“Ah- That’s right. You’re correct. Evidence that he’s the culprit in the blonde woman murder case, it’s very necessary.”

As soon as she heard Enrico speaking deliberately casually, Emilia suddenly felt chills all over her body.

To think that Alessandro was the protagonist of that terrible incident that had been so talked about in the newspapers and continuously heard about from those around her.

‘In any case, you are not noticeably beautiful. Please try not to go out alone, and don’t stay out too late at night. The world is quite unsettled these days.’

His words from before, when he had shown concern for her, flashed through her mind. The image of him seriously telling her to be careful while actually being the real culprit was terribly incongruous.

Although she had been wary of Alessandro to some extent, his true identity was beyond imagination. To think he had been hiding such a gloomy and murderous inner self.

And to think that such a person was the next king of this kingdom. It was truly fortunate that Enrico had found out even now.

“But that evidence all came out at dawn. From that worm you were using who’s not even worth mentioning.”

Enrico replied nonchalantly, pointing with his chin towards Count Valemont.

Alessandro irritably shook off Enrico’s hand while naturally turning his gaze towards Count Valemont. The sight of him foaming at the mouth and unconscious was truly unsightly beyond measure.

He couldn’t be restrained by just that much. But why was he feeling so uneasy? Though he thought it couldn’t be, a nagging doubt that made him feel unsettled clung persistently.

The blonde woman’s abduction was a matter he had only secretly ordered the shadow to do, so Count Valemont shouldn’t know about it. But with Enrico being so confident, he couldn’t immediately deny it.

How, what exactly? Then could it be that he really sent those so-called pieces of evidence to His Majesty the King?

The questions flashing through his mind endlessly gradually tightened around his heart. Alessandro’s chest heaved greatly up and down.

‘…It seems he really is the murderer.’

As if he had too many things pricking his conscience to brazenly pretend otherwise, Alessandro was unable to hide his agitation. A deep disgust spread across Emilia’s face.

To think she had approached such a person to try to uncover information about her parents. And to think it was true that her parents had died because of such a person.

The things she had tried to accomplish alone were all revealed in a single night under Enrico’s hand. It was terribly futile. While she had struggled and tried to do something for days on end with no progress, just floundering about.

She felt deflated yet relieved, and on the other hand, bitter. So what would happen to Alessandro now?

It was up to the King’s hands what would happen from now on, but would he really receive a fitting punishment?

The fitting punishment she had in mind was for Alessandro to live his whole life in torment, or to disappear from this world altogether.

‘…In the end, is there really nothing I can do with my own hands?’

Emilia looked down at Enrico’s hand that was still holding her arm. The heat she felt from him was even stronger than usual, so she could indirectly but sufficiently feel how poor his physical condition was at the moment.

She had caught a glimpse of cold sweat earlier too, so perhaps he was already at his limit just standing here now.

‘Even though he’s not feeling well…’

It was frustrating, as if her own stubbornness had somehow been transferred to him. This kind of devotion was not what she wanted at all.

Although his sincere feelings were appreciated, that was only momentary, and the more this burdensome situation repeated, the more it became an overwhelming pressure she couldn’t handle.

‘I should tell him to go back for now. What if he collapses like this?’

Just as Emilia was slowly reaching out her other hand to cover Enrico’s hand, at that moment, the sound of multiple horse hooves began to be heard from afar.

Startled, Emilia curled her hand that had stopped in mid-air into a fist. Her gaze turned towards the direction of the sound, spotted the very small red palace flag, and then looked at Alessandro.

As if she had been waiting for it, their gazes met.

Until now he had tried to deny it, saying the evidence wasn’t certain, but the fact that the royal knights had come all the way here was a clear sign that a definite problem had arisen. Given the circumstances, it was obvious to anyone that they must have been sent by the King.

‘Why is he looking at me like that?’

But for some reason, Alessandro was staring intently only at her while slowly raising the corners of his mouth.

At the eerie smile, her feet instinctively stepped back. But at that moment, Alessandro rushed forward, grabbed her arm, and pulled her to the side.

“Ugh-!”

“Emilia!”

With the sudden momentum, Emilia’s hands that were held on both sides were pulled, causing her body to stagger.

Enrico quickly tried to stop Alessandro, but the cold gun muzzle touching her temple was faster. Click, the heavy sound of it being loaded echoed in her ear.

“Let go.”

As if those words were a signal, black-masked men rushed in from all directions.

The escort knights who had been approaching her moved to confront the black-masked men, and the only ones left standing in place were Enrico, Alessandro, and lastly, herself. Just the three of them.

‘If I can just hold out a little longer, the royal knights will arrive…’

Her jade-colored eyes shook greatly beneath her finely trembling eyelashes. Enrico’s face reflected in those eyes no longer showed any trace of his earlier composure. He was unable to hide his anxiety with his rigidly frozen expression.

“You’re still holding hands? Take your hands off what’s mine.”

Alessandro’s hand that had been holding Emilia’s arm crept like a snake and wrapped around her waist. The unpleasant breath spreading across the back of her head caused fear to surge up, making her heart pound as if it would burst.

The once hot temperature gradually dropped. Emilia glanced down at the large hand moving away, then looked up at him again.

Enrico’s mouth, which had always confidently said everything he wanted to say, was now tightly shut as if it had been pasted with glue. Enrico, who had always held the upper hand over Alessandro, was now holding his breath as he carefully watched the situation.

Alessandro’s hand that was lightly embracing her waist moved in deeper, almost hugging her. It was unbearably horrifying.

Due to the pulling force, her body automatically pressed against him, resulting in Alessandro standing even more tightly behind her back.

“I had prepared this thinking I’d have to forcibly drag this woman along if she didn’t come willingly, but look how it’s being used now. Don’t think about stalling for time. I’ll shoot the moment those guys arrive here.”

The cold sensation of the gun muzzle pressing firmly against her temple was less chilling than the soft feeling pressing down on top of her head.

Her whole body trembled and her eyes blinked rapidly at Alessandro’s actions as he muttered with his lips pressed against her.

“Are you trying to escalate a matter that could end with dethronement? If you continue like this, it will be irreversible.”

Enrico spoke quickly in a rough voice.

“Dethronement? I don’t even accept that. Why don’t you, our esteemed uncle, exert some influence at a time like this? If you just smooth over this incident well, I’ll consider your sincerity and return her after I’ve made good use of her.”

“…What?”

“This woman, you want her desperately, don’t you? You probably won’t be satisfied until you have her, but getting her back should be the priority, right? Is it because we share the same blood? I understand your feelings better than anyone else.”

“Alessandro!”

Finally unable to contain his boiling anger, Enrico spat out the crown prince’s name as if grinding it between his teeth, his eyes rolling back.

Red veins spread across his eyes, consumed by rage, and his neck also flushed red as if to visibly show the heat rising to the top of his head.

“Your Grace!”

As if his precarious physical condition had finally reached its limit, Enrico grabbed his forehead and staggered slightly.

At that moment, her body instinctively lunged forward. Emilia completely forgot about the gun muzzle aimed at her head and struggled to break free from the arm tightening around her waist, as if Enrico was the only person she could see.

However, she could only flail about in place. As she clawed at the unyielding arm and was about to step on Alessandro’s foot, she felt a force strike the back of her neck.

“As expected, you weren’t feeling well. It would be nice to just kill you now and leave…”

Her body began to go limp like a puppet with its strings cut. She felt the arm around her waist tighten its embrace even more to keep her from collapsing to the floor.

“For now, taking her away is the priority, so I’ll let it slide this once.”

And here her memory cut off.

Tak, tak. The sound of burning firewood could be heard. Emilia barely lifted her heavy eyelids, then blinked her eyes rapidly at the red light dimly filling her vision.

‘My head…’

As her consciousness gradually returned, the back of her head throbbed. Was it where she had been hit just before fainting? Emilia reflexively tried to raise her hand towards her head, but looked down at her arm that wouldn’t budge.

She saw the rope binding her upper body to the chair. It was a situation that made her sigh involuntarily. To think she would be kidnapped. She hadn’t thought she would be caught so easily, but she hadn’t expected such an extreme act.

“Are you awake?”

As she anxiously moistened her dry lips and tried to look around, she suddenly felt a presence behind her.

“I didn’t think you’d be unable to wake up all day. Did it hurt?”

Along with the hand languidly caressing the nape of her neck, Alessandro approached in front of her. Emilia barely managed to exhale a trembling breath.

“…Where is this place?”

She scanned her surroundings needlessly, trying to avoid Alessandro who was intrusively bringing his face close to hers.