“Lloyd, explain the reason why you barged into my office without permission.”

Admund sat cross-legged in the seat of honor.

He was not pleased with the current situation.

His mood couldn’t have soured simply because an acquaintance had visited without notice.

Clearly, Admund’s mood had been fine until just a moment ago.

What happened with Oberon last night could be dismissed as a mere mishap.

Rather, Admund had been feeling satisfied by the fact that Clea was still sleeping in his palace.

At least until Lloyd Percy appeared.

“Help me, Admund.”

Seeing Lloyd not only barging in unannounced but also asking for help, Admund inwardly clicked his tongue.

He thought to himself.

‘I hope you won’t mention Clea’s name with that shameless face of yours. At least if you have even a shred of conscience.’

Admund reflected on Lloyd’s behavior up until now.

Despite being engaged to Clea, he would show up at events and parties with other women instead of her.

In an engaged couple, one typically doesn’t take someone else as a partner unless under exceptional circumstances.

As a result, Clea always had to attend these gatherings alone.

Attending alone, she became prey for the hyenas.

When it came time to dance, I sometimes caught her gazing enviously at others from a secluded corner.

Recalling such scenes made Admund’s blood boil.

He hoped that no news related to Clea would come out of Lloyd’s mouth.

“My fiancée has disappeared.”

But Admund had no choice but to harden his expression.

He realized that the man he had called his friend until now lacked even an ounce of conscience.

“Please help me. You should be able to find someone in the empire, right?”

“Lloyd Percy.”

“Admund?”

When Admund called his full name, Lloyd looked at his expression with confused eyes.

His expression, filled with a cold chill, clearly showed anger to anyone who saw it.

At first, Lloyd didn’t understand why he was angry, but after thinking for a moment, he came to a conclusion.

“I’m sorry for bothering you with matters concerning my fiancée.”

Incredulous at those words, Admund let out a laugh.

Lloyd took Admund’s laughter as confirmation that his assumption was correct.

Lloyd felt relieved, thinking that the rumors about Admund and Clea’s relationship must have been exaggerated.

In public, his fiancée Clea had become a topic of gossip wherever she went.

Even her status as a duchess couldn’t protect her.

Because Lloyd, who was of higher status than her, openly mocked her and always hovered around Aria, neglecting Clea.

Even her own family barely maintained their relationship with her, almost abandoning everything else, so there was no one in high society to protect her.

Admund bit his lip.

The cause of her suffering to such an extent was Lloyd.

He was the only one who could have been considerate enough to prevent her from getting hurt.

If Lloyd had shown even a little consideration and stayed by her side for just a moment, Clea wouldn’t have ended up in such a situation with nowhere to go.

For a moment, Admund deeply regretted considering this bastard his friend until now.

He opened his mouth towards Lloyd with a gaze full of contempt and disgust.

“Lloyd Percy, I think you’re misunderstanding something right now.”

“Admund, this is urgent. If you listen to my request first, I’ll also listen to your request…”

“Then will you break off the engagement with her?”

Hearing Admund’s words, Lloyd’s eyes widened as he asked back.

“Why are you doing this? Are you also saying she doesn’t suit me?”

Admund frowned at those words that seemed to belittle Clea once again.

She might be awake and wandering around the imperial palace.

If not, someone could be eavesdropping on this conversation and relay it to her.

Either way, Admund didn’t want her to get hurt anymore.

He didn’t want to see her contemplating on the bridge again because of the trash in front of him who he thought was a friend.

So, with the resolve to cut ties with him, Admund smiled and said,

“Yes, she doesn’t suit you.”

“Admund!”

Does he think this has gone too far?

But it was him, not myself, who had already crossed the line.

Just as Admund was about to say his next words, someone knocked on the door.

He had the naive thought that it might be a servant bringing refreshments, but upon hearing the following response, his body froze for a moment.

The voice coming from outside was none other than Clea’s.

* * *

‘Did he run away out of embarrassment?’

Clea pondered deeply.

He was surprisingly shy.

Whenever she reached out her hand just a little to touch him, his bewildered gaze was clearly visible.

She liked seeing Admund completely confused by her actions.

The man who seemed like he would never be shaken by anyone.

The way he completely crumbled at her slightest gesture and glance.

‘Or maybe he ran away for fear of being eaten.’

Last night was truly strange.

Despite clearly not being in the mood, Clea felt as if she had become some kind of beast.

She had driven Admund quite fiercely.

To him, even that might have felt merely ticklish, but Clea laughed at the fact that she had done her best.

‘It’s laughable. To think that I’ve become so passionate about something.’

It had been so long since she had poured her passion into anything that Clea couldn’t believe it.

On the other hand, she thought that if it was someone like Admund, it was understandable for her to feel this way.

She pictured Admund in her mind.

Unlike previous members of the imperial family, a man with black hair and red eyes.

Some said it was the color of blood, and that if he ascended to the throne, he would undoubtedly turn into a tyrant.

But Clea didn’t particularly care.

It was one-sided criticism towards a person, but who would worry about others when one’s own problems were more pressing.

And an even bigger reason lay with Admund.

He always remained quiet without any particular response when such words were spoken.

“Is Admund in his office?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Hearing Anne’s answer, Clea immediately nodded.

Although lunchtime was approaching, she thought he would still be alone now and headed towards Admund’s office.

Anne tried to stop Clea. Seeing Anne approach, Clea smiled slightly and said to her,

“I’m sorry, but I’m not a duchess anymore.”

“Your Grace?”

“So there’s no need to call me that anymore.”

Hearing Clea’s response, Anne froze. She was taken aback by the sudden statement that she was no longer a duchess.

Anne completely forgot what she was going to say and stood still before coming to her senses.

The words she had meant to convey belatedly came to mind.

“Ah, I should have told you that Lord Lloyd is currently in the office.”

Anne had intended to stop her, thinking it wouldn’t be good to encounter Lloyd now.

Watching Clea disappear in the distance, she pondered for a moment.

* * *

Admund had no intention of informing Clea that Lloyd had come.

He disliked the idea of her hearing that he had visited here.

The thought that Clea might be shaken upon learning belatedly of Lloyd’s visit made Admund’s mood plummet.

‘You know she wouldn’t do that.’

Admund recalled the behavior he had observed until now. Having come to understand Clea’s true feelings, he shook his head, recognizing it as an absurd thought.

To begin with, if it were her, she wouldn’t have come directly to his office, at least mindful of public opinion.

It was right after numerous people had seen her heading to his bedroom.

If Clea were still seen staying in the imperial palace after that, who knows what kind of scandal she might be embroiled in.

However, shortly after, Admund regretfully came to acknowledge that he didn’t know the woman named Clea very well until today.

“Your Majesty, I’ve come to see you.”

At the familiar voice coming from the doorway, the expressions of the two people in the office froze.

One was doubting if he had heard correctly, while the other hoped that the person beyond the door wasn’t her.

However, she continued knocking on the door without hesitation, calling out to the one she hoped to meet.

Someone got up and opened the door.

But the person who appeared wasn’t the one she had hoped for.

“Why are you here?”

“What does it matter that I’m here?”

“Of course it matters! Because!”

Until just a moment ago, Clea had been in a very good mood.

She was experiencing the same misunderstanding she had before.

The feeling that the constant pain in her chest seemed to have disappeared a little.

The sense of slightly escaping from pain and the comfort made her feel refreshed.

She had the illusion that perhaps this was all because she felt at ease being with Admund.

However, as Clea faced the moment of encountering both men at once, she suddenly thought:

‘Maybe it’s not an illusion.’

Lloyd, looking down at her with arrogant and indignant eyes, and Admund, sending worried glances.

Perhaps it was because of Admund that she could find small moments of happiness in this cursed world.

Thinking this, Clea looked up at the man right in front of her.

“Let’s go back, Clea.”

Lloyd arbitrarily grabbed Clea’s wrist.

The momentary thought that he should take her home immediately and lock her up so she could never escape again was evident.

As he didn’t control the strength in his grip, Clea frowned in pain.

She immediately swatted Lloyd’s hand away.

“Clea?”

“Where to?”

Lloyd looked at Clea with eyes that couldn’t believe she had swatted his hand away.