“Are you having a good time?”
“Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
“May the blessings of God be with Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
Anais smiled softly and nodded slightly as Sergey and Elaine bowed.
“I was wondering who would attend with you today, so it was the elegant and beautiful lady. And her name is…?”
When the Crown Princess asked her name, Elaine froze.
‘If the Crown Princess found out about my true identity, it seemed like she would immediately harden her expression and kick me out.’
“I, I, I….”
“Oh, I think I scared the young lady. You don’t have to be so nervous.”
Anais gently stroked Elaine’s shoulder as she stuttered, her face pale.
Elaine opened her mouth with her eyes tightly shut and her hands clasped together, trembling with joy.
“I am Elaine Newt. Count Newt is my uncle.”
“Ah, you are the niece of Count Newt.”
“And she is my family’s chaplain.”
Anais smiled again as Sergey added from his side.
“You must be a very religious person to be a chaplain at such a young age.”
“She was first in the examination for the chaplain. And before she became a chaplain, she volunteered at a soup kitchen for the poor, and she was a person who put Bara’s words into practice.”
“Wow, she’s amazing. It’s great that she got first place in the difficult chaplain exam, but I’m even more impressed that she volunteered at a soup kitchen. That’s the kind of heart we expect from a saint.”
As Anais and Sergey took turns complimenting her, Elaine broke out in a sweat, not knowing what to do.
“Oh, it’s not a big deal. It’s not something I’ve done for a long time. I just helped out a bit because we’re short on manpower…”
“You’re very humble. If it was that easy, why don’t any of the saints ever volunteer at a soup kitchen? Lady Elaine, you have a heart as beautiful as your looks.”
Elaine’s face turned bright red at Anais’s continued compliments, and Sergey found that cute and chuckled.
‘This human at least has eyes to recognize Elaine’s true worth. I like it.’
While Abel made the outrageous remark that he would have introduced her to a more beautiful woman than Elaine, Anais had called Elaine beautiful twice.
Sergey gives Abel -100 while adding 100 points for Anais.
Unlike Sasha and Abel, who pretended to be affectionate but were somewhat overbearing, Elaine felt at ease when she saw Anais, who was considerate of others without losing her royal dignity.
Even though it was clear that Sergey was the target, Anais continued to talk to Elaine, trying to put her mind at ease.
“It looks like Lady Elaine is having her debutante today.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
When Sergey answered instead of Elaine, who was hesitating, Anais let out a small laugh and looked towards Elaine’s earrings.
“Looks like Sir Sergey Lindell is trying to make sure he is escorting Lady Elaine. Did you choose the blue sapphire because it’s the color of Sir Sergey Lindell’s eyes?”
“Huh? Oh, that—”
“It suits you well. There couldn’t have been a better choice for Sir Sergey Lindell’s partner. Oh! The gem used in Sir Sergey Lindell’s brooch is peridot, the same color as Lady Elaine’s eyes.”
It was only after hearing Anais that Elaine realized that Sergey had a yellow-green gem on the collar of his jacket.
Elaine’s earlobes turned bright red as if on fire at the realization that she and Sergey had been wearing matching outfits without even realizing it.
But Anais actually made Elaine’s embarrassment worse.
“It’s really romantic to use a gemstone that matches the color of the other person’s eyes as a focal point. But even if you didn’t necessarily match the gemstones, you two somehow feel like a couple. Is it because of the atmosphere?”
Anais smiles, and Sergey adds another 100 points to her already perfect scorecard.
Although it felt a bit strange to be called a ‘couple’, he didn’t feel bad about being recognized for his relationship with Elaine.
‘It was much better than Prince Abel who had tried to get me another human woman.’
“You two, if it’s okay, would you like to have some refreshments together over there?”
“Sure. Is that all right, Elaine?”
So, he readily accepted the one-on-one meeting with Anais, who was obviously going to propose an alliance.
Sergey was happy when Anais invited Elaine to join them, but Elaine quickly backed away.
“I think you two have something important to discuss, so I don’t think it’s my place to get involved, Sergey. I’m going to meet some friends from the temple.”
“Hmm, okay. But don’t ever go around alone. If you want to be alone, go to the place I told you about. And don’t talk back to those weird guys. Got it?”
“Yes. Okay then.…I will go now.”
As Elaine bowed to Anais and left the room, Sergey watched her back quietly before heading with Anais to the seat she had prepared.
“She’s a cute girl. She seems innocent, but she doesn’t seem weak either.”
“She’s far from weak. In fact, she’s probably better than any of the other young ladies in this place.”
“She said she was the niece of Count Newt, right? If she was Count Newt—”
“It is a waste of time to waste on other things, Your Highness. Let’s get straight to the point.”
As soon as the conversation turned to Count Newt, Sergey cut Anais off and changed the subject.
It was right to criticize him for being rude in front of the Crown Princess, but unlike the expression on the face of Anais’s maid who was furrowing her brow in displeasure, Anais herself burst into a bright laugh.
“Actually, I think so too, and since you seem to dislike pretense, I’ll just get to the point first.”
Then she looked straight at Sergey with serious eyes and said.
“My father intends to propose a motion at the next meeting of the nobility to rearrange the succession. He intends to take away my position as crown princess and make Abel the crown prince.”
“I don’t think they will be able to easily take away your position as Crown Princess that you have maintained for 25 years.”
Anais laughed bitterly at those words.
In the history of the Empire of Calais, no one has ever been stripped of their birthright or their heirship unless he or she died, became disabled, became insane, or was involved in a rebellion.
Anais wondered if she was going through such humiliation because she was a woman, but now that Sasha had a son, it seemed like she had to go through it even if she was a man.
“I think the Marquise of Habron can handle that difficult task.”
“I think it’s a bit too early to make that judgment.”
“I would like to say so too, but lately my father has been strangely enthusiastic about making Abel the crown prince. There are quite a few nobles who are on Abel’s side, so it seems like there is nothing he can’t do to push it forward.”
In the past, the emperor had pretended to at least pay attention to the opinions of the nobles, but now that many nobles had aligned themselves with Abel, he openly revealed his intention to make Abel the crown prince.
And Sasha was always standing next to him.
“But I can’t just let this happen. There are many reasons, but I won’t list them all. In fact, it probably doesn’t matter much to Count Lindell’s son.”
Anais didn’t attach any great cause to her actions to retain her position as crown princess.
‘It might have been important to give other nobles a decent reason to act, but it didn’t seem to matter to this young man whose blue eyes seemed to pierce me.’
“Help me.”
“What will you offer in return?”
“I can offer you a five-year tax exemption on the Lindell family’s business in the Empire, and a position as Chief Secretary of the Foreign Ministry…..Actually, I don’t think those rewards will mean much to you. I just hope you like the blueprint for the Empire I’m drawing.”
“Hmm…”
“Oh, and I don’t know if you’ll like it, but I can give you one of the villas I own. That’s all the cards I have.”
It was a price that felt inadequate in many ways compared to what Malek had proposed.
But to Sergey, human wealth and power were of no use.
“I’ll give you time to think. I hope you’ll hold my hand—”
“I will help you, Your Highness.”
Anais looked surprised and asked Sergey, who answered right away even though she said she would give him time to think about it.
“Really? Can you make a decision without consulting Count Lindell?”
“Matters within the Empire of Calais are my concern.”
Sergey accepted her offer so lightly that Anais became suspicious.
His heart was already so completely inclined toward her from the way she had treated Elaine that he had no choice.
He even liked the worldly price she offered.
“Oh, if possible, I would like to get a villa near Mount Atalanchi.”
“Mount Atalanchi? Then I’ll give you the villa in Rowena. It has a small lake and a forest attached to the villa, so it’s a great place to relax.”
“That’s cool.”
Sergey was happy to stay there with Elaine, and whenever he felt like it, he would climb Mount Atalenchi to watch the sunset or see the snowy forest.
It belonged to the imperial palace, so it must be well maintained, and it belonged to a princess with refined tastes, so it must appeal to Elaine.
Sergey became as generous as a well-fed beast and spoke arrogantly.
“Then tell me specifically what you want me to do for you.”
* * *
