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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy ‌the latest releases, please read directly ‌‌‌on our official site: valirscans.org
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‌‌
10.

After donning the ‌‌‌dress ‌‌‌Cassian had prepared along with a veil-trimmed hat, I climbed into the carriage with him.
When I asked if I needed to wear a wig since my hair was bothering ‌‌me, Cassian said something peculiar.
"I couldn't possibly hide Rose's beautiful ‌‌‌hair beneath such a thing."
I understood he was saying the hat alone would suffice.
"But, Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty is forbidden."
"Then what should I call you, sir?"
At my words, Cassian let out an amused laugh as if exasperated.
"What relationship do you and I have today?"
"...A married couple."
It was a setting I ‌‌‌‌truly disliked, but it was the most plausible.
A ‌‌successful businessman ‌couple from the Kingdom had come to tour the Imperial Capital.
"Even so, I can't simply call you by your name."
"It's perfectly fine with me, if it's Rose."
"I'd rather not be arrested for lèse-majesté. Your Majesty."
"...In the past... you see."
Cassian murmured in a voice barely audible at my refusal.
"Ian."
"Yes?"
"Call me Ian."
I felt relieved at a name quite distant from Cassian's own.
No matter how shameless I was or how recklessly I lived, casually uttering the Prince's ‌‌‌name aloud—or even in my thoughts—felt inappropriate.
Yet somehow, the name carried a familiar resonance.
"In any case, Ian."
"Yes."
...Why was he smiling so brightly again?
I held my breath against his disarming expression before steering back to the matter at hand.
"Weren't you originally planning ‌‌to crack down on the ‌Gambling Establishment six months from now?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Now that the First Empress has entered seclusion, if you target that place again...."
"It will become troublesome."
Cassian finished my hesitant words without concern.
Of course, the First Empress had multiple sources of funding, and this Gambling Establishment wasn't the largest among them.
But it would be sufficient ‌‌‌to upset her sensibilities.
"That's why you decided to take more time with it."
The Emperor himself might blame Cassian this time around.
After all, the Emperor's hands were not entirely clean when it came to the First Empress's financial channels.
As Cassian said, the Emperor was no fool of a ruler, so he would often turn a blind eye to somewhat illegal methods if they could ‌‌fill the imperial treasury.
The First Empress's Gambling ‌‌Establishment operated under similar logic.
Like Cassian in disguise, it was a place where the wealth of rising entrepreneurs could be funneled into the imperial coffers and the coffers of high-ranking nobles.
If such a place were raided, on the ‌‌‌‌surface the First Empress would be held accountable, but in truth, it would only deepen the Emperor's resentment toward Cassian.
"Am I really that much of a concern to you, Rose?"
"Of course, Your Majesty—or rather, without Cassian, who would pay my wages?"
At my bold response, Cassian burst into hearty laughter.
He reached out and toyed with the strands of my hair that fell beneath my hat as he spoke.
"Don't worry, Rose. This ‌crackdown is merely routine, and the target ‌‌isn't the First Empress."
At those words, I felt greatly relieved.
I thought Cassian had slipped into his scheming mode.
I prefer the Male Lead who minimizes losses through cunning rather than through righteousness.
"If not the First Empress, then... the ‌‌entrepreneurs?"
"Yes."
At ‌‌‌that, I furrowed my brow.
"Then you shouldn't have called it a crackdown, should you?"
This was deliberate!
In other ‌‌‌‌words, ‌‌‌Cassian meant to survey the entrepreneurs at the Gambling ‌Establishment ‌‌‌and identify those he could recruit.
As long as the First Empress controlled the aristocratic class, Cassian had to secure these rising entrepreneurs.
"...I worried for nothing."
As I grumbled, Cassian released my hair and spoke gently.
"I'll buy you something else from Sapphire."
You really think money solves everything, don't you.
Not this time.
But.

*

The Gambling Establishment was located in the Western District, yet for some reason, the carriage was heading toward the Central Shopping District instead.
"Weren't we supposed to go directly to the Gambling Establishment?"
"The sun hasn't set yet."
"They operate during the day as well."
Besides, the respectable businessmen Cassian would want to recruit would be there during daylight hours. ‌‌
It was a place that transformed entirely between night and day.
The deeper the night fell, the more illicit dealings occurred, ‌‌betting odds climbed higher, and danger intensified.
During the day it remained a place where tourists enjoyed themselves harmlessly, ‌‌but I'd heard that at night, fistfights were commonplace.
As I regarded him ‌‌‌‌with a puzzled expression, Cassian laughed effortlessly ‌‌‌and spoke.
"The sun hasn't even reached its zenith yet, Rose."
For some reason, ‌‌everything he said today seemed riddled ‌‌‌with contradictions.
"And I wanted to give you ‌a gift first."
With perfect timing, Cassian opened ‌‌the carriage door himself as we came to a stop.
That prince was truly robbing me of my duties as a subordinate at every turn.
As naturally as breathing, he extended his hand toward me.
My dress hem ‌‌‌was longer than usual today, so I accepted his hand and carefully descended from the carriage.
"The moment Sapphire was mentioned, your eyes sparkled so brilliantly that I simply couldn't ignore it."
"...Me?"
I ‌‌‌couldn't flatly deny it as I normally would.
That I was so consumed by material desire—it ‌‌was far too true.
As I hesitated, I heard Cassian's low chuckle from above my head.
He offered me his arm and spoke with an almost unsettling charm.
"Shall we go then, my lady?"

*

Inside Sapphire was truly enchanting.
Unique, beautiful, and adorable!
A charming clock carved from a single piece of wood, and exquisite ceramic pieces split in half yet showing no visible seams where they joined.
Crafted items made from rare stone that only the Kingdom produced, with ‌‌its distinctive luminous hue.
Each piece was so lovely that I simply couldn't decide.
"...That one will do?"
After I ‌‌‌made my choice following considerable deliberation, Cassian regarded me with clear dissatisfaction.
What was wrong with it? It was an absolutely beautiful fountain pen.
Even if I brought a charming decoration home, I could only see it briefly in the morning and at night before sleep.
I preferred to keep what I ‌‌‌loved as close as possible and admire it often. Of course, placing a decoration in my office would also be acceptable.
"I like this one."
Beyond all else, it was exquisitely crafted yet didn't hurt my hand when ‌‌‌‌held.
I thought that with something like ‌‌‌this, perhaps peace might finally come to my roughened ‌‌‌fingers.
"The material used here supposedly never allows ink to clot or harden."
How could I possibly pass up something with such practicality!
At my words, Cassian released a sigh for reasons unknown.
"I truly cannot fathom you, Rose."
"I would prefer if you understood me a little less, Cassian."
Yet he saw through all my preferences.
Instead of responding, Cassian promptly took the fountain pen and proceeded to pay.
He handed me the warranty and the pen, then spoke with leisurely ease.
"The fact that you chose only one item..."
"Yes?"
"...means you'll make time for me again next time, won't you, Rose."
How did he arrive at that conclusion!
I was simply being conscientious.
Yet somehow, I couldn't bring myself to speak.
Cassian Artez was looking at me with such ‌‍‌‌joy and anticipation ‌‌‌in his eyes.

* ‌‌‌

I thought that once my business in Sapphire was finished, I would finally head to the Western District. ‌‌‌
But Cassian said something to the coachman and ‌‌sent the carriage away.
"...Ian, ‌you do realize the Western District is quite far from here, ‌‌‌‌don't you?"
Though I had to admit, the new shoes he'd prepared were surprisingly comfortable to wear.
I simply didn't want to walk for over an hour to get there.
"I know, but we're not going to the Western District right now anyway, and it would be unfair ‌‌to keep the coachman waiting."
With that, Cassian drew my hand onto his ‌‌‌‌arm and spoke.
"I believe you once told me to value my subordinates' time."
Since when did he listen to me so well?
He wasn't even explaining things properly and was doing whatever he pleased.
Cassian grinned widely at my expression, which I made no effort to hide.
"You become irritable when you're hungry, Rose. Since I brought you out, I can't let you skip a meal."
"...I can endure that much." ‌‌‌‌
What exactly didn't he know about me?
In just one year, ‌he'd figured out all my preferences and personality traits.
It was truly frightening—Cassian's thoroughness in never letting go of a useful subordinate.
He dismissed my words lightly and took me to the most popular restaurant in the Capital City these days.
He said the reservation waiting list alone was two months long.
True to its reputation, the food was excellent.
"Though I think the steak you prepare, Ian, tastes better."
At my words, Cassian nodded as if he would remember that.
After that, rather than heading to the Gambling Establishment, Cassian took ‌‌‌‌me to the most talked-about shop in the Central Shopping District.
"Shall we go see the books you like, Rose?"
With ‌that, he called for the carriage again, and by the time we arrived at the Bookstore near my home, the sun was ‌‌setting.
And it was winter, so the days were already short.
"...You were deceiving me all along, weren't you?"
At my words, Cassian flipped through a romance novel—completely unsuited to him—and answered.
"Yes." ‌‌‌‌
So casually.
"The thought of you enjoying your day off without me was simply unbearable." ‌‌‌
"Unbearable?"
"I was jealous."
Jealous of what?
You should just lounge around alone for once, you workaholic!
As I stood there exasperated, Cassian gathered all the novels I'd glanced at and ‌fled, saying he would pay for them.

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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