Reus’s footsteps echoed steadily through the empty corridor. Unlike his calm exterior, his serene blue eyes flickered with a soundless fury, as if his composure had been thoroughly twisted.

[“It seems the Empress has played a trick at my daughter’s banquet. As you know, Iris hasn’t been at the Imperial Palace for long, so there’s no one to protect her. I could send someone myself, but… wouldn’t that only fuel the Empress’s anger? So I’d appreciate it if you could appropriately smooth things over, Reus.”]

When the Emperor called him aside in the middle of the banquet, Reus thought he had something important to say. But the words that came back were nothing more than a ridiculous request to cover for his daughter.

Reus moved on, suppressing his surging anger.

In fact, Reus’s insides had been twisted since his conversation with the Emperor earlier in the day.

[“It’s alright. Isn’t it my sin for sending my friend off early? If Licasen had been there, he would have been the first to know about the holy matrimony….”]

He almost openly sneered at the brazen remark.

How dare you mention Father’s death?

Reus paused for a moment and closed his eyes tightly. The mouth he wanted to tear apart right now, the wicked voice flowing from it. The image of the Emperor casually babbling about farewell and sin kept repeating.

Reus felt very dirty and at the same time, a faint sense of unease.

Although he was still politically useful, just as he had been to his father, it had been quite a while since he had been summoned separately and given such trivial tasks. So what was the reason for suddenly coming out like this?

‘…Has he noticed the rebellion?’

No. No. This was too hasty a conclusion.

For the Emperor to notice, the life of the hound that had voluntarily rolled thus far was disgustingly loyal every single day. It had been years of struggling with his life on the line to the point of deceiving himself, so it was right that the Emperor had not yet noticed.

Even if he had been summoned to be sounded out about the Forest of Silence, whether it was pre-planned or the misdeed of the incomparably stupid Count Yvelle, he couldn’t be certain either way.

Reus, having finished his thoughts, regained his composure. Then his memory stopped replaying the Emperor’s revolting voice and moved on to the next.

This time, the focus was on the Emperor trying hard to sound out Roel while hiding his gloominess.

What a pathetic sight, trying to dig up anything that had passed between Roel and himself, the disgrace of the Yvelle family.

The Emperor was the decisive reason for engaging in the childish lover’s play, but he didn’t particularly tell her to act affectionately towards the woman. And that was an excellent choice.

Roel Yvelle.

A woman with very quick wits, who knows well when to step forward and when not to, never crossing the appropriate line. But a woman who is timid and not good at hiding her emotions.

Reus already knew that the woman generously evaluated him as not a bad person. How fortunate that fact was.

It was quite amusing to see the Emperor looking disappointed at the woman’s sincere words, cleverly evading the answers he wanted.

Yes. The Emperor still knows nothing.

Reus entered Britian Palace, thinking that he should refrain from going near the Forest of Silence for the time being.

It was the moment he took a step.

Splash−!

A loud sound of water, completely out of place at the banquet, was heard.

Reus, who paused for a moment, slightly turned his head to check beyond the bushes.

The trees that had been in the form of a stage until just before were swaying along the water’s surface. Following that, the surprised expressions of the nobles, the weary-looking servants, and the knights were captured in turn.

‘So this was the Empress’s prank.’

He thought it was just like the Empress’s nasty way to wait until the birthday banquet and embarrass the protagonist on the day.

Judging by the situation, there was no one to save the unfortunate princess right away. The Empress would have already had her hand in the invitations, so the fools who could only read the mood would not move until the end.

Reus stared at the ripples with subdued eyes and pondered for a moment.

Should he wait until someone pulls her out before she completely runs out of breath? Or should he volunteer as the Emperor’s loyal dog, as he always has?

Both options were equally annoying and the dilemma itself was an unnecessary effort.

But he couldn’t ruin things with trivial emotions. It was right to act decisively, if only for the time he had rolled as the Emperor’s dog.

Having made his decision, Reus clicked his tongue as if annoyed and headed towards the lake. And he jumped into the water without hesitation.

The princess, who had already sunk deep in the distance, was visible. She seemed to have swallowed too much water and was not in her right mind.

For a moment, Reus was gripped by a strong desire to let her die.

The bloodline of the imperial family that inherited the Emperor’s dirty blood, if it were up to him, he would have directly twisted their necks instead of just watching.

He wanted to put it into action right away, but the option of Iris’s life being cut short at this banquet should not exist.

Reus quickly erased his personal feelings and it didn’t take long to pull Iris to the surface.

As they surfaced, his clogged ears opened and his senses that had been dulled for a moment returned. But along with that, Reus’s mood also plummeted drastically.

It feels… even dirtier than expected.

His arms that had directly pulled up the Emperor’s daughter were so repulsive that he wanted to cut them off right away.

At that moment, Iris spat out water. It could be seen from her trembling body that she had not yet escaped from the panic. The princess seemed unable to distinguish whether she was in the water or not.

‘Cold…..’

However, as Iris gradually realized that her gasping breaths were no longer damp, she gasped even more heavily as if to accept that fact more clearly.

Then, instead of the cold water, the chilly night air engulfed her body. In a momentary resurgence of fear, she instinctively grasped the heat-filled forearms supporting her.

At that, Reus stopped walking and looked down at the woman holding his arms. Iris also lifted her drooping head at that gaze.

Her blurry vision that had been alternating between blurriness and clarity accurately captured a strand of silver hair.

And from that point on, along the flowing dampness, the man’s face was imprinted in her eyes as if engraved. From the man’s clear eyes, smooth nose bridge, sharp jawline to the firm-looking neck lines.

At that moment, a definite change occurred in Iris. It was a predestined change, a natural flow. But it didn’t flow in the intended direction.

Unfortunately, Iris had no idea about that fact.

The fact that she should have been in the arms of Casien Ercian, not Reus Rochester. The fact that the chilling eyes she couldn’t take her eyes off of held an emotion colder than the color of her own eyes.

Thus, Iris faced the predestined change alone, knowing nothing.

* * *

That’s right. Someone who doesn’t need to be mindful of the Empress and isn’t a noble on the Empress’s side.

‘There was one more besides Casien….’

I stared blankly out the window, naturally excluding Reus.

Reus stared at Iris in his arms for a moment, then soon called the imperial knights standing around and handed the princess over to them.

Once alone again, the nobles who usually had some conversation with Reus flocked around him. Reus shook off the water, pretending to respond appropriately. Then the nobles hesitated and stepped back a little.

Having easily escaped from the nobles, Reus ran his hand through his hair and briefly looked around. Soon, he fixed his gaze on where I was.

The moment our eyes met, I flinched involuntarily.

‘Is it because he’s been through a lot in the war that his senses are different?’

While I was inwardly surprised by the man’s appearance that was not ordinary in any way, someone suddenly forced me to turn around, causing me to stagger.

“Ah…!”

“Roel!”

“I apologize, Your Highness…!”

“Roel. It’ll only take a moment, okay? Please, just a moment to talk…”

Dwin, who had just gotten up from the floor, hurriedly entered the lounge and tried to forcibly separate me and Casien.

“Please don’t make things any more difficult for Her Highness!”

Despite the ominous atmosphere, Dwin tried very hard to protect me. However, Casien grabbed his collar in anger.

“Didn’t you hear me tell you to get lost?”

“It’s not me who should leave, but you, Lord Ercian!”

Even with Casien’s fierce momentum, Dwin tried his best to protect me. But Casien strongly shook off the collar he was holding, causing Dwin to roll on the floor again. Having easily removed the obstacle, Casien immediately grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the lounge.

“Let go, Casien! Let go of this…”

I tried to free my grabbed wrist somehow, but my strength was insufficient. In the end, without being able to properly resist, I was dragged along as Casien led.

But as soon as we reached the door, Casien abruptly stopped.

I looked up and saw Reus standing right in front of the door. Before any thought could connect, Reus very strongly struck Casien’s hand.

“Have I been too noble until now? Why can’t you understand when I tell you to get lost?”