She wasn’t being tolerant or understanding at all, but she had no intention of showing her true feelings in front of Lloyd.

“I think there’s a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?”

Lloyd raised one eyebrow crookedly at Karina’s answer. It was a reaction that seemed to say, what nonsense is this?

“It’s true that His Highness Aidan met with Miss Kate Spencer that day, but the reason is different from what people are whispering about.”

“Different?”

Lloyd snorted.

“His Highness Aidan went to inform Miss Kate Spencer that he would no longer have private meetings with her.”

It was a blatant lie. Lloyd must have known this fact too. As expected, he let out a scoffing laugh.

“I can understand your desire to believe that. You must be so desperate.”

Lloyd sneered with a mocking smile. However, Karina, meeting his gaze, still maintained a calm expression.

“Isn’t it Your Highness who is only seeing what you want to see and hearing what you want to hear? If you have ears, you must have heard what happened when Miss Kate Spencer came looking for His Highness Aidan yesterday.”

At Karina’s retort, the smile disappeared from Lloyd’s face. It seemed he hadn’t heard about yesterday’s incident, as he gestured to his attendant standing behind him, who also shook his head as if he didn’t know.

“If you’re curious, you can find out from now on.”

It was fortunate that there didn’t seem to be any of Lloyd’s spies among those guarding the front of Aidan’s bedroom. However, there were certainly Lloyd’s spies among those working in Aidan’s palace. That’s how they could have known that Aidan went to meet Kate Spencer right after the wedding ceremony and could have targeted that moment for the attack.

“Aren’t you going to pay a sick visit, Your Highness?”

She asked even though she knew Lloyd had no reason to visit Aidan. Even if he wasn’t the one who attacked Aidan, their relationship was originally cold. Still, they were brothers on the surface, so shouldn’t a sick visit be natural? At this question, Lloyd’s face visibly contorted.

“He’s not injured badly enough to warrant a sick visit, is he?”

Was it an overinterpretation to hear it as if he was disappointed that Aidan wasn’t badly hurt?

“Who told you that?”

At Karina’s question, Lloyd’s lips tightened into a straight line. For a moment, a look of bewilderment flashed across his face. If he had heard it from the physician, he wouldn’t have thought the wound was shallow. It definitely wasn’t the physician. Then who could have relayed the information? Aidan’s servant? One of the guard knights? Or if not them, the person who had stabbed Aidan?

Aidan did look fine on the surface. He hadn’t even winced in pain once in front of Karina. Just once, when he bent over to pick up a portrait, he had unconsciously let out a groan. So it wasn’t impossible that someone among those guarding his bedroom or coming and going had reported that Aidan’s condition seemed fine.

“You don’t seem to have met the physician, so how do you know about His Highness Aidan’s condition?”

Karina deliberately spoke as if muttering to herself. It wasn’t particularly a question directed at Lloyd. If he felt guilty about something, it would show. Sure enough, the corner of Lloyd’s lip twitched. His eyes, which had been on Karina, also slightly shifted away.

“Fortunately, like Your Highness said, his condition isn’t critical.”

At these additional words, Lloyd’s eyebrows could be seen twitching. He seemed displeased that it wasn’t critical. Even in the past, compared to the Empress, Lloyd wasn’t good at hiding his emotions.

Judging by the fact that he wasn’t moving an inch in bed, Aidan was definitely not as fine as he appeared on the surface. Even so, she didn’t want to tell Lloyd the truth outright.

“That’s good to hear.”

Lloyd answered with a forced smile.

“I hear Her Majesty the Empress will soon hold a banquet to celebrate your marriage.”

At the mention of a banquet, this time it was Karina who flinched. Since it was said to be a banquet celebrating their marriage, attendance was expected, and after attending, they would inevitably have to dance in front of everyone. To ask someone who couldn’t move from his bed to dance… Not to mention, the person inside Aidan was a completely different person. Would he be able to dance? She didn’t know when the banquet would be held, but thinking that she might have to teach him to dance before then made her head throb.

“We look forward to it.”

But she answered with a gentle smile, hiding her inner thoughts from Lloyd.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

She turned away first, not wanting to exchange words any longer. Her mind became complicated, wondering what she should teach Aidan first, and whether he could follow along properly.

“Wait!”

Lloyd grabbed Karina’s arm as if snatching it. This startled the attendants following behind each of them more than Karina herself.

“Y-Your Highness…”

Lloyd’s attendant quickly called out to him but couldn’t continue, trailing off. Karina’s gaze naturally fell to the arm he had grabbed.

“Let go of my hand.”

Despite her cold voice, Lloyd didn’t loosen his grip on her arm. It was tight enough to hurt, causing Karina to frown.

“It might not be too late yet.”

Lloyd said something incomprehensible, disregarding everyone’s bewilderment. Unable to understand, Karina’s brows furrowed even more.

“You haven’t even properly consummated the marriage yet, have you?”

Lloyd pulled Karina’s arm, forcefully drawing her closer.

“Choose me now. I’ll take care of everything afterward.”

He whispered in Karina’s ear so that the following attendants couldn’t hear.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Karina shook off his arm forcefully and took a step back. Even while doing so, her expression remained frighteningly calm. This too was a method she had learned from her past life. Showing any emotion only served to provoke Lloyd.

“I’ll see you with His Highness Aidan at the banquet soon.”

Karina bowed to him as politely as possible before turning away. She could feel Lloyd’s gaze boring into her back, but she pretended not to notice.

‘A marriage proposal came for Prince Lloyd as well.’

Around the time when her marriage to Aidan was decided, a marriage proposal for Lloyd came through the Empress, but it was a proposal not agreed upon by the Emperor, and the Hewitt ducal family politely declined, citing this reason.

However, Lloyd didn’t give up.

‘Aidan doesn’t love you anyway. Look even now. He’s off playing with other women while you’re always left alone, right? No one in this palace doesn’t know that. So even if you come to me, no one would blame you.’

Lloyd had been quite abnormally obsessed with Karina. At first, she thought it was just resentment towards Aidan or a desire for the Hewitt ducal family’s power. But as time passed, his obsession grew worse and worse. He didn’t care at all that she was the wife of his half-brother.

When bad rumors about his attitude began to circulate among the nobles, the Empress finally stepped in and forcibly married him off to a young lady from another ducal family.

‘I don’t mind even if you’re just a mistress. Aidan is like that anyway, so you don’t need to remain faithful to him, right?’

But even marriage couldn’t quell his obsession.

Perhaps it was because of this obsession that the Empress further implicated her and the Hewitt ducal family as accomplices in treason. Thinking about it that way, even Lloyd’s gaze watching her now seemed terrifying.

*

The imperial palace was a place that seemed vast yet narrow. And it was truly a place that loved to gossip. The news that Kate Spencer had gone to visit Aidan but was thrown out, and that Karina was entering and leaving Aidan’s bedroom every day, spread in an instant. When the initial rumors circulated about Kate Spencer thoughtlessly visiting Aidan, there was great concern that the prince’s marriage might end in disaster. It was natural, as it was behavior that no one could understand by common sense.

However, thanks to Karina’s actions that overturned everyone’s expectations, there was now talk that Prince Aidan seemed to have come to his senses. With the addition of Karina’s words to Lloyd that “Aidan had settled things with Kate Spencer,” speculation even arose that he might finally be settling down after finding his match.

Such rumors naturally reached the Empress’s ears.

“His Highness Prince Lloyd has arrived.”

Even at the news of her son’s visit, the Empress remained leaning back in her chair with her brow deeply furrowed. As Lloyd entered the reception room and bowed in greeting, she gestured with her eyes to the seat opposite her.

“I hear Aidan’s condition is better than expected? And even his relationship with the princess has become closer.”

She asked, moistening her lips with a teacup. Instead of answering, Lloyd only let out a long groan.

“How foolish.”

A small mutter was heard, and then the teacup she was holding flew past Lloyd’s face. Crash! There was a loud shattering sound as the cup hit the floor.