The next day, his mother died.

Carlo never saw the body. He only heard snippets of information from the knights because the matter had been dealt with in secret due to its shameful nature. It was a pitiful end, devoid of any decency.

“Yes, I’ll take revenge. My mother died unjustly. If I forget that, won’t she weep blood?”

Carlo murmured coldly, the corner of his mouth lifting as though he were making a solemn vow. He would never love anyone. If embracing another woman and driving one’s wife to her grave could be called love, then love was a curse.

Yet the distrust blazing in his eyes wavered when a familiar figure came into view.

“Laila.”

Her shoulders slumped and she walked with faltering steps. She looked so pitiful that it almost irritated him. Why did she look so fragile? Why did she look as though she might burst into tears again?

Carlo’s feelings towards Laila were bewilderingly complicated. She was the person with whom he felt most at ease, yet he also wanted to hide everything from her. While he had fallen into ruin, she remained pure and loyal, no matter how much dirty work he forced upon her.

This was precisely why he refused to reveal his darkest side to her. He wanted to protect her purity. After all, she could only remain pure because she was unaware of the darkness within him.

He wanted her to stay the same, but he hated himself for involving her in his sordid schemes. In the name of revenge, he had dragged the one person he wanted to protect most into the mud.

Nevertheless, he had no intention of stopping.

“I’m sorry, Laila.”

She was the only person who could help him get his revenge, so exploiting her was his only option. Her unwavering love for him made it painfully easy to manipulate her.

Despite knowing how she felt all along, he pretended not to notice Laila’s feelings. Although he did not believe in love, she deserved to be cherished properly by a decent man once everything was over. Even after his revenge was complete, Laila had to continue to shine.

This was the last shred of Carlo’s conscience — the guilt he felt for exploiting such a noble person in his quest for vengeance.

And then—

“Who the hell is that?”

A knight approached Laila with a smile, and her face brightened with a delicate smile just beginning to bloom.

For a moment, Carlo felt the violent urge to gouge out the knight’s eyes. A plan immediately formed in his mind: discover the man’s identity and drive him away at once.

‘How dare he…… Just who does he think he is looking at?’

Although Carlo commanded the knights and knew that Laila was friendly with the other men, the sight of another man gazing at her filled him with searing rage. If that man received the smile that should have belonged to Carlo alone, he would ensure that the knight was removed from Laila’s presence.

Laila would look only at him—forever.

He alone must be the object of her love.

“Ha. What a madman…….”

A derisive smile curled Carlo’s lips as he watched Laila until she disappeared into the main building.

What had he just told himself? That Laila deserved to be loved by another man?

It was hypocrisy—an outright lie.

He intended to exploit her love until the very end, yet the mere thought of her belonging to someone else was unbearable.

The contradiction ridiculed and tormented him.

‘If you can let her go—then do it.’

***

In the corridors of Adelina Imperial Palace, a man with sleek silver hair brushed neatly behind him made his way towards the emperor’s bedchamber.

His white uniform was embroidered with shimmering silver thread cascading down from his shoulders, and a crimson sash adorned with emblems of his rank draped across his chest.

Only one other person in the empire wore this uniform.

Crown Prince Theodor was on his way to visit his father, who had collapsed six years earlier.

“How is His Majesty the Emperor?”

“He was able to sit up today, Your Highness.”

At that reply, Theodor quickened his pace. When he reached the bedchamber, he was met by more attendants and knights than he had expected.

‘Ha… looks like the Empress is here.’

Suppressing his irritation, he entered the chamber with a blank expression—where the Empress greeted him.

“Oh, Crown Prince. Do come in.”

The Empress Scarlet greeted him with a smile. Her red hair was swept up and away from her face, and her thin eyebrows arched over her sharp, upturned eyes. Despite the curve of her lips, however, there was nothing warm about her expression; it was as cold as glass.

Theodor concealed the anger surging inside him with a composed, courtly smile.

“I greet His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress.”

“No need for such formality. Come closer and see your father properly,” she said, her voice dripping with feigned affection.

To anyone listening, she might have seemed like a devoted stepmother.

But Theodor knew better — she was a serpent, waiting for the right moment to strike. Her ambition lay coiled and cold beneath her graceful exterior.

Ignoring Scarlet’s pretense, Theodor stepped past her and approached the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, how are you feeling today?”

“Theo…”

Although the Emperor had recovered enough strength to sit upright, his voice remained frail.

Propped against the pillows, he reached out toward his only beloved son. The hand straining toward Theodor was thin, dry, and brittle after years of illness.

“Seeing you sitting before me like this puts my heart at ease.”

As he clasped his father’s cold, withered hand, a profound heaviness settled in his chest.

Six years ago, this man—once a powerful sovereign who had transformed Adelina into a mighty empire, cherished his people, and commanded even the proudest nobles—had collapsed in an instant.

Someone no one had ever suspected had attempted to poison him.

“I hear you have been managing the affairs of state admirably in my stead as Crown Prince. Thank you, Theo…….”

The Emperor’s weary voice brimmed with tenderness. However, before Theodor could respond, the Empress smoothly interjected.

“Yes, Your Majesty. The Crown Prince has been handling every matter with remarkable conviction. The nobles cannot stop praising his sound judgment.”

‘With conviction, she says…… Ah. She must mean the argument I had with her father over that appointment.’

Seeing straight through the meaning hidden beneath Scarlet’s polished words, Theodor calmly continued his report to the Emperor.

“As I reported previously, I have appointed Marquis Pallas as Minister of State. Count Schmaller has also retired from his position as a Royal Knight, and his son, Eugene Schmaller, has succeeded him.”

“Excellent. Marquis Pallas is an honest man who will prove invaluable to you. As for House Schmaller, it has served the Empire faithfully for generations as one of its foremost knightly families.”

As the Emperor continued praising them, the Empress raised one eyebrow and spoke in a voice as smooth as silk.

“They are indeed distinguished families. Nevertheless, I cannot help worrying about His Highness. My concern for him has kept me awake at night.”

Theodor barely suppressed the laugh rising in his throat.

‘Losing sleep over me? More likely because your father failed to secure the position of Minister of State.’

“I hear that the latest appointments consist solely of the Crown Prince’s closest associates. I fear that if this continues, the nobles may eventually turn their backs on His Highness…….”

“That is enough, Empress.”

“…….”

Even weakened by illness, the man before them remained the Emperor. Scarlet immediately fell silent, pressing her lips tightly together. He had never once acknowledged her as his true wife, and his words still carried undeniable authority.

“Your Majesty, Marquis Pallas successfully negotiated our recent trade agreement with the Valtro Empire, securing immense profits for our realm. Moreover, he uncovered an illegal slave market, arrested those responsible, and liberated the captives.”

As Theodor continued recounting Marquis Pallas’s achievements, Scarlet’s smile gradually vanished.

“Among those captives were citizens of foreign empires. By repatriating them to their homelands, we also strengthened our diplomatic relations—though surely Your Majesty is already aware of that. Therefore, Empress, do you mean to suggest that appointing such a man as Minister of State was unjust?”

“Crown Prince, that is—!”

“I am well aware of Your Majesty’s concern for me.”

Theodor said with a calm, courteous smile.

“However, I also understand that matters of state must never be governed by personal connections or selfish interests. Therefore, you need not worry.”

At the words personal connections and selfish interests, Scarlet’s expression sharpened. She had understood his warning perfectly—he was telling her to abandon any attempt to secure the position of Minister of State for her father or place her own son upon the throne.

‘Before wasting your strength on such futile schemes, you should learn to keep your unruly son under control.’

Scarlet, the second Empress, was the Emperor’s second wife.

Theodor, meanwhile, was his firstborn son—the child of the Emperor’s true consort.

There could never be peace between the empress, who wanted her son Vahan to be crowned, and the crown prince, who was the emperor’s son by his first wife. Scarlet and her father opposed Theodor at every turn, seizing every opportunity to undermine and threaten him.

“Your Majesty, I intend to depart for the Cerclezia Empire in two weeks.”

Theodor announced, staring straight ahead and ignoring the slight tremor in Scarlet’s hands.

“The Cerclezia Empire?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will personally attend the birthday banquet of the Emperor of Cerclezia.”

The Cerclezia Empire had long been Adelina’s close ally, their nations bound by a deep and enduring friendship. To preserve that alliance, it was only proper for the Crown Prince himself to make the journey.

“Very well. Travel safely. You will likely see young Lord Carlo Siren while you are there. He is an old friend of yours, is he not?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Good. I hope you will be able to enjoy some peace and quiet there, if only for a while.”

‘Peace and quiet……’

Theodor’s eyes flickered faintly at his father’s words.