Chapter 64
“Could you explain it to me in detail?”
“I can’t do that.”
At Layla’s words, Rainier looked at her with a sorrowful expression.
He met her gaze as if he truly wanted to tell her everything. But in the end, he said nothing at all.
“I just hope you’ll believe that everything I do is for you, my lady.”
“And what does that have to do with your engagement to Sonette?”
Unable to stop her tears, Layla looked at him, her face unwittingly softening with pity.
“I mean that I’m enduring my engagement to Sonette Bruce for your sake as well.”
“You said my opinion was the most important thing.”
“Yes. More than anything else in the world.”
She wanted to pry something—anything—out of him, but he simply closed his mouth, making it clear he couldn’t speak.
Rainier sat beside the sleeping Layla and opened a red-covered book written in Balkan.
“I came to this mansion for you, my lady.”
The foolish doctor said to Layla:
“I’m by your side because I love you. Even if it costs me everything, I want to stay with you.”
Lonely and desperate, Layla chose him.
“Let’s run away together.”
And so they fled from Count Aviere’s estate.
But on their way out of the capital, a collapsing wall buried them.
The doctor survived, but Layla alone died a miserable death.
Creak—!
Rainier clenched the book tightly before releasing it. The pages, wrinkled from his grip, smoothed themselves out as if nothing had happened.
“Hah.”
He reopened the book without thinking. The words he had read shone brightly before vanishing altogether.
“Really…”
Relieved, he lowered the book. There lay Layla, fast asleep, breathing softly.
The erratic pounding of his heart calmed into a steady rhythm as he watched her.
“I can’t let my guard down.”
He laughed, but tears were in his eyes.
For the first time in a very long while, Layla slept peacefully.
“My mother says she wants to see you again.”
Two days after the engagement ceremony, it was Crown Prince Anasis who came to visit Layla.
“Is this because I wasn’t much help last time?”
Layla was busier than ever now that she was also managing the integration of Eclair. The salon business was booming—servants from noble households lined up from dawn just to get in.
She met the crown prince again in Montre, where he was idly touching a decorative piece before turning to smile at her.
“It’s true you weren’t much help. You didn’t find the person I was looking for.”
Layla lowered her gaze as if crestfallen. In reality, she was just pretending to be pitiful so he wouldn’t press the matter further.
“And yet, I wonder if that might have been fate.”
“…Pardon?”
Layla didn’t understand why Anasis was acting this way toward her.
In the original story, he was a minor character—a puppet who followed his mother’s orders to the letter, meeting only those she approved of.
Women, to him, were nothing more than political tools, chosen by his mother for strategic reasons.
So why was he behaving like this?
Was it because she had shown him the fake Rainier, disguised as William?
Had he realized it was a trap because of his sharp instincts?
Thinking this, Layla began to sweat. There had to be some ulterior motive.
“Don’t you think so, too?”
“Eh? Ah—yes, of course. There are some things in the world that are simply meant to be.”
She smiled faintly at him. He looked back at her like one might at a cherished canary.
“My mother says that if you become the Marchioness of Bruce, it will benefit us greatly.”
“Isn’t the Marquis of Bruce already aligned with the noble faction?”
“Yes.”
Seeing the expression on his face, Layla was convinced—he was pretending to be interested because he wanted something.
Just idle curiosity.
If the woman was already promised to someone else, he could be more forward without consequence.
She restrained herself from showing her contempt.
“When should I go?”
“A week from now. Wear the dress we send you.”
“Understood.”
And so, a week later, Layla had to enter the palace.
“Welcome.”
“I greet the Moon of the Empire.”
As instructed by Crown Prince Anasis, Layla came to meet the Empress.
In the original story, the Empress had been a truly vile woman. She had done everything in her power to drive out Rainier’s mother while hiding behind a mask of benevolence.
The Emperor believed that Lady Ramiela, now Empress, was a good person. After the previous Empress died, he made Ramiela, who had been by his side, his new wife—never knowing it had been her plot that caused the death.
Once Empress, Ramiela filled court positions with her relatives and drew powerful ministers into her faction, becoming the leader of the noble party.
She even had Rainier killed—or so it seemed. In truth, Rainier survived and fled the palace, but to everyone else, he was dead; a funeral had been held for him.
Only the Empress, the Crown Prince, and her closest aides knew he lived. In the original story, the Emperor also knew, so he probably knew here as well.
Layla was certain of one thing—Rainier would become Emperor.
The story might have changed because of her, but with his vast wealth and cunning, he was bound to seize the throne. And the Emperor adored him.
With that thought, she smiled sweetly at the Empress.
“As I said before, I distinguish clearly between those who are mine and those who are not, my lady.”
“Yes, and as I said before, I wish to be of help to Your Majesty.”
Clasping her hands, Layla approached. The Empress feigned a smile before speaking.
“Anasis.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Leave us for a moment.”
“Yes.”
The crown prince left, and when the doors shut completely, the Empress turned to her with a frosty gaze.
“You sly little fox.”
“…Pardon?”
“How did you seduce my son?”
“I… I don’t understand what you mean.”
Layla glanced around, but the audience room was empty save for the two of them. The guards outside were certainly the Empress’s men.
Tensing, she looked back at Ramiela, who stepped close, smiling coldly.
“Did you tell my son you wanted to be his concubine?”
Realizing instantly why the Empress was angry, Layla faltered, then nodded.
“Yes! That way, I could be closer to Your Majesty.”
“…What?”
“When I was little, I saw Your Majesty touring the villages in a carriage with the Emperor.”
Racking her brain, Layla recalled what kind of person the Empress was—obsessively power-hungry, valuing authority far above her own son’s happiness.
Crown Prince Anasis was a fool who obeyed his mother, foolishly believing she acted out of love for him.
“His Highness takes after Your Majesty… That’s why! Please forgive me!”
Layla dropped to her knees. The Empress, briefly taken aback, quickly recovered her composure.
The reason for her anger was simple—her son had been disobedient lately. Normally he followed her orders without complaint, but now he kept making excuses to visit Layla.
She had learned that Montre and Eclair yielded no information about Rainier, yet her son still went there on flimsy pretexts.
Ramiela wanted to control not only Lady Weimar but also the women of other powerful families—ensuring her son would become Emperor and she the Empress Dowager, the most powerful figure in the Empire.
“So, you’re saying you approached my son just to get closer to me?”
“I apologize… but yes.”
The Empress arched an eyebrow, studying her.
She was undeniably beautiful—enough to make her son’s shallow curiosity unsurprising.
“I like loyal people.”
“I’ll be loyal to you.”
“Then prove it.”
“I will.”
Layla decided she needed to stay close to the Empress to gather information—so that when Rainier became Emperor, he would keep giving her his blood. It was best to have her indebted to Layla.
“I hear you’re close to Lady Weimar.”
“I’ll get closer.”
“Then make her propose to Anasis first.”
Layla immediately understood why—such a move would make the Weimar family’s marriage terms far more advantageous.
“Understood.”
And for Layla, it wouldn’t be a difficult task at all.
