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Chapter 6
She Went Mad Like That (6)
“Haha… Is that truly the truth?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It is entirely true.”
The Emperor felt momentarily dumbfounded, but he quickly changed his mind. No matter how he looked at it, this was hardly a bad outcome for him.
His gaze shifted toward Cassian, who stood below.
“And how does the Fifth Prince feel about this?”
“It is all so sudden that I hardly know what to say.”
Cassian ground his teeth together.
His dangerous eyes turned toward Veronica. She simply smiled as though she knew nothing, carrying herself with absolute confidence, as if not a single word she had spoken were false.
For now, Cassian chose to step back.
He likely judged that openly contradicting her in front of the Emperor would accomplish nothing.
But Veronica did not miss the opportunity.
“Prince Cassian, have you forgotten? The letters we exchanged… the feelings we nurtured together?”
“You—!”
The rest of his words—What absurd nonsense are you spouting?!—seemed practically audible despite being swallowed back down.
Harry stared between the two of them in shock. The Emperor looked equally startled. Asar’s expression had stiffened, though confusion lingered there as well.
Cassian clenched both fists tightly.
So this was why she had insisted he remain instead of allowing the Emperor to send him away.
And besides—
He had never exchanged feelings with her at all.
It was a complete lie.
His face flushed red, and his entire body trembled faintly. The Emperor, however, mistook it for embarrassment.
“Well now, who would have thought the Fifth Prince and the young lady of House Hardiness had already grown close?”
The Emperor’s eyes were as useless as a bird’s backside.
“I truly believed your heart belonged to the Fourth Prince.”
“That was true at first. But Prince Cassian comforted me through my pain. He sincerely worried for me and told me he wished for my happiness above all else. He even embraced me and said that if there were another life, he hoped we could meet properly and share our hearts with one another then.”
“Oh ho— I never knew our Fifth Prince could be so affectionate.”
“I know this may burden His Highness, but I no longer wish to hide my feelings.”
“Yes, yes. Of course.”
Of course what?
You understand nothing at all.
Veronica nearly laughed at the Emperor’s eager encouragement.
Internally, at least.
“I see now why you came to seek me out. You came to request permission to marry the Fifth Prince.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. This time, I wished to ask personally so there would be no misunderstanding. Of course… only if Prince Cassian accepts my feelings.”
“Of course he will. Gladly.”
“Your Majesty!”
Cassian hurriedly interrupted, attempting to stop the conversation, but the Emperor frowned immediately.
“Silence. Do you forget before whom you stand?”
“…My apologies.”
Cassian lowered his head and stepped back into place.
Though his expression remained hidden, the resentment boiling within him was obvious from the fists he kept tightly clenched. Beside him, Asar glanced his way.
Naturally, the Emperor did not care about his feelings in the slightest.
It spoke volumes about Cassian’s standing within the imperial family.
“I shall permit it. The two of you will surely make an excellent couple.”
For now, it would only become an engagement.
But regardless, the Emperor himself had promised that the two would eventually marry.
That promise was as good as an imperial decree.
It could not be refused, and unless the Emperor personally revoked it, its authority would never disappear.
Veronica smiled brilliantly.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Veronica. What was all that? You and Prince Theron exchanged letters and shared feelings?”
The moment they left the audience chamber, Harry grabbed Veronica and questioned her.
Even he had never noticed anything between the two of them.
“I’ll explain later, Father.”
Veronica glanced to the side as she spoke.
Now was hardly the time to satisfy his curiosity.
Cassian was already storming toward her.
“Veronica Hardiness!”
“My. Prince Cassian. Did you come all this way just to see me?”
Despite the fury written plainly across his face, Veronica greeted him as though unaware of it.
She spoke horrifying words as casually as if discussing the weather.
And indeed, Cassian’s expression darkened even further.
Unable to raise his voice in front of Duke Hardiness, he forced himself to remain patient.
Veronica smiled faintly before turning toward Harry.
“Father, I’d like to speak with His Highness alone for a moment.”
“Very well.”
The atmosphere was clearly dangerous, but Harry chose to comply. After offering Cassian a respectful bow, he stepped away.
Once he was gone, Veronica looked back at Cassian.
He too had been watching Harry retreat before finally turning his gaze toward her.
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“What kind of insult was that? When exactly did we exchange letters or nurture feelings together? The person you exchanged letters with was Asar, not me. And I clearly rejected your feelings the last time we spoke.”
“The letters can be exchanged from now on, and the feelings can be nurtured starting now. Once we become engaged, we’ll be forced to see each other often whether we like it or not. Eventually, affection may bloom where none existed before.”
“You call that an explanation?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
Veronica answered shamelessly.
“Don’t you think it makes for quite a convincing love story? The story of you and me, I mean.”
“How dare you lie so brazenly—”
“And yet His Majesty never noticed.”
Even if he had noticed, he likely would not have cared.
Still, Veronica had worried the Emperor might ask for Cassian’s opinion and reject her proposal because of it.
Fortunately, that had not happened.
“Love stories always contain a bit of exaggeration, don’t they? I simply thought very carefully about what our story might sound like if we truly had shared feelings.”
Cassian was speechless.
It felt as though rage were climbing all the way to the top of his head.
Yet Veronica only smiled more brightly at his reaction.
“I did tell you before, didn’t I? That you would eventually marry me. It would have been much easier had you listened to me back then.”
“Hah.”
A short laugh escaped him.
Of course, it was not genuine amusement.
When he raised his head again, his eyes had become even colder.
“You’ve gone insane. I heard you suffered a terrible fever recently. It seems it damaged your mind as well.”
“That may very well be true.”
If someone asked whether she was insane, then yes—
Veronica truly was.
She accepted his words without resistance.
“If you disliked this so much, then you should have rejected it the same way you rejected me before.”
“As though I had the option to—”
Cassian cut himself off once more.
In truth, he had not been in a position to reject her request at all.
And Veronica understood his situation perfectly.
Anyone with sense would realize that his wishes had never mattered in that audience chamber.
Among imperial princes, bloodline determined rank, and not all children were treated equally.
The fact that the Emperor’s children all had different mothers was already one of the empire’s most infamous scandals.
And Veronica willingly took advantage of that reality.
At some point—she no longer even remembered which life it had been—she learned that the reason Asar, who had rejected her countless times, suddenly came to propose was because of an imperial command.
Her father’s request, combined with the Emperor’s decree, had forced Asar into an engagement with her from the beginning.
It had always been a forced engagement.
A one-sided relationship.
How could genuine feelings ever grow from something like that?
Knowing this, Veronica had personally come to the Emperor to demand marriage with Cassian.
Because she knew the Emperor would not reject her request.
For now, only the engagement had been secured.
But obtaining a direct promise of marriage from the Emperor himself was already enough.
Since the Emperor had spoken personally, it was unlikely to ever be revoked.
At least not until her family was destroyed.
“Am I not beautiful in Your Highness’s eyes?”
“…What?”
“I may look like this, but I’ve been told all my life that I’m quite pretty. People always said I would grow into a great beauty. My figure is not lacking either, and everyone in the empire knows the wealth of House Hardiness. Aren’t you pleased that someone like me will eventually become your wife?”
“So I should consider it an honor that someone so magnificent is willing to marry me?”
“That wasn’t exactly what I meant… though if that’s how you wish to interpret it.”
“…Why are you doing this to me?”
Cassian asked through gritted teeth.
There was anger in his voice, but also frustration toward both his circumstances and Veronica’s incomprehensible behavior.
“How am I supposed to face Asar after this…?”
“….”
His anger was not directed at himself.
It was directed toward the brother he cherished most.
He worried about the pain Asar must have felt.
He felt guilty for the hurt this would cause him.
Veronica stared blankly at Cassian.
They had always been like this.
Always caring only for each other.
Always protecting one another.
Perhaps wounded souls truly did seek comfort in each other, because Asar kept Cassian by his side until the very end. He may have abandoned his fiancée, but he never abandoned the younger brother he truly treasured.
Veronica had heard that when Asar eventually ascended the throne, Cassian became one of his greatest supporters. When enemies rose against him, it was Cassian who led the purges.
Disgusting.
Veronica slowly parted her lips.
“Did I not tell you? I came to admire you.”
“….”
“If happiness lies in my future, then I wish to share it with Your Highness.”
And I wish to share my future misery with you as well.
That would be her revenge.
Against the man you treasure most.
Against the man she wished to erase from this world without leaving even a trace behind.
If his pride had been wounded by this, then good.
As for the pain Cassian himself would suffer because of it—
She did not care.
Just as they had never cared for her suffering, she would no longer care for theirs.
‘If you all desire my death, then I will resist with everything I have.’
Veronica had made her decision.
If only despair awaited her future, then she would drag Asar’s beloved younger brother down into that despair with her.
So watch carefully, Asar.
Watch what becomes of the brother you loved so dearly.
Concealing the cruelty within her heart, Veronica smiled beautifully.
Cassian looked utterly horrified, but even that no longer mattered to her.
Hadn’t she said it from the beginning?
His feelings meant nothing in this marriage.
Promising him the despair they would share together in the future, she whispered softly,
“Let’s live happily together, Prince Cassian.”
