“What…”
Duke Gamuti looked at Cassian as if he was asking him to say something logical.
“Huh, Your Highness!”
Perhaps because he thought it was a sound that could not be made, a sound that could not be made properly came out of Duke Gamuti's mouth..
“How can Miss Hanella and Miss Saliss be the same?”
“What's the difference?”
“She is the daughter of the esteemed and distinguished Marquis Hanila!
Moreover, unlike His Highness, His Highness Charlie has already held an engagement party.”
In short, there was a difference between me, the fiancée in name, and the young miss of the Marquis Hannela.
Cassian looked even more insulted upon hearing those words.
The moment he opened his mouth to refute...
“Does Duke Gamuti refuse to acknowledge what His Majesty the Emperor has admitted?”
Someone walked out of the main building of the Winter Palace with a calm gait and a smiling face and opened his mouth to the Duke.
“Since when did my fiancée become a greater person than my mother-in-law?”
“…His Royal Highness Prince Charlie!”
His bright red hair fluttered as if it were patterned in the spring noonday sky as he approached Duke Gamotti.
“Since when has your attitude towards the princess been like this?
It is very unpleasant.”
Prince Charlie was smiling as usual...
Very annoying smile..
“It seems that my future princess fiancée can be treated well because she is from a family called Hanila.”
“Well, that's not all…”
Duke Guillemotti looked more embarrassed than ever at the sudden appearance of his nephew.
Confusion and dissatisfaction were mixed in the duke's gaze.
Because the empress's son, who was supposed to stand by his side, is now attacking him.
“…What are you doing here, brother?”
“Haha, Cassian isn’t really affectionate either.”
Charlie opened his mouth in a calmer tone compared to his conversation with Duke Gamotti.
“As always, I came at my mother’s request.”
“I believe you have a dinner date with Duke Gamotti.”
“That's right, boring.
It would be perfect if you went on this date too.”
Prince Charlie sighed briefly as if he was bored, then spoke in a relaxed tone to Duke Jamotti…
“However, I am glad I came, because the Duke seemed a bit lost.”
Charlie asked his servant to take Duke Gamotti away and then looked at me and Cassian as if he was very disappointed…
“If dinner is after a long time, I would like to have it with you, Cassian and Miss Salis.”
Then Charlie took my hand and spoke.
“Especially Miss Saliss, I feel blessed to have you as Cassian’s princess.”
"… Yes?"
While I was thinking about what to say to the bright smiling face, Cassian opened his mouth, and grabbed my hand as if he was stealing it.
“Miss Hanila will be disappointed, brother.”
"Hmm?
I don't think so."
Charlie smiled lazily and opened his mouth excitedly.
“Miss Saliss is having a hard time, and Cassian is very jealous.”
Then he spoke while closing his eyes.
“Don’t worry, I will also help you prevent anything from interfering with the love between you and Miss Salis!”
Prince Charlie puffed out his chest with a look of relief on his face, as if he had completed his work.
“Feel free to speak up at any time.
And don’t be afraid of my mother, of course I can scare her a little.”
After saying that, Prince Charlie turned and left the Winter Palace, feeling satisfied and as if he had done a good job..
“Umm...”
So, the final blow was delivered by him...
Did he do that for me and Cassian?
I was confused about whether I should feel insulted or grateful.
“Rose, don't think about it.”
"Yes?"
“If you think about it, you will lose.”
Even Cassian, who had seen Charlie longer than me, took my hand with an expression on his face that said he couldn't find the answer...
As Charlie said, it's like someone who was really jealous.
“Isn't this really a scandal, Your Majesty?”
After the meal started, Duke Gamuti became angry and talked about what happened at the fair today.
The Empress's eyebrows were also slightly frowned, but she was trying to pretend as calm as possible.
“I thought so, because she was a child who knew no manners.
A noble lady paid her first compliments to His Majesty the Emperor, not to me, the Empress.”
Of course, the words that came out were not kind at all.
“My brother, do not take her words into consideration and ignore her.”
"I know.
I have to endure today's humiliation for the sake of the future."
“His Majesty has been a bit lenient with these kids these days, so the Second Prince thinks that he and Charlie are alike.”
The Empress immediately smiled softly and opened her mouth as if she was comforting Duke Jamotei.
“Please don’t feel bad for Charlie.”
Charlie wanted to cover his ears when his frightened mother suddenly called his name.
“As you know, Charlie is the First Prince, and he is also the son whom His Majesty values very much.”
“That's true...”
“If Charlie hadn’t said that to my brother, His Majesty the Emperor might have been angry.”
“Your Majesty...?”
“Although there was no engagement ceremony, His Majesty the Emperor personally acknowledged the engagement.
Although I am in a very bad situation...”
The Empress let out a gentle laugh as if a spring breeze was passing by.
“Isn’t this actually a good thing for us?
Compared to Marquis Hanila, what power can Baron Salis have, who doesn’t even know his status?”
"This is correct!"
“Prince Cassian is going through a difficult path alone.
It would have been better if he had married the princess of the kingdom.”
“That is correct, Your Majesty.”
“It would be good for us if he had a romantic relationship with a humble girl away from the imperial family.”
The Empress said this and smiled comfortingly at her son.
“Do you see how wiy Charlie is acting today?”
At the Empress's words, Duke Jamoti nodded as if he had attained wisdom.
“That's right, as the First Prince, he would have proven the dignity of the Imperial Family and made Prince Cassian let his guard down.”
As for Charlie...
'I ate all the candy, so why shouldn't I go?'
He was thinking different thoughts inside..
Fortunately, the Empress, who knew her son well, opened her mouth…
“I have work to do this afternoon too, I know you’ve been busy, but thank you for listening to your mother’s request.”
Charlie stood up obediently, shuddering slightly at the sight of his mother's familiar smile.
The Empress's expression, which had been adorned with a gentle smile until her son left, froze with a thud as she put down the teacup…
She gestured and dismissed all the nearby guards, then slowly opened her mouth.
“So, have you checked the items?”
“Yes, yes...”
Duke Jamotti shrugged his shoulders at his sister's extremely cold tone.
The person who was less happy than anyone else about Charlie's departure was Duke Gamotti.
I've become more brutal...
“Please calm down, Your Majesty.”
“I'm very calm now, brother.”
The voice that the Empress deliberately made as she raised the teacup rattled in Duke Jamotti's ears.
"So, you can't fail in this matter.
You won't let that woman's son surpass mine, right?"
“We must aim for the moment when they mistakenly believe that things are going according to their ideas.
Little by little, when they let their guard down...”
The corners of the Empress's mouth rose sullenly.
“You have to choke his neck, do you understand?”
“Yes…”
Duke Jamotti barely answered and bowed his head.
His sister's rant and spite were so loud that he felt as if a blade was being pointed at the tip of his neck...
Three days later, Cassian and I willingly accepted Duke Gamotti's request for an additional visit.
This time, he graciously accepted our request to watch on our own without him.
“Who let their guard down, Rose?”
“I think it is time for the Rose Palace garden to become more beautiful.”
Cassian laughed a little at my sarcastic answer.
“Yes.
But we shouldn’t be exposed to sudden frost.”
The Rose Palace was where the Empress lived.
Cassian deliberately appointed a young knight who had just joined the army to accompany Duke Gamut.
Leading the Duke like this last time wasn't just a desire for revenge or to relieve tension.
It was just an attempt to show that we are naturally victorious and let our guard down.
As we had made preparations in anticipation of what the Duke and Empress would do, we took our attention from this matter for a moment and proceeded to deal with the morning's work.
When the apprentice knight returned and reported, it was about the time we had finished lunch.
After listening to the entire report, Cassian and I laughed evilly as if we had made it up.
“It's really unfortunate that you won't be able to make the flowers bloom.”
Cassian said that with an expression that did not show the slightest remorse...