Carlo decided that he had pressed the Duke far enough. All he needed to do now was wait for the man to speak first.

The reason Duke Crussian opposed Roselina marrying Theodor was obvious.

He must already know.

Empress Scarlet intended to strip the Crown Prince of his title and bestow it upon her own son.

No parent would willingly marry his daughter to a man whose future was so precarious.

Moreover, for a nobleman closely allied with the Empress, becoming family with her political rival would be nothing short of betrayal.

Naturally, the Duke had no choice but to proceed with caution.

When Carlo remained silent and patiently waited, the Duke finally spoke. His voice was measured and guarded.

“You appear to have guessed the truth, so I shall speak plainly. Yes—I do not want Roselina to become involved with His Highness, Crown Prince Theodor. That must never happen.”

“But I cannot understand why becoming the Crown Princess would be a great honor. Surely it is a position anyone would desire… unless, of course, the Crown Prince were about to be replaced.”

“……!”

The Duke’s once-composed expression hardened, and the atmosphere in the room instantly turned frigid.

Carlo had touched a nerve—and he knew it. He had made it unmistakably clear that he knew far more than he should.

Now it was the Duke’s turn to decide whether to place his trust in Carlo or cast him aside.

Carlo inclined his head slightly, his voice smooth and deferential.

“Whatever your reasons may be, I will do as you ask, Your Grace. Truthfully, I do not believe Lady Roselina is suited to stand beside His Highness anyway.”

‘It would be best to make my intentions unmistakably clear.’

“I am not the sort of gentleman who can stand idly by and watch the woman I love be taken by another man.”

“The woman you love…….”

Duke Crussian studied him with narrowed eyes, seemingly assessing how useful this declaration of love might prove. At that moment, he looked less like a father than a strategist calculating how best to employ a devoted pawn.

“Yes, Your Grace. I would do anything for her. I believe I have already proven my resolve through my knight’s decision to join the war.”

That knight—who had rejected every request and command to fight—had agreed to join the war the very next day simply because Roselina asked it of him.

To the Duke, it created the perfect image of a man hopelessly in love, willing to sacrifice everything for the woman he adored.

Carlo’s expression was solemn, and his voice rang with sincerity.

At the sight of it, Duke Crussian’s smile deepened.

***

“His Highness the Crown Prince wishes to see you.”

When Carlo returned to his estate, a knight bearing Theodor’s insignia was waiting for him.

“The Crown Prince?”

“Yes, my lord. His Highness has requested an immediate audience.”

“……I see.”

Carlo’s crimson eyes grew cold, their warmth disappearing beneath a layer of razor-sharp frost.

He already knew why Theodor wanted to see him.

Although he said nothing, a single name flashed through his mind—Laila.

“Tell His Highness that I will come to him myself—tonight.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Once the Crown Prince’s knight had departed, Carlo rested his forehead against the cold windowpane and murmured beneath his breath.

“They must never meet.”

Never. Under no circumstances.

Even if Laila had lost her memories, there was still a chance—however slight—that they might recognize each other.

Carlo could never allow that to happen.

He already regretted losing his temper not long ago and revealing far too much about his vengeance.

‘I cannot give her even the slightest reason to remember.’

He closed his eyes as guilt constricted his chest until he could scarcely breathe.

The longer he dwelled upon it, the more deeply he despised himself.

If Laila ever discovered the truth—or worse, if her memories returned—she might leave him forever.

“Haah…….”

A trembling breath escaped him, burdened by the guilt and dread he had suppressed for years.

It was his greatest fear—and the most unforgivable sin he had committed against her.

He was concealing the truth.

The truth that Laila was none other than Lailea, the long-lost princess of the Adelina Empire.

As Carlo’s brow furrowed, fragments of the past he desperately wished to forget came rushing back.

Before Theodor entered the academy, Carlo had met Laila for the first time—back when she still lived within the imperial palace.

“Wow… an angel. He is an angel.”

Those were the first words little Lailea, only three years old at the time, had spoken to him.

Remembering her wide, innocent eyes, Carlo could not suppress a bitter smile.

His first love and the princess he had cherished above all others—that was how he remembered her, even if she herself no longer knew.

Who could have imagined that the once-happy life of the imperial princess would descend into such tragedy?

They had been inseparable—closer than siblings and far more precious to each other than ordinary friends.

No single word could adequately describe the bond they had shared. But everything began to crumble after Theodor entered the academy.

With the arrival of Scarlet, the Emperor’s new consort, both Carlo’s and Lailea’s lives took a cruel turn.

Before long, Carlo was forbidden from entering the imperial palace.

He constantly worried about the young princess left behind, but at that age, he could barely bear the grief of watching his own mother, Sophia, suffer beneath Scarlett’s growing influence.

Gradually and inevitably, Carlo drifted away from Lailea—until his mother died, unjustly condemned and utterly broken.

Then, while he was wandering aimlessly through his grief, he overheard the words that shattered his world.

“Princess Lailea? Oh, you mean the half-blood princess? Do not even get me started. My friend works at the imperial palace, and she says the princess is treated worse than a servant.”

The moment Carlo heard those words from one of the Duke’s servants, he rushed straight to the imperial palace.

It was outrageous enough that Princess Lailea had been forced to live in a dilapidated detached palace. What enraged him even more was that not a single knight had been assigned to protect her.

No one noticed his arrival. No one cared enough to realize he was there.

That very neglect was the only reason he managed to enter unnoticed.

Yet as he quietly made his way across the grounds, his fury intensified with every step.

And then—he saw her.

Lailea, the imperial princess, was huddled alone in the corner of her cold, crumbling chamber, her tiny body covered in cuts and bruises.

The sight of her stole the breath from his lungs.

She was the heartbreaking picture of innocence—abandoned, abused, and utterly broken.

“Y-Your Highness…….”

“Ah! I-I’m sorry! I did not mean to—please, do not hurt me!”

The sight branded itself upon Carlo’s heart like a searing flame.

Lailea was little more than skin and bone, her once-silken hair now dull and brittle. Dressed in rags that even a servant would refuse to wear, she trembled as she begged him for mercy, her eyes wide with terror and her mind teetering on the brink of collapse.

“Please calm down, Your Highness. It is me—Carlo Siren.”

“N-No! Let go of me! Please, don’t—I’m frightened… I’m so frightened!”

The instant his hand touched her, she convulsed and lost consciousness, her frail body trembling violently before going limp.

Carlo caught her before she struck the floor and carried her out of the neglected annex in his arms.

She desperately needed medical attention, but he knew that no one within the imperial palace would lift a finger to help her.

That night, the annex was engulfed in flames.

As the fire consumed every trace she had left behind, Carlo made his decision.

He would hide her. No matter what it took, he would keep her alive.

He refused to lose someone he loved ever again.

“If I tell His Highness the Crown Prince that Lailea is alive…….”

He had considered it more than once. He had thought about revealing the truth to Theodor. But he could not bring himself to trust him.

Seven years ago, Theodor had failed to protect his own sister.

‘The Crown Prince could not save her then—and he will not save her now.’

Even after entering the academy, he could have sent someone to check on Lailea. Had he done so, she might never have been forced to endure those lonely, brutal days. How could he have remained so oblivious?

And yet Theodor claimed to love his sister, despite failing to take even the simplest precautions to protect her. He had allowed Lailea to fall into Scarlett’s hands and nearly be driven to her death. His negligence had subjected her to such overwhelming trauma that she lost every memory she possessed.

Carlo could not forgive Theodor. He could not forget the sin of abandoning someone precious to suffer alone.

“Haah.”

His fury toward Theodor and his disgust with himself pressed down upon him until Carlo could scarcely breathe.

‘As though I have any right to pretend that I care for Laila…….’

He knew the truth. He was the one causing Laila pain and reducing her to tears now. He had recognized her extraordinary natural talent and gentle heart, then exploited both without mercy. He had even sent her to war—an act so cold and unforgivable that he had no right to condemn anyone else.

‘I must expose Empress Scarlett’s crimes as quickly as possible. I must use Duke Crussian to hasten her downfall.’

It was Empress Scarlet who had destroyed Lailea’s life—murdering a servant merely for conceiving her husband’s child and condemning Lailea to a life of suffering.

“Laila… I will avenge you.”

That, he decided, would be his way of seeking forgiveness and atoning for everything he had done.

It was bitterly ironic that the suffering of Carlo and Laila, as well as Theodor and Princess Lenoa, could all be traced back to Scarlet.

***

“Ah, Carlo!”

Upon returning from the bustling streets, Laila was caught by Carlo’s waiting hand and pulled directly into his arms.

“Haah… Laila.”

“What is wrong? Did something happen?”

Carlo clung to her tightly and rested his forehead against her shoulder, looking utterly exhausted. Laila wrapped her arms around his broad back, trying to glimpse his expression.

“Just… stay still. Let me hold you like this.”

“…….”

Carlo pushed Laila down onto the bed and climbed over her, nuzzling her neck and shoulder like a child seeking refuge in his mother’s embrace.

“Ugh…….”

Each time his heated lips brushed her collarbone, a shiver of pleasure coursed through her, drawing a breathless sigh from her lips.

Carlo’s leg pressed against her thigh as his lips traveled lower.

“Carlo……!”

“Haah… ha…….”

Carlo pressed his mouth against the swell of Laila’s br*ast through her clothing, his caresses growing increasingly desperate until she could no longer think—until both the past and her pain vanished from her mind.

Yet the desperation with which he stripped away her clothes and consumed her body might not have been for her sake at all. It was his own frantic attempt to escape the guilt of deceiving her.

Late that night, after driving Laila to the brink of exhaustion, Carlo quietly slipped out of the mansion.

Theodor was waiting for him outside.

“Your Highness.”

Carlo greeted him in a low voice.

“……Carlo.”

It was their first true meeting in seven years.

Theodor studied him, taking in how much he had changed. The young man he once knew now carried a darker, heavier air around him. Swallowing the bitterness of nostalgia, Theodor looked away.

“It has been a long time.”

“Yes. I heard that Your Highness had come to Cerclezia.”

“And yet you did not come to see me. I suppose that tells me everything I need to know about our present relationship.”

“…….”

Although their words remained courteous, no warmth passed between them. The bond they once called friendship had faded into little more than a shadow of what it had been.

“You do not appear pleased to see me. So let us get straight to the point.”

“Very well.”

“I know exactly what you have been doing here.”

“……!”

Carlo’s expression froze for the briefest instant before he regained his composure. Theodor’s voice remained calm, but the sharp, unwavering look in his eyes made it clear that this was no casual reunion between old friends.

The air between them grew taut, weighed down by seven years of unspoken resentment and unfinished business.