“...how cowardly!”
“I don't really agree with that statement.”
Come on, it's a very reasonable approach.
People like him always say things like this when they have nothing else to say.
“Isn't cowardice better than harming your country?
You made a deal with the Empress to become a concubine, right?”
I spoke to him in a more professional manner.
To make sure he couldn't find any loopholes in me.
“Allow me to repay you with your words, and be grateful.
I am giving you advance notice of what I will inform Her Highness Alexis.”
Lord Gash's lips were pressed together tightly.
Then his face turned from white to blue, and he quickly announced his defeat.
“Oh, no!
Please, don’t let Her Highness know, at least not her!”
“It wasn't a trick.”
After the negotiations with Lord Gash were over, Her Highness Alexis appeared from where she had been hiding, which astonished me...
“Hmm, even your reflexes are impeccable.”
“...You've heard everything, haven't you?”
Upon hearing her playful comment, I shrugged slightly and turned around as naturally as possible.
“Yes, as expected, you have deceived your opponent without hesitation.
You are truly the only assistant to His Highness the Second Prince.”
Why do I feel like I'm being insulted even though I'm receiving praise?
If it had been in front of Cassian, I would have expressed my dissatisfaction with my eyes, but the situation was different this time, so I lowered my gaze quietly.
I could not cause a diplomatic incident.
Regarding the matter of Lord Gash, I negotiated smoothly with Her Highness Alexis
It was unfortunate for him, but from the moment I realized what was happening, I never intended to leave Her Royal Highness Alexis out.
If it was about exploiting our country's nobles, it might be different, but if I were caught trying to manipulate a foreign noble, things would become much more complicated.
“So is it now my turn to become my new mother?”
Alexis leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, looking at me slowly.
Her crimson eyes revealed a hidden depth.
There was a strange feeling of familiarity in her gaze, as if she was urging me to fully satisfy her curiosity.
'It's similar…'
It was eerily similar to what happened when Cassian discovered new prey, or rather, a corrupt noble...
Thanks to that, the slight tension I felt subsided.
"Yes, Your Highness.
It's always fun when a main character reveals at least a little of their power."
The bait was none other than Lord Gash.
Alexis raised the corners of her mouth in satisfaction.
“The weakness of the person who would become my new mother and the weakness of the arrogant Gash family.”
With the face of a predator in front of its prey, I spoke...
“I will make sure that the corresponding gift will be equally satisfactory.”
The night air was cold
Lord Gash was standing on the outskirts of the capital in an abandoned temple, his face filled with fear.
This place was not visited even by priests except when it was time to punish them for their sins, so its barren appearance was frightening..
Tic tac
The sound of the watch given to him by the woman with the angelic face and devilish whispers echoed unusually loudly...
Lord Gash took a deep breath.
I have to handle today's matter well so that I can escape from that demonic woman
She was very meticulous, insisted that he shouldn't make any mistakes, and asked him to memorize three contingency plans for different scenarios.
Even an hour before he arrived here today, Lord Gash had to sit upright in a chair and answer the test questions posed by Roslita.
Every time he made a mistake, her green eyes that were supposed to give off warmth turned into cold ones.
'Prince Cassian must be crazy.
Let him take such a woman as his fiancée!'
As he took deep breaths over and over again to vent his frustration internally, he heard the sound of someone stepping elegantly across the grass.
“Inviting me to such a place is very noble of you.”
Although her face was covered by a long veil, her walk, tone, and distinctive posture clearly indicated her high status.
Lord Jash remembered the lines he had rehearsed with Roslita countless times and slowly opened his mouth.
“I apologize, but it was very urgent and I had no other choice.”
“Couldn't you have sent the message through your subordinate?”
“…Unfortunately, there is no one I can trust.
Your Majesty, the Empress.”
He deliberately emphasized the words “Your Majesty the Empress.”
At that moment, the Empress's gaze turned to the faintly moving grass.
After seeing this, Lord Gash hurried to continue his speech.
“And Your Highness!”
Even though her face was covered by a veil, he could sense the Empress's displeasure from the loudness of his voice.
In the face of her attitude, which seemed to criticize him for being negligent, he continued talking, despite his feeling of injustice.
“…Our meeting…and what Your Highness ordered me to do was revealed to Her Highness, Alexis.”
“Is there any evidence that I ordered you?”
But the Empress maintained a relaxed position.
As the mother of the Third Prince, most people would believe her if she claimed that she had never issued such orders..
Most of the nobles knew that the Empress was sad after her son was chosen as a groom for the national marriage.
Although Lord Gash anticipated her attitude from what he heard from Roslita, he could not hide his inner turmoil.
I must be really blind!
Thanks to the strength of the Jash family and his own beauty, he could seek the position of concubine of Her Highness Alexis..
That's why he needed to get proof that the Empress had harmed the daughter of a nobleman from her country, as Roita had suggested, to use as leverage.
This way, they could silence each other, and he could somehow negotiate with that evil helper
He activated the magical recording device that Roslita had given him earlier and began to speak.
“I told you, I have no one to trust.
One of my servants is threatening to tell Her Highness Alexis everything he saw.
So...”
Lord Gash couldn't hide his trembling heart and took a deep breath.
“He even knows that Your Highness ordered the kidnapping of Assistant Salis and that I met Your Highness!”
Lord Gash slowly raised the hand that was playing the tape recorder.
He was wet with cold sweat, which made him feel uncomfortable.
“He allegedly recorded our conversation.
As it stands, Your Highness will not be able to escape either.”
After he finished speaking, silence prevailed in the place.
There was the sound of the Empress grinding her teeth, followed by a sigh and a frightening sound.
“So what do you want from me?”
"I will not fail again.
I will deal with Aide Salis as cleanly as Your Highness has instructed."
“Hmm, and then?”
“Please deal with the server.”
“Ha!”
The Empress let out a short, sarcastic laugh.
“You can't handle a simple subordinate and now you want to borrow my hand for this trivial matter?”
“I've already failed once.
Can you trust me to handle everything if I take responsibility?”
Lord Gash noticed his tone.
This crazy woman has emphasized countless times not to look stupid in this aspect..
“…Well, at least you didn’t ruin everything by trying to deal with it on your own.”
The Empress's hand clenched and then relaxed several times.
“Well, making a subordinate disappear without a trace is not that difficult for me.”
I got a little closer to Lord Gash.
“Remember you owe me this.”
As if uttering a threat, Lord Gash barely looked into her eyes and spoke firmly.
“No, Your Highness owes me.
Isn’t this something that would have gone completely wrong had it not been revealed?
I’m giving you a chance.”
The Empress stared at him in disbelief.
Even though her eyes were veiled, he felt as if her golden eyes would pierce him..
'She's crazy, she really made me say such things!'
She was a really crazy woman.
Lord Gash Roslita cursed inwardly as he tried to calm his trembling body.
Just bear now, just bear now!
“So don’t forget, Your Highness, in exchange for… dealing with the trash…!
I promise to give me the position of concubine of Her Highness Alexis!!”
His voice rose, thinking this was the last part.
Now, he had basically finished all the lines that Roita had instructed him to say, and he only needed to hear a positive response from the Empress..
Roita said she would take care of everything after that once she was handed the recording device.
Several seconds passed, it felt like a thousand years.
The Empress broke the silence and slowly opened her mouth.
“Yes, I will keep my promise.”
It's all over.
Lord Gash repeatedly told himf not to collapse until the Empress left.
But at that moment.
“…What, what do you mean by that!
Mom!!”
From the grass came a stronger rustle than before, instead of the evil brown-haired assistant…..
“For me, who should enjoy a happy married life!!
Do you want me to accept my soulmate?!”
The third prince appeared, whose hair was strikingly black with a touch of red and resembled the Empress with his exceptional beauty.
His arm was in Alexis' arm...