Euclid stared at Barlos. The green eyes, identical to the Emperor’s, gleamed with desire.
‘It’s about time I’m appointed Crown Prince.’
In the imperial family, there were two princes and one princess. Prince Barlos and Princess Selvarena, born of the Empress, and Prince Grasis, born of a concubine.
It had already been quite some time since the two princes and the princess had come of age.
The nobles and high officials continued to clamor that a Crown Prince should be appointed soon.
However, the Emperor consistently ignored the matter whenever it was brought up.
This was a rare occurrence in the history of the Xenos Empire, which had always sought a stable succession of power by establishing a firm imperial line.
As the legitimate eldest son, Barlos felt a sense of crisis, while Grasis, as the second son born of a concubine, slowly expanded his influence in the shadows as if releasing the resentment he had long endured.
In such a situation, Euclid was someone both Barlos and Grasis could not help but covet.
Both princes continuously tried to win him over. Yet Euclid had managed to avoid taking either side until now.
If possible, he wanted to remain neutral until the Emperor chose someone as Crown Prince.
His family was loyal to the Emperor, not to a prince or even a Crown Prince.
“I’m not asking much of you. Just attend my birthday banquet. Is even that difficult?”
At Barlos’s earnest request, Euclid could not bring himself to refuse.
After finishing his meeting with Barlos and returning, Euclid remained in a foul mood. He did not say a single word on the way back to the estate.
Only Frederick, who shared the carriage with him, felt like he was sitting on thorns.
Frederick was curious why Euclid was in a bad mood, but he did not ask.
It was obvious he wouldn’t hear anything pleasant if he tried to start a conversation.
The reason for Euclid’s mood only became clear once the carriage arrived at the estate.
The horse slowed down. As the carriage gradually came to a stop, Euclid finally spoke.
“I’ll go to the prince’s birthday banquet. Make preparations.”
Go where, our master?
“Yes?”
Startled, Frederick asked back blankly.
“Didn’t you hear? I said I’m attending the prince’s birthday banquet.”
This must be it!
Judging by his deeply furrowed expression, he clearly wasn’t going because he wanted to. Barlos must have pressured him.
“Have you made your decision?”
Frederick asked. Euclid stared at him silently.
On the surface, the imperial family appeared peaceful, but beneath it, a fierce battle was being waged to make one’s supported prince the Crown Prince.
It was natural for Barlos, the firstborn of the Empress, to become Crown Prince, but the Emperor had the power to overturn that flow.
And he had, in fact, exercised that power.
When Barlos had just begun to develop political insight, the Emperor declared:
- The position of Crown Prince will go to the one most suited to be Emperor.
It meant he would judge solely based on ability.
After all, both princes received the best education in the imperial palace regardless of whether they were born of the Empress or a concubine. Their abilities were quite similar. What would ultimately demonstrate their capability was the power of those who supported them.
The nobles of the Xenos Empire were divided into two factions: those supporting Prince Barlos and those supporting Prince Grasis. Nobles with long-standing traditions supported Barlos, while younger nobles known as the rising faction and wealthy merchants—who lived like nobles but could not become one—supported Grasis.
Amid this, a few families maintained neutrality. The Gredellos family was one of them.
“We’ll have to wait and see a bit longer.”
The time to choose would come eventually. But not now.
“You’ll be busy.”
“Why?”
“Well, you’ll need to have clothes made and find a partner.”
“A partner?”
Now that he thought about it, a partner was necessary for a banquet.
Without one, troublesome situations would arise.
There was a high chance he would be stuck the entire time, greeting and dancing with young ladies introduced by elderly nobles.
A faint crease formed between Euclid’s brows.
All he wanted was to exchange brief greetings and leave.
For a very practical reason, Euclid concluded that he needed to find a partner.
“Is there anyone suitable?”
At Euclid’s question, a certain face immediately came to mind. However, Frederick merely shrugged.
“Think about it.”
“Yes, understood.”
Frederick answered loudly. If his master was attending a banquet, he had to step up.
The carriage door opened.
Frederick got down first and held the door.
As soon as Euclid stepped down, another aide, Barlea, approached.
“My lord, you’ve returned. A letter has arrived.”
Unlike Frederick, his fraternal twin, Barlea had a quiet personality. They also looked completely different.
While Frederick had a slender build and a gentle appearance, Barlea looked fierce, as if he were always angry when silent. His build was also robust.
He seemed more suited to being a knight than an aide.
In fact, he was a knight. However, Euclid, who had long observed him, had transferred him into an aide position because of his talents in various areas.
Because of that, Euclid felt somewhat indebted to Barlea.
He had taken away the life Barlea originally wanted as a knight.
Euclid took the letter Barlea handed him. Pink paper with a heart-shaped seal.
‘Lady Erensia.’
Euclid frowned slightly. He handed the letter to Frederick.
“Read it.”
“Me? Not Barlea?”
Frederick frowned at the letter handed to him.
“It’s your job.”
“It’s Barlea’s job too.”
“Stop complaining and read.”
Leaving Frederick to open the letter, Euclid went inside the estate first.
As Frederick read the letter while grumbling, his expression brightened.
“My lord, my lord! The problem is solved!”
Frederick shouted joyfully.
Euclid, who had been discussing staffing matters with the butler, turned around.
Frederick was smiling brightly like spring flowers. Euclid frowned.
Whenever Frederick smiled like that, it usually meant something unpleasant for him.
“Good news.”
This means trouble.
Frederick waved the letter.
“We’ve found a partner. Lady Erensia.”
As expected, not good.
Why is there no reply?
Erensia rested her chin on the window frame and stared blankly outside.
It had been a week since she sent a letter to Euclid asking him to be her partner.
If he didn’t want to, he should at least say so!
That way, she could either persist or find someone else.
Her chest felt tight.
Should I go see him again?
But she didn’t feel like it.
Euclid was a difficult person to deal with. He always responded in ways she did not expect.
When she recalled how he said he would think about her proposal, her heart thumped.
Was she developing heart disease? Her uncontrollable heartbeat made her uncomfortable.
The banquet was approaching, so she needed to settle this quickly.
Erensia shook off her useless thoughts.
If Euclid refused, she would have to find someone else.
Still, should she wait just one more day?
She had plenty of other things to do anyway.
After fidgeting with a heavy pouch of gold coins, Erensia went to find Agnes.
“Miss, we’ve arrived.”
The carriage carrying Erensia stopped in front of a dress shop in the city.
It was the atelier of André, a designer who had been rising in popularity lately.
As Erensia stepped out of the carriage, people began to murmur.
It seemed like they were talking about her.
‘Are they criticizing me?’
Erensia walked slowly, trying to overhear them.
“She truly is a noble lady of integrity.”
“Truly admirable. Have you seen Lady Eveline lately? She’s so confident. Very logical and intelligent.”
A familiar name caught Erensia’s attention.
“Not just Lady Eveline. What about Lady Victorina, who associates with her? The one who scolded her fiancé! I heard she recently went to the temple to check how her donation was used. And apparently, a priest had embezzled it? She reported it to the high priest immediately. How capable she is.”
These were stories of Eveline and Victorina, whom she had once hoped would behave like villains and damage their reputations.
Well, they were kind people by nature. It couldn’t be helped.
But why are they praising Eveline and Victorina while looking at me?
Erensia tilted her head. Then she heard something that answered her question.
“They say they learned from Lady Erensia. Ah… I wish I could learn from her too.”
Erensia’s face stiffened.
What?
She focused on their conversation.
“I knew there was something special about her when she rode through town before!”
“Oh, I remember that day too! Didn’t she buy all those dusty items? And I heard she didn’t even use them, just threw them away. Buying things just so they wouldn’t go unsold because of dust… I couldn’t do that no matter how rich I was.”
“Throw them away? You don’t know, do you? She intentionally had them placed in poor neighborhoods so those in need could use them. How kind-hearted.”
“And now she’s even teaching other young ladies, it seems.”
Erensia blinked rapidly.
“Agnes, what is going on?”
She turned to Agnes.
“What do you mean, miss?”
Agnes answered with a completely clueless expression.
A strange rumor had spread—one that Erensia had never intended at all.
![Your God Sent You [Completed]](https://i1.wp.com/novelvibes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/resource-5.jpg?resize=151,215 "Your God Sent You [Completed]")
