Chapter 54: Why Did You Do It

 Edmund still couldn’t believe what was happening.

 Just a few minutes ago, she had been smiling brightly in neat clothes, but now she was lying quietly with her eyes closed, covered in bright red blood.

 Holding her cold hand felt like holding the hand of a corpse.

 He wondered if she might be dead, but he could hear her steady breathing.

 “It was true.”

 It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in the concept of a curse that she had mentioned.

 But the Clea that Edmund saw seemed only slightly frail, not like she was dying.

 But after what just happened, he realized that everything she said was true.

 The curse definitely existed, and it was eating away at her life.

 “Your Highness, I apologize. I never expected this to happen while I was away.”

 Oberon, who had appeared without notice, bowed his head in apology.

 Thinking about it, the timing was ridiculously convenient.

 Lloyd had appeared during the brief moment when Edmund was giving him instructions.

 He suspected Lloyd might have deliberately chosen a moment when Oberon was absent, but Edmund soon dismissed the thought.

 He knew Lloyd wasn’t that meticulous a person.

 “What happened?”

 “I contacted the grand ducal family to take him away.”

 “Did he go quietly?”

 “He resisted, but it seems the Grand Duke instructed them to use any means necessary, so they bound him and dragged him away.”

 Edmund scoffed at the fact that Lloyd remained in place even after seeing Clea’s condition up close.

 Anyone watching might have mistaken Lloyd for being in love with Clea rather than Aria.

 Edmund’s expression hardened again.

 “Is binding and dragging him away enough? How dare he touch her.”

 Thinking that when she woke up, he should properly hear why she ended up in this state, he looked at Clea.

 “For now, shouldn’t we have someone change her clothes?”

 “Do that.”

 “I’ll also prepare fresh clothes for Your Highness.”

 Her mouth and clothes were completely soiled with blood.

 Edmund’s clothes were also stained with blood from carrying her here, but he didn’t mind.

 “There are more important matters right now.”

 “Your Highness.”

 “Follow me.”

 Thinking there were more important things than changing clothes, he rose from his seat.

 Oberon glanced at Clea once before following him.

 ‘It’s you again, Lloyd Persi.’

 He had no ill feelings toward the grand ducal family.

 Rather, he had only thought they should maintain good relations, but now it was completely different.

 Lloyd Persi, heir to the Persi family.

 He used to be Edmund’s friend, and Edmund had viewed him favorably because of his closeness to Aria, whom he once thought would become the crown princess.

 But now, the more he learned about him, the more dirt was being uncovered.

 ‘You truly are beyond help.’

 * * *

 ‘I wonder if Lloyd has met Clea by now.’

 Aria was delighted.

 She felt somewhat uneasy about not completely severing her relationship with Lloyd.

 But she thought it didn’t matter if she could use him to remove Clea from Edmund’s side.

 She desperately wanted Clea to disappear from Edmund’s side as soon as possible.

 Only then could she take her place beside Edmund.

 ‘You should have behaved like a proper villainess. If you had just stayed quiet like before, I would have at least sent Lloyd straight to your side.’

 Though it had been a roundabout journey, Aria smiled thinking that things were now returning to their original places.

 If Lloyd told her that his relationship with Clea had improved again like before, Aria planned to run straight to Edmund to comfort him.

 While she was imagining erasing all the memories with Clea and making a fresh start with him, someone came to see her.

 “Miss, a guest has arrived.”

 “A guest? I already met everyone this afternoon.”

 Aria’s voice became slightly sharp at the thought of her time being interrupted.

 Not just anyone could meet her even if they came to visit.

 Unless the visitor was of similar or close status to her, they had to make an appointment a week in advance.

 Despite knowing this clearly, the maid was smiling.

 Realizing something was unusual since the maid was smiling despite her irritation, Aria asked.

 “Is it Lloyd who’s come?”

 The only person who would come without making an appointment like this was Lloyd.

 Other duke or marquis families valued propriety and contacted her in advance before visiting.

 Even if it was urgent.

 So she frowned, thinking the visitor was Lloyd.

 But…

 “His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.”

 “E-Edmund?”

 A completely different person from what she expected came from the maid’s lips.

 Unable to believe it, Aria asked the maid again.

 The maid smiled and nodded.

 She immediately stood up, wondering if what she had been imagining was becoming reality.

 “Do I look strange right now? Should I fix myself up again?”

 “You are already beautiful enough, Miss.”

“Really? Ah, but maybe I should fix myself up a little more.”

 After hearing the news, Aria fell into contemplation.

 She wondered whether it would be better to make herself look prettier, or to hurry and see Edmund whom she hadn’t met in a long time.

 The maid helped resolve her dilemma by saying:

 “You’re beautiful enough to make His Highness the Crown Prince fall for you. So why don’t you go to the reception room to meet His Highness right away?”

 “Then that’s what I’ll do. Thank you so much.”

 “You flatter me.”

 Aria thanked the maid with her usual bright smile.

 The maid smiled at Aria’s bright smile, bowed her head, and opened the door for her.

 Aria felt like she could fly as she headed to the reception room through the open door.

 The person she truly wanted to see had come to visit her, when she had expected Lloyd.

 But thinking she shouldn’t appear too excited, she took a deep breath in front of the reception room door.

 ‘Poor Edmund. I’ll comfort you after being abandoned by Clea.’

 She was certain that Clea would have chosen Lloyd over Edmund.

 After all, she loved Lloyd enough to bully Aria and be labeled a villainess.

 She must have been using the naive Edmund to attract Lloyd’s attention from the beginning.

 After thinking about what to say to comfort Edmund, Aria slowly opened the door and entered.

 Imagining him with a devastated face, lost in emptiness.

 “It’s been a while, Lady Hersher.”

 “Edmund……?”

 But when she opened the door and entered, his expression was very bright.

 Facing Edmund who was smiling and welcoming her, Aria momentarily revealed a blank expression.

 In contrast, Edmund felt a bitter taste in his mouth seeing Aria’s expression.

 “I heard you were sick and came to check on you, but perhaps I’ve come somewhere I shouldn’t have?”

 “N-No way! I’m so happy you came, Edmund!”

 “Really? I’m also very glad to see your face after so long.”

 Hearing Edmund’s words, Aria smiled brightly while inwardly feeling confused.

 Lloyd must have gone to the temple and met Clea by now. Yet his expression remained bright.

 “It’s been a while, Sir Oberon. Have you been well?”

 “……Yes, I have.”

 Oberon’s expression was awkward as he still had uncomfortable feelings.

 It wasn’t easy to forget how she had come to the imperial palace uninvited and disrupted the office.

 Moreover, since Oberon had accepted Clea becoming the crown princess, he was very reluctant to meet Aria like this.

 However, Aria wasn’t paying any attention to Oberon’s expression.

 What mattered to her right now was that Edmund had come to see her.

 She chose to sit beside Edmund rather than across from him.

 Edmund’s smile gradually disappeared as he watched her.

 “You look healthier than I expected.”

 “Yes. I wasn’t that sick.”

 Edmund knew very well that she hadn’t been sick at all.

 Others might not have noticed properly because they wanted to gain her favor.

 Clea was so ill that she couldn’t even get out of bed.

 Yet Aria, who according to rumors should have been seriously ill because of Clea, showed no signs of illness on her face.

 Looking at her very healthy appearance, Edmund asked with relief,

 “Lady Hersher, why did you do it?”

 “Edmund?”

 “Why did you send Lloyd to the temple?”

 “Edmund, what are you talking about?”

 Aria tried to evade, but Edmund knew.

 Lloyd had no reason to visit the temple.

 Even if he claimed to have come to reclaim his fiancée for the sake of his honor, it was likely due to someone else’s influence.

 Lloyd never loved Clea in the first place.

 He was the type who valued love over honor, shamelessly following another woman despite having a fiancée.

 It might be a bit frustrating, but Lloyd might even welcome Clea’s disappearance from his side.

 Because of it, Lloyd could now court Aria.

 With Clea gone, the Hersher family was now the only family that matched his status.

 The Grand Duke and his wife would never have sent him out of guilt toward Clea.

 So if he came on his own, there could only be one reason.

 “I’m asking why you did it.”

 It was because Aria had personally asked him to.

 That’s why Lloyd went all the way to the temple and caused that commotion.