“D-don’t do this! I don’t know where the Duke is!”

Lloyd, dragged out of the banquet hall by a group, was trembling like a rain-soaked puppy as he looked at the people.

He could not understand at all why he was receiving such treatment.

He kept answering that he didn’t know, but the people wouldn’t let him go.

Rather, seeing Lloyd’s reaction, people laughed at him with incredulous faces.

“Don’t do this? Lloyd, think about it. You always did this to people weaker than you.”

At someone’s familiar words, Lloyd bit his lip.

In the days when he lived a glamorous life as the heir to the Grand Duke’s family, he mercilessly tormented those who were targeted by him.

People who got close to Aria, people who were jealous of Aria, and people he didn’t like, etc.

He didn’t hesitate to make up various excuses to drag that person to a secluded place and torment them.

Until then, he had been looking down on people, relying only on his family’s status.

But now it was different.

“Come to think of it, why are you standing so normally?”

“W-what are you saying… Argh!”

“Yeah, now that’s more like it.”

Like the people he had bullied before, Lloyd was made to fall face down on the ground.

His once proud and dignified appearance in front of others was nowhere to be seen.

Lloyd couldn’t believe the humiliation he was experiencing.

“Why are you doing this to me!”

He shouted, still unable to understand why he had to receive such treatment.

At his behavior, people were now wearing expressions of being fed up.

“Lloyd, we don’t exactly enjoy tormenting you like this either.”

Someone approached him, who was lying face down pathetically, and pointed their index finger.

“So just tell us one thing, Lloyd.”

Just one thing.

Lloyd swallowed, feeling like he knew what that one thing was.

If he answered their question, he could be released from this place. But Lloyd could only feel frustrated.

“The Duke and Duchess Hersher.”

As expected, it was about the whereabouts of the Duke and Duchess that they had been asking about.

“Just tell us where they are. Then we’ll let you go from here.”

This time there was no sign of laughter like before.

As if they felt time was precious now, they looked at Lloyd coldly.

Seeing their expressions, tears welled up in Lloyd’s eyes.

He wanted to tell them too. If he gave the answer they wanted, he could be freed from this current pain.

Although that act might be betraying Aria, his own safety came first now.

But contrary to his feelings, he couldn’t answer.

Lloyd truly did not know where the Duke and Duchess Hersher were at the moment.

If he had known, he would have answered long ago and fled from these people.

“Haha, I said we’d let you go if you tell us?”

Meanwhile, they knew something Lloyd didn’t.

From the beginning, they didn’t particularly want Lloyd’s answer.

It was an opportunity to vent the frustrations they had built up against him all this time.

“Speak, Lloyd. Where are the Duke and Duchess?”

Lloyd held his breath at the cold glaring gaze.

With no weapon at hand, he grasped the dirt on the ground.

“Agh! What are you doing!”

“Grab him so he can’t escape!”

“Haa, haa!”

Lloyd threw dirt in the face of the closest person and got up to run away.

Despite having entered and exited the Imperial Palace countless times in his life, he lost his way in the confusing situation with the setting sun.

“He couldn’t have gone far, catch him!”

At the voices of those chasing after him, Lloyd had no choice but to keep running.

He wanted to ask for help if anyone was around, but the surroundings were quiet as everyone seemed to be enjoying the banquet.

Uncomfortable attire for running, psychological pressure, an ankle that started hurting as if he had twisted it midway, etc.

Struggling with various factors, Lloyd finally tripped over a small stone and fell ungracefully.

“Ugh, why am I in such a state…”

He tried to get up hurriedly. The people could catch up at any moment.

But his body wouldn’t listen due to fear. The pain in his ankle was also getting worse.

As he was at a loss for what to do, he heard someone’s calm footsteps approaching.

‘Have they caught up already?’

Lloyd turned his gaze with a fearful face.

“You look pathetic, Lloyd.”

Whether it was fortunate or the worst possible outcome,

The person who came into Lloyd’s view was not one of the people chasing him.

“Clea.”

It was none other than Clea, dressed in a pure white dress.

* * *

Clea, who had come out to cool her head from the heated atmosphere of the banquet hall, unexpectedly encountered an unexpected sight.

Clea laughed as she looked at Lloyd in front of her.

The one who once looked down on her arrogantly was now trembling in fear.

‘He’s quite skilled. To escape from that crowd.’

The last time she saw him, there were quite a number of people around him.

She thought he would be completely tattered by now, but he was in a surprisingly decent state.

His clothes were covered in dirt from rolling somewhere, and he seemed to have injured his leg as he couldn’t get up from his fallen position, but in her eyes, this was considered relatively decent.

“Still haven’t found him?”

“He couldn’t have gone far. Search thoroughly!”

Voices of people could be heard from afar.

She knew who they were looking for.

‘He probably can’t go far even if left alone like this anyway.’

She glanced at Lloyd once.

There was no way he hadn’t heard what she had heard.

Yet seeing him unable to run away, Clea thought it might be fine to just leave him be.

They would find him soon anyway.

She didn’t want to dirty her hands unnecessarily since they would find him on their own anyway.

So she turned to go back to the banquet hall.

“What is this?”

That was until the man in front of her desperately grabbed her ankle.

“Please, I beg you.”

Meanwhile, Lloyd completely abandoned his pride and clung to Clea.

There was anger in the voices of the people looking for him. If he got caught this time, he truly didn’t know what kind of fate awaited him.

He thought only Clea in front of him could save him now.

He didn’t want to admit it, but faced with the undeniable reality, he begged desperately.

“I beg you like this. Please save me.”

“…Hah.”

“I was wrong. I was wrong, so please.”

She still felt rage rising when she looked at him.

The one who had taken everything from her.

At the same time, the one who had betrayed her after swearing lifelong love and gone to Admund.

She felt very resentful and angry at her who was looking down on him as if he was pathetic even now.

‘But I have no choice now. To survive.’

However, his desire to live was stronger, so he put everything down.

“Please save me just this once.”

Meanwhile, Clea found it absurd watching this.

His begging her to save him was truly shameless.

She quietly approached him and asked.

“Why should I save you?”

The composure that only a victor could show.

Lloyd spoke while trying hard to hide his resentful feelings.

“I’ll quietly disappear as you wish.”

“Hmm.”

“I won’t act like before either. No, I’ll never appear in front of you again. So please, I beg you.”

Clea thought it was good that she had tried to detach Admund who wanted to come out with her.

“Please listen just once, considering our past relationship.”

If Admund had heard this statement, she could clearly imagine how he would have reacted.

“Why are you bringing up our past while asking me to save you?”

“Clea?”

If he really wanted help, he shouldn’t have said those words.

Clea’s heart turned cold.

“Ever since I got engaged to you, my life has been nothing but darkness.”

“You liked me. You loved me.”

When will he ever come to his senses?

Watching him spout any words just to save himself, she truly felt exasperated.

Clea smiled coldly and said.

“I might have liked you, and I might have loved you. But Lloyd, that’s all in the past.”

All in the past.

Hearing those words, Lloyd looked at Clea with wide eyes.

“If you had behaved well as my fiancé, surely we would have become a good match. But you didn’t, and you always chose Aria over me.”

The current situation was all brought about by his own actions.

Now that he’s pretending to repent and asking for mercy, was there any reason to listen?

“There he is!”

At that moment, someone shouted towards this direction.

Lloyd grasped Clea’s ankle even tighter with a terrified face.

“I’m sorry, Clea. I’m really sorry.”

Repeatedly muttering apologies, he looked somewhat broken.

Whether those apologies were words spoken to try and change her mind in an attempt to survive somehow, or words spoken to try and buy time, that was unknown.

But Clea had no intention of sparing any more time for him, so she pushed away his hand gripping her ankle.

“Go find Aria that you desired so much. Who knows? She might appear like a miracle and help you.”

With those final words telling him to cling to Aria as he always had, she turned her back.

“No, no. I’ll only look at you now, so please, please don’t leave my side!”

As familiar faces gradually gathered, Lloyd rambled with an anxious face.

He begged earnestly again and again, but nothing changed.

“Clea, Clea!”

She heard him calling her name desperately from behind, but it wasn’t even worth responding to, so Clea completely ignored it and moved her steps.

“We wondered where you were, but you were in a place like this.”

The group searching for Lloyd finally approached him.

“Aaaargh!”

Clea smiled at his ensuing scream.

‘Well then, I hope you have a good time, Lloyd.’