Chapter 4
But she wasn’t someone who could be taken down that easily. She calmly responded.
“That’s unacceptable. Among land-owning tenant farmers, some purposely underreport their harvest to reduce their taxes. If we don’t weed out those cases, His Majesty the Emperor’s tax reduction plan will be rendered meaningless.”
Eve added one more comment to drive the point home.
“That’s not what His Majesty’s order was for.”
Arsen, who had been quietly staring at Eve for a moment, let out a soft chuckle.
“You’re right. Otherwise, the emperor’s command becomes meaningless.”
“It’s ‘His Majesty the Emperor.’ The retainers are listening.”
Eve corrected him, annoyed by how casually he referred to the emperor, as if it were something beneath him. Arsen shrugged.
“Do you like saying ‘His Majesty the Emperor’ that much?”
“He’s a good man. A wise ruler.”
“I like him too.”
“…Okay.”
What was she supposed to say to that? Eve responded dryly and turned her attention back to the agenda.
While she had reflexively rejected his idea, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable. In fact, it might even be more efficient than the current methods.
If a way could be devised to address the flaws she’d pointed out, his proposal might be quite useful. But the real issue was—Arsen came up with it?
This was a man who lived for wine and women. Eve found it hard to believe that someone like him could offer a sound opinion on tax policy.
‘Maybe Cecilia told him.’
She was an ambitious woman. Judging by how she’d manipulated Arsen to corner Eve, she clearly had a cunning mind. It wasn’t unthinkable. It was certainly more believable than Arsen coming up with this plan on his own.
‘Cecilia is definitely the more dangerous one. I need to take care of her as soon as possible.’
As she tapped her temple, deep in thought, a particularly wicked idea surfaced, and a satisfied smile spread across her face.
‘Robbing that woman of the chance to use Arsen—that would be the cruelest punishment.’
It seemed she would have to find a new lover for Arsen to replace Cecilia.
He was a womanizer who couldn’t resist a pretty face. That wouldn’t be difficult. She knew his type well.
“I didn’t marry Yvonne out of love. I’ve never even felt anything close to love for her. To be honest… she’s just not my type.”
That sudden memory of Arsen’s dying words darkened Eve’s expression. Her gaze slowly drifted to the man sitting before her.
The Arsen she saw yesterday and the one today… seemed slightly different.
But that couldn’t be. Even if it were true, it didn’t change the fact that he had betrayed and abandoned her.
As Arsen met her eyes and smiled brightly, Eve smiled back just as sweetly.
‘Wait for it. You and that beloved Cecilia of yours—I’ll send you both to hell together.’
A terrifying declaration of war, cloaked in a smile.
✦✦✦
With light brown hair and deep green eyes, his features were delicately handsome.
It wasn’t surprising that he had the reputation of a playboy. Yet Tiago, having seen people whose beauty defied belief, didn’t find him particularly striking.
Still, there was something about the man leaning languidly against the window, chin resting in hand. He had an elegance that bordered on reverence.
“Your Majesty.”
Despite the approaching footsteps, Arsen—or rather, Charles—remained basking in the spring breeze outside the window. Only after a moment did he finally glance toward the voice.
“Hello, Tiago.”
“Yes, sire.”
“So? What do you think?”
“Think of what…?”
Tiago was the commander of the imperial guard and also a spy planted in the duke’s household by the imperial chancellor. The chancellor was the only one in the palace who knew about Charles’s current condition.
As the emperor’s closest confidant, the chancellor had been the first to notice the strange anomaly.
The exalted Emperor and a lowly duke had switched bodies.
Only three people knew the unprecedented truth: the two men who had swapped bodies and the chancellor, who had explained the situation and sent Tiago to protect Charles.
Even Charles himself hadn’t immediately understood what was happening.
He had simply gone to bed and woken up in another man’s body.
A few days ago—
“Where am I?”
Charles opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling and muttered.
A servant asked, “Pardon, Your Grace?”
“Your Grace?”
Catching sight of his reflection in a nearby mirror, Charles frowned. A strange, unattractive man stared back at him.
And now he was being called a duke?
But he was the Emperor!
Completely unfazed, as befit the dignity of His Imperial Majesty, Charles asked the servant,
“What’s this man’s name?”
“Excuse me?”
“My name.”
The servant hesitated, wondering if he should call a doctor, but answered nervously. There was an unfamiliar authority emanating from the usually idle playboy.
“You are Duke Arsen de Fontenay…”
“Arsen de Fontenay. Ha. How amusing.”
Charles burst into laughter the moment he heard the name.
He didn’t even need to search his memory. The Duke of Fontenay and his wife were infamous in high society.
The unrepentant playboy husband and the devoted, pure-hearted wife.
Even the Emperor had heard of them—which meant everyone in the nobility had likely gossiped about them endlessly.
And now he had become that playboy?
Even if he hadn’t met the man before, the servant calling him Duke Fontenay left little room for doubt. It wasn’t exactly a common name.
‘This clearly isn’t a dream.’
Charles wasn’t the type to dream about something like this. And he certainly wasn’t so foolish as to mistake a dream for reality.
‘…So what happened to my original body? How is it even possible to end up in someone else’s body?’
It was completely illogical—but it had happened.
‘Could this be some sort of curse or spell? I never believed in that nonsense, but… maybe I have to now.’
A curse. Charles sighed and rubbed his brow, but quickly composed himself.
“No one’s said the Emperor is dead, right?”
“P-Pardon? Your Grace, you shouldn’t say such outrageous things…”
“So… they haven’t?”
“Y-Yes, that’s right.”
Charles let out a short breath.
If he had died and been reborn in this body, the palace would’ve been thrown into chaos by now. It was already noon—if he hadn’t shown up, word of his death would’ve spread by now.
‘If my original body is alive, then the real Duke’s consciousness must be there.’
They had switched bodies.
And that meant only one thing—
‘There must be a way to switch back.’
He came to that conclusion quickly.
In truth, Charles wasn’t too worried about the situation. If bodies had been swapped, there must be a way to undo it.
He was the Emperor, and he had many capable agents at his command. Discovering the method wouldn’t be difficult.
And frankly, he’d been growing bored with the endless work. Living as a carefree playboy for a while didn’t sound so bad.
With his mind made up, Charles casually instructed the servant.
“All right. I’ll need to change.”
“Y-Yes, Your Grace.”
And so, after sending a letter to the chancellor explaining his predicament, the Emperor of the realm spent a few peaceful days living as the idle Duke Fontenay.
Tiago had initially doubted the unbelievable truth when he received word from the chancellor.
But once he met Arsen—no, Charles—in person, he had no choice but to accept it. The man standing before him might look like a playboy, but inside, he was undoubtedly his childhood friend and the Emperor.
That the Emperor’s body had ended up with someone like Arsen was a catastrophic situation.
Tiago often scolded Charles, wondering how he could be so relaxed about it all. But the Emperor, for his part, was enjoying the situation like a well-earned vacation.
If push came to shove, he could always incite a rebellion and reclaim the throne with this body.
He had the capability, the justification—and the power. But after spending a few days like this, one thing had started to weigh on his mind…
“That’s unacceptable. Among land-owning tenant farmers, some purposely underreport their harvest to reduce their taxes. If we don’t weed out those cases, His Majesty the Emperor’s tax reduction plan will be rendered meaningless.”
“That’s not what His Majesty’s order was for.”
Eve. A woman delicate and elegant, like a single white lily. The unfortunate wife of the notorious playboy Duke Fontenay.
That’s how people described her, and yet… Charles found her starting to occupy his thoughts. With good reason.
“Tiago. Do you think there’s a woman in the world who would go out of her way to find her husband a mistress?”
Watching flower petals dance on the spring breeze, Charles asked casually. Tiago gave the expected answer.
“I highly doubt it.”
“Right? So why is the Duchess doing that?”
“I… I couldn’t say.”
Tiago trailed off, troubled.
It was common knowledge that the Emperor wasn’t interested in women. Rumors claimed he was impotent, or into men. The truth was simply that he was a workaholic.
Even the archbishop had once unconsciously praised the Emperor’s divine face. It seemed absurd that such a man would do nothing but work—but that was exactly what Charles did.
And he was known in the court and among the nobility as a cold, iron-blooded ruler. Everyone knew the throne he now sat on had been stained with the blood, guts, and tears of the previous imperial family. They just pretended not to.
To be honest, Tiago thought Charles wasn’t very interested in people. How many had shed tears over the Emperor’s indifferent kindness?
And now, the Duchess kept trying to match him with women—women who were flashy and overly affectionate, the type Charles hated most.
Of course, he had turned them all down. But this behavior didn’t feel like the actions of a loving wife. It was impossible to tell what her true intentions were.
