Chapter 21
It didn’t take Alexis long to finish negotiations with the two men who’d tried to kidnap me.
—or rather, I should say, to finish negotiations with the Empress.
Because our Empire’s Empress was involved in this mess, Alexis wanted me to handle the post-incident cleanup, and naturally, I got to see everything that happened.
“How was it? Not bad, right?” she asked proudly.
“…”
How exactly was I supposed to answer that?
I gave her a quick look, then went back to finishing the remaining documents on my desk.
Alexis just laughed, loud and carefree.
“I just wanted to hear your honest thoughts. You know how people get curious after finishing a big job—they want to hear others talk about it.”
Alexis really seemed to enjoy attention.
She sat casually on the edge of the desk, watching me as I signed the last paper. I let out a small sigh.
“I think your handling of everything was… appropriate, Your Highness. You even considered the parts that might’ve made Prince Cassian and me uncomfortable. Thank you.”
“What I wanted was something a bit rawer than that,” she teased, stepping down from the desk and walking toward me.
“For example, that part where Count Gash’s son got sent home in disgrace as a lecher.”
Right. Alexis had deported him back to his kingdom on charges of harassing an Imperial knight.
She’d even made sure rumors spread that he’d been rejected, threw a tantrum, and caused a public scene.
“I thought that was an act of mercy, honestly.”
“Mercy?”
She gave a small, surprised laugh.
“It’s a lot gentler than branding him as someone who endangered diplomatic relations for personal gain, isn’t it? His family can still show their faces in society. They’ll just have to send him to a monastery for a while.”
Nobles were supposed to use their privilege for the good of the realm.
But this idiot had nearly turned himself into a bargaining chip between two nations, just to chase his own ambition.
Foolish, absolutely foolish.
If he wanted to become a concubine that badly, he should’ve tried winning with his looks, not schemes.
“What a shame,” Alexis sighed dramatically. “Why can’t the Count appreciate how generous I am, when the only one he seems to care about is you?”
She thumped her chest playfully, smiling without the faintest hint of distress.
“Anyway,” I said, changing the subject, “are you sure everything’s fine with the wedding preparations?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be, Lady Salice?”
Her grin turned sly.
“When I return home, we’ll hold another ceremony anyway. But as a loving spouse, isn’t it only natural to fulfill my partner’s wishes for our one and only Imperial wedding?”
…Except that her “partner’s wishes” clearly involved tormenting the Empress.
Since that day, the Third Prince had explicitly told the Empress not to interfere with his wedding.
Alexis had “accidentally” let slip what he’d said during that conversation—and it was spectacular.
He told her he knew exactly what she’d done to Father’s concubines—and more than a few of them, too.
If he already knew that much, couldn’t he share a few details with us?
But no—apparently even the Empire’s most fiery son couldn’t cross that line.
So I just swallowed my frustration and decided to look forward to the same thing Alexis did:
a gloriously excessive royal wedding.
The Empress was officially listed as the “wedding overseer,” but the Third Prince had decided to design everything himself. The result? A ceremony so gaudy and mismatched that “colorful tropical fruit explosion” would’ve been a generous description.
Even the wedding clothes—perfectly fine on their own—were covered with extra jewels in every color of the rainbow.
“I heard my new mother-in-law has been breaking more teacups lately,” Alexis said with a smirk.
Oh, if only I could agree out loud and tell her exactly how many the Empress had shattered in rage recently!
But unlike Count Gash’s foolish son, I had a sense of self-preservation. So I only smiled politely.
“Boring,” Alexis muttered, clearly disappointed.
She gave me a mischievous look. “You must be pleased, though. With this, you and Prince Cassian will be getting a nice bonus.”
“Of course,” she said, answering her own comment. “Enough for me to make sure my beloved can keep dreaming sweet dreams for a long time.”
Her smile was calm and confident—and cold.
The Third Prince would probably never realize just how terrifying his fiancée truly was.
No wonder the Empress’s family is in chaos right now, I thought.
That was the second reason for the recent teacup massacre.
Half of the Anden-Empire trade routes the Empress’s family handled had been completely devalued overnight.
Their profits had plummeted to barely cover transport costs.
Alexis had planned it so that only the duchy’s private ventures were hit, leaving the state-related contracts untouched.
Strategic. Ruthless. Almost admirable.
I sighed again. Alexis waved a letter envelope in front of me.
“This is for you.”
“…Pardon?”
“I told you I keep my promises, didn’t I?”
She dropped the envelope into my hand.
“I said I’d make sure to give you a proper reward.”
“Ah…”
Honestly, letting me see all the post-incident negotiations with the Empress already felt like more than enough reward.
“Of course,” she added with a wink, “you’ve already helped yourself to some things, haven’t you?”
She clearly meant the information I’d managed to extract on my own—and she was perfectly fine with it.
“This one’s my gift. I’ll enjoy watching you hand it over to that sly fox Cassian and wring something out of him.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said.
Satisfied, Alexis stretched and stood up.
“Good. Then you’re free now.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I don’t like using the word dismissed for someone as capable as you.”
Despite the compliment, I just stood there for a second, dumbfounded.
“You’re quick to respond when it’s about work, but tell you to rest and suddenly you freeze up,” she laughed softly.
“Still, I should probably return you soon. I doubt anyone else can handle Prince Cassian.”
She wasn’t wrong—the aide she’d temporarily assigned to Cassian looked more exhausted every day.
“So yes, I’m setting you free.”
I felt a pang of disappointment.
Alexis had actually been a good boss—unlike a certain someone.
“…Thank you for everything, Your Highness.”
“Think nothing of it.”
Just as cheerfully as when she’d borrowed me, Alexis placed one more envelope in my hand.
“Your severance pay, Lady Salice.”
Wasn’t that already what the first envelope was for?
She must’ve noticed my confusion, because she smiled slyly and added,
“Make sure you open it together with your superior, all right?”
Her grin was full of playful mischief.
***
From then until Alexis finally returned to her kingdom, Cassian and I barely had a moment to breathe.
The Empress, careful not to draw the Emperor’s attention, was “subtly slacking off” and taking out her frustrations on us instead.
Does she think we’re easy targets?!
Fueled by righteous fury, I began collecting every record of her private spending to use as future evidence.
And for good measure, I made sure every report that would be compared to the First Prince’s office was flawless—while “accidentally” avoiding any involvement in the Third Prince’s absurd wedding carnival.
They’d told us not to get involved in the first place—now they wanted us to help? Ridiculous.
Luckily, Cassian covered for me perfectly when explaining things to the Emperor.
The result? The Empress got a discreet scolding, and Cassian’s reputation for efficiency only grew.
Everyone in the palace already knew Cassian’s workload was monstrous.
So much so that when I passed by, the same officials who’d once looked at me with criticism now looked at me with pity.
If you pity us that much, try helping instead of staring!
Even the First Prince’s aides—who’d once been our rivals—seemed hesitant to meet my eyes these days.
If they wanted to talk, they could at least come closer so I’d have a target to vent at.
Anyway, by the time we finally had a chance to open Alexis’s “reward” and “severance envelopes,” her wedding had finished without incident, and we’d even attended her departure ceremony.
As for the wedding itself—seeing the Emperor glare daggers at the Empress over that rainbow-colored disaster honestly made my week.
Most nobles and foreign guests politely wondered if the couple had lost their minds,
and everyone struggled to find something nice to say.
Once all that chaos was over, I finally opened the envelope—excitedly.
“Which do you think would be better?” Cassian asked suddenly. “Money, or a wish come true?”
“…Pardon?”
He smiled faintly.
“To see what’s inside that envelope, I’ll have to pay something equal in value, won’t I? Otherwise, I might lose you to it.”
What kind of riddle was that supposed to be?
Then he added, softly—
“Because if I don’t, I might not be able to keep you all to myself.”
