Chapter : 1345

"I can use the travel time to design the interface," Lloyd thought. "I need to figure out how to connect the Heart to the suit's mana veins. The text said it uses 'Star-Fall' energy. Whatever that is. Probably just high-density mana."

He felt a strange sense of relief. For weeks, he had felt like he was hitting a wall. Every time he tried to make the suit walk, it fell. Every time he tried to make it aim, it got confused. He felt like an imposter. A man pretending to be a genius.

But now, the path was clear. The failure wasn't because his design was bad. The failure was because the components were bad. He was trying to build a spaceship with wood. Now, he knew where to find the steel.

"The Golem Heart," Lloyd said aloud, tasting the words. "It sounds mythical. It sounds powerful."

He started making a list of supplies. Money. Lots of money. Identification papers. A letter of introduction from the Royal Academy would help. He was a professor, after all. That carried some weight.

"Professor Lloyd Ferrum, requesting access to the archives," he practiced saying. "Sounds very professional. Very trustworthy."

He stopped packing for a moment and looked at the corner of his room where the lifeless chassis of the Aegis stood covered by a tarp. It looked like a ghost in the dim light.

"Don't worry," Lloyd whispered to the machine. "I'm going to get you a heart. A real one. You won't be a statue much longer."

He felt a thrill of anticipation. This was an adventure. A treasure hunt. It was exactly the kind of distraction he needed from the looming war and the messy politics of the capital.

"Ramos," Lloyd said. "Here I come."

He didn't know it yet, but the trip to Ramos would be easy. Leaving his house, however, was about to become the hardest thing he had ever done. Because before he could face the past in a museum, he had to face the present in his living room. And the present was very, very complicated.

Lloyd finished packing his small bag with efficient, jerky movements. He didn't feel good. He felt like a man trapped in a room with the air slowly being sucked out. He grabbed his coat, his face set in a hard line. He was going to Ramos. He didn't care about permission, and he certainly didn't care about goodbyes.

He threw the door open and stepped into the hallway, intending to storm past anyone in his way.

Standing there, blocking his path like a specter of guilt and ice, was Rosa.

Lloyd didn't freeze. He didn't smile. He stopped, his eyes narrowing into cold slits. The temperature in the hallway seemed to plummet, but it wasn't just her magic. It was the sheer animosity radiating from him.

"Move," Lloyd said. His voice was flat, devoid of any warmth or humor.

Rosa didn't flinch. She stood her ground, her arms crossed, her expression unreadable. "You are leaving."

"Observation isn't your strong suit, is it?" Lloyd sneered, adjusting the strap of his bag. "Obviously, I am leaving. Now get out of my way."

"You are running away," Rosa corrected calmly.

Lloyd stepped closer, invading her personal space not with affection, but with intimidation. "I am going to fix a problem. Unlike you, who is a problem. I don't have time to explain my schedule to a spy."

"We need to talk, Lloyd," Rosa said, ignoring the insult. "About us. About this... situation."

"There is no 'us'," Lloyd spat. "There is me, and there is the woman who sold my secrets to demons. We settled this. You were supposed to leave. Why are you still polluting my air?"

"I changed my mind," Rosa said. Her voice was steady, maddeningly calm against his hostility. "I am not leaving."

Lloyd looked at her with pure disgust. "You don't get to decide that. I divorced you. Remember? Get out of my house."

"I came back," Rosa said. "This is my home. You are my husband. And I have decided that I do not accept your dismissal."

"I don't care what you accept," Lloyd growled. "You are a traitor. The only reason you aren't in a dungeon is because your mother is a decent woman. Don't push your luck."

He tried to shoulder past her, but she sidestepped, blocking him again.

"No," Rosa said. "I have realized something, Lloyd. You are trying to get rid of me because you are collecting women."

Chapter : 1346

Lloyd stopped. He looked at her as if she had just spoken in a foreign language. "What are you babbling about?"

"Princess Amina," Rosa listed coldly. "Lady Faria. You want to divorce me so you can marry them. You want a harem."

Lloyd let out a harsh, humorless laugh. "Is that what you think? You think this is about lust? God, you are pathetic. I want you gone because looking at you makes me sick. I don't want a harem. I want a life where I don't have to sleep with one eye open."

"That is what you say," Rosa said, her voice dropping to a dangerous, silky whisper. "But the public will see it differently. Think about it, Lloyd. If you force me out now, everyone will say you threw aside your loyal, suffering wife for a foreign princess. They will say you are a power-hungry womanizer who abandoned his first commitment the moment he got a taste of royalty."

Lloyd glared at her. His hand twitched towards his sword, not to draw it, but out of sheer frustration. "You wouldn't dare."

"I would," Rosa challenged, her eyes locking onto his. "I will tell everyone. I will tell the court that I forgave you for your coldness. I will tell them I tried to save our marriage. But you, the cruel husband, kicked me out because I stood in the way of your political ambitions with the Princess."

"That is a lie," Lloyd hissed. "A filthy lie from a filthy liar."

"People trust the grieving wife," Rosa said with a small, terrifying smile. "Especially when the husband is suddenly engaged to a foreign beauty. Who do you think they will believe? The 'Saint of the Coil' who suddenly craves more power? Or the poor, discarded Rosa who just wanted to love him?"

Lloyd stared at her. He hated her. He hated her more in that moment than he had ever hated anyone. She was trapping him. She was weaponizing his own reputation against him. It was brilliant, and it was repulsive.

He knew she was right. If she played the victim card while he was courting Amina, his moral authority would crumble. The King would be displeased. The public would turn.

"You are a monster," Lloyd said quietly.

"I am your wife," Rosa replied.

Lloyd clenched his jaw so hard his teeth hurt. He wanted to scream. He wanted to throw her out the window. But the strategist in him knew he was checkmated. For now.

"Fine," Lloyd said, his voice dripping with venom. "You want to stay in this house? Stay. Rot here for all I care. But don't think for a second that this makes us anything. We aren't partners. We aren't friends. We are enemies sharing a roof."

"We will see," Rosa said. She finally stepped aside, clearing his path. "You may go on your trip, husband. But remember, you come back to me. Or the story I tell the world gets very ugly."

Lloyd didn't look back. He stormed down the hallway, his blood boiling. He needed to get out of this house before he did something permanent. Rosa wasn't just an ex-wife anymore. She was a hostile combatant. And he treated combatants with zero mercy.

Lloyd reached the main courtyard, panting slightly. He had survived Rosa. Now he just had to get to the stables.

"Lloyd!" a voice called out.

Lloyd winced. He knew that voice. It was Amina.

He turned around. Princess Amina was walking towards him. She looked radiant. She also looked like she had news. Bad news.

"Amina," Lloyd said, trying to keep walking. "I am in a bit of a rush. Very urgent rock business."

"This will only take a minute," Amina said, matching his pace. "I received a letter from my father."

"The Sultan?" Lloyd asked. "How is he? Still enjoying ruining my life?"

"He is very happy," Amina said. "He is sending my uncle. To discuss the wedding date."

Lloyd stopped walking. "The what?"

"The wedding date," Amina repeated. "The three-month trial is going well, according to my reports. My father thinks we should formalize things. My uncle is coming to negotiate the dowry and the ceremony."

"We agreed to a trial!" Lloyd hissed. "A trial means we test it! It doesn't mean we skip to the wedding cake!"

"My father is impatient," Amina shrugged. "And he hears rumors. Rumors that you are trying to divorce your first wife. He thinks this means you are ready for me."