Normally, Max would have hesitated for a moment before jumping into the scene as the Dragon Knights were the ones at the emperor's beck and call. Nevertheless, the sight of his lady being dragged away by force ignited his anger. Moreover, the man was wearing a wicked smile.

'How dare he touch her…' As he stood in a daze, Max realized he had always treated Jubelian with utmost care. The fact that his father's dogs dared to lay a finger on her infuriated him.

* * *

Stepping on the fallen knight's hand, Max took the man's sword.

'This will be your last moment.' Possessed by a murderous spirit, he raised the sword high to strike his captive. Just then, in his periphery, he saw Jubelian was staring at him from next to Beatrice. Although her complexion was ghastly pale, her periwinkle eyes were fixed on him.

'I forgot she was there,' he quickly came to his senses. Feeling helpless, he lowered his arms and gritted his teeth. His unfortunate circumstances irritated him, but the most important thing to do now was to chase away his father's minions. Instead of beheading the knight, Max pointed the sword at the man's neck and demanded, "What were you doing to my sister?"

The leader of the Dragon Knights—Gale—swallowed dryly. His face had turned white. His original goal had been to intimidate Duke Floyen's daughter for breaking into a prohibited area so that this incident could be silenced. The plan was now ruined as the crown prince was involved. He decided to answer honestly. "His Majesty commanded us to find Her Highness and escort her back to the ball as she had suddenly disappeared. She was resisting, and that was why—" Gale felt his head turn violently to the side and soon tasted blood in his mouth. The crown prince had punched him again.

"How bold of you to place the blame on the emperor for your disdaining of the royal family. Remember that you are no more than His Majesty's servant."

The knight felt pain in his jawbone—it felt like it had been broken. In any case, he had no choice but to remain silent as the crown prince's anger was justified. Despite acting from the emperor's orders, it was true that Gale and his knights had ignored the royal princess' wishes as well. Hurriedly lowering his head, he apologized. "What I've done was extremely rude. Please forgive me, Your Highness and Your Royal Ladyship."

"I can't bear the sight of you. Leave," Max spat out.

Gale hastily got up from his knees upon hearing those words. He then gathered his subordinates to leave. "Let's get going."

Max turned to the two ladies once the emperor's dogs disappeared from his sight. He was afraid that Jubelian might have hidden somewhere due to his violent actions, but the lady was undoing the gag on Beatrice.

"Are you okay, Your Highness?" she was asking. Max couldn't believe how calm she was despite the frightening situation she had been in. His face hidden behind the mask brightened up to a smile. If he could, he wanted to hug her immediately. He took a step forward, but Jubelian stood in front of Beatrice in response as if to protect her. Max let out a sigh.

'I helped them… and even refrained from killing those b*stards… So why is she so wary of me?'

* * *

Although his face was covered by a mask, I could tell that he was vexed. The sight of him holding the tip of the sword at the knight's neck as if to behead the man reminded me why the crown prince was called a devil on the battlefield. It was ironic that I ended up meeting my greatest adversary while trying to avoid a small mishap.

Swallowing nervously, I watched the situation unfold. That was when the crown prince asked, "What were you doing to my sister?"