73. Traces of Another’s Touch

The Emperor smiled, thinking that his appearance had actually turned out well.

“Duke, I won’t hold you responsible. The Duchess mocked the Crown Prince by poisoning him. Isn’t this a betrayal on her part?”

Without waiting for Clint’s response, he jeered.

Appearing alone without anyone else accompanying him, Clint merely stood and looked towards the bed.

Seeing Psyche entangled with Leighton, Clint’s eyes literally rolled back in his head.

He walked over to Psyche with large strides and threw his jacket at her.

“…”

Then, he forcefully pulled Leighton away from burying his face in her neck and shoved him to the floor.

“Aaaah!”

Leighton, unable to properly resist, writhed on the ground.

“Duke!”

The Emperor rushed over to them in surprise.

“Clint!”

Even Psyche was surprised by his merciless actions. Clint spoke irritably.

“Don’t talk and cover yourself.”

With her ears turning red, Psyche hesitantly accepted his jacket and put it on.

The scent she always smelled from him didn’t even seem to emanate from the Talais flower, let alone its fragrance.

“What do you think you’re doing!”

“I suppose that’s a question to be directed to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Avoiding the enraged gaze of Clint, the Emperor turned his eyes away.

“I-I was just… trying to help you!”

“When have I ever received help from you, Your Majesty?”

“Still! Look at this. Isn’t it a well-known fact throughout the entire kingdom that the Duchess is knowledgeable about plants?”

Ah, Psyche bit her lip as she realized the Emperor’s intentions with the trap he laid.

Since Psyche’s return, rumors had spread that she possessed knowledge of plants as extensive as the palace doctors. Moreover, in a kingdom devoid of mountains or forests, subjects rarely took interest in subjects like “botany”, considering it knowledge that hardly made any money.

However, ever since Psyche rescued the Crown Prince, many nobles admired her botanical knowledge.

So…

It seemed the Emperor was implying that Psyche used Talais flowers to poison the Crown Prince.

Since nobles naturally associated Psyche with anything related to plants or herbs, the Emperor’s accusation was likely to stick.

“Ha…”

Unable to kill the Crown Prince, the Emperor had naturally used a minimal amount of poison and staged a bizarre scene using the intoxicated Leighton and Psyche.

Seeing two half-naked individuals, anyone would misunderstand the situation.

Psyche’s mouth dried up at this situation.

She was more worried about Clint than the Emperor or the Crown Prince.

At that moment, the Emperor added to Clint’s silence.

“…”

“Is it reasonable to tolerate the Duchess, who seduced the Crown Prince with such a cunning scheme?”

The Emperor raised his voice as if reprimanding him.

Then, Clint, with his deadpan expression, glanced at Psyche and smirked.

His reaction was quite contrary to what the Emperor expected.

As Clint moved towards Psyche, his footsteps, dry and echoing, sounded as if they represented his thoughts sharply.

“I am the one who didn’t care when my wife was accused of seducing another man’s child.”

It was a dry and chilling voice.

“Would I even blink in such a situation?”

A twisted smile played on Clint’s lips.

The Emperor naturally expected him to flee.

Seeing the situation, the Emperor believed the Duke was a possessive person, especially since he had shown an attachment to Psyche. He thought showing scenes of her with other men would make him crumble.

He thought he would misunderstand and suffer alone.

He considered him flawless externally but emotionally lacking.

However, his expectations were half right and half wrong.

With the Duke’s assertion that he wouldn’t even blink, the Emperor was left speechless.

“So if you want to imprison my wife in the underground dungeon, Your Majesty, be prepared to go to war against the Duke.”

The Emperor’s forehead reddened.

“Feeding the Crown Prince poison is nothing short of treason!”

“Perhaps my wife was falsely accused.”

But Clint’s voice was very calm and composed.

“Your Majesty knows better than anyone the Duke’s loyalty. If he was asked to go to war, he went. If he was asked to help the Taranian royal family in exile, he did. If you suspect him for this, I would be quite disappointed.”

“Suspect! Here, in this situation!”

The Emperor made a baffled sound.

But the Duke’s attitude was too stern. He chuckled and spoke again.

“In the past, wasn’t it common for men or women in the palace to have affairs behind someone’s back?”

“What did you say!”

His tone was so disrespectful that the current situation felt trivial.

Contrary to the calm demeanor of Clint, the Emperor shouted in anger. But Clint did not yield.

“His Highness the Crown Prince may have enjoyed a moment of pleasure, and my wife… if you consider that, perhaps I should quietly let this matter rest.”

Psyche wanted to speak up, to say it wasn’t true. That it wasn’t even remotely close to what happened. But Clint reached out to Psyche, stopping her, and continued speaking.

“Oh, and by the way, Your Majesty, I’ve heard you have a beloved mistress too.”

At that, the Emperor’s face turned as red as it could get.

The Duke sat Psyche, who was still sitting on the bed, up and spoke.

“I won’t say anything about this matter, so please, Your Majesty, just let it go.”

It was nothing short of a command.

Almost like a threat.

The Duke grabbed Psyche’s wrist and pulled her out, turning quickly in front of the Emperor and leaving with her.

Psyche felt like she might fall trying to keep up with Clint’s fast pace.

“Clint!”

She quickly called his name to dispel the misunderstanding about her and the Crown Prince’s situation, but he didn’t stop for a moment.

Then, at some point, as he stood still, he suddenly turned around to face her.

“…”

“Ah, Clint. That’s…”

As Psyche hesitated for a moment on how to speak, Clint’s eyebrows twitched, and suddenly he approached her.

“Tsk…”

He clicked his tongue once and fully opened the jacket she was wearing.

“Sorry.”

“Yes?”

His sudden apology left Psyche speechless.

She thought he might get angry or say something sarcastic.

“Aren’t you cold?”

Clint looked at Psyche with a very annoyed expression.

At that moment.

“My Lord!”

From afar, Alejandro and the knights were coming their way.

Clint naturally shielded Psyche and stood in front of her.

“Why are you alone! We were worried sick looking for you.”

Alejandro came panting and rushed over. He noticed Psyche standing behind Clint and recoiled, about to say something, but he was stopped by Clint.

“Huh? Bu…!”

“Turn around.”

“What? Y-yes?”

Clint said irritably.

Since he hadn’t confirmed Psyche’s attire under Clint’s body yet, he had a very curious expression, but Clint’s face was so stern that he couldn’t dare to oppose him.

He turned his head like a scolded dog and waved his hand to the knights behind him to look the other way.

They quickly left the palace and headed towards the carriage.

Clint had buried his face in his hands throughout the journey.

Then, just before they arrived, he spoke.

“I thought my wife had left me again.”

“Ah…”

Now Psyche understood why his face looked so desperate.

Sometimes, Clint truly looked like a man in love, so she didn’t know what to do.

In the face of such a man, she couldn’t find the chilling atmosphere that had once tried to kill her.

Psyche often wanted to believe in the man who loved her, but she quickly pushed that thought away.

Since returning, this cycle of conflicting emotions had continued.

She brushed off her concerns about leaving as just a contractual obligation and kept her emotions at bay.

According to Clint’s account, it took about two days to return to the palace and find Psyche after the hunt.

During that time, Clint felt like he was really facing death.

When he found Psyche in bed with Prince Leighton, he thought he had completely lost his mind.

Upon returning to the ducal residence, he took her to his bedroom without a second thought.

As soon as the door closed with a thud, he took off his jacket and asked her.

“Here?”

“Yes?”

Clint reached for her neck.

“I asked where that bastard kissed you.”

Psyche nodded silently, her head reeling from the intensity in the man’s eyes, as he seemed to be trying to uncover traces of another’s touch.