The Grand Duke felt his insides burning.

He had received news that Lloyd had escaped from solitary confinement while he was briefly away.

He tried to pinpoint in his mind where exactly things had gone wrong.

As a child, his son had been endlessly cute and kind.

But suddenly he started to go astray, and now he was engaging in belated rebellion.

‘The one who should inherit the family business and be loyal to the empire is only having strange thoughts inside.’

Looking down at his wrinkled hands, the Grand Duke felt a sense of crisis.

The time would come when he too would have to lay everything down.

Now that his shining youth had all passed.

Knowing that he couldn’t lead by will alone forever, the Grand Duke let out a sigh.

“Dear, let me talk to him.”

“That would be good. It seems that no matter what I say to that boy, it will only turn into an argument since I only scold him.”

“It’s probably because it’s still difficult for both of you to open your hearts to each other.”

The Grand Duchess gently wrapped her hands around the Grand Duke’s.

Her hands, too, could be seen aging just like the Grand Duke’s.

They say that most ladies don’t get wrinkles easily even as they age.

The Grand Duke felt sorry seeing the wrinkles on his wife’s face.

“I’ve made you suffer.”

“I married into a busy household, so it can’t be helped, can it?”

She rose from her seat, telling the Grand Duke in a gentle voice not to blame himself too much.

The Grand Duke tried to follow as his wife stood up, but the Grand Duchess said that if he came along, Lloyd would only be on guard, so she headed to the solitary room alone.

“Lloyd, did you eat well?”

“Mother.”

As she opened the tightly closed door and entered, the room was completely dark.

The Grand Duchess first went inside, drew back the curtains, and then approached her son, who was curled up on the bed, greeting him.

Lloyd was relieved to see that the person entering was none other than his mother.

If the Grand Duke had entered his sight, he would have immediately stood up and engaged in a battle of wills.

“I ate adequately.”

“That’s good then. You shouldn’t skip meals.”

“I’m not a child anymore. I’m over twenty years old.”

“Even so, you still look like a child in my eyes.”

Lloyd furrowed his brow, seemingly a bit displeased with the Grand Duchess’s words.

Receiving that gaze, the Grand Duchess slowly composed her emotions, even though she could have been angry at her son’s still immature behavior.

She believed that only by never expressing anger, no matter how angry she felt, could she truly confirm her son’s sincere feelings.

She was now trying her best to somehow reach out to her son.

“May I ask where you went yesterday?”

“You’ve probably already heard from the coachman, even if you don’t hear it from me.”

“I want to hear it directly from you, not from the coachman.”

“Why?”

“Well, because the coachman is an outsider, but you are my child.”

Lloyd felt a lump in his throat at her words.

Since Admund’s visit to the mansion, Lloyd had been hurt by receiving only cold gazes from the two of them.

He even resented how his parents seemed to favor Admund and Clea, who had been his fiancée, more than him.

He didn’t like how his heart was melting now that she was showing some interest in him.

Lloyd knew this was his parents’ gesture of reconciliation extended first.

And he knew that if he didn’t speak here, they would inevitably hear it from the coachman.

He thought it would be better to confess directly.

“I went to the Hersher mansion.”

“You went to see Aria.”

“Yes.”

“Then why is your expression so dark?”

The Grand Duchess had a general idea.

Knowing well what political stance the Hersher ducal family maintained, she could easily imagine the words that came out of there.

“They told me never to come again.”

It was as she had predicted.

It was understandable since the Hersher ducal family was a house where relations with the imperial family were more important than with the grand ducal family.

But from Lloyd’s perspective, it wasn’t a very good situation.

‘But is it unavoidable?’

Not wanting the relationship with the Hersher family to be completely ruined, she thought of her position as the lady of the grand ducal house.

As one who had the duty to worry about the future of the grand ducal family, she felt it was better to end things this way than to become adversaries.

So she carefully suggested.

“How about forgetting that child and looking for someone else?”

“Mother!”

At her words, Lloyd called out to the Grand Duchess with an expression that seemed to ask how she could say such a thing to him.

The Grand Duchess was startled by her son suddenly raising his voice at her, but she tried not to show it and calmly suggested again.

“It’s for both of your sakes to distance yourselves for now.”

“I can’t do that!”

“Lloyd.”

“It has to be Aria for me!”

She continued to try to persuade Lloyd.

She explained the differences in position between the families, Lloyd’s current ambiguous status, and talked about future matters.

But Lloyd stubbornly insisted with unwavering devotion.

The Grand Duchess felt her patience crumbling as she watched Lloyd who wouldn’t bend until the end, but it was Lloyd who broke down first.

“How can even you say such things to me, Mother!”

“Lloyd!”

“If you’re going to say such things, just leave!”

Lloyd grabbed the Grand Duchess’s wrist.

The Grand Duchess was momentarily flustered and tried to remove Lloyd’s hand, but before she could, he forcefully pushed her out the door.

The staff waiting outside the door watched this scene with wide eyes at the sudden situation.

Fortunately, the Grand Duke hadn’t seen it, so the Grand Duchess ordered the watching staff to keep quiet.

However, the Grand Duke somehow heard about this and came to the solitary room where Lloyd was, with his sword drawn.

They barely managed to stop the Grand Duke, but the atmosphere within the grand ducal household was truly at its worst.

* * *

“So that’s what you received that night.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Hmm, I wonder if there’s a lack of discerning eyes.”

“What did you just say?”

Unlike the harsh atmosphere in the grand ducal household, the imperial family gathered for a meal together after a long time.

Despite being forcibly called out by Odin and Elaina, the atmosphere was not bad.

With delicious food in the center, their topic of conversation was the rings on Clea and Admund’s fingers.

“It seems he is indeed your son.”

“It saddens me to hear you say that.”

“What’s there to be sad about? Even the sense of choosing is exactly the same. So, does our daughter-in-law like the ring? If you don’t like it, I could personally change it for a different one.”

Admund furrowed his brow as he looked at Elaina.

It seemed like crossing a line, even if she was his mother.

But Elaina paid no heed to her son’s gaze.

Admund contemplated whether to directly open his mouth to stop her, then observed Clea’s reaction.

‘If she truly doesn’t like it, I suppose we’ll have to change it.’

The most important thing was, of course, Clea’s opinion.

He thought that if she didn’t like it, it would be right for him to agree and follow her wishes to change it.

Clea, aware of Admund’s gaze, raised the corners of her mouth and said,

“When you say that, am I mistaken in thinking that you, Mother, are wearing the same ring as Father on your finger?”

At Clea’s words, the other two’s gazes turned to the ring on Elaina’s finger.

On her finger was a ring set with an emerald stone, the same as the one on Odin’s finger.

“While beauty certainly has its meaning, there’s another significance, so I don’t particularly want to change it.”

At her words, Admund’s expression brightened.

On the other hand, Odin and Elaina watching Admund wore meaningful expressions.

The two felt a sense of novelty at their son’s mood changing so drastically over just a ring.

Admund, who never showed any emotion before, had been expressing his feelings quite frequently lately.

They knew there was no need to think about why.

“When will you get married?”

“We’ll do it when the time is right.”

“It’s the crown prince’s wedding, do you think we can just leave it up to you?”

“Don’t you know there’s nothing as unsightly as meddling in a grown child’s marriage?”

“I know that well, but for the sake of our new daughter, I’m willing to be unsightly this once.”

“Hah.”

They continued their meal while watching the harmonious conversation between father and son.

Now that even rings had been exchanged, they thought only the ceremony remained, and they looked quite relaxed.

There was nothing left to interfere with Admund and Clea’s relationship.

Of course, there were still those who would interfere, but Admund was confident.

He believed he could completely escape from all interference and spend happy days with her.

As he smiled at such happy thoughts, suddenly there was a commotion outside.

“Your Majesty, I apologize for interrupting your intimate time, but there’s something urgent you need to hear.”

“If it’s not absolutely necessary to hear it now, how about postponing it?”

“I’m sorry, but it’s related to Lady Clea.”

Amidst the unsettled atmosphere, Odin’s aide appeared, informing him that there was something he needed to hear.

Odin wanted to postpone it, but the aide drew the line, saying it couldn’t wait. Odin decided to listen, putting aside his displeasure.

Since it was related to Clea, he couldn’t simply ignore it.

He quietly listened, hoping it wasn’t some trivial matter.

And what came out of the aide’s mouth was:

“Someone is spreading malicious rumors about Lady Clea.”

It was enough to break the atmosphere.