Chapter 6
"Sir Betrice."
At the faint sound of the Crown Prince's secretary's voice, Adonis, the Crown Prince's personal guard, lost his composure for the first time.
"Yes."
"Please step inside for a moment."
The weary Lerevian looked as though his insomnia had returned.
For the past month, he had appeared quite well, but for someone as sensitive as Lerevian to look that way, there could be only one reason.
Lady April, the Crown Prince's fiancée, had returned.
"Yes."
Although ordered to enter the office, Adonis Betrice was reluctant to do so.
He often had to endure critical glances simply because a woman frequented the office.
"You called for me?"
It wasn’t Lerevian who had called him into the office for a conversation.
Adonis looked directly at Perfona, who was seated opposite him.
Serving under Perfona, Adonis had come to realize that the phrase "acts as he appears" wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Perfona's kind and gentle nature matched his warm appearance perfectly.
In the two years he had served under the Crown Prince, Adonis had never once seen him lose his temper.
"What is it?"
"I've grown bored from working all the time."
Perfona, who had been fiddling with an envelope with his eyes downcast, looked up and smiled lightly.
"I thought we could chat to pass the time."
Lerevian's fatigue might not be due to insomnia, but perhaps because of Perfona himself?
That thought prompted an unexpected question.
"Have you seen Sir Barak today?"
"No, I haven’t."
"Really? I heard rumors that he was seen in the capital. People are saying he seems unusually tense."
"Unusually tense...?"
Perfona nodded at Adonis’s puzzled tilt of his head.
"Your Highness, Barak Hill Rize has always been that way."
Perfona, who had been about to speak further, stopped himself and firmly closed his mouth.
"True."
There was no point in arguing otherwise.
After all, Adonis had known him since childhood and had heard plenty about him.
"I'm curious as to why the Lady hasn’t returned to work, despite having come back."
"......"
"Since you two are academy classmates, I thought you might know something."
Given that they were once known as the academy’s prodigies, it was likely they had crossed paths.
"I'm surprised by your curiosity. What could you possibly be so curious about?"
Adonis agreed with Lerevian’s sentiment but also had another thought.
Could Barak's temperament really be described as "nasty"? If there were stronger words to describe it, Adonis would gladly use them.
"But it is strange, isn’t it? The Lady has returned, yet Sir Lian seems subdued, and Sir Barak still hasn’t returned to the palace."
Perfona's expression was one of deep agreement.
"The news of the Lady’s return must have reached Demian’s ears by now, right?"
"Most likely."
The intelligence network of the Northern Grand Duke’s family was not to be underestimated, and April Hill Rize had been in the capital for two days already.
"I wonder how our cousin will react."
"Cousin?"
Lerevian made no attempt to hide his displeasure.
"Yes, cousin."
Looking at Perfona’s innocent golden eyes blink in feigned ignorance was enough to drive Lerevian mad.
Sure, Demian was technically the son of the Prince’s aunt and uncle, making him a cousin in name, but there was not a drop of shared blood between them!
Fortunately, as an adopted child of the Grand Duke’s family, Demian had a weaker standing among the nobility.
If Perfona showed even the slightest resemblance to the Emperor, the nobles would all rally behind the Grand Duke.
If the Emperor were of sound mind, such needless worries wouldn’t exist.
Lerevian stifled a sigh that threatened to escape.
"Will you extend an invitation?"
Adonis's green eyes widened slightly at the sudden mention of an invitation.
It was only then that he noticed the sealed letter in Perfona’s hand.
A letter bearing the seal of the Duke's family.
"Of course, I must."
Perfona’s lips curved into a faint smile.
"There are things that need to be said."
Things that need to be said?
Lerevian caught the hint and gave Adonis a look to leave.
After Adonis quietly exited the office, Lerevian asked cautiously.
"Will you accept it?"
"What choice do I have?"
The gentle gaze that had been directed at Adonis returned to the letter in Perfona’s hand.
"Even if she doesn't want to, she must accept."
The words were soft but delivered with a cold finality.
The firm yet tender response made Lerevian exhale a worried breath.
Perfona, still writing, let out a short laugh at his concern.
"You seem troubled."
"Indeed. The Lady will not accept it easily."
"......"
"You’re well aware of how overprotective the Duke’s family is."
It was common knowledge that the Duke and Duchess’s excessive coddling of their daughter was a daily topic of gossip.
It was one thing for a parent to dote on their child, but the Duke's family took it to an extreme. Especially near the Duchess’s passing, the Lady was treated as if she were an irreplaceable treasure.
Older nobles often whispered that such behavior was the surest way to ruin a child.
"Regardless, what can be done? She’s not interested in marriage."
Lerevian couldn’t help but click his tongue at Perfona’s indifferent attitude.
Though he didn’t like the Lady, it was hard to ignore the loss.
No one could be as supportive of Perfona as the Duke’s family.
If they took Perfona as their son-in-law, they would ensure he ascended to the throne. No matter how much the Emperor’s favored mistress, Rogiane, tried to interfere, she would be helpless against the Duke's power.
Lerevian, having given up on persuading Perfona, wore a forlorn expression.
The royal family might see Perfona Dinea Daus as soft and gentle, but Lerevian knew better. Strength and resilience were more fitting descriptions for him.
In a family where no one was considered sane, Perfona was the only one who retained his sanity.
"You used to get along well with the Lady."
"We did, once."
"Why have you distanced yourself now?"
Perfona’s hand stopped abruptly at the question.
When he looked at Adonis or Lerevian, there was always a gentle smile, but now there was no trace of it.
Why had he distanced himself from the Lady...?
Would anyone believe the answer? He glanced at the invitation from the Lady.
"Is that something you really want to know, Sir Lerevian?"
"Pardon?"
"I didn't realize you were so curious about me, Sir Lerevian."
Perfona’s playful smile made Lerevian shake his head in resignation.
He knew this was Perfona’s way of evading uncomfortable questions.
It was also how he had survived in a royal family full of madness.
"It’s not important."
"Good. Then I hope you remain uninterested."
Lerevian inwardly grimaced at the Crown Prince’s curt response.
Despite serving as Perfona’s right hand and closest confidant for years, he couldn’t help but feel a little hurt by Perfona’s refusal to open up.
"If you have nothing else to do, would you mind drafting the invitation?"
"An invitation to the Duke’s family?"
"Yes, inviting them for tea two days from now."
"...Understood."
With a slight bow, Lerevian quietly exited the office.
It was only after the door closed with a decisive thud that Perfona looked away from the pile of work before him.
Leaning back in his chair, he stared at the antique chandelier on the ceiling, then slowly closed his eyes.
"But why have you distanced yourself now?"
The reason was simple.
"...Because she doesn’t seem like the April I once knew."
The air surrounding April Hill Rize felt different, as if she were someone else entirely.
"As if she’s a completely different person."
With a self-deprecating laugh, Perfona straightened up and looked again at the Duke’s invitation.
―To my dear fiancé, Sir Perfona.
The letter, which began with wishes to be reunited with the Empire’s sun, could be summarized in one sentence: "I’m back, so why haven’t you contacted me?"
It was a simple thought, but one that couldn’t be voiced in the royal family.
Not even to Lerevian, who had been his closest aide for years.
"They’d think I’m crazy."
Perfona buried his face in his hands to hide his exhaustion.
If he were to voice such thoughts, the nobility would start gossiping that the royal family was filled with nothing but lunatics.
"He’s the Emperor’s son, so it’s no surprise the Crown Prince is losing his mind too."
"It’s a miracle he’s held onto his sanity for this long."
The thought of the nobility gossiping and the Emperor’s mistress smiling in satisfaction at the rumors made Perfona’s insides twist.
Perfona's lips curled into a crooked smile.
"So, of course, I can’t say anything."
Perfona didn’t trust anyone in the royal family.
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