Meanwhile, at that moment, at the Founding Festival Ball.
…Damn it. Where on earth did he go? Patrasche frowned as he looked around the ballroom after mingling with a few people. He searched for the head of black hair that should have stood out among the crowd, but it was nowhere to be seen. Realizing that Kayden was missing, a vein pulsed on Patrasche’s forehead.
This ball is such an important event. Of course, there was that incident during the day, but still. It was infuriating how he would disappear without a word to his own aide.
He suspected that Kayden had left the ballroom for personal reasons rather than for his health. It had to be. A monster with such resilience wouldn’t leave just because he was tired.
“Haha, excuse me for a moment.” With a smile, Patrasche began to search the ballroom. However, even after circling the lounge and returning to the ballroom, there was no sign of Kayden.
He slipped out. He definitely slipped out.
In the end, Patrasche gave up looking for Kayden and leaned against a pillar in the corner. As he gulped down champagne to control his anger, he heard a voice from behind.
“If you’re looking for the third prince, I saw him disappear with my daughter earlier.”
“Puf.” Startled by the sudden voice from behind, Patrasche spat out his champagne. Coughing and brushing the drink off his collar, he turned around. There stood Viscount Sudsfield, cleverly hidden behind the pillar, smiling.
Patrasche’s face crumpled at the sight of him. He lowered his voice to scold the viscount. “If the first princess’s people see you here, what do you think will happen? Go away.”
“Don’t worry. You know as well as I do, the first princess is still under house arrest, and the first concubine and Marquis Kadmond have also excused themselves due to health reasons. They probably don’t want to show up and be compared more directly to the third prince. Besides, I’ve confirmed that everyone else is preoccupied with the envoys, so there’s no need to worry.”
“…”
Patrasche turned his head silently at the viscount’s words. He saw nobles trying to talk to the envoys, just as the envoys had tried to talk to Kayden earlier. Tsk. There goes my excuse to get away. Patrasche clicked his tongue inwardly.
If one of the first princess’s close aides had been in the ballroom, he could have used that as an excuse to get away from the viscount. But as the viscount said, there was no one conspicuous to be wary of in the ballroom now.
Meanwhile, Viscount Sudsfield shrugged his shoulders at Patrasche’s action of verifying the truth with his own eyes instead of trusting his words. “Is my credibility really that low? Even though we’re in a contractual relationship?”
“Don’t speak so carelessly. More importantly, are you saying the third prince disappeared with the third princess consort?”
“Yes. They’ve been gone for over an hour.”
“Why didn’t you stop him if you saw it happening?”
Patrasche whispered harshly, but the viscount merely chuckled.
“Why would I stop them? It’s good for a husband and wife to be close.”
“Ah, yes. You’re right.” Patrasche forced a smile and nodded. But inside, he was cursing the viscount and thinking about how to quickly escape this situation.
Viscount Sudsfield was persistent. Even as Patrasche tried to end the conversation and drink his champagne, the viscount kept talking.
“Even though she’s my daughter, don’t they make a lovely couple? When I was young, I too couldn’t contain my energy and often wandered outside.” The viscount smiled contentedly, sipping his wine.
Patrasche looked at him with a slightly incredulous expression. Is he… bragging about that? Did he mean that uncontrollable energy led him to father an illegitimate child like Diana? What a piece of trash.
Patrasche’s face twisted in disgust. The viscount, whether aware of it or not, tapped Patrasche’s shoulder with a subtle face.
“With such a good relationship, I’m sure we’ll hear good news about a child soon. Do let me know if you hear anything.”
At those words, Patrasche’s face instantly turned as cold as if doused with cold water. But he quickly composed himself and put on a naive smile. “…Haha. Wouldn’t that be something Their Highnesses will take care of? Anyway, I must return as I left the conversation in the middle.”
Feeling that continuing the conversation with the viscount would make him explode, Patrasche cut off the conversation a bit rudely and left the area. He couldn’t shake off the unpleasant feeling even as he moved away from the viscount.
Damn it. I wanted to say something. Patrasche gripped his glass tightly. It would have been nice to give the viscount a piece of his mind, but he was still one of Kayden’s main supporters. Since the viscount provided political funds in cash so that the first princess’s side couldn’t find out, he couldn’t treat the viscount recklessly. Of course, as Kayden’s influence grew, more nobles wanted to align with him besides Viscount Sudsfield, but having a solid connection, like through Diana, made a huge difference.
…Ugh.
Lost in thought, Patrasche suddenly thought of Diana and made a dark face. He stopped walking and sighed deeply. Still, it’s about time the topic of children came up. That’s probably why the viscount brought it up. The problem is His Highness.
Patrasche frowned.
His Highness seems completely infatuated with the third princess consort, as if he’s forgotten that this marriage is supposed to end in a year. He didn’t want to think that his master was such a fool, but recalling that Kayden abandoned the Founding Festival Ball to disappear with Diana made him feel despondent.
The longer this marriage lasted, the worse it was for Kayden. The better their relationship, the more people like the viscount would talk about the children they would have. And objectively, Viscount Sudsfield was not a good in-law. Right now, Kayden needed his help before becoming the crown prince, but once he ascended, the viscount’s greed would undoubtedly harm them.
Some might say he was ungrateful, but Patrasche was Kayden’s aide and advisor. That meant he had to coldly and thoroughly calculate and advise only on actions beneficial to his master.
Yes, ending this marriage within a year was the right thing. Every situation and condition pointed to that being the answer.
“Sir Remit.”
Thinking of Diana always greeting him with a smiling face made him feel guilty.
“…Damn it.” Patrasche scratched his head roughly.
Diana was the one who initially requested the divorce, but the empire wasn’t a good place for divorced women to live. Even if Kayden supported her financially, the stigma of being divorced would never go away.
“Ah, I don’t know. Am I acting just like His Highness? What I should be worried about is not the third princess consort, but something else…”
Patrasche shook his head to clear his thoughts that kept drifting towards Diana. The problem now was not Diana but Kayden, who was so smitten that he seemed ready to tear up the contract with his own hands.
Sighing deeply, he left the ballroom to find his foolish master.
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