Turning around, she saw Aidan smiling as he protectively held her. With his free hand, he pulled something from his pocket and held it out to Lloyd.

“If you mean Karina’s handkerchief, is this what you’re talking about?”

The unfolded handkerchief indeed bore the Hewitt family crest and had the message about waiting written on it.

“Why do you have that…”

“Why? Obviously because Karina gave it to me. I’m more curious about when you managed to steal a look at it.”

With the handkerchief in Aidan’s hand, Lloyd could only turn red and blue in the face without being able to refute.

“This seems like an illness at this point. Isn’t it strange to begin with that my consort would send this to you? Even though you also proposed to the Hewitt family… You should know when to give up and back down. I didn’t know you were obsessing to the point of having such delusions.”

Aidan openly mocked him. Still in his embrace, Karina felt conflicted. Last night, when she sent the antidote to Kai through Bernice, she had also returned the handkerchief. Until then, she had been half-skeptical of Aidan’s scheme, but thought it would be better for him to have it anyway.

She hadn’t expected him to use her handkerchief like this.

Both Lloyd and Kate had fallen into the trap they themselves had set. If they hadn’t planned to make Aidan take the aphrodisiac and sleep with Kate in the first place, they wouldn’t have ended up sleeping together while mistaking each other for different people.

“Aidan, you dare…!”

Lloyd charged at Aidan with clenched fists. Though Aidan barely avoided it by turning sideways while holding Karina, Lloyd showed no signs of stopping. The watching knights and servants were flustered but couldn’t intervene since he was a prince.

“What is this commotion?”

A sharp voice came from somewhere, making Lloyd pause mid-punch. Aidan didn’t miss this opportunity and grabbed his arm, throwing him. As Lloyd, thrown into the crowd, got up cursing, he met eyes with the person standing before him.

“Princess Elena…”

She too had apparently come out from the annex palace due to the commotion. Her face hardened as she saw the gathered crowd, the open bedroom door, and Kate Spencer crying inside while wrapped in a blanket.

“Your Highness Lloyd.”

She called Lloyd in a composed voice devoid of emotion. Lloyd could only contort his face, unable to look directly at her.

“Seeing this situation, I believe I can decline the Empress’s proposal.”

Her voice was even colder for its composure. Everyone in the palace knew the Empress was pushing for a royal marriage between Lloyd and Princess Elena. Therefore, they also knew Elena’s words now were far from trivial.

Her gaze turned to Kate crying inside the bedroom. As a woman, she seemed quite displeased with the situation.

Karina swallowed a rising sigh and closed the bedroom door. Though she was angry at Kate and found her pathetic, she also felt it was unfortunate to have her exposed to everyone like this.

“I apologize for showing such an unseemly sight to our honored guest.”

It was Aidan, not Lloyd, who apologized to Princess Elena.

“I particularly regret this discourtesy to Princess Elena.”

When he subtly pointed out the royal marriage negotiations, Princess Elena turned her head with a slight sigh.

“I’ll take my leave now.”

Her polite and cold response was more frightening than any direct criticism. Even after Princess Elena left, an icy silence lingered in the air. Everyone watched Lloyd carefully, wondering how he would handle this major incident that occurred before the knights’ tournament prepared for her had even begun.

“Let’s go too.”

Aidan extended his hand to Karina. Before taking his hand, Karina turned to look at Lloyd.

“I hope Your Highness will show responsibility for this incident as a prince of the empire. Including for Miss Kate who’s inside.”

Lloyd’s face contorted at Karina’s advice. But he was merely reaping what he had sown.

*

News of Lloyd’s commotion reached the Emperor and Empress’s ears. Upon hearing about Lloyd before the knights’ tournament, the Emperor added no words but revealed his displeasure with a hardened face. The Empress was furious, unable to understand how things had come to this, but she anxiously watched the Emperor’s reaction while at his side.

“I’m truly wronged!”

Lloyd protested when he briefly visited the Empress before the tournament.

“What exactly are you wronged about? How dare you say anything after being caught in such a situation with the Spencer family’s daughter.”

Even the Empress couldn’t take her son’s side this time. There were too many witnesses. While the number was problematic, Princess Elena witnessing it was the biggest issue. The royal marriage was definitely off now. Having spent the night with another woman while marriage negotiations were ongoing, with the potential bride present, was an inexcusable matter. Icinia could protest this as disrespect toward them. Not only was the royal marriage ruined, but even the alliance could be damaged. That’s why the Emperor was angry.

“Do you understand what you’ve done? How… how could you do this at this time, while we’re discussing a royal marriage!”

The Empress’s voice rose so high it leaked into the corridor.

“It really was Karina Hewitt’s handkerchief. It said she would come to see me!”

“Prince!”

Lloyd flinched when the Empress shouted.

“Karina again? She can no longer be yours. Have you forgotten?”

“But…”

Lloyd tried to make more excuses but swallowed his words at the Empress’s sharp glare.

“Why would Karina Hewitt– what would she need to come see you for?”

“It was clearly written on the handkerchief.”

“Yet even that handkerchief was with Aidan, wasn’t it?”

The Empress had heard all the details about what happened at the annex palace that morning. If the handkerchief had actually been in Lloyd’s possession, they could have argued that Aidan’s side had played tricks, but even the problematic handkerchief had come from Aidan’s possession. So to everyone, it only looked like Lloyd had become delusionally obsessed with his half-brother’s wife.

No matter how you looked at it, Lloyd just seemed crazy.

“The Spencer family has also filed a complaint. They asked how we could disgrace their daughter like this.”

Lloyd was dumbfounded at the Empress’s words. Kate Spencer’s romantic rumors with Aidan had already spread far and wide. He couldn’t understand why he had to take all the blame.

“There’s a fundamental difference between something becoming officially public and being quietly discussed behind closed doors. Do you understand?”

The Empress snapped, frustrated with her son’s stupidity.

“Surely you’re not suggesting I take Kate Spencer as my consort?”

The Empress clicked her tongue at his response that it was absurd.

“I plan to try to prevent it, but it won’t be easy.”

The Empress agreed that someone like Kate Spencer couldn’t become a consort. Though from a count’s family, they were nobles based in a remote province with limited territory far from the capital. She wasn’t suitable as Lloyd’s match.

“If we can’t avoid it, you might have to keep her as an official mistress, so keep that in mind.”

Lloyd frowned at the Empress’s announcement. His reaction deepened the furrows between the Empress’s brows.

“For now, you must focus on achieving good results in the knights’ tournament. Surely you won’t lose to Aidan in this too?”

“Of course not. That bastard hasn’t even touched the sword His Majesty gave him as a gift.”

The Empress’s frown finally eased at Lloyd’s boast. He was right. Aidan hadn’t attended sword training since she became Empress. The Emperor was displeased, but the Empress had argued for understanding, saying it was just a temporary phase. She hoped Aidan wouldn’t become proficient at anything. Then everyone would judge Lloyd as superior.

“If your tournament results are good, His Majesty’s anger will subside. We can discuss the other matters then.”

After showing a good performance in the tournament, it would be easier to discuss the situation regarding Kate Spencer. Therefore, Lloyd absolutely had to win this tournament.

*

Woah. The knights’ tournament began with the knights’ cheers. After the Emperor came forward to wish everyone’s safety, the tournament proceeded in four brackets. Aidan and Lloyd were in opposite brackets, so they wouldn’t meet until the finals. But most people thought the two princes would never meet in the finals anyway. While Lloyd might make it, Aidan hadn’t even shown his face at knights’ tournaments for the past few years. Rumors also spread that he wasn’t training properly. So the ministers had no expectations for Aidan this time either.

“Look there. His skill is incomparable to ordinary knights. It seems we’ll see His Highness Lloyd win this year.”

Marquis Belmont praised Lloyd while sitting before the Emperor. Though he had heard about the morning’s commotion with Kate Spencer, he pretended not to know and only emphasized Lloyd’s good points. Perhaps because of this, the Emperor’s face seemed more relaxed than before the tournament began.

In fact, Lloyd’s bracket included only the least skilled knights. The Empress and Marquis Belmont had arranged this while preparing the tournament. Thanks to this, Lloyd certainly stood out.

“How is His Highness Aidan’s side?”

At someone’s question, Belmont let out a hollow laugh.

“Unless a miracle happens, His Highness Aidan will probably struggle to reach the finals.”

Even the ministers supporting Aidan couldn’t strongly refute his amused words.

But that impossible miracle was happening. Every time cheers erupted from Aidan’s bracket, standing tall among them was Aidan Griffith, the Second Prince everyone had dismissed.

*