“Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

“If you’re uncomfortable, please let us know anytime.”

‘More than anything, I wish they would be a bit quieter.’

How many tens of minutes had they been talking now?

Clea glanced at the maids whispering noisily in front of her.

No matter how many times she said she was fine, their barrage of questions didn’t end.

Clea was flustered as a situation she never expected had unfolded.

‘It seems they don’t dislike me.’

Honestly, this was the part she had been most worried about.

Admund seemed unbothered when he saw her, but others’ gazes were different.

While some, like Oberon, burned with hostility just from meeting her eyes, others, like Steve, mocked her.

She should have considered Admund’s type to be a very special case. That’s why she felt uncomfortable when he said he would assign other people to her.

She didn’t want to receive such gazes here either.

Rather than being anxious, it seemed bothersome to endure such looks.

But the situation that unfolded before her eyes was the opposite of what she had expected.

“You don’t look well.”

“That’s right. How about raising the room temperature……”

“It’s distracting, stop. Stop it.”

She felt extreme fatigue from the barrage of questions from the people in front of her.

She realized that while prickly gazes were annoying, excessive care was also bothersome.

At the same time, Clea was suspicious.

Were these really Admund’s people?

Or were they people Admund had assigned to torment her?

Clea, who had been harboring petty suspicions, soon rubbed her face dry.

“I’m not sick. So you don’t need to worry.”

“Oberon said that you might say you’re not sick but be suffering inside.”

‘Ah, why on earth has that person changed so much?’

Among those who had changed recently, Oberon was the one who gave her the strongest sense of discomfort.

Since that day, after seeing her cough up blood, she felt his attitude had become cautious.

Even the gaze that had been watching for an opportunity to drive her out somehow had completely disappeared.

‘I’ll have to caution him later.’

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before Admund knew exactly about her physical condition. She gave a bitter smile.

‘I wonder if it’s inevitable for me to be like this, not knowing how long it’s been since I received concern.’

Clea sighed and imagined what Admund might be doing right now.

Seeing that he had assigned other people to her, it seemed he had gone somewhere.

However, Clea found it difficult to guess where he might have gone.

‘Surely he wouldn’t recklessly go to Duke Percy’s residence because of me.’

Thinking that no matter what, he surely wouldn’t have done that, she held back the laughter that was about to burst out and lay back down on the bed.

She thought that if she just rested quietly like this, her physical condition would naturally improve.

But there was an aspect of Admund that Clea didn’t know.

That was, he absolutely wouldn’t let it slide if someone touched his people.

Especially, what she overlooked was that Clea had become the most precious person to him.

“Young lady, you shouldn’t lie down right after eating something.”

“That’s right. You might get esophagitis that way.”

“Please just leave me alone.”

“We can’t do that, young lady.”

But right now, what bothered her most were the maids Admund had left in charge.

* * *

Lloyd returned to the Percy mansion only when the sun began to set, after wandering around since leaving the imperial palace.

Although Aria had asked him several times to talk together, he refused. At least now, Lloyd wasn’t in the mood to have a conversation with her.

‘What should I do?’

He bit his nails.

Currently, his head was filled with thoughts of Clea.

Since when had she been so ill?

Suddenly wondering if she had a chronic illness, Lloyd made plans to visit the Odoi family early tomorrow morning.

At least the two of them were family, so they should know well about her.

‘I need to get Clea out of there.’

At the same time, he pondered. How could he get Clea out of the Crown Prince’s Palace?

It greatly bothered Lloyd that she continued to stay at the Crown Prince’s Palace.

If she were staying at the Odoi family mansion instead, he could at least visit her anytime to ask for forgiveness.

But currently, Clea was staying at the palace, specifically in the residence of Admund, who held the second most power in the empire after the emperor.

Not only could he not enter freely despite being a close friend, but it was even more difficult to visit given their current relationship.

‘Did I really do something so wrong?’

Lloyd reflected on his situation.

Although he had neglected her, he didn’t realize he had done something so wrong that she would say she never wanted to see him again.

He tried to make excuses that there was no one around to teach him that, but.

In reality, he hadn’t even tried to understand the pain she must have gone through.

Even though it was clearly a situation where he couldn’t even make excuses, he blamed others.

‘Admund, if only you hadn’t touched Clea in the first place.’

Admund and Lloyd had been close since childhood.

A relationship that their parents had somehow tried to form.

The two were the man who would become the emperor of the empire and the man who would lead the duchy by his side.

The adults thought it would be good if the two became close from a young age. The children, understanding the adults’ intentions, formed a better relationship than others.

Although they weren’t as close as brothers, they respected each other, prioritized each other, and promised never to betray each other.

Lloyd felt a great sense of betrayal that Admund, who had been like that, had done such a thing with his fiancée.

How on earth should he resolve this situation?

Lloyd grabbed his aching head and entered the mansion.

“You’re coming back now?”

“Why are you here?”

However, Lloyd’s day was not yet over.

Lloyd frowned as he saw Admund in the reception room and asked.

Admund looked down at Lloyd like that and raised the corners of his mouth.

Unable to contain his anger at that sight, he reached out to grab Admund’s collar.

“What kind of language is that to use with His Highness, Lloyd.”

“I’m sorry, Mother.”

But Lloyd had to stop his action as the Duchess appeared behind Admund.

Admund smacked his lips in disappointment.

Because he had already predicted what Lloyd would have done if the Duchess hadn’t appeared here.

Lloyd glared at him while trying to suppress the anger boiling inside somehow.

“You’re back only now.”

“I just went out for some fresh air for a while.”

“Ha, not fresh air, you were probably out having fun.”

“Father!”

Hearing the Duke’s voice next, Lloyd turned his gaze to look at his father.

The Duke didn’t hide his expression of contempt upon seeing Lloyd who had just returned.

Clearly, they were the same age, but so different. Admund was trustworthy enough to entrust the empire to, but his son was still wandering outside without coming to his senses.

Lloyd didn’t hide his anger at seeing his parents seeming to care more for Admund than himself.

Admund, seeing Lloyd like that, laughed inwardly and suggested.

“It’s nice to see you, how about we have a chat together.”

How about spending some time talking together.

However, Lloyd didn’t answer immediately. No, he couldn’t answer.

For him, there was more than one thing that was uncomfortable with Admund right now.

Considering that he had visited his palace today, Lloyd wanted to avoid this situation as much as possible.

So Lloyd tried to express a refusal, but couldn’t.

“How could we refuse when Your Highness has suggested it first like this.”

Pleased with Admund’s suggestion, the Duke and Duchess answered first without asking Lloyd’s opinion.

At that moment, Lloyd’s mind became complicated.

“I’ll have tea prepared again, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, Duke Percy.”

“It’s our honor that you’ve personally visited the Duke’s residence like this.”

Lloyd tried to look towards his parents, but the two were smiling brightly at the thought of having time side by side with Admund.

Admund approached Lloyd like that and whispered.

“Why don’t you lighten up your expression. Someone might think I’m going to eat you.”

“You, you!”

Lloyd glared at Admund with fierce eyes.

It felt ridiculous to fill the glaring gaze with hostility.

‘I think I understand why Clea wasn’t afraid of him at some point.’

At some point, she wasn’t afraid at all in her relationship with Lloyd.

Even though he had seen her trembling in fear as if she would be expelled from the Odoi family the moment she broke off the engagement with Lloyd.

He had wondered why her completely changed appearance was like that, but today he felt like the question was solved.

“The seats are ready, please sit down.”

“Lloyd, you sit down next to him too.”

The Duke and Duchess waited for Admund and Lloyd to take their seats.

Admund had a calm expression, but Lloyd trembled here and there as if anxious.

The Duke and Duchess looked more at Admund than at their pathetic son.

Admund, who had already taken his seat, savored the tea and brought up a topic of conversation.

“Come to think of it, there’s an interesting rumor spreading in the capital these days.”

“Oh, if it’s something Your Highness is interested in, I’m also curious about what kind of rumor it is.”

Lloyd’s expression hardened at Admund’s statement.

He thought he wouldn’t dare speak about his scandal to his face.

Because that would be the same as saying he was cutting ties with the Duke’s family.

However, unlike Lloyd’s thoughts, Admund had no hesitation in bringing up the topic.

“I’m talking about the rumor that Clea Odoi has been expelled from the Odoi family.”

The expressions of everyone present, except Admund, all hardened.