Chapter 11
If only his memory were intact, he could be sure.
But because Alex was aware that something was missing from his memories, he couldn’t fully rule out the possibility that something had happened between him and Laura—something he might be responsible for.
I’ll just have to keep an eye on her for now.
Laura had clearly denied any involvement. But since this was Laura, her word wasn’t enough to trust.
If that child really is mine…
Then there was no way he could leave her in Laura’s care.
A crumbling, half-abandoned temple? That was no place to raise a child.
No matter how he felt about Laura, Alex believed a child should be properly cared for. Children were innocent.
Of course, this all depended on whether the child was actually his.
Now’s not the time for a paternity test, though.
Aside from managing state affairs in place of his unconscious father, Alex had more than a few urgent issues on his plate.
One of them was the upcoming return of Princess Luigi—his aunt, who had married into the neighboring kingdom of Mortum.
Her return isn’t the issue…
What concerned him was that her return gave the Grand Duke, her brother, a legitimate excuse to enter the capital.
There was a reason the Grand Duke had stayed away until now.
Under imperial law, royal family members not in the line of succession were required to leave the capital.
The law was a result of the empire’s long and bloody history of succession wars. It was meant to keep power-hungry relatives out of the center.
Still, no emperor could afford to be completely heartless.
So Alex’s father had added an amendment: With a valid reason, members of the royal family could return.
Of course, what counted as a “valid reason” was up to the emperor.
But now, with the emperor unconscious, the Grand Duke had found an opening. Citing his sister’s return as the justification, he was already heading for the capital.
And I can’t stop him.
The empire was still reeling after the dethronement of the Empress. Alex was trying to win over the centrists—the nobles who hadn’t joined either of the two dominant factions.
But the centrists were centrists for a reason.
They didn’t get involved unless the stakes were low. They were neither opportunists nor idealists. Just cautious to a fault.
To gain their support, Alex had to appear calm and inclusive—even to those outside his camp.
A preemptive strike on the Grand Duke could backfire.
But letting him run free?
Absolutely not.
The Grand Duke might have played his cards quietly, but there was a pattern.
After the Emperor collapsed into a coma, several palace knights and attendants had mysteriously vanished. All of them had ties to the Grand Duke.
The signs were clear. He was cleaning up behind the scenes.
At times like this, I’d rather work with someone I already understand—even if she’s difficult—than bring in an unknown variable.
And Laura—no matter how troublesome—understood the role of Crown Princess.
Still, Alex wasn’t careless. He didn’t make important decisions alone.
When in doubt, he turned to his most trusted advisor: Angel, his knight and longtime guard.
“You’re talking about her?”
Angel’s face instantly twisted in distaste at Laura’s name.
But as Alex explained the situation in detail, Angel’s expression slowly shifted. By the end of the explanation, he even nodded.
“In that case, why not ask Pel too?”
Pel was Alex’s chief aide. He practically ran the empire’s internal administration.
“He doesn’t judge people emotionally. He’ll give you a clear, objective answer.”
Pel didn’t concern himself with gossip or politics. His sole metric for judging people was competence.
Alex agreed and called him in.
“Hire her immediately. Reward ability. Highly capable.”
Pel’s response came instantly.
He had already reviewed the paperwork Laura left at the palace.
“I get what you’re saying, but could you please speak in complete sentences? We’re in front of His Highness. Mind your tone.”
Angel frowned.
“I value brevity. Context sufficient.”
“Try being a little less efficient for once. It won’t kill you.”
“You waste time. Counterproductive.”
“Ugh!”
Angel was losing his patience, grabbing Pel by the collar in frustration.
“You’re blocking my desk view.”
Pel, the ultimate bureaucrat, didn’t flinch. His obsession with productivity made him immune to scolding.
Alex ignored the bickering. He knew their clashes were just personality friction—they respected each other’s work.
“What about Princess Marien?”
“Waste of paper. No merit. Disqualified.”
Once again, Pel didn’t hesitate.
He even put Marien’s report side by side with Laura’s as comparison.
Though Marien was a foreign princess, she had submitted a report upon arrival—ostensibly part of a trade mission.
The contents?
Terrible.
The formatting was all wrong. The data was vague. The citations were unclear or missing.
After rambling on for dozens of pages, the report concluded, “This treaty will be mutually beneficial”—with no logic or evidence.
“Environmental damage. Owes apology to the trees.”
Normally, Pel would’ve incinerated such trash on sight.
But since it came from foreign royalty, he had to read the entire thing. He was hoping for a surprise.
There wasn’t one.
“Severe migraine. Requesting paid leave.”
“What leave?! What did you even do to earn one? Never mind. I think we need a third opinion—”
“No need.”
Alex shut it down.
Even among trusted advisors, the more people who knew about Laura, the more likely rumors would spread.
Besides, after everything he’d heard—he had already made up his mind.
I still can’t fully trust Laura… but she’s better than Marien.
On paper, the difference was staggering.
Better to work with a competent woman with a bad reputation than a useless one with no substance.
Having reached a decision, Alex personally visited the rundown temple.
And—
“You knew I’d come?”
Laura had not only come out to greet him—she had even prepared tea and refreshments in a spare room.
“Your Highness tends to act with foresight, doesn’t he? In that case, it’s best to define our relationship before the Grand Duke arrives in the capital. The welcome banquet for Princess Marien would be ideal.”
Based on the prep time required—
“No matter how lenient Your Highness plans to be, I believe you’ll need to give me an answer by the end of today.”
And Alex…
“…Yes. You’re right.”
He couldn’t argue.
This woman had changed.
