At Aaron’s declaration, the queen relaxed the tension in the hand that gripped the necklace and exhaled the held breath. She raised her hand slightly onto the table.

Straightening her waist, lifting her head, adjusting her posture, she carefully opened her mouth.

“Viscount. Please take care of our Del.”

In the quiet corridor, the footsteps of the two echoed like a reverberation. Without a word, the faces of the two walking together were illuminated by the flickering red candles.

Aaron returning after the banquet and Delia, who came to see him off, cast their shadows side by side on the floor.

The two, who had finally obtained permission for the long-awaited marriage, walked away.
However, as if having heard the story of parting, the air between them was deeply submerged.

The rhythmic sound of Delia’s shoes came to a halt right after turning the corner of the corridor.

“This is ridiculous.”

Feeling frustrated as she couldn’t find an answer, Delia tightened her grip on Aaron’s hand, which was placed on her arm.

As Delia stopped, Aaron, who was walking with her, also halted and turned his body.

Delia settled onto Aaron’s face, staring at the flickering candlelight, and opened her mouth.

“Why don’t you look for the Crown Prince?”

Unlike during the day in the workshop, Aaron, with a neatly tied Delia, looked down at her.

A subtle light settled on the head ornament, shimmering faintly.

Detecting her anxiety amidst the light display created by Delia wasn’t difficult.

With a deepening gaze, Aaron stared at Delia and gave his answer.

“If that’s the queen’s will, we should follow it.”

It was, as always, a leisurely and composed response.

Nevertheless, Delia’s anxiety didn’t easily subside.

“Commander.”

“Why?”

“Not looking for the Crown Prince, do you know what that means?”

“I’m well aware.”

Guessing from the king and queen’s intentions, Aaron raised his hand.

Perhaps he would remain as a Viscount rather than a Commander.

Carefully encircling Delia’s smooth cheek, which was reddened, he softly stroked it.

Anxious Delia avoided Aaron’s gaze.

“This isn’t what I wanted.”

An unknown darkness seemed to creep through her skin.

Thinking of her brother, she couldn’t look at Aaron comfortably.

The candle perched on her long and thin eyelashes shook finely.

“Princess.”

Aaron’s low voice echoed faintly in the empty corridor.

“Princess, look at me.”

Despite Aaron’s demand, Delia’s gaze still remained downward.

When her blue pupils once again tried to avoid him, Aaron exhaled a deep sigh.

With the hand that had wrapped around her cheek, Aaron grasped Delia’s chin.

Applying a subtle force, he made her face him gradually.

Only then did Delia’s eyelids slowly rise, and her lake-like azure eyes met Aaron’s.

“Princess, this is not a problem for anyone but Alfredo.”

Aaron drew a clear line for the trembling Delia.

Above her slightly quivering pupils, the image of Delia hesitating to answer about marriage during the recent banquet flashed.

Aaron gently caressed Delia’s chin with his thumb, as if comforting her emotions.

“Princess, it has nothing to do with you. The problem is that Alfredo abandoned the duty of the royal family. He left his own position willingly. This is a matter unrelated to victory or defeat.”

“…If he’s somewhere injured, unable to return. If he’s lying unconscious somewhere.”

If he’s not injured.

To suppress the suspicion she dared not utter, Delia bit her lips tightly.

“If he’s injured, there should have been some contact by now.”

Again.

Aaron clicked his tongue, dissatisfied.
Delia was habitually nibbling on her lower lip.

It was a habit of Delia that emerged when she felt cornered or tense.

Aaron, holding her chin, exerted some force to slightly part Delia’s lips.

“Don’t think too deeply. Let’s think about it once Alfredo comes back.”

Aaron’s firm and warm fingers gently brushed Delia’s parted lips.

With each touch of his fingers, the moistened and slightly swollen lips changed their shape.

Delia’s tension gradually eased with his slow hand movements.

“At least, we should wait for the person involved, whether to pull up or down.”

His voice was soothing, like calming a whimpering child.

His firm touch conveyed through the lips.

His sturdy presence supported the trembling Delia.

In her eyes, which were trembling with anxiety, a gradually spreading blue light flickered.

“Then, Commander.”

Delia, lost in thought for a moment, spoke firmly as if making a significant decision.

“Call Mei.”

Mei, a spy of the Strelitz Empire deeply embedded in the royal palace.

Mei reported that Alfredo moved to restrain Delia.

It meant that Alfredo might not share the same feelings as Delia.

She had to confirm the truth she had been deliberately avoiding, whether Alfredo was the brother she knew.

What she might be missing about Alfredo.

“There’s something I need to confirm with Mei.”

“Mei?”

Aaron, who had been examining Delia’s reactions with his deep gaze, suddenly blinked his eyebrows.

The faintly shining candlelight shook oddly.

The ambient temperature changed in an instant.

Aaron, emitting a cold aura, approached Delia with determination.

“Mei, who the hell is that?”

Delia, taken aback by Aaron’s inexplicable anger, stepped back one pace.

She felt a cool wall against her back, and a chilly sensation enveloped her.

“Commander, why are you suddenly like this?”

Aaron’s pupils were ablaze with raging flames, and his voice sounded as if it could freeze the surroundings.

Approaching forcefully, Aaron cornered Delia between him and the wall.

Drenched in jealousy akin to the reddish candlelight, he covered Delia.

Delia had no choice but to endure Aaron’s anger, not knowing the reason, as his wrathful hand brushed her cheek.

“Boswell, Giuliano, Afran, and now Mei.”

“What are you talking about?”

Aaron, pressing Delia as if embracing her, leaned against the wall and growled softly.

“How many men are there, exactly?”