DSM 16

DSM

Chapter 16

In the original work, there were three conflicts that were frequently mentioned.

One was the conflict with the enemy nation, Revillia. Another was the conflict between the Vertize imperial family and the rebels. And the last was the power struggle within the harem.

The harem power struggle didn’t see as much bloodshed as the other two conflicts, but in terms of intensity, it never fell behind.

At present, Emperor Lambert had a total of three wives. They were the mothers of Arthur, Cedric, and Mikael.

All the other concubines had either returned to their homelands or lost their lives after being caught up in the power struggle.

Because of that, Arthur and Cedric had lived their entire childhood being weighed and evaluated by the nobles.

—

Why me?

—

But the problem was that while Arthur tended to go along with it, Cedric belonged to the side that rejected it.

Born free-spirited by nature, Cedric was dissatisfied with everything that was neatly molded into shape.

His dislike of parties and gatherings involving nobles was a form of rebellion in itself.

—

You weren’t even interested in the first place.

Who? Shatrina?

…You’re already calling her by name?

—

In that sense, Shatrina was a rather curious existence to Cedric.

Setting aside the fact that she talked back to him clearly and without hesitation, he could feel that she treated him genuinely comfortably.

Even his father, the Emperor, had already let go of him.

He had never encountered such an entertaining lifeform in his entire life.

She really snaps back nicely.

In that sense, Shatrina was a human who stirred his curiosity quite a bit.

When he was with her, at the very least, it wasn’t boring.

Well. Shatrina herself clearly didn’t believe that at all.

I seriously don’t have any friends.

No—more accurately, it was closer to not wanting them. Shatrina was the odd exception; by nature, Cedric was someone who hardly took interest in other people.

At best, the people he spoke with were his older brother Arthur, or a few mercenaries he’d come to know here and there.

“I told you before—you can speak casually. I won’t kill you.”

“…Thank you?”

“You sound like you don’t mean it.”

“That’s not true.”

Shatrina shrugged her shoulders as if it really were true.

It was an obvious lie at a glance, yet instead of feeling offended, he found it amusing. There wasn’t a shred of flattery in her words.

What a strange one.

Cedric leaned his arm against the window frame, propping his chin on his hand as he looked at her askance.

A strange and curious child. That was about the extent of the impression Shatrina gave him.

Setting aside the fact that she was his younger brother’s wife, she was simply someone who genuinely piqued his interest. Nothing more, nothing less. One thing was certain, though—if she was around, life in the imperial palace wouldn’t be boring.

“And why do you keep calling me ‘Your Highness’? It makes us feel distant.”

“We’re not that close yet— I mean, still, you are a prince.”

“I heard the part about us not being close.”

When he put on an aggrieved expression as if sulking, Shatrina smiled brightly.

“My apologies.”

At her shameless attitude, which rivaled even his own, Cedric snorted.

“You really don’t let a single thing slide.”

Perhaps because of the distance, it took quite a while to get from the imperial palace to the Hendron Marquisate.

Unlike the palace, which sat at the very center of the empire, the marquis’s estate lay farther out.

As a result, the carriage that had departed in the morning arrived only when the appointed time was nearly upon them.

When the door opened, Cedric stepped down first and extended his hand toward me.

“Grab on. If you step down wrong, you’ll break your ankle.”

“……”

Already exhausted from conversing with this lunatic inside the carriage, I simply smiled serenely.

Being with someone so draining had somehow elevated my mind to a state of enlightenment.

The moment I stepped down from the carriage with Cedric’s help, the people who had come out in advance to greet us bowed their heads.

It seemed inevitable—they couldn’t help but be nervous at the arrival of royalty.

As I observed the scene with mild curiosity, a woman stepped forward from among them.

“It is an honor to welcome you, Second Prince.”

The marchioness, dressed in a splendid gown, offered Cedric a formal bow.

Cedric silently looked down at the bowing marchioness, then curled the corner of his lips upward.

“Since it’s a party hosted by you, Madam, I naturally had to attend.”

‘Naturally,’ my foot.

Someone who had never shown the slightest interest in parties. As I barely held back my laughter, Cedric shot me a displeased look.

“Is the Marquis not here today? I came all this way.”

“He has been out since morning, so I had no choice but to take on the role of escort. But this person here is…?”

The gaze that had been focused on Cedric quickly shifted to me.

Her eyes widened as she looked at me, arm-in-arm with him, with a strange expression.

Soon after, I felt her eyes rake over me from head to toe.

Considering Cedric rarely attended parties, let alone brought someone along, it was a natural reaction.

But just as I was about to greet her, Cedric abruptly cut in.

“My sister-in-law.”

“…Pardon?”

“She said it’s her first time at a party.”

The marchioness’s eyes shook violently as she tried to piece together the completely disconnected sentence.

After a moment, as if she had reached some sort of conclusion, she carefully spoke.

“Then, the Third Prince’s—”

“If she’d married that bastard, I’d have made them divorce a long time ago.”

“Th-then…”

“There’s one more, you know.”

Only after carefully mulling over Cedric’s words again did focus return to the eyes that had been staring at me blankly.

Perhaps because I was an unexpected person, the marchioness’s voice trembled faintly.

“…I greet the Fourth Prince’s Consort.”

“Nice to meet you, Marchioness.”

As I replied briefly, Cedric tugged my arm.

“Take good care of her. It’s her first social party.”

“O-of course.”

“You heard her, right? So even if I’m not around, do a good job.”

Yeah, like hell I believe that.

Seeing him grin proudly made a hollow laugh escape me.

“Then, allow me to guide you—”

“Ah. Wait.”

Just as the marchioness was about to lead us, Cedric released the arm he had been holding.

“I’m going to the restroom for a bit. It’s gotta be far away.”

At that ridiculous excuse, my eyes naturally narrowed. A restroom, my ass. It was obvious he was about to wander off elsewhere.

When I looked at him suspiciously, his neatly shaped eyes curved prettily.

“What? Want to come with me?”

“…I’ll go in first.”

“Alright.”

After patting my shoulder a couple of times, Cedric followed an attendant and headed off somewhere. That place definitely wasn’t the restroom.

As his back gradually receded into the distance, I smiled and waved my hand.

If Cedric had just left, that meant I’d be on my own for a while.

Hmm.

Lowering my hand slowly, I glanced sideways at the marchioness.

She had acted kindly toward me in front of Cedric, but now that he was gone, her gaze had changed in a strange way.

Curiosity and contempt. Neither could be hidden behind a single fan.

I can see it all, seriously.

Now that Cedric was gone, how was she going to act?

I should follow him soon.

I’d need to make my escape while gauging the situation. Still, with Cedric having just left, it would be awkward for me to wander off immediately as well.

“Your Highness.”

Pulled out of my daze by the marchioness’s call, I lifted the corner of my lips.

“Yes, Madam.”

At my smile, the marchioness furrowed her brow.

“…Please follow me. The party venue is this way.”

“Thank you.”

For now, I’d act as gentle as possible, then slip away while they were busy talking amongst themselves.

If need be, I could say I was going to touch up my makeup and bolt.

I need to find him.

Before he finds me first.

“The Fourth Prince’s Consort…?”

“I-I greet you, Your Highness!”

As expected, the moment I entered the marquis’s residence, I was buried under a flood of greetings, floundering helplessly. When one person left, another noble approached me.

If only the marchioness hadn’t emphasized so strongly that I’d arrived with Cedric, I wouldn’t have attracted this much attention.

Damn it. Can’t you all just come at once?

Outwardly, I maintained my smile for the sake of appearances, but inside, my teeth were grinding.

I’d expected it, but I hadn’t realized Cedric’s influence would be this overwhelming.

So this is the taste of power.

Even if he was criticized and called insane, Cedric’s authority was great enough to overcome any condemnation.

That probably meant that even if he acted rudely, it would be overlooked to some extent.

…This is getting annoying.

The nobles approaching me now were either simply curious about me as the Fourth Prince’s Consort, or they were trying to use me as a medium to forge some kind of connection with Cedric.

Like using a chicken when you can’t catch a pheasant.

“Just as I’d heard, you are truly beautiful.”

“Your black hair is so lovely, Your Highness. Ah— I’m Lillian from the House of Count Freden.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness. From the House of Marquis Kailers—”

I already knew their smiles were insincere. I hadn’t expected them to truly welcome me, so it wasn’t anything new.

Still, I guess it’s fortunate they’re not openly hostile.

Relations between Revillia and Vertize were extremely poor.

So I’d come prepared for at least a little provocation, but perhaps thanks to Cedric’s influence, no one directly picked a fight with me.

But my purpose here wasn’t socializing. I had another objective, and I was reaching my limit of indulging them.

Pretending to be naïve as I responded to their words, I set down the teacup I was holding.

Clink—a soft sound rang out.

“I’m going to go touch up my makeup for a moment.”