Evelia blocked the man in front of her with a surprised face and looked at his back. She felt she knew who it was without having to check.

The familiar and stubborn back was Liurian’s.

“Do you not hear me, Your Highness? I asked what you are doing here.”

“Your Majesty.”

“How many times do I have to repeat myself?”

Liurian coldly rebuked towards Relia. Instinctively, Evelia looked at Relia.

She was trembling pitifully, her body tense. Yet, the fierce aura emanating from Liurian showed no sign of subsiding.

Evelia hastily reached out towards Liurian. She had no particular concern for Relia, but she felt that if she let it go, things would get out of hand.

“Your Majesty, it appears that Her Highness Relia is not in the best condition today. Just look at her complexion. Surely she’s not doing this on purpose, so let’s go with me, shall we?”

Evelia clung to Liurian as if pleading. Her grasped arm briefly trembled. She was unsure if it was due to her words affecting him or his growing anger towards Relia. In the face of mounting anxiety, she gripped his collar more tightly.

“On a day with such good weather as today, the scenery by the pond is incomparably better. I was on my way there. Your mood will certainly improve after seeing the beautiful scenery. So, come with me, Your Majesty.”

Hoping desperately to sway his heart, she shook him with a meager force. Yet, he remained still. Soon, however, a deep sigh was heard, and his legs, which had seemed immovable, began to move.

Evelia didn’t miss the opportunity and quickly set the direction. She felt she had to distance herself from Relia as quickly as possible. Before his mood changed, before Relia’s ticking time bomb of a mouth exploded again.

The two, standing side by side, brushed past Relia. At that moment, Liurian’s familiar scent wafted past Relia’s nose.

“Ha.”

Relia let out the breath she had been holding. Tears she had been stubbornly holding back began to fall to the ground. The resolve she had clenched all the way to the palace, that she would not cry, was now meaningless.

Liurian was distancing himself with the crown princess. The spot beside Liurian, which had always been taken for granted, was now boldly occupied by Evelia.
No matter how many times she looked, she couldn’t find a single flaw in the two people standing side by side. It shattered Relia’s heart and even her rationality.

“Your Highness always acts this way. In front of me, you act all noble and annoyingly lecture, but in front of the Crown Prince, you only show an innocent face.”

A voice consumed by despair spread out in all directions, completely devoid of judgment. It firmly held the feet of the two people who were about to leave the place, and sharply captured Liurian’s gaze.

“What did you just say?”

Liurian asked in a voice that had frighteningly deepened. However, Relia’s eyes, which had already become dim, stared only at Evelia.

“Your Highness has always lectured me as if caring for the Crown Prince and me. You did so before appearing here, and also during the last victory party.”

“…….”

“But both on the day of the victory party and today. Why do you keep taking the Crown Prince away from me?”

Relia glared at Evelia as if she would kill her. Evelia tightly closed her eyes in the face of the worst situation that had finally arrived.

Her attitude towards herself and even the words she had given were all too dangerous. Ultimately, it was a choice that would be toxic to her. It was not that the unsettling energy once again emanated from Liurian standing beside her.

“Your Grace, I think it’s best to stop for today. I will listen to what you have to say on another day. Let’s go back now.”

Evelia sent a stop signal to Relia, even lowering her head toward her. However, it was unlikely that this was visible in Relia’s eyes.

Relia bit her lips fiercely. Her vision blurred with tears stubbornly captured Liurian. His eyes, directed towards her, flickered with a murderous intent.

She couldn’t believe that he could direct such a gaze at her, but she couldn’t reject even the murderous gaze and desperately clung to it.

She felt like she had to hold onto that. It felt as if her heart was not just torn but was being completely ripped out. It was too painful to endure. If she lost Liurian to the Crown Princess, she felt like she would die.

“If you go with the Crown Princess like this, you will certainly regret it. The Crown Princess cannot give you what you desire. You know that, don’t you?”
Lirelia clung pathetically, all pride discarded. She didn’t care about the surrounding gazes aimed at her. Liurian Petrov, who had been staring at her intently, twisted his lips as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“Is that so? It sounds as if you can give me exactly what I want.”

He asked Lirelia disdainfully. The atmosphere around the crown prince immediately turned chilly.

The blossoming garden of the palace froze over as if covered with a thin layer of ice. Blades hidden in the warm wind revealed themselves, slicing dangerously through the air.