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For Stella, Aiden Kellermain had been the source of non-stop work throughout the entire day. 

Most of it was because Lady Noel, whom she deeply respected, had been preoccupied with this man, which created a ripple effect that Stella had to deal with. And frankly, she wasn’t too happy about it.

“-Mr. Aiden.”

In that sense, there was absolutely no need for him to leave such a dramatic new mess for her to clean up.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Stella spoke in disbelief.

Right in front of her lay Prince Daniel, covered in blood, wheezing for breath.

He was conscious, but clearly unable to speak.

As for the man who had reduced the prince to this state, he simply shrugged his shoulders.

“Would you believe me if I said there’s a good reason for this?”

“The reason had better be good enough to justify gravely injuring a member of the royal family.”

Stella’s voice was sharp and firm.

Even if Daniel was effectively in exile, he was still royalty. This was more than enough to spark a diplomatic crisis.

“And it will be up to you to prove any wrongdoing. The power of royalty—”

But Aiden’s response completely derailed her line of thinking.

“Do we really need to prove it?”

“…What?”

Stella blinked, caught off guard, as Aiden spoke in a composed manner.

“Even royalty can be stripped of their status if they commit crimes beyond a certain degree, right?”

“That’s true, but why are you bringing this up now?”

“Do you remember the recent kidnapping case involving the daughter of Baron Cromwell in the capital?”

“Yes, it caused quite a stir. The young and beautiful daughter of the baron was kidnapped and went missing.”

Stella’s expression hardened even further. 

Not only was the topic disconnected from their current conversation, but what was more concerning was Daniel’s reaction to it.

Despite his severe injuries, the prince flinched noticeably, as if struck by lightning, at the mention of the kidnapping. 

It was as though he had been suddenly confronted with an evil he never expected to be exposed.

“If the perpetrator is here, wouldn’t that make things interesting?”

No way.

That’s impossible… right?

It seemed far-fetched that a member of the royal family, while exiled to a foreign land, would be involved in kidnapping a noble of that nation.

If it were true, it would be a serious crime—one worthy of being stripped of his royal status.

“Do you have any proof?”

“I don’t, but there’s a way to find out.”

“…What?”

“Even just confirming whether or not he’s lying would be evidence, wouldn’t it?”

Stella’s eyes narrowed.

Indeed, there was something capable of that.

But the fact that this man, standing before her so casually, was aware of it was in itself suspicious.

“Soldier.”

Still squinting her eyes, Stella called out to a nearby guard.

“Go to the lab on the first floor and bring something called the ‘Detector.’”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The guard’s response was slower than usual, likely because he too had instinctively realized something—this situation was far from ordinary.

And his instincts were not wrong.

It didn’t take long for Prince Daniel’s desperate denials of his involvement in the crime to be completely exposed by the Empire’s secret “lie detector” technology.

“Unbelievable.”

Stella could only let out a sigh of frustration.

For two reasons.

First, the rapid series of events that had unfolded in an instant had now turned into a massive scandal that would reach the Imperial Palace.

And second, she was now guaranteed to work overtime. 

The ensuing investigation proceeded swiftly.

When they thoroughly searched Prince Daniel’s residence and the places he had frequented, they found Lady Cromwell’s clothing and personal belongings. 

Not only were there traces of his efforts to cover up his crimes, but also evidence of various other ‘miscellaneous’ crimes.

“That concludes the report.”

As Stella finished her report, Noel massaged her temples with a weary sigh.

“What did the Holy Kingdom say?”

“They expressed their gratitude.”

“…What?”

“They said that because of their internal laws, they had no choice but to keep that disgrace of a prince in the royal family, and they thanked us for finally freeing them from him. They even mentioned that if Aiden ever comes to the Holy Kingdom, they’d treat him to the highest level of hospitality.”

The Pope, the leader of the Holy Kingdom, is renowned for being the most eccentric of all the Popes in history. 

Just from this response, his reputation clearly lives up to its name.

“There’s actually something even more serious.”

“What is it?”

“[Deathwish] has taken an interest in Mr. Aiden.”

“…”

“She hinted that she’d like to have a meal with him sometime, in a very friendly manner. True to her nature as an ambitious schemer, she moves swiftly when she finds someone she likes.”

Noel ran a hand through her hair, clearly exhausted.

“Deathwish, huh.”

“Yes.”

“You mean the second princess of the Holy Kingdom? The one who’ll stop at nothing, even killing her own brother, just for a chance to seize the papal throne.”

“Yes.”

“The woman who’s supposedly more skilled at wielding divine powers than the current Pope?”

“…Yes.”

The fact that such information came in not even a full day after the incident hinted at the scale of what was to come. 

The events of today were already spreading like wildfire among the ambitious power players, gathering every scrap of information they could.

“I don’t understand why she’s so interested in Aiden. He’s just a regular con artist.”

Regular…?

Stella raised an eyebrow, but Noel continued speaking nonchalantly.

“He single-handedly destroyed a Holy Kingdom royal wielding pure divine energy with a single punch, immediately uncovered the crimes they were trying to hide, and casually suggested using a highly classified tool that only someone in the military could know about—even though he’s never been in the military in his life.”

“…Yes.”

“And then, following his suggestion, they found actual evidence.”

“It’s nothing special. I don’t see why everyone’s making such a fuss about it. Don’t you agree?”

Noel’s voice, half-resigned, made Stella fall silent.

Even from her perspective, these events were a string of baffling mysteries. 

If this was all the work of one man who claimed to be a simple con artist, and it happened in less than a day…

Hmm.

“Um, Lady Noel, if I may ask…”

“Hmm?”

“Where in the world did you find someone like him?”

‘To be honest, even I’m not sure anymore. Was he always like this?’

At this point, his actions were far too removed from the background he claimed to have. 

Stella no longer questioned why Noel had brought someone like Aiden along—everything he had done in the past day silenced any doubts.

The problem, however, was that even Noel herself seemed deeply unsettled by the current situation.

‘How?’

Naturally, if a royal was determined to cover up their crimes, uncovering them would be like threading a needle.

Especially crimes so filthy and twisted that the culprit would go to any lengths to avoid leaving any traces behind.

And the fact that Aiden knew about the classified military tool was even stranger than that.

At this point, it was like shoving an elephant through the eye of a needle.

Noel was more than familiar with the infamous security protocols of the military. If something was classified, it meant no outsider had ever been informed of its existence—this paranoia was well-documented.

And yet…

Aiden knew both secrets. 

How?

That was the only question that kept running through Noel’s mind.

Just how much does he know? How far does his knowledge go?

The more she thought about it, the more confused she became.

Who in the world is this man?

Where did he come from…?

“Lady Noel.”

Stella’s voice interrupted Noel’s spiraling thoughts. 

She hesitated, which was unusual for her, and continued until Noel glanced at her curiously.

Finally, the words spilled out.

“There’s one more thing I’m curious about.”

“Curious?”

“How did the fight even start in the first place? Do you know?”

“Roughly speaking, didn’t the prince provoke him first?”

According to Sir Lester, who was present at the scene, it was something like this: Prince Daniel, displeased with the Lionheart’s groom, started a fight, and Aiden retaliated. 

The person involved probably gave the most straightforward account of the situation, but summarizing it could make it sound something like this:

“Aiden supposedly lost his temper after being insulted as unworthy of being Lady Noel’s husband and lashed out.”

“I’ve gained a bit more respect for him. There’s a manly side to him after all.”

Words always have a way of being interpreted differently depending on how they’re said.

The moment Noel heard this report, a strange twist appeared at the corner of her mouth.

“He liked me that much?”

“There’s no one on this planet who wouldn’t like you, Lady Noel, but it is odd. His attitude now is very different from how he acted initially.”

“It is strange. We weren’t even acquaintances before—”

Noel suddenly stopped talking.

A recent memory flashed through her mind.

—“It seems like you don’t remember the old days, huh? Like when you were a child.”

—“Oh, it’s nothing. I didn’t expect you to have really forgotten.”

Those words.

That man said them.

“Lady Noel? Are you all right?”

Stella’s concerned voice snapped her back to the present.

Noel quickly composed herself, closing her eyes for a brief moment.

“No.”

Then, with a bitter smile curling her lips, she spoke quietly.

“We might have… known each other.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing.”

With that, Noel fell into silence for a moment before opening her eyes and speaking again.

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