The palace of Madonia, while not as extravagant as the palace of Salita, possessed elegance and dignity.

During the bright daylight, the marble floors would be bathed in the colors of stained glass, and when darkness fell, the red carpet shimmered under the light of thousands of chandeliers.

Each quarter, the palace was adorned with masterpieces by renowned artists and fragrant flowers.

It was a place that everyone longed to enter—the royal palace of Madonia.

Within such a palace, Alex’s standing was exceptional.

The King of Madonia relied on him, and Prince Helios, who was widely regarded as the strongest candidate for the next king, highly favored him.

The royal knights greeted him with respectful salutes, the ladies smiled coquettishly, and the nobles scrambled to win his favor.

However, he had always despised the palace.

Even if everything in it was arranged for his sake, it was no better than a prison.

The nauseating perfumes, the dazzling lights that seemed to gouge at his eyes, the smiles that concealed dark schemes underneath.

All of it felt like a trap, tightening around his ankles.

Once again, Alex endured the suffocating sensation as he passed through the outer palace and entered the inner palace.

As he walked through the pristine corridors, it wasn’t long before he spotted a familiar face.

“Oh? The Duke?”

“…Your Highness.”

Alex gave Helios a slight bow.

Helios was overseeing the hanging of newly painted portraits of the King and Queen.

More precisely, the attendants were the ones hanging them—he was merely watching over the process.

The portrait of the King, framed in pure gold, was something the prince had to show his utmost attention to, if only for appearance’s sake.

Fixing his gaze on the expensive painting, Helios gestured dismissively for the attendants to handle it and then approached Alex.

“It hasn’t even been a week since you left in such a hurry, looking at the palace as if it were a prison, and yet you’ve returned. What’s the matter?”

“Princess Lucellia sent Sir Serad Bleam, a royal knight, to my duchy under Your Highness’s name.”

“What?”

Rather than being surprised, Helios first found it puzzling.

Lucellia’s madness was nothing new, but there was no reason for her to send a royal knight to the duke’s estate.

Zeroden’s duchy had more than enough knights.

And yet, for her to send a knight there—under Helios’s name, no less—was strange.

“…Ha.”

However, as soon as he recalled that Serad Bleam was a handsome, unmarried young man, he pressed a hand to his forehead.

“Did she send him as the duchess’s personal guard?”

“She claimed to be concerned for my wife’s safety. How thoughtful of her. My sincere thanks, Your Highness.”

At Alex’s ice-cold voice, Helios let out a sigh.

“You know I didn’t send him. This was all my sister’s doing.”

“Quite surprising that a future king cannot even keep a single princess under control.”

“Our father dotes on her, after all. And it’s not as if I can kill her.”

He spoke casually, yet the words were cruel.

Despite being his blood-related sister, she held no value in his eyes.

Even so, Alex’s expression remained unchanged as he spoke.

“I understand that Your Highness is waiting for the right moment while treating the princess with the utmost care. However, if you continue to leave her unchecked, she will lose all remaining worth.”

“I thought you had built a strong enough wall around yourself to prevent issues. But I admit, this time it is rather troublesome.”

“Then may I stop tolerating her now?”

“Hmm…”

Helios stroked his chin once.

“What do you propose?”

“….”

Alex did not answer immediately.

Then, he spoke bluntly.

“I will give her a mild warning.”

“How? Don’t tell me you plan to use your sword?”

“If I did that, I’d be arrested for treason against the royal family. That would make my family grieve, so I won’t.”

“Hmm…”

A verbal warning, then?

Helios doubted his sister would listen to mere words.

But then he remembered that the man before him was the Duke of Zeroden.

With that realization, he discarded his doubts.

“Very well. Do as you see fit.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“But still…”

Helios’s blue eyes reflected pure curiosity.

“You seem quite angry. And it doesn’t seem like my sister is the only reason. May I ask why?”

For a moment, Alex was unable to answer.

Because the truth was this—

Lucellia had sent a knight to guard his wife, which led him to a misunderstanding.

And because of that misunderstanding, he had hurt Elicity.

While the root of the conflict lay with Lucellia, the act of misunderstanding and getting angry had been entirely his own doing.

Lucellia had not forced him to react that way.

For once, the usually articulate Alex fell silent.

Seeing this, Helios merely shrugged.

“There certainly is a big problem. I don’t want to get involved, so I’ll just take my leave…”

Helios, who had been speaking, soon closed his mouth.

This time, Alex raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Helios bit his lip.

“Alex, it’s not the best time to talk about this, but you know that ‘matter’? It’s not going well.”

His well-defined brows furrowed, indicating the complexity of the situation.

“I’m sure I told you from the beginning to give up. Your Highness, it is an impossible task.”

“If I could give up, would I have asked you for help? To me, this is something that absolutely must—!”

Helios suddenly raised his voice but quickly glanced around, remembering they were in the royal palace.

To others, Prince Helios was not someone who easily lost his temper. He was far from being described as cold or arrogant. His blue eyes darted around the palace corridor in embarrassment.

“…I’ll send a letter. We’ll discuss it again.”

Ending his words with a rather serious expression, Helios disappeared down the corridor.

Watching his retreating figure for a while, Alex shook his head and then walked towards the princess’s palace, where Lucellia resided.

***

Lucellia loved aesthetically beautiful things.

Thus, the palace she lived in was excessively extravagant. It overflowed with luxurious items, and even the servants were beautiful.

As soon as Alex entered Lucellia’s palace, several young male attendants greeted him.

The faint scent of blood clung to the boys who smiled prettily. A sign that they had been beaten to the point of bleeding just to maintain their doll-like expressions.

As he ascended the stairs to the golden dais where she sat, Alex was once again reminded of how cruel Lucellia was.

“Oh my, Duke.”

Lucellia folded her eyes into crescent moons as if she had been waiting for him.

‘Of course, she already knew.’

In the Madonia palace, there were shadow knights who served as the eyes and ears of the royal family. The moment he set foot in the palace, news of his arrival must have reached her.

“What brings you here?”

Her sweet, lilting voice was accompanied by flirtatious gestures that could easily melt a man’s heart.

However, Alex gazed at Lucellia indifferently, like a chiseled statue.

“It doesn’t seem like you don’t know the reason.”

“I really don’t. The Duke has no reason to visit me, does he? Especially not so suddenly and rudely.”

“…You sent Sir Serad Bleam to my estate. In Prince Helios’s name.”

His voice lowered further as he finished speaking. Rarely, a cold smile accompanied it.

Lucellia flinched slightly at that twisted smile but soon felt a thrill.

The Duke of Zeroden had always been indifferent to her. But now, for the first time, he was revealing even a hint of emotion.

“Me? Wasn’t it Helios who sent him?”

“His Highness has already denied it.”

“Oh dear! My brother is too loose-lipped.”

She spoke as if she bore no fault at all. Lucellia flicked the ashes from her cigar and uncrossed her legs.

“But I was only concerned for the Duchess. I hope the Duke doesn’t reject my kindness.”

“I dislike it, so I must refuse.”

“And what about the Duchess’s opinion? Does she dislike it?”

Alex’s lips twitched momentarily. Lucellia, noticing this, beamed like the sun.

“It seems you didn’t ask the Duchess’s opinion before coming here. Did you have a fight?”

“…That is not something Your Highness should concern yourself with. Matters between a husband and wife should be resolved by the couple.”

“But I want to help.”

“That won’t be necessary. In any case, it won’t take long for us to reconcile.”

This time, Lucellia’s expression twisted.

“…You’ve changed a lot, Duke. You didn’t seem to get along so well with your wife before.”

“I did not come all the way here just to exchange trivial words, Your Highness.”

Alex’s tone turned slightly more irritated. Lucellia arched a brow.

“Then? What is it that you want to say?”

“You must write a letter to my wife stating that it was not Prince Helios but Princess Lucellia who sent Sir Serad. And, of course, it must be in your own handwriting.”

“What?!”

Lucellia shot up from her seat in anger.

“You dare tell me—!”

However, she could not continue speaking.

‘Reveal that I lied?’

Her noble pride could never accept an apology, especially not to a fallen noblewoman!

“I don’t even know who Sir Serad Bleam is.”

Lucellia quickly put on a haughty smile and glanced at her bodyguard, Lexion.

“Sir Lexion, do I know anyone by the name of Serad Bleam?”

“Impossible. I have never heard of such a person.”

“Exactly. There’s no way I would know such a worthless name.”

Lucellia sat back down gracefully and muttered.

“I don’t know who this Serad or whatever is, and I don’t care.”

“…Is that so? In that case.”

Alex’s lips curled into a faint smile.

“I may as well kill him.”

Lucellia’s hands tensed instantly.

“Duke…!”

“What is the problem? Both Your Highness and His Highness have said you don’t know him. Then, naturally, eliminating a suspicious man is only right.”

Despite his terrifying words, Alex’s eyes remained devoid of emotion. His large frame stood firm like an immovable tree.

As she stared at him, Lucellia’s gaze wavered with unease.

‘No matter what, I can’t let Serad Bleam be killed…’

“Duke, are you threatening me?”

“What do you mean? I simply—”

Alex tilted his head slightly. His half-formed smile was breathtakingly beautiful.

“Since a worm has entered my estate, as the master of the house, I am merely cleaning it up.”