I frowned slightly at his unexpected question. 'Who is he to say that the crown prince will make such a promise?' I became flustered but then decided not to think too deeply about his question since it was Max I was talking to. 'He normally says weird things. This is probably just a joke.' To be sociable, one had to be able to respond appropriately to jokes. Although I had no intentions of getting married, I went along with him since he was just teasing me.

"Well, if he tells me that he won't kill me, then I might think about it."

His face brightened at my words as if he thought his joke had worked on me. But as soon as he opened his mouth, my face darkened at the nonsense that came out.

"You never know. Marrying the crown prince may not be as bad as you think."

I frowned at the man who had no sense of humor. "I don't like those kinds of jokes."

Max's face twisted into a frown again at my firm comment.

* * *

"Welcome back. How was your day?" Fresia asked Max when he returned to his residence.

When Max looked back at her, Fresia hardened her expression when she noticed her lord's somewhat gloomy aura. 'Did something happen?' She was concerned about many things, such as Max getting into an argument with Duke Floyen, or something bad happening with Lady Floyen. Fresia was watching Max with worrisome eyes when he spoke.

"I have something to ask, Fresia."

She swallowed nervously at his dispirited tone and replied, "Please, feel free to ask anything."

Max sighed and opened his mouth. "Am I the object of fear among the people? For example… like bears or leopards?"

Fresia shook her head at his words.

'That's what I thought. I have never done anything like killing someone aimlessly… That woman is strange for being afraid of me,' Max thought when he heard a firm voice.

"No, I assure you that you're much scarier than those things."

Max scowled at Fresia's answer. 'So that's what the people have been thinking of me.' As he was thinking of how disgraceful the people were, he recalled the words Jubelian had said to him.

"He's scary. I heard he even kills his own people if he doesn't like them."

Max furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. 'I think I just need to let her know that I won't harm her…' Even though it was obvious he had no intention of doing so, there was still a chance that Jubelian might run off as soon as he told her that he was the crown prince. Max became exasperated as he tried to figure out a way to convey his feelings.

Watching Max struggle, Fresia guessed why he looked so distressed and opened her mouth. "Are you upset about the lady? Could it be that… you're struggling to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her?"

Max flinched and glared at Freisa. "How did you know?"

'It's obvious.' Fresia sighed. While running the salon, she had overheard a lot of people's troubles. Among them, the most common problems were about romantic love. When it came to love, the wise lady, the renowned scholar, and even the experienced politician became a fool.

'I guess I should help him.'

As the owner of the largest salon in the empire, Fresia decided to use her experience to give Max some advice. "Why don't you try writing her a letter?"

"A letter?"

"Yes, there's nothing better than using a letter to convey your thoughts."

Max became deep in thought at Fresia's words, then opened his mouth. "Write to the emperor and tell him that I'll return soon."

"Huh? All of a sudden?" Fresia asked in confusion when Max suddenly said he would send a letter to the emperor instead of the person she had expected.

'Why on earth did he change his mind?' Despite the emperor's urging, her lord had postponed returning to the palace until now. She couldn't wrap her head around why Max had suddenly decided to return like this out of the blue. 'Is he perhaps planning to start putting pressure on the emperor and empress?' Although many preparations had been made for the uprising, it was still too early to reveal any hints. 'This is a big deal… and based on His Highness' personality, he might not stop there. I'll have to give him some serious words of warning before he enters the palace.'

Contrary to his subordinate's intricate reasoning, Max's decision to return was extremely simple. 'If I write a letter in the name of the crown prince and let her know that I'm not a scary person, she'll be relieved.' For this to work, people would need to know that the crown prince had returned to the palace. There was no way Fresia could've guessed that this was the reason her lord was trying to return.

* * *

The stars disappeared one by one as the dim sky slowly turned lavender. Regis was in his office, sitting in front of his desk. He was beginning to feel uneasy these days as his daughter had become unexpectedly lively and his disciple's behavior was changing. From night to dawn, Regis couldn't help but agonize over what to do about these unforeseen events.

'That's right. I've already made my decision. I just didn't have the courage to put it into action until now.' Regis firmly closed his eyes as the fatigue overwhelmed him, but when he thought of his lovely daughter, he slowly opened them again.

'She might come to hate me.' Regis smiled bitterly as he gradually stood up.

'Master didn't sleep at all last night… Will he be okay?' Derrick gazed upon the duke with troubled eyes when his master soon gave him an order.

"Get me ready to enter the imperial palace."