Lloyd greeted him with a smiling face. Now in his late fifties, Marquis Belmont still had a good physique and charisma. In his youth, he had gone to the battlefield with the Emperor, who was then the Crown Prince, and had achieved considerable merit. Because of this, the Emperor trusted him, and easily fell for Lilith McCoy, the widowed Marchioness McCoy whom he had introduced. In a way, it was because of Marquis Belmont that the current Lloyd could exist.

When he was young, Lloyd had suspected the relationship between Marquis Belmont and his mother. He had wondered if he was really the Emperor’s son, or if Marquis Belmont might actually be his real father, given how close the Marquis and his mother were.

Eventually, when his mother became the Empress and he was officially recognized as a prince, such suspicions disappeared, but there were still whispers in some corners speculating that the relationship between the Empress and Marquis Belmont might be more than just friendship. So now, Marquis Belmont made Lloyd uncomfortable in a different way. His mother said that Marquis Belmont was absolutely necessary for Lloyd to become Emperor, but Lloyd sometimes felt anxious that his existence might hold him back.

“I’ve heard the general story from Her Majesty the Empress.”

Marquis Belmont brought up the main topic first.

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

It was a different reaction from the Empress, who had been extremely nervous.

“Your Highness won’t face any difficulties.”

Hearing his assertive words, the anxiety Lloyd had felt seemed to disappear.

“This is the list of those involved in that matter.”

Lloyd handed over a folded piece of paper to Marquis Belmont. After unfolding and scanning the paper, Marquis Belmont raised his eyes to look at Lloyd.

“There aren’t any omissions, are there?”

Even though he was just looking, his gaze felt like it was piercing Lloyd’s skin. When Lloyd didn’t answer immediately, Marquis Belmont folded the paper and placed it on the table.

“If you harbor any clumsy sympathy, even my efforts to help Your Highness could come to nothing. Moreover, that blade might turn back to stab you.”

At this quiet warning, Lloyd took a deep breath, his chest heaving, and then slowly exhaled.

“There are no omissions.”

He hesitated for a very brief moment. There were subordinates mixed in who had followed him with utmost loyalty. He thought his mother cruel for telling him to cut off even such people so easily. However, in the end, Lloyd couldn’t disobey his mother’s orders.

“I understand.”

Only then did Marquis Belmont pick up the paper and put it in the inner pocket of his chest.

“I hear a banquet will be held soon.”

Belmont casually changed the subject. It seemed he didn’t want to mention the surprise attack any further.

“Her Majesty the Empress intends to choose Your Highness’s match at that banquet.”

Lloyd’s hand, which was reaching for his teacup, stopped at these unexpected words.

“Since His Highness Aidan has married first, Her Majesty the Empress is right in saying that it’s not good to delay too much.”

It wasn’t wrong, but Lloyd’s brow immediately furrowed. What he wanted was Karina Hewitt. Although she had been taken by Aidan for now, he thought Karina would soon tire of that crippled bastard. So it was too early to give up.

Not only was the Hewitt duchy background too good to let go, but more than that, he was interested in Karina herself. She was more beautiful and noble than any woman he had ever seen. She was the person who would suit him best as the future Emperor. He thought the Emperor had made a foolish decision this time by giving such a woman to Aidan.

“Just because Aidan got married doesn’t mean we need to rush my marriage…”

“My niece will also be attending that day.”

Lloyd’s eyebrow twitched at the words that cut in midway.

“She’s turned nineteen this year. I heard she was preparing for her social debut, so I told her to attend this banquet as it’s a good opportunity.”

There was no need for him to report to Lloyd that his niece was making her social debut.

“Is that so.”

He tried to give a perfunctory answer and move on.

“I plan to adopt her as my daughter soon. She’s a modest and pretty child, so please take good care of her.”

Just as he was about to turn away, Marquis Belmont emphasized once more. He was showing his intentions so clearly that it was impossible to pretend not to understand.

It seems he wasn’t satisfied with Lilith McCoy, whom he had backed, becoming Empress. Human greed knows no bounds. When they gain one thing, they want to gain more, and when they have everything they want, they struggle not to lose it.

Lloyd wasn’t much different. It’s just that what Marquis Belmont and his mother wanted diverged from what he wanted.

“Sure.”

When he gave the answer he wanted with a slight smile, Marquis Belmont also smiled, seemingly satisfied.

Even if they were different, he still needed his help for now. So there was no reason to fall out with him.

*

Karina placed the list of people who knew about Aidan’s secret meeting, which she had received from him, on the table and fell into deep thought.

The first thing she did upon receiving the list was to investigate Kai Miller, the captain of his guard knights. Although she thought that the Aidan before would have appointed him as the captain of the guard knights because he trusted him the most, he had been such an incompetent person with poor judgment of character that she didn’t have much confidence in him.

Fortunately, Kai Miller had no connection to the Empress. Rather, though not widely known, he was someone who had become an imperial knight through Duke Hewitt’s sponsorship. She suspected he might be someone Duke Hewitt had planted to protect Aidan inconspicuously. Still, just to be sure, she double-checked with her father.

After Kai Miller’s identity was confirmed, she received his help. There was no one more suitable for the task of investigating the people in Aidan’s palace for Aidan’s sake. Aidan had instructed Kai to report to Karina after the investigation. The reason was that if Kai kept coming in and out to report to Aidan, any spies that hadn’t been uncovered yet might catch on to something.

When Aidan heard that the original Aidan never tried to do anything directly, he judged that it would be good to maintain that appearance for a while. Karina agreed with his words that there was no need to arouse unnecessary suspicion, especially since he still couldn’t move his body properly. She was already spending nearly half a day with Aidan every day under the pretext of visiting the sick, so she was conveying Kai’s reports and her thoughts to him during that time.

Kai Miller felt responsible for the attack on Aidan. He was doing his best to investigate the background of the attack, blaming himself for not properly protecting Aidan as his guard knight.

‘I investigated even the families of everyone on the list, but couldn’t find any connection to Her Majesty the Empress or His Highness Lloyd. I also checked what everyone was doing and who they were with before and after the time His Highness Aidan was attacked, but there was no one who seemed particularly problematic.’

The problem was that despite all this, they couldn’t find anyone suspicious. Was their assumption that there was an internal spy wrong? Or could it be that it wasn’t someone from Lloyd or the Empress’s side…

As Karina was considering all possibilities, she shook her head. It was definitely related to Lloyd. When they met in the garden, Lloyd seemed to know quite well about Aidan’s condition. Moreover, he had sufficient motive.

‘It’s not too late. If you agree to become my lover even now, I might be able to spare your life.’

Until the moment he held a knife to her throat, he had tried to possess Karina. She didn’t know when this obsession had started, but it was most reasonable to think that her marriage to Aidan had provoked Lloyd, leading to the attack.

However, the opponent was the First Prince. Moreover, he was the Empress’s own son. She couldn’t accuse him of being behind the attack based on mere suspicion without evidence. She needed to find evidence somehow, but… It was frustrating as it seemed to be just out of reach, circling around without being grasped.

“What are you pondering over again?”

Bernice had come at some point and was setting down a tray with fragrant tea and sandwiches in front of Karina.

“I definitely knocked when I came in.”

Bernice pointed towards the door with her eyes, speaking before being scolded. Karina felt sorry towards Bernice, realizing she had been so absorbed that she hadn’t even heard the knock.