Chapter : 19
This time, we’ll change the male lead
“Master, the notarization is complete.”
Aiden’s voice from behind snapped Leon out of his thoughts.
“I’ll prepare a copy and send it to the dukedom.”
“Do that.”
Leon shut his eyes tight, then opened them again, as a familiar headache washed over him.
“At last, the Crown Prince’s palace will have its mistress!”
“……”
“Ever since His Majesty collapsed, you’ve handled all state affairs yourself.”
Ale, who entered with Aiden, was grinning ear to ear.
Although the brothers had grown up with Leon and served him since childhood, they shared only their faces, and nothing else.
“I’ve been so worried, since someone like you had no interest at all in the crown princess!”
Ale had never been able to shake his concern for his young master—Hyperion—who ascended the throne as a child and bore its weight alone.
“By the way, Your Highness. Lady Veritas’s education will be overseen by Madam Mary Rayta.”
“W–what? Who?”
The smile vanished instantly from Ale’s face.
“Sir Aiden, what do you mean making decisions like that without discussing it?”
They were supposed to discuss every matter of the Crown Prince’s palace together. Ale’s expression said this was the first he’d heard of it.
“Countess Mary Rayta? My lord! That is absolutely unacceptable!”
Ale actually jumped in place, flustered in a way that didn’t suit him.
“You know how infamous she is! She’ll torment the lady until she gives up the position entirely!”
Indeed—Countess Mary Rayta, called a legend of high society… and infamous by equal measure.
Just remembering the last Empress selection was enough…
—Even paying wages to the lady maids serving you has been a waste.
—With a vacant head like that, you think you’ll become Empress of Deignis? You dream boldly.
Her brutal training made even seasoned noble ladies burst into tears.
Of course, being acknowledged as her student was an enormous honor.
In the past decades, she had accepted exactly one student: Hyperion’s birth mother, the late Empress Anastasia.
“She rarely takes disciples, so I didn’t expect her to accept. Yet she agreed readily. Said the education of the future crown princess is too important.”
Despite Ale’s heated reaction, Aiden spoke calmly.
“Hey—are you already planning to treat her like an outsider?”
“What are you talking about?”
Ale never dropped formal speech in public—showing just how agitated he was.
“Are you saying you arranged all this on your own, without one word to us, and it means nothing? That you invited Mary Rayta for no reason?”
Even knowing the marriage was a timed contract, Ale had been secretly hopeful—if things went smoothly, it might still lead to a real union.
He wanted to deck Aiden.
This was deliberate—no, malicious.
Aiden clearly didn’t like the young lady, though he hid it well.
“Get a grip, Aiden Vale.”
Ale’s voice turned colder still. He knew well why Aiden was like this—because of the Saintess.
The brothers had known Phoebe as long as Hyperion had.
Even if Aiden’s feelings for her began as loyalty and friendship… over time they seemed to grow into something more.
“She’s a woman even high-ranking ladies can’t endure. How is an eighteen-year-old girl supposed to survive that training?”
“She will be the mistress of the Sun. She should at least overcome this much.”
“What?”
Ale let out a dry laugh.
“You expect the future crown princess to do what the current Empress and the Saintess could not?”
She was the first woman to move Leon when no pleading had worked before.
He had barely managed to secure that contract—finally, an opponent capable of taming his lord!
Yet Kaela might flee before the ink dried.
“Your Highness, rescind this. It’s too harsh.”
“That won’t be possible. Countess Rayta is exceptional, an unrivaled mentor for the future crown princess.”
Ale and Aiden’s voices clashed sharply.
“……”
But Hyperion’s face remained blank and emotionless.
“That’s enough. It’s in Veritas’s hands now.”
“But Your Highness!”
Ale couldn’t hide his disappointment.
So even after meeting a woman who shook his heart, Hyperion Sol Lucius remained Hyperion Sol Lucius.
“I didn’t know you trusted her that much…”
Yet strangely, it was Aiden whose expression grew troubled. He had gotten what he wanted—so why did he look so bleak?
“It’s the first time I’ve seen you consider someone.”
“What are you talking about?”
After a long silence, Aiden answered Ale’s question.
“His Highness must believe she can succeed. And he doesn’t want her reputation tarnished.”
His mouth felt dry.
Even without the Saintess, the day would have come when a crown princess took her place—
—but the Hyperion Aiden knew was not this kind of man.
“If he invites Countess Rayta and then dismisses her, it would be discourteous—and would stain the lady’s honor.”
“Her honor? Why?”
“It would prove she is not up to standard.”
“Wow. You’re truly nasty…”
Aiden looked at Leon, who betrayed no emotion.
Hyperion Lucius was someone who won everything with ease.
He could have picked the easiest mentor, let the girl flounder, made her a joke—no one would have questioned it.
In truth, Aiden hoped Leon would choose a lax instructor.
A teacher’s level reflects the student’s level—Kaela Veritas would be laughed at appropriately.
But Leon didn’t do that.
He was choosing the harder path—to elevate her name.
Why…?
She was pretty, yes—but not dazzlingly so, not powerful, not useful enough to explain this.
Why her, at the cost of hurting Phoebe—the woman who had lived her entire life for him?
“You’re sharp.”
Leon, who had listened quietly, smirked with his chin resting on his hand.
“Leon—let me ask one last time.”
“……”
“Why does it have to be her—Lady Veritas? When Phoebe, who cares for you more than anyone, is right here?”
Leon brushed his bangs back, as if tired of the conversation.
“How many times do I have to say it?”
His eyes glinted strangely beneath tousled gold hair.
“I’ve never seen a woman look so beautiful when she cries.”
Even if other reasons existed—he didn’t believe Phoebe could be surpassed—but because she was pretty…?
Sigh.
Aiden exhaled heavily.
If a man who never cared about women thought she was beautiful, then not even a goddess could compete.
“Aiden Vale.”
“Oh—yes…”
Leon’s relaxed red eyes suddenly turned cold.
“Speak.”
Aiden’s shoulders tensed.
“Do you understand me now?”
“Yes, my lord.”
Aiden dropped his gaze. Leon still smiled mildly—as always—but Aiden couldn’t face him.
“If you understand…”
He knew what that smile truly meant.
“Don’t overstep.”
It was both command and warning.
“I see.”
A woman’s thick golden hair rippled in the night breeze.
“If she becomes Countess Rayta’s student, no one will dare question her qualifications again. His Highness must be aiming for that.”
Aiden stared blankly at her silhouette flickering in the dark.
“So His Highness trusts her that much… how surprising.”
The woman pulled up the silk robe slipping down her shoulders and laughed softly.
“He’s never shown me that kind of trust—not even once.”
“He watched her carriage until it disappeared from sight.”
At that, the woman’s pale, delicate hand trembled.
“Ah… did he now…”
But her expression remained hidden in the darkness.
“I’m fine, so don’t worry, Aiden.”
Aiden lowered his gaze, pained by her forced composure.
“It’s not your fault His Highness doesn’t love me.”
“But still—”
“This palace is filled with memories of us—of Hyperion and me. I remember all of Leon.”
She spoke slowly, turning her head.
“Where he likes best in this vast place, what face he makes when it snows…”
Moonlight spilled over her, revealing the beautiful figure beloved by the gods.
“I’m curious what kind of woman will walk into that space.”
She was the Empire’s Saintess and mistress of the moon—Lete Phoebe.
