Chapter 69
The bed was hot… breaths were ragged, and her mind was dizzy.
The face of the duke on the bed was astonishingly sexy.
Swallow.
Letia swallowed unconsciously.
“The duke has changed.”
No one knew what he was thinking. But one thing was clear:
The duke had forgotten Beasirta.
She had heard that the countess who had shared his body had died, but Letia could not stop herself.
The moment she saw the duke at the ball, she had resolved to sleep with him.
And now.
She had successfully seduced him after a fierce competition, yet it still felt unreal.
In truth, it was exhilarating.
“A man who places everyone beneath him.”
Even the emperor seemed insignificant compared to the man lying beneath her.
It was an image that stirred a peculiar sense of superiority.
“A chance for social elevation.”
She knew. This was ultimately a twisted desire for dominance over the world.
But what could she do?
She had neither the courage to take up a sword and go to war like Terra, the famed female knight, nor the desire to risk herself in espionage.
“Even if humanity falls, it will eventually be resolved.”
The prophesied child would save the world. She thought optimistically.
“A crisis is an opportunity.”
After all, it was just a passing storm.
Rather than cowering in fear, she wanted to prepare for the future.
Many nations on the continent had fallen. Those that survived, especially the Haspelt Empire, would hold dominance over the continent.
“Seems you have the capacity to focus on something else.”
“…Ah!?”
Startled, the young lady placed her hand on the duke’s chest.
He had lightly teased her.
Though they were both clothed, sounds soon began to escape from Letia’s lips.
“Let go of your mind. Enjoy it.”
Meanwhile, in the Crown Prince’s palace.
Kasmahan was in a bad mood.
Why?
“Even though I expected it.”
Adel had chosen Blake.
He had anticipated it. The child constantly obsessed over family matters, after all.
“I took out my frustration on Madeline for no reason.”
Madeline was Adel’s closest friend.
Perhaps he didn’t need to be so cold. In a fleeting moment, he lost reason… and was swayed by emotion.
It was both refreshing and strange.
“Your Highness.”
Reflex knelt before the Crown Prince. Even holding a book, he couldn’t concentrate.
Kasmahan quietly put the book down as Reflex reported:
“The Duke has returned to his former lifestyle.”
“…Not on impulse?”
“Yes, this is the second time.”
The duke’s former lifestyle. Everyone except Adel would understand the meaning.
Naturally, it was concerning.
Annoying and chilling.
He closed the book.
“Does Adel know this?”
“Princess Adel does not. The staff are all quietly keeping it under wraps… though she still sometimes talks about Beasirta.”
The duke had changed.
To be precise, he had returned to his former reckless self.
The Crown Prince thought sharply: as long as it isn’t voiced aloud, it isn’t rebellion.
“Has he forgotten Beasirta?”
Kasmahan had given Adel hope that she could save Beasirta.
And it wasn’t a lie.
If Adel diligently learned to control the divine beasts (with miracles supporting her, of course), she could save Beasirta.
But if the duke acted like this…
“If Adel knew, she’d cry.”
“That’s why everyone’s keeping it quiet.”
She must already consider him like a father.
“A child who only wishes for a happy family.”
Just as she ultimately chose between him and Blake, blood relations mattered little to Adel.
She lived as if the concept of “family” itself was happiness and joy.
The Crown Prince wasn’t particularly shocked.
Women naturally followed the duke even when he did nothing.
Honestly, it was more surprising that he had remained chaste for the past three years.
“If one can seduce the duke, they become the duchess just like that.”
The wife of Alcibiades.
Who wouldn’t covet that?
Just as the duke had once given Beasirta devoted love, there was no guarantee such a partner wouldn’t appear again.
A fleeting thought crossed his mind: the duke himself was the embodiment of a strong man he had read about in books.
“The social scene will be in uproar again.”
“It seems attendance at noble balls has tripled recently.”
Kasmahan didn’t want to concern himself with it.
The noisy rumors of the social circle, who the duke slept with—none of it mattered to him.
Yet…
He was Adel’s father, after all.
“….”
But it wasn’t really his concern.
It was something for the head of another family, and legally, it wasn’t a crime.
No one could blame the duke for abandoning Beasirta.
Three years of mourning had passed; everyone assumed Beasirta was dead and had given up.
Why had the duke’s feelings changed?
Though, even thinking about it was meaningless.
“Adel…”
“I will withdraw.”
Reflex quietly melted away like a shadow, just as he had appeared.
The Crown Prince gazed down at the closed book.
He had not been chosen by Adel. He wasn’t her family.
So he could just turn a blind eye.
“…Have I gone mad?”
When he regained his senses, he was already on his way to the duke’s castle.
By the time the Crown Prince arrived, three massive carriages were stationed in front of the building where Adel stayed.
Adel couldn’t grasp the significance, but Kasmahan had been trained from a young age to be a ruler.
It was partly due to his noble blood, but that alone did not make him the Crown Prince.
In every country, inheriting the throne was no easy matter.
“The duke sent a gift.”
Even a cursory glance allowed Kasmahan to notice.
Three carriages’ worth of gifts for that little girl.
Setting everything aside, in such a moment, one had to admire Alcibiades’ freedom.
In the royal household, spending this much money would usually be met with endless lectures from the treasury overseeing national finances.
“No one in Alcibiades could scold the duke.”
Absolute power, indeed.
“Your Highness.”
“…Do as you’ve been doing. The princess will be surprised.”
He whispered this to those who stopped upon seeing Kasmahan, so they subtly bowed without making a fuss.
Soon, Kasmahan arrived at Adel’s room.
Hearing the conversation, he merely listened.
“This is a gift for your enrollment.”
“The Duke insisted and ended up spending 3 billion, you know.”
Indeed, three carriages would easily amount to 3 billion.
Kasmahan quietly understood, observing Adel’s profile.
Though she didn’t fully grasp the enormity of 3 billion, her eyes widened in surprise.
“…3 billion?”
“Yes, Princess~ He was so stubborn. This bag alone is made from the finest handcrafted cashmere. But that’s not the point. Look at this badge on the uniform.”
Adel stared blankly at the badge Log handed her. He shook his head.
“This diamond alone is worth 900 million. No matter how rich someone is, who decorates a badge with a diamond worth 900 million?”
Adel remained dumbfounded.
“Moreover, this notebook—he enchanted it so that anyone who tried to steal it would be nearly killed. He won’t tolerate anyone taking what’s his.”
Kasmahan made a curious face.
The duke, who wounded countless women, was astonishingly meticulous when it came to his daughter.
“So his favor has truly reached its peak.”
In fact, it didn’t seem the duke alone doted on Adel.
Blake had been easily provoked by Kasmahan, and the surrounding adults focused solely on Adel.
“They really are keeping quiet about Adel, huh.”
Kasmahan thought.
Sarina seemed somewhat uncomfortable, but when Adel looked at her, she smiled radiantly.
Adel was completely surrounded by love.
If Adel had heard about the duke’s private life, she would have been saddened—but she was bright.
“Uh…”
The princess hesitated, accepting the badge.
The diamond sparkled under the light.
“The real highlight is this wallet.”
Log presented a pink wallet.
Adel, unfamiliar with handling money, pulled out countless bills in confusion.
Yet she was startled.
Even after removing all the money, the wallet still contained more—as if it was endless.
“You told me to put as much as I could in this tiny wallet, and even cast a space-expanding magic spell on it? How can a daughter’s wallet be a bottomless money fountain?”
Excited, Log raised his voice.
Adel continued to pull bills, stunned. Truly, the money seemed endless. Pull more—more came. Again and again.
“Amazing…”
“…?”
Meanwhile, Michael was the first to notice the Crown Prince’s presence.
It wasn’t the guards’ fault.
The Crown Prince had instructed the servants to maintain silence, and he was extremely skilled at concealing his presence.
“Your Highness.”
Michael bowed upon seeing the Crown Prince.
Adel’s gaze followed Michael and fell upon the Crown Prince at the same time.
“Oh, Khan…!”
Seeing Adel’s face brighten at his presence, the Crown Prince felt a strange emotion.
“Your Highness, we greet you.”
Everyone knelt.
The Crown Prince looked at Adel, standing amidst them.
Suddenly, he was torn by conflicting feelings.
One: to shatter Adel’s illusion of the duke and make her cry.
The other: to protect her.
“Adel, come here.”
Unthinkingly, he called her.
