‘This works in my favor. If I return to the Adelina Empire and complete my revenge, my marriage to Roselina will end as well.’

Carlo had already obtained all the information he could gather in the Circlezian Empire. It was time to return to Adelina.

“But there is one concern. If I leave now, I may not return for some time. Would that not mean canceling the wedding?”

“Does that trivial wedding matter right now? Our survival comes first!”

If Roselina had heard him, she might have been overcome with outrage and collapsed. They had spent a fortune on the wedding, and now it was being cancelled.

This would cause a huge stir in high society, but that was none of Carlo’s concern.

“I understand. My mother is in poor health, so a long journey will be difficult for her. May I take the knights of your house with us? Empress Scarlet may also discover the truth and attempt to threaten me.”

“Of course! Do not worry. You may take my entire order of knights if necessary, so leave without delay.”

The duke promised to provide his finest carriage, his most capable knights and anything else Carlo might require.

Carlo deliberately requested the duke’s finest knights. The duke’s crimes were about to be exposed, and Carlo wanted to lure away as many of his knights as possible in case he tried to escape.

‘It is done. His Highness Crown Prince Theodor has captured Crook Zegner, so our revenge has already begun.’

Although the duke believed Empress Scarlet was responsible, Carlo knew Theodor had orchestrated everything.

With no evidence remaining in the duke’s possession, the matter was now closed. The path to ruin lay before Carlo.

As Carlo left the office, Roselina approached him.

“Carlo. What did you discuss with Father?”

“His Grace has ordered us to postpone the wedding.”

“What?! What kind of nonsense is that?!”

Roselina looked ready to storm into the office that very instant. Carlo extended a hand to stop her, then provoked her even further.

“An urgent matter has arisen, and I agree with His Grace’s decision.”

“What?!”

“News that the wedding has been canceled will spread soon.”

“No! This is my wedding too! Why did neither of you even ask for my opinion?”

Tears filled Roselina’s eyes as she protested that she could never accept it. She looked desperate for someone to tell her it was merely a cruel joke.

“Lady Roselina, there is one thing I wish to ask before I leave.”

This would be the last time he ever saw her. That was why Carlo wanted an answer.

“Why did you torment Laila?”

“Is… Is that truly important right now?”

“It is important to me.”

Roselina was trembling now. When Laila reappeared, someone she had thought he had forgotten, Roselina furrowed her brow in irritation.

“How dare that insignificant wretch covet you! You are mine, so how dare a commoner set her sights on you? And it’s because you cherish Laila too!”

‘Was that truly her only reason?’

Carlo’s gaze turned frigid. Everything Roselina had said was wrong.

He had always belonged to Laila, who was a princess of the Adelina Empire.

It was time to return to her.

Carlo was on his way to see her.

His heart was restless. He wanted to see her again as soon as possible. He intended to beg her forgiveness once more and tell her that everything would soon be over and that they should stay together.

‘Laila, wait for me.’

The mere thought made Carlo’s heart race with anticipation, forcing him to breathe rapidly.

They had come to Circlezia together, so it was only right that they return together as well.

‘She must be with Princess Lenoa.’

There were few places where Laila, with nowhere else to go, could stay.

Since Theodor discovered her existence, he must have asked Lenoa to protect her.

The fact that Lenoa’s knight had visited the estate several times looking for Carlo confirmed this.

Carlo approached Lenoa with a joyful heart, but the woman he had been desperately searching for was nowhere to be seen.

“…Pardon?”

“I said Laila has already returned to the Adelina Empire.”

Lenoa’s expression was cold, and her words were impossible to believe. Carlo faltered as though something inside him had broken.

She was not here? Where had she gone without him?

“Your Highness, I believe I misheard you….”

“No, you heard me correctly. Laila has already left the Circlezian Empire and returned to Adelina.”

Lenoa’s gaze was unwavering and held no trace of deceit. Nevertheless, Carlo could not believe her. He knew she was disappointed and furious with him, but she could not possibly have forgiven him so easily.

His mind went blank and all his questions spilled out at once.

“But why…? When? No, did she go alone?”

Carlo, who was rarely shaken, floundered helplessly in confusion.

Truthfully, Lenoa found his reaction deeply satisfying. At the same time, however, she was disgusted by him.

How shameless of him to search for Laila only now.

“She left four days ago. At His Highness Crown Prince Theodor’s command, she departed with Sir Nathan.”

“…!!”

‘Nathan? Who is that?’

Fire flared in Carlo’s eyes. Nathan might merely be one of Theodor’s shadow knights, but Carlo’s sharpened instincts sent a crimson warning through him.

This was not a man he could dismiss so easily.

‘Laila returned with another man.’

He had assumed that she would simply be waiting for him. In fact, he had believed it without question.

His face twisted in a pitiful manner and his hands trembled with rage. Lenoa slowly took in the sight of Carlo crumbling before her, and then she spoke.

“Surely you did not believe Laila would still be waiting for you?”

The unspoken words at the end of Lenoa’s question were unmistakable: How shameless could you possibly be?

“…Your Highness.”

Of course he had believed it. Laila may have turned away in disappointment, but he was sure that she would forgive him in the end and still love him.

She had always done so before, and he expected her to do so again.

However, the reality unfolding before him revealed an entirely different life — one without Laila, filled with loneliness after she left him.

“Lord Carlo, why did you do it?”

For the first time, sorrow entered Lenoa’s previously fierce gaze. Even so, her anger had not subsided.

“What do you mean?”

“Why did you conceal Laila’s past and even send her to war? And why did you promise to marry Lady Roselina?”

Carlo flinched briefly before snapping back at her.

“Why did I do it? If you heard everything from His Highness Crown Prince Theodor, then surely you already know.”

“No. You could have obtained the evidence and captured Crook Zegner without choosing to marry Lady Roselina.”

“Perhaps. But it would have taken far longer.”

As Lenoa said, Carlo could have used another method to seize the evidence. But after hearing that his mother might still be alive, he had been unable to wait.

It was a desperation no one else could possibly understand.

“Because of that choice, I obtained the information necessary for my revenge. At last, I can finally carry it out.”

“And are you satisfied? Are you happy after betraying the woman you love, wounding her, and ultimately driving her away?!”

“….”

He was not happy. The pain and rage he felt were enough to drive him mad.

However, if Laila stayed by his side, this would all end and he could be with her. Then he was certain he could be happy.

More importantly, Laila could never leave him. That was an immutable truth.

“Laila can never leave me.”

Lenoa knew nothing. No one could understand the bond between Laila and him.

‘We are destined for each other. We have to be together.’

Carlo deliberately erased his own sins from his mind and remembered only how deeply Laila had loved him.

Like reciting an incantation, he repeated that Laila would return—that in the end, she would forgive him.

“Carlo, you concealed a princess of the Adelina Empire. It will be difficult for you to escape punishment for that crime.”

“I had no choice but to hide her!”

“You should at least have told His Highness Crown Prince Theodor.”

‘What do you know? What could you possibly know about Laila’s suffering?!’

Carlo glared at Lenoa, his eyes blazing with rage. He was irritated and angered by her words, even though she knew nothing about what had happened.

He knew he had no right to be angry, but he simply could not bear it. The fact that Laila was not there, that she had left him, was unbearably painful.

“Laila was beaten and treated with utter contempt for years — by Empress Scarlet, by the nobles and even by the maids.”

“….”

As Carlo continued recounting Laila’s miserable past, Lenoa could only fall silent.

“A princess of the Adelina Empire? She barely survived while being treated that way, yet you still call her a princess?”

The wounds and signs of *buse that had once covered the young Laila’s body remained vivid in Carlo’s mind. Was he supposed to stand by and watch her walk back into that hell as a princess?

‘I have to hurry after her and stop her.’

The unease rising from the tips of his toes swallowed Carlo’s heart whole.

Only one thought remained in his mind: he had to reach Laila as quickly as possible.