of Aden chewing and swallowing as if to show off.

“If I had known such dishes would be served often, I would have attended every time. I regret not having attended until now.”

“Is that so? If the Duke wishes, I’ll instruct them to prepare dishes for you every time you attend.”

“I appreciate your words, but that won’t be necessary.”

Aden twisted the corner of his mouth after sucking the cheese crumbs stuck to his hand directly into his mouth.

“The menu was fine, but either the chef’s skills were lacking or the dishes didn’t quite suit my taste. The meat was dried out, the wine was cloudy, and the soup had an unpleasant smell that stung my nose, probably from using imperial spices, making it inedible.”

“Oh my, is that so?”

Aden nodded briefly, wiped the seasoning on his hands with a fancy napkin, then turned around holding his wine.

“It seems the chef might not be well-versed in Khan cuisine.”

“We tried to be considerate, but it seems it fell a bit short. I’m sorry, Duke.”

“Your Highness needn’t apologize. The empire’s attitude towards the Khan people is always the same, so it wasn’t surprising.”

The way he continued speaking with a slight smile was no different from the restrained nobles of the empire.

However, the attitude he showed was nothing but uncivilized and rude, unlike that of a noble.

Finally understanding what this man was trying to show, Jeffrey let out a hollow laugh.

Clear defiance.

This kind of rebellion was unfamiliar to Jeffrey.

Even those who opposed him usually tried not to lose their noble manners on the surface.

“I’ll tell them to be more attentive next time.”

“Please do so.”

With those final words, Aden drained the high-quality wine he was holding, his lips glistening as if stained with blood.

Jeffrey narrowed his eyes at the sight, but soon raised his downcast eyes and smiled faintly.

“Ah, by the way, are you well prepared for tomorrow’s hunting competition? Everyone is nervous about your participation. There’s a lot of speculation that as the master of the Khan people who lived in the wild, you must possess tremendous hunting skills. What do you think?”

“I appreciate the expectations, but as you know, I’m not very proficient with guns, so it might be difficult to achieve satisfactory results. Rather, I’m worried.”

“Worried?”

As Jeffrey tilted his head with a smile, Aden lowered the glass he was holding and let out a small laugh.

“I’m worried about catching the wrong thing while trying to catch the game.”

“…”

“I hear that anything can happen at a hunting competition. Although it shouldn’t happen, the thought that it might makes me nervous.”

Was that upturned corner of his mouth really that of a nervous person? Jeffrey stared blankly at the glass in his hand.

The red wine in the glass somehow felt as nauseating as blood.

To him, the regular inspection was like a hunting competition where he held a tight leash. He wasn’t stupid enough not to know who the prey was.

Well, it didn’t matter even if he knew. The hunting competition was ultimately Jeffrey’s field.

It wouldn’t be difficult to hunt down one Aden there.

In the end, what Jeffrey wanted was just one thing.

“You don’t need to worry. Even if such a thing happens, I’ll step in to prevent it.”

Aden’s death.

The stage for that was already prepared.

“Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Jeffrey bid his final farewell to Aden’s golden eyes fixed on him, then turned away.