She asked lightly. It was a natural question for a new bride, but it was difficult for Karina to answer. The situation was quite ambiguous to call it a marriage. Though everyone saw her as Aidan’s consort, there was actually nothing that made them a real couple. It had been the same in her previous life during those three years they were together. She was more the Imperial Prince’s consort of the Griffith Empire than Aidan’s partner.

“I guess it’s not great after all.”

Perhaps because Karina didn’t answer immediately, Princess Elena jumped to conclusions.

“I suppose that’s how it is… with political marriages?”

From her sighing words, Karina began to understand what she was worried about. Though it hadn’t been explicitly mentioned yet, Icinia must have already informed her that Lloyd would be her political marriage partner. Though she came as the representative of the congratulatory delegation for Aidan and Karina’s wedding, in reality, she had come for an arranged meeting with Lloyd.

While it would be ideal to fall in love at first sight with one’s political marriage partner, that rarely happened. A political marriage was just that — political. That’s why even the current Emperor had kept a lover aside while married to the former Empress.

The existence of the Emperor and current Empress had significant implications for both Karina and Princess Elena. It meant that they too might someday have to tolerate their princely husbands keeping other women. Without looking far, Karina had already experienced in her past life just how miserable and humiliating that could be.

“Actually, I wanted to become the Queen of Icinia. Though I have a younger brother, he’s still young and too weak physically to inherit the throne.”

Princess Elena revealed her thoughts while gazing into the distance. Karina silently listened to her words.

“I don’t know why I’m saying these things. It must be burdensome, since we’ve just met, right? Somehow, I feel familiar with you, Consort Karina…”

She trailed off, seeming confused by her own openness.

“Does Icinia not acknowledge queens?”

Karina deliberately continued the conversation, pretending ignorance to ease her embarrassment.

“That’s not it, but… If I marry into another country, especially to their royal family, it becomes absolutely impossible for me to inherit the throne.”

Now, Karina understood why Elena was reluctant about this marriage arrangement. What kind of person Lloyd was had already become irrelevant to her. Though she would probably be even more repulsed if she knew his true nature, regardless of that, Princess Elena simply disliked the idea of having to live as a prince’s consort in the Griffith Empire’s imperial palace after marriage.

Karina recalled her memories from her previous life. Princess Elena, who had rejected the marriage arrangement with Lloyd and returned home, had never sent news of marriage until Karina’s death. Perhaps she had been fighting her own fierce battle to inherit the throne.

“I think you can do it, Princess.”

At Karina’s response, Elena’s eyes widened before softening into a gentle smile.

“Thank you.”

Whether she believed Karina’s words or not was unclear. Regardless of her belief, Karina’s single statement had clearly comforted Princess Elena. After that brief night walk together, Princess Elena showed even more fondness toward Karina and tried to spend almost all her time in the Griffith Empire with her. Except when she was semi-forcibly invited to the Empress’s tea parties.

*

Whew. Aidan exhaled deeply while brushing back his sweat-soaked bangs. With little time left until the knights’ tournament, he was spending almost all his time in the training grounds except for meals and sleep. Whether it was because he had been bedridden from injury or because the original owner of this body rarely exercised, at first, his body wouldn’t move as he wanted, but now it seemed to be following his will better.

“Still, I wish there was a bit more muscle.”

While there were benefits to the body switch, there were also many physical inconveniences. The fortunate thing was that this body at least had minimal muscle from leisure activities like hunting and horseback riding. However, these muscles were somewhat different from those needed for wielding swords or fighting, so it took time to adapt.

“Your movements seem to improve with each passing day.”

Kai said while handing over a water bottle and towel.

“Really? I still feel rather sluggish.”

“You’re much lighter than before,”

He just smiled at Kai, who responded with a puzzled expression. He often sensed through moments like these what kind of lord Kai had known.

What a waste. Having all these great conditions yet not putting them to proper use.

He couldn’t understand it. Despite having a stepmother and half-siblings, “Aidan” himself was still a prince with legitimate succession rights. By his standards, he was born with the most valuable diamond spoon in his mouth. Moreover, as he started moving around, he found his physical condition was quite good. With a bit of refinement, he thought he could handle most opponents easily.

Since his original body was thirty-seven, the stamina of a twenty-two year-old felt noticeably different. Despite moving this much, he wasn’t even out of breath yet. While the lack of muscle was disappointing due to underuse, he was satisfied with everything else — build, endurance, everything.

Why did someone born with everything live so timidly? For someone who had struggled desperately to gain what he didn’t have, “Aidan” was truly an incomprehensible existence.

“I’m worried you might be overdoing it.”

When Aidan picked up his sword again, Kai expressed concern. He seemed worried that someone usually inactive might catch a cold from excessive exercise.

“This is nothing. I’ll do one more round and then go wash up. I plan to have dinner with Karina, so let her know in advance.”

“Her Highness seems to be spending a lot of time with Princess Elena. She might already have dinner plans.”

“It’s not bad for her to maintain good relations with an allied nation’s princess. She might play an important diplomatic role if we ever have dealings with them in the future. But not being able to even have dinner with me is disappointing. Is this how it feels to have your wife stolen?”

“……”

Kai remained silent for a moment, unsure how to respond to vocabulary unbefitting a prince.

“I don’t mind if Princess Elena joins us. Or rather, if she already has plans, should I join them? Either way, ask if I can join.”

Aidan clearly expressed his intention to have dinner with Karina regardless of Princess Elena’s presence. As Kai was about to agree, he hesitated as he remembered something.

“Come to think of it, you need to stay in a separate palace from tonight.”

“Suddenly?”

“Someone came from the main palace this morning with His Majesty’s orders, but I forgot about it.”

Aidan couldn’t understand why the Emperor would specifically order him to stay in the separate palace.

“You must have forgotten. This happens every time there’s a knights’ tournament.”

He didn’t forget — rather, he didn’t know at all? Unable to say that, he silently stared at Kai. Having already experienced several instances where Aidan seemed unaware of obvious things since the attack, Kai continued explaining without surprise.

Whenever the imperial palace hosted a knights’ tournament, all participating knights stayed in the separate palace. This prevented the use of prohibited substances the night before or any backdoor dealings with tournament judges.

There were no exceptions, even for princes. The Emperor believed, and it was Griffith Empire tradition, that the knights’ tournament should be judged solely on skill above all else. Therefore, winners earned the right to join the imperial knights regardless of status or age, and particularly outstanding ones could even be appointed as knight captain. Kai Miller, Aidan’s current knight captain, was a prime example.

After hearing this explanation, Aidan, who had been listening quietly, made a “hmm” sound and smirked.

“That’s good. It means Lloyd will stay there too.”

“Yes.”

“Then he won’t be able to try anything strange tonight.”

Aidan thought Lloyd might attempt some underhanded tactics before the knights’ tournament. After failing the surprise attack, what better opportunity to harm Aidan without suspicion than the tournament? Even if he didn’t act directly, he likely would have already bribed other knights who would face Aidan.

“His Highness Lloyd’s swordsmanship is quite impressive.”

Kai seemed to understand Aidan’s concern differently.

“Losing fairly is unavoidable.”

Unlike Kai, Aidan didn’t seem concerned at all about facing Lloyd’s skills. After observing Aidan these past few days, Kai found this reasonable. He was amazed at how Aidan had learned swordsmanship without anyone knowing.

“If Lloyd trained in swordsmanship from childhood as the heir apparent, wouldn’t ‘Aidan’ have done the same?”

The question seemed odd since it included Aidan himself.

“As I started moving my body, it didn’t feel completely unfamiliar. Whether that’s due to my memories or this body’s issue, I’m not sure.”

“I don’t understand what you mean, but if you’re wondering whether Your Highness learned swordsmanship as a child, you probably did.”

Kai had only started protecting Aidan less than five years ago. While the teenage Aidan had already lost interest in the throne and lacked motivation to do anything, Kai thought he must have received basic education when younger.

“I see…”

Aidan looked down at his hands and smirked.

“Really a spoiled brat.”

It wasn’t clear who he was referring to. Kai couldn’t ask if he meant His Highness because Aidan’s smiling eyes looked cold.

“More importantly, what about Kate Spencer?”

Aidan changed the subject. Even after chasing Kate Spencer from his garden during the banquet, he continued monitoring her whereabouts. Kai had suspected Aidan still had lingering feelings for her, only pretending otherwise in front of his consort. Until the attack, Aidan frequently invited Kate Spencer to the palace for secret meetings, so cutting her off suddenly seemed stranger.

But that wasn’t the case. His expression softened when he mentioned Karina, but he remained consistently cold and businesslike regarding Kate Spencer. Rather, it seemed he was watching and guarding against her becoming an obstacle.

“She’s currently in the palace. His Highness Lloyd seems to have summoned her.”

“As expected.”

Aidan smirked and twirled his sword. He seemed pleased his prediction was correct.

“Perfect timing.”

Following Aidan’s glance, Kai turned to see someone who didn’t look like a knight lingering at the training ground entrance. The person, who had been looking around as if searching for someone, bowed deeply upon spotting Aidan.

“They’re not the only ones who can plant spies.”

Aidan’s lips curled up slightly as he looked at the person.

*