Lloyd bitterly realized it on the day of the wedding banquet.

Without the protection of the Grand Duke’s family, he was nothing.

That day, after being unilaterally assaulted by the nobles, Lloyd walked from the Imperial Palace to the Grand Duke’s residence.

It was partly because the Grand Duke’s carriage had already left, and no one would give him a ride.

Lloyd was late, but he tried to admit his mistake and ask for forgiveness.

He didn’t dare to covet the successor position, and just wanted to be recognized as a member of the Grand Duke’s family.

When he finally arrived at the Grand Duke’s residence late at dawn, no one was there to welcome him.

‘I begged and begged.’

He desperately pleaded on his knees, which he had never knelt before anyone but the imperial family, on the dirty ground.

And it was in front of the main gate where others could see.

Lloyd begged to be forgiven just once.

If they couldn’t forgive him, he asked them to at least give him some money.

If he returned to the Hersher Duchy, it was clear that no one would accept him, so he would have to wander the streets like this.

How much time passed like that?

It was only after a day that Lloyd was finally able to meet the Grand Duke.

He appeared before Lloyd with a rather stern expression.

‘Until then, there was still hope.’

When the person he thought would never meet him appeared before his eyes, the hope that had completely disappeared rose a little.

No matter what, he thought the Grand Duke might pity his own child and help him.

But the Grand Duke thoroughly shattered that hope.

The Grand Duke informed Lloyd of all the crimes he had committed.

He revealed the various crimes Lloyd had committed, such as embezzlement of public funds, habitual assault, and harassment of women.

He exposed at once the things he had hidden out of concern that it would damage the authority and honor of the Grand Duke’s family.

Due to the Grand Duke’s announcement, Lloyd truly lost all places to go.

Finally, he went to the Hersher Duchy, but he was driven away with cold eyes by the people of the duchy.

“Do you know? I fervently prayed for a day like this to come.”

Escaping from the reminiscence, Lloyd saw reality again.

Aria was pushed against the wall with her neck strangled by his hand.

He had been watching for an opportunity for days. To take revenge on Aria somehow.

Finally, the opportunity came, and Lloyd hoped that she too would writhe in pain as he had suffered.

Until just now, she had resisted and said things to provoke him.

But perhaps she had no more strength to resist, Aria did not struggle.

Seeing her like that, Lloyd bit his lip.

“If it weren’t for you, everything would have been perfect.”

Now, in complete contrast to his glamorous past.

Thinking that this situation would not have happened if he had not pursued something futile from the beginning, irritation welled up.

The person closest to him during his heyday was none other than Clea.

But his eyes were blinded by something futile, and he had vainly let go of the person he should have cherished.

It was really absurd.

The woman who left his side was doing so well that she even took the position of successor to the Grand Duke’s family, while he lost everything and became a vagrant on the streets.

“If I kill you and take your head, she will be pleased too. Yes, she might even give me the position of her husband.”

“…You crazy bastard.”

Aria was dumbfounded upon hearing Lloyd’s words.

It was Lloyd who disliked Clea.

Lloyd was always filled with an inferiority complex seeing her always ahead of him.

Even if it wasn’t for Aria, their relationship would have fallen apart.

Even if someone forcibly maintained that relationship, in the end, it was clear that Clea would have ended her relationship with him.

‘Who would want to be with a man like this?’

A man with nothing to show for except his family background.

At least his face was tolerable, but even that was mediocre.

“The crazy one is you, Aria.”

On the other hand, when Aria denied his thoughts, Lloyd strangled her neck again with a fearsome force.

Until now, it was to torment her, but now he really wanted to kill her.

“So die now!”

At his strong force, Aria could not bear it any longer and pulled out a knife.

In an instant, time flowed slowly.

In a situation where even the view was blurred by the rain that began to fall again, Aria slashed Lloyd’s arm as it was.

“Argh!”

Aria, who escaped from Lloyd screaming, breathed heavily.

The rough breathing seemed to make the rainwater enter even her lungs.

But Aria quickly came to her senses and grasped the dropped knife.

“Y-you! Where the hell did you get that from!”

“Ha, where did your spirit from earlier go, Lloyd?”

Lloyd, clutching his cut arm, looked at Aria with trembling eyes.

Unlike earlier, Aria was looking down at him arrogantly with a relaxed demeanor.

In a situation where the tide had turned in an instant, Lloyd bit his lip.

“Lloyd, say it again. What will you do to me?”

Aria approached Lloyd with a smile.

It was a smile like a devil’s.

Lloyd’s mental strength gradually hit rock bottom.

Since he had received training from the knights, if he just put his mind to it, he could surely subdue Aria.

But the darkness that descended with the rain, the hot blood continuously flowing from his arm, and the throbbing pain completely paralyzed his reason.

“Die, Lloyd.”

“Aargh!”

She ran at full speed and stabbed Lloyd’s abdomen.

Stabbed without being able to resist, Lloyd rolled his eyes to look at Aria.

Aria’s expression held no emotion at all.

“It would have been better if it was like this from the beginning.”

Aria pulled out the knife, looking at Lloyd who had collapsed on the floor, completely drained of strength.

She narrowed her eyes at the dirtied knife.

Then, clicking her tongue at Lloyd, Aria immediately moved her feet.

Now was the opportunity, as people’s eyes had not yet reached here.

If she hurriedly left the place, it could be thought that he met his death at the hands of someone who held a grudge.

But unfortunately, there were witnesses.

“What the hell is that?”

“I wasn’t seeing things.”

“The, the young lady…”

The knights of the Hersher family who had followed her were watching this with shocked faces.

Lloyd already knew that the knights were by her side.

So he had driven them away as much as possible and come to a place where few people came, but they had finally found him.

At the very moment when Aria attacked Lloyd.

“He’s still alive. What should we do?”

Aria had already left the scene.

Although Lloyd was stabbed with a knife, it was not a fatal wound. Of course, if left unattended in this state, he would die.

The knights, shocked by what they had seen, pondered.

If it had been before, they would have somehow covered it up for Aria, but now it was different.

“For now, we’ll take him. We’ll leave the decision to His Grace. The rest of you, chase the young lady again.”

“Yes, sir.”

Unable to make a decision, they compromised by asking the duke in the end.

A feeling of unease remained in their hearts. Wondering if the young lady’s image they had known until now was a complete lie.

* * *

“The time is ripe.”

“Is that all you have to say as soon as you come?”

Odin reprimanded Admund who came to see him.

But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to talk, so the conversation continued.

“Soon, more noisy news will reach your ears.”

“You speak as if it’s someone else’s business.”

“It’s not my business, is it?”

Admund did not bother to deny Odin’s smile.

“The handling must be done cleanly without any trouble.”

“I have made arrangements for that part.”

“Then what is the reason you sought me out? You wouldn’t have made the precious trip just to inform me that you’re starting work.”

Admund immediately spoke to Odin, who seemed to already know what he was going to say.

“May I personally deal with Aria?”

Odin, who had been writing something, put down his pen upon hearing Admund’s words.

He looked at Admund.

“Are you saying you will personally execute the criminal?”

He asked if he had heard correctly.

Admund immediately answered Odin’s question.

“Yes, I am.”

“I cannot allow it.”

No matter how much of a crown prince he was, it was not good for him to directly execute a criminal.

It could have the opposite effect of instilling unnecessary fear in the nobles.

Odin did not want his successor to have a negative image.

But even so, he thought his son would not make such a request simply out of a desire for revenge.

‘There must be a good enough reason.’

If he was going to resolve it emotionally, he would have already done it in an instant without a word.

So Odin expressed it in a roundabout way.

“It can’t be done while the sun is up. …But even I wouldn’t know what happens in the middle of the night when I’m asleep.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Not when the sun is up, but in the dead of night.

Admund understood the implication that it was okay to commit the act as long as it was done in secret from people.

“Thank you.”

“Haha, I don’t know why I’m being thanked. I’m sure I never gave permission.”

That was a sufficient answer, so Admund nodded and tried to leave.

As he grabbed the doorknob, Admund suddenly had one thing he was curious about.

“I heard you obtained a wish from my wife.”

Admund spoke the word ‘wife’ with his own mouth confidently, without any shyness of a newlywed.

Seeing that, Odin answered yes, though dumbfounded.

“What kind of wish are you thinking of making?”

“I have no obligation to tell you that.”

Admund, who roughly guessed what rumor Odin would wish for, looked at him with a frown.

Odin was enjoying himself.

Admund clicked his tongue inwardly but left the place without a word as he was in a position to receive help.

After Admund left like that, Odin chuckled and said,

“You’ll find out soon anyway, why are you so impatient?”