~Chapter 20~
The one and only crown prince of Edelheim, Rayester, was considered perfect—his looks, intelligence, political skills, and social charm were all praised. But there was one thing he was not perfect at: his relationships with women.
It was so bad that most gossip magazines in the kingdom basically survived on reports about the Crown Prince’s love life.
No one could figure out what kind of love life he had that made him change lovers almost every day. From where I stood, he just seemed like a lunatic.
“Oh, Lady Relshiz.”
Just as he was about to leave the lecture hall, Rayester turned back toward me. His smiling face made me uneasy.
“The staff member in charge of managing the hall is on leave today. Can I trouble you to clean up?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s your important research material, after all. We wouldn’t want it to leak, right?”
“W-Wait, then maybe I can call someone else to—”
“Hm, if it’s not cleaned up properly, there might be consequences.”
He’s straight-up threatening me!
Before I could even protest, Rayester turned and walked away. I thought I heard some noble ladies giggle behind him.
Left alone, I looked around the large lecture hall.
Chairs were left scattered everywhere, my handouts were thrown around carelessly, and there was trash someone had dropped on the floor.
“All of this…?”
Even if I moved quickly, it would take thirty minutes.
“Ugh, seriously!”
I tied my hair back while cursing Rayester in my head.
“If I could just use magic, I could clean this place up in seconds!”
Unfortunately, in the inner palace, there were special devices installed that prevented careless use of mana—for “high-level security.”
“Argh! Damn it, damn it!”
Shiz is waiting, you bastard crown prince!
Fuming inside, I started cleaning while mentally committing several counts of royal blasphemy.
I was determined to finish as fast as possible.
“Your Highness, I haven’t seen the palace cat around lately.”
At the question, Rayester lifted his eyes from his teacup.
The young noblewoman sitting with him in the inner palace’s reception room looked around in curiosity.
They seemed to be wondering where the white cat that always lounged by the big window had gone.
“She’s been missing for a while. Probably wandering around on her own again.”
“That’s a shame. I really wanted to pet her today.”
“It’s better if you don’t. She’s meaner than she looks. Even I can’t touch her easily.”
Rayester’s voice had a sharp edge to it. And it wasn’t just because of the rude cat.
“You don’t seem to be in a good mood, Your Highness.”
The charming daughter of Count Nard, with striking red hair, gave him a sweet smile.
“Did that magician’s report upset you?”
He responded with a picture-perfect smile, avoiding the question.
“Upset?”
More like the opposite.
Relshiz—now formally known as Relshiz Baltein.
The current Chief Mage of the Magic Department was so competent, it gave him a headache. If she’d been incompetent or clueless, he wouldn’t have had such a hard time for so long.
A few years ago, under the king’s orders, the Magic Department had gone through major restructuring. A commoner woman was appointed as the new chief during that time—and she turned out to be unbelievably tough.
She refused to back down despite all kinds of threats and pressure. She held her position and successfully completed multiple projects, even under constant obstacles and interference.
The projects that the magician completed—without understanding the political consequences—ended up bringing prestige to the king. For Rayester, who wanted to bring down his father, that was a huge obstacle.
He disliked everything about her—her arrogance, her lack of powerful connections—but even Rayester couldn’t deny her talent.
She achieved more than nobles who’d had elite education since childhood.
‘Well, she’d have to be that good to rival the Tower Master of Dawn.’
That arrogant magician didn’t even have any weaknesses he could exploit.
Rayester had even mobilized the Royal Intelligence Division, hoping they’d dig up something. But all they reported was that she went nowhere except home and the palace. Her life was so boring that it was almost unnatural.
‘Can’t she at least get a boyfriend or something?’
To Rayester, who couldn’t imagine life without romance, Relshiz’s solitary lifestyle made her seem downright insane.
“I hope that mage doesn’t upset you, Your Highness. I mean it.”
At someone’s comment, Rayester smirked coldly.
“If you’re worried about someone getting hurt, you should go check on the weaker one instead.”
It was obvious who held more power between the crown prince and a commoner-born mage.
From the moment Rayester was born, he had lived on a silent battlefield—as someone destined to rule.
In countless political fights, he had never once lost.
The ongoing psychological war between him and Relshiz Baltine would also end someday. And of course, he would be the winner.
“I see. That’s a relief.”
The charming young lady from Marquis Adelic’s family, with golden eyes, leaned slightly toward him.
At the same time, she blinked a little awkwardly—reminding Rayester of something.
Now that he thought about it, they had met several times. He recalled it being a signal they agreed on for secret meetings in the outer palace garden.
“One day, she’ll realize her place.”
Rayester gave a small smile and nodded faintly as if just sipping his tea.
Until that short tea time ended, no one noticed that Lady Adelique’s cheeks had turned red.
The garden of the outer palace was very large and filled with spring flowers.
In other words, it was the most beautiful garden during this season—and more specifically, it was perfect for hiding among the blooming petals.
“I-It tickles…”
Lady Adelic’s protest wasn’t sincere. Rayester casually played with her hand.
The sweet scent of flowers rode the breeze, and Rayester asked in a sugary voice:
“How is Dallen doing these days?”
“The princess?”
“She’s my only sister. I should show some interest.”
Technically, she was his half-sister.
A fake smile appeared on Rayester’s lips.
The kingdom’s only princess, Dallen Rom Edelheim, was the daughter of the king and the new queen.
She had been quiet and reserved from a young age—almost timid. But as soon as she became an adult, she changed completely and began aggressively building her own power.
Knowing that the old noble families—those with true lineage—already supported Rayester, Dallen, and the new queen turned their attention to wealthy commoners and the newly risen nobles.
Even those aligned with Rayester weren’t spared.
Rayester frowned slightly as he recalled some people who had switched over to Dallen’s side.
“She held a banquet at her villa recently.”
“I know. I sent her a gift. You must have seen it too—the roses.”
“Oh, those gorgeous roses!”
Leona gasped, remembering the scent of the red roses that decorated the entire banquet. The memory lifted her mood.
“How was the banquet? Did the flowers fit the atmosphere?”
The rich red roses were certainly beautiful.
If there was one small issue, it was that there were so many that they felt almost eerie. The sheer volume made the flower piles look like pools of blood.
Leona decided not to mention that part.
“Of course! They were perfect. Lady Josephina, who attended with me, even asked if she could take some roses home.”
“Hm, and…”
“Yes?”
“Go on, Lady Adelic. I enjoy listening to your voice.”
Caught up in the mood, Leona started sharing more than the prince had asked.
She talked about the number of royal guards, which nobles attended the princess’s banquet, the businesses those nobles were currently interested in, and even details about the men who had been courting the princess.
“Now that I think about it, I saw a few commoner-born mages there. I heard the princess has been funding their tuition and research…”
“Funding?”
That was new information.
Rayester’s expression turned a bit colder, but Leona wasn’t sharp enough to notice.
“Was Lady Relshiz among them, by any chance?”
