Arpad smoothed his sharp jawline with a graceful gesture. Although gauging his emotions by looking at his facial expressions was impossible even for his father, the Emperor. Things were a little different now. That’s because he didn’t know how he felt. It was more accurate to say that I did not know the exact cause of that feeling. Because the feeling was so clear.
‘It’s annoying.’
Yes. A vague discomfort similar to when the thorns of a fish you were eating stabbed your throat. And although he said he didn’t know the reason, it didn’t mean he couldn’t guess. This was because it was clear when his mood was so low.
“Actually, I am a person who lived in the future, died miserably, and returned?”
The woman’s response to Arpad’s efforts to pry into her secret was such nonsense. Although the content seemed like it was teasing, it was unpleasant to hide behind such words and not tell the truth. It was annoying.
‘She’s a woman with too many secrets.’
In fact, Arpad hated people like that. Anyone would like someone who has a lot to hide from themselves, but in Arpad’s case, the expression of ‘dislike’ was extreme.
‘Still, it’s strange why I don’t feel like killing her.’
For Arpad, ‘dislike’ or ‘suspicion’ were often directly linked to ‘kill.’ Since he already had a lot to worry about and pay attention to, he didn’t want to pay attention to even the smallest details.
‘I don’t know when I might go crazy and die, so why should I even worry about that?’
So until now, he usually killed and got rid of things that bothered him. Of course, this did not mean that he swung the knife in front of others. If he did that, he would only hear that the mania had returned. They simply took advantage of opportunities such as accidents or assassination attempts against him and dealt with them appropriately. But surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, he was reluctant to use the solution of ‘killing the woman who sat in the Indigo room to resolve his annoyance’. Even though he felt that he was manipulated by that person’s words.
Arpad’s brow furrowed again. Without realizing it, he mumble with sincerity.
“It’s really annoying…”
Then Secretary Yulken, who was reporting the situation to Arpad in the office, raised his voice a little.
“What is bothering you, Your Majesty?”
“Well.”
Naturally, Arpad did not give Yulken a kind answer. Even Yulken himself probably didn’t expect it. However, Yulken was one of the sharpest tongues among Arpad’s followers.
“It seems like you’re not even listening to my report because you don’t want to say what bothers you.”
Arpad then slightly turned his head.
“How far did you report it?”
“How much have you heard?”
Seeing Arpad’s eyebrows twitch, Yulken let out a long sigh.
“So you didn’t hear anything.”
“In other words.”
“As I always say, I wish you would pay more attention to the health of my neck.”
And of course, Arpad did not even listen to his subjects’ scolding. Yulken had to recite the report from the beginning again. The first one was a woman who had been a hot topic in the world for some time now.
“As Your Highness ordered, we have placed enough trustworthy people around Princess Delphine. Every move is being reported.”
At that time, the servant who opened the door and handed him a small note. Yulken added the information that was just added.
“It is said that Princess Delphine has invited one of the ladies, who had been kicked out of the empress’s palace, into her drawing room. Oh, and it is said that she prevented noble ladies from attending the banquet in Artanus Hall a month later at the Empress’s palace.”
“She is doing something outrageous again.”
After summarizing in one word the evil plans of his stepmother, who was no less than his enemy, Arpad turned his attention to his secretary. Arpad’s red eyes reflected above Yulken’s silver-rimmed glasses.
“But wasn’t the name wrong?”
The secretary knew what the master was pointing out. And that statement was closer to ‘correct it on your own.’ However, if he had the personality to immediately bow his head at a single word like that, he would not have been able to stay in the crown prince’s ligue.
Yulken answered boldly.
“His Majesty the Emperor has not yet officially issued an edict to appoint the Crown Princess.”
“Even so, she is my wife, with whom we have already been married.”
Yulken’s expression crumpled as if he was looking at a being that couldn’t exist in the world.
“Your Highness, did you really fall in love at first sight on the main street and marry?”
“Isn’t that really true?”
Yulken took out what he had always carried in his heart.
“I will resign immediately. If it’s true, your madness has definitely returned!”
Arpad burned the resignation letter presented by his secretary with a flame of magic.
“Oh! My resignation letter!”
“I still have it anyway.”
“That’s true, though.”
Arpad knew better. The hobby of this talented but bad-tempered secretary was writing resignation letters. And this was what Yulken meant when he handed in his resignation.
‘Sir, are you out of your mind?’
That’s how crazy this predatory marriage seemed to be. Especially from the perspective of Arpad’s subjects.
“Even now, everyone wants to bet on when His Majesty will go crazy. Did you secretly go crazy?”
“Do it in moderation. Before I cut out you tongue.”
“You can’t cut my tongue! Just cut off my head before that!”
If Hylia had seen it, it was probably a situation where she would have thought that if the lord went crazy, his subordinates would also go crazy. From the start of Arpad’s predatory marriage until now, he hadn’t heard a proper reason or explanation. In the process, it was Yulken who took care of all the troublesome cleanup and everything that Arpad requested. So, from Yulken’s perspective, it felt like this.
‘You have no right to complain like this!’
Arpad knew that too, so it ended up being just a threat. Yulken asked, adjusting his glasses.
“But what kind of magic did Princess Delphine perform? She is receiving the Artanus Scepter from your Majesty the Emperor.”
“I don’t know either.”
“Can you tell me something?”
Arpad shrugged his shoulders.
“I really don’t know. The emperor made a barrier with the two of them, and then suddenly the Artanus Scepter fell apart.”
“…?”
Yulken looked worried that Arpad had fallen into mania again. However, as a close associate who had served him for a long time, he was shocked to soon realize that it was real. He didn’t know this just by looking at his facial expressions, but he was able to do this because he knew Arpad’s speaking style and speaking habits well.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
Yulken was troubled.
“Just listening to your words, it seems like she brainwashed your Majesty the Emperor?”
“…It’s even funnier because I don’t think it’s possible.”
To put it more accurately, it feels as if Arpad himself has been brainwashed. Otherwise, there was no way he would have carried out the predatory marriage that Yulken said was so crazy that he even submitted a letter of resignation.
“Well, we’ll just have to wait and see what’s accurate and judge from now on.”
Everyone knew that ‘serving’ meant ‘watching’.
“Do you mean to say that you will continue to call me Princess Delphine until then?”
Yulken grinned. Just as he chose Arpad, whom everyone feared, to be his master, no one could force him to accept Hylia as his princess. Arpad knew Julken’s personality well. But he insisted on pointing it out.
“Please refrain from saying ‘Princess Delphine’ in front of me. It’s annoying.”
Yes. It was annoying. A mouth that speaks offensive words could be cut without hesitation. His close associate Yulken was no exception. That’s Arpad’s personality. Yulken, who sensed that the owner was sincere, quickly took a step back.
“Then you call yourself the master of the ivory bedroom. I’m sure you’ll be okay with this, right?”
Although Yulken thought it was unexpected, he did what his master wanted. Of course, despite that, he did not say ‘crown princess’ until the end.
“Just figure it out.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Yulken looked at his master’s always inhumane expression with puzzled eyes.
‘Your Majesty, you keep doing things you would never do under normal circumstances. So does His Majesty the Emperor.’
And at the center of all these amazing events was a woman.
‘Princess Hylia Delphine.’
According to Arpad’s orders, he used a title other than princess. He couldn’t do that to his heart. When he called Hylia ‘the secret highness,’ it would be after he had truly acknowledged her as his mistress. Until then, he had planned to suspect, monitor, and test as much as possible. Because that was the reason Yulken was in the Crown Prince’s league.
* * *
“Ugh! So I told her several times that I didn’t mean it that way, but it was no use.”
The woman, Viscountess Philern, kept crying and sobbing in front of her. It didn’t feel good to hear negative comments or other people crying and sobbing. However, if there was good information in that crying, it became bearable. She was kicked out of the empress’s palace, and her judgment was right in catching a woman who had been snooping around in the empress’ womb for no reason. Thanks to this, she was able to check the Empress and Evangeline’s response. More than anything…
“I-I wonder if it’s okay now… Ugh!”
Viscountess Philern continued to pour out tears like broken poison in front of her. But she knew that her sharp eyes were observing her between her handkerchief and her long bangs. That’s because she knew this woman’s face very well. First she approached her saying she wanted to be her friend, and then it was this person who betrayed her at the crucial moment.
Edith Philern. Viscountess Philern.
‘This time, this person came to betray me. It’s also much faster than last time.’
That must have meant that the Empress and Evangeline were wary of her.
‘And there’s nothing more foolish than skipping something when you already know it.’
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on May, 19.
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