Chapter 16
“I don’t think it’s mine.
You told me to say that just now.”
“No, you have to keep insisting!
Once something is given, that’s the end!
It’s yours! Ask for it back! Hold out your hand!”
“….”
Lionel looked confused, as if he did not understand what was happening.
Then he held out his hand to me and said,
“It is mine. Please return it.”
“If something similar happens again, will you say this again?”
“…Do I have to?”
“You have to!”
“Why?”
“Because you frustrate me!”
If we repeated this conversation one more time, I felt like fire would come out of my mouth.
Not knowing—or not caring—about my feelings, Lionel looked down at the almond cookie that had returned to his palm and then nodded.
“I will try.”
“Yes… let’s start with trying…”
I swallowed my sigh and watched him eat the cookie.
When I saw his cup was empty, I picked up the teapot.
“You must be thirsty from the cookies.
But the teapot is in my hand. What should we do?”
“It’s fine. I’m not thirsty.”
“That’s not the point!
Ask me to give it to you!”
“I’m not thirsty, so there’s no need…”
“Ask for it!”
“Please give it to me.”
Ha… seriously.
I swear on my name.
I will somehow turn this frustrating pushover into a proper person.
After leaving the Second Prince’s palace
After forcing him to say “please give it to me” about ten times,
I left the Second Prince’s palace.
The cold wind cooled my face, and suddenly I came to my senses.
Wait… what did I just teach the future obsessive male lead?
Did I just dig my own grave?
If I had left him alone,
would he have grown into a normal pushover instead of an obsessive male lead?
“Miss? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“Ah? N-no, nothing…”
No! That can’t be true!
I only did a good deed.
I only taught someone who couldn’t protect what was his to say one word—please.
If a single word could change someone’s personality,
then it would only mean his true nature was hidden all along.
“Eunice, what you heard is extremely important.
Tell me quickly.”
I hurried into the carriage with Eunice.
As the carriage slowly began to move,
Eunice told me what she had heard from the aides.
“First, to give an overall evaluation…
they say he is a superior who is easy to work with.”
“Easy to work with?”
That sounded impossible—like a mythical unicorn.
Did such a person really exist?
“He is rational, efficient, rejects mistakes with proper reasons…
and even when sudden heavy work appears,
he does overtime himself instead of pushing it onto his subordinates.”
Wow.
That really would be easy to work with.
“What about him as a person?
Is his personality secretly terrible or something?”
“There were no such comments.
But the common opinion is that he is indifferent.”
“Indifferent?”
“He never has private meetings,
and he does not engage in personal conversation even during work.”
“…But isn’t that normal rather than a flaw?”
Eunice nodded in agreement.
Maybe that was the most they could say in front of my maid.
To learn anything deeper…
I guess I really have to use that method.
The stopped carriage
Clunk.
“Hm?”
“The carriage suddenly stopped.
I’ll check what happened.”
While Eunice spoke to the coachman,
I slightly lifted the curtain and looked outside.
We had not even left the imperial palace yet.
Who could stop the Rohheim carriage?
Then an unpleasant face came to mind.
Come to think of it, he’s been quiet lately…
Did my fountain-pen warning actually work?
“Miss, a temple carriage is passing through the main gate of the palace.”
“Temple?”
Ah.
Then we must give way.
Normally, lower rank yields to higher rank—
but temple carriages were an exception.
Because in this empire,
the next emperor is decided by divine prophecy.
In a way, divine authority was stronger than imperial authority.
The temple only wanted one thing:
That the prophecy given by God is fulfilled.
Talking about prophecy
“By the way, I’m curious about something.”
“What is it, Miss?”
“They say the prophecy of destiny is not only given to the imperial family,
but sometimes to other people too, right?”
Eunice’s face stiffened slightly.
“Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”
“…No reason. I just thought of it.
Is it something I shouldn’t ask?”
“No, not that…”
After hesitating, she answered.
“Usually…
people with noble destinies that mark turning points in history
are exceptionally told in advance by God
about the path they will walk.”
“For example?”
“A general who leads a war to victory,
or a healer who creates medicine to cure a plague…”
She slowly met my eyes.
“Or someone who becomes Empress.”
“…Empress?”
That did not seem comparable to the others.
“Maybe I heard wrong,” she said.
“Yeah, probably.”
Eunice smiled in relief, and I nodded.
It really didn’t seem like an empress would receive prophecy.
Still, I kept asking.
If the prophecy tablet were hidden,
then even if someone received prophecy—
no one might ever know.
“…I see.”
But prophecy wasn’t the most important thing right now.
I needed to confirm whether this world
was truly the same as the novel I read—
and whether Lionel was really the future tyrant male lead.
And to do that—
I have no choice but to use that method.
Temple carriage — Nicole and Eve
“Wow, such a beautiful carriage.”
Nicole, sitting with her rosary in hand and eyes closed,
lifted her head at the innocent voice.
The young girl quickly covered her mouth.
“I’m sorry, Bishop Nicole.
I didn’t mean to disturb your prayer…”
“It’s alright, Eve.
I had just finished praying.”
In truth, she had not been praying.
She was only trying to calm her nervous heart about what would happen today.
But she failed.
Since they were almost at the destination,
Nicole gave Eve a gentle smile.
Reassured, Eve began chatting again.
“The building is so pretty…
Bishop Nicole, the First Prince we’ll meet soon
must be very handsome too, right?”
“Yes, I’m sure he is.”
“I’m so excited, hehe.”
Thanks to the conversation,
Nicole’s tension gradually eased.
Soon, she faced the First Prince.
“May God’s protection be with you.
It is my first time meeting you, Your Highness.
I am Nicole, who humbly holds the position of bishop.”
“I-It’s my first time meeting you too!
I am Eve, Bishop Nicole’s attendant and trainee priest!”
“I’ve been very curious.”
“…Yes?”
But Kaien ignored their greetings
and spoke in a cold voice—
(To be continued…)
