Chapter 16
“Right now, in this situation, you’re….”
“Yes, hurry up.”
“Close your eyes and stay defenseless.”
Because Briseis knew he was wearing a chastity device, she didn’t feel any sense of threat in that regard. It also seemed unlikely that he could actually do anything to her.
He himself didn’t even know where the key to the device was.
Only she knew.
Briseis suddenly became aware of the key being safely stored in the first drawer beside the bed. She quietly opened her eyes for a moment to check.
“I may not be able to do anything in bed, but I can do other things.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like an animal.”
Even as he said that, his face looked pale, as if the lack of blood circulation was affecting him.
He held his breath, trying to steady himself. After about a minute or two of silence, he opened the small container of ointment again, dipped his fingers into it, and looked at her.
Briseis did not close her eyes. However, looking downward would make his lower body too noticeable.
So she looked elsewhere—then at the drawer where the key should be. But realizing that staring at it might give her away, she looked straight ahead instead—only to find Calisten staring at her with a terrifying expression.
“Are you going to eat me or something?”
“Don’t move your lips. That way I can apply it properly.”
He spoke while repeatedly holding his breath, and soon his fingertips touched her lips again. The ticklish sensation made her let out a soft nasal sound.
“Damn it.”
He then rested his head on her shoulder, his body trembling.
“The key is in the first drawer beside the bed. Unlock it yourself and leave.”
She pushed his head away and tried to get up from the bed.
“You kept it in the drawer beside the bed?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Seeing him tremble in pain while also smiling faintly, she sighed.
“Don’t go. I’ll go instead.”
He said that and slowly got up first, deliberately avoiding looking at Briseis.
“When Ella comes, ask her about the reservation status. Starting tomorrow, I’ll help as well.”
Briseis did not respond and simply watched him. Even then, he tried to smile, likely because he knew she was watching.
He opened the door and left first.
Briseis locked the door behind him and let out a sigh.
❖ ❖ ❖
After leaving, Calisten heard Briseis lock the door, and immediately his heated state cooled down.
He took a deep breath and regained his composure.
From her room, he headed toward the room of the Grand Lady of the Mayze Ducal House.
Recalling Ella’s letter saying she had just arrived, it was likely that the Grand Lady had come unannounced. If so, she probably wouldn’t be in the third-floor room, as the staff would still be cleaning it.
That meant she would be in a guest room on the second floor, not the reception room on the first floor.
She wouldn’t be on the third floor—so she must be on the second.
Thinking this, Calisten walked decisively toward the second floor.
“Ah, Your Highness, the small sun of the Empire…!”
“P-Please wait! The Grand Lady is inside…!”
Ignoring the servants, Calisten continued walking forward. He opened the door that even the knight had not opened for him and looked inside.
“Your Highness?”
Seeing that the Grand Lady of Mayze was alone, holding a cup of black tea, he entered and closed the door behind him.
“I came to address the rudeness from earlier.”
“W-What? Ah, about earlier—!”
Startled, the Grand Lady placed her teacup down and stood up.
“I greet the small sun of the Empire!”
She hurried over and bowed properly. This time, she kept her head lowered, determined not to make another mistake.
“I had believed the Mayze Ducal House to be neutral until now. But judging from your behavior earlier, it seems you intend to align with the noble faction.”
“W-What? Absolutely not! How could a mere argument with my daughter-in-law lead to such a conclusion!”
“That daughter-in-law is my most precious family member. And you struck my family.”
“Briseis is not Your Highness’s family! She is my daughter-in-law! A member of the ducal household!”
The Grand Lady spoke incoherently in her panic. Calisten, on the other hand, felt assured that the game was already in his favor. An opponent who was flustered was easy to handle.
“My mother entrusted me to the Philia Marquis House. You must be aware of that. I spent my childhood with Briseis.”
That was a well-known story. Before her death, the former Empress had entrusted Calisten to the Marchioness of Philia. Thanks to that, he had spent part of his youth in the Philia Marquis House.
“Someone I regard as family—”
“It was a mistake! I must be losing my senses in old age!”
The Grand Lady was afraid of Calisten. Though he had connections with the Philia Marquis House, he had still maintained neutrality.
In other words, he had risen to Crown Prince through his own strength.
A “war demon.”
That was what people on the battlefield called him.
His cruel reputation was already well known among noble ladies.
“Even if one grows old, they should do so gracefully. How dare you lay a hand on Brise.”
Though he spoke calmly, he was clearly furious, smiling in a way that didn’t reach his eyes. The Grand Lady, however, might have felt his smile eased the tension slightly.
He walked toward the table where she had been sitting. Thinking he intended to sit and talk, she followed him.
“I hope you never raise your hand again.”
“Y-Yes, of course—ah!”
At that moment, he picked up the teacup filled with black tea and splashed it onto her face.
It had cooled somewhat, so it likely wouldn’t cause serious burns.
“Your Highness, how could you…!”
“I’d have preferred to strike you back the same way, but I’m restraining myself. If I hit you, your neck would snap.”
Even as her eyes stung from the tea, she forced them open and met his gaze.
Calisten’s crimson eyes shimmered like blood. Though he was smiling, his expression was anything but warm as he looked at her.
“Still, there won’t be a next time. Touch Brise one more time, and I won’t hold back.”
“Ah…!”
After saying that, Calisten mockingly turned and left the room.
The Grand Lady assumed that Briseis had ordered this. Though she felt resentment, she also feared Calisten behind her.
So she could not confront Briseis directly.
❖ ❖ ❖
“I’ve brought good news!”
As soon as Ella returned to Briseis’s room, she shut the door tightly and spoke in a low voice.
“The Zeronis office has placed the Lady’s case at number one on the waiting list!”
Ella said excitedly, her face bright with enthusiasm. Noticing Ella’s cheek was swollen, Briseis wrapped ice in cloth—prepared in advance for her arrival—and applied it gently.
Then she took Ella by the arm and made her sit on the bed.
“I’m fine!”
“I’m not fine, Ella. Don’t use your body to block things like that in the future.”
Briseis sighed, looking at her cheek with concern, and held the cold cloth against it.
“If the same thing happens again, I’ll do the same.”
“Don’t.”
“No.”
“I said don’t. What if you get seriously hurt?”
“It’s better if I get hurt than you, my lady.”
Briseis tried to hand her the letter Ella had brought, but Ella didn’t take it and instead held onto the cloth. As the cold slowly soothed her cheek, Ella’s expression gradually relaxed.
“And I’m sturdy.”
Briseis deliberately didn’t respond. It wasn’t that she didn’t care—it was that she felt more upset about Ella being hurt, someone she had grown up with, than about herself being hit.
“Ma’am? I’m really fine. Please read the letter first.”
“No.”
Briseis thought she was acting childish, but she still couldn’t let go.
After some time, when the ice had completely melted, she finally set the cloth aside and read the letter.
The contents were exactly as Ella had said:
“Consider the debt I owe Your Highness repaid with this matter.
I will prioritize this case, and request an audience together with Her Grace, the Grand Duchess of Mayze.
—Zeronis Avene.”
After reading it several times, Briseis let out a sigh of relief.
❖ ❖ ❖
After being warned by Calisten, the Grand Lady of Mayze could not directly harass Briseis.
That was why.
She arranged for Delilah—whom she suspected of being a mistress, and whose mere presence at the same table she found offensive—to sit at the same dining table.
For a noble to share a table with a commoner was, in a sense, humiliating. No matter how improper the Grand Lady’s behavior had been, she was still a noble.
But more important than her pride was the desire to wash away the humiliation caused by Briseis.
“You must be Delilah?”
“Yes, Grand Lady!”
Delilah was already seated in Briseis’s place, with Damien’s permission.
Just as the Grand Lady was about to speak to Delilah, Briseis entered the dining room with a resigned expression.
“Miss Delilah. That’s my seat.”
“Demi said it was fine.”
Delilah smiled brightly, showing no intention of moving.
“Sit next to your mother, Brise.”
Damien said indifferently.
Seeing that Delilah did not behave like a typical mistress, the Grand Lady lifted the corners of her lips in satisfaction.
“By the way, Miss Delilah. I hear you’ve saved my son several times?”
“W-What? Ah… th-that’s… the rumors are exaggerated!”
Even so, her demeanor was still submissive.
The Grand Lady seemed quite pleased.
“A wise woman like Miss Delilah would make a fortunate wife for someone.”
