‘So you avoided our meeting two days ago because you were preparing for the trial. I was worried when you said you weren’t feeling well.’

‘Anyway, Your Majesty must have been reluctant to see me too.’

‘How could that be? If you had allowed it, I would have visited your home immediately. I only held back because I was afraid of making you uncomfortable.’

‘I……’

……What’s the use of all this?

Aristie stopped the conversation they were having with their eyes. What she really wanted to say wasn’t this:

She actually wanted to shout, ‘Estelle is definitely behind this!’ She clearly intended to drive Zephyros away and hold you more firmly.

But without evidence, such words were meaningless. Khalid was not someone who would understand that there could be a woman who would commit such a crime for such a purpose.

Even if they interrogated the criminals, they probably wouldn’t uncover the truth. He would likely just assume it was the work of those who envied the Irvant family, based on common sense.

“Then I will take my leave now.”

Aristie paid her respects to exit, pressing down on her aching heart. Khalid endured the impulse to follow her.

Surprisingly, the person who couldn’t control his impulse was Zephyros.

“Um, just a moment…… I’ll be right back, Your Majesty!”

Zephyros ran after Aristie before anyone could stop him. Aristie had just stepped into the corridor.

“My lady!”

When Aristie turned around at the voice calling her, Zephyros expressed his gratitude while blushing like an adolescent boy confessing to his first love.

“Thank you so much. You saved my life.”

Aristie responded with a gentle smile.

“It’s nothing. I was simply there at that time, that’s all.”

“Still, I want to repay you somehow.”

“That won’t do. The moment I accept your repayment, my action becomes not ‘justice’ but a ‘transaction.’ You understand what I mean, don’t you?”

She meant that compensating a witness could potentially compromise the testimony.

“I understand. But……”

Though he understood the meaning, the debt he owed her was too great to let it pass. After pondering how to repay her kindness, Zephyros came up with an idea.

“Then I’ll grant you one wish later. Anything you want, my lady.”

“What? No, it’s fine. I don’t really have a wish……”

“I can’t back down on this. Please tell me whenever you need my help. I’ll do anything except hitting His Majesty once.”

Hearing his words, she couldn’t help but laugh a little at the image of Zephyros’s fist striking Khalid.

Can’t you just hit him once? Maybe a punch would bring him to his senses.

“What if that’s my only wish?”

“Pardon? Surely not…… hitting His Majesty?”

Though she meant it as a joke, the enthusiastic Zephyros seemed to take it seriously. Zephyros pondered with a rather serious expression, then shrugged his shoulders with a ‘whatever’ attitude.

“I’ll do it for you. What’s the big deal about being arrested for treason, haha.”

At that moment, an overwhelming pressure descended on Zephyros’s back, and a chilling voice gripped the nape of his neck.

“How naive to think you’d only be arrested after daring to strike the Emperor. Isn’t your head too full of flowers?”

Startled, he turned around to find Khalid looking at him with a contemptuous gaze.

“Y-Your Majesty?”

“Well, I suppose it’s better than being arrested for dishonoring a married woman.”

“Don’t say such horrible things! I’m still angry about that.”

“That’s why I’ve advised you many times to be careful about your conduct.”

“This has nothing to do with my conduct. Just wait and see, I’ll definitely find the mastermind!”

While the two men bickered, Aristie quietly left. Zephyros repeatedly tried to follow her, but Khalid wouldn’t allow it.

“Ugh!”

Crack.

“……Your Majesty, are you doing this?”

Zephyros protested while his neck was immobilized in Khalid’s arm.

“What about you? Who are you to chase after my fiancée?”

“She’s my benefactor!”

“I’m your benefactor. I’m keeping you alive even though I could break your neck right now.”

“Your Majesty……”

Zephyros gritted his teeth, then shouted in frustration.

“Forgive my rudeness, but this jealousy is truly childish! If you have the energy to torment me, you should run after her and confess something! You can’t even speak properly in front of the lady—urk!”

When Khalid applied gentle pressure with his forearm, the rare piece of advice ended in a groan.

What a temper!

And yet he pretends to be a gentle lamb in front of the lady! Acting all sweet!

“Hey, Zeph. Don’t hurt me too much.”

“Good grief, what did you say?”

Zephyros was flabbergasted by Khalid’s whining.

“Think about who’s hurting whom before you speak!”

“I thought about it, and I’m hurting more.”

“What? What kind of dog barking is that?”

“Just call it nonsense.”

“Thank you. What nonsense is that?”

“Your advice…… it hits too close to the bone.”

Khalid released the struggling Zephyros and slowly walked down the corridor. Zephyros glared at his lord’s back while coughing.

Tall height and broad shoulders. A sculpted body that allowed no excess fat.

His tightly packed muscles moved with disciplined undulations matching his movements. Nevertheless, Zephyros thought that today, that back looked as pitiful as a rain-soaked dog.

‘Should I tell him? That if he wants to win the lady’s heart, he needs to get rid of that woman Estelle first?’

Zephyros hesitated briefly but soon shook his head. Surely His Majesty knows that? It’s just that people’s hearts don’t work as intended.

He simply hurried after his departing lord, rubbing his reddened neck.

* * *

“Imprisoned!?”

Estelle blinked her eyes in disbelief upon hearing the news from Jacques.

“Yes. Both Miela and the man we planted as a witness.”

“How is that possible?”

“The future Empress personally demonstrated Miela’s method. All your schemes were exposed.”

“What? The future Empress? You mean that wench Aristie?”

Estelle trembled and threw a fit with curses. Jacques watched with a smirk as she picked up a rotten chair in the abandoned building—where there was nothing else to break—and smashed it to pieces.

“Why did the future Empress suddenly appear? How did she even know!”

Jacques briefly explained the trial proceedings to the panting Estelle. The more she heard, the more dumbfounding it became.

She thought it was a perfect plan, but who would have guessed the future Empress would witness the scene? What kind of unlucky Murphy’s Law was this!

‘Did she step forward knowing I was behind it?’

According to plan, Zephyros should have been found guilty and removed from his position. Even if he had been found innocent, she expected him to step down voluntarily as long as suspicions remained unresolved. After all, his loyalty to the Emperor was genuine.

But the future Empress saved that Zephyros?

Estelle wondered whether her intention was simple goodwill or if she had stepped forward to confront her. If she had been outwitted by an Empress who had noticed her existence, she felt she wouldn’t be able to sleep properly out of frustration.

“Ah sh*t, this is so annoying! What do I do now!”

Unlike Estelle who had lost her composure, Jacques raised the corner of his mouth with a relaxed attitude.

“Why? Afraid your tail might get caught?”

“No, I don’t care about that at all. The one thing we’re good at together is cutting tails.”

“Then what’s the problem? The Emperor’s guard isn’t even that important.”

“It is important. To me!”

Estelle snapped irritably. It was an outburst born of anxiety.

She couldn’t help it, because she sensed that Khalid’s attitude toward her had rapidly cooled.

The Emperor’s gaze, which had regarded her indifferently in the early days of their meetings, became more ambiguous as time passed, and recently contained enough coldness to make her uneasy. She felt this keenly during the joint meeting between the palace and temple just a few days ago.

Although there had been no opportunity for private conversation, if they were truly close, he would have at least greeted her with his eyes. Even without expecting a smile.

‘In the end, no matter how perfectly I act, there’s a limit if I’m not the real female lead.’

That’s why it was crucial to remove Zephyros as a watchdog and plant her own loyal subordinate by the Emperor’s side. With the variable of the royal marriage approaching, she needed to hurry.

But thanks to the future Empress’s interference, Estelle’s plan had turned to bubbles. She had only heightened Zephyros’s vigilance, so no matter what method she tried from now on, it wouldn’t work.

“How dare you humiliate me.”

Estelle, pacing restlessly inside the abandoned building, ground her molars.

“I won’t let this go. You messed with the wrong person.”

Estelle bit her lip, vowing revenge. Jacques watched her kick the broken chair pieces and smiled stickily.

He knew why. After clients vented their anger like this, they usually came with more vicious requests. Along with fatter purses.

“It’s fine. We can make another plan. You’ve got a brilliant mind anyway.”

Jacques flattered Estelle appropriately to humor her. To him, she was just another tail to cut off someday.

“Contact me whenever you have a request. I’ll serve you to the best of my ability, heh heh.”

Before that, his goal was to extract as much money as possible, and that would be enough for him.