Episode 6
“Together, let’s go.”
“…”
He stared without responding, then smiled. Among the men around, there was no one who smiled genuinely like this.
“I want to go separately.”
“I’d like to go together, Yvonne.”
“You haven’t allowed me to use that nickname.”
“We will be engaged soon.”
“Dad didn’t say such things.”
The reason I disliked Marquis Rohan was this. He did love Princess Yvonne, but he wasn’t trustworthy. I needed his help, but I didn’t want to get involved too much.
“You didn’t tell your father about us. He has already given me his consent.”
“…”
Marquis Rohan was also an Esper. A memory manipulator with severe side effects, barely used once a month.
“Your father wouldn’t accept just anyone being around me.”
“Your Majesty needs my abilities.”
“My father needs me more.”
“That’s true.”
The wind blew, and the back of my neck felt cool. Marquis’s platinum blonde hair swayed, and his mysterious green eyes flickered. The reason I disliked Marquis was clear: messy relationships.
It was a side effect. After using his ability, he craved physical contact, going crazy at night. So, I occasionally got summoned as Heldebrandt’s plaything, meeting an unfortunate end as one of the doomed sub-male leads. Sincerely falling for the emperor and meeting a tragic end by suicide.
“If Your Majesty marries me, I can handle it alone.”
Better to confess to Emperor Heldebrandt that I was a possession, awakening would be difficult, and in the end, you’d have to face a confrontation with Yurián.
“Then start making efforts now. You know, if your efforts are sincere, my heart might be moved.”
“I hope you remember those words.”
As we walked and talked, we arrived at the pavilion where the emperor was enjoying tea.
The scent of azaleas embraced us, becoming stronger as we approached. Of course, when near Heldebrandt, his perfume was so overpowering that it was hard to distinguish between the real flower scent and his fragrance.
“Yvonne.”
“Dad. This is for you.”
“What is this?”
“It matches well with you, so I picked it.”
As I adapted to this novel, I made changes unlike the original, faithfully buying Heldebrandt’s favor as Yvonne. In the original, Yvonne followed Heldebrandt very well, but her approach was very different from mine.
The original Yvonne had a shy personality, but she was a pitiful person who obediently sought affection from Heldebrandt, considering him her stepfather. So, she engaged in inappropriate behavior, provoking Yurián, and ended up falling flat on her face.
She was a person severely lacking in affection.
Of course, I didn’t need their affection at all. I just wanted to live, and getting deeply involved with these guys would only decrease my chances of survival, which was too obvious of a story.
“Beautiful.”
“Dad is much prettier.”
The compliment was so dignified that it rendered the word “beautiful” ineffective, but he seemed indifferent. Perhaps he genuinely enjoyed the compliment because he even hugged the flowers. So, I comfortably found a spot under the chair where he sat and leaned my head on his thigh. Then he began to pet me.
Just for a month.
Just endure it for a month.
“Late, Librarian Rohan.”
“I apologize.”
Marquis Rohan was standing nearby, waiting as if he was there to hand over some documents. Now, the emperor was showing interest in the flowers I brought.
“Our daughter has changed a lot.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. In the past, she used to feel so uncomfortable around me, almost to the point of being nauseated. Now, she doesn’t hesitate to approach me like this.”
“Haha… Hahaha…”
This part wasn’t mentioned much in the original, or maybe I didn’t know at all? No, even if it was mentioned a lot, I had only read from the middle to the end, so it was useless.
“If I say it’s fortunate that you’ve changed since the accident, will our daughter be upset?”
“No. As long as Dad is happy, everything is good for me.”
Then he changed from stroking my head to gently caressing my cheek. While stroking my ear, he pushed the stray hair that had stuck out behind my ear. Looking up, he handed the flower he was holding to the steward behind him and left one flower in my hand.
Curious about his intentions, I watched closely as he carefully arranged the flower in my hair.
“Pretty.”
“Resembles Dad.”
I innocently smiled and then looked at Francis, the head of the guard, behind me. I only now learned that his ability was copying, but seeing that he hadn’t been assigned as my guard yet, last time was undoubtedly a warning.
“Librarian Rohan.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Do we really need to go there?”
“…Yes.”
I didn’t understand what they were talking about, so I looked at the documents he was holding. It was so thin that the writing seemed to be visible in the light.
“What does our daughter think?”
“About what?”
“Because Dad has to tour the empire soon. It seems like we have to vacate the palace for a month.”
I trembled at those words. As he gently moved the paper he was holding, our eyes met, and I was momentarily shocked, my body stiffening.
“Huh?”
You must give the answer this cunning person desires.
However, for some reason, the gaze that met mine felt different from usual, even intimidating. Reflected in the transparent sky-blue eyes, it seemed as if he was testing me.
“I, I…”
“Yeah.”
“I hope Dad doesn’t go.”
Crazy, Yvonne! But it’s scary to feel my throat drying up! However, if I really don’t go, the time to escape will be even later…!
I was regretting the words I had spit out, blaming myself.
“Really?”
“Yes…”
But he seemed satisfied and was smiling. The sky seemed too blue, and the eyes meeting mine felt too chilling, maybe that’s why.
It’s quite a beautiful scenery to be the last thing I see.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to meet his gaze, so I lowered my head, avoiding eye contact.
“But you still have to go. Will our daughter wait patiently?”
“Yes! Of course!”
Although her eyes were already smiling, I couldn’t summon the courage to meet them. Surely, they seemed like they would turn cold again.
“Oh, Dad.”
“Yeah?”
But I couldn’t miss the opportunity to detach Marquis. Besides, I was confident he wouldn’t really give me to Marquis yet.
“Librarian Rohan mentioned that he will become the country’s scribe. By marrying me.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
I couldn’t tell if he didn’t know or was pretending not to know from his reaction. He was someone who hid his expressions very well.
“Not as the scribe, but considering making her a concubine.”
“Oh…”
So, it meant it wasn’t fake. I looked at Rohan, and his expression was dark. I wasn’t sure if he knew about being the scribe or if he was dissatisfied with the position of a concubine.
“If Librarian Rohan proves himself more by putting in effort.”
Although it was a warm day, it felt like a cold wind was blowing. My neck felt so cold, probably because I wanted to get out of this situation.
“Hehehe. Our daughter is a masterpiece I created. It would be too wasteful to give her to a mere sequel, right, Librarian?”
“…Yes.”
So, Princess Yvonne was just an object to Heldebrandt. Now that I thought she was simply ‘unable’ to awaken, she must have been a cherished item. But if she revealed that she couldn’t awaken and was living with the pain of magical aches, she would be disposed of.
I could probably use Francis, the head of the guard behind me, until I die.
Of course, Francis would probably be fine with being used.
He was a guy who devoted all his sincerity and love to Emperor Heldebrandt.
“Well then, work diligently.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
With a gesture to step back, Marquis Rohan stepped back with a dark expression. When our eyes met for a moment, the indescribable, sticky feeling in his green eyes made me uncomfortable.
* * *
“You’re late today.”
“I had some business to attend to.”
As soon as I opened the door to go down with the food, he started talking. We hadn’t even descended the stairs yet.
“Do you like the room?”
“Yes.”
Fortunately, it seemed like the servants had given him medicine and moved Yurián to another room. Now, he should be able to wash himself without my help. I couldn’t possibly bathe him every time. Honestly, I didn’t want to. It felt awkward, like being a rabbit grooming a lion’s mane.
“Is there anything uncomfortable?”
“If Your Highness visits more often, it will be less uncomfortable.”
The choker around his neck remained the same. However, the chain had become much longer, allowing him a wider range of movement.
“I said I would let you out from here, didn’t I?”
“Yes.”
It seemed skeptical, but there was no one else he could trust but me.
I had been too cautious with Yurián all this time. While it was true that he needed to build my trust, I also needed to earn his.
Heldebrandt started warning me, and the idea of getting engaged to Marquis Rohan was even more unpleasant.
In this life, where I didn’t know when I would die, enduring here felt too mentally challenging.
“Instead of letting you out from here, there’s a condition.”
“What is it?”
“When you leave, I have to go with you.”
“Yes?”
I couldn’t trust Yurián. Even if we left together, there had to be restrictions.
