Chapter 49
Marienne stared blankly at Princess Odette for several seconds, trying to process what she had just said. It was an act that completely disregarded court etiquette—but she couldn’t help it.
“Are you… keeping Byleon under surveillance?”
“How interesting,” Odette murmured. “I thought you’d first ask how a coachman managed to overhear what was said inside the carriage.”
“I am curious about that too,” Marienne admitted.
“Right?”
No—she mustn’t get swept up by her pace. Marienne shook her head firmly.
“Since when has that coachman been working for Your Highness? Are there other people of yours among the Beers household staff?”
“Now, do you really think I’d tell you that?”
“Well, I didn’t expect you to, anyway.”
Marienne quickly stepped back, but the revelation that the princess was spying on Byleon and his family remained shocking.
“Is there anything in those reports about Lord Beers? He practically worships Your Highness.”
“Indeed. Up to now, there hasn’t been much worth noting. But if one waits long enough, something interesting always comes along.”
Odette pointed a finger directly at Marienne.
“Like you, for instance.”
“Hah.”
“And let’s get one thing straight,” she continued.
Odette had apparently told Chloe that she didn’t choose Byleon as her partner precisely because she cherished him.
Marienne blinked. “…I take it Lady Chloe didn’t mention that part to you,” Odette mused, looking mildly surprised. For a brief moment, the Fourth Princess’s opinion of Chloe seemed to rise a few notches.
“She’s always been obsessed with matchmaking—so much that I thought she’d spill anything the moment it related to that topic. I’m impressed she managed to keep it secret.”
“What secret?” Marienne asked.
“I once spent a night at the Beers estate.”
Odette explained that she had been on an inspection of a construction site when a sudden heavy rain in the afternoon stranded her there.
If she had waited for the storm to pass and returned to the palace drenched, she would have fallen ill for sure. So she had accepted shelter at the nearby Count Beers’ mansion.
“I had just laid down to rest when the second daughter of the house knocked on my door. She came in and asked me, ever so politely, if her brother didn’t quite meet my taste.”
Odette’s eyes took on a nostalgic gleam.
“She was trying to play matchmaker herself.”
“I see…”
“I was tired and found it absurd—but even in that state, I could see how kind she was. To help her brother’s hopeless crush, she came face-to-face with the infamously gloomy princess.”
Then Odette suddenly said, “Marienne.”
Startled by the abrupt call of her name, Marienne tensed up. Odette smiled faintly, though the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“As you probably realized from the Crown Prince episode earlier,” she said with a bitter laugh that quickly turned into a frosty sneer, “my dear siblings are all too eager to destroy one another.”
People without merit had seized positions far above their worth.
“But the Beers family was different. I understood that in just one night—why they could remain such genuinely good people.”
Her gaze drifted off into the distance.
“I think I was terribly jealous of Byleon Beers in that moment.”
Would Byleon ever imagine that a princess once envied him?
Probably not.
And Odette would never tell him. Her pride would never allow it.
“That’s why I became certain,” she murmured. “Even if he were the last man on earth, I would never take him as my consort. I told Chloe the same thing.”
Her tone softened into a quiet recitation.
“I will ascend to the highest position in this empire. And that position… is one where, if necessary, I may have to cut down my husband’s family.”
“…Oh.”
“Clever girl that she is, Chloe understood right away—though she did barge into my bedroom uninvited to argue about it.”
Odette shrugged.
“At least she’s kept her mouth shut so far. Even from her brother’s new sweetheart, whom she’d waited for so eagerly. I must admit, I’m a little impressed.”
“That’s probably because…”
Marienne bit her tongue too late. Odette, amused, told her to go on.
“She was afraid that if she spoke carelessly, she’d lose her head.”
Odette laughed aloud.
“You’re strange. You’re afraid of me, yet you still say whatever you want. Do you not value your life?”
“Oh, I do. I treasure it very much.”
Especially now that her beloved was also her lover.
“And believe it or not, I’m being very cautious right now compared to usual.”
Odette remarked that Marienne somehow never ran out of comebacks. Marienne almost replied to that too but wisely held her tongue.
“Anyone Byleon values is important to me as well,” Odette said quietly. “If they fall, so will he. That’s the kind of man he is.”
She paused, then continued,
“He finds the reason to live in those he loves.”
In that moment, the princess seemed far older than her years—almost transcendent.
Now Marienne could understand why, in the original story, Byleon sometimes felt as if Odette might vanish at any moment.
She truly had that kind of fragility about her.
At an age when most people were at their brightest, she had lived confined in a cage without bars, with a frail body and a perpetual air of melancholy trailing after her like a shadow.
You could reach out to her, but you could never grasp her, nor truly comfort her.
And yet, you couldn’t bring yourself to leave her alone either.
Turn your head for a moment, and she might simply fade away.
‘But for someone so ethereal, Your Highness… you live until ninety-five.’
Marienne pressed her lips together, suddenly brought back to reality.
‘You even ride horses after having two kids. Ninety-five! Considering the average lifespan of past emperors, that’s incredible.’
Her secret to longevity was probably… successful revenge.
She killed everyone she wanted to kill, released all that pent-up resentment, and finally slept soundly at night.
With her heart cleared, her blood circulation improved, and she lived on in perfect health.
And once she ascended the throne, she did whatever she pleased.
“Anyway,” Odette said, “now that you’re Byleon’s lover, you’ve essentially boarded my ship—whether you realize it or not.”
“…Have I?” Marienne asked awkwardly.
“Couldn’t you just let the two of you handle the important matters, while I quietly stamp documents in the chancellor’s office?”
“If only things worked that easily,” Odette said with a smile.
“They don’t.”
“Sigh.”
“I heard the conversation you two had in the carriage—about how to eliminate the Crown Prince. You laid out your plan quite smoothly. Byleon said he already knew about it, didn’t he? That was just to reassure you.”
So that’s why she’d had a bad feeling afterwards. She’d accidentally spoiled the story for Byleon. Marienne sighed inwardly.
“The chancellor came to me right after that,” Odette continued. “He presented your plan as if it were his own. It was an excellent idea—but I think he also did it to protect you from me.”
“Protect me?”
“You said yourself that you want a peaceful life. But I don’t let capable people go to waste. And now I know you’re not only clever but also willing to risk anything for Byleon.”
Clever, huh. She almost teared up at the unexpected compliment.
“In that case,” Odette murmured, “it’s better to use you as a chess piece—and make sure the plan succeeds as soon as possible.”
The object of that omitted phrase was obvious.
Revenge.
“The peaceful life you dream of,” she said, “might be possible once that’s accomplished.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Until then, you mustn’t break up with Byleon.”
Even the princess cared enough to worry about the dreams of a lowly being like her. How generous.
Marienne was in the middle of sending exaggerated mental air-kisses when Odette’s next words made her eyes widen.
“If you do wish to end it, wait until everything is over.”
“Um, well…”
“I’m not ordering you to stay in a loveless relationship,” Odette said coolly. “If you want to part ways, you may. But only after my position is secure. Not before.”
She didn’t want Byleon to lose his balance from heartbreak.
After being rejected once and finally beginning a second love, another failure might shatter him completely.
‘What am I even supposed to say to that…?’
Marienne was flustered yet again—she’d lost count of how many times today. Ever since she’d run into the Fourth Princess’s messenger, her day had been nothing but chaos.
“I appreciate the concern,” she said cautiously, “but I don’t have any plans to break up with Lord Beers. We only just started dating.”
“For now, sure. But what about a year from now? Two years? Can you really swear you’ll feel the same?”
“Who could possibly swear to that…” Marienne muttered under her breath.
Odette’s sharp hearing caught it anyway, and she laughed.
“Well, it’d be nice if you do last that long.”
In summary, her meaning was this:
If you intend to stay with Byleon, then you’d better swear loyalty to the Fourth Princess’s faction.
If the burden of that makes you want to leave him—too bad. You’re already aboard this ship. Just endure it until I take the throne.
Marienne could now fully grasp what it meant that Odette was a ruler to her very bones.
She’d only wanted to enjoy a little romantic fluff with her favorite character—but somehow she’d ended up bound to the heroine of the original story, sharing her fate.
Not a “buy one, get one” deal—more like “buy one, get drafted into a political conspiracy.”
Forcing a smile, Marienne thought: If I can’t get off this ship, I might as well ask for a nicer cabin.
“…Will I get a position once everything’s over?” she asked boldly.
It must have sounded cheeky, because Odette raised an eyebrow.
“The Byleon Beers I know would never be the one to end things first. If you don’t change your mind, the next Countess Beers title will be yours by default. Isn’t that enough?”
“A person should be self-sufficient, shouldn’t they?”
Marienne fiddled with the edge of her new jacket. The one Byleon had bought her for work felt completely different from her usual clothes—lightweight, wrinkle-resistant, and smooth to the touch.
And very expensive.
Her modest salary might cover the cost of a single cuff at best.
“Even if Lord Beers gifts me diamonds, they’re still his family’s property, not truly mine. Not that I’d refuse them, of course.”
Marienne wanted to become someone who could buy her own diamonds.
Surely she deserved at least that much compensation, didn’t she?
It’s not like she was asking for a fiefdom or three hundred handsome servants. Considering she was helping pull off a coup, her price was actually quite reasonable.
“So… could you arrange a good position for me?”
“You dare to bargain with me?”
Despite her words, Odette didn’t look displeased. In fact, she seemed faintly amused.
“That depends,” the princess said at last, smiling.
“On how well you perform.”
