The time for the evening banquet had arrived. The Crown Prince, who had rested in his guest room during the afternoon, changed into clothes reminiscent of a peacock and made a grand appearance in the hall. Amy, the butler, and the chef brought out the carefully prepared dishes one by one to the head table.

Contrary to expectations that he would be in a foul mood, the Crown Prince ate and drank quietly. As Martin had said, it seemed he was too exhausted from the journey to even complain. However, the relief was short-lived. After filling his stomach to some extent, he finally started to pick a fight.

“Why does the wine from the North taste like this?”

As the Crown Prince slammed down his pewter cup with a bang, Amy smiled and tried to placate him.

“The wine here is less sweet. It’s due to the climate, so please understand…”

His reaction to her response was to seize what he saw as a good opportunity and berate her even more loudly.

“I’m pointing out the attitude of hosting guests right now. You should have at least known my drinking preferences. The Grand Duke’s accession banquet will be held soon, will you make such excuses then too? Is this how a Grand Duke receives guests?”

The Crown Prince continued to rant, not giving Amy a chance to interject.

“How do you expect to rule a country when you don’t even know such things? Tsk. There’s nothing more to say, so bring me wine from the Camoa region. I must drink that today.”

“……”

Amy’s jaw clenched as she gritted her teeth. With eyes blazing with blue fire, she held back Noah, who was about to step forward. She had no intention of watching her lord bow his head to the likes of the Crown Prince.

Taking a small breath, she smiled brightly again. The Crown Prince flinched at her expression.

“I’ll have it prepared for you shortly, Your Highness.”

“…Very well.”

The Crown Prince replied glumly. He had lashed out on impulse, but seeing Amy seemed to have brought him to his senses. He nervously glanced at Amy. But she simply turned on her heel and strode out of the hall with purposeful steps.

‘In all my time as head maid in the Crown Prince’s palace, I never once saw that bastard drink wine from the Camoa region.’

It was just an excuse he had made up to torment Noah. Amy ground her teeth.

Once outside the door, Amy quickly whispered to Melvin, who had followed her.

“Call for Sir Bradley from the guard post.”

At that moment, someone jumped out from behind a pillar next to the door, blocking their path.

The woman with messy red hair and a face full of freckles as if sprinkled across her nose bridge was Sally, one of the Crown Prince’s attendants whom Amy had been surprised to see when entering the castle.

“Sally?”

Startled by her sudden appearance, Amy checked that no one else was around and then grabbed Sally’s arm, pulling her into a nearby corner.

“What are you doing here?”

As Amy pressed her, Sally stammered with an awkward grin.

“A-Amy. It’s been a while…”

“This is not the time for such talk. I’m asking why you’re here.”

“I… I wanted to see you…”

Realizing Amy was angry, Sally rolled her eyes and hung her head low. Her hands trembled as they clutched her skirt. Amy pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a deep sigh.

“Didn’t I tell you to go back to your hometown? Didn’t you get my letter?”

As soon as Sally noticed Amy’s voice softening, she quickly raised her head and started chattering.

“I-I did. But m-my father gambled again…”

“Ah…”

Sally was a maid who had entered the Crown Prince’s palace around the same time as Amy. While Amy was meticulous and strived for perfection, Sally seemed born to mess everything up.

It had become the norm for Amy to clean up after Sally’s mistakes. One might think they’d have a bad relationship because of this, but strangely enough, the two maintained a fairly good rapport.

‘That good-for-nothing father of hers is holding her back again.’

Amy gazed at Sally with sympathy. The two had bonded over their shared experience of being born into loveless families and having their parents leech off them.

After her regression, before going to the Second Prince’s palace, Amy had left Sally some money and a letter. It contained instructions for her to quit her job as a maid and return to her hometown.

‘She needs to leave before the effects of the civil war reach the capital.’

Unaware of Amy’s complex feelings, Sally continued to speak carelessly.

“You’ve seen it too, right? His Highness the Crown Prince is still waiting only for you. Amy, if you go back now…”

Despite her hard life, Sally yearned for fairy tale-like love and happy endings. That’s why she hoped for things to work out between Amy and the Crown Prince.

“That’s nonsense.”

Amy replied curtly. She had told her countless times before that such a thing would never happen, but this carefree friend remained the same. Then, glancing at Melvin waiting behind her, she added.

“I don’t have time for this right now. We’ll talk later.”

“Ah, wait!”

At that moment, Sally grabbed Amy’s arm as she was about to leave.

“Hey, about that Camnoa?”

“Camoa.”

“That wine…”

Sally stammered as she explained. During their journey to the North, they had stopped somewhere and heard that the wine from Camoa had an extremely high alcohol content, and the Crown Prince wanted to try it.

‘As I thought…’

Amy’s eyes glinted coldly. Sally shook her arm, trying to soothe her as she spoke.

“So… you could bring any wine and say it’s from Ca-Camoa. He won’t know the difference.”

“……”

It wasn’t a bad idea. Even if he found out later after tasting the real thing, there wouldn’t be much he could do about it then.

‘But he’s petty enough to hold a grudge and seek revenge until the end.’

Amy started to form a rough plan in her head. If she sent a messenger bird to the nearby Count Coleman’s estate to have them depart with the wine, then met them halfway to bring it back, she could probably serve it by tomorrow. How fortunate that the critically ill Count Coleman was a wine enthusiast…

“I’ll handle it, so don’t worry about it.”

“B-But still…”

Amy gently shook off Sally’s hand that was still holding onto her and went to Melvin. Sally looked down at her now empty hand before clenching it into a fist.

As Amy was about to explain her plan to Melvin, someone else suddenly appeared.

“Mrs. Weaver?”

It was another unexpected person. Amy had sent food to their room earlier, thinking that she and her son would be tired after the long journey. So what brought her here?

“I… I have something to tell you.”

Mrs. Weaver swallowed dryly, took a step closer, and whispered something in Amy’s ear.

“…What did you say?”

Amy’s eyes widened in surprise.

“It’s wine from Camoa.”

The Crown Prince stared with round eyes at the pewter cup Amy had placed right in front of him. How on earth did she bring this so quickly?

‘It’s obvious, she must have brought something else to deceive me.’

Inwardly scoffing, the Crown Prince picked up the cup and took a sip of the wine. Then he nearly choked and sputtered.

“What’s wrong? Isn’t this what you usually enjoy drinking?”

Amy stared at him as if she could devour him with her wide eyes, smiling only with her lips. The Crown Prince broke out in a cold sweat as he covered his mouth with a handkerchief.

“Ah, no… That’s right. I do… enjoy it…”

Hearing his words, Amy smiled ominously. Usually, the Crown Prince had a childish palate and only liked sweet drinks with low alcohol content. What nonsense about enjoying this. She quickly wiped the expression from her face and glared at him again.

“Then you must know for certain. That this is undoubtedly the genuine article.”

Fearing his heart might stop from Amy’s fierce gaze if he didn’t acknowledge it, the Crown Prince quickly nodded. But Amy had no intention of ending it there.

‘I need to drive the point home right here so he doesn’t even think of picking a fight again.’

Suddenly, Amy put on a dejected expression.

“I understand that Your Highness was concerned about your younger sibling who has risen to a high position. But since the Grand Duke has only recently received his title, if any problems arise, it would be my fault for failing to serve him properly. I suppose it’s inevitable that I’ll be criticized for deserving to be kicked out of the Crown Prince’s palace.”

At those words, sparks flew from the Crown Prince’s eyes.

“No, I’ve never said such… Who would dare to utter such nonsense!”

“Who would dare speak such words in front of Your esteemed Highness? And yet, they reach my ears all too clearly.”

“If such things were happening, you should have told me earlier, you…”

The Crown Prince fidgeted anxiously as he looked at the cowed Amy. Amy heaved a deep sigh for show.

“Now that I no longer hear such insults, my mind is at ease. Perhaps, as the rumors suggested, I was indeed overreaching. In any case…”

She then raised her hand to stop the Crown Prince, who was about to protest, as if scolding a misbehaving dog, and feigned a sorrowful expression.

“But if I’m criticized at the banquet after coming all this way…”

The Crown Prince flinched. Amy raised her eyes to stare at him intently before dropping her gaze.

“…I suppose that too would be due to my lack of virtue, so it can’t be helped.”

“……”

Trapped in a situation where he could neither advance nor retreat, he rolled his eyes nervously. At that moment, he noticed his half-brother staring intently at Amy with an expressionless face.

His heart sank.

The Crown Prince looked at Noah with wavering eyes. In his mind, he was recalling the circumstances that had brought him here.

‘Rumors are circulating that the main instigator of the civil war that started in the South has blue blood.’

The Empress, who had suddenly called the Crown Prince in secret, had dropped this bombshell.

‘Blue blood? You mean royalty? That’s impossible.’

The Empress averted her gaze from the Crown Prince, who was vehemently objecting.