A Knight Who Protects His Enemies

Vivian calmed her excitement and put on her mask.

Smiling, she asked, “Why is the princess looking for Kyle? You two aren’t that close.”

Reyana answered without a hint of hesitation. “Not that close? We’re friends.”

Vivian let out a small laugh. It wasn’t that it was funny; it was meant to provoke Reyana.

“…How often have you two met to be considered friends? You’ve only met once in the last seven years.”

“Is friendship evaluated solely by the amount of time spent together? What matters is the depth of the encounters. Just the other day, we danced together. Wasn’t it the case that Kyle only danced with me at that time? That seems like a good enough reason to consider him a special friend…”

“…”

“Also, we could say we have a sort of childhood friend connection.”

Vivian struggled to suppress the unease welling up from deep within her chest at Reyana’s boastful words.

Both of them already knew without speaking that a subtle battle of wits was unfolding.

“…I don’t think Kyle sees it that way. You can assert your claim to friendship alone…”

“Then let’s go ask him. Let’s inquire again. Where is Kyle?”

Vivian joked, “How would I know? Kyle always acts according to his own whims.”

“You’re telling me that the owner of Rondore Castle doesn’t know Kyle’s whereabouts? I’d understand normally, but today is the duke’s birthday. How can you not know where Kyle is on such an important day? Or could it be that Kyle isn’t even here to celebrate the duke’s birthday for him?”

“…”

“…It seems you two aren’t as close as I thought, are you?”

The implication that someone closer to Kyle existed stirred resentment within her.

It was impressive to see Princess Reyana adept in social maneuvering, possessing the skill to provoke others and extract the desired responses. It was only natural, considering she had survived out in the field for seven years.

Vivian finally sighed and said, “Kyle is ill right now.”

“Pardon?”

Reyana asked, taken aback.

“He’s resting.”

Reyana’s expression shifted to one of concern. Along with that concern, Vivian could also sense a hint of doubt creeping in.

“How could he be sick… Kyle has never gotten sick before…”

“How would you know whether Kyle often falls ill or not, Princess? What do you truly know about him?”

Reyana fell silent at the remark but soon asked again.

“…Why did you hide this fact?”

“I’ll throw the question back at you. Why were you so insistent on probing when I said he wasn’t here? Should I report every little thing happening in my territory to you, Princess?”

“…”

Reyana couldn’t find any words in response this time either.

Vivian turned and glanced at Prince Thread.

“Prince Thread. I’m unsure whether the princess has come to celebrate me or to pick a fight. It’s quite confusing.”

Vivian’s words were a clear signal—an insistence to rein in his wife.

Knowing Vivian’s influence, Thread couldn’t afford to ignore her hint.

After all, this was meant to be a celebration, not a conflict.

Reyana replied in a tone that seemed defensive, “I just wanted to see a friend…”

“—Reyana, that’s enough.”

Thread interjected.

Displeasure washed over Reyana’s face.

Was it dissatisfaction born from not being able to meet Kyle?

Vivian couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at the situation.

Did she still not realize it? That her relationship with Kyle had already ended.

The moment she married Thread, maintaining that distance from the past became impossible.

And was Thread truly unaffected by this?

No matter how much he claimed to harbor no feelings for Reyana, from Vivian’s perspective, Thread appeared utterly pathetic for merely observing his wife’s behavior.

“I had no intention of causing any trouble. I apologize if I have offended the duke.”

Thread continued.

“…Reyana likely had no ill intentions either. She was probably just curious about why the eldest son of the Allen family, a prominent house in the East Kingdom, was nowhere to be seen.”

“Pardon?”

“The explanation has quelled my curiosity. Please send my regards to Kyle. I will visit again during the banquet, and I hope to receive another apology at that time.”

Thread feigned wrapping up the situation but threw one last jab at Vivian before leaving.

As if suggesting she shouldn’t be so sensitive to a normal inquiry.

Vivian could only sigh at the overly polite attack.

Thread wrapped an arm around Reyana’s shoulders as they walked away.

Reyana kept glancing back at Vivian, but she decided to calm her own feelings and let it go for now.

For the time being, she had hidden Kyle away.

Nothing was more important than that.

.

.

.

Vivian mingled around the banquet hall, chatting here and there, filling her stomach just enough not to feel hungry.

She took a bite of a small snack made of a piece of meat on bread topped with crushed nuts and raised her eyebrows slightly.

Delicious.

She thought to herself.

I should bring some of this to Kyle.

“…Make sure to grab one of these too.”

Vivian ordered the head maid following her.

The head maid understood right away what she was up to, so she discreetly signaled to the other maids to prepare a meal for Kyle.

Experiencing anything reminded Vivian of Kyle.

These days, it had been like that consistently.

Whether experiencing something good or bad, it always led her mind back to Kyle.

The birthday banquet was flowing successfully.

However, the challenging part was that, throughout the banquet, numerous men came forward to speak to Vivian.

The problem seemed to be that the rationales for approaching her were too solid.

Being her birthday, the men congratulated her and engaged her in conversation, for which Vivian received them with a smile, only to have to push them away.

Especially, many men came with goblets in their hands, offering her drinks, yet Vivian was sticking to her promise with Kyle.

She didn’t want to drink unless it was with Kyle. She felt that otherwise, her memories of drinking with him could become diluted.

If she did not sense any particular intentions from the men and if they had engaged her in constructive conversation, perhaps it would have been okay, but… there were no such men.

Freshly turned adults, possessing power rivaling the royal family, and overwhelmingly beautiful, Vivian was a target upon whom all men drooled, and she was well aware of that.

Even though she concealed her cleavage, eyes still drifted towards her chest.

Despite her relaxed outfit, gazes were fixated on her hips.

She could feel their impatience, desperate to lay a hand on her body.

Vivian pretended not to notice but suddenly chuckled to herself.

Though she garnered frightening levels of favor from everyone, the man she truly desired bluntly rejected her.

While everyone else was restless, Kyle wouldn’t even take the chance when it was plainly offered.

…What reaction would these men have if they knew she was forcibly keeping Kyle locked away and begging for his love?

She found herself curious.

Therefore, Vivian focused more on women rather than on men.

They too represented their households.

There was no shortage of interactions between families.

Nesto continuously fed her information from behind.

“Do you know? Isabel Ricto of the Ricto family. There’s apparently a dispute with the Masdel family over ownership of a mine currently.”

“The Ingrid family. From the East Kingdom. That lady is Elvira Ingrid, the second daughter of the family. Her relationship with the Allen family isn’t great.”

Using Nesto’s details, she approached them, exchanged smiles, and continued the conversations.

She carried on with the duties expected of a family head.

“…And that over there…”

As she continued to look around, grew weary and started to miss Kyle, Nesto paused at the sight of a beautiful woman.

Brown hair, which didn’t seem to belong to someone from the Delum Kingdom.

If she were from the Delum Kingdom, surely rumors about this woman’s beauty would have spread.

Vivian herself felt a mild affection for this lovely and charming woman.

Vivian felt an instinctual discomfort from Nesto’s hesitation.

“Speak up, Nesto.”

She urged him on as Nesto reluctantly replied.

“…The Lute family. From the East Kingdom. That beautiful woman is Gisela Lute, the eldest daughter of the family…”

As Nesto hesitated further, Vivian turned her head and glared at him.

Nesto could no longer keep it a secret and revealed.

“…She is one of the women who openly expresses her fervent love for Kyle Allen. I’ve heard that when Kyle returns home, she is considered the most likely candidate to become his wife…”

With a thud, Vivian felt her heart drop.

…Kyle’s wife?

The previously felt affection twisted into feelings of hostility, as if made out of deceit.

Nesto continued speaking.

“…I suspect the reason she attended this banquet is to build a rapport with Kyle.”

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