# Chapter 04
Chapter 04
Rezef considered his words, and his expression became slightly distorted.
“But Cayena, you realize that you almost died.
Cayena nodded slightly, acknowledging the statement.
“That's right.
Because of you.
Knowing the truth, Cayena could clearly see how Rezef carefully weaved his words.
“Are you perhaps afraid of retaliation?
In that case, don't worry.
I will make sure nothing happens again.
Cayena shook her head tiredly.
As she was not completely healed yet, it was very burdensome for her to have such a difficult conversation.
She had already spent a lot of energy talking to her ladies-in-waiting.
Although Cayena would have liked to rest, this was a conversation she had to finish.
Even if he fainted at the end.
That was his intention.
"No.
I'm not scared."
She exhaled, a feverish breath leaving her mouth.
Rezef and the ladies-in-waiting in the room held their breath.
This sadness was something they didn't expect from the ridiculous Cayena.
“There's no need to play a game you'll lose, Rezef.
Rezef couldn't understand his words.
He was the one who arranged for the poison to be used and also established a suitable alibi.
He had already selected which targets he would remove with this opportunity, and all he had to do was send them to the guillotine.
This game was completely set in his favor, there was no way he wasn't going to win.
At least, that's what he thought.
“Everyone, please leave this area for a while.
At his request, everyone left.
The only ones left in the room were Cayena and Rezef.
“Rezef,” Cayena called.
She spoke with such calm and composure that Rezef felt strange.
“You can't forget that there are more things going on than you can see with your eyes.
“What are you…?
“Do you know how many people I danced with in the banquet hall?
And how many people brought me food and drink?
Under these circumstances, it is very difficult to determine who poisoned me.
On the other hand… these circumstances are perfect for choosing the culprit.
Cayena struggled to quickly recall what had happened in regards to that incident.
Rezef could never have predicted this would happen to his plan.
“There was a young nobleman obsessed with me, wasn't there?
She remembered the person Rezef had taken to the guillotine.
She remembered that Viscount Gillian had not yet received his inheritance, so she just referred to him as a young noble
“That’s…
“Do you intend to execute him and destroy his entire family?
Good.
He is one of Kedrey's vassals.
Not a bad choice.
That was the reason why Rezef had hatched this plan.
The Gillian family was known for keeping splendid horses.
The price of a single horse exceeds that of a mansion.
And the Duke of Kedrey had such a family as his vassals.
The Kedrey family was militant, maintaining the largest and strongest army in the Empire while protecting the western border.
They stand in the way of Rezef's path to the throne, and he was eager to reduce their influence in any way possible.
Even if Duke Kedrey was not implicated in the crime, word that one of his vassals attempted treason would embarrass him greatly.
Softly, persuasively, Rezef responded to Cayena.
“There must be some misunderstanding, Cayena.
This is not…
Cayena wasn't about to let him interrupt her.
Despite her throbbing head, she continued.
“However, Rezef, poisons obtained on the black market can change hands many times.
Of course there will be two or three black market entries in your accounting books, but can you really convict them with such flimsy evidence?
Rezef thought Cayena was going to say something incredible, but now, he could barely contain himself from laughing at her.
“I'm not sure what you're trying to say, Cayena.
It is already obvious how the poison reached the Imperial Palace.
I just need to publicize this case to take care of the problem, and then it will all be over.
“Although I don’t know how she knew I was trying to implicate Duke Kedrey, her way of thinking is still simple.”
Speaking as if she were stupid, Rezef said:
“Are you acting like this because of Raphael Kedrey, perhaps?
If yes, you have nothing to worry about.
Cayena almost bit her tongue.
Raphael was her first love.
He was also the male protagonist of the novel.
Rezef thought that Cayena was dissuading him from his actions because of Raphael, whoand she was trying to protect the man she loved.
This was how he rationalized his actions.
After all, she wasn't acting so differently.
But while it was true that Raphael was Cayena's first love, and that she had long loved him unrequitedly, that was a long time ago.
Cayena had lived too long to feel that sweet emotion anymore.
“My maternal grandparents are involved in the black market.
If you try to attack the Kedrey Duchy with its black market connections, they are likely to strike back.
“…!
— It was a reason that Rezef could not have predicted from Cayena.
The Kedrey Duchy would not stay quiet if it saw the destruction of one of its vassals.
As he investigated, he would discover that Countess Hamel, a relative of Cayena's mother, the late Empress, was embezzling the Emperor's property.
This would lead to Count Hamel's downfall, and Rezef was suspected for a time of having manipulated evidence and conducting a biased investigation.
"You can't let that happen.
Count Hamel will be an important bargaining chip for me."
After losing her connection to her mother's family, Cayena lost all her power, unable to do anything without Rezef by her side.
Thus, his obsession with Rezef continued to grow, and Rezef was able to control it more easily.
Tampering with evidence and investigation is not a big problem.
The poisoning case will also eventually dissipate on its own.
Cayena didn't want the Hamels to lose their power, being unable to help her, but she didn't want the poisoning to have been in vain.
She exhaled exhaustedly, and looked at Rezef.
“Do you really need to put yourself at risk just for this small chance?
Rezef's expression went completely rigid.
Releasing the tension, Cayena said:
“Have you ever heard the fable of the wind and the sun?
The wind was not able to blow the man's coat with any force, but the sun was so hot that the man had no choice but to take off his coat.
“Yes,” Rezef replied, wondering why Cayena was suddenly talking about storybooks.
Cayena smiled gently as she met his eyes.
It was a face that believed the dynamics of the room had changed.
This doesn't make sense.
It really hasn't changed.
Rezef felt pressured by her, as if he needed to avoid her gaze.
He felt like a child who was caught red-handed by an adult while playing a mischievous prank.
Rezef bit the inside of his mouth.
This was the first time he realized that Cayena was his older sister, a princess of imperial lineage.
“Do not try to overthrow the Kedrey Duchy.
Instead, make them one of your own.
Rezef sighed inwardly.
“I want this more than anyone else.”
Rezef had long tried to use Cayena's beauty to bring in Raphael, the next duke of the Kedrey family.
However, although Cayena had fallen in love with him, Raphael remained unmoved.
Rezef had already given up on manipulating Raphael through Cayena.
“Cayena, I'm not sure what you're talking about.
What does this duchy have to do with me?
Cayena paid no attention to his words and continued to set guidelines on how to use poisoning.
“Doesn't this incident give us a pretext to do many things?
“What do you mean by that?
“I want a lady-in-waiting from a trustworthy family.
Someone whose identity I know and who won't hurt me.
Rezef was surprised by Cayena's sudden remark.
“What exactly are you thinking, Cayena?”
“What about Lady Olivia Grace?”
“You mean the lady who is sponsored by the Kedrey family?
Was she serious?
Rezef knew how much Cayena hated Olivia, having watched her from the sidelines.
The fact that Duchess Kedrey chose to sponsor Olivia herself offended Cayena and made her jealous.
There was no one involved in high society who didn't know that Cayena hated Olivia.
“Yes.
Lady Grace is of mid-level nobility.
She wasn't tall enough to be a princess' court lady, but Olivia had more than enough talent.
“Her family is also deeply connected to the Kedrey Duchy, which might as well be an iron castle.
In fact, it was unclear how much the Kedrey Dukedom valued the Grace family, but the social world recognized that the two families' relationship was unusual.
Cayena used this point to persuade Rezef.
But in fact, there was a separate reason why CayeHe didn't want Olivia as his lady-in-waiting.
“If this world follows what I know about its future, this is the woman Rezef will fall in love with!”
It was the same as the novel and also Cayena's first life.
Rezef would want Olivia this time too.
And if she chose Raphael over him, he would try to kill her.
Cayena continued talking, pretending that she only wanted to win over Olivia because of Rezef.
“Society will interpret the Grace family's actions as an extension of the Kedrey Duchy's intentions.
“…Is this really okay?
— Rezef asked, suspicious.
Cayena smiled.
“I can't keep doing whatever I want.
This was what she had predicted, and it was more efficient to keep Olivia around so she could deal with the situation.