Derol leaned more into my hand.

    I pulled him into my arms while Ardion shot a look at him as if he wanted to kill him. Only when I fully embraced Derol did he lift his head.

    "Anyway, if Jonok is still alive, who do you think he’ll blame the most?"

    "Of course it’s Rowell. Back then, he hated him, didn''t he?"

    I still remembered it. It was a conversation I overheard in Duke Orchid''s library. At that time, Jonok had been secretly running an illegal gambling den, even conspiring with the butler.

    Ardion''s green eyes began to gleam with life again. He looked at me with a sparkle in his gaze. "That''s exactly why I want to use him. If we do that, we can push both Jonok and Rowell into the abyss at once, and the crime that’s been pinned on me could be erased."

    "Do you think Jonok will just let himself be used?"

    "It turns out he’s been hopping around gambling dens now, losing all his money and living like a wreck."

    "But Your Highness, Jonok is a very vicious man. If we use him, we might face backlash."

    "That''s true. But right now, Jonok''s resentment towards Rowell is off the charts. He picks fights at the mere mention of the crown prince''s name. That says it all."

    It made sense. Even though he had followed Rowell’s orders, it had ended in the complete destruction of his family, so he couldn’t possibly think well of Rowell.

    "So, what do you think, Laila? I think it’d be fun to set Jonok and Rowell against each other." Ardion’s lips curled into a smile, as if he had already planned everything in his mind for what would happen next.

    "So, how do you plan to use Jonok?"

    "Jonok will make Rowell confess to his crimes, and Rowell will have to pay the price for that confession."

    "Will Rowell do that?"

    Ardion nodded, "Jonok wants Duke Orchid''s fortune. If Jonok reopens the case of Duke Orchid, it’s possible to get a retrial under imperial law."

    "But I doubt Rowell will let a retrial happen..."

    "We''ll make it happen." Ardion smiled leisurely.

    "It sounds easy, but do you think it’s really possible?"

    "The Duke Orchid case is seen as a tragedy. A fire broke out one day, and those inside lost their lives."

    Now that I thought about it, aside from Benji, me, and a few others, most of the people who worked there didn’t survive because Rowell had cruelly locked all the doors.

    "There’s already talk about it. So many people died, yet no proper investigation was done."

    Most of those who died there were innocent. While I was lost in thought, Ardion said leisurely, "If we just stoke the fire a little, it’ll spread on its own. Jonok’s already looking into this case, so it should get bigger, and those who love these kinds of scandals will flock to it."

    Ardion smiled. He was definitely a sharp person. Even as a child, he was a prodigy who understood books with just one read.

    While I was silently admiring him, Derol clicked his tongue. "People aren’t fools. How can we be sure they’ll care if we just drop a little information like that?"

    Ardion looked at Derol and laughed. "Derol, you''re smarter than I thought."

    "It’s all thanks to my master’s guidance." Derol bowed to me. I smiled and patted him.@@@@

    Ardion continued, "As Derol said, just spilling the information won’t make people jump to grab it, but I’ll use newspapers to keep it visible and constant leaking information they’ll find interesting."

    “Didn’t you clearly say that you don’t make mana into water before?”

    But Ardion didn’t respond, so I didn’t keep talking. Since I didn’t know when I would have woken up otherwise, I just believed him.

    At that moment, Ardion held out his hand. “Now that I think about it, I don’t think I cast the tracking spell on you earlier.”

    “...”

    “If you want to stay in my mansion, at least let me cast the tracking spell. It’s still dangerous after all.”

    In the end, I was able to go this far thanks to Ardion’s help. If there had been no tracking spell, I might not be here now. It wasn’t a loss for me anyway.

    Without being stubborn, I held out my wrist to Ardion. He smiled and gently wrapped his hand around my wrist. His warm hand brushed past me for a moment, then I felt a tingling sensation. I furrowed my eyebrows at the stinging sensation.

    Ardion lifted my wrist and kissed it. “I hope you think carefully about marriage, Laila.”

    The soft touch was so sweet that I unconsciously stared at Ardion.

    It seemed as if light was shining around him, even though it was dark around him.

    ? ? ?

    When I opened my eyes, a bright light came rushing in. I blinked and got up from the bed. It was a very clear day.

    “Master!” Derol must have woken up earlier than me because he ran over to me as soon as he saw me.

    “Derol, did you sleep well?”

    “Yes, Master. Master, I’m thirsty.”

    Come to think of it, I hadn’t even given Derol water or food during the night. I looked at the glass of water on the table, but it was already empty. “Derol, wait a minute. I’ll get some water.”

    I should also get some food for Derol while I was up.

    I got out of bed and opened the door. When I went into the hallway, the scenery was quite luxurious. The wall decorations and floors seemed to be of the highest quality, and the atmosphere was special.

    It was more luxurious than Duke Orchid’s mansion. After all, it was a prince’s mansion.

    As I was going down the stairs to the lower floor, I heard a voice.

    “The nobles are urging Your Highness to get married. It seems that since Rowell isn’t married, they are expecting something from you. This is the family that sent the proposal to you.”

    It was an old man’s voice. I held onto the stair railing and glanced over. It was someone I had never seen before. He had a neatly trimmed white beard and looked quite neat overall.

    “When did they dare send something like this when they used to ignore me then?” Ardion just stared down at the document the old man had given him.

    “Your Highness, there aren’t many opportunities like this. The House of Nobles is concerned about your marriage, and if you marry a powerful family on this occasion—”

    “What they want is the bloodline of the imperial family.”

    “Yes, that’s true. But if you do get married, it’s better to do it earlier than Rowell. Right now, Rowell won’t listen to the House of Nobles even if they bring up marriage. That’s why he’s not in his good mood.”

    “Yeah, the earlier I get married, the better. Just, I don’t know if Laila will listen to me.”

    Story is moving so fast suddenly.