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#14. I Want to See You Beg
“The previous education officer resigned a long time ago. I felt immense relief when I heard a successor had been appointed.”
Ah, so that was what he meant.
For a moment, I thought he was trying to flirt with me.
“I never imagined you’d be so beautiful, though.”
“That’s too kind of you.”
“I’m not just flattering you! For a moment, I thought a goddess had descended…”
Simon’s cheeks reddened, embarrassed at his own words.
“So even a handsome heir of a noble family has some naïve side. He’ll be popular with the noble ladies, no doubt.”
Of course, that had nothing to do with me.
Compliments about my looks didn’t move me.
Calling me goddess-like was clichéd.
It wasn’t unpleasant, but it wasn’t my face originally, nor something I had worked for.
“If you’re done talking, I’ll be going.”
“Already?”
“I apologize for visiting without notice. I’ll apologize once more.”
I added elegance to my apology with perfect etiquette.
Simon looked flustered.
“Miss Elisabeth. Wait a moment!”
“Is something wrong?”
“Did you notice anything unusual? Lately, His Highness has…”
Simon trailed off, his face worried.
It was comforting to know someone besides me was concerned for Franz.
“Sir Brenden knows as well?”
“Of course. Miss Elisabeth, what did you observe?”
“He looked pale and broke into a cold sweat. He even refused treatment.”
“That’s serious. I must report this to His Majesty.”
“Would you? The sooner the illness is identified, the better.”
“Leave it to me. After all, the Crown Prince is the future of the Empire!”
Simon pounded his thick chest confidently.
Seeing his self-assurance eased my mind somewhat.
Even a neglectful father wouldn’t ignore the words of a swordmaster.
“Simon seems like a capable knight. Perfect knights like Claudia are rare, regardless of gender.”
A pang of emptiness pressed at my chest.
The days when being reminded of my favorite character brought joy were over.
According to the original story, Claudia would start a revolution in six months.
Yet I couldn’t even think about stopping a revolution; I had to worry simply about staying in the palace.
“How can I turn Franz’s heart? Only four days left.”
Of course, there was a simple method:
I could just use my charm to seduce Franz.
In the Emperor’s office, stacks of documents piled up as usual.
Bored with paperwork, Nikolai spoke to Kares.
“Why haven’t you reported Elisabeth’s daily schedule today?”
“Must I?”
“You’ve been reporting without being told lately.”
“I don’t see why I should bother with such trivial reports.”
Kares truly seemed puzzled.
For the past five days, he had listed things unasked: how Elisabeth worked day and night to persuade Franz, and how unreasonable Nikolai’s demands had been.
“You were acting like Elisabeth’s spokesperson. Why the sudden change in attitude?”
“There are weightier, more urgent matters than Miss Elisabeth: tax collection, troop deployment, emergency budgets, and so on.”
“And yet you addressed her as ‘Miss Elisabeth,’ though she isn’t even the Empress.”
“If Your Majesty wishes, I will resume calling her Miss Elisabeth.”
“Enough. But does Elisabeth stand a chance?”
“I’m pessimistic. His Highness finds her displeasing—he even forbade her entry to the Crown Prince’s residence.”
“She’s too blunt and straightforward. Pinch would dislike that.”
Elisabeth differed from Franz’s mother, Lyla, in every way:
Fiery red hair radiating life versus delicate, dandelion-like blonde.
Eyes of piercing black versus blue eyes shadowed with faint sadness even in a smile.
Both were captivating beauties, but their emotional expressions were polar opposites.
“Keep your flirtations for someone else.”
Elisabeth’s words still cut through my collar like frost.
Whenever she spoke, Nikolai felt a deep sting in a hidden part of his heart.
He even felt disappointment in his own tendency to waver and get easily angered.
She was unpredictable and honest in every aspect.
By contrast, Lyla had revealed her feelings only once:
“You were the only man I ever loved, Nicky.”
The night before she died, she confessed for the first and last time.
Nikolai, nursing her, had no words.
At twenty-two, just facing the reality of losing her and being left alone felt unbearable.
“Would you like an update on the Crown Prince?”
“I ordered you not to report.”
“He’s barely ten. He has no nanny, and the education officer post has been vacant for two months.”
“Pinch is strong, independent. That’s like me.”
Nikolai swallowed the words lingering in his mouth.
Franz wasn’t his biological son.
Franz knew that too.
That explained why Franz kept his distance and stayed silent during their weekly dinners.
The child who once clung to his legs like a duckling had grown into a boy.
Nikolai resolved to keep his distance, thinking it was what Franz wanted.
“If I hear about Pinch, I’d only want to see him more. If I try to open his heart clumsily, it’ll only make things worse.”
The baby who had once laughed dangling from his legs was gone.
Nikolai refused to admit it, yet he couldn’t stop meddling.
It was natural that Franz avoided his false father.
“If Miss Elisabeth fails to persuade His Highness, will you dismiss her?”
“Not at all.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“I want to see her beg at least once.”
“Beg?”
“I want her to grovel at my feet, pleading, just like any other subject.”
Elisabeth had shown such behavior only once: on the terrace at the Camellia party when they first met.
Realizing Nikolai had not fallen for her, she went pale and knelt.
“Her trembling was like a hamster. It was so cute.”
A deep crease formed between Nikolai’s brows.
Cute? What was he thinking?
He shook his head vigorously, as if to erase the thought.
“She’s just an arrogant, presumptuous woman. Cute? Impossible. And there was already a man she was promised to.”
He glanced at the miscellaneous items scattered on the desk.
Thinking of Douglas made his fists clench.
“I will marry Elisabeth right here!”
Worse than that was Elisabeth defending Douglas:
“Douglas is not an ordinary man. He was just trying to keep his promise to protect me with his life.”
Crack.
The fountain pen Nikolai held broke in two.
Black ink ran down his hand, but he was too busy dwelling on Elisabeth’s actions.
“How dare she protect him in front of me? If she loved him so much, why did she break the engagement? Are they plotting together?”
Nikolai investigated everything about Elisabeth.
He confirmed she had abandoned Douglas, and that Douglas had pursued her relentlessly.
Yet Nikolai’s mind was filled with an image of Douglas as a beast seeking vengeance, not a feeble novelist.
“It must have been frustrating to be excluded from the Five Great Noble Families. Maybe he’s trying to use Elisabeth. That innocent, naïve face!”
Otherwise, how could someone dare to claim marriage with a woman chosen by the Emperor?
The more he thought about it, the more infuriating Douglas seemed.
Elisabeth had demanded a clause ensuring she wouldn’t involve others.
Nikolai had no reason not to amend the contract.
“You did it, right? I’m doing it too.”
As soon as Kares cleared away the broken pen, Nikolai opened the container of curiosities.
Inside, an old monocle made of copper shimmered strangely.
“Summon the Marquis of Nettleton. Arrest him if he refuses.”
Tomorrow, the week Nikolai granted would be over.
Franz was still avoiding me.
I resolved to survive by any means.
I wouldn’t avoid dirtying my hands or living as a villainess.
Still, using charm on Franz was impossible.
“Wink at a ten-year-old and blow him a hand kiss? How can I watch Franz beg for my attention? I can’t ruin a child’s life!”
I clutched my head with both hands.
I was supposed to be Franz’s education officer, at least in name.
How could I teach while using wicked tricks?
I couldn’t destroy the last shred of conscience a Confucian girl possessed.
While stuck in indecision, a servant arrived.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has collapsed.”
“Collapsed? Is he very ill?”
“Fortunately, he regained consciousness soon. But he refuses treatment.”
“Can’t we force it?”
“He might destroy furniture or threaten the healers.”
“Sir Simon must have requested it. So His Majesty ignored him again!”
How could someone neglect a sick child like this?
Could he even be called a human—or a father?
If only I knew the illness, it wouldn’t feel so frustrating.
I gnawed at my thumbnail before rushing to the main palace.
“You want me to steal the Nettleton Marquis’ curiosities?”
Kares frowned in disbelief.
“We need to act immediately!”
“Why should I commit theft as Minister of the Interior?”
“It’s just borrowing for a moment.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear any conspiracy to commit a crime.”
“Kares, are you refusing my request?”
“It’s uncomfortable. I do recall you asking me to call you by name, though.”
His reaction was blunt, cold, rational.
The last time we met, he had been helpful and cheerful with small tasks without being asked.
Now he was distant and icy.
“Does the charm have an expiration?”
Goosebumps ran up my arm.
I’d only thought about using charm, never what comes after.
The original work gave no details about Elisabeth’s abilities.
I hadn’t cared much—it was just part of a villainess side character’s setup.
Looking back, some things puzzled me:
“In the original, Elisabeth must have used her charm on everyone, regardless of age or gender. If everyone was seduced, how could there be bad rumors? She’d have had followers everywhere.”
If the charm naturally wore off over time, people like Kares would feel puzzled and uncomfortable.
They would have wagged their tails for Elisabeth against their will.
“So that’s why she went to parties every night—to seduce again before the charm wore off!”
In the original, Elisabeth easily gained others’ love.
She didn’t need to deal with complicated human relationships.
Few, like Douglas or Susan, genuinely cared for her.
Meanwhile, those avoiding her or speaking ill increased.
The more she used her charm, the emptier she became, craving more attention.
I clutched my fading consciousness.
The important thing now wasn’t the original story.
“Just tell me where the curiosities are, Kares. I’ll handle the rest!”
