As time passed, Elisabeth, who had been just a young girl, grew older along with Leopold. Not long after he celebrated his ninth birthday, Elisabeth also celebrated her nineteenth birthday. That meant she had reached marriageable age as a lady and had finally become an adult, which also meant it was time to start preparing for marriage.

Perhaps because the fact that Elisabeth was getting married made his heart unsettled, Leopold once abruptly asked his tutor,

‘If Elisabeth gets married, will she not love me as much as before?’

The tutor showed a momentary look of difficulty before saying.

‘Not necessarily. Rather, she’ll probably be proud to see the Prince growing up so maturely.’

‘But I heard that when you get married, you become part of another family. I want to keep being family with Elisabeth.’

The tutor placated Leopold and continued with the lesson. But when news came that Elisabeth’s marriage partner had been decided, he really started to feel anxious.

I wish Elisabeth would still play with me even after she gets married.

The fact that Elisabeth’s visits had become less frequent since marriage talks began also fueled Leopold’s anxiety. After privately continuing his worries, Leopold decided one day.

This time, I’ll visit Elisabeth first.

Thinking about it, quite some time had passed since he had visited Elisabeth’s villa. Curious about what expression Elisabeth would make at his surprise visit, Leopold planned a secret visit and left the palace with some servants.

Standing in front of the villa with an excited heart, Leopold firmly instructed the servants.

‘If you make noise, big sister will notice. So don’t move from the car until I come out first, understand?’

Leaving the servants behind, he entered the villa first. Judging from the traces of people having been there, Elisabeth was undoubtedly inside the villa.

Suppressing his joyful heart, Leopold climbed the stairs. He knew best where Elisabeth’s room was located.

The moment he gently pushed the door open, intending to surprise her—

Leopold’s eyes met those of a man who looked somehow familiar and a woman who was rolling around n*ked. Before he could realize that it was Elisabeth, she moved first. Elisabeth, who had always smiled at him kindly, covered herself with a robe and came over to slam the door shut in front of him.

It was the first time.

The first time she had looked at Leopold with such eyes.

Leopold was confused. But even amid that confusion, one thing was certain: Elisabeth would not welcome him at all. He hurriedly left the villa and returned to the servants.

When he said they should go back, the servants expressed doubt.

‘It’s just that…… big sister doesn’t want to see me right now.’

How many days had passed since he had fled the villa? Elisabeth came to find Leopold first, as he had been unable to shake off thoughts of that day every night.

‘Our baby prince!’

She hugged Leopold and smiled brightly as if nothing had happened. At that moment, Leopold let go of everything and felt relieved.

He whispered softly into Elisabeth’s ear.

‘I thought you were angry with me.’

Hearing this, Elisabeth said it was fine. And suggesting they play their usual games, she headed to his room with Leopold.

Walking to the room with light steps alongside Elisabeth, Leopold turned around in surprise. She had roughly closed the door and even locked it with the bolt.

The kind Elisabeth he had seen until just now was nowhere to be found. She grabbed Leopold and began pressing him with a fierce tone she had never used before.

‘Did you tell anyone?’

‘No.’

He answered reflexively, not even knowing exactly what she was asking.

‘Don’t ever think about opening your mouth about what happened that day. If I can’t get married because of you……’

Elisabeth seemed to hate the idea of a broken engagement more than death itself. Trembling with a pale face, she choked Leopold’s windpipe and said.

‘Can you swear you won’t tell anyone?’

Leopold nodded desperately. He couldn’t breathe. But another emotion took precedence over the fear that he might die.

She growled in a low voice at Leopold, who was shedding tears.

‘You little bastard. Barging into my villa without saying a word!’

‘Ugh, kugh……’

‘Just try telling the adults. Then my life is over. If you ruin my life, I’ll die with you. I won’t let you off!’

‘Won’t, tell, anyone……’

Only after he promised repeatedly did Elisabeth release him. Looking down at Leopold, who was coughing and breathing roughly, Elisabeth belatedly came to her senses and burst into tears, shocked by what she had done.

‘I-I’m sorry. Are you okay? I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to go that far…… really.’

She embraced the coughing Leopold, who was trembling, and said in a faintly trembling voice.

‘I was scared. If my family finds out I was with the Duke…… I was only with the Duke for one day. I couldn’t sleep for days wondering if you might have told others. I was scared. Too scared to even speak……’

She met Leopold’s eyes. Her tear-soaked gaze was desperately pleading with Leopold.

‘But since Leo is a good boy, you’ll keep your promise to your big sister, right?’

Only after Leopold nodded did she finally smile.

He had to believe nothing would happen. If only to not lose Elisabeth.

But Leopold never saw Elisabeth again after that day. No one wanted to bring up stories about Elisabeth.

It was clear that something had happened to her, but unable to get any news, his anxiety only grew. Then one day…

At a garden party held at a villa owned by the royal family, Leopold froze in place when he encountered a man in a black suit. Looking again, he seemed to recognize him. That man was surely the one who had been with Elisabeth…..

Duke Klaus, who was still young at that time, looked down at Leopold intently and smiled faintly.

Then, placing his finger over his lips, he said:

Shh. We must be quiet.

Awakened by the sound of the telephone ringing, Leopold barely opened his eyes and looked at the clock. Was it already morning? Looking down at himself, it seemed he had fallen asleep without even changing his clothes from last night.

Remembering the note he had sent down to Diez last night, Leopold picked up the receiver.

“Hello.”

— Leo, I called thinking you’d be up by now.

Ah, it’s not Schleicher.

The caller was his brother. With slight disappointment, Leopold’s voice turned gruff.

“Why are you calling so early in the morning?”

— Don’t tell me you just woke up? That’s unlike you, sleeping in so late.

“Just tell me what you want.”

— You know about the incident that happened before dawn? Father doesn’t seem to want to let it go. He’s calling in the parties involved for an investigation. If you’re too tired, I can talk to Miss Schleicher instead, so you can just rest……

“I’ll go.”

— No, Leo. You just rest. On second thought, I don’t think I should leave this to you.

“I’ll change clothes and head out right away, so wait for me.”

He hung up the receiver before Albert could continue his response.

It was time to meet the mistress of the Klaus family.

Diez, who had been sleeping deeply, gently opened her eyes to the sunlight filtering through the curtains. Trying to recall how she ended up alone in this spacious and luxurious bedroom, Diez belatedly remembered. That’s right, she had come to this large hotel with Jürgen to attend the festival.

The events that followed also came back to her one by one, but they weren’t memories she particularly wanted to dwell on. Suddenly she felt worried. She would have to attend the banquet with Jürgen today as well…..

Even facing him now felt overwhelming. Just imagining it was already difficult. She wished the festival would end quickly, but the problem was that there were still nine days left.

This was the first time that a period of nine days felt so long.

‘Still, I have to endure it.’

She persuaded herself. She needed to steel her heart. As long as Jürgen kept his promise, Diez could be free as soon as the festival ended.

She had long given up the expectation that she could regain her happy life as before. But even if life wasn’t as good as before, she had to believe it would be better than it was now.

I’ll leave the Duke’s residence and find my parents.

Even if my parents don’t accept me, I must find something I can do and survive till the end.

Diez resolved never to think about death again. She didn’t want to die floundering in the despair that had overwhelmed her. At least, ending that way seemed too unfair and miserable.

Turning over, Diez checked the desk clock on the opposite side. It was just past nine o’clock. It wasn’t early morning, but Diez, wanting to lie down a little longer, was about to burrow back under the covers.

At the sound of the telephone bell, she raised her head again.

Who could be calling? Wondering, Diez slipped out of bed, approached the table, and carefully picked up the receiver.

“……Hello?”

— Are you Miss Diez Schleicher?

It was the voice of an unknown man. Though unfamiliar, his polite and formal speech helped calm her agitated heart somewhat.

“Yes, that’s me.”

— I’m calling from the Royal Security Department. First, I would like to apologize for the incident you experienced before dawn. We will do our best to ensure you never experience such an unfortunate event again.

The memory of being forcibly held by the noble man resurfaced in her mind. It seemed the royal family was not going to ignore the incident.