Overwhelmed by emotion, Kate started sobbing again. Watching her sniffle, Lloyd frowned. He promised it wouldn’t change? Then why is she acting like this now? Could it be that he’s pretending to have changed to deceive Karina?

“Aidan must have his reasons.”

He patted Kate’s shoulder and comforted her in a kind voice.

“When you went to visit Aidan, wasn’t the Princess Consort there?”

Kate nodded with tear-filled eyes.

“Then of course he would have been conscious of the Princess Consort’s presence. Trust Aidan. Didn’t he promise that things wouldn’t change?”

Kate just blinked, looking at Lloyd. The more she did so, the gentler Lloyd smiled as if it was no big deal.

“This imperial palace is a bit more… you know, than Miss Spencer might think. The outside and inside are all different. So even Aidan has to act differently from his heart in front of the Princess Consort. Do you understand?”

After hesitating for a while, Kate nodded almost imperceptibly.

“But His Highness said earlier that he wouldn’t meet me anymore…”

As she spoke, her lips trembled slightly, seemingly upset again.

“Oh my. You must have been really hurt.”

Lloyd lightly embraced her shoulder and patted her back.

“Cheer up. I’ll help you.”

He said, meeting her eyes and smiling. Kate still looked dazed, as if she didn’t understand. Seriously, she seemed to be a woman with no sense at all. Lloyd inwardly cursed but maintained a kind-looking smile.

“Tonight, wait in the garden of Aidan’s palace.”

Only then did Kate’s eyes widen.

“I’ll pass the message to Aidan. In fact, Aidan must be longing to meet you too.”

“Really? Thank you! Thank you so much.”

Kate stood up and bowed several times to express her gratitude. She wiped her tear-stained cheeks and turned to go, saying she needed to freshen up before meeting Aidan. As she walked away, the smile disappeared from Lloyd’s face.

It wasn’t difficult to rekindle a rumor that had been ignited once before. Whether Aidan still had feelings for her or not was none of his business. Aidan met Kate Spencer again. That fact alone could make his image plummet to the ground once more. At the same time, Karina’s trust would also disappear.

*

The banquet lasted longer than expected. Aidan was reaching his limit of sitting. Although he had managed to endure until now with the painkillers he had requested from the physician, if he had to stay at the banquet any longer, he felt he might need to take more medicine.

“I’ll go out for some fresh air for a moment.”

After excusing himself to the Emperor and Empress sitting next to him, he stood up, and Karina also rose to follow.

“You don’t need to come along.”

He declined, thinking there was no need to show her that he was taking medicine, and Karina’s face stiffened slightly. He couldn’t tell if she was anxious about letting him go alone or if she didn’t trust him, which made him chuckle. Seeing Aidan laugh, she seemed to think it wasn’t a big deal and sat back down, giving up.

As soon as he left the banquet hall and entered the corridor, Kai immediately followed.

“Do you have the medicine?”

He had entrusted the painkillers he received from the physician to Kai. He thought it might become a weakness if the Empress or Lloyd saw him carrying it himself.

“Are you in a lot of pain, Your Highness?”

Aidan shook his head with a smile at Kai’s concern.

“It’s still bearable.”

Still. Kai didn’t take that expression lightly. Although incomparably different from before, Kai was the one who had observed Aidan most closely and for the longest time over the past few days. After the attack, Aidan rarely complained of pain unless it was severe. The fact that he was asking for medicine first meant that the pain had become unbearable. Sure enough, as Aidan took a step, he let out a groan and stumbled.

“I think it would be better if you return to the palace.”

Kai quickly supported him and suggested.

“The banquet isn’t over yet. Besides, Karina is still there.”

It seemed that no one would say anything if he left in the middle, given how long he had endured, but Karina was still there. Aidan had no intention of returning alone without her.

“Then I will inform Her Highness the Princess Consort. Please return together.”

Kai also seemed to think they had enough of the banquet. Supported by him, Aidan sat on a ledge in the corridor and first swallowed the medicine he received from Kai.

“Why didn’t you take it earlier instead of enduring to the limit?”

“I know. But I couldn’t leave my seat.”

Kai tilted his head at Aidan’s reply. There would have been no problem if he had briefly left his seat during the banquet. He could have come out and gone back in at any time to take medicine.

“There were too many people aiming for my consort, you see.”

As the words were added jokingly, Kai let out an “Ah” a beat later. After dancing with Aidan, many young nobles from aristocratic families had been looking for a chance to dance with Karina. Although they couldn’t become her partner, it was an exception at such banquets. Since she had danced with Aidan, anyone could ask her for a dance afterward.

However, throughout today’s banquet, Karina didn’t dance with anyone other than Aidan. There were many who asked her to dance, but each time, Aidan would casually intervene and start a conversation. Later, he even said that his injury was throbbing, so Karina couldn’t go out to dance with others, leaving her ailing husband behind.

“Did you do it on purpose?”

Even though he asked without context, Aidan understood immediately. Instead of answering, he just grinned, which seemed to confirm that he really did it intentionally.

“Was it too childish?”

Kai shook his head at Aidan’s question. No one would criticize a man for not wanting to lose his wife to others. Fortunately, Karina didn’t seem to particularly want to dance with others either. Although she was going along with the banquet atmosphere to some extent, Kai could see that all her attention was focused on Aidan.

“Please wait here for a moment, and I’ll go in and bring Her Highness the Princess Consort.”

This time, Aidan didn’t refuse, saying it was fine. Feeling that he had done his part sufficiently, he nodded.

Not long after Kai returned to the banquet hall, someone who looked like a knight approached and bowed his head. Although he had memorized the faces of nobles from portraits, there was no way he would know the faces of servants or knights. He only knew the knights guarding the front of the bedroom and the servants who came in and out to tidy the bedroom. So he had no way of knowing whether the knight standing in front of him now belonged to his palace or another palace.

“Sir Kai said for you to go to the palace first. I will support you to the palace.”

He mentioned Kai’s name.

“Didn’t he say to wait here?”

“He said it wouldn’t be good for you to sit on the cold floor.”

Aidan looked at him and made a long humming sound. It wasn’t wrong, but something felt suspicious.

“Alright then.”

He stood up without much deliberation. After all, this was inside the imperial palace. Even if someone was after his life, it would be too risky to try anything with just one knight. Moreover, the destination was his own palace. Since he memorized the map of the imperial palace, he knew the way to his palace well. So if they tried to take him somewhere strange, he could just fight back.

As he got up and followed him, he fiddled with the decorative dagger at his waist. Although it was called decorative, it was only because the sheath was studded with jewels; inside was an actual sharp blade. It was enough to subdue someone quickly by stabbing it into their neck.

What an unsettled life, no matter where I go.

Suddenly, this thought crossed his mind, and he let out a hollow laugh. Whether you have a lot or have something to protect, Park Jin-hoo’s life and Aidan’s life were similar in that they were under threat. Is that why he ended up in this body? He had never thought deeply about why he woke up in a strange world, and in a prince’s body at that, but maybe there was some similarity. This thought made him laugh.

Fortunately, the knight headed straight for Aidan’s palace. He wondered if he had been unnecessarily on edge.

“Would you like to stop by the garden for a moment? The moon is bright, so it should be beautiful. I’ll inform Her Highness the Princess Consort to come there as well.”

The knight asked as they reached the corridor that branched off towards the garden. As he had wanted to get some fresh air anyway, Aidan agreed, and the knight guided him to the garden.

“If you wait in the gazebo inside, I’ll bring Her Highness the Princess Consort.”

The knight pointed to one side of the garden. It was a path lined with trees on both sides. The gazebo seemed to be inside.

Perhaps because it was the prince’s palace garden, it was certainly well-decorated. Flowers blooming all around were softly shimmering in the moonlight.

I hope Karina likes it too.

Aidan was smiling as he thought of her, but his expression hardened the moment he spotted the white stone gazebo at the end of the path.

“Your Highness!”

The one who came running out of the gazebo, delighted to see Aidan, was none other than Kate Spencer.