{Third Person}

Finally, Mrs. Woods forced herself to calm down.

Even though fear still lingered heavily inside her chest, she quickly lowered her gaze and pretended not to notice anything unusual.

"My Lady," she said softly, reaching for a nearby towel, "you should not soak too long today since you are already feeling weak."

Amara nodded tiredly from inside the bath. "I know..."

Her voice sounded softer than usual. Exhausted.

Mrs. Woods tried very hard not to look directly at the strange veins beneath Amara’s skin again. Instead, she focused on preparing the hot tea Amara had requested.

The steam rising from the bath gradually softened the visibility of the veins little by little, which only made Mrs. Woods more desperate to leave quickly before Amara noticed her strange behaviour.

Meanwhile, Amara remained completely unaware.

She only leaned deeper into the warm water with visible relief while holding the hot cup of tea Mrs. Woods handed to her moments later.

"The warmth feels nice today," she murmured weakly before taking a slow sip.

Mrs. Woods forced out a small smile. "Yes, My Lady."

But inwardly, her thoughts were in complete chaos because no matter how she tried to reason with herself, what she saw was not normal. Far more terrifyingly, it proved the Alpha Prince’s suspicions right.

Not long afterwards, Mrs. Woods finally excused herself from the bathroom under the pretence of preparing fresh clothes.

The moment she stepped outside, her expression changed completely.

Without wasting another second, she hurried straight toward Alexander’s side of the residence.

---

Alexander was inside his study when Mrs. Woods arrived.

The moment she entered, he immediately noticed something was wrong from her expression alone.

"What happened?" he asked calmly.

Mrs. Woods bowed quickly before answering. "Your Highness... Her Ladyship’s body reacted again."

Alexander’s eyes darkened faintly. "Explain."

Mrs. Woods hesitated briefly before speaking carefully.

"When Her Ladyship removed her nightgown before bathing... strange veins became visible beneath her skin."

The room instantly fell silent. Then, Mrs. Woods lowered her head further.

"They were faint red and bluish lines spread across parts of her body," she explained quietly. "At first, I thought they were marks... but they were actually her veins and arteries showing beneath the skin."

Alexander’s expression changed immediately to a dangerously cold one.

Mrs. Woods continued nervously, "They started fading slightly after she entered the hot bath."

Silence settled heavily inside the study afterwards. Then slowly Alexander leaned back into his chair. His jaw tightened visibly.

So it has been confirmed true. That anonymous letter from before...

It had not been completely false after all.

Amara truly was not human. And worse, she had knowingly hidden her identity while entering the Werewolf Kingdom under the Caldwell name.

The more Alexander thought about it, the darker his expression became.

Mrs. Woods remained kneeling quietly, not daring to speak further. Finally, Alexander spoke.

"Continue watching her."

Mrs. Woods lifted her head slightly.

"And report every reaction immediately."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Alexander dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

The moment she left the study, the atmosphere inside turned frighteningly cold.

Alexander’s fists slowly clenched against the armrest of his chair. For the first time in days, genuine anger rose inside him again.

Not because Amara was different, but because she had dared to deceive everyone so boldly.

Pretending to be a Caldwell.

Pretending to be human.

Entering the palace under a false identity.

Alexander’s gaze darkened heavily. "She really is daring..." he muttered coldly to himself.

As though she had never once feared the consequences waiting for her if the truth was exposed.

As though she was not afraid of dying.

---

Amara recovered fully after that morning. At least on the surface.

The strange veins disappeared again after prolonged warmth, and her headaches gradually reduced over the next two days.

Still, something else began changing quietly inside the residence.

Alexander.

At first, Amara thought she was imagining it. But little by little, the difference became impossible to ignore.

He stopped visiting her side of the residence unnecessarily.

Their conversations became shorter again. Even when they occasionally crossed paths during meals or inside the residence, Alexander’s attitude had become restrained and distant in a way that quietly unsettled her.

Not openly hostile, but just cold and controlled, as though an invisible wall had suddenly appeared between them again.

And somehow, that affected Amara more than she expected.

One evening, she sat near the fireplace reviewing shawl designs while Ginger slept curled beside her.

But for almost ten minutes now, she had been staring at the same unfinished sketch without moving.

Mrs. Woods noticed immediately and called her attention. "My Lady?"

Amara blinked and looked up.

"You’ve been distracted all evening," Mrs. Woods said gently.

Amara forced a faint smile. "I’m fine."

But even she knew that was not entirely true because lately, every interaction with Alexander left her strangely uneasy as though she had unknowingly done something wrong.

Yet no matter how much she thought about it, she could not understand what changed.

---

Meanwhile, on the other side of the residence, Barron finally lost patience.

The moment he entered Alexander’s study that evening, he immediately frowned. "You’re doing it again."

Alexander barely looked up from the documents in front of him. "Doing what?"

Barron walked closer. "That cold act."

Alexander’s expression remained calm. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Barron scoffed immediately. "You became attentive toward her for days, then suddenly pulled away again." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Something happened."

Alexander finally lifted his gaze towards him, but instead of answering, he simply asked, "Why are you so interested in this matter?"

Barron folded his arms. "Because you’re acting strange."

Silence settled briefly. Then Barron added more seriously, "And because the political bride looks confused every time you ignore her now."

Alexander’s jaw tightened faintly. The image surfaced in his mind immediately.

Amara sitting quietly at breakfast earlier that morning, stealing brief glances at him before lowering her eyes again when he gave her only short responses.

For some reason, that memory irritated him.

Barron watched him carefully. Then suddenly, realization flickered across his face. "You found out something," he said quietly.

Alexander’s gaze turned colder instantly.

Barron immediately understood he was right.

But Alexander did not explain further this time. He just leaned back slightly and said evenly, "She lied."

Barron frowned faintly. "About what?"

Alexander’s eyes darkened. "Everything important."

The atmosphere inside the study shifted immediately after those words.

Barron stared at him silently for several moments. Then finally, he asked carefully, "And what are you going to do about it?"

Alexander did not answer immediately because, truthfully, despite his anger, despite the deception and despite knowing Amara entered the palace under a false identity, he still had no intention of exposing her.

At least not now.

And perhaps that was the part that frustrated him most, because if this had been anyone else, he would already have dragged the truth into the open without hesitation.

But with Amara, he hesitated.

Alexander’s fingers slowly curled against the armrest of his chair before he finally replied coldly, "I want the full truth first."

Barron studied him quietly after hearing that answer.

And inwardly, his suspicions deepened further because the fact that Alexander still intended to protect Amara’s secret, even now... already revealed far more emotion than he was willing to admit aloud.

---

Much later that night, after Barron finally left the study, the silence inside the room became heavy once more.

Alexander remained seated behind the desk, unmoving for a long while.

The fire beside him burned steadily, casting shifting shadows across the room, but it did little to ease the thoughts crowding his mind.

Finally, he called for Jasper.

The door opened shortly afterwards, and Jasper stepped inside before bowing respectfully. "Your Highness."

Alexander’s gaze remained fixed ahead as he asked, "The anonymous letter from before... where is it currently?"

Jasper looked slightly surprised by the sudden question, but he answered immediately. "In the Human Kingdom, Your Highness."

Alexander’s expression darkened thoughtfully.

Back then, after the investigation into the political marriage, the anonymous letter exposing irregularities in Amara’s identity had quietly reached Human Kingdom’s.

At the time, Alexander had not considered it important enough to pursue it deeply. But now, everything was different.

Jasper carefully observed him for a brief moment. Then, unable to ignore how troubled Alexander looked tonight, he cautiously asked,

"Has something happened, Your Highness?"

Alexander did not answer directly. Instead, after a brief silence, he suddenly asked another question.

"Have the Human ministers received the banquet invitations?"

Jasper nodded immediately. "Yes. His Majesty personally ordered the invitations distributed already."

Alexander leaned back slightly. For a few quiet seconds, he seemed to be thinking carefully about something.

He spoke after a while. "Send a letter to Anthony Caldwell."

Jasper straightened attentively.

Alexander’s eyes turned colder as he continued, "Instruct him to bring the anonymous letter with him when he comes to the Werewolf Kingdom for the birthday banquet."

Jasper’s brows almost moved in surprise, but years of serving Alexander had trained him well enough not to show unnecessary reactions nor ask unnecessary questions, even though curiosity had already begun rising strongly inside him.

He simply lowered his head respectfully. "Yes, Your Highness."

Alexander gave a slight nod, signalling dismissal.

Jasper quietly turned and left the study afterwards. And once alone again, Alexander slowly leaned back into his chair.

His expression remained unreadable, but inwardly, his patience regarding Amara’s secrets was beginning to wear dangerously thin.