Gustav reluctantly took the book, and Leonhardt began explaining.

“Magic stones have different abilities depending on their color. For example, blue ones react to harmful substances like poison, while green ones possess strong energy……”

“I know that much. Get to the point.”

When Gustav glared at him with still-smoldering eyes, Leonhardt grew extremely tense and tried to explain as concisely as possible.

“Orange isn’t documented here because it hasn’t been officially confirmed. However, it says that yellow-family magic stones boost people’s spirits and help them sleep deeply, with more vibrant colors producing stronger effects.”

Gustav listened to his explanation while reading the passage in the book.

「There is a record of a miner who fell into a hypnotic state after excavating a vermilion magic stone at the southwestern border, but this is likely one of many exaggerated stories about the mysterious aspects of magic stones.」

“The southwestern border is near the Kingdom of Lucia, Anaïs’s homeland, and the Forest of Sleeping Monsters. And don’t magic stones turn to ordinary rocks when they run out of energy!”

Gustav closed the book with a small sigh.

“So you’re saying that everything you did was because Anaïs deliberately approached you and bewitched you with a neural-type magic stone?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

When Leonhardt nodded firmly, Gustav asked again.

“When did your magic stone change like this?”

“It was fine until the ball. When I returned, it had become like this. Anaïs was also wearing a necklace made of the same magic stone, and something strange happened when she stood before the Emperor. The magic stone she was wearing broke and rolled across the floor…… I clearly saw with my own eyes that it turned into black stone fragments.”

“Magic stones don’t change that suddenly.”

“Since there are no documented cases yet, it might have unique properties.”

Leonhardt eagerly added, but Gustav remained cold.

However, Leonhardt was quite perceptive when in his right mind. He knew that when his father made such an expression, it meant he was calculating intensely inside.

For instance, regardless of the truth, he might be considering how to use this to blur the issue…

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Leonhardt approached Gustav, knelt again, and pleaded desperately.

“Please believe me just this once. Nothing else makes sense. For the past few days, I didn’t even ask about Mother’s well-being. She would never have failed to come looking for me. I forgot about everyone else and could only think about Anaïs. All I could think was that I needed to be good to her, that I had to do anything that would make her happy…… That was all that occupied my mind.”

“Yes, you were truly out of your mind today. But you don’t seem much different now.”

Leonhardt looked at Gustav as if asking what he meant.

“Have you gone to see Barbara?”

After a long silence, he answered incoherently.

“Ah…… Fred told me she was doing well…… I judged that resolving this matter was the priority.”

“Leonhardt, that’s your limitation.”

Gustav spoke as if delivering a verdict.

“What do you think Daphne would have done?”

There was no need to ask.

If she had been under magical influence and then freed, she wouldn’t have prioritized herself but would have rushed to check on others.

“That’s why I wanted her as your match. It wasn’t just about the alliance between our families.”

Gustav opened the bedroom door to leave and added one final comment.

“But today I realized how terribly my ambition has treated that child. Don’t try to appease Daphne. If she wants it, the engagement will proceed to be broken.”

Slam!

Though it was only the bedroom door that closed, Leonhardt remained kneeling, unable to rise.

He stayed there as if nailed to the spot for a long time before collapsing onto the floor.

‘Break the engagement with Daphne?’

This was a shock of an entirely different dimension than when she had wanted it.

He had thought there was plenty of room to turn things around. Just as he had planned to visit Barbara after resolving the magic stone issue.

Suddenly, he remembered Gustav saying he hated being called Father and wanted to be addressed as “Your Grace.” He knew that wasn’t simply meant as punishment.

‘But if he’s mentioning breaking the engagement with Daphne as well……’

Leonhardt jumped to his feet.

Even in normal times, Gustav had been greatly displeased with his only son. Leonhardt had realized as he matured that it was almost a blind emotion.

And he also knew that Gustav could be utterly cold-blooded when necessary as a Duke.

At this rate, his position as heir would be in jeopardy.

An outsider might ask who would pass their family to a complete stranger when they had a perfectly fine son.

But Leonhardt’s intuition screamed a warning like a sharp cry.

“Daphne……”

He called her name as if groaning.

Given the situation, he absolutely had to win back her heart.

First, he needed to appease her.

Yes, with gifts. He had never given her proper presents before, so she would surely be pleased.

He would accompany her to dress shops if she wanted and take her to the cafés she had always wanted to visit.

And if that didn’t work…

He was prepared to do anything. Whether it meant deceiving her, threatening her, anything at all.

At the same time, he remembered how weak she was toward people, especially family.

Leonhardt picked up the book Gustav had thrown down and looked around. Fortunately, it seemed Gustav had taken the envelope containing the magic stone with him.

He sighed with relief and muttered:

“I’m sorry, Daphne. I’ll do better. Please show mercy just one more time.”

As he said this, he thought how fortunate it was that his fiancée was Daphne. A warm person who always smiled and embraced others. He was certain she would continue to be that way.

Leonhardt couldn’t be more grateful that Daphne was his fiancée. At the same time, he completely forgot about Anaïs.

⁕⁕⁕

Anaïs fled from the strange gentleman’s carriage.

She hurriedly hailed a passing hired carriage—an old vehicle typically used by commoners that only departed when at least three passengers were aboard.

The commoners were startled by her elaborate dress, then grumbled with displeasure as her presence made the space cramped. They even snickered when they noticed her makeup was completely smeared, making her look like a clown.

But she had no choice but to endure it. Her face burned with shame and despair, emotions she had never experienced before.

When she finally arrived home, the maids who came to greet her were shocked and didn’t know what to do.

Anaïs slapped the cheek of the maid standing closest to her.

“How long are you going to stand there? Hurry up and prepare my bath!”

Even in the midst of her anger, Anaïs shouted at the maids to handle her dress carefully.

After bathing with the help of her servants, she finally lay down in bed. Though completely drained of energy, she couldn’t fall asleep.

Anaïs tossed and turned before suddenly sitting up.

“The necklace!”

She had just remembered the broken magic stone fragments she had left on the dressing table in the powder room.

“Ha, what do I do now?”

She bit her fingernails anxiously.

“It’s fine. Maids frequently go in and out of that room to clean. They won’t know what it is. So it’s fine.”

Though she tried to reassure herself, her anxiety continued to tighten around her.

By the time her ten fingernails had nothing left to bite, dawn was breaking. Anaïs, completely exhausted, fell asleep as if fainting.

At that moment, the door suddenly opened and masked people entered her bedroom.

“Wake her.”

At the command of the man standing in the center, two people went to the bed, grabbed the sleeping Anaïs by both arms, and abruptly pulled her up.

Eek…

Anaïs was so startled that she let out a shrill scream before quickly closing her mouth.

The two people dragged her to the man in the center and forced her to kneel.

Unlike the others, he wasn’t wearing a mask. His face had a serpentine scar that ran from his left eye across the bridge of his nose.

The man spoke briefly in an ice-cold voice.

“Report.”

“Well, you see……”

As Anaïs stammered, one of the people standing beside her took out a short switch and immediately struck her back.

Crack!

With a sharp sound, a thin red line appeared on her white nightgown, gradually spreading into a bloodstain.

Anaïs trembled violently, unable even to groan. The man asked in a cold voice:

“Explain what happened today.”

“The Emperor wore the same dress as me, which ruined everything.”

“Wasn’t that why we gave you the magic stone?”

Anaïs gasped. This was the confrontation she had been dreading.

When she delayed answering again, the switch inevitably flew. This time it was two strikes.

“Hnngh, it broke the moment I approached the Emperor.”

“What?”

The man seemed slightly surprised.

“It’s true. It suddenly cracked and crumbled.”

“That magic stone shouldn’t even get scratched, let alone break.”

The man remained silent for a while, as if he couldn’t believe it, then asked Anaïs:

“So what happened to the pieces?”

“I recovered them at the scene. Then I fled to the powder room in panic, but the pieces kept crumbling in my hand. So I placed them on the table, but someone followed me in.”