Caught off guard, Assenri was suddenly at a loss for words.

This kind of thing wasn’t just a one-time occurrence.

Listening to every little detail was a waste of time. Rather, Assenri himself had said to stay out of it so that it wouldn’t become a big problem when such things happened, so he had even less to say.

‘They say the Duke cherishes his wife dearly… This has become quite troublesome.’

But isn’t it rather strange that the knights born and raised in the Kingdom of Monzeto and his daughter recognized the Duchess of Rochester at a glance?

While Assenri felt more indignant than remorseful that he should have been careful not to create such a situation in the first place, he was still an adult and didn’t blurt out nonsense like Rose.

“Haha, things just turned out this way because schedules overlapped due to being a bit busy. I should pay more attention to the child.”

Reus nodded slowly. His reaction clearly showed that he would have been disappointed if Assenri hadn’t responded that way.

Assenri seemed completely unable to read the hidden intentions behind the impassive expression, as he was too busy hiding his own embarrassment.

“I will sternly instruct my daughter! To ensure this never happens again…”

Reus was somewhat impressed.

The stupidity of pretending not to know until just now, then revealing that he actually knew what happened without even asking, or the fact that despite his appearance, he had a semblance of fatherly love.

Wasn’t he making a big deal out of something that could be resolved with a single apology from his daughter, ultimately taking on everything himself?

Even if the slight raise of an eyebrow seemed mocking, it was actually a genuine expression of admiration on his part.

“Well, handle that as you see fit.”

“Ah, yes, yes. I’ll keep the child in line! Haha, this is… Women tend to cause trouble in these areas sometimes, don’t they?”

Fools like him who are desperate to show off their stupidity one way or another exist everywhere.

Reus deeply regretted deciding to spend time here as he observed this man of all sorts.

‘This is not the kind of time I should be wasting so carelessly.’

These types usually had something fishy going on. Even if their business seemed to be doing well at the moment, those who couldn’t properly manage even one household matter always ended up with major problems one way or another.

“I apologize for disturbing Your Majesty with women’s issues.”

“Women’s issues? I fail to understand why you’re implicating my innocent wife when it was your daughter who made the mistake.”

“Ah, that! I mean, yes, I’m referring to my daughter, haha! She’s still just a child, you see.”

Judging by his unnecessary long-windedness, he was completely unsuitable as a business partner. Reus highly praised his fake wife Roel even in moments like this, thinking he benefited from her.

How else could he have caught such a loose-tongued fellow without an incident like this?

He was a man who could have noticed such things sufficiently without anyone’s help. But Reus seemed to think that Roel was indeed the light of his life, as his expression brightened even more.

Of course, he was still completely unaware that Roel was sitting next to Theron, thoroughly engrossed in the ballet performance.

Naturally, the carefully prepared business was mercilessly torn apart, not even maintaining its foundation.

Though not explicitly stated, it was a time where only Reus’s opinion that no business could be done together with Assenri involved in Leveren remained clear.

Wasn’t everything going well until Baron Verdick arrived? He had even brought up his daughter, and although some minor issues were raised, surely he wasn’t the type to ruin business over mere women’s matters.

Assenri completely failed to grasp why the atmosphere had changed so suddenly.

Given how much Assenri loved money, if Reus had openly said he wanted an apology from Rose, he might have swallowed his pride and made his daughter bow her head.

But that wasn’t the direction Reus wanted.

As he had said, the previous conversation was just a gesture made for the woman he loved. Moreover, he had said it could be overlooked peacefully just once, but it was Assenri himself who failed to understand.

In fact, even if Assenri had seized the opportunity, Reus had no intention whatsoever of letting it slide.

Why should he bother looking at those who sometimes make the woman he yearns for just by gazing at her feel tired?

His insides were already boiling from not having enough time together, so he couldn’t understand why they were scratching at that wound even more.

Still, it was fortunate that things were wrapped up well without touching that man’s daughter as Roel wanted. Reus thought he could proudly say he did as Roel wished.

With his mood quickly restored by the early dismissal, Reus hurried his steps to the room, thinking that everything would fall into place as always when he saw Roel’s face.

He opened the door full of expectation, but Roel with her rabbit-like expression looking at him was nowhere to be found. What greeted him was an empty room resembling a scene from the nightmares he had been having lately.

Dwin, who followed him in belatedly, carefully spoke while reading the atmosphere.

“I hear Her Highness has stepped out for a moment, Your Majesty.”

“With Theron.”

“Yes… I heard they went to the Graham Hall right next door. They said they would return around dinnertime, so they should be back soon.”

With that, the conversation ended. Dwin tactfully closed the door and left the room.

Although it was particularly irritating that she had gone out with Theron of all people, Reus thought Roel was not to blame at all.

If there was any fault between the two of them, it was always his share.

Today’s events were a disappointment brought on by his own arrogance in thinking she would just be waiting for him, and it was his fault as a husband who let his wife look elsewhere.

Yes. It was my fault for not giving her what she wanted before Roel could think of distancing herself from me.

The fact that I dared to think about other things while on a trip with Roel, and that I had Theron as an escort because of it. It was all my fault.

When I arrived back at the hotel, I was a bit surprised to see Dwin standing in front of the door.

‘Didn’t I say I’d be back tomorrow morning?’

As I feared, Dwin had a face that seemed to ask why I was only returning now.

“Your Highness…!”

Thanks to Dwin mouthing the words silently, I also muffled my footsteps from afar. But before I could take even a few steps, the room door opened. Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, my body flinched.

I was so grateful that Theron didn’t have the kindness to escort me to the door. Dwin quickly moved out of the way, and I hurriedly entered the room.

The sound of the door behind me somehow made my heart sink. That was probably because of Reus, who looked even more displeased than this morning.

“You’re back early…”

“It seems you’re disappointed that I returned quickly.”

“What? No… Not at all.”

“If that’s not the case, there’s no way you could have been this excited while I was gone.”

Was it that obvious? Feeling a bit embarrassed, I tried to lower my head slightly, but Reus immediately lifted my face.

Despite his angry voice, his gentle touch made me wonder if he wasn’t that angry after all, but as soon as our eyes met, I apologized without even knowing why.

“I’m sorry…”

“You don’t really have anything to be sorry for, though.”

I wanted to ask why he had such a twisted expression then, but I quietly swallowed those words. It seemed more important to first extract my body trapped between the door and Reus.

As I tried to slink away, his ice-blue eyes, which seemed especially sunken today, perhaps due to the backlighting, persistently followed my movements.

Just as I thought I had completely slipped away and tried to move further, Reus turned his body and followed me. For some reason I don’t understand, I reflexively stepped back.

Reus closed the distance as much as I retreated.

Eventually, I bumped into the bed and sat down with a thud. Even though I had nowhere else to retreat, Reus took one more step closer and, with a very natural gesture, leaned forward to trap me between his arms again.

“I heard you went to watch a ballet performance cozily with another man, Roel.”

“What? Another man, absolutely not…”

“If you think about it, isn’t this cheating? This is clearly a breach of contract−”

Surprised, I stretched out both hands and covered Reus’s mouth.

“What! That’s nonsense, Reus!”

Then Reus lifted me up and moved me to the center of the bed, sitting down on the bed himself. Naturally, my hands fell away.

“Denying it so strongly makes it more suspicious, doesn’t it?”

“It’s really not another man. I was with Theron−”

“With Theron?”

“T-Together…”

I guess that was the problem… He assigned him as an escort himself, so why? Feeling a bit wronged, I opened and closed my mouth. Reus, who was staring intently at my face, said,

“It seems you want to say that Theron is not another man.”

“No, that’s…”

He’s an escort. The words I couldn’t bring myself to say just circled around in my mouth. In the end, he was angry because of Theron, but I couldn’t apologize for this saying I was sorry, so what was I supposed to do?

But no matter how I thought about it, Theron hadn’t done anything wrong…

If you think about it carefully, Theron shouldn’t be treated as another man, right?

‘Aren’t we kind of friends in our own way?’

At that moment, Reus spoke.

“What if other people saw and misunderstood?”

“He’s an escort, so that won’t−”

“I know you two behave casually when you’re alone, Roel.”

“Ah…”

“While I’m also quite pleased that you had a good time,”

Reus put strength into the hand he was propping next to my leg, causing my body to tilt slightly. Immediately, the large hand supporting my shoulder also applied gentle pressure.

It didn’t hurt, but today his touch felt particularly distinct.

“Of all people, with Theron.”

My gaze met directly with his ice-blue eyes, which were thoroughly twisted with displeasure.