The air around them became chilly in an instant.

The atmosphere seemed unusual, so people stood back and watched without interfering.

The Crown prince strode and stood in front of Payne.

He was ready to seize his collar and throw a punch at any moment.

Suddenly, the memory of the Crown prince swinging his fist at Payne’s face in the garden came to mind, and a corner of my heart felt cold.

“His Majesty is present. Please keep your cool.”

When Payne mentioned the emperor, the Crown prince’s gaze at him became even more ferocious.

“Do you trust your father and dare to show your authority in front of me?”

“I was just telling the truth.”

Payne replied calmly.

Contrary to his impeccably polite attitude and calm expression, his gaze looking down at the Crown prince was cold.

Suddenly, the Crown prince’s gaze grew colder.

He took a step closer and raised the corner of his mouth wickedly.

“You and your mother have the habit of coveting other people’s things.”

“…!”

I frowned at the excessive insult.

There seemed to be a contrast between the Crown prince, who poured out harsh words in excitement, and Payne, who did not get angry and maintained his calm composure even after hearing such insults.

People also felt the same thing, but the gaze at the two people was different.

‘Has he forgotten that it is a public place?’

The Crown prince’s words and actions were rude and disgusting.

His voice was not loud, but I heard him clearly.

If so, there was no way that Payne, who was next to him, wouldn’t have heard either.

I moved my gaze to the side and looked at Payne, and he was unbelievably calm.

“Are you done talking?”

“Before, I thought you just had no pride, but I didn’t realize that you were hiding such a sinister inside. I was fooled. But there will be no next time.”

“I don’t know what Your Highness is talking about.”

Payne said with an expressionless face.

However, no matter how broad-minded and good-natured he was, there was no way he would feel nothing after hearing such an insult.

The Crown prince looked at me and said,

“You don’t know? Then how will you explain your actions just now?”

“If you say my action just now, does it have anything to do with asking the princess here to dance?”

“Should I give you some advice? A man should know his position. I warn you, stay away from Roxana.”

As I was about to open my mouth because I couldn’t listen anymore, Payne beat me to it.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I can’t.”

“What? What did you say now?”

The Crown prince’s eyebrows twitched.

“The princess is not your property. It’s up to her to decide who she gets close to.”

Payne added, looking in my direction.

“Don’t you agree?”

“….”

“In addition, as far as I know, the two of you have broken up. You have nothing to do with the Princess anymore.”

The Crown prince remained silent at the bitter truth.

He glared at Payne without a word.

His gaze, intent on killing him, was extremely menacing, and he clenched his jaws, grinding his teeth.

I looked at the Crown prince indifferently and spoke at last.

“I have nothing more to say to Your Highness. To point out one more thing, I don’t have any relationship with you any longer.”

“How could you say that? The time we spent together won’t disappear just because we broke up.”

“Should I even care about that when I was abandoned by you?”

A murmur rose among those who heard what I said.

The Crown prince looked at me as if in shock.

His dark blue eyes were full of curiosity.

“What? What do you mean? The breakup was not what I wanted. I’m sure you know that.”

“Don’t you remember?”

“What the hell are you talking about…”

The Crown prince stopped talking and suddenly frowned. He bit his slightly parted lips, as if he thought of something.

“You seem to remember now.”

“I didn’t mean it, you should know. You were the person who sent me the breakup letter as if you had been waiting for it, Roxana.”

“I don’t care if Your Highness meant it or not. Besides, I think that’s enough for a long time of being together unhappily, don’t you think?”

The Crown prince questioned me with a puzzled face.

“You demanded the breakup and now blame me?”

“Then, should I have stayed and been unhappy?”

“It was a mistake of the past.”

He said in a timid voice.

Instead of anger, his voice, which diminished towards the end, was thickly tainted with regret.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Disappointment flashed in his eyes.

Just a moment ago, he acted without the slightest awareness of his surroundings. He was not himself today.

He asked with a resigned face.

“Why?”

“Because I know how lousy and disrespectful it is in the eyes of others to forcefully hold on to a long-overdue relationship.”

The Crown prince’s complexion darkened, as if he knew that I was talking about him.

I left him like that and slowly turned around.

***

The Crown prince looked at Roxana, who was moving away, with a blank face.

She wasn’t moving fast, but he had the illusion that he wouldn’t be able to catch her even if he chased after her.

When he came to his senses, she had already disappeared into an invisible place.

He was only focused on Roxana. Everything around him seemed to disappear. Payne was no longer there.

It was evident that he went after Roxana.

The Crown Prince resented it belatedly, but there was nothing he could do.

“Your Highness, I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

“…Marquis Flynn.”

The Crown prince looked at the man in front of him with a tired face.

He approached him casually, as if he hadn’t sensed the uncomfortable atmosphere.

“Your Highness, the Triton Company has achieved great results again this time. Thanks to Your Highness, the lives and quality of the people have greatly improved, and people are moved by Your Highness’ outstanding insight and deep heart.”

After the commotion passed, the banquet hall seemed to have regained peace.

Marquis Flynn chattered happily with a smile on his face.

The Crown prince did not react, but the conversation flowed naturally as the nobles around him agreed to the conversation.

“Recently, I see a lot of foreigners on the streets.”

“It must be because of the Crown Prince’s trade. Thanks to that, there are many things to see and the streets have become richer. Merchants say they like it very much.”

“But there are also downsides. It is said that the streets are congested, doubling the work of the security forces. I can’t even dare to go out without an escort these days.”

Marquis Flynn said with a hearty laugh.

“I’ve been managing the guild for decades, but His Highness has made more achievements in the last year than I’ve done in my entire life. This is why I think geniuses can’t be beaten.”

The Crown prince watched them silently, not participating in the conversation.

None of their words were heard in his ears.

Feeling frustrated and burning inside, he called a passing attendant to stop him and snatched a glass from the tray he was holding.

As the strong liquid went down his throat, it left a burn in its wake. But it did nothing to soothe him.

He turned his head and looked in the direction where the emperor was.

The emperor was conversing with Roxana’s father, the duke, from a distance.

Thanks to that, they didn’t seem to hear the commotion from this side.

However, it was the same that he did not know what they were talking about.

These days, the number of times the emperor’s calls had decreased significantly.

On the other hand, Payne started going in and out of the imperial palace even more brazenly.

Didn’t the emperor even give a treasure trove passed down from generation to generation in the imperial family to him (Payne)?

He (Payne) was undeserving to have received such a precious gift, giving him a concubine’s offspring.

The Crown Prince was not stupid enough to not know what the emperor’s attitude meant.

‘First father, then the duke, and this time even Roxana…’

If he didn’t like Roxana being close to Elvin, he hated her being close to Payne even more.

And when he saw Payne revealing his black heart by asking her to dance earlier, it was hard to resist wanting to jump out in front of her.

A poor woman (Payne’s mother) had stolen the husband from his mother and a father from himself.

And now after the woman died, her son (Payne) threatened his place by taking away his things one by one.

The Crown prince clenched his fists.

His nails pricked painfully in his calloused palms from training in his swordsmanship.

A stream of red blood ran down his palm.

***

I left the banquet hall and crossed the hallway.

Fortunately, the Crown prince did not follow.

Payne called me from behind.

“Princess.”

I slowly looked back.

“I thought we finished talking. Is there anything else?”

“Do you feel uncomfortable and dislike me because I force you into a marriage you don’t want?”

It was pitiful to see Payne watching me cautiously in the dark.

He had an expression of a child seeking the affection of his parents, so unlike his big frame.

Unlike his strong appearance in the banquet hall, he looked very weak now.

I made up my mind and answered.

“I can’t say that I’m happy about it.”

Payne nodded his head with a bitter face.

“I’m sad, but it’s the result of what I did, so I have to accept it. But I still have something to tell you. If the princess is uncomfortable, we can go to a quiet place and talk.”

Contrary to his sorrowful expression and voice, it seemed like a demand that rejection would not be tolerated.

“Why should I?”

“Aren’t you curious about what I am going to tell you?”

Payne’s words seemed to suggest something.

Was there something else I didn’t know about?

Ominousness prevailed.

Eventually we headed to a completely deserted place.

I was relieved only after taking a careful look around and making sure no one was there.

It would be difficult if someone saw us and started spreading rumors.

For example, I cast aside the Crown Prince and seduced his half brother.

It was terrifying to even think about.

It might be an overthinking, but it wasn’t unreasonable considering what had happened so far.

“Princess? What are you thinking about?”

Payne looked at me with a puzzled face.

Realizing that my actions seemed a little suspicious, I cleared my throat in embarrassment.

I asked with a straight face.

“Your Highness said you had something to tell me.”

“Yes.”

Payne nodded his head calmly.

“I want to offer you a deal.”

“A deal?”

“As you saw earlier, the princess should roughly predict what my position in the imperial family will be like. I need you to live.”

I slowly raised my eyebrows.

“That makes sense.”

Payne widened his eyes in surprise.

I looked at his surprised face and continued talking calmly.

“Isn’t Your Highness the 2nd Prince trusted by His Majesty above and loved by the people below? The number of ministers who follow you is not small, and you have the military authority, so who would dare to touch you now?”

“…”

“I don’t know why you continue to put up with the Crown Prince’s actions, but it’s your business so I won’t ask. But why fold?”

I was genuinely curious and asked.

“There are others besides me. Unlike me, there must be plenty of women who would be happy to accept Your Highness’ proposal right now.”

Payne remained silent.

His gaze was complicated, but it was infinitely friendly.

After a few moments, he slowly opened his mouth.

“…I can’t be without you. So please give me a chance.”

I opened my eyes wide.

Payne took one of my hands and slightly lowered his head to make eye contact with me.

“I swear to you that I will not have mistresses for the rest of my life, and I will be faithful to you. I will do my best to fulfill my responsibilities and obligations as your companion, and to do whatever the princess wishes for.”