Slowly, he unbent his bent knee. A heavy sigh accompanied his rising frustration. He had considered her naive for her age, but not this foolish.

Dwayne took a couple of steps back and looked at Lellia with contemptuous eyes. He looked as if he might coldly cast her aside at any moment.

“I merely said I would do my best to assist Your Highness in securing the throne!”

“……”

“Really! I-I really said just that! Please believe me, Your Grace!”

Her hurried excuses were a mess of embarrassment, injustice, and anxiety. Nonetheless, the cold expression of the Duke did not improve at all.

Dwayne, without taking his eyes off Lellia, clicked his tongue in annoyance. Lellia’s face turned pale in an instant. She looked like a person who had been sentenced to death.

Faced with such a Lellia, Dwayne showed no shred of sympathy. Rather, he chastised her with a cold, sinking voice.

“You shouldn’t have mentioned it in the first place. How dare you thoughtlessly bring that up, no matter who you are in front of.”

“But when I mentioned the same to His Highness before, I always…!”

“You’ve been foolish enough already, Lellia. It won’t be good for you to disappoint me further here.”

Dwayne furrowed his brows as if unwilling to hear anymore. Just that much froze Lellia, rigid, unable to move.

His eyes found her so pitifully contemptible. Foolishness was exactly what he loathed. Yet here she was, a prime example in front of him.

With a deep sigh, Dwayne slowly turned his steps. Lellia, who had been watchful all along, couldn’t hold back and cried out to catch the Duke.

“Yo-Your Grace! Please don’t leave like this. Could you get me out of here, please? Your Grace, please…!”

“It will take a few days. Until then, it would be wise for you to precisely understand your mistake and reflect on it.”
At that moment, the most cruel punishment was meted out to Rellia. She wanted to shout at the departing Duke, but felt she might never escape this place if she did.

Her limbs trembled uncontrollably. Each time, Rellia clenched her teeth to endure it, fueling her inner anger with intense hatred for someone.

With the sole determination that she would never let them be, if she could only escape from here, Rellia suppressed the overwhelming fear and sorrow.

Evelia stared intently at the door of the reception room, her face anxious. She was waiting for her father, whom she had asked to meet through Phailin.

Her heart pounded irregularly. It was already a continuous anxiety for days. Every day felt like walking on thin ice, due to rumors that had spread quickly within days after Rellia was imprisoned.

“[Your Highness, the atmosphere inside the palace is not normal. Perhaps it would be best not to send the scorpion until His Highness the Crown Prince comes himself…]”

Last evening, for the first time, Phailin, who had gone to the Crown Prince’s palace multiple times a day to convey her intentions, showed a sign of dissuasion.

If it was Phailin who had been observed thus far, it wasn’t for a trivial reason. Evelia grasped her hand anxiously and asked what the matter was. Phailin let out a heavy sigh.

“[Since that day, Duke Garnet has been visiting Her Majesty the Empress every day.]”

“[Probably because of the issue with Lady Rellia.]”

“[Yes. But the problem is…]”

Phailin’s expression, already clouded, became even graver. Evelia could not hide her tension and continued to stare at her intently, as if urging her to answer quickly.

“[His Highness the Crown Prince visited only on the day Lady Rellia was imprisoned, and ever since, it has only been Her Majesty the Empress that he has seen.]”

“[Why is that a problem? His Highness might be busy with other matters. It’s not as if Duke Garnet has to visit the Empress exclusively with His Highness.]”

Evelia frowned, as if she didn’t understand. Nevertheless, Phailin was adamant.

Lowering her head, she let out a heavy sigh and finally voiced the thoughts that had been stuck in her throat.