“Ah… I’m, I’m sorry.”

Oscar immediately bowed and apologized. Frederick waved his hand dismissively.

“It’s fine. I didn’t call you here for an apology.”

“…”

“Young Lord Vandermir, I have high expectations for you. Your father often brags about his son.”

Frederick beckoned with his finger as if telling Oscar to come closer. Fortunately, Oscar was more attentive this time and quickly approached him, bowing his head.

Frederick leisurely grasped Oscar’s shoulder and continued speaking.

“However, lately it seems your situation hasn’t been very promising. Considering the scandal that occurred at the end of last year, you might need some small achievements to show others.”

“…You’re right, Your Highness.”

Oscar replied glumly, unable to deny it. At this rate, he could be branded as a worthless son who had a child with a commoner and might not even inherit the duke’s title.

A stronger sense of crisis than ever before made Oscar both bold and impatient.

Frederick smiled as if he understood that feeling, but spoke in a voice tinged with subtle pressure.

“Then it would be good to win starting with today’s competition. Don’t you think?”

For a moment, Oscar flinched, and a dark shadow fell over his face. It was because he knew that Demian was also participating in today’s equestrian event.

He had acknowledged his defeat to his half-brother in at least the physical aspects of their competition. Swordsmanship was a given, and he wasn’t confident about winning in horse riding either.

Oscar hesitated and carefully opened his mouth.

“Your Highness, I’m truly ashamed and sorry to say this, but Demian is an ignorant fellow who only excels in physical aspects. It might be difficult for me to overtake him and come in first…”

“Yes, you can think that way. But you should also consider my circumstances.”

Frederick, having no intention of listening to a grown adult’s whining for long, immediately reached into his jacket.

“If I’m going to introduce the young lord as my friend in front of people from now on, you should have at least one trophy for appearances, don’t you think?”

He took something out of his breast pocket and discreetly placed it in Oscar’s hand. Oscar, who received it reflexively, looked bewildered.

“Your Highness, this is…”

“It’s a gift I prepared for you. You wouldn’t want to betray your father’s and my expectations, would you?”

“…No, I absolutely don’t want to do that.”

Oscar nodded solemnly. Frederick’s eyes were cold, but his lips curved into a gentle smile.

A moment later, Oscar left the tent with his jacket pocket bulging.

He hurriedly received his horse and took his place at the starting line, the last to arrive. Coincidentally, it was next to Demian’s position.

“Hey, Demian. Long time no see?”

Oscar greeted Demian provocatively, filled with confidence after meeting Frederick.

However, Demian only stroked the mane of his horse, not even looking at him. Feeling provoked, Oscar stuck out his neck and sneered.

“Looks like you’ve been living well by leeching off the family. Your face looks good.”

“…”

“Are you ignoring your elder brother’s words right now?”

As his voice gradually grew louder, Demian let out a silent sigh and turned his head sideways to look at Oscar.

It was a gaze full of annoyance, as if a pesky fly was buzzing around.

He replied in an irritated voice.

“There are two errors in your words, Oscar. First, you and I are not family. Second, I’ve never leeched off you. Understand?”

He had completely discarded the polite ‘elder brother’ form of address he had been maintaining out of courtesy.

In many ways, any remaining affection had further diminished. With an impending war over the duke’s position in the near future, he decided not to maintain unnecessary politeness anymore.

Oscar retorted angrily to Demian’s words.

“You bastard! Weren’t you the one who held a press conference and spread rumors about being an illegitimate child! That’s practically the same as leeching off me!”

“If you hadn’t tried to frame me before that, it wouldn’t have happened. You’re blaming others for the calamity you brought upon yourself.”

Unable to deny that, Oscar fumed with an indignant face. Demian threw him a look of contempt and turned away.

Glaring at Demian’s sharp profile, Oscar soon raised his chin.

“Hmph, arrogant bastard! Let’s see how long you can keep your nose in the air. I won’t be so lenient with you anymore.”

A confident expression spread across Oscar’s face, but Demian, who didn’t bother to look at him, didn’t see it.

Angered by his brother’s attitude of completely ignoring him, Oscar gritted his teeth and snapped.

“I’m going to win starting with today’s competition. Just watch, you brute who only knows how to swing a sword.”

“Do as you please, you brute who only knows how to swing your lower body.”

Demian snickered and pulled on the reins.

Just as Oscar opened his mouth to spit out a curse in anger, the attendant’s shout rang out.

“Let the competition begin!”

The first person to dash out among the participants was Demian.

Having had to overcome all sorts of dangerous situations to survive until now, he was very skilled at handling horses.

Despite this being their first time together, the brown horse followed Demian well. It seemed quite intelligent, turning and moving as he wanted, galloping forward.

‘I’m not particularly interested in a special prize, but.’

Demian thought as he lowered his body to drive the horse faster.

‘I should at least give my wife something worth a kiss.’

Oscar’s warning just before the competition had already evaporated from his mind. That’s how little of a threat Oscar was to him.

When they had circled about half of the forest, the outcome began to become clearer. The gap between the top group, including Demian, and the rest was widening.

There were two people desperately chasing after Demian. One was Prince Noah of the Kingdom of Keil, and the other was, surprisingly, Oscar.

‘I may not be good at other things, but I’m confident in horse riding!’

Unlike his half-brother, Oscar, who was quite clumsy physically, was good at horse riding, having been taught since childhood.

He gritted his teeth and stuck close behind Demian.

‘Just a little, just a little more…!’

Even though he had come right up next to him, Demian didn’t spare Oscar a glance and focused solely on riding his horse.

Oscar had always disliked this aspect of Demian. His attitude of ignoring Oscar’s existence right in front of him and just doing his own thing, as if he were the true child of the legal wife.

Because this was exactly how Oscar treated the servants, he couldn’t escape the sense of inferiority from Demian treating him the same way.

‘Don’t make me laugh… How long do you think you’ll be superior to me!’

The finish line was gradually getting closer. People were cheering, waiting for the first person to cross.

Oscar, who had roughly estimated the distance to the finish line, glanced to the side. The relentless Demian only increased his speed, never slowing down.

He deliberately rode close to Demian and took out a small pouch from inside his jacket. Then, watching for an opportunity, he swiftly sprinkled the powder from the pouch towards Demian’s horse.

“Neigh―!”

As soon as it smelled the powder, the horse that had been running so well suddenly became excited. Even though the startled Demian tried to calm it down, it was of no use.

“Ugh, why are you acting like this all of a sudden!”

“I’m going ahead, Demian.”

Oscar, who had thrown a spiteful greeting to Demian struggling to calm his rearing horse, happily galloped towards the finish line.

Demian instinctively realized that Oscar had pulled some trick, but he couldn’t immediately catch and question him.

“Ah, ah…!”

It was just before a major accident was about to occur, colliding with Prince Noah who was diligently chasing after the two of them.

‘It would be troublesome to injure a prince from another country.’

It was better to get injured alone if he had to. Before the situation could become very complicated, Demian made a decision and pulled hard on the reins.

“Neigh!”

The horse reared up on its hind legs, whinnying. Demian barely managed to turn the horse’s head away from Prince Noah’s direction.

Thanks to this, the prince passed by safely, but instead, he found himself in an even greater crisis.

The horse, which had been running with all its might, crashed into a tree and bounced off. Naturally, Demian could no longer hold on and fell off the horse.

If he fell like this, he would have to give up at least one bone in his leg or arm. If he was unlucky, even his neck could be damaged.

Demian, who had already resigned himself to losing his limbs, was trying to protect his neck and spine area by hugging his legs when it happened.

“Demian!”

A familiar voice rang out sharply like a scream. At the same time, a strong wind that blew enveloped his body suspended in the air.

Arasila, who had been in a place where she could see the course the participants were running, had witnessed the accident and used a protection spell.

Thanks to the protection spell used with excessive strength, Demian landed on the ground with all his limbs intact.

As soon as he landed safely, Arasila leaped over the spectator stands.

“Waaah! I’m first! I, Oscar Vandermir, am-ack!”

She shoved aside Oscar, who was thoughtlessly cheering alone after crossing the finish line first, and ran out.

Oscar, who had tripped and fallen, shouted something but she ignored it. With only Demian in her mind, she frantically approached her husband.

“Demian, are you alright?!”

“I’m fine. Was it you who cast the spell, my lady?”

“Yes. No, how did this happen? Wasn’t your horse very docile?”

Demian nodded briefly and gazed coldly towards Oscar. Oscar, who had been grumbling and dusting off his clothes, felt the gaze and flinched.

Eventually, he whistled and pretended to be nonchalant. It was an utterly brazen act.

“Thank you for saving me, my lady. Let’s go.”

Demian, after first expressing his gratitude, walked towards the finish line with Arasila.

Due to the previous accident, people had gathered and were whispering, having forgotten about the competition. Oscar had truly been the only one rejoicing.

“Lord Vandermir, are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine thanks to my wife.”

“But why did the horse suddenly act like that?”

To a nobleman’s question, Demian replied in an icy voice.

“Perhaps my elder brother would know about that.”

“The Vandermir young lord?”

“Yes, for some reason, after my brother passed by me, the horse started acting strangely.”

At this, people’s gazes immediately turned to Oscar.

“What’s this about? Are you saying that the Vandermir young lord attacked his own brother?”

“Come on, surely not… Would he endanger his brother just to come in first?”

“But it is strange that the accident occurred right after the two of them were close together.”

As the surroundings became noisy, Oscar seemed flustered for a moment, but then he straightened his chest and replied confidently.

“Don’t make false accusations, Demian. Why are you trying to frame me for your poor horse handling?”

“A horse that was running fine suddenly became strange. Do you really think that has nothing to do with anything?”

“Perhaps the horse couldn’t bear the rider’s rough treatment anymore. Didn’t you push the horse too hard because you were afraid of losing to me?”

Oscar’s arrogance soared to the skies, satisfied with beating Demian for the first time.

The reason he could act so innocent and bold was that he didn’t care at all that it was a victory obtained through cowardly means.

He raised his chin and took a posture as if looking down on Demian. Of course, due to the height difference, the picture he had in mind didn’t quite materialize.

Demian frowned at the brazen act of feigning innocence. The circumstantial evidence was clear, but there was no physical evidence, which was the problem.

“Hmm, seeing the young lord’s confident attitude makes me a bit confused. He wouldn’t react like that if it weren’t true, would he?”

“Of course, would he attack his own brother with the intent to kill? He did ride very close, but it didn’t seem like he directly harmed the horse.”

“Might Lord Vandermir have misunderstood? He’s probably suspecting the person nearby because he’s oversensitive.”

People’s reactions reversed, flowing in Oscar’s favor.

Demian, who had been frowning at the unsatisfactory situation, suddenly recalled Oscar constantly touching his chest and bluntly asked.

“Then, may I check the inside pocket of your jacket?”

“…What?”

Oscar’s complexion changed immediately. He retorted with an expression that betrayed his sense of crisis, though he tried not to show it.

“Why my pocket?”

“Because I think the cause of the horse’s excitement might be there.”

“Ha, no! What right do you have to search my body?”

“It’s not a body search, I’m just asking to check your inside pocket. Why are you reacting so sensitively? As if you have something to hide.”

Golden eyes pierced sharply at Oscar. Instinctively, Oscar twisted his body to hide his left chest where Frederick’s gift was stored.

If this was discovered here, it would be over. This was his chance for a comeback, and one given by the Crown Prince at that. If he lost even this, his parents would be furious too.

“No, the act of searching pockets itself is treating me like a criminal, that’s why! I absolutely refuse, so keep that in mind. If you really want to check, why don’t you try reporting me to the imperial family this time?”

People murmured loudly, noticing that the last words were a jab at the incident of reporting Duke Grant.

There was a mix of surprise at Oscar for bringing up such a sensitive topic without hesitation, and curiosity about whether Demian would really go so far as to report his own brother.

As Demian was contemplating whether he should forcibly subdue Oscar, who seemed determined to protect his left pocket at all costs, a voice rang out.

“Young Lord Vandermir, don’t be like that and cooperate. Think of it not as being treated as a criminal, but as a process to clear your innocence.”

Lucas, who had been mixed in among the people surrounding them, stepped forward.

Although he did not participate in today’s competition, he was present as one of the representatives on the emperor’s orders.

He had been watching the competition from afar and rushed out of the tent in surprise when Demian’s horse started rearing.

“It’s not like we’re asking to strip you naked for inspection, just to look at the inside pocket of your jacket. Why are you being so defensive?”

With his characteristic smooth smile, Lucas subtly pressured Oscar.

While Oscar hesitated, unable to speak rudely to the prince unlike with Demian, people began to side with Lucas one by one.

“That’s right, what’s the big deal about looking in a jacket pocket that he’s making such a fuss?”

“If it were me, I’d take off the jacket entirely. It’s to prove my innocence, so that’s nothing, isn’t it?”

“Is it possible that the young lord is really hiding something in his jacket pocket?”

Cold sweat ran down Oscar’s spine as he was gradually backed into a corner.

Demian stood tall like a prime minister, with Lucas and the spectators guarding behind him like a great mountain. There seemed to be no escape.

It was at this moment that a deep sense of dismay overshadowed Oscar’s pale face.