Ricardo rode on horseback with his teeth clenched.
He arrived at the imperial palace and found Bianca at once. But the atmosphere was cold. At the center was the situation he had once hoped for.
...Idette and Bianca.
“Hmph, to be honest, there’s no reason for Lady Bianca to copy that dress. Lady Idette is the one receiving His Highness’s favor, isn’t she?”
“No, that lady is more vicious than she looks. She even forced the engagement with the Duke this time by persuading the Marquis.”
The whispers that Bianca had been hearing all this time reached his ears.
All of this was his own doing.
Hoping for a broken engagement.
But paradoxically, because he didn’t break the engagement, everything had gotten tangled.
If he had said just one word of denial, everything could’ve ended. If only he hadn’t sparked needless rumors with Idette in the first place, none of this would’ve happened.
“Don’t apologize. You told me before that you wouldn’t apologize to me, didn’t you?”
“Wait, could you give me just a moment, just a brief moment?”
He had to apologize. For all of this.
The woman who had always remained indifferent now had eyes full of hatred.
Why did I think this woman would wait for me?
Why on earth?
“Goodness, the Duke has a hard time because he met the wrong fiancée.”
“She’s the one suffering.”
“...Pardon?”
“Can’t you see it now? I’m desperately clinging in a disgraceful way.”
Ricardo wiped his face with his hand and approached Erkishian.
“It’s been a while.”
His gaze briefly flicked to Idette. She clutched the hem of her dress with a pale hand.
“You went too far just now.”
“...Harsh. Fine, I’ll apologize to the lord.”
“Seems you don’t know that there’s someone else who deserves the apology.”
Erkishian tilted his head.
“I think I just did what was right.”
“You, who already has so much, are referring to taking a young lady hostage?”
As the conversation continued, Erkishian’s expression slowly darkened.
“There are many eyes watching.”
“That’s exactly why I’m acting like this.”
Ricardo tilted his head crookedly.
“If you act like this, it won’t benefit you either. It’ll only stir up more scandal.”
Now what.
Could the situation get any worse than this?
It was already the worst.
Ricardo let out a dry laugh and turned his gaze to Idette.
“It seems like a dress made by the imperial household, do you really think an ordinary noblewoman could steal a design from the palace?”
“My lord!”
“If it were me, I’d think the opposite.”
At his words, the atmosphere in the hall grew restless. As he listened to the murmuring voices, Ricardo clenched his fist.
‘So she’s been hearing this kind of talk all this time.’
“W-why would you do something like this...”
Idette’s face turned red with shame.
“What I said about Lady Bianca, I really...”
At that moment, tears welled up in her eyes.
Ricardo grimaced and turned his head. At some point, Harnen, who had been watching him, had a stiff expression on his face.
...Could he end everything perfectly?
Originally, he had wished for death, so he hadn’t cared about what came after. He only needed to take revenge on Harnen and follow him into the afterlife.
But now, many things have changed.
He wanted to end it all as planned. Harnen would die a peaceful death, one that no one would suspect—just like his mother had.
And he would fall into hell afterward.
He wanted to live just a little longer.
At least, until he had apologized to that woman.
At that moment—
Bang, bang!
The ballroom shook for an instant. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling swayed dangerously.
“Your Highness, there’s been a bomb explosion at the main palace!”
Before the knight’s words even finished, the ballroom descended into chaos.
Everyone scrambled to escape the hall. But Ricardo’s gaze wandered in the air.
...Bianca?
He recalled the time he couldn’t save her at the lake.
The memory of that day, when he did nothing without even realizing she was in danger, slowly began to devour his mind.
Just as his vision turned white, Cedric’s voice rang out.
“It’s a relief that we sent Bianca ahead.”
...She left earlier?
“Your Highness, you need to see this.”
A knight approached Erkishian and, with trembling hands, handed him an arrow.
It had a unique shape, with a bent arrowhead.
The Kingdom of Orphen.
The distinctive arrow used only there proved that the accursed magical war had not yet ended.
When Ricardo confirmed the evidence in his hand, Idette’s eyes widened in shock.
“Idette, you must go to a safe place at once...!”
The kingdom wanted the power of Drimokan.
More precisely, they planned to break the seal of Eileens that slept within Drimokan.
If things progressed that way, another war would erupt.
Eileens would bring about the downfall of Carpea alongside Orphen.
“My lord!”
At that moment, Idette grabbed Ricardo.
“I should’ve told you before, about Lord Seiren.”
She whispered into his ear, careful that Erkishian wouldn’t hear.
“He’s in the empire. I’m certain of that, at least.”
“That’s...”
Why was she saying this only now, so frustrating.
Idette wore an awkward expression. Erkishian took her by the hand and left the place.
Ricardo drew his sword.
“The 1st Knights will apprehend the intruders in the main palace!”
“Then we should head to the outer fortress, right?”
At that moment, Leon approached, rubbing his shoulder.
“Am I supposed to take that as an answer?”
“Why take it so harshly? I’m saying communication is important.”
There wasn’t a single thing he liked about the guy. Still, thanks to him, Bianca hadn’t had to enter alone today.
...Even though he was irritating.
“Best of luck.”
With that, Leon began to mobilize the knights. Watching him, Ricardo also headed for the main palace.
* * *
“What the hell do you think their goal is?”
Elliot scratched his forehead. The intruders at the main palace had taken down the guards and only left bombs before disappearing.
“...Could they have gone to Drimokan?”
“They wouldn’t have gone to Drimokan already.”
Today’s target must’ve been Idette.
“That makes sense. Their numbers seemed small too.”
Ricardo furrowed his brow.
...Seiren is in the empire.
Most likely, the enemy was moving with him at the center.
“Ack, looks like I’m working overtime this month.”
Ricardo ignored his comment and exited the main palace.
There had to be traces left behind. With that thought, he moved his steps—until he saw something.
“......”
It was a carriage from the House of Roygin.
In that moment, his blood ran cold.
Cedric had headed to the outer fortress with his adjutant earlier.
Which meant this carriage was...
Please, Bianca.
He didn’t even think to hide his trembling hands as he frantically searched his mind.
Even as he repeated to himself that nothing would happen, the image of her wearing the same dress as Idette surfaced in his mind.
There weren’t many places near the imperial palace that she would go. But even that wasn’t certain.
Because, damn it, he didn’t know much about Bianca at all.
‘...Come to think of it, the priest had visited the House of Roygin, didn’t he?’
It was rare for a priest to visit a noble family. Even during a divine trial, it was the family who visited the priest.
There was one thing that bothered him.
‘Bianca had entered Drimokan.’
It wasn’t unusual for the Marquis Cedric to have gone in. Therefore, if the priest had taken action, Bianca was the more likely reason.
‘If it’s that woman, she might’ve gotten curious and gone into Drimokan.’
Tonight happened to be a full moon.
With his destination decided, Ricardo immediately spurred his horse.
This time, he only hoped he wouldn’t be too late.
He wanted to be by her side.
No matter how hard he tried to erase it, the overwhelming desire kept growing.
No matter how much he denied it, he could no longer turn away.
If he could remember where it all began, perhaps he could deny it—but he didn’t even know that.
At some point, when he came to his senses, all he saw was himself looking at her.
At this point, he couldn’t help but admit it.
I love you.
For the first time, he gave the strange name of love to this feeling, but he still didn’t know what to do with it.
He just hoped that the love he showed her would not come with mistakes.
That was why he hesitated.
Why he said nothing, only hoping she would wait.
He was still stuck in the past, afraid he’d become like Harnen.
If he could bring an end to everything, then maybe he could free himself from him.