Chapter 112

“I greet His Highness the Crown Prince.”  

The butler of the Dinever Ducal House bowed politely to Louis. Louis nodded in response and began walking quickly.  

“The young lady, Sir Aitor, and the guests who came with them are all in the guest room on the third floor.”  

The butler spoke while struggling to keep up with Louis. As soon as the butler finished speaking, Louis ascended the stairs rapidly and arrived on the third floor in an instant.  

However, Louis could not knock on the door immediately.  

Rayden, who had followed quickly behind, hesitated at the sight of Louis glaring at the door before standing beside him.  

“Shall I knock?”  

As Rayden pondered what to do while looking at the silent Louis, the door suddenly opened.  

“Oh my goodness!”  

Tia, who was leaving the room on an errand for Vivian, was startled to see the Crown Prince and the Knight Commander standing in front of her and fell on her backside.  

“Tia?”  

Vivian’s voice came from inside, followed by the sound of light footsteps.  

“Louis?”  

Vivian, who had been helping Tia up, widened her eyes when she saw Louis standing at the door.  

“Why are you standing there?”  

Rayden, who had been smiling awkwardly at Vivian’s question, stepped forward.  

“We just arrived after hearing that Aitor has woken up.”  

“I see. Please, come in.”  

When Vivian opened the door and stepped aside, Louis nodded and took a step into the room.  

“I greet His Highness the Crown Prince.”  

As Louis entered, everyone except Zero greeted him politely. Zero, upon seeing Louis, let out a loud snort, lay down, and buried his head.  

Aitor, who had been glancing at Zero, scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed smile, then straightened his posture and stood at attention.  

“I will educate him properly.”  

At Aitor’s playful remark, Louis’s expression finally softened.  

“How is your body?”  

“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”  

When Aitor replied energetically, Lucas, who was beside him, scolded him, saying he shouldn’t overdo it.  

“Aitor, you!”  

Rayden, who was standing behind, strode over to Aitor, grabbed him by the head, and began rubbing his fist into Aitor’s hair.  

“Ow! Rayden! That hurts. I’m a patient! A patient!”  

Lucas, startled, tried to stop him, but with his small frame, it was nearly impossible to stop Rayden.  

As Aitor struggled to escape, Lucas clung to Rayden, and Zero, who had been lying down, suddenly got up and joined the commotion, turning the guest room into chaos.  

Watching the scene, Louis moved his gaze to Vivian, who was covering her mouth and laughing, before sitting down in an empty chair.  

When Louis sat down, the three people who had been playing around like children stopped abruptly and lined up in a row. Seeing this, Louis let out a small chuckle.  

“May I speak with Aitor alone for a moment?”  

At Louis’s words, Rayden, Lucas, and Teresa quickly left the room. Vivian, who was following behind them, turned around to look at the two remaining people.  

Her eyes met Aitor’s. Aitor smiled as if to reassure her. Vivian smiled back at him and then turned her gaze to Louis.  

It seemed as though Louis knew she was watching him, but for some reason, he didn’t turn his head to meet her gaze. Vivian stared at his sleek profile for a moment before turning her back and leaving the room.  

“Zero… can stay, right?”  

When Aitor asked, Louis’s lips curved into a soft smile. Zero glanced at Louis with disinterest, then turned his head, buried his nose, and closed his eyes.  

“I’m glad to hear you’re doing well.”  

Louis gestured for Aitor to sit as he spoke.  

“Something feels a bit off compared to usual, but other than that, I’m fine… Haha.”  

Aitor laughed while touching the faint scars that remained.  

“Thank you.”  

Aitor, who had been laughing awkwardly, bowed his head deeply.  

“And I’m truly, truly sorry.”  

Louis, who had been silently watching the top of Aitor’s bowed head, finally spoke with difficulty.  

“If anything, I should be thanking you. After all, you saved my fiancée.”  

Louis spoke each word heavily, as if weighing them carefully.  

“She may be your fiancée, but she’s also my dear friend. So please don’t make that face, Your Highness.”  

Aitor, who had lifted his head at Louis’s words of gratitude, gave him a faint smile.  

“Do you know anything about Consort Violet?”  

After a brief pause, Louis asked Aitor. At the sudden mention of the name, Aitor frowned slightly and looked up at the ceiling as though trying to recall something.  

“Only that His Majesty the Emperor cherished her greatly. Beyond that, I don’t know much. Why do you ask all of a sudden…?”  

“Did you ever hear anything about her from my father when you were young, or perhaps from Marquis Cloak?”  

At Louis’s question, Aitor shook his head.  

“I see…”  

Louis, who had risen from his chair, walked to the window and looked down at the well-maintained garden of the Dinever estate. Due to the heavy rain, there were small puddles scattered here and there.  

“It seems that Consort Violet is somehow connected to Caspian Turner’s death.”  

Aitor tilted his head, trying to think about the connection between Consort Violet and his adoptive father, but nothing came to mind.  

“My father cherished Consort Violet dearly. She passed away from illness when I was seven. It’s said that she asked Caspian Turner for something, but I couldn’t find out what it was.”  

Louis let out a deep sigh and put his hands into his pockets.  

“It feels like there’s something we don’t know. I keep having that thought. I’ll have to investigate to be sure, though.”  

“Wouldn’t Marquis Cloak know something?”  

Aitor stood up from his chair, pressing his knees for support. Although his wounds had healed completely, his body still felt strange and uncomfortable.  

Aitor, who had risen to his feet, approached Louis.  

“His Majesty the Emperor has already ordered Marquis Cloak to be captured. He’ll be caught soon enough, but I doubt that cunning man will talk easily.”  

Aitor stared at Louis’s broad back. Sunshine poured through the window, bright for the first time in a while after the rain.  

Perhaps because of the unusually bright sunlight, Louis’s shadowed back seemed heavier than usual today.  

To uncover the truth about his father’s death, Aitor had done something he shouldn’t have. In a situation where he might have to confront the emperor of the empire, he couldn’t move straightforwardly. But even so… he shouldn’t have done what he did to Vivian and Louis.  

Louis had reached out to him without hesitation, even after his foolish choices.  

Even though Louis could have escaped the empire with just Vivian, he had risked danger to find him.  

“Your Highness.”  

Aitor called out to Louis. Louis slowly turned around to face Aitor.  

“I will accept His Maejsty the Emperor’s apology on your behalf. So please don’t trouble yourself over it anymore. Just the fact that you said you would do that for me… is enough for me.”  

Looking into Louis’s deep golden eyes, Aitor smiled with all his might.  

“You are already a great ruler and a friend to me.”  

***

Inside the parlor, Teresa, who was about to put a well-baked cookie into her mouth, closed her wide-open mouth at the sight of Vivian, who couldn’t even sit down and was restless.  

“If you’re that curious, go upstairs.”  

“Pardon? But they said they wanted to talk alone…”  

Rayden, meanwhile, was taking away the chocolate-filled cake in front of Lucas, nagging him that eating too much of such things would stunt his growth. Lucas glared at Rayden with his eyes before putting down his fork.  

“Go upstairs and, when the conversation is over, please let His Highness know I’d like to meet him briefly.”  

At Lucas’ words, Rayden raised an eyebrow as if to say, 

“Why would you need an audience with His Highness?”  

“How can someone be so dense…”  

Shaking his head at Rayden, Lucas turned to Vivian.  

“It seems like there’s a wound on his arm……. I was going to treat it. That’s the only ability I have, after all…….”

At the mention of a wound, Rayden jumped up from his seat.

“How did you know?”  

“What? How did I know? He subtly avoid using his right arm when he moves his body. Didn’t you notice that?”

Lucas tilted his head back as far as he could to look at Rayden, then rubbed the back of his neck as if it hurt and picked up his fork again.

“Wasn’t it treated?” 

Vivian asked, to which Rayden slowly nodded.  

“It was treated… but surely…”  

Mid-sentence, Rayden clutched his head and collapsed where he stood.

“It must be infected! With such a grueling schedule, it’s a miracle it didn’t happen sooner.”

Rayden, clutching his head and berating himself, suddenly stood as if he were about to run to Louis immediately.  

“I’ll—I’ll go!”  

Vivian held out both hands to calm Rayden down before quickly leaving the parlor.  

The wound Louis had received in the Emperor’s Forest had been quite deep. In these times, when it was hard to find healing mages, it was impossible for such a wound to heal completely in just a few days.  

Lifting her dress, Vivian quickly climbed to the third floor, anger rising at Louis’ indifference to taking care of his own body.  

“Phew…”  

Reaching the door to the room where Aitor was staying, Vivian took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock.  

Knock, knock.  

“It’s Vivian.”  

As soon as Vivian knocked, the door opened smoothly. Louis, who happened to be leaving the room, looked down at Vivian and asked what the matter was.  

Hearing Vivian’s voice, Aitor, who had approached the door, also looked at her with a worried expression, wondering if something had happened.  

Vivian, glancing between the two, turned her head to the side.  

“Lucas… Lucas said he’d like to see you for a moment.”  

Looking at Louis’ face, Vivian couldn’t bring herself to angrily demand why he’d hidden his injury. Upon closer inspection, Louis’ face, which had visibly grown gaunt, was filled with exhaustion.  

This was the man who had raced to dangerous Palterno with an injured arm to save her.  

She recalled the man who had vowed not to love in order to become an Emperor without weaknesses but had ended up falling in love, gasping for breath. She also remembered the look of anguish on his face as he ran toward her when Robert’s sword had been aimed at her.  

“Lucas?” 

Aitor, who was behind them, asked.  

Vivian nodded and turned around, starting to lead the way.  

After taking about three steps, she turned sharply toward Louis, who was still standing at the door, staring at her without moving.  

“Are you not coming?”  

At Vivian’s voice, Louis glanced at Aitor and then started walking heavily. When Aitor tried to follow them out the door, Vivian shot him a sharp look, warning him to stay in bed, before heading toward the staircase leading to the first floor.  

“Vivian.”  

“What?”  

“Why are you angry?”  

Standing in the hallway between the second and first floors, Louis asked.  

“Do you really not know?”  

As Vivian resumed walking, Louis quickened his pace to catch up, sticking close behind her.  

“This isn’t a big deal.”

What did this man just say?  

Vivian suddenly turned her body around. Louis, who had been following her closely, froze and took a step back.  

“I don’t like people who are reckless with their own bodies.”  

Turning away again, Vivian quickly descended the stairs. Watching her retreating figure, Louis glanced down at his own right arm.  

He had secretly summoned a physician the previous night to treat it.  

Recalling the physician’s scolding about how he’d let his condition deteriorate so much, Louis rubbed his face with both hands and slowly followed her down the stairs.