“This time you were reckless. In the end, we failed in investigating the first prince’s tracks, and you went through a terrible ordeal……”

“Kale, more than that, I need you to find someone.”

“Pardon?”

Despite Kale’s nagging, Felix continued his thoughts without care.

Felix couldn’t erase from memory the woman who had helped him with her strange power. The shabby dress that didn’t suit the imperial palace ball at all. The platinum hair that sparkled even under the dark balcony without a single light.

‘Pfft……’

The audacious woman who had instantly subdued him with that small body and disappeared like smoke…… When the scene of him rolling on the floor from her back throw came to mind, a chuckle escaped without him knowing.

‘That woman was trying hard to cool my fever.’

Above all, what he was curious about regarding her was the oasis-like power in the middle of a desert that had calmed his body when it seemed ready to burst from heat rather than just being hot.

‘That power…… what exactly is it.’

The sun power guaranteed the imperial family’s legitimacy, but for Felix it was only an ability like a time bomb. He had continued high-intensity training to control the sun power since childhood. Thanks to that, he could maintain a normal daily life in the imperial family, but this was the first time he couldn’t control his body like this.

Of course, Kervic’s conspiracy to make Felix’s power explode had been ongoing for a long time.

「”Felix, what are those scars on your wrist? Are you really self-harming to control the sun power as rumored?”

“……First Prince need not concern yourself.”

“Living so miserably while protecting such a cursed power is pathetic. To covet my position while clinging to that power no one welcomes, you should know your place.”」

Since childhood, Kervic had belittled Felix’s position, telling him not to covet the emperor’s seat. While smiling like affectionate brothers on the surface, he would turn around and stab Felix in the chest without hesitation.

His older brother, Kervic, tried to strangle Felix at every moment and not let go. He seemed to shake Felix, waiting for Felix to lose his composure and go berserk.

‘His intention is obvious. If I lose control of my power even slightly, he’ll definitely launch a war on public opinions.’

The heir to the throne was not yet decided. Kervic would brand Felix with the stigma of being an ‘irrational prince’ and ‘a person unfit to rule the imperial family.’

If Felix’s sun power went berserk, it was obvious Kervic would attack him saying the nature of his power was suspicious.

‘I was always helplessly defeated…… But just in time, someone who can suppress this power appeared……’

Felix frowned. Having been victimized so much since childhood, he had only grown more suspicious. And most of those suspicions were correct.

And the drug in the wine, and even the woman who could help control Felix’s power. Felix thought everything was falling into place suspiciously perfectly.

‘Is this also Kervic’s scheme.’

What if that woman was acting on Kervic’s orders? Even within the imperial palace, only a few knew that he couldn’t control the sun power well. But a woman appeared who clearly seemed to know about his power. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say Felix suspected her existence.

‘No, maybe I can use this in reverse to corner Kervic.’

If that happened, he could finally catch physical evidence this time. If he caught solid evidence, he could turn around his threatening brother’s conspiracy. Even if she wasn’t acting on orders, he could actively draw her to his side to compensate for his most fatal weakness.

“Anyway, I need that woman.”

At Felix’s words, Kale also seemed to agree.

“You mean we need to find out who that lady with the strange outfit is?”

“If we thoroughly search the guest list, we can probably find out her identity.”

At Felix’s question, Kale answered with a smile.

“If she attended this banquet, everyone would probably know that young lady.”

“……?”

The woman’s strange outfit became an excellent clue. After that, it was quick work. Felix was able to collect all information about Marina Enchester.

“She’s a young lady who doesn’t engage in social activities much, so I wasn’t sure. But I did encounter her once.”

“When was that?”

“It was at a debutante ball.”

Kale was quite a capable aide. He had a good memory and usually didn’t forget faces and basic information of people he had encountered even briefly.

“The ball wasn’t large in scale. Even then, she wore a shabbier dress compared to other young ladies, but she didn’t look pitiful enough to receive this level of attention…… This time I was quite surprised too.”

“……Their circumstances don’t seem good.”

Felix recalled the dress Marina had worn. The unfashionable design that looked at least 20 years out of style with lots of lace attached clearly looked worn at first glance.

“Yes. It’s a family that has served the imperial family faithfully for generations since their ancestors. In recognition of their past service, the imperial family granted them an honorary baron title and they established themselves in the capital, but……”

“But they established themselves?”

“Now they’re just nobles in name only, without even separate territory.”

Decades ago, the previous emperor had once granted baron titles to those who were loyal to the imperial family. Although he was criticized for lavishly distributing the titles of regional lords, thanks to that, the imperial family was able to receive support from those who were economically well-off.

Marina’s family, Enchester, was one of them, but now they couldn’t escape their beggar-like state despite their title.

“……Hmm, so the baron family’s situation isn’t very good.”

“Yes. The business they inherited completely failed. Robert Enchester married late, so there’s only one young lady in that house. There are some relatively well-off relatives, but they seem to have lost trust due to money problems.”

“Money problems……”

“It seems they attended this banquet to make connections somewhere in the first place.”

Felix, who had been listening to the explanation, languidly leaned back in his chair.

‘Hmm?’

Just as he was about to fall into contemplation, the dress uniform he had worn on the day of the banquet caught his eye. On that day when he had been in a bad mood, Felix had returned straight to his office and carelessly hung the dress uniform on the office coat hanger.

‘Come to think of it……’

— Step

Felix moved and carefully examined the dress uniform. To his meticulous eye, loose threads hanging from the sleeve ends were visible. He recalled the button he had ultimately failed to find on the balcony.

‘Could it have gotten caught on that chaotic…… no, voluminous dress?’

Felix smiled mischievously as he recalled Marina’s frilly dress. The whereabouts of the button had become somewhat clear.

“She’s perfect to keep by my side.”

To Felix, who was preparing his forces in earnest for the upcoming succession battle, Marina’s existence was special.

She was a beautiful woman with the ability to calm the sun power. She was poor enough to attend a banquet wearing a strange dress to make connections, but that problem could be perfectly solved by Felix, who had the backing of wealthy southern noble forces.

“Your Highness, everything fitting together so perfectly…… could it be a trap?”

“Well, we’ll have to throw out the bait to find out.”

Felix said with an arrogant smile, shrugging his shoulders.

“Leak it to the most loose-lipped reporter in the empire. That the second prince is looking for a woman.”

“Yes, understood.”

Kale, who understood what Felix wanted, immediately left his office.

“We’ll meet soon. Marina Enchester……”

Felix, watching Kale’s retreating figure, muttered in a low voice with a satisfied face.

⁕⁕⁕

“Then Miss, what should we do with this button?”

Lecia whispered, holding out the button she had carefully kept like pocket money for some time. Quite some time had passed since she returned from the banquet hall, and she had forgotten about it, but Lecia still had the button. Because she had been so frantic, it seemed Lecia had been suffering alone without even mentioning the button’s existence to the baron couple.

She glanced at the button that was definitely from Felix’s clothes. It was clearly an expensive item at first glance. What Lecia wanted was just one thing.

“Miss, if we just remove one gem from this button and sell it……”

“No. Throw that button away.”

She answered firmly so Lecia wouldn’t get false hopes. At her resolute answer, Lecia’s face turned to shock.

“Are you serious? This gem is definitely real, isn’t it? This tiny thing alone could provide meals for the Enchester family for a month!”

“That’s fake. No, it is fake. You have to throw it away.”

The owner of the button was none other than Felix, the second prince whom the emperor of this country had marked as one of his successors.

‘If I sell it carelessly and end up facing Felix again, it’ll be terrible!’

How many incidents of getting caught by carelessly selling items happened in romance fantasy novels!

“I don’t permit it. Tell me what you did. How did you calm me down?”

Eerily, his voice vividly echoed in her ears. Recalling the persistent attachment contained in those large hands that had grabbed her wrist and refused to let go until the end, she shuddered.

“I’ll say it once more, Lecia, you must throw that button away. Got it?”

“Uh…… understood.”

Lecia dropped her shoulders with a completely dejected face. She stamped her feet slightly as if upset by her decision to firmly nail down the matter without succumbing to the button’s temptation. Then, as if giving up, Lecia threw something into the trash can.