“Your Highness.”

At Karina’s call, the woman who had been showing coy eye-smiles and flirting jumped in surprise, bowed deeply, and took a step back. And Aidan, who had been standing in front of that woman, met Karina’s gaze with less perturbation than expected.

“What brings you here at this late hour?”

Something welled up inside her at his utterly calm and composed question.

“I believe that’s a question I should be asking Your Highness instead.”

Her voice was surprisingly colder and calmer than ever before. Karina’s gaze turned to the woman standing in front of Aidan. Seeing her up close, she thought she recognized her.

Viscountess Highmond — though they hadn’t met in this life, she was a woman whose face she had seen quite often at the palace before. Though nearly ten years older than Aidan, she was so fond of maintaining her appearance that she looked only in her mid to late twenties. She was also famous for having lovers while living separately from Viscount Highmond, with whom she had a poor relationship. Why was this woman with Aidan?

“What brings Viscountess Highmond here at this hour?”

Her intonation was so flat it was hard to tell if she was actually asking a question. Viscountess Highmond looked awkwardly back and forth between Aidan and Karina.

“I shall take my leave now.”

She bowed her head to Aidan, seemingly trying to slip away discreetly.

“Please wait a moment.”

Aidan stopped her. He was showing the gentle smile he always used to direct at Karina to Viscountess Highmond instead. At Aidan’s smile, she blushed slightly and bowed her head in acknowledgment.

“It’s late, so if you have business, let’s talk tomorrow.”

Karina almost let out a bitter laugh at his words that were directed at her. Right now, Aidan was telling her, not Viscountess Highmond, to leave.

“Isn’t it equally late for Viscountess Highmond?”

From a common sense perspective, it was absolutely not an hour for a man and woman—especially a married man and woman—to meet in such a place, as if they’re hiding from others’ eyes.

“That’s why I’m about to escort her back.”

Karina couldn’t believe her ears at Aidan’s answer. Is Aidan really saying he’ll personally escort Viscountess Highmond right in front of her? Hah, a gasp escaped her, but Aidan pretended not to hear it.

“Kai should be at the entrance. I’ll tell him to escort you back to your palace.”

That was even more absurd. He said he would escort Viscountess Highmond himself but told her to go back with Kai.

“I didn’t see him at the entrance.”

Karina knew that whether Kai was at the entrance or not wasn’t the real issue. The words had slipped out because Aidan’s response was so incredibly outrageous.

“Here he comes.”

Kai could be seen rushing from the garden entrance, perhaps having briefly stepped away. His face hardened when he saw Karina facing Aidan. Yes, at least that was a normal reaction. Even ‘Aidan’ had shown at least minimal shame, unable to properly look her in the eye when she happened to catch him with another woman.

Why was he so brazen now? Could she be misunderstanding something? If so, he could just explain the reason, so why was he telling her to leave? In any case, it hurt her pride that she, his consort, wasn’t being prioritized over another woman by Aidan. It made her heart ache more because this was the current Aidan, not the old one.

“I don’t need Sir Kai’s escort.”

After this brief reply, Karina turned sharply away. How far could it be from here to her palace? She had come with two knights anyway, so she didn’t need Kai’s escort. She had come to see Aidan, not to receive Kai’s escort.

Hah! Though she tried not to, sighs kept escaping. Well, at least she had seen Aidan’s face. Though she hadn’t expected to see it like this at all.

“Your Highness the Consort!”

When she entered the corridor from the garden, she heard Kai calling from behind. She paused briefly to wait, and he ran right up in front of her.

“I will escort you to your palace.”

“I believe I declined.”

Though she knew she shouldn’t be angry with him, her tone was harsh because her mind was in turmoil.

“His Highness is worried.”

At his answer, Karina’s gaze turned back toward the garden. Aidan and Viscountess Highmond were still inside.

“Worried…”

Karina muttered with a cynical smile and turned her head.

“If he was really worried, he would have come himself.”

“That’s…”

Kai’s lips moved, seemingly trying to make excuses on Aidan’s behalf, but in the end, his face just contorted without being able to say anything. His reaction made Karina’s stomach churn even more. The fact that Kai couldn’t even make excuses meant that Aidan had truly shown something that shouldn’t have been seen by her.

“As I said before, I decline the escort. Please accompany His Highness in escorting Viscountess Highmond.”

That was all she had to say. Not wanting to face Kai anymore, she walked away without looking back. Kai didn’t insist on escorting her either. Karina’s attitude was too cold for that.

Following behind Karina, Bernice couldn’t make sense of what was happening.

How could the prince who had acted as if Karina was the only woman in the world be meeting another woman? Could he possibly have reverted to his womanizing ways from before marriage? If so, what would happen to our consort?

All these worries made her increasingly troubled as she watched Karina’s back.

*

“She ended up leaving alone.”

Kai turned at the voice from behind and gave a slight bow. Aidan had been staring at the empty corridor for a while before letting out a deep sigh.

“There won’t be any problems. Two knights were with the consort.”

Kai added this while feeling apologetic for not following Aidan’s instructions.

“I expected it once she refused herself.”

Knowing Karina’s personality, Aidan didn’t reproach Kai.

“About Viscountess Highmond…”

Kai asked curiously, having heard Aidan’s offer to escort her.

“I sent her with guards.”

“…You never intended to go yourself, did you?”

Aidan just smirked at his question. His smile seemed to contain the answer: ‘Why would I go that far for such a woman?’

“The consort seems to have seriously misunderstood.”

He meant it would be better to follow her now and clear up the misunderstanding, but Aidan still showed no particular reaction.

“If misunderstandings pile up and the rift deepens, it might be too late to fix it then.”

It saddened him to see Aidan keeping this distance from Karina. Why did he act so coldly to her face when he looked at the empty corridor she had passed through with such lingering attachment?

“It can’t be helped.”

The answer was different from what he expected.

“What if you really lose the consort’s heart this way?”

Aidan gave a bitter smile at his question.

“Better than her getting hurt.”

That was all he said. He turned and left as though he didn’t want to continue the conversation. Watching Aidan’s retreating back, Kai quietly let out a deep sigh before following him.

*

Back in her palace, Karina couldn’t sleep. After tossing and turning in bed for a long while, she finally got up, finding it impossible to rest. Something felt stuck near her solar plexus. She went to the window and threw it wide open, but sadly, it was a windless night.

No matter how she thought about it, it was strange. She couldn’t understand Aidan’s behavior. If he had always been that kind of person, if he had been like ‘Aidan’ who from the start had no interest in her and even found her burdensome, always meeting other women, she could have accepted it. But he wasn’t.

‘It’s okay. You don’t have to say things like you missed me. I’ll say it twice as much for both of us.’

He was someone who would say such things and approach her even when she pushed him away. How should she interpret it when a person like that suddenly changed his attitude 180 degrees?

Just when I finally acknowledged and accepted my feelings for you…

If by any chance their feelings had misaligned… If his feelings were no longer the same as before…

Even the mere possibility made her heart feel constricted. She had never felt this sensation when being rejected by the previous ‘Aidan’. Back then, she comforted herself, saying it couldn’t be helped, it was a political marriage, they just needed to get what they wanted from each other…

Why couldn’t she think that way now? Why was she so troubled just because Aidan hadn’t visited for a few days, just because he was smiling and talking with another woman, just because he said he would escort her instead of herself?

“I told you he wasn’t a good person after all.”

Her muttered words made her feel even more bitter. Aidan had always said that his original self wasn’t really a good person. He had also told her not to trust him too much. Perhaps those words, spoken like jokes, had been warnings.

When her thoughts seemed to be stretching too far, she tried to shake them off with a long sigh, but still felt anxious. Looking back, it was laughable. At first, she hadn’t trusted Aidan at all. She doubted and was wary of his every word. Aidan hadn’t changed much from then until now. What had changed was only her heart.

To affect someone this much and pretend not to know…

Remembering Aidan smiling at Viscountess Highmond made her choke up. She would have to meet Aidan again in the morning. Whether his feelings had changed or not, she was still his consort. At least while she remained his consort, she had decided not to tolerate his infidelity.

*