Erita, the niece of Empress Adiba Janine, was a young lady of a marquis family directly connected to the imperial family. Elsen, though the third son of Count Maiel, shared a similar predicament with Ruth. Both their mothers had been childhood friends and were once considered the most sought-after courtesans in the kingdom. Even after they were formally acknowledged into their fathers’ noble families, their mothers’ pasts followed them like an indelible shadow. Perhaps that’s why Ruth felt such a deep bond with Elsen.

“If you like Erita, that’s all that should matter. Who cares about the rest?”
“Her family won’t approve.”
“Come on, you’re twenty-two. You’re already running late. Propose as soon as she comes of age.”
“And yet, you’re still single too.”
“I don’t intend to marry.”

For noble sons, both of them were already past the expected age for marriage. Elsen had been waiting for Erita, whom he had adored since childhood, while Ruth had no intention of passing down his ambiguous status to any future children. More than anything, he had no desire to become a pawn in his father’s political schemes. Ruth had no intention of serving the Kaizel family’s ambitions, nor did he want to rely on their power.

With power came obligation. Ruth’s current melancholy was largely tied to that fact. Whether he wanted it or not, he had received help from the Kaizel family. And now, he felt he would have to repay that debt. For all he knew, his sudden promotion might have been a setup for an arranged marriage.

The thought made his chest tighten again.
“I wish we could have switched places,” Ruth muttered, almost as a lament.

Elsen looked at him in surprise, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.
“Look at the situation. If you were the captain, you could have proposed to Erita and gotten married. Meanwhile, I wouldn’t have to feel indebted to my family.”
“Wait… that’s what’s bothering you?”

Elsen chuckled in disbelief and ran his hand through Ruth’s long, chestnut-brown hair, tousling it messily. His slender locks, which reached his waist, tangled in Elsen’s fingers, making them look wild and disheveled.

“Don’t think of it as a debt. He’s still your father.”
“I never wanted a father like him. To me, family is my mother, Leia, your mother, and you.”

Ruth’s mother, Leysha, had only accepted Lyman Kaizel’s proposal for her children’s sake. Despite her pride and elegance, she had eventually set aside her dignity after Ruth’s younger sister, Leia, was born. Leysha had refused Lyman’s proposals countless times, but she couldn’t bear the thought of her children growing up in the courtesans’ district. Especially Leia, whom she feared might inherit the same fate. Unlike boys, who had the option to leave the district by becoming mercenaries or knights, girls often ended up following their mothers’ footsteps.

Though Leysha had chosen that life for herself, she couldn’t force it on her daughter. Ruth could still recall his mother’s proud figure from those days. Riding in her carriage, she had been a striking presence, adored and envied by all who saw her. But now, she lived quietly, sewing in a room at the Kaizel estate. Had Lyman not intervened, Leysha would have retired with grace, not as someone suffocated by a loveless marriage.

Ultimately, Lyman had been the cause. He had threatened that neither Ruth nor Leia would be recognized unless Leysha accepted his proposal. In the end, he had drained the vibrancy from her once-flourishing life. Ruth hated his father for failing to protect the woman he had supposedly loved so much.

“Still, that’s why we’re here now. Who knows how our lives might have turned out otherwise?”
“I’d have preferred it. I’d rather have lived freely in the courtesans’ district. I never wanted any of this.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”

Knowing how deeply Ruth loved that part of his life, Elsen tousled his friend’s hair one last time before standing.
“Let’s head back. It’s still chilly at night.”

Elsen extended a hand toward Ruth, who grasped it lightly as he stood. Ruth quickly straightened his disheveled hair and tied it back, once again presenting the polished, impeccable image of a knight.

“I can’t picture it, honestly,” Elsen remarked with a smile.
“Picture what?”
“You and me, staying in the district and becoming pimps or roughnecks. It just doesn’t fit.”
“Well, look at Kasha. He’s doing fine.”

Ruth’s mention of their childhood friend brought a laugh from Elsen.
“That guy was born for it.”

With thoughts of their coldly beautiful and hauntingly fitting friend, the two walked side by side into the breezy summer night.

“Is it true that the new Knight Commander is Ruth Kaisel?”

Late at night, Jesse, who had come to find Ail, asked with sparkling eyes. Jesse, the son of Lasha Linus, Ail’s cousin and the younger sibling of the current emperor, Pedro Linus, often visited Ail at the palace, being of a similar age and acting as a conversational companion. Despite his young age, Jesse was at the center of all the gossip in the social world and often brought various bits of information to Ail. Though most of it turned out to be useless rumors.

“You didn’t come all this way just to ask me that, did you?”

Ail, who had been about to go to bed, frowned slightly in annoyance. Jesse, sitting casually in the center of the room with his playful brown eyes glinting, laughed.

“Of course not. Since it concerns Your Highness, I came to provide some valuable information.”

“I already know he’s the youngest son of the Chancellor.”

“Then, have you heard the rumors that he’s a sodomite?”

The bluntness of Jesse’s words, chosen to spark Ail’s interest, made Ail furrow his brows further. He suspected Jesse was about to share yet another nonsensical rumor.

“What?”

“It’s true. He’s been meeting secretly at night in the northern palace with Elsen Miel, the third son of Count Miel. It’s practically public knowledge.”

“And what does that have to do with me?”

“It does have to do with you. There’s a rumor that Erita Jenin, currently considered as a potential bride for Your Highness, is secretly in love with Elsen Maiel.”

Smiling smugly, Jesse delivered this with confidence, but Ail responded with a cold chuckle.

“And what does that have to do with me? I couldn’t care less who my potential bride loves, nor who that person happens to be with.”

“How can you say it doesn’t matter? Doesn’t it hurt your pride? The woman who might become your empress loves someone else!”

Jesse’s exaggerated tone was met with Ail’s unchanging indifference. Erita, technically a distant cousin to Ail, was merely a formality on the list of potential betrothal candidates. It was already well-known that the current emperor’s affections leaned heavily toward Ruth’s younger sister, Leia. The likelihood of Erita becoming his fiancée was slim.

“Does it matter? It’s just a political marriage.”

“… Well, yes, but… doesn’t it bother you to have someone with such a complicated relationship close to you?”

“Not if they’re not close to me.”

“But he’s stunningly beautiful, isn’t he? The fact that Ruth Kaisel, with such beauty, has never had any romantic entanglements or been married must be because of Elsen Miel. And Elsen likely hasn’t married for the same reason. If that’s true, Erita would only end up being rejected by Elsen and then married off to you.”

“None of that concerns me.”

Ail dismissed the topic bluntly and climbed onto his bed, ignoring Jesse. Jesse stared at Ail with a mixture of frustration and exasperation. Most people, as humans, would show at least some interest in such rumors, but Ail Linus, his young cousin and the crown prince of this country, was entirely disinterested.

Though Ail pretended to listen when politics were involved, Jesse was increasingly convinced that Ail lacked emotional depth.

He felt no genuine interest, empathy, or affection for others. In fact, Jesse sometimes doubted whether Ail even cared for his own parents. While he masked it well from others, Jesse could tell. Ail truly seemed devoid of emotion.

“Doesn’t it bother you at all?”

“I don’t care. As long as they don’t point a blade at my neck, it’s none of my business.”

“… As I thought, that’s just how you are.”

Jesse had been excited, thinking this time it was something big, and had rushed over immediately, but in the end, the result was the same. Feeling strangely deflated, Jesse rose from his seat.

“My apologies for disturbing you so late. Rest well.”

“Leave.”

With Ail’s curt reply, Jesse cautiously crossed the room toward the door. Before opening it, he turned once more to glance at Ail’s bed, offering a slight bow, and then left the room.

Ail, meanwhile, paid no attention to Jesse’s farewell, his eyes closed as if in complete indifference. Watching his cousin’s unshakable composure, Jesse let out a bitter chuckle. He wondered when this beautiful, young future ruler might ever reveal his emotions and felt a growing curiosity.

With a strange sense of determination to one day see a truly human expression on Ail’s face, Jesse left the room and walked down the long corridor.