The sound of men’s shoes approaching step by step could be heard. He walked without hesitation from the unlit doorway to the bright terrace.

“Your Highness?”

Somehow, he always seemed to slip in at peculiar moments.

Lucian, still in his neat formal uniform as he hadn’t changed clothes yet, entered the terrace with furrowed brows.

“You even sent me away saying you would rest. Where are you trying to go at this hour?”

Their eye levels matched as Adelia sat swinging her legs on the railing while Lucian stood straight.

There was a strange satisfaction in meeting his gaze at the same height rather than looking up.

Adelia shrugged her shoulders and answered playfully.

“Well…… I usually have a lot of work at night. What brings Your Highness here?”

“I brought a white magic stone in case you were running low on magic power.”

Lucian pulled out the white magic stone from his chest. Magic power rippled and flowed from the large white magic stone that had been put up for auction.

Of course, Adelia could reabsorb the magic stone she had created.

Adelia swallowed hard as she glanced at the magic stone. But she shook her head.

“I’m fine after absorbing the magic I gave to the saintess earlier. Take that back.”

“Well…… alright.”

Lucian put the white magic stone back in his chest.

Adelia wiggled her feet hidden beneath her skirt. Seeing Lucian who had brought the white magic stone out of concern for her made her toes tingle for no reason.

Adelia closed her eyes gently and smiled prettily.

“If you’re done with your business, please go now. You must be tired since it’s late.”

“I was going to leave after giving you this. But now that I know my wife is going for a night stroll, how can I leave?”

“What?”

Adelia blinked. Before she could ask what he meant, Lucian moved first.

Taking one big step forward, he leaned toward Adelia.

“Let’s go together. Take me with you.”

As Lucian approached, the scent of sandalwood wafted strongly. His usual firm and heavy voice tickled her ear.

Because he was leaning down, Lucian’s gaze lowered. His red eyes looking up from below were mesmerizing.

Adelia unconsciously swallowed hard while fidgeting with her feet.

‘This is driving me crazy….’

The man who was attractive even just standing still was staring intently at her, oozing sensuality.

His slightly reddened eyes from accumulated fatigue held a languid and decadent air, and his muscles, prominently defined under his well-fitted clothes, caught her attention.

Adelia’s eyes shook violently.

Lucian’s face was too dangerous, and she felt like she might fall for that face if she wasn’t careful.

His eyes persistently tracked Adelia. Just as she was fully reflected in his small flames, he must be fully reflected in her small ocean.

Lucian’s long eyelashes fluttered slowly as if seducing someone.

“I saw you mark some man with white magic earlier in the banquet hall.”

“What?”

“I didn’t pursue it since you didn’t say anything. Was it something I shouldn’t know about?”

It was natural for the sharp Lucian to notice Adelia’s magic. Not only that, but he had been watching only Adelia even in the crowded banquet hall. He had seen everything from the moment Adelia discovered the suspicious man to when she left her mark on him.

While Adelia’s gaze was directed elsewhere, he ordered the shadows hiding in the banquet hall to track him.

— Track him quietly. Find out who he is, where he’s going, who he meets, everything.

When it came to surveillance, no one could match the shadows. Three experienced shadows followed the suspicious man.

And before coming to Adelia’s room, he had just received their report.

— We apologize. The tracking failed. He used magic we’ve never seen before….

‘Useless people.’

Lucian clicked his tongue lightly. With no results to show, he had no choice but to hide the fact that he had sent the shadows.

‘He doesn’t seem to be from the Empire, so we must be careful.’

Unlike Adelia who couldn’t get a good look at the man while dealing with people, Lucian clearly remembered the suspicious man’s appearance.

Particularly, judging from his square jaw commonly found among people from the Northern Continent, he wasn’t from the Empire.

‘I can’t let her go alone.’

There were no people from the Northern Continent among today’s banquet invitees. Though there were some nobles of Northern descent or mixed blood, he had memorized all their faces.

In other words, that man was an outsider who had entered without an invitation.

‘Does this mean someone in the imperial palace has been bought?’

Whether it was the person who wrote the invitation, the servant managing entry to the banquet hall, or even a palace servant who opened the palace personnel passage…

He planned to drag them to the underground prison as soon as they were discovered.

“I’ll go with you.”

Lucian stared at Adelia as he made his request. She was the only one who could find this person. Rather than ordering as the Crown Prince, it was a request as an equal.

An official accompaniment for the Crown Prince’s duties. That’s how Lucian justified his actions.

Adelia sat silently tapping the terrace railing in thought before quickly speaking.

“This is my business. You don’t need to concern yourself with it.”

Adelia said firmly. She didn’t need Lucian’s help, and there was even less reason to go together.

But her firm resolve began to waver at his subsequent rebuttal.

“I know that man is connected to the people who attacked the merchant guild.”

“That’s…… wait, how did you know that?”

Adelia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Isn’t everything that happened today because of that? And I can tell that much since all you’ve been concerned about lately is related to that matter.”

“Then you should understand that you don’t need to worry about this. This is my business, as it’s related to my merchant guild.”

Adelia drew a clear line by emphasizing ‘my’ merchant guild. Though things might be resolved more easily with Lucian’s help, she absolutely detested help given without cost or reason.

Though his words made her waver a bit, she still maintained her position about going alone.

“While you’re looking for the people who attacked the merchant guild, I’m trying to find how the intruder entered the imperial palace.”

Lucian knew this aspect of Adelia’s personality well.

Creating reasons was simple enough.

While she wouldn’t accept help without cost or reason, he perfectly understood that Adelia would readily accept help if there was legitimate cost and reason.

“Well…… that’s true……”

Adelia’s previously firm gaze wavered. Her ears fluttered at Lucian’s words.

Lucian didn’t miss this and pressed on.

“We need to find who was bought and who did the buying. Punishing those who dare challenge the imperial family is my duty.”

“That’s true too?”

“While you must find him as the merchant guild master, you must also find him as the Empire’s Crown Princess.”

“That’s…… also correct.”

Adelia was gradually persuaded by his neat logic rather than forced reasoning.

Finding out the mastermind through that man was Adelia’s business, and using that man to find who had been bought within the imperial palace was Lucian’s business.

Just as a scratch in defenses could become a major wound, one intruder could someday become thousands.

“Is this enough reason for us to work together?”

Lucian shrugged as if he had said all he needed to say.

Adelia sighed and spoke.

“It’s enough. Alright. Let’s go together.”

There was proper justification, and magic power was abundant. The only issue was that she needed to stop by the merchant guild briefly, but that wasn’t a major problem.

‘It won’t take long, and he is His Highness after all.’

Adelia unconsciously permitted Lucian into a space where outsiders weren’t allowed.

A space that hadn’t been granted even to Conrad’s adjutant or cleaners opened so easily. The process of allowing him felt so natural in her mind that she didn’t even notice how unusual it was.

Lucian’s face noticeably brightened at Adelia’s permission.

“Thank you for allowing me.”

Lucian placed his hand on his chest and drew a gentle curve on his face. When he blinked, his eyelashes created various shadows in the moonlight.

It was a very small smile compared to Ariana’s bright ones. But Adelia could only silently watch him in that moment.

“You’re really beautiful.”

Her inner thoughts escaped her lips without her realizing. Adelia didn’t notice this fact right away.

His eyes, deepened by moonlight, highlighted his sculptured face, and the rubies within sparkled brighter than stars. She saw herself reflected in those eyes that were burning beautifully beneath hair that held the night sky. That precious smile was directed at her.

How could anyone remain still after seeing this sight.

Adelia reached out to his face. She lightly brushed aside the hair tickling his eyes.

At that moment, Lucian’s stoic face turned bright red. He slightly covered his mouth with his hand and sharply turned his head away.

His reddened neck showed above his tightly fastened uniform.

Only then did Adelia realize what she had said.

“Are you actually getting embarrassed about this?”

Instead of being flustered, she could only look at the Lucian before her. Half wanting to tease him, half wanting to capture even his embarrassed expression in her eyes.

At that moment, Adelia’s eyes sparkled like stars.

“Haven’t I told you before? That you’re beautiful.”

Adelia smiled brightly, closing her eyes. She lifted her hands from the railing, interlaced her fingers, and placed them under her chin.