Leaving the gazes of the nobles behind, I stepped out of the meeting room, and an attendant guided me to the rear garden.

It was a secret space with a white tea table placed in a small garden surrounded by garden trees.

Leonhart was standing there, smoking.

Looking at his profile as he stared into the distance with a cigarette in his mouth, I could feel a deep sense of fatigue and boredom.

Does he have too much work? I felt sorry for him, and at the same time, anger surged.

‘Is he crazy? What if his asthma flares up again!’

Leonhart had suffered from asthma as a child, so his bronchial tubes were weak.

I had worried so much because of him. Undine was his personal humidifier, and Sylph was his air purifier.

I was also the one who made the entire expedition non-smokers.

‘And yet he smokes with his own hand?’

If it were up to me, I wanted to snatch the cigarette away immediately.

‘But that would be an action contrary to Adrianne’s personality…’

I stood at a moderate distance from Leonhart and covered my nose.

“Your Highness, would you mind putting out the cigarette? The smell is nauseating.”

“Those are not words that should come from the mouth of a heavy smoker, are they?”

So Adrianne was a chain smoker.

“I-I heard that smoking for a long time can cause asthma. That’s why I quit. Isn’t asthma a very painful disease?”

So you quit smoking too, you brat.

Leonhart put one hand in his suit pocket and slowly approached.

With the cigarette still between his lips.

Was it because my body had become smaller while Leonhart’s had grown? Or was it because Leonhart’s energy had become so powerful?

It felt as if a giant beast was prowling toward me.

The pressure was so intense that my shoulders felt stiff.

“Phew—”

“…Cough.”

Standing right in front of me, Leonhart blew out cigarette smoke as if to show off.

The acrid smoke scattered over my face.

I was truly surprised.

I thought Leonhart would put out the cigarette; I didn’t expect him to act so rudely.

“To think the person who would be happiest if I developed asthma would say such things. How unexpected.”

Were the two of them on such bad terms? But the nobles said Adrianne hadn’t attended meetings for five years?

If so, there wouldn’t have been enough contact for her to have a falling out with Leonhart, who had returned after subjugating the Demon King around that time.

Then why does he hate me so much?

“Your Highness, did something happen between us in the past…”

“Stop the useless chatter and let’s get to the point.”

“Yes…”

“What is the reason for your attendance at the meeting?”

[Level 3: (Staring at Leonhart with an arrogant expression) How rude. Are you daring to disregard a Duchess’s authority?]

“I asked why you suddenly crawled out to be a nuisance, Duchess Ivrante.”

I fell into thought while looking at Leonhart’s lips.

What on earth happened in the five years I was gone for that kind child to become as prickly as a hedgehog?

‘Could it be that he’s still being bullied by those other Imperial Princes?’

It seemed plausible. His appearance had changed, but his inside would still be fragile.

It was certain that those bastards were using that as a weakness.

That’s why Leonhart had become so prickly.

Recalling the faces of the Imperial Princes, which were now a faint memory, I read the instruction prompt.

“How rude. Are you daring to disregard a Duchess’s authority?”

“I’m telling you to stay holed up in your mansion, just as you have been. Because you’re an eyesore.”

[Level 1: (As if it’s laughable) You would do well to watch your words. Your Highness cannot become the Crown Prince without my help.]

The support of the nobles was crucial to becoming the Crown Prince.

Therefore, Leonhart was in a much more advantageous position if he could bring the Duchess, the representative of the nobles, to his side.

Of course, now that I’ve possessed Adrianne, I intend to support Leonhart unconditionally, but…

Regardless of that, my mood was getting worse.

‘But why is he taking his anger out on me?’

No, did I make him angry? If you’re a Prince, I’m a Duchess. Isn’t a Duchess in a position that even the Emperor cannot ignore?

But if I argue here, it’ll just sound like I’m picking a fight.

Exercising patience, I adapted the instruction prompt to be as soft as possible.

“You’d do well to watch your words and actions. Only then will I help Your Highness become Crown Prince.”

“Stop saying things you don’t mean. I achieve what I desire with my own hands. Even without the Duchess’s help.”

Right, if there’s something you want, it’s only right to achieve it yourself.

But wouldn’t it be much easier if I helped?

Choosing the hard path when an easy one is available is simply foolish.

Naturally, I intended to persuade Leonhart.

Until the next command appeared.

[Level 3: (Tsk-ing as if pathetic) Did Adella Helsington leave any last words before she died? To stand on your own two feet? Truly, how trivial the thoughts of commoners are.]

Nobles generally tended to look down on commoners, but Adrianne took it to an extreme.

An arrogant noble clumped together with a sense of privilege.

That was exactly the type of character I loathed, and unfortunately, she matched Adrianne perfectly.

Contrary to my inner thoughts, my lips spat out the instruction exactly as written.

Because the freedom of a Level 3 command was a mere 5%.

“Did Adella Helsington leave any last words before she died? To stand on your own two feet? Truly, how trivial the thoughts of commoners are.”

Even though the words were coming from my own mouth, I felt a deep sense of disgust.

My cold voice was filled with a sense of privilege and contempt for commoners.

“Ha…”

Leonhart gave a thin smile and brushed his hair back.

He looked so sensual that it was hard to look away.

‘Oh, he smiled! See, he’s pretty when he smi—ugh!’

My breath was suddenly cut off.

It was because Leonhart had grabbed me by the throat with one hand.

“Kh!”

As I gasped for air, Leonhart whispered to me.

“Duchess Ivrante, are you curious why I hate you?”

“L-let… go… of… ugh!”

“Honestly, I couldn’t care less about becoming Crown Prince. I don’t care whether you’re secretly backing the First Prince or the Second Prince.”

“Hng! Wa… wait…”

“Of course, dealing with the assassins you sent is quite a nuisance, but I don’t hate you for such a trivial reason.”

Now it was certain.

The culprit who made Leonhart so prickly was none other than Adrianne.

‘Ha, this is driving me crazy! Now I’m the one who is Adrianne!’

Leonhart’s voice dropped to an extreme low.

His eyes, which had been devoid of emotion until now, glowed a vivid blue.

It was a look that went beyond anger, bordering on hatred.

“So think about it. Think about what you did to make me treat you this way. Spend every waking hour trembling with anxiety over it. Preferably while rotting away in your mansion.”

Darkness crept across my vision. I was on the verge of passing out.

‘I can’t take this!’

Just as I was about to stir my magic power to summon a spirit, a fact I had momentarily forgotten came to mind.

I must not reveal my identity.

‘Damn it!’

No matter which spirit I summoned, there was no way Leonhart, my former comrade, wouldn’t recognize them.

And spirits have such loose lips. The moment they saw Leonhart, they would blabber away about the fact that I had possessed this body.

‘I can’t call a spirit until I’ve made sure they won’t blab.’

Blood rushed to my face and my eyes throbbed. The threat of death was closing in.

“Hng…”

I desperately grabbed Leonhart’s hand. Placing my own over the back of his large hand, I slipped my fingertips between his fingers and gently stroked them.

‘Please, please…’

Did my desperate wish work? The hand around my throat suddenly released its grip. My body collapsed limply.

Thud.

As I looked up from the ground, Leonhart was staring down at me with wide eyes.

My lips trembled.

“Son of a…”

If he wanted to vent his anger, he should have done it before I possessed this body.

But no voice came out. My consciousness faded.

It was my third time fainting.

***

Six years ago, Leonhart was nothing more than a novice swordsman.

Among the Expedition Members, no one was weaker than Leonhart.

Even excluding the spirit swordmaster Adella, Owen the priest with powerful Divine Power, and Ruspell, whose magic power was no different from that of a grand mage.

Because of that, Leonhart had to risk his life even when fighting insignificant low-rank magic beasts.

There was never a day when he wasn’t injured. New wounds appeared before the old ones could even heal.

Every day was a crisis, and it only ended when he was on the verge of death.

Through such extreme situations, Leonhart grew faster than anyone else.

And now.

Having earned the title of sword master, he had become the undisputed number one in the Empire.

The nobles who used to ignore him could no longer even meet his eyes.

Even though his gentle personality had turned cold and ruthless, no one harbored resentment.

Everyone was too busy scurrying away from him.

All of this was possible because Adella was there.

She was the one who saved him every time he faced the brink of death.

When he was injured or suffering from a fever caused by the poisonous blood of a magic beast, Adella was the one who stayed by his side all night.

‘She used to hold my hand exactly like this.’

Leonhart still remembered every detail of that sensation.

The warm palm covering the back of his hand, the fingers firmly entwined, the fingertips stroking gently as if to soothe him…

Even when the fever rose to a point where he couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality, the touch of her hand remained vivid.

Even while writhing in agonizing pain, he never let go of her hand.

That was impossible now.

He could no longer be saved by her, nor could he fall asleep feeling relieved by her warm touch.

Because Adella was no longer in this world.

‘At least, that’s what I’d believed until moments ago…’

Why was it that the moment Adrianne’s fingers slid between his, he felt unable to breathe?

For a split second, it felt as if it were Adella who was in pain, not Adrianne.

‘Why on earth?’

Adrianne’s touch was too similar to that sensation he couldn’t forget even in his dreams. It was absurd.

Leonhart knelt on one knee in front of the unconscious Adrianne.

He lifted her hand, which lay carelessly on the dirt floor, and examined it closely.

A white, delicate hand without a single hangnail.

Her fingers were as thin as straws. It felt as though they might break if he gripped them too tightly.

She probably had never lifted anything heavier than a piece of tableware.

It was the hand of a noble who had been meticulously cared for.

The only thing it had in common with Adella’s hand—which was rough and scarred in many places—was that it had five fingers.

‘Then what was that just now? Why did Adella come to mind from her touch?’

Leonhart forcibly suppressed the turbulent emotions churning inside him.

‘Was it an illusion?’

Thinking about it again, Adrianne had only been struggling to survive.

The one who had attached far too much meaning to it was him.

“…Damn it.”

It was ridiculous.

How could he possibly see Adella in a woman like this?

‘Have I gone crazy because I miss her so much?’

Leonhart let go of Adrianne’s wrist as if he had touched something filthy.

Then, he took out a cigarette and lit it.

“I heard that smoking for a long time can cause asthma. That’s why I quit. Isn’t asthma a very painful disease?”

“Phew—”

As Leonhart exhaled a long cloud of smoke, the corner of his mouth curled up for a moment.

It was the most absurd nonsense he had heard recently.

And when he caught a trace of genuine concern for the young Leonhart who had once suffered from asthma hidden beneath that cool, matter-of-fact tone, he couldn’t help but let out a disbelieving laugh.

“I wonder what kind of trick this is now.”

Adrianne was the person who had ruined Leonhart’s childhood.

She had tormented Leonhart to a sickening degree.

At the Academy, she bullied any child who got close to him, forcing him into isolation, and after he left the Academy, she isolated him in earnest.

There were countless times she manipulated the Imperial Princes to commit violence against Leonhart and publicly humiliated him.

If there was a noble who approached him, she would dig up their secrets and blackmail them.

Any woman who even made eye contact with him was tracked down and retaliated against.

She even spread rumors that he would soon die of asthma.

She was also the one who wiped out the few supporters he had in that manner.

There was no one around Leonhart.

Even when he couldn’t get out of bed due to asthma, no one checked on him.

All of his servants and maids had been bribed by Adrianne.

After Leonhart was completely isolated, she visited him and, absurdly enough, presented him with a marriage proposal.

“Given your position, becoming the Crown Prince is a dream you can’t even imagine. Wouldn’t it be better to become a live-in son-in-law of a Ducal Family? I’ll speak to His Majesty myself, so Your Highness needn’t concern yourself with anything.”

At the time, Leonhart knew that everything happening to him was Adrianne’s doing.

How disgusting it was that Adrianne, unaware of that, shamelessly mentioned being a live-in son-in-law.

To her, Leonhart was not an equal human being. He was merely a suitable stud to continue the Ducal Family’s lineage.

Leonhart hated Adrianne to the point of nausea.

Just hearing her voice gave him hives and made him want to vomit.

And yet, she wanted to marry him!

That was why he volunteered for the Demon King Expeditionary Force. He felt it would be better to die than to marry her.

But in the end, he survived.

He was no longer the weak Third Prince suited to be a live-in son-in-law.

Despite that, Adrianne did not stop her schemes.

Now, Leonhart had to deal with the assassins she kept sending after him.

The reason was that he was an obstacle to the First Prince, whom Adrianne supported, becoming the Crown Prince.

Leonhart looked down at Adrianne.

A gaze full of contempt pierced Adrianne’s pale face.

‘Should I just kill her?’

He rubbed the inside of his cheek with his tongue until it bulged and cracked his neck from side to side.

Crack, snap.

Listening to the dull sounds, he quietly suppressed his murderous intent.

‘Not yet.’

Leonhart turned away coldly, leaving Adrianne behind.