The atmosphere was strange throughout the policy meeting. It was because Lloyd attended a policy meeting after a long time. It was good that he had sobered up and attended the policy meeting after spending days drunk in rebellion since the wedding, but he clashed with Aidan on every agenda.

“Isn’t that method too unrealistic? Given the cost and time to travel to Baristo, can that trade really be considered profitable?”

“They wouldn’t accept that proposal unless they were crazy. Your head must be full of flowers.”

“Waterways? That too. Do you think waterway construction is a simple matter? To take that on and get only that much in return. If you conduct diplomacy like that, nothing will be left.”

Lloyd noticeably picked at everything from start to finish, even matters that had already been concluded in policy meetings. It was closer to picking fights than proper rebuttals. He was simply showing his displeasure with everything Aidan did, to the point where even the Empress’s ministers eventually turned away and averted their eyes.

The Emperor, who was expected to step in and mediate when things went too far, remained silent throughout with a serious expression, lost in thought. Sometimes he even missed it when the ministers called him. With his face stiffly set and frowning, the ministers were busy being caught between the two princes while also watching the Emperor’s reactions. Now they just wanted this policy meeting to end quickly.

“Because you only see the immediate benefits in front of you, you can’t see the bigger picture. The waterway construction ends once, but trading with them continues for a lifetime. Eventually, they’ll suffer losses from agreeing to sell at lower prices than other countries, but our side will accumulate profits.”

As Aidan rebutted point by point, Lloyd’s jaw clenched tight enough to show his jawbone.

“For someone so good at calculating profits and losses, why did you send your consort back to her family home?”

Aidan frowned at the words that had nothing to do with the policy meeting. He had expected some sarcasm about Karina at some point, but he hadn’t expected it to burst out during a policy meeting with such lack of discretion.

“Why are you so interested in other people’s marriages? I hear yours isn’t going so smoothly either.”

Aidan responded calmly with a sweet smile.

“Not as much as you who’s separated.”

Lloyd didn’t back down either. Rumors had already spread somewhat that Karina had received the Emperor’s permission to leave the palace and stay at the Hewitt duchy for a while. But the ministers didn’t think there was discord between Aidan and Karina, as the two had been so close and Aidan had always shown how much he loved Karina. Since there were also rumors that Karina had been ill for a few days, they thought she had just gone to her family home for recuperation.

There was no particular reaction to Lloyd’s use of the word ‘separation.’ They thought it was just Lloyd exaggerating again. Everyone who needed to know was aware that Lloyd had been forced into marriage with Kate because of the pregnancy, and that Lloyd had originally been obsessed with Karina.

“Separation……”

Aidan muttered before chuckling. At this response, the ministers thought as expected that it was nonsense, that Lloyd was making up the separation story.

“Not separation, we’re planning to divorce.”

The ministers who had been nodding dismissively turned to stare at Aidan with wide eyes. They couldn’t believe what they had just heard.

“D…ivorce?”

Even Lloyd repeated in disbelief. This time, even the Emperor, who had been lost in his own thoughts throughout, reacted.

“What do you mean by that, Aidan?”

The Emperor asked with a frown.

“Was the word too difficult? It means exactly what it sounds like.”

“……You’re divorcing Karina?”

Lloyd asked again. The Emperor’s frown deepened as if he couldn’t comprehend it. The ministers also stared at Aidan without blinking. Everyone felt like this was a bolt from the blue. Some were even thinking it fortunate that Duke Hewitt wasn’t participating in today’s policy meeting.

“Why so suddenly?”

Lloyd seemed the most dumbfounded.

“I didn’t know I had to explain my reasons for divorce to you.”

Aidan’s tone remained consistently calm from beginning to end. It was almost frightening how composed he was after dropping such a bombshell about divorce.

“Aidan.”

The Emperor called out to Aidan while rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache.

“Let’s talk about this later, not now.”

The Emperor stood up first, indicating he wanted to end the meeting. He seemed unwilling to let the conversation continue any longer. While the ministers were confused trying to guess why Aidan suddenly wanted a divorce, Aidan himself calmly left the grand conference hall.

“Wait a moment!”

Lloyd, who had followed him out, grabbed Aidan’s shoulder.

“Hand.”

Aidan merely looked down at Lloyd’s hand on his shoulder.

“Remove it.”

Unlike in the conference hall, his voice had turned cold, making Lloyd flinch and step back with a frown.

“Are you really going to divorce Karina?”

He laughed derisively at Lloyd’s question.

“Whether I do or not, it’s none of your business. Stay out of it.”

“How is it none of my business? If it weren’t for you, Karina would have been my consort…!”

Before he could finish, Aidan grabbed Lloyd’s collar.

“That’s not something someone who just got a consort should be saying, is it?”

Though he asked with upturned lips, his eyes toward Lloyd were ice-cold.

“Even if I divorce, Karina is too good for you. Don’t even dream about it. I won’t let someone like you lay a finger on her.”

After warning in a low voice, Aidan let go of his collar like he was throwing him aside and turned away. Lloyd frowned while smoothing out the wrinkles in his jacket where Aidan had grabbed him.

“What’s going on…”

Judging by his reaction just now, it definitely wasn’t that he had grown cold toward Karina and wanted a divorce.

Could it be that he did something wrong and Karina rejected him? Just how badly must he have messed up for divorce to come up?

Everyone had forgotten because Aidan had been so obvious about showing his love for Karina, but in the end, their marriage was no different from Lloyd’s in that it was a political marriage against their will. How else could Aidan have abandoned Karina on their wedding night?

Maybe pretending to get along well had finally reached its limit. Though Kate was useless, maybe Aidan’s wandering eye had moved to another woman.

If they were really going to divorce, this couldn’t be better news. Lloyd hurriedly made his way to the Empress’s palace, eager to deliver this news to his mother.

Hiding around the corridor corner while watching Lloyd, Aidan let out a hollow laugh as he saw him heading toward the Empress’s palace instead of his own. It was so predictable it was boring. It was pathetic that someone like him had been a strong crown prince candidate. It also meant that the original Aidan had been quite a mess.

In any case, it was convenient for him if Lloyd moved according to plan.

“Go ahead and talk all you want. So the Empress won’t need to pay attention to Karina anymore.”

It was truly fortunate that Lloyd had been forced into marriage with Kate. If he were still single, he couldn’t have played the divorce card. Because that bastard would surely approach Karina immediately after the divorce. However, Lloyd currently had an official prince consort, and even if he wanted Karina as a mistress, House Hewitt wasn’t the kind of family that would allow the position of ‘mistress.’

That’s why it was possible. For him to dare speak of divorcing Karina with his own mouth.

*