When he left Karina’s palace, Lloyd ground his teeth. Just what had Kate Spencer done last night for Karina to declare so firmly that she trusted Aidan? Thinking that stupid woman wasn’t even helpful in this way made his anger rise.

“Bring Kate Spencer.”

When he ordered the servant following him, the servant asked, “Miss Kate Spencer?” He seemed not to understand why Lloyd was looking for her.

“She should still be in the palace. Find her quickly and bring her before she returns to House Spencer.”

At Lloyd’s harsh tone, the servant bowed without further questions and withdrew.

“Your Highness, we’ve been searching for a while.”

A knight waiting at the entrance appeared when he arrived at his palace.

“The task? Was it handled well?”

Though Marquis Belmont had said he would handle the aftermath of those who attacked Aidan, Lloyd couldn’t just sit back and watch. He needed to verify that Marquis Belmont was handling things properly. So he had assigned one of his knights to watch and monitor Marquis Belmont.

The knight shook his head grimly at Lloyd’s question.

“The person we were chasing jumped into the river, and we couldn’t confirm if they lived or died.”

“Ha! After all that big talk.”

Nothing was going his way. He had completely trusted Marquis Belmont, but to lose the most important person was absurd.

“They were cut by a sword before falling and swept away by rapids, so they probably couldn’t survive.”

“I don’t need ‘probably’!”

At his sharp voice, the knight flinched and closed his mouth, stepping back. Though Lloyd frowned deeply, he had no good solution either. Whether alive or dead, not finding that person would surely cause headaches later.

“Tell Marquis Belmont to take full responsibility since he said he would handle it.”

He grew angrier thinking how the man had pushed his adopted daughter at him when he couldn’t even handle this task properly. At times like this, wouldn’t House Hewitt have handled things more properly, more perfectly? Just seeing how they supported that fool Aidan to appear as someone else showed the difference between House Belmont and House Hewitt. The fact that House Hewitt — that Karina Hewitt — wasn’t his was unbearable.

Though the Empress had told him to give up since they had already held the wedding, Lloyd thought it wasn’t over yet. They had only held the wedding — Aidan and Karina hadn’t even had their first night together. If only Aidan disappeared, he would have his chance. Karina having been married to Aidan once wasn’t much of a flaw considering her House Hewitt background.

How should he get rid of Aidan? Another attack attempt would be too risky since one had already failed — if discovered, the risk would be too great. A way to remove him without dirtying his own hands… As his thoughts deepened, the wrinkles between Lloyd’s brows grew deeper.

What about staging an accident to kill him during the knights’ tournament? Should he try to win over a knight? Or use Kate Spencer to destroy his reputation as a prince and strip his title? Whatever method would work to bring him down didn’t matter.

*

“This way.”

Kai opened the door of a small cabin and stepped aside to let Aidan enter first. They had ridden horses far into the forest even after leaving the capital. It seemed questionable that anything would be here, as eventually, even paths disappeared from view. Following handkerchiefs tied sparsely to trees deep into the forest, they found a single small cabin standing alone with several of Kai’s subordinates guarding it.

Inside, they saw a man lying on a small bed. With bandages wrapped tightly around not just his head but also his chest and arms, even his face was hard to identify.

“This is Emily the maid’s lover and a former knight of His Highness Lloyd.”

Aidan’s gaze turned to the man.

“He hasn’t regained consciousness yet. He seems to have been cut by a sword before falling into the river and lost a lot of blood. Though we’ve treated him, they say the next few days will be critical.”

Kai added an explanation.

“Did this bastard put the hole in my body?”

“We’re not sure yet, on whether he did it directly or hired someone else. For us, he’s our only lead.”

“Hmm. So we need to keep him alive for now.”

No emotion showed in Aidan’s eyes as he looked down at the man. Kai found this strange about Aidan. He had thought he would be angrier seeing this person. It wouldn’t have been unreasonable even if he had demanded immediate execution — this was someone who had tried to kill him. But now Aidan was too calm. It felt almost like he was dealing with someone else’s matter.

“Treat him well and keep him alive somehow. Watch him so he doesn’t commit suicide when he wakes up.”

“Should we keep him here?”

Aidan looked around the cabin at Kai’s question.

“That seems best. At least no one should come looking this deep in the forest. Still, watch carefully for anyone passing through the area just in case. If you see anyone even slightly suspicious, don’t just turn them away. Have you confirmed this person’s identity?”

“He’s called Liam Smith.”

“Family relations?”

“That far we haven’t…”

“Investigate everything thoroughly — family relations and associates. If he has family, Lloyd might already have people watching them. Protect them without being noticed.”

“Protect them?”

Kai repeated questioningly. Attacking a prince constituted treason. It was natural not to understand being ordered to protect, not monitor, such a person’s family.

“If Lloyd learns this person is alive, he’ll use his family as leverage. We need to protect them all so we can use this guy when he recovers.”

“You plan to threaten him to cooperate with us using his family?”

“Threaten? Let’s call it persuasion.”

Aidan replied lightly with a smile as he left the cabin. Kai glanced once more at the still unconscious man before following Aidan.

“Isn’t it the same thing, holding his family hostage to make him follow us?”

It was an unnecessary question. But seeing Aidan’s behavior so different from his usual self, his curiosity had unconsciously slipped out. Aidan turned to look at Kai and smirked.

“Not the same. I have no intention of harming his family. Protection and threats are completely different words. The person receiving it would know that better.”

“What if he feels it’s a threat rather than protection?”

Like Lloyd, if Aidan felt threatened, he might not cooperate.

“Then we’ll have to persuade him to feel it’s protection, won’t we?”

Again, Aidan answered easily. Kai was about to ask if that was possible but closed his mouth upon seeing his expression. He looked more confident than ever. Like someone very familiar with such matters.

That’s impossible. What an absurd thought.

Even as Kai shook his head, he realized he trusted this different-acting Aidan more than before.

*

Late at night, a physician entered Aidan’s palace. This followed Aidan’s wish to receive treatment at times when others wouldn’t notice.

“The wound has healed considerably now. At this rate, daily activities should be possible without issue.”

The physician expressed relief at his faster-than-expected recovery rate as he disinfected the wound and reapplied gauze.

“Still, you must avoid activities that directly impact the wound.”

“If I hear that one more time, I’ll have heard it a hundred times. My ears are growing calluses.”

Aidan buttoned his shirt while pointing out the repetitive advice.

“I think the wound has healed quickly thanks to Your Highness’s positive mindset.”

The physician said while packing the disinfectant into his bag. Aidan just smirked without responding. A sword wound like this was nothing to him anyway. ‘Park Jin-hoo’s’ body had many more scars than this.

“At this rate, consummation should be possible.”

Aidan’s hands stopped buttoning at the physician’s words.

“Consummation?”

He turned his head to look at the physician, who nodded with a smile.

“You haven’t had your wedding night with Her Highness the Consort yet, have you? It was impossible before due to the wound, but it should be fine now.”

After giving this advice, the physician picked up his bag, bowed saying he would take his leave, and left. Aidan, who was left alone, alternately looked at his abdomen and the door the physician had left through before letting out a long “hmm.”

Consummation, huh. He hadn’t thought that far. Since divorce was the premise, he thought Karina wouldn’t consider consummating their marriage either. However, the imperial palace couldn’t ignore others’ eyes. To establish himself stably, he needed to act like a ‘proper prince.’ In that process, his relationship with Karina was most important.

“Wonder if she’ll faint if I suggest consummation.”

His lips unconsciously curled up remembering how Karina turned bright red just from kissing. Still, he thought she probably wouldn’t refuse talking about consummating their marriage. Despite having no dating experience, she was excessively devoted to her role as the ‘prince’s consort.’ She seemed like someone born and raised to become a prince’s consort.

At first, he thought such behavior was stiff and boring, but now, what could he do about finding the occasional gaps adorably and lovably charming.

Right now, he was more curious about how she would answer his proposal to a date rather than their consummation. Of course, he wouldn’t give up even if she refused. Whether she liked it or not, they had half a year together, so there were still many chances. This proposal was just the first step.

*