As soon as Viscountess Morbido finished speaking, Christine had upward slanting eyes. Although she had been hiding her original temper to impress the Count, she was irritated when she was treated as an outsider. After seeing her poignant look, Valerian looked up at the ceiling and sought the G.o.d he had never believed in.

Lady Anais was widely praised for her aristocratic dignity despite her young age, and for her good spirit and wisdom that could not pa.s.s by the needy. But as he had been through these days, he had only felt that rumors were not trustworthy. He didn't know who had spread the rumors, but he just wanted to show them how venomous her expression was now.

While Lady Anais and the Viscountess were fighting a silent war, Marquis Oswald returned after greeting the Prince and reporting on what had happened to him. Valerian leapt up in delight. At the welcome, Marquis Oswald patted him on the shoulder without a word, as if he understood.

"Has His Highness arrived well?"

The Marquis nodded at Valerian's question. "I had seen him earlier this year and saw him again after a few months, but he's gotten better. I think there's been a funny thing going on."

"A funny thing?"

"Oh, you'll find out about that soon. Let's start with what I had to come back here. Lady Anais, where is Marquis Anais?"

At the words of Marquis Oswald, Christine answered with excitement, thinking that she could finally go see Killian. "My father is resting in his room right now. May I have him come?"

"No, please deliver my words to him. A welcome dinner for His Highness will be held as scheduled in the evening, so please attend. I'll send you a carriage to the main castle when it's time for dinner."

As soon as the Marquis finished speaking, Viscountess Morbido said, folding her fan. "I'm going to have to get ready, too. I thought you'd have dinner tomorrow, judging from the character of His Highness. I have to show him my most beautiful appearance, but I'm afraid I'm running out of time."

When the Viscountess, who purposely looked at Christine with a smile of intimacy with the Prince, busily headed for the door, Marquis Oswald sadly held her back.

"Oh, Viscountess Morbido, did I mention that you are allowed to attend the dinner? Unfortunately, His Highness was very angry at your unannounced visit. I was reprimanded for having you stay in Calen Castle without confirmation. I have worked really hard to calm his anger. So, I'd like you to go back to your room and get ready to leave the castle."

She spoke as if she could not believe Oswald's cold, hard instruction which was contrary to his usual cynicism. "What do you mean? You mean His Highness doesn't want to see me now?"

Viscountess Morbido stared at the Marquis who had ordered her deportation, shaking as if she could not believe it.

A month after becoming the Prince's lover, she had received a huge parting gift with the message that he would no longer look for her, but she didn't think it was his real intention. She thought there must be some other reason, and if she was really abandoned, she'd better find out who the Prince's new woman was.

What she had found out by mobilizing all her social connections was that the Prince used to visit the Princ.i.p.ality of Bertino every early summer, but this year he would leave earlier because of his planned business. When she heard that, she thought that the Prince's sudden parting message was made out of regret that he would not take her to Bertino.

She had only met him twice, but she had no choice but to think about it because he was so wonderful, so ecstatic and so hot that she couldn't imagine he was bored with her. To her, who had no intention of accepting a parting notice with no warning signs at all, the Prince's early visit to Bertino came as a plausible reason.

Quickly finding out further that the Prince had not taken another lover, she was convinced that she was right and visited Bertino in the hope of surprising him. After a long trip, she spent every day thinking about how happy and how hotly he would hug her if he met her.

Although she was offended by Lady Anais unexpectedly, it was hard for her to become the wife of the Crown Prince with her own status. Though she was jealous and angry, she decided to settle for the position of a concubine, thinking that the marriage of Lady Anais, who had even visited Bertino, and the Prince would be a fait accompli.

However, she did not want to be pushed around by Lady Anais, who behaved as if she saw something dirty whenever she saw her, so she was fighting without conceding.

As a result, the words given by Marquis Oswald were shocking to her. Unable to believe it, she thought it was clear that that rascal, who had hated her from the start, had told the Prince strange words. He must have prevented her presence from becoming an obstacle to his marriage to the n.o.ble lady of Anais.

"Let me see His Highness, please. If he tells me to go out, I'll believe you."