“That woman and I—”

That woman?

It was an extremely cold way to refer to a lover. Daphne’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment.

That’s when it happened.

Bang!

Astaire’s words couldn’t finish.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Someone pounded on the duchess’s bedroom door like a madman. The sound was too loud to be a simple knock.

Just as Astaire stood up abruptly and tried to approach the door, the person on the other side was faster.

Crash!

The luxurious door shattered like a mere piece of wood.

The moment they saw the people who appeared behind the door, both Astaire and Daphne’s eyes widened.

Deep navy military uniforms, and that emblem embroidered precisely with silver thread on the left chest—

It was the First Prince Carlos’s personal guard.

Ten guardsmen poured into the room. The captain at the very front looked at Astaire and spoke in a voice mixed with contempt.

“So you were here. Duke Seyfried.”

He no longer used honorifics with Astaire, a high-ranking noble, and treated him rudely.

Even Daphne, lying down, immediately realized what this meant.

“What’s going on?”

“Are you pretending not to know when you do?”

The guard captain shouted in an intimidating voice. Soon he drew his sword from its sheath and brought the long blade close to Astaire’s throat, almost stabbing it.

Astaire didn’t even blink despite the sword coming and going right in front of his nose.

He looked calmly at the gleaming silver blade before him and asked.

“I asked what’s going on.”

“Intelligence came in about the Seyfried ducal family and the trading companies under the family, and upon investigation, it was confirmed to be true.”

“What exactly?”

“The crime of using internal imperial confidential information for the trading company’s private gain and insulting the imperial family!”

The guard captain swung his sword like he would stab Astaire. Still, Astaire didn’t dodge. Rather, the guard captain was momentarily flustered by his composure.

“And the crime of secretly selling internal confidential information to a neighboring kingdom for compensation. This is a serious crime equivalent to imperial treason—does Duke Seyfried not know this?”

“I’ve never committed such acts.”

“It’s too late to deny the crime. Our guard has already obtained all the related evidence!”

“I’d like to see what evidence that is, Captain Acela.”

“Watch your mouth, Duke Seyfried!”

“The First Prince must cherish you greatly. To address me in such a manner.”

“You bastard!”

Though Astaire looked puzzled about the charges against him, he didn’t stop his sarcasm. Even watching Daphne felt anxious.

“Your Grace?”

Daphne sat up abruptly from the bed and shouted. Because her body still hadn’t fully recovered, she swayed as soon as she stood.

“Be careful.”

Even in this situation, Astaire focused on Daphne like she was his only concern. He carefully supported her.

“Lie down.”

He whispered in her ear. But how could she just lie still in this situation?

“The duchess also has some charges! Don’t even think about conspiring together!”

The guard captain acted like he would swing his sword again.

Daphne flinched and trembled, but Astaire instead blocked Daphne and shouted in a sharp voice.

“Barging in without a warrant and trying to arrest us—did you not learn imperial law?”

“The First Prince’s special order has been issued! He commanded us to arrest Duke and Duchess Seyfried immediately.”

The First Prince’s special order.

For a moment, Astaire’s eyes narrowed. Even if he was surprised, he didn’t look flustered.

The same was true for Daphne.

She had expected a day like this would come eventually. Especially since the day she rejected the First Prince’s proposal in Timaru.

Still, she hadn’t expected it to come like this.

Daphne reflexively looked at Astaire. In this situation, this man was her only lifeline.

“Fine, I’ll follow along quietly.”

Daphne was so shocked she covered her gaping mouth with her hand.

Then Astaire whispered in her ear.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be resolved soon.”

How could Astaire assert so confidently that he could resolve this matter?

She couldn’t understand.

No matter how powerful Duke Seyfried was, if an arrest order came down under the First Prince’s direction and an investigation began, he would be helpless.

There’s no place that doesn’t have dust when you shake it out. Moreover, the Seyfried ducal family even maintained an intelligence agency under them and had been secretly collecting information.

As his close associate, Daphne knew many things about Astaire. The family’s darkness, the family’s shadows.

Everything Astaire had built up over the years would be helplessly stripped away by the First Prince—how could he be so peaceful?

She couldn’t understand.

“However, my wife is unwell, so if you tell us the time and place, she’ll appear separately.”

“There are no exceptions! His Highness the First Prince said to escort the ducal couple without exception.”

“Still, given our past relationship, he shows no mercy whatsoever.”

“How dare you… speak such nonsense about His Highness! Have some awareness as a suspect, Duke Seyfried!”

A tense atmosphere still flowed between the guard captain and Astaire.

Meanwhile, Daphne was escorted away with her limbs seized by the First Prince’s guardsmen. Their merciless grip hurt, and Daphne grimaced.

Daphne’s eyes met Astaire’s as he left the room before her.

Then he mouthed silently.

I’ll come back.

What on earth was Astaire thinking?

* * *

Daphne was taken somewhere with a blindfold over her eyes.

When the guardsman finally removed the blindfold, she was submerged in pitch darkness where she couldn’t see an inch ahead.

“Where is this?”

She spoke, moving her dry lips without realizing it.

No one answered.

From the rough, cold touch of metal against her palms, Daphne could roughly guess she was inside a prison. Alone at that.

Should she consider this not too bad?

Considering the First Prince’s vicious temperament, she should be grateful just to be locked in solitary confinement. At least they weren’t tying up her limbs and torturing her.

That’s when it happened.

Squeak squeak!

“That can’t be…”

A rat?

Daphne clamped her mouth shut. Since her vision was completely dark, she couldn’t see where the rat was, making her even more anxious.

Daphne curled up and sat down. If she didn’t do at least that, her body temperature would drop and she’d freeze to death.

Having only eaten soup and being unwell, Daphne felt her consciousness gradually blurring like fog.

“I need to stay conscious.”

She muttered to herself and opened her eyes wide.

Should she praise the First Prince for locking her in a room where not a single ray of light entered, so she couldn’t even distinguish whether it was day or night? This was painful in its own way.

Being locked in solitary confinement where rats appeared.

Being trapped in this confined space made Astaire seem gentlemanly by comparison. Even the countess who used to lock servants in the storage room wasn’t this bad.

“He said he’d come back.”

Daphne recalled the words Astaire had mouthed to her at the end.

He wasn’t someone who made promises carelessly.

He wasn’t someone who guaranteed things easily either, but once he made a promise, he was a man who kept it somehow.

Could she trust Astaire this time?

Daphne had that thought.

Strangely, she couldn’t help but have faith in him.

There was practically no way to escape from the prison on her own. That fact made her feel powerless.

But when she thought of Astaire, that man, her closed eyes snapped open.

It was a strange situation where she gained strength because of that man.

Thud, thud, thud.

Footsteps could be heard from somewhere. Daphne raised her head and looked toward where the sound came from. Still, she couldn’t tell if this was the right direction.

Clank, clatter.

Metal clashing sounds rang out. It sounded like someone searching for a prison key in a pile of keys and inserting it into a lock.

Finally.

Creak.

“Stand up. It’s the First Prince’s order.”

The guard shouted in a sharp voice.

She couldn’t stand because her legs had no strength. Then the man came inside and forcibly lifted her up.

Just as she swayed.

“Who goes there!”

Another set of footsteps could be heard. Not just one, but several sounds.

“We’re taking Duchess Seyfried.”

This voice—

Daphne knew it well too.

An organization more powerful than the personal guards employed by the princes.

It was the voice of the Avont Empire’s Imperial Police Force Commander, directly under the Emperor.

“By order of His Majesty the Emperor.”

“By order of His Majesty the Emperor! How can that be!”

The guard shouted.

Then light suddenly flooded the room.

Blinded by the sudden brightness, Daphne grimaced heavily.

“Can you not recognize the emblem of His Majesty the Emperor’s Imperial Police Force?”

An even deeper, lower voice echoed through the room. Daphne felt the strength leave the arms of the man holding her.

“D*mn it.”

The man cursed quietly as he finally released her.

As soon as the guard who had bound her let go, Daphne barely stood on her two legs. She still couldn’t open her eyes properly.

Just as she frowned deeply, someone came to support her.

“Are you alright?”

It was the Imperial Police Force Commander. She had occasionally met him at couple’s gatherings with Astaire, so Daphne still remembered him.

“I’ll escort you to a safe place.”

He whispered quickly in a low voice, taking advantage of the confusion.

Daphne was doubtful.

Was there even a safe place right now?

With the Avont Emperor in seclusion due to a horseback riding accident, the First Prince was practically ruling the empire as the supreme authority.

Running away elsewhere wouldn’t make a difference. The First Prince’s forces would persistently search for her.

Perhaps they would frame her with some crime and throw her in prison.

As she smiled bitterly while imagining various realistic scenarios alone, the Police Force Commander took her outside.

“Where… where are we going?”

“I’ll escort you to Bellua Palace.”

Daphne’s eyes widened in shock.

Bellua Palace—

That was what they called the Second Prince’s villa.

Daphne couldn’t believe that the Emperor’s closest confidant was extracting her from the First Prince’s clutches and sending her to the Second Prince.

Another question arose in Daphne’s mind. She wondered if the Emperor’s man would properly answer if she asked this.

“Is this by His Majesty the Emperor’s order, or His Highness the Second Prince’s order?”

Anyone else would say what did it matter when she was barely escaping with help, but it mattered to Daphne.

In truth, there were many other things she wanted to ask.

For instance, where was Astaire?

Was he doing well?

Was he perhaps locked in prison like her and escaping?

But they didn’t have much time.

Daphne grabbed her uncomfortable legs and quickly followed the Police Force Commander.