Chapter 4

“Lynette.”

“Yeah.”

“……I heard the researcher dispatched from the Magic Tower is Carlisle Preston?”

It seemed the rumors had already spread everywhere.

The two of them would become entertaining gossip for everyone once again.

After all, Lynette and Carlisle had once been a famously inseparable couple.

And now, those former lovers had reunited under the Crown Prince’s orders.

For a brief moment, the thought of all the troublesome and exhausting situations this would create flashed through Lynette Aterne’s mind.

Without answering Louis Napier, Lynette merely quickened her pace.

Reading the answer from her silence, Louis continued in a voice that sounded almost sulky.

“His Highness is being too much. He must’ve known perfectly well you’d be uncomfortable around Carlisle.”

“Louis. Watch your words. The royal palace has ears everywhere. And His Highness simply judged that I was the most suitable person for this assignment. I agreed as well.”

“Even so. I really hate Carlisle Preston. Betraying you wasn’t enough, he even betrayed House Aterne and crawled over to House Clifford. And as a Magic Tower researcher, no less. He knew how obsessed the duke was with magic, so how does it make any sense for him to run off to the Cliffords? And on top of that, he voluntarily applied for a royal dispatch even knowing you were here. He’s shameless.”

“……”

“I would never do that, Lynette. I’ll stay by your side forever.”

When Lynette Aterne slowly turned her gaze toward him, Louis Napier smiled brightly.

“I know.”

‘And that’s exactly what suffocates me.’

Instead of voicing those final words aloud, Lynette simply quickened her pace again.

Louis effortlessly closed the distance between them once more and asked,

“Can we have lunch together today?”

“No. I have to eat with His Highness today.”

“Is Eris Clifford going to be there too?”

“Probably. She is His Highness’s fiancée.”

And Carlisle Preston as well.

The thought of the four of them sharing lunch together made her chest feel even tighter.

She had believed that in just one more month, she would already be in Kantane.

Every time she thought about that, it felt as though flames were rising inside her chest.

“Lynette, are you sure you’ll be alright? Should I prepare your medicine in advance?”

“Louis. You don’t have to worry about me. I can handle my own problems, so focus on your own work instead.”

She knew words like that would hurt Louis.

But she could no longer bring herself to soften them.

“Alright. But if things get hard, tell me, okay? Promise me at least that, Lynette. Hmm?”

“Okay. I’ll tell you. Now hurry along, our paths split here anyway.”

“Stay strong, Lynette. If possible, let’s meet again tonight!”

“Okay.”

Only after Louis Napier disappeared from sight did Lynette Aterne let out a faint sigh.

Ever since she broke up with Carlisle Preston, Louis had stopped hiding his feelings.

He had never confessed to her directly, but he expressed those feelings through every action he took.

And from that point onward, spending time with Louis had become deeply uncomfortable for her.

What made things worse was that, contrary to expectations that he would work under the Duke of Aterne after graduating from the Academy, Louis had instead applied to work for the royal family—just like Lynette.

And on top of that, Louis’s house was also right beside hers.

An uncomfortable friend on one side and an ex-lover on the other.

The time ahead felt far more unbearable than everything she had endured until now.

Lynette tightened her grip around the bag in her hand until her knuckles turned white.

Never before had the path toward the Crown Prince’s office felt so much like walking through thorns.

Working in his office had always been far better than living inside the Duke of Aterne’s estate.

Just the thought that enduring a little longer would grant her a life entirely her own had been enough to make her happy until now.

Just as she swallowed down another sigh threatening to escape and prepared to continue walking, a cold voice pierced through her ears.

“You’re still hanging around that b*stard. Even after I warned you so many times.”

Lynette already knew exactly who that voice belonged to.

Carlisle Preston.

Slowly, she turned toward the direction the voice had come from.

Carlisle was standing there.

Apparently, he had decided it would be better to head to Elaine’s office together with her rather than go alone, and had been waiting for her.

Which meant he had been watching her and Louis the entire time.

Disgust rose within her.

Lynette slowly stepped closer to him before calling out coldly,

“Mr. Preston.”

“Yes?”

“What exactly did you just say?”

“It was only a thought spoken aloud. Seems you happened to hear it.”

“No. I simply thought I heard you say something and wanted to confirm. But if it was only a monologue, then I suppose there’s no need for me to listen.”

At her response, Carlisle twisted one corner of his lips into a smile and closed the final step of distance between them.

“You were close enough to hear it anyway. Since you already did, I don’t think it’d be such a bad idea to listen to what I have to say. Think carefully about it, Miss Aterne.”

Lynette immediately stepped back again and frowned at him.

“It seems Mr. Preston needs to understand his place a little better. What right do you think you have to say such things to me?”

“I didn’t have any rights, which is why I said it to myself.”

His pale green eyes curved lazily.

“And I’d rather not be late on my first day, so shouldn’t we hurry a little, Miss Aterne?”

Carlisle was right.

She was the Crown Prince’s aide, and being late was one of the things she hated most.

Especially today, when there was an official luncheon.

“…Fine. We’ll continue this conversation after lunch.”

“Understood.”

As Lynette turned and started walking toward the office, Carlisle quietly followed behind her.

***

The Crown Prince’s office was located in the heart of the imperial palace, at the very end of a corridor connected to the gardens.

After seeing the faces of Lynette Aterne and Carlisle Preston, the head attendant opened the doors for them.

The two entered the office together.

Among all the rooms in the palace, the Crown Prince’s residence—and especially his office—was famous for being the most beautiful.

Sunlight streamed gracefully through tall arched windows, while white and blue lace curtains beneath them swayed softly in the breeze.

The room was not excessively luxurious, yet refined enough to make it unmistakably clear that it belonged to someone of noble standing.

Old maps and the royal crest hung upon the walls, and beneath them stretched long bookshelves adorned with subtle golden decorations.

The shelves held law books, diplomatic documents, and at times even collections of poetry and philosophical works, quietly revealing the refined tastes of their owner.

At the center stood a mahogany desk polished to a soft sheen, neatly arranged with documents bearing the Crown Prince’s seal and handwritten notes.

Beside the desk sat a pale blue sofa and a small tea table, upon which rested a teacup that still carried traces of warmth.

At the end of the sofa stood a young lady.

Her gaze slowly turned toward the two of them.

Eris Clifford.

House Clifford was a family openly hostile toward House Aterne. They were also one of the kingdom’s traditional royalist factions.

On the other hand, the Duke of Aterne—Lynette’s father—stood at the head of the noble faction that used wealth and influence to pressure the royal family.

Naturally, relations between the duke and the royal family were far from good.

And because their houses were enemies, Eris and Lynette had never once shared a friendly relationship either.

Neither openly interfered with the other, but they were bound to keep each other in check more than anyone else.

When Eris of House Clifford secured the position of future crown princess, Lynette endured more brutal violence than ever before.

Because she had “lost” to a Clifford—the family the duke despised above all else.

But despite that, Lynette had never once placed herself and Eris on equal footing.

Wearing similar packaging did not mean they had lived the same life.

Eris was the true princess of House Clifford.

Unlike Lynette, who was known for being cold and difficult to approach, Eris was like sunlight itself.

Whenever Lynette looked at her, she always came to the same realization.

A life like that was something only Eris Clifford could ever be allowed to have.

Which made the duke’s fury toward her feel almost laughable.

And so, even while suffering through his vicious violence, Lynette could never fully suppress the quiet laughter that kept slipping out.