The expression disappeared from Benedictus’s face.
He stared at Ioret for a long moment, then murmured in a low voice.
“You’ve changed, Ioret.”
Benedictus took a step toward her.
His gray eyes, once warm, now carried something chilling.
This was the true face of a duke.
“Since when did you change? The I knew you would never look at me like this.”
“….”
“Why do you not trust me anymore?”
The man slowly lowered his head, staring directly at Ioret.
At a distance where his breath brushed her nose, his gaze drifted from the bridge of her nose to her lips. A deep thirst spread through his dark pupils.
Benedictus closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and pulled Ioret into an embrace.
“I think I left you alone for too long. I’m sorry.”
“….”
“Let’s talk again later. After the Founding Day ends, I’ll come find you. Don’t push me away, alright?”
Ioret let out a small laugh.
The Benedictus she remembered from the past would have kissed her without hesitation.
He used to hide his inexperienced affection poorly, always saying, “I wish you’d become an adult soon,” as if it were a habit.
But now she could see his ambition clearly.
He was someone who aimed to rise high. He had engaged her because of her bloodline, but the moment he judged she was no longer useful, he abandoned her without hesitation.
A man who carefully evaluated others’ worth, pretended to be kind while maintaining distance, and discarded people coldly once they had served their purpose.
In her previous life, he must have succeeded—becoming the consort of the queen of this nation and ruling Elovis.
“That was your last chance to kiss me, Benedictus.”
Not far away, Catherine was watching them.
Without taking her eyes off Catherine, Ioret leaned her cheek against his neck and whispered.
“Stop pretending to be my friend and trying to frame me. I don’t have time to deal with my sister’s lover right now.”
“Ioret. If there’s still a misunderstanding—”
“If you’re going to report this to Catherine as well, go ahead. That would be the clearest proof that you’ve become her loyal dog.”
Benedictus’s shoulders stiffened slightly.
Ioret pushed him away and turned around.
“What were you doing with Ioret, Duke?”
Catherine glared sharply at the duke.
Even after Ioret left the garden, his gaze remained fixed on her retreating figure.
“That is not something Your Highness needs to concern yourself with.”
Benedictus’s voice was colder than usual. For a man who rarely showed emotion, it was a noticeable change.
His shaken composure was irritatingly obvious.
“You embraced another woman in front of your fiancée and expect me not to care?”
“You were the one who ordered me to maintain friendly relations with Princess Ioret.”
“So what did she say?”
“…..”
“She’s acting strange lately, which makes it suspicious. She suddenly looked me straight in the eye, ordered Rishi to be removed, and even requested Lord Perain as her escort knight from Father. Did she not inform you of anything?”
“She seemed relieved that the wedding was postponed, so I embraced her. Other than that… she seemed a bit sensitive, but not much different from usual.”
“Is that the truth?”
“Do you doubt me?”
Benedictus relaxed his lips into a smile. When he turned to Catherine, his gaze was both gentle and firm.
“You’re being too harsh on your beloved.”
“You’re hardly someone who visits my chambers. Yet you’ve been entering Ioret’s room as if it were your own.”
The duke only maintained a silent smile.
Benedictus Valer was one of Catherine’s strongest pieces, but also the hardest to control.
He was as polished and composed as his appearance suggested, but impossible to fully read. Only fragments could be understood, like viewing something through layered glass.
He was dangerous to keep close. And yet Catherine needed him—more precisely, she needed the prestige and pure lineage of House Valer above all else.
Lineage.
It was the only thing Catherine did not possess—and also her only weakness.
The daughter of a commoner queen.
That single flaw in Catherine’s otherwise perfect life had become a deep-rooted inferiority complex.
Because of it, she crushed her younger sister even more ruthlessly—ensuring she could never even think of defying her, stripping away everything she had.
Among everything she took, the most valuable was Duke Valer.
At her signal, Benedictus bowed his head.
“The only person I love is Your Highness, the Crown Princess who will one day ascend the throne.”
A formal kiss landed on Catherine’s red lips.
The kiss quickly deepened. Yet even as their tongues intertwined, the duke neither closed his eyes nor looked at Catherine. As if he were kissing her while thinking of someone else.
A sudden unease gripped Catherine, and she pulled his hand toward her waist.
At her blatant seduction, Benedictus let out a faint laugh and finally looked at her.
‘I took him from Ioret, but I still cannot be sure he is truly mine. Once Ioret is removed from the royal palace, I will immediately proceed with the royal marriage.’
Even though the wedding could not be held on Founding Day, it didn’t matter.
She had already sent royal physicians to Count Castlein. Once he recovered enough to move, the ceremony would proceed.
Feeling the duke’s hand gripping her tightly, Catherine smiled.
No matter how much Ioret struggled now, her fate was already in Catherine’s palm.
Ioret wandered the royal palace for a long time.
After appearing in public for the first time in a while, servants and maids openly watched her movements. All of them were Catherine’s eyes and ears.
‘It’s surrounded on all sides. I thought there might be an escape route, but there isn’t even a chance.’
After all, Catherine controlled not only the royal guard but also the capital defense forces.
With even leaving the tower requiring Catherine’s permission, there was no way she could leave the palace.
She had narrowly avoided marriage by involving the king, but that was only a temporary measure. Now she had to move to the next step.
‘If Catherine gains control of the central army and border forces as well, it’s over. Once all military power is gone, there’s no chance of winning.’
What she needed most now was power.
A sword to protect herself, and a sword pointed at Elovis.
She needed both.
The first sword should already have arrived at the tower by now.
Ioret quickened her steps.
“Princess Ioret.”
At the entrance of the tower stood a tall knight with black hair and green eyes.
The black uniform bearing a gold seal and eagle insignia marked him as a member of the Black Eagle Knights.
The knight knelt on one knee before her.
“I am Lucian Perain, assigned as your temporary escort. I will serve you with utmost sincerity so that you experience no discomfort.”
“So you are Lord Perain.”
Ioret studied him with a strange feeling.
His refined features contrasted with his quiet, restrained expression.
Subtle double eyelids, a straight nose bridge, and firm lips formed a disciplined impression. His long eyelashes framed deep, clear eyes.
Lucian Perain.
The second son of House Perain and vice-commander of the Black Eagle Knights.
The very knight Ioret had requested from the king as her escort.
However, there was a problem: the Black Eagle Knights were currently under Crown Princess Catherine’s command.
Moreover, House Perain openly supported Catherine. In effect, Lucian’s true master was Catherine. That was why Ioret had gone through the king instead.
“How long did Father say I would be protected?”
“He did not specify exactly, but I was told approximately one week to ten days.”
“So it’s temporary.”
“I will do my utmost even within this short period…”
“Remember that you are under the king’s order. For at least one week, you belong to me. If you disobey my orders, act against your duties as my escort, or leak information about me, I will report you for violating a royal decree.”
“…I will keep that in mind.”
As a royal knight, he could never be free from royal orders. Disobeying them meant immediate dismissal.
Thus, for the assigned period, Lucian had no choice but to serve her fully, whether he wished to or not.
Of course, once the order expired, Catherine would summon him and interrogate him—but that was not Ioret’s concern.
She had chosen Lucian for a simple reason.
In her previous life, he was the only knight who showed her dignity when she was led to execution.
