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"Yeah, sorry about that. I got swept up by the crowd—"

"Why do you look so pale, Your Grace?" Althea inquired.

"She is right," Clyde agreed, worry knitting his brow. "Did you eat anything weird while you were off on your little solo advture?"

Vyan shook his head, wiping sweat from his face. "Nothing like that. I think… I think I was hit by black magic."

Althea\'s eyes wided in surprise. "Someone used black magic in this bustling marketplace? On you?"

"I don\'t know if it was aimed at me specifically, but I felt it. Something touched me, and I just—" Vyan\'s voice faltered as the oppressive dark ergy weighed on him, his chest tighting.

"You look awful," Althea observed and placed a hand on his cheek. She closed her eyes, channeling some of her healing ergy into him.

Relief washed over Vyan like a cool breeze on a sweltering day, the dark ergy dissipating from his chest.

"Sorry, that\'s all I can manage right now. It would have be more effective if I could perform purification magic," Althea apologized, as if she had just handed him a half-eat sandwich instead of a healing spell.

"No, not at all. I feel much better," Vyan reassured her, guinely grateful, and took her hand. "Thank you, Your Imperial Highness."

"Of course, no problem," she smiled.

Clyde grabbed Vyan\'s wrist just as he was about to kiss Althea\'s hand and exclaimed, "Hold up, Your Grace! Your hand looks as sweaty as if jt just lost a wrestling match with a waterfall. Let me get you a handkerchief."

Vyan shot him a flat look. "Thank you, Clyde."

\'She is a princess, lover boy. Everyone is supposed to kiss her hand as a courtesy. So, keep your jealousy in check,\' Vyan mtally rebuked Clyde.

\'You are her cousin. No need to be so formal,\' Clyde retorted telepathically.

\'Step-cousin,\' Vyan corrected.

Iyana glanced at the two m with a hint of confusion and interjected, "So, Your Grace, do you still want to chat here? You did mtion something about a dark magician lurking a."

"No, I think we should relocate," Vyan agreed. "Clyde, teleport us somewhere quieter. Preferably the countryside."

"Got it," Clyde replied eagerly. "Hold my hand, you two," he instructed, his eyes lighting up at the thought of Althea holding his hand.

Vyan reluctantly grabbed his hand, but Althea also hesitated, saying, "I get why His Grace needs your help, but I can teleport myself if you just tell me where we are going."

Vyan almost laughed at his frid\'s deflated expression but managed to keep it together, while Clyde explained calmly, "Your Imperial Highness, let me handle this mundane task. Don\'t waste your mana on something like this."

"Long-distance teleportation drains a good chunk of mana. Adding two extra people to that? It\'s too much pressure on you," she reasoned firmly, standing by her principles.

Clyde couldn\'t help but chuckle softly. "Ev in your position, you are considerate of my well-being?"

"Why wouldn\'t I be? Just because I am royalty doesn\'t make you any less of a human being, does it?" she responded.

He met her determined gaze for a momt before a fond smile spread across his face. Gosh, how is she so adorable?

"Alright, I surrder," he smiled like a defeated lover, while Vyan cringed, "You can handle the teleportation yourself, Your Highness."

———

Vyan and Althea stood by a sere pond in a quaint village, their reflections shimmering on the still water. They were locked in a serious conversation, while Clyde watched from a distance.

"Your Grace, I won\'t beat a the bush and ask you something directly. Why don\'t you want Easton to be the next emperor?" Althea asked bluntly, her demeanor stern and guarded, "My brother is the perfect candidate. He is smart," she rolled her eyes, "rational, and has morals tighter than my corset."

Vyan chuckled lightly and thought about dodging the question, but the subtle steely determination in her eyes left him no choice. "Honestly, it\'s a petty reason," he admitted.

"I don\'t mind pettiness, especially wh it\'s befiting me. But I would still like to know," she replied, curiosity practically oozing from her.

He let out a long, melodramatic sigh and stared at the pond. "The reason is... Lady Iyana."

"Easton\'s fiancée?" she asked, eyebrows arched.

He nodded.

"What does she have to do with all this—oh, wait. You used to be her personal knight, didn\'t you?"

Another nod.

She gasped. "Did you fall in love with her or something?"

"Good to see you did your homework," Vyan remarked with a playful smirk.

"I did my research the day you took over as Grand Duke," she clarified, feeling a sse of deja vu. Did I say this to some else before? "It\'s my duty to know about the key players in the imperial court."

Smart and cautious like Easton, Vyan mused, mtally noting to keep his mage abilities under wraps.

"So, answer me this: you want to stop Easton from being emperor just because of Lady Iyana? That\'s it?" Althea asked, furrowing her brows in disbelief.

"Yep." Vyan met her gaze and tilted his head slightly. "Is that reason not ough?"

Althea pondered for a momt before countering, "Why don\'t you just steal her away from Easton, th? With your currt status and power, it should be a piece of cake."

"No," Vyan chuckled without a hint of humor. "You misunderstand. I don\'t want her anymore. I just want to make her suffer."

"So, you don\'t love her anymore?" she probed.

"No, not at all. All I have in my heart for her now is pure, unadulterated hatred and a thirst for vgeance."

Althea couldn\'t help but be amused by the dark fire in his eyes.

Being a romance novel thusiast, she knew that the line betwe hatred and love was perilously thin. It made her curious about which side Vyan would ultimately land on.

"Iyana wants to be the empress," Vyan continued, his voice dripping with spite. "So it\'s simple: first, I will strip Prince Easton of his crown prince title, shattering her dream of becoming the empress. Th, wh she is clinging to the hope of at least being a prince\'s wife, I will break off their gagemt." He scoffed, "She doesn\'t deserve to marry into royalty."

"That\'s...twisted," Althea said, struggling to digest his plan. "But basically, you have nothing personal against Easton?"

"I mean, I do, if you consider that she dumped me to chase her fantasy of becoming his que," Vyan replied, his tone laced with sarcasm.

"How do I know you won\'t turn on me if you suddly feel like Lady Iyana has suffered ough?" Althea demanded.

"Turn on you? Princess, I am a paragon of loyalty," Vyan declared with exaggerated clarity. "Ev if by some miracle I get bored of tormting Iyana—which, trust me, is about as likely as a snowstorm in the desert—I will still help you become the next ruler of the Haynes Empire. I promise."

Althea scrutinized his expression, concluding that he wasn\'t being tirely truthful. But… he doesn\'t seem like he means me harm. I guess I can trust him.

"I am still binding you with the sacred oath, just so you know," she informed him.

The sacred oath was a magical contract with severe consequces for any breach. Once signed, it was irreversible.

"You would be foolish not to," Vyan responded, extding his hand with a playful smile.

She chuckled lightly and shook his hand. "Wow, I cannot believe I am not repulsed by you. I actually kind of like you. Your vdetta against Easton is fascinating to say the least. Makes me want to know more."

"You didn\'t think you would like me?" he gasped in mock horror. "Why, whatever gave you such a terribly rude impression of your dear step-cousin?"

"Well, my father took a liking to you, and ev if nobody else knows, I know what he is really like," she retorted. "So I thought it was safe to assume you were an evil incarnation too."

"Touché," he laughed. "So what about you? Why don\'t you want your brother to be emperor? Is it just sibling rivalry, or is there something deeper?"

Her smile faded as she replied, "I would tell you, but let\'s save that for another time."

Vyan gauged her reaction and conceded, "As you wish."

"By the way, have you met your real cousins yet?" Althea inquired, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Oh, no. I hav\'t had the time," he expressed, showing remorse. "I didn\'t ev get to visit my aunt yet. I heard she was sick last time. How is she now?"

"I understand, you must be busy. But she is doing better now."

"How did she get sick, though?" he inquired, although he knew.

"Oh, the usual," Althea shrugged. "Empress Jade did something to her. That woman is a real viper," she groaned in annoyance.

"Her son is Prince Izac, right?"

"Yep. That buffoon is her blood, alright. But I don\'t get how that is possible. She is so shrewd, and he is just… so dumb. You will not believe what he said during a formal meeting with some foreign voys last time."

"Oh, please, do tell," Vyan said with a grin, clearly eager for some juicy gossip.

"He actually welcomed them by saying, \'May your camels always find water.\' They were from a coastal nation! No camels in sight."

Vyan burst out laughing. "I guess brains skipped a geration."

Althea giggled. "And here\'s the kicker: wh they looked confused, he doubled down and started talking about the desert culture he knew absolutely nothing about."

They continued their banter, walking a the pond like old frids catching up on dless gossip.

Meanwhile, Clyde leaned against a tree, his eyes narrowed like an eagle, throwing daggers at the pair from his place.