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Chapter 37
Evelyn, wearing her usual haughty expression, was walking down the staircase near the drawing room.
Her mysterious silver hair, which changed color depending on the light, swayed smoothly like silk, and her blue eyes beneath slightly upturned corners carried a strange sharpness.
Even so, her slender face and flawless, pale, translucent skin made it impossible not to be drawn to her. She possessed a charm that left no choice but surrender.
Watching her approach with graceful steps, Rakiel let out a quiet sigh of admiration.
She was indeed beautiful enough to be called the greatest beauty in the Empire.
‘…Of course, her first impression had been terrible enough to overshadow even that beauty.’
He quickly pulled himself out of his admiration. No matter how beautiful she was, the fact remained that she was Evelyn.
Rakiel glanced at Killian, who was fidgeting nervously beside him.
“Evelyn…! W-What brings you here?”
As expected, compared to Duke Rosental, he still had a somewhat inexperienced side. Though, Rakiel thought that was not necessarily a bad thing.
Even so, showing such obvious agitation in front of another person was hardly a good habit.
“Brother, why didn’t you call for me? His Highness the Prince has come to visit.”
“I was just about to! His Highness must be tired after such a long journey, so I thought perhaps it would be better to speak tomorrow.”
“Oh my, how could he possibly rest while neglecting his ‘fiancée’?”
There was a subtle barb hidden in her words.
Rakiel narrowed his eyes and studied Evelyn. Yet she seemed no different from the last time they had met.
‘Is all of that really an act…?’
He laughed bitterly to himself. According to the maid Eve, everything was merely an act of hostility directed toward him.
All to make the Crown Prince lower his guard.
“What do you think, Your Highness?”
Her sparkling blue eyes turned toward Rakiel.
Feeling that those eyes were calmer than he had expected, he opened his mouth.
“It has been a while since we last met, Lady. I’m glad to see you look well.”
He had heard she had been fasting…
Whenever Evelyn moved her hand, her sleeve slipped back slightly, revealing her thin wrist.
‘She’s even thinner than I expected.’
How devoted was she to her act if she couldn’t even take care of her own health?
“Hoho, of course, Your Highness! Thanks to you, I’m doing wonderfully. Though I was forcibly separated from Crown Prince Rakiel and made to live out here in the countryside.”
“Evelyn!”
A startled Killian raised his voice, but Evelyn merely snorted.
“Father must have thought I’d reflect on my behavior! But I’m not reflecting at all. Isn’t that right?”
At Evelyn’s request for agreement, Rakiel froze for a moment.
‘…What is this?’
Was she asking him to play along with her act? Or was she expecting him to get angry in response?
Her intentions were impossible to read.
Rakiel found himself unable to tell what was real and what was fake anymore. In the end, caught completely off guard, he gave a foolish answer.
“Y-Yes, that’s right…”
“Your Highness?”
Killian called out in shock.
Only then did Rakiel come to his senses and hurriedly tried to fix what he had said.
“Ah, what I meant was… I don’t think sending Lady Evelyn away from the capital was a particularly good solution. She should also be active in high society.”
“Ah, I see. That is true. Social activities are important, especially at a time like this.”
Killian nodded in understanding.
Rakiel secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Considering how hastily he had improvised, it sounded surprisingly reasonable.
‘I need to get a grip…’
At this rate, who knew what nonsense he might blurt out while being swept along by her acting?
As he bit his trembling lip, Evelyn curled the corner of her mouth upward.
He had no idea.
This was only the beginning.
I was practically on a roll.
Since Rakiel had apparently already explained things to himself after hearing my excuse, I had completely lost all restraint!
“Evelyn, please calm down a little…”
“Oh? Does Your Highness prefer me being quiet, or do you find me more entertaining like this? Since you’re my ‘fiancé,’ I thought I’d ask.”
“Wh-What kind of question is that…”
He broke out in a cold sweat and glanced nervously at Killian.
I clearly had no intention of waiting for an answer.
“His Highness prefers the first option, you know. Hohoho.”
Laughing sweetly, I popped one of the prepared pastries into my mouth.
Crunch, crunch.
While chewing and taking advantage of the brief silence, I studied Rakiel.
Unlike when he had first arrived, he looked noticeably thinner.
‘But I can’t stop.’
It had been a long time since I had met someone this fun to tease.
Every casual remark I made tossed him around like a reed in the wind, and then he would desperately try to explain himself to Killian afterward.
Knowing that all my behavior was an act seemed to make things even more confusing for him. He genuinely had no idea how he was supposed to react.
‘He has a surprisingly cute side.’
Of course, I wasn’t just playing around.
After swallowing the sweetness lingering on my tongue, I spoke again.
The exhausted-looking Rakiel immediately tensed and stared at my lips.
“Come to think of it, I heard that Grand Duke Kashien will be attending His Majesty’s birthday banquet this year. Is that true?”
Pretending innocence, I asked the question.
Rakiel’s eyes lit up.
Grand Duke Kashien Lupenbein rarely attended banquets. Though he was a distant relative of the Imperial Family, he had never enjoyed involving himself in politics.
However, in previous timelines, he had supported the Crown Prince not out of loyalty but because he had some special objective.
‘I’ve always felt that if I dig deeper into that part, it might be effective…’
I had investigated Kashien recently, but there was nothing unusual. Everything was exactly the same as in previous timelines.
Rakiel looked at me as though trying to uncover my intentions before answering.
“So I’ve heard. I think it may have something to do with my older brother, but I don’t know for certain. I’ve only met the Grand Duke a few times myself, so I don’t really know what kind of person he is.”
Killian cut in.
“Do you think the Grand Duke is finally making a move? He must have heard that Your Highness and our family have joined hands.”
“That is very likely. During the last meeting, the Duke openly declared his support for me, so my brother’s side probably decided they needed to take action.”
“They’ll undoubtedly prepare something to undermine Your Highness once again.”
“Indeed… especially at a time when these rumors about me are spreading.”
Rakiel muttered coldly.
‘As I thought…’
He definitely knew where the rumors had originated and had come here because of it.
It finally felt like we were getting to the main topic.
I took a sip of tea and politely covered my mouth as I smiled.
“Oh my, I’ve heard those rumors about Your Highness as well.”
“Have you? They’ve been rather surprising for me. That’s why… I was certain someone here must have been responsible for spreading them.”
As he muttered in a low voice, Killian tilted his head in confusion.
“Here? Well, I have invested heavily in relief projects recently, but I never instructed anyone to spread rumors.”
“You didn’t…?”
“No, Your Highness. Since you occasionally visit villages near the border yourself, I assumed the rumors had spread naturally.”
“That can’t be. I have never informed others of my destinations. As you know, Young Duke, something terrible could happen if I did.”
I blinked and looked back and forth between the two of them.
‘Wait, Rakiel was actually doing those things himself?’
That was completely new information.
Then…
Had all my efforts been pointless?
The rumors alone would have been enough, but instead I had poured in money, time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears and ended up running actual relief projects?
Beside me, Rakiel wore the exact same bewildered expression.
“Then the Duke gave no instructions either?”
“I haven’t heard anything from Father.”
I could easily guess what Rakiel was thinking.
He was wondering whether the rumors had spread because of his own genuine actions.
…Well, whatever.
I quickly dismissed the thought.
Whether I had spent the money or not, the relief work was still a good thing, and the rumors had spread exactly as intended.
No, perhaps they had spread so effectively because I had spent the money.
The fact that my image—and by extension the image of the Rosental family and Lady Rosental—had improved was unexpected.
Still, that would only become a stronger foundation for Rakiel when he eventually became Emperor.
Smiling in satisfaction, I popped another pastry into my mouth.
Listening to Rakiel and Killian discuss serious political matters while eating sweets was pure bliss.
‘Now that I’ve roughly sorted everything out, I should just clear a few quests and wait.’
Everything was going exactly as I wanted.
Nothing could have made me happier.
At the same time, Duke Rosental was enduring a living hell.
“Please make a choice already, Your Grace. Do you still not know?”
Joshua urged him impatiently.
“I have no idea what my daughter’s tastes are.”
The Duke wiped cold sweat from his brow and sighed deeply.
He was currently trying to choose a gift for Evelyn.
