“There was a commotion in the Crown Prince’s room?”

Prince Ludwig half-surprised and half-contemplative, rose from his seat.

“Yes.”

“Explain in more detail.”

“After Fernando entered the Crown Prince’s room, there was a loud noise shortly after.”

“Did anyone else enter?”

“Etienne… Lady Etienne entered.”

Prince Ludwig clenched his fist with a pleased expression. It went as I thought.

Shaking Fernando to strike the Crown Prince. Worries about any deviations along the way seemed needless, as everything unfolded exactly as I had envisioned.

“But I couldn’t see exactly what the situation was.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

In that room are the items my mother hid; the two of them cannot escape from the trap. They probably don’t even know if those items exist in the first place.

So, Fernando, filled with hatred towards Reinhardt, must have rushed to kill him.

“Now things are finally going well.”

Ludwig breathed a sigh of relief as he sat back in his chair. The sun will rise soon. If the Crown Prince does not appear to greet the last day of the funeral, everyone will realize that something is wrong.

“People will realize that something has gone terribly wrong.”

Amidst the bewildered crowd, Ludwig stepped forward. The knights watching his expression wondered if it was appropriate to ask such a question, but they decided to take the chance.
“What if the Crown Prince appears as if nothing happened… What will happen?”

“Are you asking about the possibility of failure?”

Ludwig stared at the knight who asked a question that dampened his mood but soon regained his smile. It was a genuine expression, not a forced smile, as if he appreciated the person.

“Well, then there’s nothing we can do.”

“Really… Is that so?”

“We’ll just have to launch the next counterattack.”

Ludwig genuinely chuckled, seemingly delighted.

“Do you think I’ve staked everything on this matter? No. I always consider the worst-case scenario.”

Of course, it would have been best if everything I envisioned had been executed before the issue was resolved. However, things rarely go as planned.

“I have many hidden cards. There’s Haina, and if needed, I can even touch Duke Shupraher.”

There were many options available to exploit for killing Reinhardt.

“And… there’s also Alex.”

Ludwig’s words contained a lot of meaning. Currently, I’ve used Etienne and Fernando, but next will be Alex and Duke Shupraher.

“Come to think of it, Reinhardt is quite foolish. Suddenly becoming so cheerful… he’s turned into a fool.”

When Reinhardt was young, he never smiled. His expression always seemed to indicate a headache.

So, it was difficult to understand what he was thinking, but since he started laughing, he became more predictable.

“He fell for it once, but he won’t fall for it again.”

Over the past two years, Ludwig has realized his own shortcomings, so he won’t be outmaneuvered again.
“I’m looking forward to what will happen in a few hours.”

Ludwig’s voice was filled with anticipation.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The disturbance ended with Etienne falling asleep first. Her rhythmic breathing, indicating that she succumbed to exhaustion after a challenging day, could be heard as she couldn’t withstand the early morning hours.

“Your Highness.”

“Hush.”

Fernando was about to say something he couldn’t say while Etienne was awake, but Reinhardt stopped him.

Then, Reinhardt gazed intently at Etienne. He shook her hand in front of her eyes several times, and even poked her cheek a few times. Finding Reinhardt’s behavior odd, Fernando asked.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Etienne is more sensitive than I thought.”

He had experienced being caught by Etienne multiple times. She had woken up once when Reinhardt was next to her in the carriage, and in the cave where they found the mitri tree, she woke up in the middle of their exploration.

When she fell ill, and Reinhardt went to nurse her, Etienne knew more than they expected. So, they couldn’t afford to let their guard down. After carefully examining Etienne for confirmation several times, Reinhardt, convinced she had fallen into a deep sleep, had her lean on his shoulder.

Looking at this scene, Reinhardt met Fernando’s eyes and said, as if asserting his eligibility.

“She’s my lover now.”

With that, Fernando hid his clenched fist in his chest, indicating that he had more than enough qualifications for this.
It was painful for me to just watch, but there was nothing I could do about it.

“What do you have to say?”

“Is this the result of Prince Ludwig’s arbitrary actions?”

“I don’t think so.”

Listening to Etienne’s breathing as if it were music, Reinhardt smiled with a touch of self-pity. It was embarrassing to expose the flaws of the royal family, but he couldn’t hide it.

It was better to inform Fernando, who already knew to some extent, about the situation accurately.

“Lena Hwangbi has moved. This is my speculation, but I think the brooch was hidden by Hwangbi.”

He added that he couldn’t be certain, but both Reinhardt, who was speaking, and Fernando, who was listening, thought that his speculation was correct.