“Today, the Crown Prince will be visiting.”

Duke Schupraher’s heavy voice resonated in the dining room, causing his wife and children, who were in the middle of their meal, to look up at him.

Although Fernando was the heir to the dukedom, he had other siblings.

“Why is His Highness the Crown Prince coming?” asked Leila, the youngest and only daughter of the family.

Duke Schupraher shook his head in response to her question.

“I don’t know.”

Fernando internally sneered at his response.

‘As if that sly man wouldn’t know. He wouldn’t open his doors without knowing the purpose…’

“However, it seems he’s not coming with bad intentions, so make sure to welcome the Crown Prince properly.”

“Understood.”

Leila nodded cheerfully, excitedly adding, “But really, isn’t the Crown Prince incredibly handsome? My friends and I talk about nothing else when we’re together.”

It wasn’t unusual for girls to discuss attractive men. So, the duchess smiled gently and said, “Don’t you talk about your brother? Fernando is very handsome too.”

Leila grimaced as if the idea was distasteful.

“Of course not. What’s handsome about him…”

Despite Leila’s obvious distaste, Fernando continued his meal silently.

“Oh dear, Fernando is so dashing. That’s why the lady from the Clare family chose him as her partner.”

Mention of Etienne brought a slight smile to Fernando’s face. He didn’t care much about Leila’s opinions, but he enjoyed hearing about Etienne.

“That’s just because she has odd tastes. Why would she choose my brother over the Crown Prince… Though I’m glad His Highness didn’t choose anyone.”

Leila obviously preferred the Crown Prince over Fernando.

But Fernando remained unaffected by her comments, focusing on his meal. He didn’t want to meet the Crown Prince, planning instead to go to the lake after the meal.

“How’s your training going?”

The Duke asked Fernando, who replied, “It’s going well.”

“Ambiguous. Aren’t you just dragging time without feeling anything?”

Instead of responding, Fernando gestured with his hand, causing Leila’s water glass to shake. The water inside swirled and began to spill out.

As everyone watched, Fernando flicked his hand, and the swirling water splashed onto Leila’s dress.

“Oh brother!”

Ignoring Leila’s scream, Fernando stood up.

“I’ll be going for my training.”

“Alright, go on,” the Duke replied, pleased to see Fernando could manipulate water. Only Leila was left fuming, having been drenched by her brother.

Leaving the dining room, Fernando thought of the Crown Prince. His appearance was plain, with eyes, nose, and mouth in the right places, and his personality was skewed. But what’s so great about him? He wondered if Etienne also found the Crown Prince handsome.

“What about me?”

Then he thought about his own appearance. Did Etienne find him handsome?

Considering visiting Etienne to ask her, Fernando changed his direction but stopped upon seeing someone approaching.

It was Crown Prince Lehart.

Fernando briefly contemplated ignoring him but hesitated a bit too long. Soon, Lehart was right in front of him, and Fernando simply gave a brief bow.

“Seems you’re on your way somewhere. Farewell.”

“Do you have something to tell me?”

“To you, Fernando?”

Lehart, with crossed arms, looked Fernando over and said bluntly.

“I might not know about others, but it seems I have nothing to say to you.”
“I couldn’t have done that to you.” Lehart muttered softly to himself. Fernando moved on, ignoring his words. He disliked the Crown Prince.

Etienne looked down at the paper in her hand. It was the one where Lani had written her wish, and the one she had used her restoration ability on.

“I can read the past and future now.”

Originally, she only had the ability to restore objects, but due to the Crown Prince, she had gained the ability to know the future.

Like the person the Crown Prince was searching for, Etienne knew what would happen in the future. The Crown Prince would die, and her family would fall at the hands of the Emperor, who would be the second prince.

Meanwhile, the Schupraher Ducal family would survive unscathed, and Fernando… he would probably become Lani’s lover.

“The only thing I don’t know.”

She didn’t know what happened after her death. She confessed her feelings for Fernando before being executed. But…

“What a mess. If the Crown Prince saved my life, I can’t just leave him to his fate.”

She couldn’t reveal that she was the person the Crown Prince was looking for, but her heart felt heavy.

‘If I can’t prevent the Crown Prince’s death, my family will fall,’ she thought, now confused whether she should ‘definitely prevent his death.’

“But my family comes first… It’s better not to say anything, right?”

It would be better to hide it than to say she might not be able to prevent his death.

“Maybe I can help him secretly.”

That seemed like the best approach under the circumstances, but the Crown Prince had specifically asked for her help. What if she had no choice but to help him?