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Chapter 5
I smiled brightly and said to Lionel,
“We may never have met before, but somehow we ended up engaged like this. So let’s try to get along well.”
“Yes.”
“…That’s it? Don’t you have anything you want to say to me?”
“No.”
“Could you at least pretend to think about it?!”
Even after I burst out in frustration, Lionel only blinked at me as though he genuinely didn’t understand why I was upset.
Good grief, this is so frustrating!
“We’re going to spend the rest of our lives together unless we break off the engagement or get divorced. In that case, shouldn’t you say things like, ‘Please take care of me,’ ‘Let’s get along,’ ‘I’ll protect you no matter what,’ or even, ‘I don’t feel anything now, but someday I’ll come to love you’?!”
“Ah.”
Lionel looked at me with the expression of someone realizing he’d never been taught that sort of thing before.
Then, regardless of what he truly felt, he spoke to me with an extremely solemn and serious face.
“Please take care of me in the future.”
“…That’s all?”
“Let us get along well.”
“…That’s all?”
“If danger arises, I will protect you.”
“…Well, alright then.”
Those were all things I’d basically fed him myself, but still, at least he was willing to repeat them.
Though it was slightly irritating that he refused to say—even as an empty promise—that he might someday love me.
“By the way, calling me ‘Lady Duke’s Daughter’ feels a bit distant. We’re engaged now, aren’t we?”
“Then how would you prefer I address you?”
“Please call me Cecile. And I’ll call you Leo. That’s okay, right?”
Lionel fell silent for a moment before finally nodding.
“As you wish, Cecile.”
“See? Doesn’t that sound much nicer? Now we finally feel like an engaged couple!”
Laughing cheerfully, I held out my hand toward Lionel.
“Then please take care of me from now on too, Leo.”
“Yes. I look forward to it as well.”
Lionel obediently took my hand, then lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of it.
I’d intended it as a handshake, but honestly, this wasn’t bad either, so I simply let him do it.
All while hoping he would continue staying exactly the way he was now.
* * *
“Kaien, are you alright?”
As Kaien lay down on the bed, the Empress personally pulled the blanket over him and asked worriedly,
“How’s your stomach? Are you feeling unwell anywhere else? Should I call the imperial physician?”
“How many times do I have to tell you not to make such a useless fuss?”
Even though his irritated tone would’ve hurt anyone else’s feelings, the Empress only continued soothing her son gently.
“Don’t be too upset. I’ll find you an even more proper fiancée than her…”
“Is there even a woman in this Empire with better qualifications than Cecilia?”
The Empress was left speechless.
Because it was true.
In terms of status, wealth, appearance, and age, there truly was no better bride candidate than Cecilia.
That was why the Empress had long ago decided Cecilia would become Kaien’s match…
“If you were Duke Roheim, would you hand over your precious daughter to a man who could die at any moment?”
How could he say something like that about his own son?!
Thinking of the Emperor—whom she no longer even considered her husband, only someone she deeply despised—the Empress clenched her teeth tightly.
“So what if she’s a duke’s daughter? She’s terribly immature. A lady should know how to behave properly at important occasions.”
Without reflecting on either her own or Kaien’s behavior in the slightest, the Empress criticized only Cecilia.
“In the end, a person’s character matters most. I’ll find you a more mature and modest young lady—”
“You’re right. In that sense, I think Cecilia needs rather strict education.”
“What?”
The Empress couldn’t answer immediately because something about the flow of the conversation felt strange.
Weren’t they discussing Kaien’s future fiancée? Then why was he suddenly talking about educating Cecilia…?
“Mother?”
“Hm? Ah, yes… You’re right. Whenever the wedding eventually happens, she’ll become a crown prince’s consort, so naturally she’ll need proper lessons.”
“If Mother, the Empress herself, teaches her, Cecilia will surely mature.”
“Indeed. We can’t allow her into the Imperial Palace while she remains that childish.”
Just as the Empress agreed, Kaien suddenly frowned and squeezed his eyes shut. Even while lying down, dizziness seemed to wash over him.
“Ugh… I’m going to rest now… so please leave.”
Kaien’s face had turned pale as he dismissed the Empress.
The Empress almost called for the imperial physician immediately, but after seeing her son already buried beneath the blankets, she let out a sorrowful sigh instead.
“Alright, get plenty of rest. And if your condition worsens, don’t forget to pull the emergency bell cord immediately.”
Kaien gave no reply.
The Empress lingered reluctantly for quite a while before finally leaving after Kaien shouted at her to go once more.
Once silence settled over the room, Kaien hid beneath the blanket, breathing harshly as Cecilia’s image surfaced in his mind.
“Even if it’s a political marriage, so what? If I marry the Second Prince, I’ll become Empress in the future. It’s an honor.”
In other words, Cecilia had accepted the engagement because she coveted the future position of Empress.
Suddenly, Kaien imagined himself as Emperor—with Cecilia standing beside him as Empress.
It was only imagination, yet the image wasn’t unpleasant.
One corner of his lips naturally curled upward.
But the moment a coughing fit burst from him, his mood instantly soured again.
“This damned body!”
After several more coughs, irritation rose within him once more.
“That bastard always gets the most precious things.”
A healthy body. The position of Crown Prince. And even the beloved youngest daughter of House Roheim, Cecilia.
What was the point of being born the First Prince?
In the end, all he ever received were empty husks, while every ripe and valuable grain was handed to Lionel instead.
“Fine then. Let’s see how long you can keep taking everything for yourself.”
Hidden beneath the dark blankets, Kaien swallowed down a sinister smile.
* * *
“Mmm…! This smells wonderful!”
The weather was lovely, the breeze pleasant—truly, nothing was as fragrant as drinking rose tea inside Mother’s rose greenhouse.
“You’ve done an excellent job again today, Uni.”
“You flatter me, my lady.”
“Flattery? You know I never give empty compliments.”
The tea tasted wonderful, and the desserts were equally delicious.
Especially this éclair overflowing with custard cream—it suited my tastes perfectly.
I wish everyday life could continue peacefully like this forever.
As a reward for brewing such delicious tea, I popped one into Eunice’s mouth as well.
That was when the surroundings suddenly became a little noisy.
“Hm? Did someone arrive?”
Mother, my sister, and my brothers were all out right now, so nobody should be home…
“So this is where you were, Cecile.”
“Huh? Sis!”
A tall woman with long rose-colored curly hair tied high above her head and a rapier hanging at her waist.
Her name was Bellrose Roheim, vice-captain of the Second Imperial Knights Order.
Every time I saw her, I couldn’t help admiring how amazing she looked in her pristine white knight uniform and leather boots.
“You’re home early! Did you already finish work? Uni, pour my sister some tea too.”
“I got off early. I came home to scold our little troublemaker.”
“Me? Why? I didn’t do anything wrong!”
With a disbelieving sigh, my sister lightly pinched my cheek.
“You acted so improperly at the Imperial Palace yesterday, and you think you did nothing wrong?”
“Ow, ow, sis, that hurts. Ow, ow.”
Honestly, it didn’t hurt much at all. My sister had pinched me very gently, and she probably knew I was exaggerating.
Still, apparently my dramatic whining was enough, because she released my cheek.
“Do you know what I heard at the Imperial Palace today?”
