Chapter 64
‘If I’ve revealed this much, then he shouldn’t find it strange even if I take his hand, right?’
[Of course~. Master already knew everything, but still went through the trouble of listening again~.]
[Tsk tsk, what do they take our master’s insight for? Foolish human indeed.]
[That’s right! Do they think just wearing that monocle makes them look smart?!]
Modeway tapped Count Zelaur’s monocle with its tiny foot.
At that small display, I hid a laugh and discreetly wiped away the tears that had flowed naturally.
Then, with a face full of determination, I looked straight at the count.
“If I marry you, Count, what will happen to me?”
Perhaps sensing that I had calmed down somewhat, the count answered quickly.
“This marriage between Your Highness and me wasn’t part of the Third Empress and Prince Brindel’s plan… but in the end, they won’t oppose it. After all, their goal is to secure Your Highness’s wellbeing, so they may even welcome it.”
“And what exactly does Count gain from this marriage?”
“I…”
The count met my eyes squarely and spoke.
“I want bloodline. A legitimate bloodline strong enough to silence the whispers behind my back.”
“Bloodline?”
“After marrying Your Highness, I plan to enter the palace under the Zelaur family name, almost like a son-in-law joining the royal household.”
“What?!”
“And if I then say I stand with Prince Brindel, he’ll welcome me with open arms. After all, the only ones who doubt Your Highness’s birth are the Third Empress and Prince Brindel. So if we bring those two to our side, Your Highness’s secret will be safe forever.”
Count Zelaur spoke with great confidence.
He seemed desperate to persuade me at any cost.
And I could see, beyond those violet eyes behind the monocle, the writhing ambition within him.
‘So his desire for bloodline wasn’t a lie.’
Yes, if not for this chance, when else could he ever claim the surname “Lornord”?
Even knowing I’m a false princess, he craved the Lornord name desperately.
Only then could he stand equal to the Third Empress and Brindel—those who had humiliated him and planted inferiority in him all his life.
‘He probably thinks himself lucky to have found someone with flaws like me.’
For the first time, I could look down on Shevers Zelaur’s true nature from above.
Feigning hesitation, I lowered my head, hiding a faint smile.
‘This is an opportunity.’
Instinctively, that thought came to me.
The easiest people to control are those whose desires and weaknesses have been exposed.
And right now, this man had handed me his leash.
‘Just when I needed manpower.’
Someone tangible, whom I could command using the information I possessed.
The count had exactly the kind of power I needed…
‘I’ll make Shevers Zelaur’s strength mine.’
With my mind made up in an instant, I raised my head and looked at the count.
Naturally, my gaze met his violet eyes through the monocle.
A slightly dark shade of violet.
A warm breeze brushed past.
As I tucked back my fluttering hair, I couldn’t help but recall a man with eyes of bright amethyst.
‘…Strange.’
I wondered if things were going well at the Grand Duke’s estate.
Pushing away the image of Hist that surfaced, I replied in a resolute voice:
“All right. If it means protecting Moren and myself, I’ll do anything.”
“A wise decision, Your Highness.”
“But I have one condition.”
“Please, tell me.”
“…You must persuade His Majesty.”
The count faltered at my words.
In a pained voice, I whispered,
“Since my mother’s passing, His Majesty has been looking at me to keep his madness in check.”
“That won’t be a problem. As I said, this marriage doesn’t mean Your Highness leaves the palace under the Zelaur name.”
“I know. You’ll take the Lornord name and enter the palace. But still… I can’t shake the feeling that His Majesty won’t approve of the marriage itself.”
The count fell silent, deep in thought.
I carefully studied him, then added,
“Oh, I almost forgot—His Majesty’s physician is said to be developing a medicine that suppresses his madness… If it proves effective, perhaps His Majesty’s view may change.”
“Is that so?”
Count Zelaur’s eyes gleamed at the good news.
I nodded, pressing further.
“Unfortunately, I can’t be the one to propose marriage first. Doing so might provoke His Majesty.”
“So it falls on me to persuade him. Understood. In any case, His Majesty’s consent is essential, madness or not.”
The count, pleased by how smoothly things seemed to be going, smiled for the first time.
“I’ll take care of everything. Please wait a little longer, Your Highness.”
“…Don’t forget your promise. Especially about my birth…”
I deliberately mentioned the word “birth,” pretending to be greatly unsettled.
The count’s eyes flickered with a storm of emotions before settling on one: kinship.
“Do not worry, Your Highness.”
He cautiously laid a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle pat.
“Nothing will happen. Trust me.”
I gazed at him for a moment, then nodded lightly.
Unable to hide his feelings, the count lowered his lips to the back of my hand.
“Until we meet again.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
With one last glance, he forced himself to turn and leave.
As he exited the garden, the Third Empress’s knights—assigned as my watchers—looked me over before following him.
Watching them fade into the distance, I quietly lifted one corner of my lips.
“Kinship, huh.”
Yes, it made sense.
He knew my secret.
‘And I know his.’
Shevers Zelaur.
The so-called lucky one who escaped Zelaur misfortune.
‘But you’re more than just lucky, aren’t you?’
Because that man wasn’t even truly of Zelaur blood.
There once was a viscount couple—distant relatives of the Zelaur family—living in a quiet rural domain, their lives barely different from commoners.
One day, the wife brought home an orphan.
Having lost her young son, her mind had broken. The orphan was the same age as her deceased child, with the same silver hair and violet eyes.
She sincerely believed the boy was her own son. The viscount, to conceal his wife’s unsound state, accepted the child.
Thus, the boy lived as their dead son reborn.
‘And that child was you, Shevers Zelaur.’
The reason he hadn’t gone to the villa wasn’t just sickness.
His hair and eye color matched, but his features differed, so until he was old enough to pass it off, they had to hide him.
The viscount couple died while attending a banquet, leaving the boy behind.
‘An orphan, suddenly burdened with the glory of the Zelaur name, with no one left to shield him.’
Was that fortune or misfortune? I couldn’t know—but one thing was certain.
Because of this secret, the count had obeyed the Third Empress and Brindel even more.
At first out of guilt.
But as time passed, guilt gave way to inferiority and humiliation.
‘So that’s why you felt kinship with me, who bears a similar secret.’
A laugh slipped from me.
With no one around, I didn’t bother hiding it as I walked.
‘Interesting.’
How thrilled must Count Zelaur be now?
Old enough to think for himself, no longer wanting to be looked down upon by the Third Empress and Brindel.
But the Lornord name was far too lofty, leaving him in despair.
‘And now, a woman bearing the Lornord name appears, looking much like him.’
Innocent, naïve about the world.
Well, I supposed I owed the count an apology.
‘He probably thinks everything is moving according to his plan.’
But in truth, it was the opposite.
‘You’ll move according to mine, Shevers Zelaur.’
Eventually, he would become new manpower under my control.
Because I’d arrange the board that way.
As I quickly pieced my strategy together, Modeway tilted its head.
[But master, what if that monocle-wearer really does persuade the emperor?]
“That won’t happen, Modeway.”
By then I’d arrived at the greenhouse. Unlocking it and stepping inside, I muttered:
“The count underestimates Lornord’s madness.”
A madness of obsession, possession, desperation, enough to wager even his life.
Unaware of this, the count had dared to declare marriage to me.
“The emperor will never share what he considers his possession with another.”
“Plotting something amusing again, princess?”
A sudden voice rang out, carried by a familiar gust of wind.
Turning my head toward the breeze, I met those vivid amethyst eyes.
“What were you talking about? Tell me too.”
“Hist… When did you arrive?”
He should still have been at the Grand Duke’s domain.
I was about to ask, but stopped.
For the face approaching me was terribly distorted.
