Seated on the throne, Ivan pondered as he observed the scene before him.

This guy.

Herden Delmarc is insane.

Only an insane person would dare to openly beat a noble in broad daylight until they were a mess and drag them to the royal palace.

No matter how serious the crime committed, personally meddling with the nobility’s matters could lead to a dispute between major noble families. Herden must have been well aware of this.

In other words, bringing the eldest son of a noble family here meant he was ready to confront even the Baldwin family.

‘The eldest son of House Baldwin, even so…’

Standing next to the disheveled Wesley, Ivan looked at the frozen Rachel with a pale face and narrowed his eyes.

He couldn’t believe that she, who was a distant relative and close to the royal family, was brought here.

Pressing his throbbing forehead, Ivan reaffirmed the words Herden had spoken earlier.

“So, the eldest son of House Baldwin and Rachel were planning to frame Blair in this hunting competition, leading to her running away and getting lost in the wilderness?”

“Yes. What Your Majesty heard is all true.”

Ivan looked at Wesley and Rachel with a resentful expression in his eyes.

When Wesley met Ivan’s gaze, he opened his mouth.
“The, the Duke’s story and the truth are a bit different! It’s true that I intended to cause an investigation, but I didn’t actually plan to frame her!”

Instead of refuting Wesley’s words, Herden presented a small bottle and a parchment to Ivan. The courtier standing by his side took it and offered it to Ivan.

“This is the vial that the kidnapper, who was bribed by the eldest son of House Baldwin, had. The buyer turned out to be Wesley Baldwin himself.”

Looking at the purpose of the drug written on the parchment, Ivan furrowed his brow. At that moment, Wesley desperately explained with a distressed expression.

“It was just meant to intimidate the Duchess! I swear, I never had any intention of defiling the Duchess in any way.”

As Wesley tried to justify himself, Rachel, who had been silent out of fear, l
“That’s because I received wounds from the Duchess, and in my saddened heart, I told lies to tarnish her reputation. Truly, I didn’t do anything else. Please believe me, Your Majesty!”

Upon hearing this, Wesley chuckled and interjected, “Ha! Are you trying to get out of this alone like this?”

“It’s not about getting away; it’s because that’s the truth!”

Rachel felt unjust.

When she asked for money, everything seemed fine, but things ended up like this because of the distorted events.

Wesley looked at Rachel in disdain.

“You seem to enjoy causing pain. Asking for someone else’s husband and talking nonsense like that.”

Rachel’s face turned red at Wesley’s words.

“Don’t make up lies!”

“Hah! Who’s the one lying right now?”

The two of them began to raise their voices as if they were about to clash with each other. They seemed to have completely forgotten where they were or whose safety was at stake.

Ivan looked at the two of them with a disgusted expression, swallowing his irritation.

‘These pathetic bastards…’

Once the matter is settled, they will be cleanly dealt with.

Are they still squabbling like children, blaming each other?

Herden’s goal was to irritate Ivan, and if that was the case, he had succeeded.

Ivan, who had been listening to the escalating voices of Wesley and Rachel, finally spoke.

“Enough!”
Listening to the escalating voices of Wesley and Rachel, Ivan finally spoke.

“Enough!”

Only then did the situation quiet down, as if Ivan had thrown a bucket of cold water between Wesley and Rachel.

With an expression of irritation, Ivan turned to Herden and asked, “So, what does the Duke want?”

“Your Majesty, I request that you personally judge these two and impose appropriate punishment on them.”

Ivan glanced at the pitiful pair standing behind Herden but had no intention of severely punishing them. Especially Rachel, who was not just anyone but had been close to him since childhood.

‘Blair’s that girl who pretended to be innocent since childhood but had a knack for scratching people’s minds in a weird way. That’s probably why she clashed with Rachel.’

However, if he showed leniency only to Rachel, Lord Baldwin might complain about fairness. It would be better to give them a suitable scare and release them. That way, it would also create a spectacle for Lord Baldwin.

“I decree that Baldwin’s eldest son, Wesley, and Selden’s eldest daughter, Rachel, undergo one month of house arrest.”

Herden’s face stiffened upon hearing Ivan’s decision.

Ivan had devised a plan to even calm Herden.

“Baldwin and Selden families should compensate Delmarck for the psychological damage caused by your childish pranks.”

But Herden’s expression remained unchanged.
“I regret that I couldn’t restrain my emotions and ruined the royal event, but it feels like things have escalated beyond the original intent.”

“If it wasn’t your intention, do you judge the guilt lightly?”

“Yes, indeed. In the end, Blair escaped without significant harm. Isn’t it advantageous for Delmarck to conclude things at this point?”

Advantage.

At the mention of advantage, Herden sneered.

Considering what his young
Ivan frowned at Herden’s arrogance, but soon his expression changed into a peculiar look.

“Is he going this far for Blair?”

Resenting and hating the daughter of an enemy, for an unwanted wife?

It seemed that things were unfolding more interestingly than expected.

“Upon reflection, it seems like I made a lenient punishment swayed by personal feelings. Gong’s words are correct. Rebels should receive a corresponding punishment.”

Ivan, as if expressing interest, looked at Herden and then calmly pre
“Still, it’s fortunate that I recovered before Lina’s concerns deepened again.”

Blair, absentmindedly looking beyond the mirror, discovered a table behind Lina and Melly. As if something came to mind, she opened her mouth.

“Oh right, I’ve been enjoying the marshmallows you leave for me. But you don’t have to do that in the future.”

“Marshmallows?”

“Yeah. You left them on the table every morning.”

A few days ago, Blair, who had slowly woken up from her sleep, found a plate of marshmallows on the table. Thinking it was a snack Lina and Melly had left for her, she ate them.

The fluffy marshmallows she had in the morning made Blair’s mood sweet.

However, the next day and the day after, the marsh
As Lina and Melly finished making the bed and left the room, through the opening door, a faint sound of a clock chiming ten o’clock could be heard.

Blair, looking at the table where a bowl of marshmallows had been placed every morning, recalled the person who had brought it.