Chapter 37
How Dare You Refuse My Proposal?
“Greetings, Your Highness the Prince.”
“Well, what about the matter I ordered you to investigate regarding Lady Sylvestre?”
Prince Diego summoned his subordinate, whom he had secretly commanded to dig into Ximena’s affairs, and questioned him inside his office.
“Speak. Who are the men she’s been secretly seeing these days? Surely, it can’t be just one or two. Which young lords have been slipping in and out of her bedroom?”
“Y-Your Highness, that is…”
“Why are you hesitating? Don’t tell me there are five or six of them? All at once?”
Diego widened his eyes and leaned forward in a rush.
“N-no, Your Highness. The man Lady Sylvestre is currently seeing is…”
“Yes? Who is he?”
“No one, Your Highness.”
“What? No one?!”
“From what I discovered, the rumors were completely unfounded. It seems the Lady does not indulge in wild nightlife as gossip suggested, Your Highness.”
“That can’t be! Are you sure you investigated properly? The whole social circle is rife with tales of her debauchery, yet you say there are no men? Then perhaps she hasn’t been entertaining noble heirs, but rather lowly soldiers or the ducal household’s guards!”
Diego scowled, pressing his subordinate further.
“Your Highness, I approached the Sylvestre household’s servants and guards. According to them, the Lady has been distancing herself from social gatherings. Instead, she has been focusing on managing and inspecting the family’s lands, training as her house’s heir. Moreover, since she began participating in governance, she has lowered taxes and supported relief for the poor—earning praise from the people of her domain.”
“What? Praise?”
“Yes. Even the household servants speak very fondly of the Lady, saying she has become kind and considerate toward them.”
“That’s impossible…”
“However, there is one thing they all found strange…”
“Well? What is it?”
“They say her change occurred after the incident on the Imperial Palace staircase during the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet. She struck her head, was unconscious for two days, and when she awoke, she was completely different.”
“Hmm…”
“Your Highness, this doesn’t add up. It makes no sense.”
Standing nearby, Diego’s secretary, Alonso, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke up.
“Alonso, what do you mean it doesn’t add up?”
“Your Highness, I also investigated the rumors about the Lady, and I found something peculiar.”
“What was peculiar?”
“The source of these rumors in society… was none other than the Imperial Palace.”
“What?! That the rumors originated in the Palace? What do you mean? Who spread them there?”
“Yes, Your Highness. I questioned the servants closely and learned that the very people who spread them were none other than the Lady’s maid and knight who accompanied her to the Palace.”
“What? Her own maid and knight deliberately spread such rumors inside the Palace?”
“Yes, Your Highness. At first, I thought such complaints from those who served so close to her must be credible. But doesn’t this directly contradict today’s report? If she has truly changed and won over her servants’ goodwill, why would they intentionally slander her at the Palace? Unless… ah!”
Alonso’s expression suddenly twisted with alarm.
“What is it, Alonso?”
“Your Highness, surely the Lady didn’t… orchestrate it herself?”
“Orchestrate it? Why would she intentionally spread slander that would ruin her own reputation?”
“I can’t say for sure. But think about it—she appeared uninvited at the Palace, committed that outrageous act toward Your Highness… Could it have been a scheme to refuse your proposal?”
Bang!
Diego slammed his desk in fury.
“Ridiculous! To refuse my proposal? She should have been overwhelmed with gratitude! Besides, if she truly wished to refuse, the Duke would have made it known. She would never come to me personally and… Wait…”
Diego stopped mid-rant, his thoughts shifting.
“If Duke Sylvestre had rejected my proposal, Father wouldn’t have stayed silent…”
“Indeed, Your Highness. To refuse a royal proposal without cause would put the Duke in an impossible position.”
“So instead, they devised a way to make me withdraw first?”
“In fact, Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress were enraged and nearly annulled it themselves. Was it not Your Highness who asked for time?”
Diego frowned and shook his head.
“But Alonso, even so… why would a noble lady go so far as to spread scandal that utterly disgraces her name, just to reject a royal proposal? And mine, no less? My proposal—the very one all noble ladies dream of receiving? Does that make sense?”
“Your Highness, forgive me, but… I heard that the Duke and the Lady quarreled fiercely over your proposal.”
“What? The Duke and the Lady quarreled? Explain in detail!”
“They say the Duke accepted your proposal without consulting her, and she became furious, confronting him directly. Her rage was so great that even the Duke fell ill afterward.”
“What? Such insolence! And why would she be so furious over my proposal?”
Diego’s face twisted with humiliation as his voice rose.
“M-my apologies, Your Highness… the servants did not seem to know the reason.”
“You fool! That’s what you should have found out!”
“I beg your pardon, Your Highness. I will investigate further.”
Beads of sweat ran down the subordinate’s face as Diego’s wrath bore down on him.
“Has no one else been visiting the ducal house recently?”
“Commander Eron Serpentis of the city guard has visited a few times. But according to the servants, it didn’t seem like courting—more like urgent business.”
“Eron Serpentis? That man…”
“Yes, Your Highness. The handsome commander who was thrown out on the balcony at the Empress’s birthday banquet.”
“He’s not handsome, Alonso!”
“Ah—yes, of course, Your Highness. Just ordinary. Ahem.”
Alonso quickly corrected himself with an awkward cough.
“Strange. What business would he have? Did they have contact even before that… balcony incident?”
“No, Your Highness. They say his visits began only after that event.”
“…Very well. Find out why he’s been visiting, and confirm again whether the Lady truly has no other man.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After the subordinate left, Diego rose and paced the office before suddenly stopping in front of a mirror.
“Alonso.”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Be honest. How do I look?”
“…Pardon? Ah, of course… very handsome, Your Highness.”
“That’s it?”
“Uh—very, very handsome, Your Highness.”
“Tsk. What a dull compliment…”
Diego clicked his tongue, dissatisfied, and suddenly stormed out of the office. Alonso hurried after him.
Walking through the palace corridors, they encountered two maids.
“Greetings, Your Highness the Prince.”
“Raise your heads.”
“P-pardon? Y-yes, Your Highness…”
The maids hesitated, then lifted their heads, daring to meet the Prince’s face. His golden hair glittered in the sunlight, his pale skin gleamed with nobility, and his golden eyes shimmered with mystery. The maids stared, entranced, until they caught Alonso’s frown from behind. Blushing furiously, they lowered their gazes.
“F-forgive us, Your Highness…”
Seeing their flushed faces, Diego smirked arrogantly.
“Well? What do you think?”
“…Pardon?”
“I asked what you thought of my face.”
The two maids exchanged nervous glances before stammering out their answers.
“Your Highness’s jewel-like eyes are so mysterious and beautiful… you hardly seem of this world.”
“Yes, Your Highness. You look like an angel blessed by the gods.”
“Is that so? Very well. You may go.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The maids scurried away, faces still red. Diego strode toward the garden, fuming all the more as he felt the furtive glances of other maids along the way.
“Did you see, Alonso? No matter their station or marital status, women cannot tear their eyes away from me. I am far more than just ‘handsome,’ as you so blandly put it.”
“Yes, Your Highness. My apologies for lacking expression.”
“Then why? Why defy her father’s will, create such vile rumors, and go so far as to reject my proposal?”
“I… perhaps she has a secret lover?”
“There is none! And besides, it hasn’t been long since things ended with Marquis Thermos!”
“Unless… perhaps…”
“Perhaps what?”
“This is only my personal guess, but… if we recall how the Lady adored Marquis Thermos, perhaps her tastes lean toward men with charisma, with raw masculinity. Even that… ah… attempt she made toward Your Highness that night—it seems to fit that pattern.”
“So you’re saying I lack masculinity? That I have no charisma?”
Diego glared, eyes narrowing.
“N-no, Your Highness! Your presence is entirely different from Marquis Thermos’s. As the maids said, you possess a noble, mysterious beauty, unlike anyone of this world.”
Despite Alonso’s flattery, Diego’s pride remained wounded.
“Tch! Marquis Kylian Thermos… what use is such vulgar masculinity? Guard!”
At his call, one of his shadow-like bodyguards emerged from the garden.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Shing!
“Huh?”
Diego suddenly drew the guard’s sword and began slashing it through the air with sharp swings.
“In martial skill, I am second to none! Isn’t that true, Alonso?”
“Yes, Your Highness! Even your old instructor, the Captain of the Guard, can no longer match your swordsmanship!”
“Good… Then I must prove it.”
“P-prove… what, Your Highness?”
“My masculinity!”
Diego’s golden eyes flared sharply in the gleam of the silver blade.
