Calix’s cold words cut her to the bone.

A faint hint of irritation lingered in his golden eyes as he looked down at her.

Lianna’s fingers tightened around the folds of her dress.

Even if his feelings for her were not genuine, he had said that he wanted to marry her.

Because of that, she had done everything she could to help him.

She had sacrificed sleep, staying up late into the night to study the complicated etiquette of the royal court.

She had never imagined that her efforts would be the reason she was being scolded now.

After all, who would willingly choose to become ill?

If he could not praise her for her efforts, she thought simply acknowledging her hard work would have prevented her from feeling so hurt.

Lianna bit softly against the tender flesh inside her mouth.

She had always known he was cold and indifferent by nature, yet finding herself hurt by him again made her feel unbearably foolish.

In the end, despite how difficult it felt, she forced herself to speak.

“…I’m sorry for being stubborn for no reason.”

With other men, she was always the one who had to give in first.

Calix behaved as though this was only natural.

Ignoring the farewell she had forced herself to offer, he climbed into the carriage without another word.

Lianna watched quietly as the carriage disappeared into the distance.

It was only after Countess Clotilde gently urged her to return inside and rest that she finally turned away.

Her relationship with Calix felt like two parallel lines —always standing side by side, yet never truly crossing.

Was it arrogant to believe that she had understood this from the beginning and would still be able to endure it?

These unanswered questions lingered in her mind for a long time before slowly fading away.

***

“This time, Your Highness truly went too far.”

Calix had barely leaned back against the carriage seat and closed his eyes when he felt a quiet reproach.

He had intended to rest briefly on the way to the royal palace, but was greeted with criticism instead.

He frowned faintly, lifted his eyelids, and directed a sharp golden stare towards Guildford, who was sitting opposite him.

“And since when did you start taking that woman’s side?”

A crooked sneer curved along Calix’s lips.

Not long ago, Guildford had acted ready to drag the woman in by force the moment he was ordered to.

So why was he suddenly defending her now?

“Did she ask you to look after her behind my back or something?”

“Of course not. I’ve never even spoken with her privately.”

Then again, Lianna was far too naïve to make that kind of request of Guildford in the first place.

“It was Your Highness who said you intended to take Lady Lianna as your wife. I merely thought that meant you should treat her a little more kindly.”

A faint, humorless laugh escaped from Calix’s lips.

Kindness.

What an oddly unfitting word for a man who would drive a blade into his own lover without hesitation if ordered to do so by Calix.

Calix cast an indifferent gaze out of the carriage window.

A light breeze blew through the streets as the sun began to set.

A pile of fallen leaves rolled across the red stone pavement, swirling briefly into the air.

“How I deal with that woman is none of your concern.”

Calix spoke curtly.

Though Guildford had expected that answer, a part of him had still wondered whether his lord might treat Lianna differently.

“Then why insist on making her your wife? You could have simply used her as a tool to break the curse.”

“She has many uses. There’s no reason beyond that.”

Calix’s attitude remained unchanged.

After a brief silence, Guildford spoke again.

“But doesn’t she resemble Lady Leticia quite a bit?”

Calix raised an eyebrow slightly.

For a moment, the calm surface of his golden eyes was disturbed by a faint ripple.

This change occurred the instant Leticia’s name was mentioned.

Guildford knew better than anyone that it was practically forbidden to mention her name in Calix’s presence.

She was the fiancée he had lost long ago.

The fact that the only woman capable of breaking his curse happened to resemble her so perfectly felt like a cruel joke played by fate itself.

At least, that was how Guildford saw it.

“Your Highness… when you look at her, aren’t you thinking of Lady Leticia as well?”

It had long since become an unspoken rule never to mention Leticia’s name aloud.

When the question was asked, Calix’s eyes darkened instantly, clearly indicating that a line had been crossed.

And yet…

When he thought of Lianna’s face, perhaps he could not entirely blame his aide either.

She resembled Leticia far too much.

The first time he saw her, he even entertained the absurd notion that Leticia had somehow returned.

Of course, no one understood better than Calix himself that this was impossible.

Any pointless sentimentality he had briefly allowed himself to feel ended the night he first took her into his arms.

“Refrain from making useless assumptions.”

Calix’s voice turned cold.

Guildford immediately lowered his head in apology, realizing that he had gone too far.

He knew perfectly well that he had gone too far.

As the conversation continued, the carriage passed through the main gates of the royal palace.

In front of the grand palace, where the banquet was being held, there were long rows of carriages bearing the crests of countless noble houses.

When the carriage finally slowed to a stop, a servant quickly approached.

With a respectful gesture, he opened the door and was just about to escort Calix into the banquet hall when—

Something shifted above the tree branches.

The instant Calix drew his sword, a sharp metallic sound ripped through the darkness.

Clang!

Relying on instinct as sharp as a beast’s, he deflected the arrow hurtling towards him.

At the same moment, Guildford drew his sword. Catching sight of a black shadow fleeing from the direction the arrow had been fired, he immediately gave chase.

“H-Hah! What in the world is…”

Terrified by the sudden attack, the elderly servant’s legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground.

Calix roughly pulled the arrow out of the ground where it had lodged itself just beside the servant’s feet.

Who would dare attempt something so reckless?

To try to assassinate him so openly on a day when so many nobles had gathered for the victory banquet?

It was absurd.

As always, the queen was most likely behind the attempt.

But this was unlike Valietta.

No matter how much she wanted him dead, she had never acted so rashly before.

The moment Calix realized the reason behind it, a cold sneer curled his lips.

‘It seems she’s become quite anxious because the curse has failed to bring me down.’

This reckless act was proof that the Queen had been pushed to the limit.

Calix tightened his grip on the arrow shaft.

Crack!

The solid wooden shaft snapped in his hand.

His gaze shifted towards the glittering banquet hall.

Brushing past a staggering servant, he strode up the steps and reached the doors.

“Since the queen has welcomed me so grandly, I ought to meet her expectations.”

Calix threw open the massive doors made of gold and ivory.

A murderous gleam burned in his golden eyes.

***

Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the banquet hall, pouring brilliant cascades of light down onto the room.

Beneath their glow, nobles dressed in lavish finery gathered in small groups to exchange greetings and hold lively conversations.

This victory banquet was particularly grand.

As it was being held to celebrate the defeat of the northern barbarians — a long-cherished wish of Gloucester’s — King Philip had spared no expense in preparing it.

Intricately carved ice sculptures and flowers cultivated in the royal greenhouses adorned every corner of the hall.

The provincial nobles, who rarely had the chance to enter the royal palace, were almost overwhelmed by the extravagant spectacle before them.

Although they themselves lived comfortably, the wealth and splendor of the royal family existed on an entirely different level.

Until the royal couple made their official entrance, the nobles gathered according to their houses of origin and immersed themselves in conversation.

After all, no one knew when another banquet of this scale would be held again.

This was the perfect opportunity to strengthen existing connections and forge new alliances.

Some of the nobles were so transparently ambitious that they wandered eagerly throughout the hall, ensuring that everyone noticed their presence.

Meanwhile, Kreset quietly lifted his wine glass and observed the lively atmosphere of the banquet hall — a stage for restless social climbing and endless networking for everyone else.

Kreset, the son of Queen Valietta and Crown Prince of Gloucester, was an intellectual young man, with no interest in swords or the battlefield.

In both appearance and temperament, he was the complete opposite of Calix.

Although he had a somewhat delicate appearance, Kreset was undeniably handsome, much like the rest of the Gloucester royal family.

Unmarried daughters of noble families would sometimes approach him shyly in an attempt to start a conversation.

He fulfilled these social obligations with a gentle smile and soft-spoken politeness, but found every moment exhausting.

He would much rather have sat quietly somewhere with a book than endure a noisy banquet.

If he had truly been free to choose, he would not have attended at all.

After all, the purpose of this banquet was to celebrate Calix’s military achievements.

For Kreset, who had achieved nothing in the war against the barbarians, it felt like sitting on a bed of thorns.

However, if he refused to attend, his mother would become even angrier if rumors spread because of it.

Who is more worthy of the throne?

As Calix’s battlefield victories became more impressive, people began to quietly compare the two brothers behind closed doors.

These comparisons had become more frequent ever since their father had openly begun favoring Calix.

Naturally, no one dared voice these thoughts aloud in front of their mother, but still…

Even Kreset himself knew that Calix had far greater qualities suited to a king.

Kreset’s talents lay in deciphering ancient, dust-covered books, not in politics or power struggles.

He also lacked the overwhelming charisma and commanding presence that came naturally to Calix.

If only he had been born a scholar instead!

Then perhaps he could have spent his life peacefully buried beneath endless stacks of books, free from worry and expectation.

Kreset quietly swallowed a sigh.

For a moment, he almost wished his half-brother wouldn’t appear at the banquet tonight.

Unfortunately, it seemed that this wish would not be granted.

Suddenly, the attention of the entire crowd shifted towards the entrance of the banquet hall.

Calix himself pushed open the massive doors.

“Announce me.”

His gaze was so piercing that he appeared capable of killing someone on the spot. It landed on the royal guard.

The guard quickly regained his composure after instinctively feeling a chill run down his spine in the face of that terrifying presence.

“His Highness Calix, Grand Duke of Einbert, has arrived!”