65. Reversal

The vivid red marks extending down her neck were glaringly evident, causing Psyche to blush crimson from her face to her ears.

“I… I’ll go out!”

Alexa said in a squeaky voice and quickly left.

Psyche couldn’t even look in Alexa’s direction and hastily covered her body.

Then she began searching for a dress that would cover her body as much as possible.

Her face was so red that it was difficult for her to even raise her head when she was alone.

❖ ❖ ❖

Clint spent the night with Psyche and was caught up in strange questions.

Something seemed off.

Last time when Alexa came and what Psyche said last night felt strangely similar.

The atmosphere between the two wasn’t normal enough to dismiss it as a mere coincidence.

Clint had a temperament to investigate thoroughly once he had a suspicion. Ignoring such things would only lead to bigger problems later.

Feeling that Psyche seemed oddly uncomfortable with his presence in the morning, he decided to leave first.

He was walking alone through the corridors of the palace without any guards accompanying him.

Actually, with the title of Valentine Duke, he didn’t necessarily need guards. Especially in this palace guarded by the Imperial Guard.

“Sire!”

Suddenly, there was a hurried voice coming from behind.

It was Alexander’s voice.

Although he clearly knew who it was, Clint continued walking without looking back.

Finally, Alexander, who had approached in a hurry, spoke with a rough breath.

“Your Excellency, the banquet is about to begin.”

“I know.”

Clint replied with an indifferent expression, as if he was informed of something trivial.

“Are you going to make the Duchess wait?”

“Oh.”

Only then did Clint turn around.

Alejandro chuckled for no reason and followed behind him.

Then Clint spoke again.

“Have you heard anything by any chance?”

“Pardon? What are you referring to?”

“Hmm.”

It seemed like Alejandro also had no idea.

“Think about whether there are any strange rumors circulating, or if there’s anything missing that should be reported to me.”

Clint deliberately diverted the conversation. After pondering for a moment, Alejandro spoke.

“There’s nothing like that. You know I don’t like picking and choosing information to report. I always report everything raw, Your Excellency, don’t you know?”

“I see… What about anything regarding the Duchess?”

“Ah, concerning the Duchess… Hmm.”

Alejandro wore a pensive expression again.

Then he spoke with a subtle tone.

“Is Alexa not performing her duties properly?”

“…”

“Shall I go and scold her to get her act together?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Apologies.”

Scratching his nose, Alejandro forced a silly laugh.

“Alexa came to me and said something strange.”

“Oh, so Alexa does work after all.”

“Don’t try to be cleverer than you are.”

Alejandro then feigned a sad face exaggeratedly. It seemed like he was just playing around more because he was his younger brother.

Seeing Clint’s face for a moment, Alejandro wiped the smile off his face.

“She said I tried to kill the Duchess?”

“What?”

“I wonder if someone is creating strange misunderstandings in between…”

“Oh, now that you mention it!”

Alejandro suddenly made a fist and hit his palm.

“Yesterday, one of the palace maids who was cleaning Your Excellency’s bedroom went straight to the Emperor’s chambers.”

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“Haha…”

Alejandro tried to quickly defuse the situation with an awkward laugh.

“I was trying to prevent any information from leaking to the Emperor from my end while the Duchess was waiting, and I was planning to report it later. I apologize.”

“I see… The Emperor might try something cunning.”

Alejandro nodded.

“Although Alexa is assigned to the Duchess, make sure to keep a close eye on her.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“And… investigate the source of the rumor that I tried to kill the Duchess. We need to know why such a strange idea came about.”

“Understood.”

As they spoke, they had reached where Psyche was waiting.

Alejandro, who first spotted Psyche wearing an elegant dress that reached her neck, approached Clint from behind with a pleased expression and greeted her.

“Madam, you seem to be very conservatively dressed today… Oh, oh!”

He seemed to have tried to play a prank due to the awkward atmosphere, but Alexa, who was standing next to Psyche, stepped on his foot.

“Utterly pointless, just blabbering. Shoo.”

Alexa grabbed Alejandro’s ear and pulled him away from the noble couple.

“I’ll take the foolish brother with me. You go first. I’ll follow.”

She covered Alejandro’s mouth before he could scream and stepped back with a laugh.

“Oh, you troublemaker.”

Hearing Alexa holding Alejandro tightly from behind, Psyche involuntarily waved the fan she held in her hand due to the sudden rush of embarrassment.

Then Clint moved closer to her.

“Did you sleep well last night?”

“Ah…”

Psyche turned her face away, seeming embarrassed.

“You… you already asked me that in the morning…”

With that reply, Psyche felt her face flushing again, which she had just managed to calm down.

“Why do you feel embarrassed every time?”

This time, Clint approached her and took her waist, pulling her closer.

Suddenly feeling his body so close, Psyche didn’t know what to do.

Sometimes, Psyche thought that Clint had a very bold and mischievous side.

But she didn’t know that he possessed such dangerous thoughts, despite appearing indifferent and ignoring passing women.

“We are a couple. What’s there to be embarrassed about…”

“People are watching.”

Psyche quickly stepped away from him, fearing that someone might see them.

Although a fleeting sense of disappointment crossed Clint’s face, he quickly composed himself and gracefully escorted her with firm steps.

Eventually, they arrived at the hall where Sandrine and Kylie were waiting.

Although it was said to be a small-scale party, there seemed to be more nobles invited than expected.

From the entrance, a boy who seemed to be eagerly looking for someone was none other than Kylie.

Even though it had only been a few days since they last met, he greeted Psyche with the brightest smile.

“Your Highness, please don’t call me mom…”

“It’s fine.”

As Psyche spoke with concern, Sandrine, who was standing behind, intervened.

She signaled to Kylie, who had a somewhat pouting expression, to go over to her with a chin gesture.

Kylie happily ran over to Psyche, despite being worriedly watched by Sandrine.

“Look who’s here!”

Kylie exclaimed as if he had found something.

Psyche patted his head and walked inside.

As she entered, the atmosphere suddenly changed, and all eyes were on her.

Then applause erupted from somewhere, and soon everyone there was applauding her.

Psyche felt embarrassed.

She didn’t think what she did for Kylie deserved such praise.

It was merely to alleviate her guilt for losing her own child, so she felt uncomfortable.

Seeing her discomfort, Clint quickly took her hand and led her away to a corner.

Then the atmosphere naturally returned to normal.

It was indeed quite a remarkable event that she found Kylie.

In fact, since the King and Queen of Tarren had no heirs, the King’s brother was the top candidate for the throne succession.

Psyche was practically a lifelong benefactor to the King and Queen of Tarren.

So her status inevitably surpassed that of any other nobles.

Therefore, even for Duke Clint, it was naturally more empowering.

Nobles made every effort to impress them.

It was a completely different scene from when Psyche first came to the palace with Kylie.

If Psyche hadn’t shown any signs of dislike, perhaps nobles would still be trying to strike up a conversation with her now.

Fortunately, there were no eager beavers pestering her after sending Kylie off, thanks to rumors circulating that she was sad to part with him.

Except for one person.

“Huh, if the party’s protagonist is here, what are we doing in a place like this?”

The Emperor laughed, unaware of the situation, as if he had found a good spot.

“Your Majesty…”

Psyche greeted the Emperor in accordance with etiquette.

As she lifted the hem of her dress and slightly bent her knees, she momentarily held her breath.

This was because Prince Leighton was with the Emperor.