At Marquis Belmont’s gesture, the young lady next to him slightly lifted the hem of her dress with both hands and bowed, offering her greetings.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Iris Atley.”

She was a pretty and modest-looking young lady, enough for Marquis Belmont to confidently present her.

“Nice to meet you.”

Lloyd offered her a light greeting. Even with just that, Iris blushed shyly and lowered her head deeply. Marquis Belmont seemed pleased with her reaction and smiled proudly, but Lloyd watched with a cold gaze.

‘I am Karina Hewitt. It’s an honor to meet you.’

Unconsciously, he recalled the day he first saw Karina. After bowing politely to greet him, she had stared straight at Lloyd without a hint of hesitation. Although her rank was lower than his as a prince, her attitude suggested that she was not inferior to him in pride at all.

That boldness had stimulated Lloyd. Just imagining her haughty eyes focused solely on him sent chills down his spine. He knew at first sight. There was no woman more suitable for the position of Empress than Karina Hewitt. So naturally, she should have been his.

“Your Highness.”

At Marquis Belmont’s call, Lloyd, who had been recalling Karina, slightly frowned and looked at him.

“As I mentioned, today is Iris’s debut in society. May I ask you to escort her?”

He asked, bowing his head respectfully. At this request that couldn’t be refused, Lloyd said he understood and extended his hand to Iris. Iris shyly placed her hand on top of Lloyd’s.

“We might hear news of Prince Lloyd’s marriage soon.”

“It seems he’s going to bring in someone from Marquis Belmont’s side after all.”

“No matter what anyone says, he’s perfectly the Empress’s man.”

“I heard rumors that Prince Lloyd had made a marriage proposal to the Hewitt duchy…”

“Shh! What if someone hears you?”

The onlookers watching Lloyd and Iris whispered all sorts of things. Those who knew, knew that Lloyd had wanted Karina. However, since the Hewitt duchy had supported Aidan from the beginning, they thought the probability of Karina marrying Lloyd was low. It was just surprising that Lloyd had wanted to marry Karina despite the fact that both he and the Empress knew this too well.

“But I understand. After all, the other party is Her Highness the Princess Consort.”

At someone’s mention of Karina, everyone nodded.

“His Highness Prince Aidan and Her Highness the Princess Consort have arrived.”

A voice announced from the entrance. When the main characters appeared, people stopped murmuring and all turned to look at the entrance.

“Ah…”

Someone let out a low exclamation. The appearance of Aidan and Karina, who was on his arm, was a little different from what they had expected. They thought both would come dressed as splendidly as for a wedding, but that wasn’t the case. Aidan was wearing a black formal wear without any decorations, and while Karina was in a white dress, compared to her wedding dress, even the lace and jewel decorations were minimized, making it look simple to the point of being plain.

“Oh my goodness, what’s going on?”

“Could it be that Her Majesty the Empress is being spiteful?”

“Duke Hewitt will be upset if he sees this.”

“Even so, on a day like today…”

The noble ladies, in particular, were greatly agitated. For women, a banquet like today’s was quite important. It was a place to display their authority through how beautiful and elegant they were. At such a banquet, and at an official event held in the imperial palace no less, Karina, who had just become a princess consort, appeared in an excessively simple outfit.

Lloyd too was surprised, his eyes wide open. Forgetting that he had Iris beside him, he couldn’t take his eyes off Karina, who was entering the banquet hall with Aidan.

What’s going on? It definitely wasn’t the case that he had intervened and been spiteful about their formal wear, as some suspected. Lloyd had been doubtful from the start whether Aidan would be able to attend the banquet. Even if he did attend, he thought Aidan would be embarrassed by not being able to dance properly, so he hadn’t even bothered about the formal wear.

Could it be that Mother really did something? Although he hadn’t heard anything, it seemed quite possible. But the other party was Karina of the Hewitt duchy. Even if proper attire wasn’t prepared in the imperial palace, they could have easily had clothes prepared from the Hewitt duchy. No matter how he thought about it, it was an outfit he couldn’t understand.

However, Aidan and Karina, the parties concerned, maintained calm expressions despite the commotion among the people.

“We’re quite popular.”

Aidan even joked in a voice only Karina could hear as they walked through the crowd.

“Well, these people gathered to see Your Highness and me in the first place.”

So they should have dressed up even more elaborately for this occasion. But they were doing the exact opposite, so it was natural for people to be agitated.

“I hope you remember the important figures properly.”

Aidan responded to Karina’s words with a gentle smile. Even when Karina had asked him to check the portraits one more time last night just in case, Aidan had confidently said there was no need.

“The moment we sit in those chairs, people will come to offer their congratulations to Your Highness in turns. If you don’t recognize someone, give me a signal.”

Hearing Karina’s concern, Aidan looked around. There were a few people who seemed unfamiliar, but they were clearly young people who had just debuted in society, and he felt he knew who everyone else was.

“Unnecessary worry.”

At his confident answer, Karina swallowed a small sigh. She prayed that his confidence was real.

As they were heading towards their pre-arranged seats inside the banquet hall, Lloyd blocked their path.

“Here comes the newlywed.”

Without any greeting, Aidan’s gaze turned to his face at these words. Lloyd was looking at Aidan with a gaze that anyone could see was contemptuous and dismissive.

So this is the guy, the half-brother.

Recognizing him at once, Aidan smirked. Lloyd’s facial muscles twitched at this reaction.

“You’re smiling?”

Lloyd asked, dumbfounded.

“It’s a good day, isn’t it?”

Aidan answered calmly.

“Ha! A good day, he says.”

Lloyd let out a hollow laugh in disbelief and took another step closer to Aidan. At this seemingly threatening attitude, Karina frowned and was about to say something, but Aidan slightly extended his hand to block her. It was as if he was trying to protect her from Lloyd. Lloyd seemed to perceive it that way too, as he lowered his gaze to stare at Aidan’s hand.

“How pathetic. You, of all people.”

From his tone and attitude, it was immediately clear how Lloyd usually treated ‘Aidan’. No wonder the person who always attended to him closely had been so restless before they left for the banquet hall.

“Wouldn’t it be better to worry about your own situation rather than mine?”

Despite the provocative words, Aidan replied without even furrowing an eyebrow. Sensing something was off, Lloyd’s expression hardened.

“Smile. This is a place to celebrate your brother’s marriage. If you keep glaring like that, others might think you’re bitter about my marriage. Don’t you think?”

Aidan smiled and patted Lloyd’s shoulder as he passed by.

“This bastard…!”

“His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress have arrived.”

Just as Lloyd was about to grab Aidan in anger, an announcement of the imperial couple’s arrival was heard. Everyone stepped aside and bowed, and Lloyd, though frowning, swallowed his words and stepped aside.

Karina nudged Aidan’s arm and glanced at him. Understanding her meaning to show respect, Aidan stood beside her and slightly bowed his head.

The Emperor and Empress walked in together through the path cleared by the people. When they were almost at their prepared seats, the Empress stopped and looked at Aidan.

“Aidan.”

She called in a soft voice. Aidan slowly raised his head and met her gaze. Although he had seen her in portraits, she looked much younger than her age. He had heard she was in her mid-40s, but she looked only in her 30s. Her beauty was also quite remarkable. He was thinking that this must be why she was able to seduce the Emperor and secure the position of his lover when she was young, when the Empress, who had been quietly staring at him, furrowed her delicate eyebrows.

“Why is your attire in such a state?”

The Empress also pointed out Aidan’s formal wear. She seemed displeased that it didn’t match the banquet she had prepared. Aidan looked straight at her and smiled slightly. Then he opened his mouth and spoke deliberately.

“As you know, there was someone who wished for my death. This outfit is a response to that.”

At Aidan’s answer, a silence fell over the banquet hall as if cold water had been poured over it.