Chapter 266: 1st Princess Charlia (3)
“He’s been tamed.”
“… …”
“You should have controlled the old man properly. Anyone can see that the Emperor seems too friendly, but it’s not unusual for the princess to be wary. I think I know what kind of person she is just by looking at her. Anyone can also see that you two don’t match. Rather, she seems to hate you. I don’t understand. How can she hate someone like you?”
I could be likable to her, but it was definitely different for the princess.
“This time, it’s your mistake. Of course, I didn’t even think that the Emperor would like you that much.”
“Hmm…”
After the party was over, I couldn’t properly register what Lee Jihye was saying. Indeed, I couldn’t refute anything.
It would be natural for her to be wary of me since the plans I had for up to a month or two had ended within the span of one day.
“It’ll be hard for the Princess to beat you, since you’re also a member of the Eight Seats of the Empire, and considering your relationship with other n.o.bles and the Pope’s side, it would be even harder. I think there is a high possibility that she will contact you at the right time.”
“After taming is over?”
“Don’t you think so? She is not stupid enough to push you away just because you two don’t match. If she’s just doing this because she doesn’t like you, you can a.s.sume that she’s similar to that stupid First Princess. That would mark the end of this Empire.”
I had to nod.
‘She’s not that stupid.’
There may be many reasons other than the ones Lee Jihye said.
Perhaps the reason was that I maintained a lot of close relations with other n.o.bles. Perhaps she didn’t want my influence to grow anymore within the group.
She understood that my valuation would skyrocket if even the next Empress herself showed favoritism to me.
I’ve already shown a friendly relationship with the Emperor in front of many people, and everyone knew about my close relationship with the Pope’s side.
She might have thought that minimal inhibitors would have been needed.
‘That’s herself…’
Another reason was that she might’ve thought that the Pope’s side sent me here.
The Crown and the Pope’s side were basically living together in the same boat of the Holy Empire, but they were still fighting a subtle power battle.
If she considered the fact that I was approaching the Emperor with a certain purpose, it would make sense for Charlotte to ignore me.
Well, whatever the reason, the issue was exactly as Lee Jihye said.
‘I have to tame her.’
“You must’ve been pretty annoyed. She will probably and gradually reduce your political position…”
“You mean cut off my hands and feet?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know if she can do that much… She’ll probably just crush you only enough to stop you from sticking out like a sore thumb, and perhaps there will be a secret contact after that. Honestly, your current self is too big for the Princess to eat. After reducing you to a suitable size, she would probably swallow you in one bite.”
“This is annoying… I don’t know how long this work will last, and I honestly don’t like that she’s trying to beat me. Since the Pope’s side or d.u.c.h.ess Catherine’s a fixed power, there’ll be no problem, but…”
‘I can lose more than that.’
“Are you worried about losing more than that?”
“Right.”
Lee Jihye was like a ghost lurking in my mind and knowing all my thoughts.
“I don’t know. She will probably not do that much. She might want to compromise properly. If you yield now, you can get bigger things later… Wouldn’t it be nice to slowly control the Princess after yielding once? It’s like a frog thrown in a lukewarm place. Oppa, you’re good at that. Pretending to be on the same side and backstabbing them later on.”
“I’ll accept it as a compliment.”
We indeed had very similar thoughts.
Of course, I also agreed with Lee Jihye in this part.
If I yielded once, there was a possibility that I could change the Princess to suit my taste.
The supporting forces that the Princess defeated would also come back. Rather, they may have grown stronger than before.
“Still… To do that, you are…”
“Right. I have a lot of doubts…”
If it was my belief or my pride that she wants to take away or step on, I could give it to her, but if it was power or something materialistic, I’d be reluctant to give it up.
“I will never give up on this aspect.”
“So, does that mean you want to fight with the Princess?”
“But to get on the wrong side of the next Empress, it’s a little bit… I’ll have to find a way. I still have a little time.”
“I thought you would, but… as expected. Is there anything I need to prepare in advance?”
“Not yet. I have a lot to think about, too. Let’s stop talking about this. I will tell you if there is anything that comes to mind later. You should also think of other ways. I’m so annoyed that I’ve already had so many headaches. Oh, more than that, how was the meal?”
“What meal?”
“At that time, after we went to meet the Emperor, we ate separately.”
“Ah… What are you curious about?”
“I’m curious if Hayan has adapted well.”
“It wasn’t bad. She talked well… She seemed a little annoyed to be separated from you… she was very depressed.”
“Did anything happen?”
“One of the attendants from Dawan was quite interested in Hayan.”
“What?”
“It was fine until mealtime, but the man slightly touched her shoulder to talk after it was over…”
“And then?”
“Well, he was just crushed. I don’t know if it was magic, but the room was distorted, and the man’s arm was crunching. It was a mess. He was screaming, and I could see the magical power running through his shoulders… it was fortunate to have a priest among the attendants who came with him because he would have been crippled.”
“Why are you telling me this now…”
“Of course, we agreed to bury the incident. I didn’t even have time to meet you. After that, she looked a little embarra.s.sed… I predict that she wouldn’t even tell you about it. Everyone knows that this could be a problem, so we decided to pretend that nothing happened. And it’s not like the man didn’t make a mistake.”
“So, you agreed with her.”
“It’s wrong to touch a lady’s body. Well, we didn’t want things to grow because she is one of the most powerful wizards in Lindel. That’s why power is good, right?”
Jung Hayan seemed to be under a little more stress than I thought.
She didn’t show it whenever she was with me, but her dissatisfaction must have acc.u.mulated as her time away from me got even longer.
I had to be grateful that Lee Jihye was helping me around.
‘Because I don’t have time to take care of her.’
I wanted to express my grat.i.tude to Park Yeon-joo, who had agreed to bring Lee Jihye as an attendant.
‘She seems to adapt well, too…’
Considering that most of the attendants had a strong force, she was adjusting very well. It even felt like she was more proactive.
Lee Jihye was Lee Jihye, after all.
As if she was conscious that I was looking at her with a strange expression, she tucked her hair behind her ear and opened her mouth.
“There was no incident other than that. The atmosphere wasn’t good after that, but what can I do? The top heads are really close. It will probably come back to normal soon. I think he roughly heard about Jung Hayan. I can tell just by seeing the change in his att.i.tude.”
“If so, that’s good. If this case ever grows, tell me.”
“It won’t. There’s no need for you to interfere directly… but just have a word with Hayan. It doesn’t matter that I fixed it, but it honestly scared the h.e.l.l out of me.”
“Okay. I’ll warn her.”
“That’s good. Anyway, that’s it, then?”
“Thank you, Nuna.”
“It’s okay. I also gained something. If you need help, just tell me. Oh, and about the Princess, she’s a must. You have to set the route so that I can decide how to move.”
“Okay.”
“Then see you next time, my love.”
Lee Jihye stood up, kissed my cheek, and then went out.
Seeing that she didn’t say anything about the ‘body talk’ as usual, it seems that she felt slightly bothered by Jung Hayan and the scene that Hayan had caused.
‘It must have been a surprise.’
I thought that maybe Jung Hayan’s face was more memorable than the shattered hand of that stupid man.
Even I, who was always with Jung Hayan, couldn’t get used to the face she made whenever she was really annoyed.
‘I need to have a word with her.’
I remember that when I asked, she definitely said not much has happened. Even though it was fixed now, she had lied, so it would be right to give her a warning. I had a feeling that I’d been letting her loose too much lately.
Since we’d be seeing each other less from now on, it would not be bad to take her to the woodshed.
Just in time, I could hear the door opening and closing.
It was obvious who it was, so I immediately opened my mouth.
“Come and sit down.”
It was natural to show a different voice than usual.
It only worked when I showed that I was very angry. An uncertain att.i.tude did not work anymore with Jung Hayan, who had gotten cleverer.
Probably by now, she was wondering about whether she should come in or not, reflecting on her mistakes.
“Didn’t I tell you not to lie?”
She was definitely wondering. Perhaps something had come to her mind.
“No. Rather, stand at the door and answer. I don’t want to see your face right now.”
If I saw her crying, I would get soft.
It was hard to hear, but by now, it was clear that she was shedding thick tears.
However, it was then that a different voice was heard.
“Er… Kiyoung-ssi.”
“Uh…”
The visitor was not Jung Hayan, but Kim Hyunsung. It felt like my face turned red instantly. Kim Hyunsung looked at me, sticking his neck.
He seemed to think that he had done something wrong, but seeing my face; he realized that he had misunderstood.
However, he was wondering if it was okay to come in without having figured it out.
“I’m sorry. Come and sit down. I thought you were Hayan…”
“Oh, no. It’s fine. Rather, I’m sorry. I’m the one who came so suddenly.”
We were both embarra.s.sed. It was hard to fix the gaze. In this case, it was only right to go straight to the point.
Kim Hyunsung nodded as if he was thinking the same, and when I saw that, I had to speak right away.
“Has anything happened…?”
“Oh. I have a little… Well… I don’t know what to say. I came here for a personal request.”
“Yes. Please tell me anything.”
‘If he asks, I have to do it.’
If I were to think about it, Kim Hyunsung never asked me to do something directly. For some reason, I was proud, and I began to feel curious since I couldn’t figure out what he needed.
It was also strange that he had something to ask suddenly at this timing.
‘What could it be?’
Kim Hyunsung looked quite serious.
The awkward atmosphere suddenly disappeared.
It felt like he continued to worry while trying to speak. He seemed to keep thinking about whether his judgment was correct.
And then, with an embarra.s.sed expression, he spoke.
“I want to stop the Second Princess Charlotte from becoming the Empress.”