38.
“Don’t worry about Aebwa. With some rest, she’ll be able to clear her mind.”
“That would be so wonderful! I wish I could visit the Duke of Bobonshire myself, but His Majesty won’t permit me to go out. It’s a shame.”
Neroli murmured sadly.
The Duke of Bobonshire noticed something strange in her muttering.
‘Is His Majesty really interfering that much with Princess Neroli’s outings?’
He had never liked the princess going out, but he usually didn’t interfere with her movements within the capital.
‘She’s not exactly a child anymore…’
Though the feeling was unsettling, the fatigue in his body was greater.
The duke glanced at the darkening sky and said his farewells first.
“Then, I’ll be heading back now. Your Highness, have a peaceful evening.”
“Oh! I kept you too long, didn’t I? Please give my regards to Lady Aebwa!”
After the brief goodbye, the Duke boarded his carriage.
Soon, the carriage began moving, and the scenery outside the window changed.
‘Still, it was Aebwa who first mentioned the 85-ship fleet. She’s the one who gave me advice.’
Not Princess Neroli.
Thinking that, the duke recalled the upcoming Crown Prince contest.
To be honest, the duke was content with having deposed Gobard and preserving Aebwa’s honor.
He had no desire to involve himself in the messy fight among the remaining princes.
‘Even though I supported the deposition, the palace is going to become a brutal place.’
Maybe going back to his estate for a while wouldn’t be so bad.
Someone who could freely leave the capital thought that.
But…
[Master! What’s a prince contest?!]
[What do you think~? Humans fighting to become Crown Prince~.]
[Tsk, tsk. They could just pick one human and be done with it. Making the kids fight again.]
‘Exactly… But for me, it’s a chance.’
For someone who couldn’t leave the capital, it was time to plan their next move for survival.
I already knew there were discussions underway at the Central Palace regarding Gobard’s treatment.
I’d figured out what kind of tactics the Emperor would use to provoke the Duke of Bobonshire.
Bobonshire was the biggest card to remove Gobard from the position of Crown Prince.
If he lost his composure and acted emotionally, it wouldn’t do anyone any good.
‘Thanks to that, I had to do all sorts of things with that legal code.’
I glanced at the law book stuck in the bookshelf and then turned away.
I had already sent a letter of condolence to Aebwa, and she had even replied.
As expected, she was furious, but she hadn’t developed any specific trauma because of the wedding incident.
‘Rather, she wrote that she was glad it broke off before marrying such a guy.’
Well, I had laid the groundwork for Aebwa to let go of her feelings for Gobard anyway.
At that moment, the maid brushing my hair whispered to me.
“Your Highness, did you hear?”
“Hmm? Hear what?”
“There’s going to be a prince contest.”
“Gasp, I heard that too!”
With an interesting topic on the table, the maids helping with my makeup began chatting away.
“I didn’t think His Highness the Crown Prince would be deposed just for running away from the wedding…!”
“Well, it was a huge scandal. Still, to hold a contest this suddenly…”
“I think the palace will become incredibly chaotic.”
“Ugh, kind of scary too.”
“And even in all this, His Highness hasn’t returned. He must really care about Agasa.”
“Hey!”
The maids instantly shut their mouths and looked at me nervously.
I just smiled and scratched my cheek.
“I’m fine! It’s all in the past now.”
I shrugged and cheerfully added,
“Honestly, I just hope His High—no, Brother Gobard—brings Agasa back safely!”
“Your Highness…”
“You all know, Agasa wasn’t a bad person. I truly hope nothing terrible has happened to her.”
In response to my words, the spirits fluttered out, giggling.
[Hehe! The pink-eyed human just went to meet her family!]
[These humans don’t know anything~.]
[Hoho, only that Crown Prince who tormented our master is suffering! Serves him right!]
Letting the spirits chatter and the maids whisper in the background, I fell deep into thought.
‘The Crown Prince contest, huh…’
I had orchestrated it, but it was going to be a huge pain.
In this empire, the eldest son of the empress was traditionally the Crown Prince.
But if, for any reason, the Crown Prince was deposed, the next successor would be chosen through a contest among the princes.
‘To put it simply, the one who survives the battle for the throne wins.’
The problem was that the Crown Prince contest took a very long time.
Because imperial family members rarely died easily.
They didn’t get sick, were immune to assassinations, and had supernatural resilience.
Unless an accident caused instant death, they recovered at an astounding rate—that was the nature of the royal bloodline of Lornord.
‘So… they fight very, very dirty.’
Especially Darien and Brindel.
Darien resembled the current emperor, had excellent swordsmanship, and was captain of the First Knights.
On top of that, he had the powerful Helta ducal house behind him, making him a top contender already.
‘But Brindel won’t back down easily.’
Brindel had formed his own faction early on and thrown himself into politics.
You couldn’t ignore the intelligence and influence of the Count of Zellarur, who supported him.
‘And the third consort would invest everything for her son.’
She wouldn’t let go of this opportunity easily.
Kinia was soon to leave the palace after marriage.
Luhél’s maternal family was known for their uprightness, so he would likely avoid political conflict.
‘That leaves just me and Moren.’
If Moren and I declared we wouldn’t participate early on, we’d avoid being seen as threats by the power players.
That would increase our chances of surviving the bloodbath.
But my ultimate goal was never Gobard.
‘The Emperor is still in the way.’
The hypocrite closely tied to my mother’s death.
A snake that chokes my freedom with his obsessive love.
‘If I don’t eliminate him, I’ll end up living the same life as my mother.’
No—maybe even worse.
To the Emperor, I was nothing but a substitute for my mother.
There wasn’t a single record in all of Lornord’s history of obsessive love fading just because the replacement was there.
‘So if I fall out of favor even slightly…’
My life would be like a candle in the wind.
“Your Highness, we’ve finished your makeup!”
“You’re so beautiful today!”
Snapped out of my thoughts by the maids’ voices, I looked into the mirror.
A face that looked exactly like my mother stared quietly back at me.
And looking at it made it feel like that face was whispering:
‘If only I had been more cautious that day, I could’ve saved Mother.’
…That’s why I made that vow.
To never let my guard down again.
To doubt everything and trust no one.
I turned my gaze away, uncomfortable with the mirror.
Knock knock—
Right on cue, the head maid entered the room.
“Your Highness, you have a visitor.”
“Finally!”
I shook off the gloomy thoughts and smiled brightly.
After finishing up, I quickly made my way to the drawing room—where, as always, that frustrating boy stood, making me worry.
“Moren!”
“Sis.”
My younger brother, Moren, greeted me with a small smile.
I ran up to him in a flash.
And I couldn’t hold back my shout.
“You heartless thing! How could you only show up now?!”
I was definitely happy to see him, but…
Now that we were face to face, I just couldn’t stay calm.
“You enjoyed being holed up in your room, huh? Not thinking about the people worrying about you?!”
“Ugh!”
Whack, whack!
I scolded him while smacking his back.
Moren flinched but quietly apologized.
“S-Sorry, Sis…”
“Sigh…”
After scolding him for a while, I sighed and hugged him tightly.
Moren had grown taller than me, but his frame was thin and he had clearly lost weight. He fit easily in my arms.
That made my heart ache.
“I’m just glad you came out. Thank you.”
“…I won’t do it again.”
“You better not. If you ever do that again…”
Because I wouldn’t wait around like this next time.
Let’s see how you’d sit still if your palace caught fire.
Hiding my darker thoughts, I met Moren’s gaze.
“You’re okay now? That’s why you came out of your room?”
“Yeah.”
Moren nodded.
As I sat him on the sofa to talk more, the empty space beside him shimmered—and slowly, someone appeared.
“Good morning~.”
Blinking at the greeting, I suddenly remembered:
‘Oh, right! He said he’d come with him, didn’t he?’
Using invisibility magic so no one would notice.
I’d been so focused on Moren, I completely forgot.
I cleared my throat and greeted him politely.
“It’s been a while, Tower Master! I knew you’d be coming with him, but it’s been so long since I saw my brother, I was a bit rude.”
“Princess, why are you suddenly speaking so formally?”
Hyst, who was lounging comfortably like it was his own home, paused for a moment.
