Cecilia and Diego ignored him amiably. Lionel smirked in triumph. Diego would be offended if he heard it, but from his vantage point, they seemed to be getting along quite well. Lionel flicked his bangs out of his face in annoyance.

“Do you mind if she finds out you’ve been seeing me. What if she tells the Duchess?”

“I only told her because she’s not like that. Her relationship with her mother is very special”

“Special?”

“Terribly special.”

Diego smiled grimly. He’d known him for a long time, but that emotionless look still sent chills down his spine. Lionel groaned.

“Is it okay to talk like that in front of the child?”

“What will she understand.”

“Kids these days know everything.”

“If the one I brought home was the eldest, he wouldn’t say anything….”

“What about you?”

Diego looked back at Lionel at the unintelligible sound. Lionel smirked and explained.

“You’re the first born in this house.”

Diego was puzzled. When he thought of Cecilia and Cedric, he had always seen them as siblings. He had never included himself in that family dynamic. Because subconsciously, he thought they were different from him.

“Bullshit.”

Diego’s sarcastic retort didn’t deter Lionel from holding on for dear life. Ignoring him, Diego led Cecilia outside. He said that Cecilia was too young to know what they were doing, but even he felt a twinge of concern. She didn’t look like any other five-year-old when she told him to find her. Most importantly, she didn’t have the character to discuss her mother’s disposition in front of her.

As Cecilia closed the door behind her, Lionel ran his clenched hands through his hair and said in a gruff tone.

“Well, anyway, I heard you performed remarkably. The ice-cold master with no blood or tears finally kicked the stepmother out of the picture, right? Congratulations on fulfilling a lifelong wish.”

“There’s a problem.”

“It’s probably because of the title.”

Lionel raised and lowered his eyebrows as he spoke. Diego replied with a tired expression.

“This time, it’s an issue on your stepmother’s side.”

“Oh, it’s not my side since she’s not my mother.”

Lionel said, ruffling his hair in annoyance. Lionel’s father, King Eduardo VI, had taken a young concubine in his later years to amuse himself.

The combination of an old man and a young beauty is often referred to as a bargain. Camilla, who came from the baronial line, was given the title of Countess of Avril in exchange for sexual relations with a man thirty years her senior. For the first year or two, everyone treated her like she was playing with the king’s fire, but once she got the title and the love affair continued, they began to bow out.

It was the Duchess of Berta who took the initiative to socialize with Camilla eight years earlier, when she had been ignored and humiliated by high society. Camilla found her way into society through Anna, and Anna found her way into society through Camilla, the king’s mistress.

The aristocracy scoffed at the idea of an unlikely pairing, but it was an unlikely pairing nonetheless, and their close friendship proved invaluable in this case. It was Camila who was stalling for time to prevent Diego from receiving the title.

“What can I do? My father is infatuated with a woman of my age, and he is willing to fulfill her precious wishes, even if it affects state affairs.”

Lionel said, making a pained sound. Diego didn’t bat an eye.

“You should be the one to resolve it. I am suffering the consequences of your family’s situation.”

“No, that is completely, absolutely, precisely from my position.”

With that, Lionel wagged his index finger at Diego. Duchess Berta had helped Camilla get her footing, and that was enough to put him on the spot. Lionel said in a gruff voice.

“So you’re going to make me do the dirty work again?”

“Isn’t that the only good thing about being the prince’s playmate?”

Diego said, and smiled ceremoniously. Diego’s mother, Dolores, was close to Countess Louisa, who served as the queen’s lady-in-waiting. Countess Louisa, who had married late in life to serve the queen, had no children of Lionel’s age. Countess Louisa arranged for Dolores to be the prince’s playmate, and Diego was allowed to enter the palace holding his mother’s hand. That was more than 20 years ago.

In retrospect, Diego wasn’t wrong, but the title ‘playmate’ was a huge turn-off for Lionel. Lionel shouted.

“You didn’t even play with me back then!”

Even at the age of six, Diego possessed a highly cautious and strategic personality. As a result, although there were playmates, Lionel could only count a few joyful memories of playing together. Diego would only engage in conversations with Lionel when practicing swordsmanship or acquiring knowledge. Since the Queen admired Diego as a mature and exemplary child, Lionel had no choice but to accompany him without a moment’s rest. It was a terribly boring childhood.

Diego smirked at Lionel’s pained expression. Then he got down to business.

“Of course, I’m not asking you to handle it completely on your own. Camilla, that woman, has a weakness. You can handle this situation and use that information as you see fit.”

“A weakness? What is it?”

“If you promise to negotiate with that woman on my behalf, I’ll let you know.”

As Diego spoke, he leaned back leisurely, distancing himself from Lionel’s approaching teeth. It was Camilla’s weakness, a rather tantalizing piece of information. Camilla possessed enough skill to claim a seat by the king’s side, and her influence had become a major source of trouble for his wife and her son.

Lionel, envisioning Camilla’s face, let out an exaggerated groan, “Uh, uh, uh, uh.” Finally, Lionel’s thumb and index finger collided with a forceful impact. He struggled to articulate his words, as if he was vomiting them out.

“Alright.”

“That woman has been unfaithful.”

As soon as Lionel nodded, Diego answered, but the easy answer didn’t sit well with Lionel. He rolled his eyes and asked.

“What? Just that? Hey, do you think I’m keeping my mouth shut because I don’t know about her hobby of luring men into her bed?”

“I’m not trying to talk about her flirtatious behavior. This time, the guy is quite dangerous.”

Diego said and leaned his upper body forward. His eyes scanned the surroundings, then fixed on Lionel with a serious stare. Diego spoke in a low voice.

“High Priest Delmer.”

It was a short word, but its impact was enormous. Lionel nearly jumped out of his seat. Delmer was Lionel’s cousin and a rumored enemy of King Eduardo VI. Their feud went back generations.

Prince Eduardo, at the age of six, was originally not the first in line for the throne as he was the second son. The reason he succeeded to the throne was due to his older brother, who was the crown prince at the time, being an excessively free-spirited soul. The eldest son, uninterested in power, abdicated his position, leaving Eduardo to ascend to the throne. These two brothers had a decent relationship without any conflicts, but things changed when it came to the next generation. It was because the one who had an interest in the throne was not the father, but the son descending from above.

High Priest Delmar was forcefully taken a position that rightfully belonged to him, and 6-year-old Eduardo was aware of it. Naturally, they didn’t have any liking for each other. Every time they crossed paths, they would mock and tear each other down, and this rivalry extended even to their relationships with women.

As if to prove their shared blood, Delmer and Eduardo VI had very similar tastes in women. Delmer used to take great pride in this department, and rightly so, since the odds were 7:3 in his favor. Eduardo VI told him that he was supposed to be a gentleman and that women didn’t find it fun, but Lionel wasn’t so quick to buy that excuse. Objectively speaking, High Priest Delmer was more forgiving than the king.

“I can’t believe she’s meeting up with father’s lifelong eyesore. Has she lost her mind? I mean, how could that not reach my Father’s ears?”

Lionel said incredulously. Diego raised and lowered his eyebrows.

“They’ve been seeing each other pretty secretly, and I only found out because I was doing some background research on Anna.”

“Why do humans burn even more fiercely when it comes to forbidden things like this?”

Lionel asked, his face more serious than it had been before.

“Did she steal information from within the royal family or something?”

High Priest Delmer turned his attention to religion, believing that he would gain a significant position in the temple if he couldn’t become the king. As a natural result, the temple and the royal family clashed in various ways. While it may have started as a rivalry between young boys driven by ambition, as they grew into powerful figures, it was no longer a matter confined to mere personal affections or love affairs.

“We’ll see about that, but the mere fact that the two have met is enough to sow distrust.”

Diego replied, withdrawing his foot. Even though he asked for significant information, he didn’t stop at that and had no intention of spoon-feeding him. Looking at Lionel’s dumbfounded face, Diego slowly continued.

“Oh, and one more favor…….”

“Why, what!”

Lionel exclaimed with a straight face. Diego spoke in a much lighter tone.

“It’s a little simpler this time. I need to find out something about the Marquis Astez’s eldest daughter.”

* * *

“They said there’s a royal ball coming up in a week.”

“A royal ball?”

“Yes, Granton III will be the guest of honor, and my father intends to introduce me to him at that time. If it’s not that day, I won’t have another chance. Just once, please give me the opportunity to talk with the Little Duke.”

While discussing a plan with slim chances of success, Adriana appeared quite calm and composed. It was Estella who became anxious in response to Adriana’s confident attitude. Estella asked in a worried voice,

“What if we fail?”

“Well, that would be my fate, I suppose.”

Adriana blinked her blue eyes slowly as she answered. Estella sighed again, remembering Adriana’s voice tinged with resignation.

“What a twist of fate.”

Saving the children had resulted in Adriana being sold abroad, a situation that was beyond absurd. Estella rubbed her burning temples.

The truth was, the royal ball hadn’t been Adriana’s last chance. Even if Adriana were to be introduced to King Granton III, it was unlikely that she would be allowed to leave the country immediately. As an international marriage, there would be a lot to coordinate, and he’d have to make his own arrangements to welcome her home. There was plenty of time to get the story back on track. The only problem is that if Adriana and Diego were to fall in love while the betrothal was still in effect, their love affair would become a diplomatic issue. Resolving the situation at this upcoming ball might not provide a clean solution to the problem.

“What am I going to do about all this…….”

Estella slumped down on her desk, her voice melancholy. She was the only one left in the empty classroom when the children had left. Cecilia and Cedric had left to eat, and while she should have gotten something to fill her hungry stomach, she had no appetite under the circumstances. Estella rubbed her stomach helplessly.

It was then that she heard the now-familiar voice behind her.

“Is something wrong?”

Estella scrambled to her feet and turned around. Diego had opened the door and was standing in the doorway. Her heart skipped a beat as the person she’d been thinking about appeared in front of her.