Due to his regular training, he had developed a tolerance to most drugs. So it made no sense that he had fallen into a deep, unconscious sleep under the influence of a drug. Even more unbelievable was that he had spent the night with a woman.

‘This is madness. Even under the influence of a drug, how could I lose control without being completely insane?’

The more Claude thought about it, the more pathetic he felt.

‘Why did I do it?’

Last night, he had been enchanted by something. It seemed he had lost his reason from the moment he smelled the scent of the potion the woman was carrying. Now his mind was filled only with memories of passionately exploring her body all night long with exquisite sensations.

A delicate yet sensual figure. Golden hair flowing down to her waist, pure and clear emerald eyes, a thin but prominent nose. Peach-colored cheeks flushed with excitement, glistening red lips…

He tried to push these thoughts from his mind, but found it impossible.

The woman was… honestly beautiful. When he first saw her, she had caught his eye briefly, but that was all. He had never felt any desire to have her beneath him.

But yesterday? What had happened?

Strangely, she looked more beautiful n*ked with her hair loose than when he had seen her at the shop. He couldn’t take his eyes off her disheveled yet somehow noble appearance.

No. It must have been the drug that made her look that way. What an audacious woman! Did she have a crush on him and wanted his body?

Claude wrapped his hand around his forehead, denying his feelings. He tried to replace them with anger toward the woman.

Whenever he went to buy potions, he had noticed her glancing at him, so he had long thought she had a crush on him.

But he never imagined she would do something so bold, and strangely, he didn’t feel angry about her taking his virginity when he should have been furious.

Rather, he had let her go, fearing she might get into trouble if caught by Marquis Usta. It was an impulsive decision that surprised even himself.

Why did he…

Of course, he hadn’t let her go with the intention of forgiving her. Since he could meet her at the shop anytime, he had willingly let her go, planning to make her pay for her wrongdoing until his anger subsided.

‘What punishment should I give her?’

As he was thinking whether to grab and twist her neck immediately upon meeting her or do something else, Claude realized he didn’t even know her name.

‘What did I do with a woman whose name I don’t even know?’

Instantly, self-reproach and self-loathing enveloped his entire body.

‘Have I been lacking in training lately? No. I embraced her of my own will.’

He couldn’t admit that he had become weak. So he wanted to conclude that he had embraced the woman by his own will, not under the influence of a drug. That was the way to preserve his pride.

Claude swung his sword, trying to forget everything about last night, pretending it was all a dream, but strangely, the more he swung, the more vividly last night’s events came back to him.

Her white, delicate, soft skin, fragrant body scent, sensual expressions, gentle moans… His heart raced as he recalled every detail of the woman.

“What nonsense is this!”

How could he stop the woman’s presence from appearing in his mind?

“Damn it!”

Finally, he sheathed his sword. He wasn’t in the mood to train. He needed to stop training for now and reorganize his thoughts, and was about to enter the mansion when…

“Um, Lord Usta, the Marquis is anxiously waiting for you.”

The butler, who had come out of the mansion, said with an awkward expression. It seemed he had been sent by the Marquis to find him.

“I understand. I’ll go now.”

He needed more time to organize his thoughts, but with the Marquis constantly pressing, he had to comply. He didn’t know what unpleasant things the Marquis would say, but he had no choice.

Instead, he resolved not to listen to whatever the Marquis said. With this determination, Claude headed to the office. Each step felt heavy because he was reluctant.

[Knock, knock.]

“Come in.”

As soon as the Marquis finished speaking, Claude opened the door and entered. Despite being the cause of the earlier commotion, his face appeared calm, suggesting nothing had happened.

“I’ve already heard about what happened this morning. Can you tell me what’s going on? How could you, who has never shown interest in women, casually spend the night with one?”

Though he tried to speak calmly without getting excited, the Marquis couldn’t help it when he saw Claude’s face, and his voice grew increasingly agitated as he spoke.

“It’s exactly what you heard.”

“Is that all you have to say to me?”

“What answer do you want?”

The Marquis couldn’t respond to Claude’s words. No matter how much he pressured him, what had already happened couldn’t be undone.

He cleared his throat a couple of times before speaking.

“What’s done is done, so let’s just forget about it. You’re going to marry Princess Natalie, so I’ll make sure the household staff keeps quiet about this. Keep that in mind.”

Sure enough, the words Claude had anticipated flowed from the Marquis’s mouth. He had experienced the actual event, yet being told to just forget it… This irritated him.

Whether to forget it or not was his decision, and he couldn’t understand why the Marquis was interfering by telling him what to do.

“This is my business, so I’ll handle it myself. And regarding the marriage to the Princess, I believe I already refused it before, so I don’t understand why you’re bringing it up again.”

“Do you know what a great opportunity this is? Of course, you’re the empire’s hero, but marrying the Princess would be good for our family too.”

“I refuse.”

“Why do you keep refusing? You must have met her at the banquet. Do you know how elegant and beautiful she is? The marriage with the Princess can proceed with just your consent, so accept my words.”

“I’ve told you clearly. I have no intention of marrying her. I don’t even remember her face, so I refuse.”

He could have truthfully reported the Princess’s behavior that he had witnessed, but Claude didn’t. He had no intention of exposing someone else’s flaws. It was easier to blame himself.

“You, really! Are you going to be stubborn? You’re not a child anymore, and at your age, you should think about the family. Surely you don’t like that commoner woman from last night, do you?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why did you sleep with her? Don’t tell me you were bewitched by that witch?”

“Witch?”

At that moment, one of Claude’s eyebrows twitched. It was absurd to call a perfectly normal person a witch.

“They say she brought some medicine. What kind of medicine did she give you?”

“I didn’t take any medicine last night.”

“That can’t be true. That woman, she’s a witch, isn’t she? Admit it. She tried to kill you because you rejected her harshly, and she wanted revenge.”

“Who tried to kill me?”

“A maid saw her pressing a pillow against your face. She was trying to kill you, wasn’t she?”

“You think something like that could kill me?”

“Well, no, but how do you know what kind of woman she is? What if she comes back later with a child claiming it’s yours?”

Claude didn’t know much about the woman. Only her attitude when she tried to resist him after smelling the scent, her innocent eyes, and the fact that she was a virgin.

But his instinct as a knight told him she wasn’t as bad as his father claimed. He hadn’t felt the same unease with her that he had felt with the Princess.

That’s why he couldn’t tolerate hearing insulting words about her. If anyone should be angry or insulting, it should be him, not the Marquis who had no right.

“If that’s how you feel, I have no choice but to act according to my own will.”

“What do you mean?”

“I will marry her.”

“Her? You don’t mean that commoner woman you spent the night with?”

“Yes.”

The Marquis’s attitude of constantly imposing his opinions on him, despite not being a child anymore, was so irritating that words Claude himself hadn’t expected came out of his mouth.

He wasn’t serious. It was a statement made out of spite. It was childish rebellion, but somehow he thought the commoner woman who had made him feel ecstatic last night might be better than the Princess he couldn’t even remember. It was an impulsive statement.

Of course, he had no actual intention of marrying her.

“Talk sense. Wasn’t she a commoner? And you’re saying you’ll marry her?”

The Marquis was clearly surprised. It seemed he hadn’t considered the possibility of Claude marrying her at all.

“I want to live looking at only one woman. But think about it. There were many witnesses last night. So marriage is the only conclusion, isn’t it? I’ve said all I have to say, so I’ll be going now. I still have a lot of morning training left.”

After firmly stating his position, Claude left the office.

“Stop right there!”

No matter how much the Marquis shouted, Claude didn’t stop walking. Knowing he couldn’t physically stop him due to the significant difference in strength, the Marquis couldn’t bear to watch his son’s retreating figure with his face flushed red.

The Marquis was on the verge of fainting at Claude’s stubborn attitude.

He’s gone mad! He doesn’t even realize she tried to kill him…

Because Claude was so outstanding and strong, the Marquis thought he wouldn’t have to worry much about him. But what was this situation now?

Thinking that his son had gotten involved with a crazy woman, the Marquis suddenly felt afraid.

“My dear wife… would things have been different if you were here? Unfortunately, our son, known as the empire’s sword, has been ruined because of a witch-like woman. Does this make any sense?”

He shed a few tears while looking at a photograph.

When he was young, Claude had been an obedient child, but he started disobeying after the Marchioness died. This made her absence feel even greater. The Marquis felt that Claude would have listened if she had been the one speaking.

“Honey, I miss you.”