The Crown Prince looked at the tiara on the cushion without a word.

The jewels embedded in the tiara were shining brightly with the lighting.

After staring at it for a while, he frowned and instructed as if he was displeased.

“Put it out of sight right now.”

A while ago, Baron Cheston visited.

He looked at the tiara and cried out loud and was expelled by the Crown Prince.

The tiara was obviously sent by the Crown Prince as a birthday present for his fiancée, the princess, but it was not known why he had it again.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Knowing that the Crown Prince was in a bad mood, the servant answered meekly and held out his hand toward the tiara.

But before the servant’s hand reached the tiara, the Crown Prince stopped him.

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“Just leave it alone.”

“Ah… yes.”

The servant had a puzzled face as he didn’t understand why the Crown Prince changed his mind.

Obviously, the Crown Prince was displeased with the tiara in the room.

“I want to be alone, so everyone gets out.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The servants in the room politely bowed their heads and left the room.

The Crown Prince, left alone, sat down at the desk with a complicated face.

After reading the report for a while, he stood up as if he could not stand it.

He felt as if there was a heavy stone on his chest, and suddenly even breathing became uncomfortable.

He couldn’t concentrate on anything else.

He slowly walked towards the closet.

The tiara stored over the clear glass caught his eye.

A small crown adorned with platinum, rubies, and pearls was coveted by all.

Needless to say, the value was precious, and even the Crown Prince himself had a hard time finding it.

But the owner said she didn’t want it, so it was like an abandoned thing.

It cost more than two castles to find this small crown.

Even if he wanted to sell it again, who would pay the price of two castles to buy it?

Even if it was re-sold, it would be a huge loss.

“Your Highness. Lady Dana has come to visit.”

A servant’s voice was heard outside the door.

The Crown Prince woke up from his thoughts and looked towards the door.

He approached and opened the door, where the servant and Claire were standing.

“I see you, Crown Prince.”

Claire greeted him with a smile.

Her face was like a flower, and her dark green eyes that seemed to contain greenery were full of vitality, and her pink lips and peach-colored cheeks were supremely lovely.

“Claire, what are you doing here?”

The Crown Prince asked curiously.

Looking at the slightly frown on his forehead, he seemed to be a little displeased because his alone time was interrupted.

“Do you not remember what you said last time? You told me to come because I was given a nice tea as a gift.”

The Crown Prince quietly looked back at his memories.

As he recalled last week’s memory, he couldn’t remember very well, but he seemed to have said something like that.

“I did. I was just about to rest, so I’ll go to the parlor.

I have something to organize before that, so please wait.”

While the Crown Prince went to organize the papers, Claire glanced into the room through the open door.

A small glass doom was placed in the decorative cabinet located in the middle of the room.

And inside it was a gorgeous tiara that was dazzling just looking at it.

“That’s…”

Claire was captivated for a moment by the beautiful object that she couldn’t take her eyes off of.

She didn’t know about the tiara because she wasn’t there when the auction was going on.

Unlike the banquet hall, the number of people allowed in the room where the auction was held was limited, and she, the daughter of a low-ranking nobleman, could not enter.

The large and small jewels embedded in the tiara shone brilliantly.

Now that she looked closely at the tiara, it was not only gorgeous, but also had a dignified appearance.

She had never seen such a beautiful and sophisticated object in her life.

If she could have such a thing, it wouldn’t be a waste of giving away everything she had.

The Crown Prince found Claire belatedly and made a puzzled face.

She was staring at a certain place, as if possessed by something.

Where his gaze reached the place, there was a tiara.

He presented it to Roxana, but she rejected it and now he had it once again.

As he recalled the memories of that day, he felt suffocated as something hot burned in his chest.

The Crown Prince took out a black cloth nearby and covered the glass doom.

After that, he closed the door and stepped out.

“Let’s go.”

Claire looked at the closed door with a puzzled expression on her face.

He didn’t like anyone in his office, so Claire had never been there before.

She felt disappointed as she could no longer watch the tiara.

Couldn’t stand it any longer, Claire asked as they were on their way to the parlor.

“Your Highness. I noticed earlier that there was a tiara in the room……”

When the tiara was mentioned, the Crown Prince’s expression hardened for a moment.

However, it was a fleeting moment that Claire did not notice.

She continued to speak in a voice of admiration.

“I have never seen such a beautiful thing. I heard that next month is the Empress’s birthday. Is it a present for the Empress?”

“No.”

The Crown Prince answered with an expressionless face.

If it was usual, Claire would notice his discomfort and stop asking. However, she couldn’t help it today.

“If not, whose tiara is it?”

At her question, the Crown Prince had a bewildered face.

But he responded coldly, as he had soon found his composure.

“It has no owner.”

Claire had a blank face at the Crown Prince’s blunt answer.

There was only one person who made him look like that.

Princess Lillian.

Besides, it was a woman’s tiara, if it wasn’t for the Empress, then who could it belong to?

When she realized that it was for the Princess, her displeasure soared.

She struggled to keep her forced smile.

“It’s a pity that it’s so beautiful and left unattended without an owner. But which craftsman made that tiara? At first glance, the elaborate and delicate craftsmanship seemed special.”

“Why do you keep asking about it? Claire, you must be very interested in that tiara.”

Claire, whose conscience was stabbed by the Crown Prince’s words, paused for a moment.

She was worried that he might think she was greedy, but seeing that there was no displeasure in his gaze as he looked down at her, she smiled bashfully and crossed her arms.

“It’s amazing. I’ve never seen such a beautiful crown before.”

Claire’s face, looking at him with twinkling eyes, was lovely.

The Crown Prince smiled and stroked her hair.

Yes, this must be a typical woman’s reaction. The Crown Prince thought.

Everyone likes what they don’t have. Roxana, on the other hand…

“I’m sorry, but it’s not yours, so don’t be greedy for what you can’t have. If you need jewelry, tell me. I’ll get you something else.”

“Okay…”

Claire forced a smile.

His words now seemed to draw a line, saying that she and the princess were different.

Why couldn’t she have it?

She couldn’t understand it, but she couldn’t ask the prince about such a thing, so she stopped talking.

She tried her best to pretend to be calm and keep the smile on her face, but that couldn’t hide her stiff face.

***

The two arrived in the parlor and sat down on the soft sofa.

Then the maid brought in pastries topped with fig jam and black tea.

The smell of freshly baked sweet desserts in the room made the atmosphere that had been tense softer.

The maid took a teapot and poured tea into the teacups with lavender paintings and gold frames.

At that time, the empress’s attendant came to visit.

The Crown Prince asked with curiosity.

“What’s going on?”

“Her Majesty has asked to bring the Crown Prince.”

“Why all of a sudden?

The Crown Prince frowned, puzzled.

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t know, Your Highness.”

A tired look appeared on the Crown Prince’s face.

He sighed and said.

“I get it. Let’s go now.”

The Crown Prince got up from his seat and looked towards Claire.

She said it was okay with an understanding smile on her face.

“I’ll see you later.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to put off drinking tea until later.”

“Yes.”

The Crown Prince hesitated as if he felt sorry for leaving her alone.

Claire said in a soft voice.

“It’s okay, so you don’t have to worry about me. Your

Highness go ahead and go. Her Majesty will be waiting for you. If you’re late because of me, Her Majesty will not be pleased.”

A look of regret added to the Crown Prince’s face at her words.

The Crown Prince knew that the Empress hated Claire.

It also made him upset for a long time.

“If I come back soon, let’s have dinner together later.”

“I am looking forward to it. Then I’ll be waiting patiently, so come back quickly.”

Claire said in a charming voice.

The Crown Prince looked at her like that for a moment, then turned and left the room.

****

***

Eventually, the servant summoned the Crown Prince.

The Empress beckoned as she sat down at her table.

Then the maid poured tea and placed it in front of her.

The Empress looked at it, and she gracefully raised the teacup.

The Crown Prince also sat across from her.

After the Empress savored her tea, she raised her head and looked at the Crown Prince.

She then asked with curiosity.

“Your complexion is not looking good today. Is there something going on?”

Today the Crown Prince looked somewhat emaciated.

It was dark under his eyes and his gaze was sunken.

The blue eyes had a dark tinge, and the whites were red.

Seeing that his chin had also become slimmer than before, it seemed that he had lost weight.

The Empress looked at the Crown Prince’s condition with a worried face.

At this, he groaned to himself.

What’s going on?

Let’s see.

The Duke of Lillian abruptly stopped sponsoring when he needed a bill, the auction of the precious tiara that he gave Roxana as a birthday present, and the fact that a large part of his slush fund was exhausted to retrieve it again. There was a case where he was informed of the breakup of the marriage when the wedding was less than a year away.

And that Roxana and Elvin had a suspicious relationship…

However, none of these could be reported to the Empress.

The Crown Prince lowered his head slightly, hiding his expression, and answered with a blunt tone.

“Don’t worry because nothing’s going on. It’s probably just because I didn’t sleep well because I had a lot of work yesterday.”

“Work is good, but you have to take care of yourself. Wasn’t it a precious body to lead the country in the future? I’ll send a doctor to check you out.”

“No, it’s not like that.”

The Empress looked down at the Crown Prince without saying a word for a moment.

Her gaze as she looked at her only child was full of affection.

She then spoke in a worried voice.

“Princess Lillian was sick again this time. She seems to have caught a cold. Did you know?”

“Yes. I heard it too.”

The Crown Prince paused for a moment, then nodded his head with a nonchalant face.

He looked down at the teacup on the table with a complicated expression.

“If nothing special happens, go to Duke Lillian’s residence by the end of today. Does it make sense not to see her even once when she’s your fiancée?”

The Empress put down the teacup she was holding in her hand and said.

At those words, the Crown Prince opened his mouth as if trying to say something, but then stopped.

He nodded his head slowly with a sunken expression.

“Yes, I understand.”