[CHAPTER 65]
The two of them could not return to the reception room right away.
Elpenlira, once her tension finally broke, had collapsed straight onto the dirt floor, and even after they barely made it back to the mansion, her disheveled clothes, face, and hair all needed tending.
Ellaris, who came running at Rision’s summons, led Elpenlira away with a face full of shock.
She seemed so startled by Elpenlira’s state that she did not even notice Rision’s shirt, which anyone could tell had clearly been grabbed by the collar.
The head butler approached quietly and spoke.
“I will see to your attire, Your Majesty.”
“…Yes, that would probably be best.”
If Rision appeared wearing clothes that had been violently tugged, Ravelan would simply find it amusing, but Dianu would undoubtedly worry.
He only wanted to see her fidget anxiously on rare occasions, such as when teasing her over trivial matters.
Rision was guided into the study right next to the reception room.
The head butler personally helped him undress, then disappeared after saying he would return shortly.
Being left alone without attendants felt rather awkward.
It was a measure taken by Ellaris to minimize the number of servants who might witness the secret meeting.
Rision looked down with displeasure at the robe he had temporarily put on in place of his removed jacket.
It was clearly Count Demion Erbinjel’s robe, and while the quality was impeccable, the sleeves were far too short for Rision.
He tugged and loosened the sleeves brushing awkwardly against his arms for quite some time, then eventually took the robe off and draped it over a long chair.
It will only be for a moment anyway.
By now, the head butler was probably exerting every bit of ironing skill he had not used in decades to restore the Emperor’s tailcoat to a pristine sheen.
Leaning against the back of the long chair, Rision sank into thought.
Once Ellaris and Demion were included and all the key figures had gathered, he would tell Elpenlira the truth.
That the one who murdered Edric Loisen was the Belua Duke, and that Rision intended to exact Edric’s life’s price from him.
Perhaps Elpenlira herself would have a role to play in that plan.
A role Rision had failed to consider, blinded as he had been by the pretext of protecting her.
As he weighed various possibilities, the study door opened without a knock.
Assuming it was the head butler returning with prepared clothes, Rision casually lifted his head.
And his gaze met Dianu Ortensa’s exactly as she stood in the doorway.
* * *
About an hour earlier.
While Rision and Elpenlira were sharing their long-delayed truths, the three left behind in the reception room were seated around a game table.
“A truth wager…?”
“Yes, I suppose people of the Catalos Empire do not play it often.”
Dianu turned to look at Sir Edric Loisen beside her.
But Sir Edric, who had joined the game reluctantly, merely shook his head.
Ravelan shuffled the cards skillfully as he explained.
“The rules are simple.”
“Instead of money or goods, you wager truths.”
“So the loser answers the winner’s question?”
“Precisely.”
“Any question at all?”
“Yes.”
Dianu frowned.
“You said it was a fair wager, whether Emperor or commoner.”
“But the truths Your Highness could obtain from me would be trivial compared to what I could obtain from you.”
By the rules of the wager, if Dianu won, she could demand state secrets of the Arasas Empire from Ravelan.
It was no different from one person wagering copper coins while the other wagered gold coins.
An unmistakably unfair condition.
But Ravelan only smiled pleasantly as he dealt the cards.
“If a question is truly difficult to answer, you may perform a penalty instead.”
“A penalty…?”
“Yes.”
“In the Arasas Empire, it is usually something silly or embarrassing.”
“Spinning in place ten times with your eyes closed, or singing while covering your ears.”
“Anything you can do on the spot will suffice.”
It sounded better than expected.
Such penalties would even help liven up the mood among drunken guests.
Suddenly curious, Dianu asked.
“Have you ever performed such a penalty yourself, Your Highness?”
No matter how intoxicated people might be by alcohol and atmosphere, it seemed unlikely anyone would dare make a Crown Prince do something embarrassing.
* * *
In the end, Dianu lost twice.
Ravelan won the second round, and Dianu came in last.
She looked uneasily at Ravelan, who set his cards down with the satisfied expression of a well-fed beast.
Ravelan propped his chin on his hand, smiling brightly.
“Miss Ortensa, do you wish to marry?”
What kind of question was that supposed to be?
Dianu frowned at him, but he offered no further explanation.
Do I want to marry?
Well, of course…
“…I cannot marry.”
She was the Emperor’s lover.
Unless she entered a nominal marriage with a partner chosen by the Emperor simply to gain the status of a lady who could frequent the Imperial Palace, she would never stand before a wedding altar.
She wondered why he was forcing her to say something like this, and her mood soured slightly.
Ravelan tilted his head.
“That was not the question.”
“I asked whether you wish to marry, not whether you can.”
The atmosphere around the game table grew unbearably awkward.
Sir Edric glanced at Dianu, unsure what to do.
In the end, Dianu replied with as much composure as her situation allowed.
“I do not wish to.”
And that was undeniably the truth.
Perhaps before meeting Rision it would have been different, but now she had no intention of marrying anyone other than him.
Ravelan slapped his own forehead as if berating himself.
“It seems I phrased the question poorly this time.”
“I should have specified the subject.”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind.”
“Shall we move on to the next round?”
He smoothly dealt the cards again.
Distracted by checking her hand, Dianu soon forgot the uncomfortable question.
* * *
It was much later that Dianu finally defeated Ravelan.
Sir Edric, who placed last two rounds in a row, was asked by both Dianu and Ravelan about the name of the woman he liked, and chose a penalty each time.
At Dianu’s request, he did push-ups with one arm, bewildered as to why it counted as a penalty, and at Ravelan’s request, he wrote a name in the air with his hips, prompting Dianu to marvel at Ravelan’s creativity and cruelty.
By then, Sir Edric shuffled the cards with a face that looked as though he had lost half his will to live.
But if Dianu’s plan worked, his gloom would not last long.
Looking straight at Ravelan, who appeared relaxed and ready for any question, Dianu finally asked what she had joined the wager for in the first place.
“Your Highness.”
“When you played cards with Sir Edric last time, did you cheat?”
Sir Edric, who had been drooping lifelessly, snapped his head up.
It was clear he had never imagined Dianu would ask such a question.
Ravelan answered with the same leisurely smile.
“Rather than answering that, I will perform a penalty.”
Just as expected.
Dianu smiled in a way she herself thought rather sly and said:
“Very well.”
“My penalty is this.”
“Please gift the brooch adorning your left chest right now to Sir Edric.”
Silence fell over the game table.
The two men looked at each other, as if checking whether they had heard her correctly.
At last, Ravelan pointed to his chest and spoke.
“This one?”
“Yes.”
“Since it is jewelry you wear, Your Highness, it must be high-purity gold.”
“The craftsmanship is exquisite as well.”
Dianu smiled faintly.
“If he sold it, it would probably fetch about a year’s salary for a Royal Guard.”
Dianu felt secretly satisfied when she saw Ravelan make a dumbfounded expression she had never seen before.
She gestured impatiently, asking what he was waiting for.
Ravelan, still looking dazed, mechanically removed the brooch and held it out to Sir Edric.
Sir Edric stared at the offered item for quite some time before finally accepting it at Dianu’s urging.
In much better spirits, Dianu clapped her hands once.
“Well then, shall we call it here?”
“That was a very informative and enjoyable time.”
Ravelan muttered as if incredulous.
“…I feel like I was mugged in broad daylight during a stroll.”
Dianu replied with a prim expression.
“I will simply return your own words to you.”
The loser tends to be long-winded.
Ravelan finally burst into hearty laughter.
* * *
“You really did not have to go that far.”
After Ravelan left the reception room in search of the head butler upon realizing his glass was empty, Sir Edric spoke in an awkward voice.
He was holding the brooch Dianu had effectively seized on his behalf, looking uncomfortable.
“I was only displeased because it seemed His Highness had used trickery.”
“It was not that losing the money truly troubled me.”
“And His Highness must have known that and teased us accordingly.”
That was certainly true.
For the second son of the Loisen family, being a Royal Guard was not a way to earn money, but a symbol of honor and duty.
But Dianu, a petty commoner to her very bones, could not think that way.
Just imagining being fleeced of a large sum by a Crown Prince without being able to lift a finger made her blood boil.
“So what?”
“Doesn’t it feel satisfying?”
Sir Edric finally failed to suppress a laugh and lowered his head with a soft chuckle.
“I have met His Highness many times, but that was the first time I have seen him look so thoroughly defeated.”
“Then tell me who the woman you like is, as thanks.”
“Is she a lady I know?”
She coaxed him in a gentle voice, but Sir Edric only gave an ambiguous smile.
“I will tell you someday.”
“When?”
“Surely not after the engagement is already settled?”
“It is a one-sided feeling.”
“I would rather not trouble the other party by speaking carelessly.”
It was not a satisfying answer.
But Dianu had no time to press him further, because at that moment, the reception room door opened and Ravelan walked back in.
“The head butler is handling something urgent.”
“It may take a little while.”
From the perspective of someone who had once belonged to a Grand Duke’s household, allowing a distinguished guest’s glass to remain empty was unacceptable.
Dianu hurriedly rose from her seat.
“If it is alcohol, I will fetch it.”
“I know the layout of the mansion as well.”
“Fortunately, you will not need to go far.”
“There is alcohol in the study right next door.”
“The study?”
Dianu tilted her head.
She had entered that study many times before, but had never seen alcohol there.
Still, she did not think long about it.
She assumed the Grand Duke and Duchess had stocked some drinks to enjoy while reading.
When Sir Edric rose, offering to go instead, Dianu waved her hand to stop him.
“I will get it.”
Ravelan readily opened the door leading into the corridor for her.
“Then I shall leave it to you.”
“Yes.”
“Take your time and look carefully.”
“It may be hidden somewhere not easily visible.”
Dianu shot him a suspicious look at his enigmatic expression.
She was gradually growing accustomed to Ravelan Arasas’s mischievous nature.
She even wondered if this walk might not be simply about finding alcohol.
That was why she opened the door to Grand Duchess Erbinjel’s study with a faint sense of unease.
“Dianu?”
And her eyes met Rision Catalos, who was standing there with his upper body fully exposed.
