A long time ago, before he was the young Duke Blanchett, he was the Emperor’s Knight and the Crown Prince’s sword-master.
There was a time when he was trusted by his master and recognized by his peers.
When the emperor died suddenly, everyone shed tears of blood and pledged to support His Highness the Crown Prince and safely establish him as His Majesty the Emperor.
Ethan proudly belonged to this group.
However, after Blanchett betrayed the Crown Prince, Ethan’s situation became ambiguous.
From the point of view of the Crown Prince faction, he was a traitor. To make matters worse, he was the first of his aides to leave, so young Matteo felt a great sense of betrayal.
But even in the Imperial Faction, Ethan was not welcome. Everyone knew all too well of Ethan Schmidt’s loyalty.
While Blanchett, the Madam and Marianne were happy, Ethan had no choice but to walk a lonely path, not belonging to either side.
Is that the reason? The simple statement, anyone would understand with a little observation, rippled through his heart again and again.
Ethan Schmidt is still a loyalist of the late Emperor.
Perhaps everyone knows that. But Lilian was the first to admit it.
“It was probably because of Mrs. Rachel that the Marquis helped me. Because of the Marquis’ personality, she would have thought that if your sister had insulted me, you would have come forward.”
When one is careless, even good intentions are used.
“She must have thought that the Marquis would make a good impression on me.”
Lilian laughed softly and said that this situation seemed to have turned out the way Rachel wanted it to.
Ethan unconsciously stared at Lily’s profile in the moonlight.
He had always known that the Grand Duchess was a good person.
But now it’s a little…
Now what?
The man who had lived upright all his life was momentarily taken aback by the sudden thought that disturbed his mind.
“By the way…”
Before he could get over his embarrassment, Lily looked at him again and spoke, making him even more embarrassed.
“…yes?”
“May I ask you a question as well?”
“Your Highness? You don’t need to ask permission. I will answer anyway.”
“Marquis Malachite doesn’t really intend to seduce me, so I wonder why he’s pretending to follow me around so eagerly.”
“Those who have been rude are still my blood relatives. Because they’re the same as being held hostage… That’s all. Besides, I went to the place where the Emperor rests because I had never seen it before, so I thought this was an opportunity.”
Even as he spoke, Ethan was embarrassed.
Right now, he was walking ambiguously between his family and the object of his loyalty.
“I see.”
Lilian refrained from sharing her thoughts.
The situation was fine. But just because it was fine, Lilian couldn’t hang out with Ethan.
Lilian and Damian promised to be faithful to each other. And Lilian, like a Turinian, intended to keep that promise.
In any case, Ethan must have known. He won’t be able to live like this forever. One day the Emperor and Rachel will make demands on him that he cannot afford, and then he will have to make a choice.
Right then.
“Ethan Blashiha Schmidt.”
A voice cut in like a shard of glass. It was Prince Matteo, bringing the promised glass of lemonade and a wet towel in one hand.
“If I’m not mistaken, I think I heard you trying to seduce Her Highness.”
Ethan froze at the voice.
“Your Highness, that’s…”
If he tried to make an excuse, he couldn’t say anything because it was true to a certain extent.
What could he explain? He was ordered to seduce Her Highness, but he only pretended to listen and obey?
Who would believe such a ridiculous excuse? Besides, the opponent was Prince Matteo.
“Go away. At this rate, it seems that I will be humiliatingly listed in the gossip by beating the Marquis once.”
“I am sorry. Please excuse me.”
Ethan bowed and hurried out of the garden. As he disappeared, Matteo sighed with a nervous expression she had never seen before.
He had a sharp expression that would hurt a weak-minded person just by looking at it, but it seemed somehow complicated.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Nothing special happened.”
“I know. Have some lemonade first.”
Lilian took a sip of the foggy beverage. Her dizziness subsided, her head cleared a little more.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“I came as a partner, so of course I have to.”
“Of course, since I’m being taken care of, I’m also grateful.”
Matteo laughed a little. He sat down next to Lilian with his elbows on his lap and his hands clasped together.
The prince, who had been looking meaninglessly at the flowers in the garden for a while, opened his mouth.
“I know Ethan Schmidt didn’t really betray us.”
“You knew.”
“Because I’m 15. I just see things I didn’t see when I was eight.”
The betrayal of Ethan, whom he trusted and followed as a teacher, was hard to accept for eight-year-old Matteo, who had lost his father and fled the palace.
But…
“I am not 8 years old and the misunderstanding has already been cleared up. What I’m still angry about is that the other side didn’t even explain.”
“Aha.”
“Think about it. Even though I was 8 years old, I am still the prince.”
Matteo shook his head nervously.
“I admit that I was an immature child. But even if I didn’t have the ability to realize it on my own, I had the understanding to put it into context when he explained it in a comprehensible way!”
Matteo gasped as he spoke.
“But it’s already been 7 years since he left without any explanation, and I just figured it out on my own. Is that why every time I see this face, the heat isn’t much?”
When he was angry, he chose his words strangely like an old man.
Only after he regained his strength did Matteo feel sorry for him. It had nothing to do with Lilian. But strangely, Lilian looked at him with vague eyes, as if she was recalling her memories.
“Why are you looking at me like that…”
“Hmm, this is a bit off topic, but… Your Highness’ words are reminiscent of the late Great Feudal Lord.”
To be precise, it resembled the tone of an angry Great Feudal Lord.
“Ugh.”
Matteo was stung. Lilian wore a truly nostalgic expression.
“It felt like seeing him, I think.”
It would be better not to say that his tone resembled the Great Feudal Lord Hemenlinna when he’s angry. Matteo sighed and shrugged.
“…anyway, that makes me angry. This attitude of drawing the line by assuming that no one will understand him, I think about it every time I see him, but really…”
He barely swallowed the harsh words that would hurt a person’s temper. Lilian felt a little sorry for him.
“I’m sorry. If you think about it, this situation is my fault.”
“Sorry?”
The reason why Blanchett broke away from the Crown Prince’s faction was the friction between Lilian and Marianne. At this explanation, the prince made a sullen impression.
“Then why is it Your Highness’s fault?”
“Pardon?”
“There is a story I have heard.
No matter how I heard it, Marianne Schmidt was the one who didn’t know. And to betray the great feudal lord who protected her daughter just because she was kicked out of the sorority, that’s what a bastard would do… ah.”
That’s why it’s important to develop character while growing up. Matteo belatedly swallowed his words, but Lilian had already heard them.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. It seems that the great feudal lord has come to life, and that’s good.”
“Please don’t talk like that…”
Even Matteo’s moaning and rubbing of his face was similar to that of the Great Feudal Lord Hemenlinna. Lilian didn’t point it out this time, instead she decided to keep it to herself.
Suddenly, she had this thought.
“Your Highness will truly become an emperor worth serving.”
“You saw that from an angry bastard who wonders what he’s doing?”
As he muttered in despair, Lilian burst out laughing. Hearing that laugh, Matteo began to think that it didn’t matter that he was a little funny. He had long since become seriously ill from his unrequited love.
A good emperor.
When you think about it, Matteo heard a lot about the need to regain the throne. He heard many say that he should follow the late Emperor.
But few people shared the concern about what kind of emperor Matteo would become.
That’s because the question of whether he would be a good emperor or not, whether he would regain the throne or not, was so big.
“I’m not joking. Your Highness will be a really good emperor.”
Lily Islar had a knack for opening people’s hearts.
She unintentionally stepped into the depths of people’s hearts.
“How do you know that so well?”
“Well…”
Lily showed a unique smile. It’s like someone who has glimpsed the end of an interesting novel she had read before.
“Let’s just say I have a hunch.”
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