He had rushed over as soon as he noticed her heading somewhere different than usual, after spending every day within the knights’ patrol radius.

Though he hadn’t expected her to be with the Emperor.

His brow furrowed again as he recalled the Emperor beside Lysith. When he found them, that damned Emperor had been escorting her with one hand holding hers, while his other hand cradled her face.

His worries had finally become reality. Though it wasn’t openly displayed, he could feel it instinctively.

That the Emperor already shared his feelings, even if he hadn’t expressed them to her.

‘Damn it. Noona is too popular.’

Thinking of the Emperor, Ashites vigorously shook his head at the sudden surge of annoyance. Similar hair color, roughly similar status.

He was confident he could win against that butler.

“Tch……”

Anyway, she said he could visit the mansion. Thinking this, Ashites forcefully controlled his anger. Actually, Lysith had never said he could visit the mansion, but his filtered brain had interpreted it that way.

As he walked along like this, he ran into another unwelcome man after a long time and let out a sound between a laugh and a sneer through his teeth.

“Well, look who it is.”

“……”

The Grand Duke he encountered in the palace corridor looked much darker than usual. Well, that wasn’t Ashites’s concern.

Ignoring Ashites’s provocation, Dietrich glanced at the direction he had come from and asked in a subdued voice.

“……Did you meet Lysith?”

“Who are you to call Noona by name?”

Ashites’s expression instantly changed from sneering to blank. Had he received permission to use her name? That couldn’t be. As Ashites thought this, a sudden realization made him narrow his eyes.

Understanding came instantly.

Ah.

“Looks like she cried because of you.”

What had she been like before being confined to the palace? She had nightmares about this man before him, her condition poor because of it, and memories of her cold fingertips and pale face from then flashed by.

After finishing his recollection, Ashites instantly closed the roughly ten steps between them. Before Dietrich could open his mouth to ask what he was doing at the suddenly shortened distance, it happened.

THWACK!

A dull impact sound echoed through the quiet corridor. With the sound, Dietrich’s face turned to the right.

Ashites, the culprit who created the sound, remained expressionless. He hit him because he deserved it. That’s what his face said.

“……Ha.”

Dietrich let out a breath after being suddenly punched in the face. As his head turned back to face forward, his sharp blue eyes glared at his opponent with rage.

“Tower Master. Have you lost your mind?”

“No. Sorry, but I’m completely sane.”

His words were quite nonchalant as he shook out his right hand.

Ashites felt no need to explain his reasons for hitting this man in detail. He seemed to have some lingering attachment, but he would obviously become more clingy if he knew about her nightmares.

Therefore, Ashites added with his usual face and tone:

“I just couldn’t help myself when I saw your face.”

Dietrich clenched his teeth. He already disliked this man. It seemed the feeling was mutual. Just as he opened his mouth to retort, Ashites cut him off.

“Well, if you’re that upset, think of it as me hitting you instead of Noona.”

At that irritating form of address, Dietrich reflexively asked back.

“……Noona?”

“Ah. Your ex-wife, I mean.”

Dietrich clenched his fist at Ashites’s casual response. He felt his short nails digging into his palm.

Until recently, that affection had been his. It even felt natural that he should receive it. But at the same time, it was something he hadn’t wanted to receive.

Realizing how precious she was only after she left — there couldn’t be a bigger fool than himself in the world.

At the same time, contrary to his earlier thought that she might still have him as an option, she had another path. This man before him.

A better candidate than himself who could perfectly extract her from the Emperor.

Dietrich’s gaze sank deeply for a moment before sharpening.

And when he had investigated before, surely……

“I should thank you. Thanks to you, I got to lie in the same bed with Noona.”

“……”

As if confirming his thoughts, Ashites thoroughly mocked him. He knew that was true. He was the one who had ordered his aide to investigate what happened that day.

He knew what intention this man had in saying those words, and he knew he shouldn’t get involved, but his heart wouldn’t move as he wished.

Something seemed to overflow from his chest, engulfing him. That’s why he tried to belittle his opponent with inappropriate words.

“I don’t think such a form of address is appropriate for an imperial lady.”

“Why are you complaining when the lady herself allowed it?”

“……”

“If she were the Grand Duchess, that would certainly be a problem.”

The other’s words seemed to pierce through Dietrich’s chest. If she had been the Grand Duchess. Yes, if that had been the case, none of this would have happened in the first place.

Would she still have liked me then? Would she still have looked at me with those affectionate eyes?

He knew all too well that such assumptions were completely useless now. But he couldn’t help making these assumptions and wondering if things could have been different, filled with regret.

Seeing Dietrich’s expression as he pondered these thoughts, Ashites didn’t hide his mockery. He knew well how little interest she had shown in this man. How many unpleasant memories she had of him.

Moreover, thinking about how this bastard made it harder to get closer to her made his blood boil even more.

The two men weren’t originally this hostile towards each other. Besides introducing themselves and exchanging a few words, they had barely any interaction. Today’s meeting might have been only their fifth encounter.

But their relationship soured in an instant. As the two men became enemies, a dark figure watching them from afar quietly disappeared.

* * *

The door to the room where Verheigen and Lysith were opened silently.

Lysith had her back to the door, while Verheigen was facing it. After confirming who had entered, Verheigen gave a slight gesture to the person.

The person who approached him, Serul, whispered in his ear what he had witnessed.

“The two of them fought. And……”

“…… Did they hit each other?”

“Who hit whom?”

“No, it’s nothing. Just eat comfortably.”

Hearing his reflexive question, Lysith stopped eating her dessert and asked. Verheigen hastily waved his hand and covered his mouth.

He felt like laughter would burst out at any moment.

Let those fools fight all they want. I’m the one by her side now.

But then, remembering how Lysith’s face had brightened upon seeing the Tower Master, his mood instantly plummeted. Serul, keenly sensing his superior’s mood, backed away, and the Emperor dismissed him with a quick glance.

After Serul quietly left, Verheigen observed Lysith as she ate her dessert peacefully.

The sunlight streaming through the large uncurtained window illuminated her profile. Under the sparkling sunlight, the woman’s white hair and pale skin shimmered as if they might dissolve and flow away.

Perhaps because she had eaten something delicious, she seemed much calmer than earlier when traces of crying remained, and her mood appeared considerably better.

Above all, it was evident that she wasn’t particularly tense despite his presence beside her.

Watching her fork movements intently, Verheigen picked up his own fork and plunged it into the cake.

Seeing him about to eat dessert when he usually didn’t enjoy sweets, Lysith gave him a puzzled look. Calmly meeting her gaze, Verheigen held out a bite-sized piece of cake to her lips.

“……?”

Are you telling me to eat it? When she met his gaze with that question in her eyes, Verheigen nodded slightly with a smile, confirming that was indeed what he meant. Why is he suddenly doing this? Though thinking this, Lysith opened her mouth to accept the piece of cake he offered.

As the fork slipped from between her closed lips, the rich cream that had topped the cake smeared across her mouth.  

Lysith furrowed her brow and reached for a napkin, but before she could grasp it, a firm hand blocked her. Before she could even ask why, soft flesh pressed against her lips.

“Mmph, Your Maj……”

Ah, why do these men always lead with their lips!

In that moment, Lysith reflexively raised both hands to push against his chest. However, he easily subdued her attempts with one hand while using his other hand to cradle the back of her head.

The cream smeared between their joined lips, and the cake in Lysith’s mouth was involuntarily swallowed. When she unconsciously opened her mouth after swallowing the cake, Verheigen seized the opportunity to invade with his tongue.

The woman’s lips, which had looked soft even from afar, felt even softer than he had imagined when actually tasting them. Moreover, he couldn’t tell whether the sweetness he now tasted came from the cake or her lips, but he enjoyed it either way.

Lysith’s small moans were buried under the wet sounds of kissing. Only after thoroughly exploring her teeth one by one and sucking on her cute tongue did he finally pull away, seemingly satisfied.

“Haa… ha…… Ah!”

Just as Lysith was catching her breath with a dazed mind after the overwhelmingly persistent kiss, Verheigen lifted and moved her again. Having been lifted so many times, his large hands, firm arms, and broad chest were becoming familiar to her.

Startled by the suddenly unfolding situation, Lysith caught her breath and spoke.

“Ah, no. Your Majesty. Why are you suddenly……”