Had the two just left?

The sound of footsteps quietly echoed through the empty corridor.

One step, then another.

The man’s slow steps stopped in front of the room Alfredo had left. Finally, the man who had been silently looking down raised his head.

It was Carlos.

He stood motionless for a long while, quietly staring at the closed door.

‘Is Ines really in here?’

Standing in front of the room, Carlos still had a look of disbelief in his eyes.

After he vowed to personally verify the truth about the rumors concerning Ines, she had not officially visited the Marquis Descartes’ mansion.

So he had been watching by deliberately leaving security loose, monitoring if she would secretly slip out at night. And unfortunately today, he confirmed Ines leaving the palace in the early dawn while everyone was asleep.

He immediately followed Ines without having time to be shocked by the Queen’s movements toward the mansion at this hour.

That was why Carlos was standing here now. After secretly infiltrating the mansion, he looked around places where Ines might be. During this, he happened to overhear a conversation between a man and a servant.

‘Ah, and don’t let anyone except Margaret into my room. Her Majesty isn’t in her right mind yet. How could we let anyone see the Queen in such a disheveled state?’

Carlos mulled over the words the Marquis’s son had told the servant. When he first heard those words, it felt like his heart had dropped. They were words that would raise suspicions in anyone’s mind.

His wife was in the bedroom of a man who looked like he had just finished intense exercise. The implications were clear.

With his blood running cold, he could only clench and unclench his fists uselessly.

Could there be circumstances about Ines that he didn’t know? Perhaps this situation and that man’s words were all a misunderstanding.

So to know the truth, he had to open this door. But he was afraid.

After hesitating for a long while, Carlos’s hand cut through the air. Though his heart was beating madly, he ignored it and finally grabbed the doorknob.

Swoosh.

The door gave way weakly, as if it hadn’t been properly closed to begin with.

As the door opened, the faint scent that had been wafting through the corridor stung his nose.

‘What is this smell?’

It was an exotic fragrance he had never smelled before.

Just as he naturally frowned at the strong smell, what soon came into his view was Ines lying on the bed.

“Ines…”

His lips hardened as he unconsciously murmured his wife’s name. It was because he saw Ines’s state.

Carlos, who had lost his words, slowly examined Ines. Her dress had fallen below her shoulders, already revealing her chest clearly. It was a state that could neither be called dressed nor undressed.

Moreover, Ines’s entire body was drenched in sweat. Her usually pale face was flushed red.

It was unmistakably the appearance of someone who had just had intimate relations.

For a moment, Carlos’s body staggered. His heart plummeted to the floor. It felt like he had returned to that day when Joseph had introduced Ines as his fiancée.

‘Why.’

Carlos quietly bit his lip. His clenched fist trembled with anger and betrayal.

“You…”

Carlos approached Ines with staggering steps. His stomach turned at the sight of Ines deeply asleep, unaware of his presence.

“After dragging me into this mess, you’re…”

Just peacefully sleeping away. Curses rose in his throat. He wanted to shake her shoulders and wake her up right now to demand answers.

He wanted to ask why she was here, what relationship she had with the Marquis’s son. If she had really betrayed him again.

Just as Carlos’s hand, mixed with anger, betrayal, and despair, reached toward Ines. He noticed the familiar necklace around her slender neck. It was something he knew well too.

Wearing the necklace he had prepared while having relations with another man.

“Damn it.”

Blood welled up as he bit his lip hard. Though he wanted to spew curses, his lips wouldn’t part due to his miserable feelings.

Carlos, who had been trembling with his head down, finally left as if fleeing.

He couldn’t remember how he had escaped the mansion. When his senses returned, he had arrived at the place where he was supposed to meet Herman.

“Your Majesty!”

Herman, who had been anxiously waiting for Carlos, quickly approached him.

“Your Majesty. Why are you coming in such a hurry? Did something happen?”

Herman’s bewilderment at Carlos’s unusual behavior was brief. Soon his expression darkened as if sensing something.

“Don’t tell me Her Majesty…”

There was no need to complete the sentence. Just looking at Carlos’s miserable expression was enough to understand the situation.

This wasn’t the first time he had seen Carlos’s wretched face. It was the same face as that day when he returned from the battlefield and saw the former crown prince and his fiancée.

At this, Herman, who had been contemplating something, approached him.

“I think I should tell Your Majesty about this as well.”

“…What else is there?”

Anxiety clouded Carlos’s eyes at Herman’s words.

“Yes. It’s about the Marquis Descartes’ heir.”

Herman stepped even closer as if this was something that must be heard. Then, beginning to speak about the Marquis’s son, Herman whispered quietly enough for only Carlos to hear. And as Herman’s words continued, Carlos’s face grew increasingly rigid.

Soon Carlos, who had sharply furrowed his brows, took a step back.

“…Enough. That’s sufficient.”

Carlos avoided the place, unable to hear any more. Like someone wanting to escape from a hellish situation.

* * *

The sound of tossing and turning echoed through the quiet bedroom. Ines’s closed eyes soon opened slowly. Her hazy consciousness was gradually clearing like fog lifting.

“Where is…”

Looking around, Ines soon realized she was at the Marquis Descartes’ mansion. She quickly turned her head to check the time but couldn’t find a clock.

“Let’s head back first.”

Though she didn’t know how much time had passed, it must have been considerable. She needed to return to the palace before dawn to avoid suspicion.

With that thought, Ines struggled to get up but was startled to find herself almost n*ked.

“Wh-what is this…!”

She had never fallen asleep in such a state while resting here before. Wondering if something untoward had happened, she tried to recall her memories.

“Ah, I took off my clothes because I was hot.”

It had felt like her whole body was boiling under the midsummer sun. She must have unconsciously removed her clothes due to the strangely burning heat.

“Haah…”

Just as Ines, having judged that nothing unusual had happened, hurriedly fixed her clothes. Suddenly a familiar voice crossed her mind.

“I think I heard Carlos’s voice while I was half-asleep…”

But she soon shook her head. Hearing Carlos’s voice here? It must have been an auditory hallusion.

The regret of not being able to tell him anything must have made her dream of him even in her sleep. How pathetic indeed.

It seemed like Joseph had said something to her before she fell asleep, but perhaps due to her hazy consciousness, she couldn’t remember anything.

Letting out a brief sigh, Ines looked at the clock and moved again. This wasn’t the time to be dwelling on what had happened here.

She needed to leave this place and return to the palace as soon as possible. Fortunately, thanks to the herbs, her body hurt less than usual. But it would surely have a negative effect on the baby.

She planned to say that next time she would receive treatment in a room without incense burning.

As Ines’s movements quickened with these thoughts sorted out.

“It’s time for you to return to the palace, Your Majesty.”

Margaret, who had entered just then, helped her prepare.

Thus Ines left the mansion while staggering.

Though her legs were shaking and her body trembling from the effects of the treatment, she walked quickly, wanting to rest in her room soon.

After some time had passed like this.

Finally returning to the palace, Ines headed to her room. She had declined Margaret’s offer to escort her to the room and was walking there alone.

What she saw when she painfully opened the door was.

“…Carlos?”

Her husband, alone in the empty room, drinking from a wine glass.