Delia’s lips parted.

Afraid of him? Kaiel?

That was impossible.

“No! Why would I be afraid of you……. It’s just……”

Delia herself couldn’t understand this fear, and it frustrated her. Her eyes darted around, searching for an escape, but they landed back on the red stain on his clothes, and the fear returned, gripping her heart like a vise.

In the end, Delia could only squeeze her eyes shut. A heavy voice spoke from beyond her tightly shut eyelids.

“You’re trembling, Delia.”

He slowly looked her up and down.

The terrified eyes and ragged breaths she was hiding behind her closed eyelids.

The unpleasant sight of someone trembling in fear before him—it was a sight he had seen countless times before.

But why was she, of all people, standing there in that position?

Did you kill her?

Suppressing the rage that was threatening to boil over, Kaiel stepped away from Delia.

“Go and see for yourself.”

The scene from her dream flashed through Delia’s mind, and her vision blurred.

‘I can’t look…….’

The strength drained from her legs, and Delia slid down the wall.

“Delia!”

Just as Kaiel moved to catch her,

“Get out.”

An unexpected voice interrupted from behind him.

“She’s scared. Get out. I’ll go see.”

It was Niol.

It was amazing how he always appeared at the most unexpected moments, especially when she couldn’t find him when she needed him.

Niol stepped past Kaiel, who seemed hesitant for some reason, and approached Delia.

“Delia, are you alright?”

Delia, regaining her senses slightly at the sound of Niol’s voice, nodded. Niol didn’t seem to care that Kaiel was covered in blood.

As Delia looked past Niol towards the office door, she suddenly remembered something she had forgotten.

The Character List.

If she opened the Character List, she could figure out the situation without having to see it with her own eyes!

‘System.’

Delia nervously opened the Character List. She had never been so afraid to scroll through the windows.

Kaiel Ceder, Niol Roches.

After painstakingly scrolling past their names, Delia felt like she had been hit in the head.

[Character List]

Name: Roena Roches

Abilities: Research 83, Strategy 81, Insight 73 ….

Affection: 67

Next to her name, there was no sign of the dreaded red “Deceased” tag.

In other words, Roena Roches was alive and well.

‘Then what’s with the blood?’

She whipped her head around to look at Kaiel, just in time to meet his gaze. He was standing some distance away, staring at her with a dazed expression.

“Kaiel……”

Strangely, the fear she had felt towards him moments ago had vanished.

Only then did Delia begin to understand the true nature of her fear.

‘I’m not afraid of Kaiel.’

It was the betrayal of her efforts, the despair, the uncertainty of facing something she couldn’t control. All those emotions had manifested as fear, projected onto Kaiel.

Calming her startled heart, Delia was about to walk towards him when Kaiel turned away.

A sense of unease washed over Delia.

“Kaiel?”

He stopped at her call, as if wanting to turn around but deliberately stopping himself.

His voice was heavy when he spoke.

“I’ll be back.”

With those words, Kaiel turned and walked away. Delia’s heart pounded in her chest.

Why is he leaving? Where is he going? Is he going back alone because I said I’ll stay at the Imperial Palace? Or is it because I suspected him of killing the Empress…?

Her mind was in turmoil, unable to settle.

“Kaie……”

The rest of her words died in her throat.

‘Do I even have the right to stop him?’

She had her suspicions, knowing the original story, but from Kaiel’s perspective, it must have seemed like she had jumped to conclusions and was afraid of him for no reason.

‘It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that I know you too well…!’

Niol, watching Kaiel leave, smirked slightly, but quickly calmed his expression upon seeing Delia’s bewildered face.

“Shall I take you back?”

Delia closed her eyes and slowly shook her head.

‘I’m always doing things that make me feel sorry.’

What was the point of being an author who knew the original story so well? This wasn’t how she wanted to hurt Kaiel.

‘It would be selfish of me to hold him back.’

Delia sighed and looked at Niol.

“Where were you earlier? I was looking for you.”

Niol, about to smile at her words, stopped himself and scratched his head awkwardly.

“I apologize. You were looking for me? Why?”

Delia silently closed her mouth, looking at Niol’s sparkling eyes. There was no need to tell him that she had climbed a tree and entered through a window because she couldn’t get through the main hall of the Empress’s Palace.

‘Speaking of which, what was with that bloodstain?! It’s making me misunderstand the situation……. Don’t tell me he got hurt somewhere? That can’t be right…….’

Delia’s mind was so preoccupied with Kaiel that she couldn’t think of anything else. As she turned her head silently, Niol smiled faintly.

“For now, it’s best to go back. I’ll take you.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Delia said nothing further. Niol matched her pace, speeding up when she did, slowing down when she did. When she stopped in her tracks, lost in thought, he waited patiently without a word.

As they were about to leave the Empress’s Palace, Niol carefully asked, gauging her reaction.

“Are you worried?”

“Huh?”

Delia, who had been lost in thought, biting her lip, looked up abruptly. Averting his gaze from her blood-red lips, Niol continued.

“About Lord Tranade? You don’t have to worry.”

Delia, who had been listening silently, couldn’t help but ask, feeling that it was a bit much.

“Why?”

It was the same earlier. How could he not be concerned when someone was covered in blood? And to tell her not to worry when he suddenly left without a word? Even if they didn’t get along, wasn’t this a bit too much, even from a human perspective?

Niol chuckled awkwardly as Delia stared at him with piercing green eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t mean anything bad by it. Actually…… Ah, I didn’t want to tell you this……”

Niol hesitated for a long time, as if he was struggling to find the right words.

As Delia, who had been watching him intently, turned her head away, Niol finally spoke, lightly rubbing his left arm.

“We fought.”

It was a completely unexpected answer. Moreover, Niol, who usually had a relaxed smile on his face, seemed to have flushed slightly.

“Ex……Excuse me?”

After all that hesitation, he says they ‘fought’?

Perhaps it was because of the unexpected answer, but Delia felt like her mind had slowed down. She repeated his words in her head, then asked again.

“You fought? With…… with His…… His Grace?”

Now that she thought about it, it was a little funny and absurd. In the original story, their confrontations were always serious and grave. They fought wars with armies, and in the end, one of them died.

But a fight that he could talk about so casually while blushing?

Unable to comprehend, Delia asked again.

“How did that happen……?”

Her tone resembled that of an adult who couldn’t understand a child’s misbehavior, causing Niol to avert his gaze.

“Please, please don’t look at me like that, Delia. It was an unavoidable fight.”

As Niol tried to hide his face by brushing his neatly combed hair over his forehead, Delia waved her hands in a fluster.

“No, no, I was just curious.”

To think that even the thick-skinned Niol would blush like this… It must have been a trivial reason. No, wait, if they fought… the bloodstains on Kaiel’s clothes…

“Is he hurt badly……?”

It must be mostly Niol’s blood.

“……”

Niol Roches. He wasn’t weak enough to be easily defeated and injured in a fight. He was skilled enough to hold his own against other skilled knights in the Imperial Palace.

But if his opponent was Kaiel Ceder, it was a different story.

Kaiel Ceder.

The highest stat on his Character List was ‘Combat Power.’

‘Combat Power 99.’

Delia clicked her tongue inwardly, recalling the overwhelming number.

What on earth possessed him to pick a fight with that monster?!

‘Just how intensely did they fight for blood to splatter like that?’

As Delia hurriedly tried to check on him, Niol flinched slightly but then obediently spread his arms.

“Here.”

Delia, who was about to roll up his sleeve with a worried expression, immediately stepped back.

“Your Highness……”

Niol smiled.

“Don’t worry so much, you’ll make me shy. It’s alright, it’s not like I’m the only one who got hurt. Well, it’ll heal soon anyway.”

Indeed, Niol looked perfectly fine on the surface. If he hadn’t mentioned it, she wouldn’t have known they had just had a fight.

Delia stared at Niol, who was impeccably dressed without a single crease.

The reason Niol looked so immaculate despite the fight was probably because he had immediately changed into clean clothes.

Niol hated getting dirty with blood.

Then Niol spoke.

“Ah, and if you’re worried about the bloodstains on his clothes… Don’t worry, Delia. That’s not blood, it’s wine.”

Huh?

“I can’t tell you the details. I didn’t want to tell you such a silly story, I apologize.”

Relieved by his last words, Delia pushed aside her curiosity and shook her head.

“No, Your Highness. I’m just… Thank you for telling me. Stop rubbing your arm, it’ll get worse.”

Even as Delia looked at him with a sympathetic expression, Niol continued to grin for some reason.

“Alright, Delia.”

Delia decided not to ask him about the fight anymore for his sake.

If she wanted to know the details, she could always ask the maids or servants; they were sure to have heard something. It wasn’t like nobody saw the Crown Prince and the Grand Duke fighting, right?

Now she had three questions.

Why did Niol and Kaiel fight, what did Kaiel do when he visited the Empress if he didn’t kill her, and why did Kaiel suddenly leave?

She shook her head vigorously, trying to clear her thoughts, and Niol smiled softly.

“Everything will be alright. Don’t worry too much.”

Delia, gazing at his deep, beautiful dimples, took a deep breath.

“Thank you.”

His voice and smile had a way of putting people at ease. Delia thought how fortunate it was that at least Niol was by her side.

* * *