Richard hurried to the garden where the wedding was going to be held.

He planned not to show his face until the wedding ceremony began to maintain the muddled atmosphere, but because of the royal couple's arrival, it seems that he can longer do that.

Ancia was surrounded by many people.

She looked beautiful in her dark apricot dress.

Her eyes that shone brilliantly matched her enchanting, red lips.

Richard wanted Ancia.

However, the person by her side was not him, but Blake.

In addition to the visage that resembled Tenstheon, Blake also had the silver hair and red eyes that symbolized the royal family. He even had Ancia.

Blake had everything Richard wanted.

He effortlessly acquired all of them because he was the emperor's son.

The jealousy and insecurity he felt intensified the anger in his heart. Richard tried to hide it as he approached the couple.

"I greet the Crown Prince, the light of the empire, and the Crown Princess, the blessing of the empire."

"I haven't seen you in a while."

Blake looked at Richard and spoke briefly, an elegant smile on his face.

"Richard Cassil, congratulations on your wedding."

"......"

It was only natural to celebrate his wedding now that they are in the wedding hall. Despite that, Richard was furious.

He didn't want to hear that from her.

It was an emotion that he couldn't understand himself.

It was true that he had affection for Ancia when he was still being foolish, but that feeling disappeared when he thought she was dead. No, perhaps he resented her.

For that reason, he couldn't understand why he wanted to have her for himself.

He felt like he had long desired her. It didn't even feel like a simple childhood love anymore.

However, it was not the right time to be swayed by emotions.

Why did the crown prince and his wife suddenly show up?

Did the emperor send the crown prince to celebrate because he was his nephew?

No, that's not it.

Even if Tenstheon gave such a command, Blake wouldn't have heeded it.

While Richard wondered why they made an appearance, Blake opened his mouth.

"I heard the Marquis of Westin is in critical condition."

"Yes, we had to get married earlier than the original schedule because of him."

"Where is the marquis? I want to treat him."

"......"

Cold sweat dripped down Richard's back.

"Oh, please do so!"

"Your Highness, who was chosen by the goddess, can definitely heal the marquis!"

The guests chatted with joy, unaware of Richard's feelings.

He must stop the crown prince. Blake must never meet the marquis.

"...The marquis had been treated and is already recovering."

"Really?"

Blake just smiled. The people around them whispered to each other when they heard that the marquis had been treated.

"Yes. He was furious when he heard that his brother had come."

Richard also added that the Marquis of Westin is alive.

It was a lie of course, but that didn't matter.

Before Richard met with the crown prince, the butler had already kicked out the marquis's brother's family, so he was confident that no one would doubt his words.

All he had to do now is to turn the situation the other way around. Once they think that the marquis's condition is getting better, he will just tell them that his condition suddenly took a turn for the worse and died.

"I'd like to meet the marquis."

But Blake was persistent.

They haven't had an exchange for the past seven years, and he always refused to see the marquis whenever he visited, so why does the crown prince keep insisting on meeting him now?

Does he know anything?

"I see. Your Highness hasn't seen the marquis in a long time, so you must be eager to meet him today."

"If Your Highness wants to then, of course, I have to let you see him."

Ancia cooperated with Blake to corner Richard by talking in front of the guests.

Seeing the couple smiling at each other, Richard momentarily forgot about his situation and was filled with jealousy towards Blake.

While Richard was glaring at Blake, Blake's brilliant silver hair suddenly turned black.

Richard looked away in surprise.

When he came to his senses and looked again, Blake's hair color was back to silver.

What was that? Did he hallucinate?

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing."

Richard shook his head in haste.

"I couldn't sleep well at night because I'm nursing the marquis. I must be quite tired."

"Oh my."

"The marquis fell asleep again after getting angry about his brother. I apologize, but I don't think you'll be able to see him today."

"It's about time for the ceremony to start."

Richard spoke politely.

"Hmm. Is that so?"

Although Richard was suspicious, he did not avoid their eyes and confidently looked at them.

He had to be confident. If he showed even a slight bit of emotion right now, it would be like confessing his crime.

"Yes, I ask you for your kind understanding."

Richard bowed politely. This time, it was Ancia who asked him.

"Richard Cassil, where is Lady Westin?"

She asked him in a cold, dismissive tone. A completely different tone when talking to Blake.

Although Richard is a commoner right now, he will soon become a nobleman. Ancia should've spoken to him with respect like all the others, but instead, she did not even bother hiding her contempt.

When he was deprived of his status, many people suddenly ignored him and changed their attitude towards him.

Therefore, he was used to this situation.

Even so, he didn't want to be treated like that by Ancia.

How could she treat him like that when she once held affection for him?

"...Sophia is resting. She was exhausted from nursing him."

However, he had no choice but to endure the sudden change in her attitude, which made him angry.

Just for today. He will become the Marquis of Westin soon, so he only had to endure this kind of treatment for a day.

He will never suffer from such an insult again.

"It has been a long time, so I wanted to say hello to Lady Westin."

"She was exhausted after nursing the marquis all night and from preparing for the wedding early in the morning..."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I'll go and comfort her."

"That might be difficult..."

"Are you saying you're going to disobey the crown princess's wishes?"

Ancia was doing this on purpose.

It seemed to her that Richard did not want the marquis and Lady Westin to meet people. She felt suspicious of him.

She felt like she must meet Sophia Westin even if she had to use the authority of the royal family.

"Th-that... it's not like that."

As Ancia expected, Richard was visibly shaken.

"When I see you ignoring me like this, I cannot help but think that what happened in the past was intentional, not a mistake."

People buzzed when she mentioned the fake Ancia case.

Richard clenched his fist tightly.

So if he doesn't let Sophia meet her, she's going to hold him responsible for the fake Ancia incident?

Either way, that will be the worst possible outcome for Richard.

"A-Alright."

Still, it was better to let them meet Sophia than have them investigate him again.

If they find out that he was trying to poison the crown prince through the fake, he will be punished.

"But only Her Highness can enter. I don't want to show my bride to another man."

As someone chosen by the goddess of light, Blake might notice Sophia's condition.

However, when he heard Richard's words, Blake spoke in a low voice.

"Are you insulting me?"

Before the wedding, the bride cannot meet another man.

Of course, it was a custom that had long disappeared. However, it was still a custom, so it was not that surprising for the groom to reject him.

Nevertheless, Blake got angry at him. He pretended to be angry because he couldn't let Ancia go there alone.

"Richard Cassil, you dare to insult the crown prince of the empire?"

Richard considered Blake as someone beneath him.

When others changed their attitudes and praised Blake for having the power of light, Richard ridiculed him secretly.

For him, Blake was just a useless, ugly monster, who was dying from a curse.

Even if everything has changed now, Richard could not get rid of his contempt for him.

He thought Blake was a fool who wasted his time searching for the crown princess, who was supposed to be dead.

He felt the same way when he handed over the poison to the fake Ancia.

He even laughed at the prince as he imagined him losing his life at the hands of the woman he had been waiting for.

But now he felt a lot of pressure from Blake.

Richard bowed his head, feeling the pressure that was second only to Tenstheon.

"I-I'm sorry."

***

"Damn it!"

Richard cursed as he headed to Sophia's room.

He bought himself some time with the excuse that she hadn't finished preparing yet, but he had to hurry.

"Karan, pour out all your mana. Don't get caught by the crown prince and the crown princess."

"Yes, master."

If Karan uses her mana here, the plan will be disrupted. However, they had to deceive the royal couple.

Ancia and Blake won't stay for long anyway. They still have to attend Sir Ron's wedding.

Richard prepared in haste before leading Ancia and Blake into the room.

Sophia greeted them politely when they entered.

"I greet the Crown Prince, the light of the empire, and the Crown Princess, the blessing of the empire."

Right now, Sophia's body is being controlled by Karan's black magic.

She can see what's happening, but her words and actions did not follow her will.

Her greeting looked very natural. It was quite difficult to control her movements, but fortunately, it did not look strange.

Then, Ancia noticed Karan, who stood behind Sophia.

'What is it? Did she notice that Karan is using magic?'

Richard was nervous, but he managed to calm himself down.

'Everything's fine. Karan would look like a normal maid to anyone.'

He was sure that Ancia just glanced at Karan since she never saw her before.

As if proving Richard's thoughts correct, Ancia turned her head to Sophia and smiled brightly.