Theodore clicked his tongue in exasperation, swallowing a dumbfounded breath as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

 

“You have way too little ambition.”

 

“Please just call it being humble.”

 

“And zero sense of responsibility.”

 

Renata shot Theodore a look that practically screamed, What nonsense are you spouting now?

 

“Thanks to someone, I’m no longer pure and innocent, yet you keep acting so irresponsibly?”

 

“No, that’s…”

 

This highly capable aide, who had long since mastered the art of handling an immature prince, immediately sensed the beginning of his sophistry and swiftly changed the subject.

 

“Let’s stop nitpicking over unnecessary things. How about heading back to the barracks now?”

 

“Yeah, let’s go. I was actually pretty excited thinking about dumping a mountain of unnecessary work on you anyway.”

 

“Wait—why are you taking it out on me? What did I even do wrong?”

 

I don’t know either.

 

☄️

 

After Theodore and Renata left the site, uninvited guests began gathering around Marex.

 

From a distance, it had looked as though he was having quite a friendly conversation with the prince, so most of them were curious busybodies trying to probe his intentions.

 

Things like…

 

What kind of relationship makes him show such excessive courtesy to the prince’s aide?

 

What exactly did the prince say to cause the Tower Lord’s expression to shift in so many ways?

 

That was the only sort of thing they cared about.

 

Pretending otherwise, they subtly tossed out probing remarks, starting to grate on Marex’s nerves.

 

To them, such things must seem important.

 

Building a friendly relationship with the Tower Lord could positively influence national power.

 

That if the Tower Lord were to openly favor a particular royal, it might easily escalate into a full-blown succession struggle.

 

‘So they want to have some fun using me as the centerpiece, huh?’

 

They don’t even realize they’re currently making a dangerous individual very, very displeased?

 

Mere foolish creatures, blinded by the entertainment unfolding right in front of them.

 

Even after hundreds of years, their stupid habits never change in the slightest—dull, dim-witted lifeforms.

 

To the eyes of Marex, who had lived for a very long time, that was all they amounted to.

 

“By any chance, have you known His Highness the Prince for a long time? Or perhaps you have some special connection with the aide…?”

 

Yeah, most of them are the type who size up which side to take just by looking at surface-level impressions, so that fox-like bastard must have been careful with his words and actions too.

 

He’d been hoping the guy would take the bait, lose his temper, and maybe even throw a punch.

 

But the bastard kept up his polite, composed facade to the very end, hiding behind a woman’s skirts.

 

‘A fox-like guy like that is going to be annoying no matter what.’

 

Deep down, he was hoping for a scandal to break—something along the lines of the Tower Lord and the Prince fighting over one woman.

 

Since the Prince wasn’t even married to her anyway, once a rumor stuck, she’d be cast aside in no time.

 

What noble who values honor, and the royals who lead them, would possibly stand up for a woman like that when there’s nothing in it for them?

 

They’d probably be the first to point fingers and push her off the cliff.

 

On top of that, she’s apparently abandoned the Heinsbrun name and is working as a commoner aide.

 

‘If she’d just fallen away, lost her place, and been taken in by him, that would’ve been the end of it.’

 

Wouldn’t that have been the safest way to keep her close and protect her?

 

The problem was that damn prince. He wasn’t even trying to claim the woman for himself, he just wanted to rekindle the close ties that had been maintained across several generations with “them,” and he wouldn’t tolerate that even a little.

 

Now, if that woman ended up showing excessive favor toward him, the way those bloodlines always have… well, that couldn’t be helped.

 

‘But this generation’s child didn’t absorb mana until I made contact with her…’

 

A Heinsbrun who knows how to control that power.

 

The only other person he’d ever seen like that was “her.” While tracing through old memories, Marex suddenly cast a glance at the back of the prince’s head.

 

‘Wait a minute… that one feels strangely familiar too.’

 

A very long time ago, one of the royals that she had risked her life to protect had given off exactly this kind of feeling…

 

‘It’s probably just a coincidence.’

 

The sickly alchemist of Heinsbrun who resembles her, and the prince who somehow seems to resemble the royalty she once protected.

 

Is this merely a trick of fate, or…

 

“Mar, in the next life, I’ll be the one to find you first.”

 

To say she would be reborn and come find me, denying that such a thing could ever happen would be hypocritical, when I myself am already an existence that defies the natural order.

 

‘Even just looking at appearances, that woman doesn’t resemble her at all.’

 

Not even the distinctive red hair of the Heinsbrun lineage, the only similar thing being the color of the eyes…

 

‘The rest, I can’t tell at all.’

 

I suppose I can take my time and find out slowly.

 

Ignoring the crowd that had gathered around him, Marex walked his own path while the usual hangers-on still buzzed nearby, fishing for any worthwhile gossip.

 

“The prince has always been quite the unique one, hasn’t he?”

 

“But doesn’t he seem a little different lately? Ever since His Highness the Crown Prince’s engagement ceremony, he’s been carrying himself with much more composure than before…”

 

“Haha, that’s true. I heard the prince was remarkably bright as a child. If this means he’s finally matured, that would be wonderful.”

 

“I’m not so sure. There are plenty of noble young men who live like that their whole lives, so every time I see him, I still feel uneasy.”

 

Marex, who had been about to snap at them to shut up and get lost according to his temper, suddenly caught sight of the prince and his aide in the distance, along with the servants hovering and craning their necks around them. 

 

He quietly held his tongue and watched.

 

If they had an honorable purpose, they could simply announce their presence, yet they kept a deliberate distance, circling stealthily like spies.

 

They didn’t even bother hiding the fact that they were eavesdropping on the conversation.

 

Several knights were patrolling nearby, so their brazen behavior must have been plainly visible, yet no one called them out.

 

A prince of a nation, yet someone whose name so easily passes through the mouths of the nobility, and spies wandering carelessly during a hunt hosted by the crown prince himself.

 

‘To show such leisure, nay, outright arrogance, even when it’s so blatantly obvious that he’s at a disadvantage…’

 

Having lived through multiple bloody struggles over succession rights, Marex quickly grasped the situation.

 

On the surface, the balance of power seemed heavily tilted toward the crown prince, but when factoring in what remained unseen, a different outcome might still emerge.

 

For now, the time wasn’t right, so the prince was likely lying low and biding his time.

 

‘If I circle around under the pretext of supporting the prince, I can seize the opportunity when it comes.’

 

That kind of excuse would also make it easier to get close to the aide’s side.

 

“When the crown prince comes looking for me later, tell him this, I got so fed up with those damn noble brats running their mouths that I left to get some air.”

 

At the Tower Master’s declaration that he would refuse an audience with the crown prince, the chattering crowd instantly fell silent. 

 

They only rolled their eyes, exchanging furtive glances.

 

A belated sense of unease began to creep in, wondering whether their loose tongues might actually plunge the kingdom into trouble.

 

Marex brushed off their confusion as of no concern to him and let out a refreshing laugh.

 

For the first time in a long while, he had the premonition that life was about to become pleasantly, delightfully entertaining.

 

☄️

 

A cloudless, brilliantly clear day.

 

One young noble gently touched the accessory his lover had tied around him before he left for the hunt, praying for his safe return, and smiled shyly.

 

Another fervently declared he would offer the most honorable game of the day to his beloved.

 

A certain young lady blushed at an unexpected confession.

 

In this hunt festival overflowing with love and romance, Renata…

 

“The cart should be about that size, perfect. Ah, careful! It’s packed full of liquor bottles, so it’s heavier than it looks!”

 

…was completely preoccupied with preparing the drinks table that her prince and his immature friends would spend the entire day emptying.

 

“Aide! Should we bring this one too?”

 

“Wait a moment, I’ll come check it myself.”

 

“While you’re coming, could you please check over here as well!”

 

“Yes, yes!”

 

According to the original schedule, Theodore was supposed to head to the hunting grounds, spend an appropriate amount of time there, and then return home, while Renata would simply enjoy some free time in the meantime…

 

But…

 

‘He’s the one who started spouting all that nonsense first—why is he taking it out on me?’

 

Because she found it so infuriating, she ended up having to do something completely unplanned.

 

So what—was she supposed to have grabbed him by the trouser leg right then and there and begged him to marry her?

 

‘Ha, this is ridiculous!’

 

Who on earth would choose a lifelong partner for such a petty reason…?

 

“Renata, Miss aide, working hard again today, I see.”

 

The sudden greeting from the side made Renata flinch and whip her head around.

 

It was Jaderic Claubalt, chief aide and closest confidant to Crown Prince Karlheinz, as well as the second son of a long-established and powerful noble house.

 

In that brief instant, Renata skillfully gathered up the anger that felt ready to burst at the slightest touch.

 

Unlike a certain pathetic prince, she was not the kind of person who let her emotions run wild and took them out on innocent people.

 

With a perfectly composed, gentle smile now in place, Renata turned fully toward the speaker and returned the greeting.

 

“Only as much as you, Jaderic aide-nim.”

 

“To acknowledge my hardships—truly, Miss Renata is one of a kind.”

 

The crown prince was notorious as a workaholic, and true to his reputation, he kept no fewer than four aides at his side.

 

Despite having plenty of hands, the crown prince’s aides frequently appeared with deep, shadowed eyes that didn’t quite match their otherwise polished looks.

 

And those who shared the same exhausted appearance for similar reasons often expressed a sense of camaraderie over that very commonality.

 

“I heard you only arrived at the campsite less than an hour ago. How in the world did you manage to gather this much already?”

 

Jaderic asked while glancing over the meticulous notebook Renata was checking.

 

“I earnestly asked around, and people kindly helped out. Thanks to them, I’ve ended up owing quite a few favors to those around me.”

 

“Haha, with how capable and well-liked Renata aide-nim is, it’s no wonder His Highness the Crown Prince is tempted too. Have you ever considered a departmental transfer, by any chance?”

 

The moment he asked the question, the previously bustling surroundings gradually began to fall quiet.