Inside a spacious and luxurious room decorated in gold. The Crown Prince was sitting on a chair. It was dawn and the outside was colored with a twilight light. It was still time for everyone to sleep. But the light in his room was still on. The Crown Prince turned over the documents with a tired face. At that moment, an attendant entered the room. The Crown Prince asked indifferently, without even looking at him.

“Did you get the job done?”

“Yes.”

“Make sure to clean up the mess.”

“Yes. of course.”

Even after finishing the report, the servant did not leave the room and hesitated. The Crown Prince’s gaze became sharp.

“If you have something to say, say it. Don’t stand there to bother me.”

The prince said in a harsh voice. Recently, the Crown Prince was sensitive and people were careful not to offend him. The servant looked at him and opened his mouth carefully.

“Is that really what Lady Dana did?”

It wasn’t a day or two that Claire went to the Imperial Palace. As a result, most of the courtiers in the Imperial Palace knew her face. Regardless of gender, many of them were fond of Claire, who was sweet and pretty.

However, he couldn’t believe the gentle looking lady was accused of framing the Princess and was imprisoned.

The servant could not hide his curiosity.

“Why are you curious about that?”

The Crown Prince put down the papers he was holding in his hand with a displeased face. The servant, who met his eyes, quickly bowed his head when he seemed annoyed.

“I’m sorry. I said useless things…”

“If you know, then leave.”

“Yes.”

After the servant left, the Crown Prince was left alone in a large room.

He picked up the paperwork again and looked at it for a while. But when he started working again, he couldn’t concentrate.

It was because his mind was confused. He finally put down the papers and leaned back on his chair. There was a sharp pain in his shoulder and back. After the recent return of the second Prince, it had been like this. He didn’t even have time to sleep properly because he had to deal with the pile of work every day. Due to the tight schedule, he couldn’t go anywhere. He frowned and rubbed his right shoulder with his left hand.

“ha….”

He let out a heavy sigh. Then, someone’s voice came from outside the room.

“Your Highness, I heard you called. May I come in?”

“Come in.”

When permission was granted, a man entered the room. He was Baron Cheston, a secretary close to the Crown Prince.

“Did you find anything?”

“I haven’t found it yet. But I think we will find it soon.”

“Not yet?”

At the boss’s rebuke, Baron Cheston bowed his head with an expressionless face. A look of annoyance crossed the Crown Prince’s face.

“The date of the banquet is not far away. Have you forgotten?”

“I’m sorry.”

“No matter what you do, be sure to get it. It doesn’t matter how much it costs.”

“Yes. All right. By the way…Your Highness.”

“What?”

Baron Cheston hesitated and asked.

“Are you going to leave Lady Dana as she is?”

It was already the second time he heard this question.

The Crown Prince frowned.

“This incident also reached the ears of the emperor. It’s not that I don’t want to help, it’s that I can’t.”

He clenched his teeth, remembering the day’s events. The emperor was not stupid.

Hearing the report, he knew the full story of this incident, and called the Crown Prince to warn him quietly. In such a situation, the Crown Prince could not use his power to get Claire out.

All he could do was take care of things so that things wouldn’t get bigger.

“Claire passed this time. I’ve been so generous all this time. I definitely gave a warning. If the warning doesn’t work, it wouldn’t be bad to experience it once to realize it.”

The imperial prison was a difficult place for a fragile noble girl to endure.

Lady Dana was imprisoned in such a place, but the Crown Prince seemed too calm. The calm appearance of the Crown Prince made him wonder if he was the same person he had known so far.

It wasn’t just his attitude towards Lady Dana that had changed. Under his gentle face, his eyes were becoming more and more cold and ruthless.

As a result, the royals working in the Imperial Palace were very uncomfortable these days. Not long ago, a palace servant made a small mistake in front of the Crown Prince. The servant was severely punished and kicked out.

After that, the courtiers of the Imperial Palace killed their footsteps, lest they offend the Crown Prince’s moods.

Baron Cheston could understand some of the Crown Prince’s feelings.

While suffering from heavy workload, the forces of the second Prince continued to cause problems. If these days continued, it was natural for people to become sharp and sensitive.

”Yes. I’ll find the item you said as soon as possible and bring it to you. It probably won’t take too long.”

“That’s how it should be. Then leave.”

After Baron Cheston left, the Crown Prince was left alone.

“Ha, I’m really going to die like this.”

He looked outside and the sun had already risen. The prince rubbed his eyes with a tired face.

He picked up the papers again. After a while, I looked at the clock and saw that it had passed 2 am.

It looked like it was going to rain because it was covered in dark clouds. Then he opened a drawer, took out a bottle, and put 2 pills in his mouth. It was prescribed by the royal doctor and it had medicinal effects to recover from fatigue and replenish energy. As he tried to close the drawer again, he noticed something and stopped.

“This…”

The Crown Prince took something out of the drawer and looked at it. The identity of the object was none other than a handkerchief.

An eagle was embroidered in the center of the handkerchief, and roses were embroidered on the edges. It wasn’t as sophisticated and excellent as the embroidery of the imperial bedroom maids, but it wasn’t bad.

The eagle symbolized the imperial family, and the flower language of the rose was love.

The night he first met Claire, the garden viewed from the terrace was full of red roses.

So, the embroidery on the handkerchief had meaning and was full of sincerity. The handkerchief was a gift from Claire on his birthday last year. Baron Dana was not wealthy, and he was stingy with his daughter. As a result, Claire was not in a position to prepare an expensive gift.

So, she could only prepare a gift with sincerity. At that time, Claire gave him the handkerchief and was very embarrassed and ashamed. But he liked her gift. More than a precious jewel bracelet prepared by his fiancée.

Isn’t it really crazy? A Young Lady brought only a handkerchief as a present for his birthday, the Crown Prince of the Empire. An unknown smile spread across the Crown Prince’s lips as he recalled that day.

The eyes were bitter because they were simply reminiscent of pleasant memories and soaked in sentimentality.

Obviously, that day, Claire had a happy face when she heard his thank you. Her smile that was so pure and clean like a spotless child remained in his memory. However, on the same day, he could not remember what kind of expression Roxana had. The Crown Prince looked down at the handkerchief with a complicated face, then put it down in the original place and closed the drawer.

Then he turned his gaze back to the paperwork. Only the sound of flipping paper filled the silent room.

***

It was cloudy in the morning, and then it rained in the afternoon. It was supposed to cool off the heat.

It was not a hot day today, so Tien poured hot tea. Then, Joan, who had left the room, returned. Contrary to her usual lively appearance, she was quiet now. Somehow she had a blank face and her eyes were blurry. She wasn’t like that until she left the room to bring more snacks earlier, so I couldn’t figure out what had happened in between.

“Lady…”

Joan came up to me.

Her eyes were gloomy and her face looked blank as if she had lost her mind.

“What’s the matter? Did something happen?”

Tien noticed the strangeness and asked with a puzzled face.

Joan looked at her for a moment, then looked back at me.

She seemed hesitant, but then spoke up.

“Viscount Willis has passed away…”

Annie opened her eyes wide, and Tien covered her mouth with her hand.

Joan looked at me worriedly. A few seconds later, understanding her words, I asked with a blank face.

“The nanny is dead?”

Joan nodded her head, confirming.

Tea water overflowed from the teacup I was holding in my hand. Somehow, my hands were shaking.

I put down the teacup to hide the trembling.

Then I took out a handkerchief and wiped my wet hands.

The facial expressions of the maids were not good either. The atmosphere in the room had subsided since morning. The death of an acquaintance seemed very heartbreaking. I felt the same.

“She was found hanged in prison. A suicide note was also found. Life in prison seems to have been quite difficult.”

Joan’s comments made me even more disturbed.

I was an extremely ordinary person who lived an ordinary life. When I heard that someone related to me had died, I couldn’t help but feel nothing. Even if it was something that had already been foreseen, and even if it was self-inflicted. The moment she entered the prison, I guessed I knew she would not be able to get out easily. However, I really didn’t know that the stubborn and arrogant woman would end her life so quickly. Until yesterday, when I thought of her, who framed Annie with a fine appearance, my mind became complicated.

“What about her funeral?”

“She died as a criminal without paying the price for her crime, so she was cremated right away without a funeral.”

“I see….”

I nodded my head reluctantly.

Tien looked at Joan with a puzzled face.

“But how do you know all that? Are there already rumors that the Viscount Willis committed suicide in prison?”

“Come to think of it….”

I too was puzzled and looked at Joan.

Did what happened inside the Imperial Palace spread so quickly? It was difficult to understand unless someone intentionally spread the rumor.

“No.”

Joan shook her head.

Tien asked with a more puzzled face.

“If it wasn’t a rumor, how the hell did you know that?”

“I went down to the first floor a while ago and heard a man from the imperial family talking to the butler. It looks like he came to ask what to do with the cremated remains.”

“Ah…”

Originally, the body of a criminal would have been thrown away after cremation.

Although it ended badly, the relationship between Viscount Willis and Roxana was as deep as it was old. The imperial family who knew about it seemed to have taken care of it. Then, Stephen knocked on the door.

“Lady, this is Stephen. May I come in?”

“Come in.”

When my permission was granted, the door opened and Stephen entered.

After the Duke returned, he, as the butler, became even busier. There must have been a reason why Stephen had come to me directly.

“What’s going on?”

“His Excellency asked you to dine with him this evening if you’re not busy.”