The Crown Prince’s face showed he had suddenly sobered up as he pounded on the door.

“Hey, there’s nobody…!”

Richard, who had been calling loudly for people, suddenly stopped speaking and moving.

He belatedly heard someone’s presence.

“……Who’s there!”

The masked thug who had been hiding in the connecting room slowly approached the Duchess with a gleaming knife.

“Stop! If you touch the Duchess, I will not spare you!”

“……Will you really?”

The thug muttered in a sinister voice, then instantly tore the Duchess’s clothes.

It was clearly an act of mockery toward him.

Richard twisted his face and quickly drew his self-defense sword.

It was a sharp reaction for someone drunk, but the thug was slightly faster.

Clang!

He deflected Richard’s sword and instantly retreated.

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, with a bang, the door opened and people rushed in.

“No, really. I’m telling the truth! I saw a suspicious shadow sneaking in here!”

Geril Stings hurriedly entered the room, leading a group of people.

‘Ah, thank goodness.’

Richard felt momentary relief.

Philia and Karl, hiding in the closet space, thought the same.

Now that people had arrived, they would catch the thug.

They thought they just needed to come out and testify about what happened here.

That was until Geril Stings shouted at Richard,

“No, brother……! What, what have you done!”

“N-no, this is a misunderstanding. Someone called me here, and when I arrived, the Duchess had collapsed like this! More importantly, we need to catch the thug……”

“Brother!”

Geril instantly rushed to Richard and grabbed his collar.

He pressed Richard as if he couldn’t hear his words, his eyes bloodshot.

“How could you commit such an act! I knew your relationship was suspicious, but how could you commit such, such a shameless act where both your spouses are present!”

“That’s not what happened, Geril!”

“……What is going on here?”

Duke Buchanan came forward, parting the murmuring crowd.

The Crown Prince, with a pale face, gritted his teeth toward Geril and said,

“……You planned this, didn’t you?”

Now everything made sense.

The person who had called him here was the Viscount that Geril had brought.

And the strange situation waiting for him, plus the mocking movements of the thug.

Geril’s face turned bright red as he spoke passionately.

“Brother! You should be ashamed! Everyone here saw it! We all rushed in as soon as we saw someone dragging the staggering Duchess!”

“That’s right. His Highness the Crown Prince kept offering drinks to the Duchess, and unable to refuse, she drank too much and said she was going upstairs to rest, and His Highness followed her.”

Someone dressed as a maid quickly bowed and recited strange words.

The maid’s words increased the crowd’s murmuring.

“Come to think of it, those two were originally engaged, weren’t they?”

“I heard they met alone in the capital without the Duke. I guess it was actually an affair.”

The whispers of people filled the space like gentle waves.

Duke Buchanan immediately rushed to the Duchess.

Her disheveled appearance, her chemise torn as if by a knife.

Her condition was alarming.

Accordingly, the Duke’s expression grew increasingly cold.

“Diena, Diena…… Wake up.”

But the hand that caressed her cheek to wake her remained as gentle and affectionate as always.

Some perceptive individuals could tell from this alone that the Duke didn’t doubt his wife’s fidelity in the slightest.

“Mmm……”

“Diena.”

The Duchess still couldn’t regain consciousness.

After quietly observing her, he wrapped her in a blanket and said,

“The smell coming from Diena isn’t alcohol. Someone deliberately made her unconscious.”

The Duke’s words increased the crowd’s murmuring.

The Duke looked at Richard.

And with a short nod, he conveyed his thoughts.

“This seems like a trap set by someone to put His Highness the Crown Prince in a difficult position. And they dared to use me and my wife.”

“Well then. Who could be the culprit behind this trap? Perhaps……”

The Crown Prince, with fiercely burning eyes, pointed the tip of his dagger at Geril and said,

“It must be you, who appeared with a crowd of people, seemingly waiting for me to enter this place!”

“And Schultz Tartien, the Marquis who guided me here, is likely an accomplice.”

People’s excitement grew at the thrilling spectacle.

Voices that had been whispering about the affair of the century now spoke of ‘rebellion’ and ‘conspiracy.’

Schultz and his followers stepped forward.

“Both of you seem unable to see the situation clearly. Look here. With such clear evidence before us, why are you two accusing innocent people!”

The powerful resonance of his voice was impressive.

Even the onlookers seemed confused by his attitude, which was so upright as if he truly spoke the truth.

The Third Prince, who had hesitated momentarily, seized the opportunity to interject.

“Michael, Richard! I never knew your friendship would become this bizarre! You’ve both been betrayed by each other! And now you’re trying to pin it on us? Why? Because you’re embarrassed? Because you’ve lost your honor? Ha! For such reasons, you slander me and the Marquis? I cannot tolerate this situation!”

Geril Stings also drew his sword with a firm attitude.

Then, as if they had been waiting, knights appeared everywhere, drawing their swords alongside him.

These were the men he had brought as his guards.

The crowd’s murmuring grew louder.

People were saying they didn’t know whose words to believe or how the situation was unfolding.

‘Now’s the time. I need to go out and testify. I, I saw everything from here……!’

Philia urgently grabbed the handle of the secret door.

“Wait.”

Karl stopped Philia once more.

Karl also felt a thousand flames burning inside him, but now wasn’t the time to step forward.

Because…

Karl’s gaze quietly observed the men who were locking the door.

Most of them were armed.

“……Something terrible is about to happen.”

The boy’s hand trembled finely, sensing the impending tragedy.

“Something terrible? What is it?”

Karl gritted his teeth and grabbed Philia’s hand.

As Philia said, if the two of them went out, the entire situation could be clarified cleanly.

But it seemed that escaping from misunderstandings or false accusations wasn’t the most important thing right now.

Karl’s eyes, assessing the situation, twisted in despair.

“……You look ready to commit treason, Geril.”

Richard said, tightening his grip on his sword.

The murmuring people also began to fear the increasingly hostile atmosphere.

Some tried to leave the room but failed because the door was locked.

That’s when the panic began.

“Ah, this is…… I wanted to disgrace you, but you’re making things difficult. I didn’t want to wear a blood-stained crown this way.”

Richard exploded in anger at the words with clear intent.

“Geril, do you truly mean what you say!”

“If you become king as things stand, brother, you would surely be a good king. That means there would never be a place for me, right?”

Clang—

The men Geril had brought simultaneously drew their weapons.

The people who had crowded into the room all screamed.

“What are you doing!”

“Stop this immediately, Your Highness Geril!”

“Everyone, please calm down!”

“What’s going on? Open the door! Why won’t you open it!”

“Kyaaaah!”

Horrific sounds erupted.

They attacked Duke Buchanan first, whose arms were occupied holding the Duchess.

“……!”

……Ah, no. No! Father!

Philia’s face, hiding in the closet space in the corner, instantly turned white.

The child’s trembling eyes were completely stained red with her father’s blood.

“Let go. Let go!”

The girl shook off Karl as if she had lost her mind.

Abundant tears blurred her green eyes.

The girl pushed Karl away with momentary superhuman strength that surprised him and burst out through the closet door.

“Father, Mother!”