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Chapter 47
“…The elders said that after choosing the future empress, I can date whoever I want.”
In response to Teion’s question, Julian narrowed his eyes and replied.
“But even if I become emperor, I have no intention of taking a queen or concubines.”
“Why…?”
“You know. What happened to the palace after the empress passed away and Empress Carlota arrived.”
“…”
Teion answered the question with silence.
Empress Carlota was engaged in a fierce political battle to place her second son on the throne.
Because of her, the nobles were divided, and the empire suffered from exhausting political schemes.
“If it’s just one person in my life… then I should be able to choose the one I truly want.”
Julian muttered bitterly, a rare expression on his face.
“If there’s just one person who can make me breathe in this suffocating palace…”
Teion silently sipped his drink.
He, too, had been postponing marriage for the same reason.
Perhaps, in this empire, the only people who truly understood each other were the two of them.
“…By the way, you’re preparing a coffee business?”
Julian shifted the conversation, seemingly trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
“Have you secured a route for importing coffee beans?”
“Yes, definitely.”
“You know that the empress is from the Duchy of Venetia, right?”
Julian, having erased the playful expression from moments ago, now spoke with the dignity of a crown prince.
“…Yes.”
“As you know, the second prince has a very high chance of taking the throne of Venetia.”
At those words, the expressions of both of them grew serious.
About twenty-six years ago, the daughter of the Duke of Venetia disappeared.
That same year, Carlota, the duke’s sister, became the empress of the empire.
Four years later, the duke’s second child also vanished, leaving the duchy without an heir.
“So, if you start a coffee business, it could inadvertently expand that woman’s influence within the empire.”
“I’ve considered all those possibilities.”
Teion answered calmly.
In the fierce political struggle between the crown prince and the second prince, Teion was firmly on the crown prince’s side.
Not because Julian was his cousin or childhood companion.
Even from Teion’s perspective, Julian was the most suitable person for the throne.
Though he appeared gentle on the outside, a true strong person never exposes their teeth recklessly.
Beneath his radiant smile lay a sharp mind and a heavy sense of responsibility toward the empire.
Occasionally, the borderline pranks he played were his own way of coping with the burden of being the heir.
Most importantly, if this empire fell into the hands of that venomous empress, who knew what would happen.
“Venetia is not a coffee-producing region. It only serves as a distribution hub between the southern and northern continents.”
The small duchy, known as the “City of Water,” was beautiful and unique.
The entire city was flooded, so it was called that.
Instead of carriages, the people moved through the city on small boats.
Teion remembered well the cheerful songs of the boatmen rowing through the canals.
“So, I secured a route to import beans directly from the southern continent without going through the duchy.”
“Hmm…”
“This will actually reduce the duchy’s influence within the continent.”
Julian finally smiled, satisfied.
Returning to his languid, catlike expression, he tilted the coffee cup on the table.
Plop.
Then he calmly set it down and delivered a sharp remark.
“…But you’re not planning to sell this black garbage, right?”
The coffee Teion had brewed for demonstration was terribly awful.
Bitter, astringent, and filled with all sorts of strange flavors.
Drinking it was nothing short of torture.
“…Coffee isn’t supposed to taste like this.”
Teion said, a little embarrassed.
“I know,” Julian replied abruptly.
“Huh?”
“…I mean, you judged it as marketable, right? So it shouldn’t actually taste like this.”
For a moment, Julian rolled his golden eyes like a guilty cat, then spoke nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened.
“Importing beans alone isn’t enough. You have to develop coffee that suits the tastes of the empire’s people.”
“…I know that already.”
Teion sighed, adding,
“I’ve found a way. An unknown woman.”
“…A woman?”
At that, Julian paused slightly, but Teion, looking at his coffee cup, didn’t notice.
“Yes. I can’t act openly because the empress might interfere.”
“Oh… this is interesting.”
Julian’s golden eyes gleamed like a cat’s.
“It’s been a while since something was this fun…”
Though an odd comment, Teion paid it no mind; Julian was always eccentric.
“…Teion. You’ll attend next week’s palace party, right?”
“I will.”
Teion replied wearily.
“If I skip the crown prince’s birthday banquet, the gossips will start saying I’m scheming for the throne again.”
“Haha. Fools. Teion would rather stab himself than commit the disgrace of coveting his cousin’s place.”
“….”
Watching Teion silently sip his tea, Julian’s eyes sparkled.
“You know, dear cousin.”
“…Why are you like this? It’s unsettling.”
“Could you prepare some coffee beans as a birthday gift for me? Plenty. Hmm… enough for all the nobles attending that day?”
“Huh? That’s not difficult, but as of now, the coffee I’ve brewed is practically black garbage…”
Before Teion could finish, Julian’s intent became clear.
“You’ve found her, haven’t you? The woman I was looking for?”
The coffee Cinderella who had vanished without a trace…
No, Julian probably didn’t even know he was searching for her—so how…?
Julian laughed joyfully at Teion’s astonishment.
It was the first time Teion had looked so surprised since Julian secretly put a snowflake in his clothes when they were eight.
‘It’s already this fun…!’
“You know, my brother.”
Instead of answering, Julian smiled brightly.
“This birthday might just be the most enjoyable one of my life.”
With a face completely free of his usual boredom, he added softly,
“…Truly.”
At the same time, in another palace, chaos was erupting.
“Ahhhhhh!”
“Your Highness! Princess! Please calm down…”
“Do I look like I want to calm down right now?!”
“Kyaaah!”
The princess Seirian unleashed violent attacks on the maid trying to restrain her.
The other maids trembled, watching.
If that maid fell, it would be their turn next.
At that moment,
“Ah, Seirian. What’s all this commotion?”
Empress Carlota entered through the open door.
Of course, she hadn’t come to stop her daughter’s tantrum.
“If you’re going to hit the maid, do it quietly, alright? The palace has eyes and ears everywhere.”
“Mo-om!”
Seirian ran to her mother, crying like a child.
Though she couldn’t see it, the empress held her with an expression of annoyance.
“Yes, yes. What’s the matter now?”
“Teion! He had a meeting with me! About me!”
Hearing her childish whining, the empress muttered indifferently.
“Ah, it’s because of Duke Teion again…”
But Seirian, in her mother’s arms, couldn’t understand her expression.
“Yes! I heard he’s been searching for a certain woman! He must have found her!”
“A woman…?”
Surprisingly, even her foolish daughter had some talent—stalking.
Seirian cried out,
“I heard he’s secretly looking for the woman he met on Hazit Street!”
“Hazit Street…”
The empress narrowed her eyes and murmured.
It was where the Roderick Company’s new product development headquarters was located.
Recently, they mainly researched coffee.
At that moment, a cunning idea flickered across the empress’s beautiful face.
