I had felt somewhat dispirited until I learned that we weren't talking about the same person. 'Who was he thinking about, if not my father?'

At that moment, the man suddenly laughed. Although his handsome face was pleasing to the eye, it didn't make me feel any better. 'Is he making fun of me?'

"Hey, say something," I responded brusquely, displeased by his rudeness.

At my words, he stopped laughing and looked at me. His gaze was so serious that I became nervous.  'What does he want to say?'

"The gift is a set of cufflinks?" he finally asked.

"Yes, here they are."

When I showed him the cufflinks, he frowned slightly. "They're not a very useful gift for a swordsman."

I frowned. 'Although I'm not a swordsman, I think it's a good enough gift. Is he just trying to start a fight with me?'

"You must be very good at picking gifts," I said sarcastically.

A smile appeared on his face. 'He's indeed handsome, but that's all he has.' My eyes lingered on him for a moment longer, captivated by the rare change in direction of his lips.

"I did give a present to my father a while ago." His smile was now faint on his stony face. "He looked bored these days, but it seems like he's more energetic now, thanks to my gift."

Upon seeing his content expression, I guessed that he was a filial son. 'But what kind of gift would help his father become more energetic?'

"So, what did you give him?" I asked with sudden curiosity.

"That's none of your business," he said sternly.

'Of course, he wouldn't tell me.' Although I hadn't expected an answer in the first place, I frowned at his disgusting personality.

"The duke will like anything from you," he said.

'What, anything from me?' That was only possible if my father was possessed by someone warm and friendly. I was a little offended by his insincere answer.

'I guess he doesn't know my father well, even though he's his disciple.' I sighed. 'But these cufflinks were expensive… I should give them to my father since I have to return the pendant anyway.'

If I didn't leave a note, he wouldn't know they were from me. 'Since he's a workaholic, he will probably stop by his office first, right?' With this in mind, I decided to write a letter that would explain where the pendant and cufflinks came from before leaving everything in his office.

* * *

Four days had passed since the emperor called Duke Floyen to the Imperial Palace.

'Why are you taking so long, Duke Floyen?' Although more reinforcements were brought in, including the duke, who was guarding the Imperial Palace, the emperor couldn't be sure he was completely safe.

'I cannot be careless,' he reminded himself. If the duke betrayed him, the assassins would be able to easily attack him. He gritted his teeth. 'If you betray me, everything you care about will crumble to dust, Regis.'

At that moment, the grand chamberlain entered the emperor's office. "Duke Floyen has asked for a private meeting, Your Majesty.

'Of course, he would.' The emperor observed his ring with a smirk. 'I'm very curious to know who the mastermind is.'

"Tell the duke that I will see him in the evening," he ordered sternly.

Although he didn't have anything important going on right now, the emperor had a reason for stalling the meeting. 'You made me anxious by taking this long to complete the task, so I'll also make you wait.'

At that moment, the grand chamberlain spoke carefully again. "There is another piece of news, Your Majesty."

"What is it?" the emperor asked contently.

The grand chamberlain swallowed nervously and said, "Several officials have signed a petition calling for the return of His Highness the Crown Prince."

The emperor's eyes became fierce. "Bring it here."

The grand chamberlain delivered the petition to the emperor on a golden tray. When he read it, his expression contorted with anger.

"These men must become torn to pieces! How dare they…!" He crumpled the petition and threw it to the floor. "To find a companion for the crown prince and educate him to become the next emperor? They've gone mad!"

A twisted smile suddenly appeared on the emperor's face. "They dared to sign a petition like this when I'm still in good shape. They must think too lightly of the throne."

The grand chamberlain swallowed nervously; the emperor's obsession with the throne was close to madness. He did his best not to provoke the emperor any further, afraid that his anger might fall on him as well.

"Bring those impudent men in front of me right now," the emperor ordered coldly.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the grand chamberlain replied complacently to avoid irritating him any further.

* * *