Knock knock. Standing at the door, Kate took a deep breath. Since returning to the palace at Lloyd’s summons, she hadn’t moved from the room he had prepared, saying it would be better to avoid being seen by others.

“His Highness said to tell Your Highness.”

When she opened the door, Lloyd’s servant handed her an envelope and a dress to change into.

“Thank you.”

She put the clothes on the bed and quickly opened the envelope to check inside. It contained a single sheet of paper folded in half.

[Someone will come to guide you to the separate palace tonight. Just follow them.]

That was the entire message. He had already explained what she needed to do today when he gave her the aphrodisiac.

‘Keep the room dark and wait. If he knows it’s you, Aidan might turn away again. Don’t say anything and lead him to bed. Make him think you’re his consort. Once you give him that drug, everything will flow naturally after that.’

Could she do it well? Would she be discovered? She felt anxious in many ways.

After repeatedly reassuring herself it would be fine, she took out the aphrodisiac Lloyd had given her from the bedside table drawer and clutched it tightly. She had already made up her mind. Now she just needed to execute it safely.

*

The Empress called Princess Elena, saying she had something to tell her about tomorrow’s knights’ tournament. Thanks to this, Karina was reading alone.

‘What could there be about the knights’ tournament that involves me? I just need to watch. His Highness Lloyd will surely be there. I’m certain of it.’

Princess Elena had grumbled lightly before going to the Empress’s summons. Though no one directly mentioned her political marriage with Lloyd, she kept subtly showing how her intentions differed from the Empress’s wishes.

Knowing Princess Elena and Lloyd’s eventual outcome, Karina could only keep her words to herself. After conversing with Princess Elena these past couple of days, she clearly understood that the princess was more interested in inheriting the throne than marriage. She simply found it difficult to refuse the proposal from the Empress of the Griffith Empire.

If only Lloyd would make some big mistake.

Finding herself emotionally siding with Princess Elena, she had such useless thoughts. If it was revealed that Lloyd was behind the attack on Aidan, wouldn’t the talk of political marriage fade away? It would become easier to refuse the marriage proposal if his attempt to kill his own blood was exposed as an unfilial crime.

The problem was that Liam Smith hadn’t regained consciousness to testify. Even if he woke up, it was uncertain whether he would act according to Aidan’s intentions.

Was there no way to help? Though she pondered, she found no suitable solution. If she acted carelessly, she might only create misunderstandings that she was trying to preemptively check the person who would become Lloyd’s consort.

“Karina.”

Startled by someone calling her name, she turned to see Aidan leaning against the entrance. Lost in thought, she hadn’t even heard him knock.

“Why so startled? What were you thinking about?”

Aidan approached and sat in the chair opposite Karina.

“Why are you here without notice…?”

“Are we the type who needs to notify each other to meet?”

He said with a grin. True, but recently Karina had been spending much time with Princess Elena, and Aidan was often at the training grounds, so they usually checked each other’s whereabouts before meeting.

“I missed you after not seeing you for just one day.”

He said with a smile that made it impossible to tell if he was joking or serious, so she didn’t react.

“You’re so cold. At times like this, you could cutely say you missed me too.”

“I’m not naturally cute.”

When she retorted without thinking, she saw Aidan smirk.

“You’re cute in your own way. In unexpected ways.”

While wondering what unexpected ways he meant, she realized he was referring to physical intimacy and gave him a slight glare. Though his mischievous grin was annoying, she felt strange realizing she now often saw his smiling face that she hadn’t seen before.

His smiling face was fundamentally handsome. Enough to make her wonder if that’s what Kate Spencer had liked about him.

Could I be thinking his face is handsome too? No, that’s just an objective fact, but could I be getting butterflies from that face?

Various thoughts jumbled in her mind as she shook her head, then realized Aidan was staring at her intently. Feeling awkward, she cleared her throat, making his eyes curve prettily. She found herself unconsciously drawn to his handsome smiling face.

So this is how women fall for this man.

The unfamiliar expressions, tone, and attitude from someone she thought familiar sometimes felt more than just new — they were perplexing.

“They say I need to stay in a separate palace tonight.”

“Ah, because of the knights’ tournament?”

Aidan nodded.

“That’s disappointing. I was hoping to get some energy from you before the tournament.”

“Energy… Don’t say nonsense and just be careful not to get hurt.”

“Are you worried about me?”

“Of course that’s…!”

Her words were cut off as Aidan stood up, came right in front of her, and leaned over her chair, placing both hands on it. As she just blinked up at him, he grinned.

“Then will you grant me one favor?”

He whispered in a low voice, leaning his head down even closer. Her heart pounded at the decreasing distance.

Talking about energy and now he’s probably going to kiss me again…

“This.”

Aidan held up a piece of paper from the table right in front of her nose. This? Wondering what he wanted her to do with it, she stared at him blankly as he placed the paper in her palm.

“You have your seal, right?”

Seal? She did have an official seal she received upon becoming consort, but why suddenly…

“I want to use it as a charm. Just stamp this paper with your seal once.”

She was momentarily speechless at the strange request. The seal was the most important way to prove that letters or documents were truly from Karina. That’s why she had demanded Aidan’s seal on the divorce papers. Documents with a seal carried the same authority as the seal owner’s words.

“I can’t stamp my seal so casually.”

Who knows how this man might use my seal. She honestly had such suspicions. Though there wasn’t really anything Aidan could do with it, she still had to be careful.

“It’s for a charm, I said. To prevent injury in the knights’ tournament. You said you want me to be safe, right?”

“Is that really all? If that’s the case, take this instead.”

Karina took out a handkerchief and handed it to Aidan.

“That handkerchief has the Hewitt family crest embroidered on it.”

Aidan unfolded the handkerchief and saw that indeed, as she said, the Hewitt family crest was embroidered in the center. And in one corner, Karina’s name was stitched.

“Isn’t this enough if you want something meaningful from me?”

“Is it okay to give me this? It seems precious.”

It was a handkerchief her mother had personally embroidered on the day Karina entered the palace, wishing for her future safety.

“That’s why it’s more meaningful. Don’t lose it.”

Instead of answering, Aidan just curved up the corners of his mouth in a smile. Though that smile seemed suspicious and made her uneasy, seeing his smiling face, she couldn’t say anything more.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure nothing harmful happens to you.”

Perhaps reading anxiety in her expression, Aidan lightly kissed her forehead before stepping back.

“I should go now. They said all tournament participants need to gather before dinner.”

Having finished his business, Aidan left without hesitation. Left behind, Karina let out a short sigh. Why did his final words about preventing harm bother her so much? She couldn’t guess what he was planning to do.

Still, she believed his words about not letting harm come to her. Though she would never have trusted the previous Aidan, now she firmly believed he was on her side.

*

All knights participating in the tournament, including Aidan and Lloyd, gathered in one place. The imperial knight commander briefly explained the tournament rules and guided them to the grand banquet hall. They would have dinner there before retiring to their assigned rooms in the separate palace for the night.

“I thought you’d run away, but you came after all.”

Lloyd, sitting across from Aidan at dinner, sneered.

“I had no reason to run.”

Aidan continued eating while answering calmly.

“Hmm, you’re overflowing with confidence. Withdrawing now would be less embarrassing, you know.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Aidan just smiled pleasantly despite Lloyd’s provocation.

“Nearly dying must have made you fearless.”

Lloyd said with a disgusted expression.

“Rather than nearly dying, it feels more like being reborn entirely. Don’t waste energy on useless things and take care of yourself. Don’t worry about me, I know how to survive.”

“Ha!”

While Lloyd’s face grew increasingly distorted, Aidan maintained his cheerful expression. Just as Lloyd, annoyed by that face, was about to slam the table and stand up–

“This is wine from His Majesty.”

Servants placed wine glasses in front of each knight.

“His Majesty offers this fine wine, hoping everyone will do their best in tomorrow’s tournament.”

Whew. Lloyd took a long breath and remained seated.

“What are you doing? You’re not drinking?”

He gestured toward the wine in front of Aidan.

“Don’t tell me you’re refusing wine from His Majesty?”

Aidan smirked at the provocative words and brought the glass to his lips. Gulp. The corner of Lloyd’s mouth slightly curled up as he watched Aidan’s Adam’s apple move as he swallowed the wine.

*