Chapter 18
Damian was grimacing over the food he had eaten. Looking at him, Briseis seemed to understand what was going on.
She could tell who had made the dish so excessively salty that it was enough to bring tears to his eyes.
His gaze turned toward his mother. The Great Lady looked back at Damian with an apologetic expression.
Damian, as if it couldn’t be helped, chewed and swallowed his food and said,
“…The cooking is… truly delicious.”
At his words, Briseis looked at Damian as if there was nothing more to be disappointed about. Meanwhile, Damian thought the expression she was showing him was one of admiration.
He mistook her reaction—believing her improved expression meant she was pleased with how he was mediating between his mother and his wife. In reality, she had simply been disappointed in him and let out a small laugh without realizing it.
“Eat plenty, Damian.”
“Brise too.”
Briseis smiled at his words and cut into the veal steak in front of her. Strangely, her appetite had returned, thinking that he had eaten something heavily salted.
“Th—that reminds me! I heard that a certain married woman I know resolved a quarrel with her husband in the bedroom.”
The Great Lady Avener said this, trying to change the subject. Damian, as if he had no choice, slowly cut the heavily salted veal, chewing it very slowly while drinking water.
“There seems to be something special about marital relationships. I’ve heard stories like that before as well,” Delilah nodded in agreement with the Great Lady Avener’s words.
Encouraged, the Great Lady continued enthusiastically.
“Exactly, exactly. You must win your husband’s heart while you’re young. It’s not so easy once you get older. After all, a woman’s age is like a flower—once it withers, it loses its charm.”
Pfft.
At those words, Briseis looked at the Great Lady Avener with a mocking expression.
“So once you age, you become a withered flower?”
In that moment, the Great Lady Avener realized her slip of the tongue and her face flushed red.
“You’re saying I’m a withered flower?”
“When did I say that? That was what you said, Mother.”
“You always pick at everything, don’t you? You have nothing else going for you.”
Briseis sighed, no longer wanting to continue the conversation.
“I can’t stay here any longer.”
“Sit down!”
“No.”
Briseis stood up from her seat as she said that. Damian tried to say something, but he had been drinking water at the time to wash away the excessive salt and couldn’t react quickly.
“See you next time, Brise.”
Only Delilah waved cheerfully, smiling brightly.
❖ ❖ ❖
It was a day off at the academy.
Coincidentally, it was also the day Mihail Philia came to visit.
“How have you been, Brise?”
“Oh, brother. Have you been well?”
Mihail was the eldest son of the Philia marquis household. He was also a minor marquis and was ten years older than Briseis.
In the first place, the marchioness—who had given birth to three sons—fell into depression and had Briseis in hopes of having a daughter. The large age gap was inevitable.
“Of course.”
Briseis felt uncomfortable around Mihail. Although he was her elder brother, the age gap was large, and he always brought up uncomfortable topics.
“Shall we take a walk in the garden?”
“Yes.”
Briseis left the main building with him and walked outside. She stood beside Mihail as if she were not uncomfortable, and they walked together.
Since Mihail had visited the grand duke’s residence many times even during the duke’s military campaigns, he was familiar with the garden’s layout.
As he walked slowly, looking at the roses filling the garden, he said,
“It seems you’ve learned much from Mother and are managing the servants well.”
“In a way, yes.”
Briseis answered honestly. She had a knack for business and a good eye for selecting and managing servants.
The only thing she had failed to understand was what kind of person Damian was—though that had been due to being thoroughly deceived.
As the glass greenhouse came into view, Mihail smiled and said,
“May we go inside? I’m curious whether the hydrangeas are blooming well.”
“Sure.”
In truth, Briseis was not unaware that he was trying to move into the greenhouse to avoid any listening ears.
When they opened the door and stepped into the glass greenhouse, a refreshing floral scent blossomed around them.
“There are so many hydrangeas in bloom.”
“Indeed.”
“Are those freesias?”
“Yes.”
Mihail approached the freesias with a smile. It appeared as though he wanted to smell the flowers, but in reality, he had positioned himself at the center of the greenhouse, likely so their conversation couldn’t be overheard unless someone entered.
Mihail was a cautious man.
It was common for conversations in reception rooms to be overheard.
It was obvious he had come here pretending to care for his younger sister, using the greenhouse as a private place to talk.
Briseis did not trust Mihail much. Perhaps she had once followed him as a child, but not anymore.
“Gael is a disgrace to the family. Dying on the battlefield is shameful.”
The moment he had reacted so coldly to Gael’s death, he no longer appeared the same to Briseis.
She knew well that to Mihail, she was not merely his younger sister, but the grand duchess. And yet, he still treated her as a subordinate sister—because that made her easier to control.
“I hear things have become awkward since the Grand Duke returned.”
As expected, the topic came straight out once he confirmed there were no eavesdroppers.
Briseis lowered her gaze, as if mocking his behavior.
“As you know, brother, the marriage contract between Damian and me had a clause stating that no concubines would be allowed—it was the first clause.”
“I’m aware.”
From his tone, Briseis immediately realized he had come to persuade her, and she no longer wished to continue the conversation. However, she had no choice. Mihail’s visit meant that next, the reckless third brother, Elchias, might come as well.
“Still.”
As expected, she had anticipated his next words and sighed.
“The Grand Duke is still quite acceptable. Think about it. He went off to war—this is only natural, isn’t it? That place is one where blood and flesh fly. In such conditions, it’s not easy for a man to resist temptation.”
“……”
“And fortunately, the concubine he brought back is not particularly outstanding in appearance.”
Briseis wondered when he had even gone to see Delilah. Then she thought he might have seen her during the victory parade she had missed, and lowered her gaze again.
“The Grand Duke likely favors her out of sentiment from the battlefield.”
“Brother.”
“But the Grand Duke is still a man with eyes. He will soon come to his senses. One easily grows tired of a plain face lacking refinement.”
Briseis felt as if her breath was being taken away by his words, sensing where this was heading.
“So, quickly bear the Grand Duke’s child.”
“Mihail, brother.”
“If you conceive first and give birth to a son, the Grand Duke will abandon that lowly concubine.”
“Did Father send you?”
“Yes. Mother asked after you, so she sent me.”
As Briseis thought of the marchioness of Philia, who was away in a foreign land due to depression, she let out another sigh.
“She is far away, after all. She must be worried about you.”
“If she were truly that worried, she would have come herself.”
“Brise. Don’t behave like a child. You should be grateful just for being born and raised.”
“…I understand.”
Briseis did not wish to continue this topic. Nothing would change by talking about it. The more she spoke, the more suffocated she felt, and the more she would come to resent herself for not being able to let go of this relationship.
“Remember what I said. Our house needs the Grand Duke’s power, Brise.”
“…Yes.”
“Our family will no longer remain neutral. For that, we need the Grand Duke’s strength.”
“…Yes.”
“The Emperor has not yet decided who will inherit the throne.”
Thus, the noble faction aligned with the Empress appeared to be thriving as the Emperor’s instruments. Those pretending to be neutral while supporting the Crown Prince acted as though they had no interest in politics.
“We will…”
“We will support Calisten. We will make that child Emperor.”
From the moment Calisten killed the Emperor of the Biaten Empire and unified the two empires, Briseis felt that perhaps all of this was simply the natural course of events.
He would become Emperor, just as in the original story. No matter how much the story changed, some things remained unchanged.
He would become Emperor, and Damian would choose Delilah over her. In that process, she would become the villainess.
Briseis quietly suppressed the anger she felt at the realization that the story she had tried so hard to change had, in truth, not changed at all.
“Tell her not to worry.”
“Very well. I trust you.”
With that, Mihail patted her shoulder as if to encourage her, pressing the family’s intentions upon her before leaving.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Do you really have to see me even on the academy’s day off?”
“Of course. I want to see you every day.”
It was the night after Mihail’s visit.
Briseis looked at Calisten, who had come to give her something urgently, and crossed her arms.
They were in the reception room on the first floor.
She wished he would leave quickly as she sat on the sofa, holding a cup of black tea.
“You should study, so go home quickly.”
“Alright, I will.”
Saying that, he sat down on the floor while still wearing his uniform.
“What are you doing?”
Then he rested his head on her thigh and said,
“I’ve worked too much today. Praise me.”
“I’m holding a hot cup of tea right now. You should be careful if you plan on talking nonsense.”
“If you burn me, that might be nice too.”
At his words, Briseis said nothing and remained still. Then he spoke again.
“Mihail came by, didn’t he? Is that why you’re in a bad mood?”
She frowned slightly, thinking how he always seemed to read her mood so easily.
“Shall I deal with him for you?”
