While saying this, he gently stroked the thumb of her hand opposite from the one the Emperor held. Ashites, who had been grinning at their close distance, carefully examined her face before suddenly hardening his expression.

That unique atmosphere…… Yes, it was exactly like this when he had held her necklace hostage to make her come to the ball. Additionally, he could see slight redness remaining under her eyes.

“……What’s with your face? Were you crying?”

“Ah, no, that……”

The joy of reunion was brief as Lysith stepped back in surprise at Ashites’s sharp question.

The one who lightly supported Lysith’s retreating back was Verheigen, who had been quietly listening to their conversation until now.

Startled by the man’s hand on her back, Lysith looked up and finally realized her mistake. She had completely excluded him while talking comfortably with a familiar person. And he’s not just anyone, but the supreme Emperor.

Moreover, she didn’t even know how far his capture had progressed. She couldn’t predict how the situation would unfold at all.

‘Plus, isn’t this the first three-way encounter…… right?’

The moment she recognized the situation, she couldn’t help but gulp repeatedly.

As Verheigen quickly noticed her tension through her expression, gaze, and stiffened back, he realized his already mud-deep mood could sink even lower.

She had been completely relaxed while forgetting his presence, but the moment she remembered he was beside her, she tensed up like this. It felt worse than he had expected.

When he looked up, he saw the man’s face had become expressionless in that brief moment.

Tower Master Ashites Dinev. This face was indeed the most familiar for this man. Not the loving face from earlier that acted so sweetly and tenderly like he’s about to melt.

Initially, he had prevented their meeting because of the investigation. However, as his heart changed, the reason gradually shifted. He hated seeing these two meet.

Both this woman who asked to meet the Tower Master as soon as she felt somewhat better, and this man who pressured the knights while shaking down Serul every day.

It felt dirty, like he was forcibly separating desperate lovers.

But he believed her when she directly said they weren’t dating. Certainly, it didn’t look that way… though there seemed to be some mutual attraction.

On the contrary, the Tower Master looked absolutely dying of love.

It would have been better if they never met. He didn’t want to see such a love-struck face.

If he had just blocked it well, they wouldn’t have met. Why did his perfect control of several weeks suddenly break? Soon, Verheigen simply deduced the answer.

Dietrich Clonair.

That bastard must have led Lysith to an unusual place, allowing the Tower Master to find her.

Anyway, that black-haired bastard had never once been helpful in his life. Clicking his tongue internally, he opened his mouth while looking at those two different colored eyes.

“The Tower Master never shows any manners.”

His tone clearly mocked his subordinate. Ashites let out a sneer at Verheigen’s words and retorted without backing down.

“Ah, sorry. Didn’t know you were there. I can only see my dear Noona.”

“Seems you have a serious eye problem. Should I lend you my court physician?”

“I just see what I want to see, so no need. Keep your court physician to yourself.”

“Every time I see you, the way you speak is just… problematic. Don’t you think?”

“I know but I don’t plan to fix it, so mind your own business.”

Lysith, suddenly caught between the two men, broke into a cold sweat.

Her left hand was held by Verheigen, her right by Ashites.

Considering just the quest completion, this was a good situation. Though she thought the Emperor’s capture was progressing well, she hadn’t expected him to exchange such sharp words with Ashites.

‘But what reaction should I have in this situation.’

Please stop? Don’t fight because of me?

No, at least on the surface, they weren’t fighting because of her. Perhaps they hadn’t gotten along from the start, as words about eyes and hair color being annoying flew over her head.

Just as Lysith, wanting to escape this situation, was about to speak, the two men’s topic changed.

“By the way, why are you holding her hand? Let go.”

“Why should I listen to you? What, are you two lovers or something?”

“……”

The endless conversation between the two stopped as Ashites closed his mouth. It was a kind of ceasefire, but Lysith quickly seized the gap to address both men again.

“Um……”

“Is something wrong?”

“What?”

Though busy fighting, both men turned their heads and answered within a second at the sound of her voice.

Startled by two pairs of eyes suddenly fixed on her, Lysith blinked and stammered “Uh, um” while choosing her words, finally settling on the most neutral response.

“I’d like to go back in…… now……”

“Ah.”

Both men made the same sound at her awkward words.

Wondering what to do, Lysith decided it would be best to send Ashites away first and gave him a smile with crinkled eyes. It was the expression he had mentioned liking before.

“Will you stay in the palace?”

“If you want, of course……”

“Won’t you be unable to get any work done if you stay here? I’ll be returning to the mansion soon…… let’s meet again then instead.”

Pouting at Lysith’s words, Ashites eventually nodded with no choice. Well, what could he do when she said so. Understanding that as an imperial citizen she had no choice but to follow the Emperor, he decided to retreat for now.

He had not the slightest intention of making things difficult for her.

“……Alright. But this is a promise.”

“Yes. If I break it, I’ll grant you one wish.”

“Really. I’ll never forget this.”

Only after she kept nodding did he seem satisfied, his lips curving into a smile.

Just as Lysith thought she could finally breathe easy, Ashites leaned down again and whispered softly in her ear. His voice was quiet enough that the Emperor beside them couldn’t hear.

“Make sure to keep the necklace with you.”

“Hm? Yes.”

She still had the necklace he had given her. Even if he couldn’t arrive instantly, his power and skill would surely be of help if anything happened to her.

Actually, she had almost forgotten about it since there hadn’t been any need to use it until now, but only after he brought it up did she remember the necklace in her dress’s small pocket.

Verheigen, standing beside Lysith, watched Ashites who seemed satisfied with her answer while furrowing his brow. Suddenly disliking that face, he lightly pulled her hand to draw her to his side.

At this, Ashites’s mood plummeted sharply as he straightened up and met the Emperor’s gaze.

Feeling better since she had chosen him over the Tower Master, Verheigen looked down at Ashites.

“Well, we’ll be going first. You should vacate your room in the palace.”

“Ha. Keep saying that and I might not want to leave.”

“You……”

“I understand, Noona. Make sure to call me. Tell me if this guy bothers you.”

His eyes, which had been half-lidded like dead fish eyes when talking to Verheigen, turned gentle as soon as Lysith called him. Seeing him switch masks so quickly, Verheigen let out a short sigh.

“Just what do you take me for?”

“I’ll tell you if you really want to know.”

Listening to their conversation from the side, Lysith felt like her soul might escape to Andromeda soon. She wanted to scream for them to please stop while grabbing both men’s hair.

Glancing at her half-dazed, tired-looking face, Ashites clicked his tongue. Making Noona tired should only happen in bed.

Finally, he moved his reluctant feet. Just like when he arrived, he ignored proper etiquette toward the Emperor and only bid farewell to Lysith before leaving.

After watching Ashites’s retreating figure for a moment, Lysith shuddered as she felt the grip on her hand tighten slightly. When she raised her head a little, she saw his sharp profile glaring in the direction Ashites had gone.

‘He seems angry somehow……’

No, but had things progressed that far already? Though she knew he had some affection, the most he showed was eating lunch together and sleeping together at night, so Lysith tilted her head.

It was a thought she could have only because she didn’t know that for Verheigen, such actions were his maximum expression of affection.

“Your Majesty.”

“What.”

At Lysith’s question, Verheigen pressed his lips into a line. He was definitely annoyed. But he didn’t want to show it to her. Because this woman would curl up like a frightened turtle whenever he furrowed his brow and made an intimidating face.

And strictly speaking, he wasn’t angry at her.

“……How could I not be angry when he acts like that.”

“That’s……”

Lysith had nothing to say to that. She had never imagined he would behave that way even with the Emperor.

……His words about fighting the Emperor and buying her an entire street seemed to have been serious after all.

Looking down at the embarrassed Lysith, Verheigen adjusted his grip on her hand and started walking. He had somewhere he wanted to take her. Though they were a bit delayed.

* * *

After moving away from the two, Ashites recalled Lysith’s face that had seemed to have been crying. From the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like the Emperor had made her cry. If that had been the case, she might have asked him for help right there.

Above all, she now had that necklace he had given her. In fact, he had been able to come directly to where she was thanks to that necklace.