After finishing a modest meal with Admund, Odin headed to the garden.

The garden he frequently used was a place where no one except himself and his knight guards could enter.

Therefore, he enjoyed a quiet walk with peace of mind.

However, it wasn’t long before someone entered his field of vision.

“There’s someone over there.”

Odin felt glad about this situation after such a long time.

It had been decades since he inherited the throne, and it had been a long time since someone came to assassinate him so blatantly.

He was contemplating how to deal with the prey that had entered his hunting ground when he saw who it was in the moonlight and briefly put aside his thoughts.

“How about we capture them?”

The knights guarding him seemed to have grasped the situation and suggested capturing the intruder. But Odin shook his head.

“Everyone, withdraw.”

“But Your Majesty.”

At the order to withdraw, the knights insisted that they should never relax their guard.

In these turbulent times, who knows what could happen and where.

With the Empress away on vacation, there were only two members of the imperial family left in the palace, making them targets for the nobles’ assassins.

They tried to ask him to reconsider, but Odin answered firmly.

“Do not make me repeat myself.”

With a powerful warning in his voice, the knights were overwhelmed by Odin’s aura.

They soon retreated, unable to change Odin’s mind.

Left alone, he saw the person wandering around.

“So, that’s the child who will become my daughter-in-law.”

Odin raised the corners of his mouth as he looked at the child who had come rolling in without any effort to meet her.

“But how did she get in here? There should have been guards.”

Odin briefly examined his appearance.

He wanted to disguise himself for a moment, lest he surprise her if he went to meet her as he was.

* * *

“I don’t know where I am.”

Clea had entered the imperial palace a few times in her own body.

Nobles say that just entering the palace is an honor, but Clea honestly found it hard to sympathize.

‘It’s just visiting a splendid place.’

Those cumbersome and dazzlingly splendid things felt like an eyesore to her.

Since she hadn’t come here of her own will in the first place, she always chose to kill time rather than wander around the palace.

Clea sat in a secluded terrace spot, contrasting with the palace’s splendor, praying for this cumbersome time to pass quickly.

Usually, there were never people around Clea.

The people in splendid places didn’t hide their mockery and showed it openly.

That appearance seemed to distinguish the gap between where she was and where they were.

‘It was actually too comfortable for me.’

On that day, a person appeared before her eyes.

Despite being the most outstanding presence amidst the disturbing sparkle, his appearance was modest and didn’t stimulate Clea.

Clea recalled that moment.

A person who would become an existence like brilliant light, but whose dark shade, like his hair, could hide his appearance as much as needed.

That was the kind of person Clea thought Admund Wilhelm was.

She liked his dark appearance, which seemed unsuitable for a male protagonist.

Perhaps she could be fascinated by that darkness because she hadn’t yet encountered a being of light.

“Admund.”

“Do I look like Admund to you?”

“…I apologize. I mistook you for someone else.”

She felt someone approaching her and turned her head towards the presence.

There stood a person bathed in moonlight.

Clea mistook the person standing in front of her for Admund.

It was partly because it had become completely dark around, but also because the person standing before her looked so much like Admund.

Although the person wasn’t Admund, Clea was still pleased with the situation.

“I’m sorry, but could you tell me where this is?”

“Where else could it be? It’s the imperial palace.”

“I’m asking for the exact location.”

“Haha, is that so?”

Odin inwardly regretted sending away the knights.

He was curious about how they would react to hear her speaking to him like this.

But on the other hand, he was pleased that she seemed to have fallen completely for his disguise.

It wasn’t that Clea didn’t recognize Odin’s face.

How could anyone who had attended even one imperial banquet not know his face?

He was such a memorable man that it was hard to forget him once seen.

Like others, it was difficult for him to avoid the passage of time, so wrinkles appeared and his hair turned white, but Odin’s presence was still extraordinary.

Yet Clea didn’t recognize Odin when she faced him.

She failed to recognize him due to Odin’s skilled disguise technique, which he had learned to avoid the assassins who often threatened him in his younger days.

Odin felt joy in proving that his skills hadn’t rusted.

As such conversations were rare except with the Empress, he wanted to talk more with Clea.

Of course, if others had acted like Clea, their heads would have rolled right there.

“Unfortunately, this is a place where only the imperial family can enter and leave. Why are you here?”

If today’s events became known, Admund might hide her away completely afterward.

So Odin wanted to converse with her for longer.

On the other hand, Clea frowned at Odin, who wasn’t properly answering her question.

“I was invited but got lost.”

“Are you truly an invited guest?”

“And how are you in a place where only the imperial family can enter and leave?”

Clea was honestly fearless.

For her, things like the emperor and the imperial family were all irrelevant to her life.

But Odin, who rather liked this fearless attitude, answered with a smile.

“I am the one who guards this place. Therefore, there is no one who can punish me for being here.”

Clea nodded in agreement with the plausible explanation and looked around.

“It’s a beautiful place.”

“Yes, it’s a space the Emperor and Empress love.”

“Even if there are only two of them, is it alright to omit ‘Your Majesty’?”

“What does it matter? It’s just the two of us here.”

He had many things he wanted to talk about.

He planned to ask one by one after completely hiding his identity.

But unfortunately, Odin couldn’t enjoy it for long due to one being who quickly noticed her absence.

“Clea!”

“Your Highness.”

Admund, seeing her presence from afar, was running quickly towards her.

Odin smiled at the scene.

“Well, we’ll have to continue our conversation another time.”

“Will there be a chance to talk? I don’t think we’ll meet again in the future.”

“That’s just your opinion.”

He never thought he’d see Admund, famous for his unwavering demeanor, calling someone’s name while running.

Odin didn’t want to face Admund here.

He felt it would be a shame to reveal his identity yet, not knowing what conversation might ensue if they encountered each other here.

Although he met Clea in an unexpected situation, her first impression was very striking.

Despite being disguised as an unremarkable palace servant, she continued the conversation without disregard.

She exuded a completely different atmosphere from others he had encountered so far.

The atmosphere of a person without attachment to anything.

Having finished that thought, Odin decided to move away from the spot.

Expecting this not to be their last meeting, he looked forward to talking again next time.

Clea watched Odin moving away, then turned her gaze to Admund, who had suddenly arrived right in front of her.

“You didn’t need to run here. I wasn’t going to run away.”

“If leaving the Crown Prince’s palace isn’t running away, then what is it?”

“I just got lost, that’s all.”

Admund swallowed a sigh at her confident attitude.

Satisfied first that Clea was safe, he looked around.

“Who were you with?”

Admund was anxious, having seen her with someone as he approached.

He worried if someone might try to harm her.

Clea, grateful for Admund’s concern, relayed exactly what she had just heard.

“He said he was the guardian of this place.”

“The guardian of this place? Was there such a person? More importantly, you weren’t harmed in any way, were you?”

Beads of sweat were flowing from the tip of his chin, probably from running continuously.

Clea took out a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped his sweat.

“Do you think I would quietly allow myself to be harmed?”

“I think you would. Worrying that I might be troubled.”

Hearing Admund’s answer, she was dumbfounded.

But she also recalled her past actions and realized his words weren’t entirely wrong.

There were days when she just endured approaching harassment without responding.

“I won’t do that anymore.”

“Can I believe those words?”

“Anyway, you’ll come find me like this, won’t you?”

After wiping off all the sweat, Clea took Admund’s hand.

Admund was momentarily surprised by the small hand holding his and the warmth felt from it.

Her hand, emitting a cold chill, was stealing Admund’s warmth.

However, Admund didn’t let go of that hand, but rather grasped it tighter and said,

“Yes, I’ll find you. Because you’re already my person.”

‘Who is whose person?’

Clea smiled upon hearing those words.

No matter what he said, she felt bitter knowing that the person who would end up with him was none other than Aria.

Currently, Aria Hersher was the only candidate for Crown Princess.

This was partly because among the unmarried noblewomen, Aria was the only one close to his age, but also largely because many ladies had given up due to their relationship continuing from the academy.

‘In the end, I’ll be the one to abandon you.’

Clea changed her thinking.

‘So it shouldn’t be that I’m yours, but that you’re mine.’

Then she wouldn’t feel any pain no matter when she abandoned him.

Foreseeing the future, she was still grateful to Admund, who had searched everywhere to find her.

Thinking he wouldn’t understand if she didn’t express her feelings, she leaned on Admund’s shoulder and whispered,

“Thank you for coming to find me. If it weren’t for Admund, I would have kept wandering in the wrong places.”

Hearing those words, Admund chuckled and replied,

“So don’t think about leaving my side, Clea.”

Clea hoped for the same in response to Admund’s answer.

Soon after, they safely returned to the Crown Prince’s palace.