Chapter 4
The man’s languid voice did not match his cold, sharp gaze.
“D–Duke Icarud.”
Caesar Icarud. In Empress Maker, he was Valérie’s greatest ally, and the male lead of the “Duchess Ending.”
The young head of House Icarud, one of the five ducal houses supporting the Bascor Empire and by far the wealthiest. From hotel chains to banks and international trade, everything bearing the Icarud name was tied to money.
攻略 difficulty: ★★☆☆☆
According to the official site, he was the easiest of the five male leads to pursue. Yet despite that, he had one of the largest fan bases. He was a man with sea-colored hair, piercing blue eyes, and a beauty mark beneath his left eye. Even with his white shirt buttoned tightly up to the throat, he exuded a sensual allure.
Many players, charmed by his wealth and his intellectual image that rivaled even the Imperial Family, would replay endlessly just to catch the rare smile he showed like a blue moon. The official community boards were filled with posts like “Back to the Duchess Ending again today, sob.” or “Forget the other male leads—Caesar is the real deal.”
Before I could dwell further, Caesar’s low voice cut sharply into my ears.
“How did you get this far inside?”
“I’ve been waiting for quite some time. The manor was in such commotion that no one came to receive me, so I entered quietly.”
Duke Kainan snapped out of it and hastily pulled back the arm Caesar had caught. He moved so abruptly that his body staggered, nearly collapsing. It was so ridiculous I almost burst out laughing, but managed to swallow it down, given the tension in the air.
“Ahem. Icarud Duke. I hear you saved my daughter, Trisha.”
Saved me? Wait—wasn’t it Valérie who pulled me out?
I replayed the scene in my head. Just before I lost consciousness, someone had gripped my wrist firmly.
That strength… definitely not a woman’s hand. Then it was Caesar who saved me!
Caesar, you’ve just become my second-favorite character.
I suddenly felt an unexplainable rush of affection for him. And considering he was the richest man in the Empire, befriending him could hardly be a bad thing.
“You saved my daughter, so I shall reward you generously. What do you want?”
Duke Kainan thought for a while, then looked at Caesar with a mocking gleam in his eyes. Even from the side, the expression was insufferably smug.
“Perhaps, Duke Kainan, you should be the one to fall into the water instead of your daughter?”
“W–what?”
Anyone could hear the hostility in those words. Duke Kainan’s face turned pale blue. Even I, his daughter, gaped like a fish out of water.
“Just a joke. Why so flustered, Duke?”
That was absolutely not a joke.
He clearly wished Duke Kainan would drown for real. Caesar was an enigma—his thoughts impossible to read. He was always cold, detached, never showing closeness to anyone.
Except, of course, Valérie.
“You came here just to insult me with such vulgar humor?”
“Well now. What use would I have in mocking you?”
“To humiliate me before my servants—such insolence!”
“You exaggerate, Duke.”
Caesar’s calm retort sliced through Kainan’s bluster, silencing him. I sat frozen between them, sensing that Caesar likely didn’t like me either.
If he despises my father, why save me?
“Leave my house this instant!”
“Was that… an order?”
Caesar’s lips, which had been holding a faint cold smile, abruptly flattened. Duke Kainan, who had been fuming moments before, shut his mouth tight.
“Calling it insolence sounds like an excuse. The truth is you’re simply displeased.”
“…”
“That your precious daughter was saved by a half-breed.”
[Half-breed]
Among the extremist noble supremacists, that was the insult hurled at Caesar. In this world, even within nobility, your treatment depended on whether your bloodline was “pure” or tainted with commoner blood.
Bloodline and wealth.
The two pillars of noble status. While House Icarud held the Empire’s purse strings with their immense fortune, in terms of lineage they scored a zero.
Of the five ducal houses, Caesar was the only head with commoner blood. After generations of marrying outside nobility, Icarud had gained the label “a duke without pedigree.”
As if bloodline matters. Everyone is dying for a chance to curry favor with Caesar anyway.
No sane person would insult him to his face—it would guarantee financial ruin. One furrow of Caesar’s brow, and every noble house tied financially to him would find their coffers dry overnight.
Duke Kainan was no exception. Though he had grown wealthy through mining ventures, much of his capital was borrowed from House Icarud.
“M–misunderstanding, Duke Caesar.”
“…”
“I’d never dare think such a thing. I simply lost my temper and misspoke. I apologize.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
This is my cue to step in, isn’t it?
I rose slowly from the bed. Instantly, all eyes turned to me. I brushed my hair back behind my ear and curved my lips into my most alluring smile.
“Thank you for sav—”
“And perhaps you could endure, until tomorrow at least.”
I lowered my head, trying to express gratitude, but Caesar sliced off my words mid-sentence. His gaze never once strayed from Duke Kainan, fixed on him with unnerving intensity.
He couldn’t have failed to hear me. He had simply ignored me.
Wait. Did I just get completely dismissed?
“Your daughter, after all, is one of this house’s most valuable assets.”
“……!”
“You should keep her in pristine condition to sell her at a fine price. Make sure her face suffers no damage.”
To keep me pristine? To sell me? He spoke as though I were some object.
Come to think of it, even earlier, when he stopped my father, didn’t he say not to hit me in the face?
I stood right here, and yet he dared say such things.
“If you handle her carelessly and her value drops, won’t that be troublesome, Duke?”
I expected Kainan to explode at being compared to a pimp. But instead, he said nothing.
That was strange.
For all his gaudy vulgarity, Kainan’s bloodline was noble. And he too was one of the richest men in the Empire. Even if indebted, it was odd he would cower so pathetically before a younger duke. Almost as if he were hiding some guilt.
Something’s off. I’ll have to dig into this later.
The heavy silence thickened. In such moments, it is always the weaker side that retreats first. Duke Kainan hastily fumbled in his pocket and produced a pocket watch, pretending to be surprised at the time. Glancing at Caesar, he forced a crooked smile.
“An urgent matter calls me away. I must be going.”
“Yes. Until next time, then.”
“Farewell, Duke Icarud.”
Kainan hurriedly left, unable to mask his sour expression. The servants, who had been hovering nervously, also trickled out one by one.
Before long, only three of us remained—me, Valérie, and Caesar.
“…”
He was still smiling that icy smile. Once the last servant slipped out, Caesar turned his head slowly toward me. His sea-blue eyes, partly hidden beneath the fall of his hair, locked onto my face.
Oh no. He’s looking at me.
“Lady.”
“Yes, Kai!”
“…Kai?”
For a fleeting moment, his blue eyes widened.
Oh no, I’ve ruined it. I should have said ‘Duke Icarud,’ or at least ‘Lord Caesar.’ Not ‘Kai’—that was way too familiar.
Cold sweat ran down my back, though I forced my expression to remain calm. Maybe, just maybe, he would overlook the slip.
“It’s been a long time since you called me that.”
Wait—so they knew each other? This might actually turn out okay—
“It’s been ten years, since the high-and-mighty Lady deigned to speak my name.”
…Never mind. I’m doomed.
“Did nearly drowning in the winter sea stir up some nostalgic memories?”
“Well, that’s…”
“Shall I return the favor, and call you Trisha again?”
His crooked smile and his tone were steeped in sarcasm.
I only said it out of habit! Because in the game, Valérie always called him Kai!
In the game, Caesar was Valérie’s employer and the male lead who appeared most frequently as her staunchest ally. Valérie always called him Kai, and the habit had stuck with me. But no matter how unfair, the only safe move now was silence.
Judging by this, Trisha and Caesar must have been close in childhood. But clearly, she wronged him somehow. The icy glare he leveled at me was suffocating. No wonder Kainan cowered.
Alright, fine. Time to apologize.
In the game, whenever you made a mistake around Caesar, the correct option was always “Apologize.” He was the type to forgive when you admitted fault.
And in all those villainess-isekai stories, the male lead always softens if she quickly admits fault, right?
Having reasoned it out, I didn’t hesitate.
“I misspoke, Duke Caesar Icarud.”
“……!”
“If it offended you, I apologize. I’m sorry.”
To my surprise, Caesar actually paused. For a brief moment, something unreadable flickered across his face. Then he stepped closer.
“Lady Kainan.”
As he narrowed his eyes into a smile, the beauty mark beneath his left eye stood out all the more. It was the kind of charming smile that belonged on a male lead.
Yes, this is how it’s supposed to go. See? Easy.
I smiled back, reassured—until his next words fell.
“And what game are you playing at this time?”
