Unexpectedly—though she didn’t want to express it that way, it truly was unexpected—Laila was slightly hurt by Eustar’s words. And she shuddered at the very fact that she was hurt.

“Are you saying it’s okay to be treated like that?”

Laila spoke again. This time her tone was sharper, and she herself felt it. Eustar must have noticed that her attitude was different from usual, as he slightly frowned one eyebrow with a puzzled expression.

“Laila, I told you. This isn’t something only I experience.”

“Just because it’s not only you experiencing it doesn’t mean it’s justified. If everyone has to live like slaves, does that make slavery right?”

Eustar let out a low chuckle. Usually, whenever she saw him laugh, some part of her heart would calm down, but not today.

Laila struggled to suppress her rising emotions while wondering why she was so angry.

“That’s an exaggeration, Laila.”

She thought she heard a hiss. Of course, it was an auditory hallucination, but Laila felt as if he had scratched somewhere in her chest with a very small and sharp hook.

Eustar was completely excluding Laila from this issue.

It was as if whatever treatment he received from King Ord, whether he was treated as a stud for the country or as a useless royal who could be paired with a witch as a marriage partner, it was his problem alone and could not be Laila’s concern.

That’s not wrong, is it? Laila thought. Isn’t Eustar’s judgment rather rational?

It was. But that’s why she was even angrier. The fact that it was natural for him to exclude her personally, or that he had to do so.

“Yes, I see.”

Laila rose from her seat, looking out at the empty audience hall with empty eyes. The unfamiliar hem of her dress was slightly caught under the chair leg, causing her to stumble.

“Be careful!”

Eustar’s arm caught Laila. She looked at him with eyes mixed with shame and resentment, then sharply pulled her dress free from the chair and stepped down from the platform.

Eustar seemed quite bewildered by her attitude.

As she tried to cross the audience hall to leave, he immediately followed and grabbed her arm. Laila stopped but did not turn her head towards Eustar. Rough breaths escaped, making a wheezing sound.

“Laila, what’s wrong? Why are you angry?”

“I’m not angry.”

“Don’t lie. Your whole body is showing anger right now.”

Laila’s lips were tightly curled inward. She forcibly clenched her fist with fingers still stiff and tingling, causing her shoulder to tremble. With a reddened face, she stubbornly kept her head turned away and shook off Eustar’s hand.

“You don’t need to worry about why I’m angry.”

For a moment, she wanted to turn her gaze to see Eustar’s expression. It felt like she had to…

While knowing he wouldn’t have been hurt by such words, she worried if perhaps he had been. On the other hand, she became angry once again at herself for having such contradictory concerns.

Eustar didn’t say anything. His silence was unbearable, and Laila gathered up her dress skirt and moved her feet. Clack, clack…

Even as the sound of her shoes echoed down the corridor, growing distant, Eustar did not chase after her. Laila suddenly felt an acute loneliness in the middle of the empty corridor. It was a sensation she couldn’t understand herself.

“What kind of person is the king?”

At the sudden question from Laila, who had been lying in bed for quite some time, Mel almost dropped the teapot she was holding.

Mel said,

“Lady Kristrad, you should refer to him as ‘His Majesty the King.'”

“There’s no one else listening.”

“I am listening.”

Laila’s lips pressed tightly together. Having removed all the elaborate dress and accessories worn for the ceremony, she was now wearing only a simple dress little different from nightwear, but to Mel’s eyes, she somehow looked even more beautiful.

Laila sighed briefly and said,

“Alright then. What kind of person is ‘His Majesty the King’?”

Mel, having finished pouring the tea, tilted her head slightly.

“It’s a bit difficult to answer what kind of person he is. Are you asking about political aspects?”

“No, not that. Those things…”

Laila trailed off, intending to say she wasn’t interested. Judging by Mel’s expression, it seemed she had made the right choice.

“Well, in terms of personality?”

“I couldn’t dare to discuss His Majesty’s personality, Lady Kristrad.”

“It’s okay to just tell me what you think.”

Mel wished Laila would relax her fatigue by drinking tea with some sweet castella at this point, but she seemed determined not to back down until she got some kind of answer.

It was the first time Laila had shown such a stubborn attitude, which was puzzling, and the fact that the topic was the king of all things made Mel even more curious about what was going on.

“Did His Majesty say something unpleasant to you, Lady Kristrad?”

Laila slowly closed and opened her eyes, letting out a short sigh as she lightly pinched off a corner of the castella with her fingertips.

“No, he didn’t say anything to me.”

“Then I don’t understand why you’re curious about this.”

“He said it to Eustar… His Royal Highness the Prince. If I had heard such words, I wouldn’t have been able to endure it at all, but His Royal Highness the Prince said it was nothing.”

A thoughtful look appeared on Mel’s face for a moment. But soon she shook her head and only said this:

“His Majesty the King is an excellent person both in character and politically. Now that his illness is severe… They say he’s not the same as before, but any noble official with some years of experience would know. I’ve heard that His Majesty was a very intelligent and kind-hearted person.”

Intelligent and kind-hearted. Laila snorted quietly enough that Mel couldn’t hear.

She might not know about his intelligence, but the word ‘kind-hearted’ seemed to be the adjective furthest from King Ord. She couldn’t imagine him truly loving anyone, not even his brother Eustar.

At that moment, there was a commotion in the living room outside the bedroom. Before Laila could turn her head, Mel had rushed out to check the situation. But it wasn’t Mel who returned.

“Marchioness?”

Laila jumped up from the bed in surprise. The person who had suddenly burst into her room was Marchioness Himierd.

She was clearly struggling to suppress her anger, which was rising to the top of her head. Nevertheless, her appearance was neat and elegant without a single disheveled spot. It was in stark contrast to Laila, who was wearing only a plain, comfortable dress with a wide belt.

“Are you going to stay here?”

At the abrupt question thrown by the Marchioness, Laila momentarily looked around her room—which she had just begun to get used to the feeling of being her own.

Laila said,

“Do you mean if I’m going to stay here?”

“Yes. No, I mean the royal palace. I’m asking if you’re going to continue staying in this royal palace.”

Laila stared at Himierd silently for a moment.

She seemed to understand why she had come. The fact that she was speaking down to her despite knowing that she had become Eustar’s consort, and bursting in suddenly like a disaster to ask incoherent questions, all spoke of her purpose, her anger.

“I have no choice but to, Marchioness. At least for now. And for the foreseeable future.”

The corner of Himierd’s mouth twisted slightly. She tried to sneer, but whether due to tension or anger, even that didn’t seem to go as she intended.

“Do you have feelings for His Royal Highness the Prince?”

The moment she heard those words, Laila looked at the castella with its corner slightly broken off.

It was unclear why that suddenly caught her eye. Perhaps it felt like the broken part was herself. Something incomplete, something that didn’t fit in…

And unexpectedly, not only Laila herself but also Marchioness Himierd’s face came to mind. She thought that she too was broken somewhere. Either for a very long time, or not too long ago.

In any case, they were in completely different yet similar situations. Laila felt a vague sympathy for Himierd.

But wasn’t it already too late to turn back?

“Isn’t it you, Marchioness, who has feelings for His Royal Highness the Prince?”

Laila’s voice was not aggressive. There was no intention to mock either. Anyone could tell that she was merely asking purely, and that made Himierd even angrier.

She glared at Laila with a face that had turned pale blue, then exhaled roughly.

“Yes, that’s right. I have secretly loved him for nearly ten years. He is the most precious person to me. The only one I can’t exchange for anything else.”

“Is that why you’re angry with me?”

Suddenly, Himierd frowned as if looking at something pitiful.

“Would you believe me if I said I’m not saying this because I’m obsessed with class or anything like that?”

Laila did not answer. It was a silence of denial.

Himierd continued,

“He needs a companion. Everyone knows that. But…”

Himierd’s shoulders slumped like someone who had lost all strength as she silently glared at Laila for a moment.

“I can’t just stand by and watch a witch become his companion.”

Well. Laila thought. Is that really so?

“Would it have been alright if I were a witch born into a noble family?”

Himierd’s eyes sharpened.

“Whether you believe it or not, I’m not opposing you becoming His Royal Highness’s companion because of that petty class issue. Don’t underestimate me. If His Royal Highness desires it, any lady would be fine with me. But not you. Because you will interfere with His Royal Highness’s affairs.”

“I don’t understand.”

Laila’s face finally showed some expression as she responded immediately. Bewilderment, disbelief, and a bit of resentment were all mixed up.

“It was Eustar who needed me. I didn’t need Eustar.”

“You don’t understand, Miss Laila. This isn’t about Tentinella. It’s much more important and much more difficult. You don’t know. You can never know. But if you’re there… No. The companion of His Royal Highness cannot be a witch.”