Chapter 22: An Unexpected Guest

“Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

“Please let us know if you’re uncomfortable.”

‘More than anything, I wish they’d just be quiet.’

How many tens of minutes had they been talking now?

Clea glanced at the maids who were noisily whispering in front of her.

No matter how many times she said she was fine, their barrage of questions didn’t end.

Clea was bewildered as this was a situation she hadn’t expected at all.

‘Seems they don’t dislike me.’

Honestly, this had been her biggest concern.

While Edmund seemed unbothered by her, others’ gazes were different.

Some, like Oberon, burned with hostility just from meeting her eyes, while others like Steve mocked her.

Edmund’s type should be considered a very special case from the start. That’s why she had felt uncomfortable when he said he would assign people to her.

She didn’t want to receive such looks here either.

Rather than being worried, dealing with such gazes just seemed bothersome.

But the situation unfolding before her eyes was exactly opposite to what she had expected.

“You don’t look well.”

“That’s right. Should we raise the room temperature…”

“Stop it. Stop, you’re giving me a headache.”

She felt extremely tired from the barrage of questions from the people before her.

She realized that excessive care was just as annoying as hostile gazes.

At the same time, Clea was suspicious.

Were they really Edmund’s people?

Or were they people assigned by Edmund to torment her?

While harboring various suspicions, Clea soon rubbed her face dry.

“I’m not sick. So don’t worry about me.”

“Oberon told us. That you might say you’re not sick while suffering silently inside.”

‘Ah, why has that person changed so much?’

Among those who had changed recently, Oberon gave her the strongest sense of dissonance.

Since that day, when he saw  her cough up blood, his attitude had noticeably become more careful.

Even his gaze that had been watching for any chance to drive her out had completely disappeared.

‘I’ll have to warn him later.’

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before Edmund accurately knew about her condition. She gave a bitter smile.

‘I wonder if I’m like this because it’s been so long since I received any concern.’

Clea sighed and imagined what Edmund might be doing right now.

Seeing how he had assigned others to her, it seemed he had gone somewhere.

But Clea found it difficult to guess where he might have gone.

‘Surely he wouldn’t recklessly go to the Grand Duke’s residence because of me.’

Thinking there was no way he would do that, she held back her laughter and lay back down on the bed.

She thought if she just rested quietly like this, her condition would naturally improve.

But there was an aspect of Edmund that Clea didn’t know.

That was that he absolutely wouldn’t let anyone who touched his people go unpunished.

Above all else, what she failed to realize was that she had become his most precious person.

“Miss, you shouldn’t lie down right after eating.”

“That’s right. You’ll get esophagitis that way.”

“Please just leave me alone.”

“We can’t do that, Miss.”

But what bothered her most right now were the maids Edmund had left her with.

* * *

Lloyd returned to the Persi mansion only around sunset after wandering since leaving the imperial palace.

Though Aria had asked him several times to talk together, he refused. At least now, Lloyd wasn’t in the mood to talk with her.

‘What should I do?’

He bit his nails.

Currently, his mind was filled with thoughts of Clea.

Since when had she been so ill?

Suddenly curious if she had any chronic illness, Lloyd made plans to visit the Odoi family early tomorrow morning.

At least those two were family, so they should know well about her.

‘I need to get Clea out of there.’

At the same time, he worried about how to get Clea out of the Crown Prince’s palace.

It greatly bothered Lloyd that she continued staying at the Crown Prince’s palace.

If she were staying at the Odoi family mansion instead, he could at least visit anytime to ask for her forgiveness.

But currently, Clea was staying at the imperial palace, specifically in the residence of Edmund who held the second highest power in the empire after the Emperor.

Not only could he not enter freely despite being a close friend, but it was even more difficult to visit given their current relationship.

‘Did I really do something so wrong?’

Lloyd reflected on his situation.

Though he had neglected her, he didn’t realize he had done something so wrong that she would say she never wanted to see him again.

Though he tried to excuse it by saying there was no one around to teach him that,

In reality, he hadn’t even tried to understand the pain she must have gone through.

Though it was clearly a situation where he couldn’t even make excuses, he blamed others.

‘Edmund, if only you hadn’t touched Clea in the first place.’

Lloyd and Edmund had been close since childhood.

A relationship their parents had tried to forge somehow.

The two were meant to be the man who would become Emperor and the man who would lead the Grand Duchy by his side.

The adults thought it would be good if the two became close from childhood. The children who understood the adults’ intentions formed a better relationship than others.

Though they weren’t as close as brothers, they respected each other, prioritized each other, and promised never to betray each other.

Lloyd felt greatly betrayed that Edmund, who had been like that, would do such a thing with his fiancée.

How should this situation be handled?

Lloyd entered the mansion while holding his aching head.

“You’re finally back.”

“Why are you here?”

However, Lloyd’s day wasn’t over yet.

Lloyd frowned and asked upon finding Edmund in the reception room.

Edmund looked down at Lloyd and raised the corner of his mouth.

Unable to contain his anger at that sight, he reached out to grab Edmund’s collar.

“What kind of way is that to speak to His Highness, Lloyd.”

“I’m sorry, Mother.”

But Lloyd had to stop what he was doing when the Grand Duchess appeared behind Edmund.

Edmund clicked his tongue in disappointment.

Because he had already predicted what Lloyd might have done if the Grand Duchess hadn’t appeared here.

Lloyd glared at him while somehow suppressing the anger boiling inside.

“You’re only returning now?”

“I just went out for some fresh air.”

“Hah, not fresh air, you were probably just playing around.”

“Father!”

At the sound of the Grand Duke’s voice that followed, Lloyd turned to look at his father.

The Grand Duke didn’t hide his expression of disappointment at Lloyd who was only returning now.

Though they were the same age, they were so different. While Edmund could be fully trusted to run the empire, his son still hadn’t come to his senses and kept wandering outside.

Lloyd couldn’t hide his anger, seeing his parents seeming to care more for Edmund than himself.

Edmund watched Lloyd and suggested while laughing inside.

“Since we’ve met, why don’t we talk for a while?”

Suggesting they spend some time talking together.

However, Lloyd didn’t answer immediately. No, he couldn’t answer.

For him, there were more than a few uncomfortable things with Edmund right now.

Considering he had visited his palace today, Lloyd wanted to avoid this situation as much as possible.

So Lloyd tried to express his refusal, but couldn’t.

“How could we refuse when Your Highness has suggested it first?”

Pleased with Edmund’s suggestion, the Grand Ducal couple answered first without asking Lloyd’s opinion.

At that moment, Lloyd’s mind became complicated.

“I’ll have tea prepared again, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, Grand Duke Persi.”

“It is our honor that you have personally visited the Grand Duke’s family.”

Lloyd tried to look toward his parents, but the two were smiling brightly while thinking about having time together with Edmund.

Edmund approached Lloyd and whispered,

“Why don’t you brighten up your expression? Someone might think I’m going to eat you.”

“You, you–!”

Lloyd glared at Edmund with fierce eyes.

It seemed laughable how his glare contained hostility.

‘I think I understand why Clea stopped being afraid of him at some point.’

At some point, she stopped being afraid in her relationship with Lloyd.

Though he had seen her trembling in fear as if she would be expelled from the Odoi family if she broke off the engagement with Lloyd.

He wondered why she had changed so completely, but today he felt like he understood.

“The seats are ready, please sit.”

“Lloyd, you sit beside him too.”

The Grand Ducal couple waited for Edmund and Lloyd to take their seats.

While Edmund’s expression was calm, Lloyd fidgeted uneasily.

The Grand Ducal couple paid more attention to Edmund than their pathetic son.

Edmund, now seated, brought up a topic while savoring his tea.

“By the way, there’s an interesting rumor spreading in the capital lately.”

“Oh, if it’s caught Your Highness’s interest, I too am curious what kind of rumor it is.”

Lloyd’s expression hardened at Edmund’s words.

He thought surely he wouldn’t mention his scandal to his face.

That would be the same as cutting ties with the Grand Duke’s family.

However, contrary to Lloyd’s thoughts, Edmund showed no hesitation in bringing up the topic.

“The rumor that Clea Odoi has been expelled from the Odoi family.”

Everyone present except Edmund’s expression hardened.