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12.
‌‌‌‌

My ‌engagement to Cassian was announced through a straightforward and unmistakable method.

[Second Prince Cassian Artez Announces Engagement to Miss Roselita ‌Salice!]

By submitting the news first to a publication that maintained favorable relations with the Imperial Family and typically employed measured, respectful ‌‌language.
Consequently, this article was exceptionally formal and restrained, yet any newspaper outlet with even ‌‌‌a modicum of sensationalism in mind—

[Winter Palace Demons Unite?! A Matter of Affection or Ruthless Efficiency?!]
[The Most Formidable, Most Dreadful ‌‌‌‌Couple Emerges—Second Prince Cassian and Advisor ‌‌‌‍‌Salice Announce Engagement!]

—ran articles as though Cassian and I were the most unhinged lunatics ever to walk the earth.
Some outlets, particularly the most sensational ones, even went so far as to publish:

[Audit Your Ledgers ‌and Systems! What Countermeasures Exist Against the Winter Palace Demon Union?!]
[Major Corporations in the Capital City on High Alert! Emergency Response Strategies Revealed!]

Preposterous articles like these were being circulated everywhere.
I mean, really—it's an engagement, isn't it? Isn't this going too far?
Normally, scandals come with adjectives like "rosy" or "blissful," don't they?
The reality here was nothing but bleak and pitch-black.
And besides, I'm the daughter of a Marquis. Even the phrase "social ascension"—which ‌‌appeared so frequently in the original novel—was nowhere to be found.
The original ‌‌‌Roselita had been vilified so harshly for that very thing.
Even the maid who brought me ‌‌the morning newspaper seemed shaken.

'Were ‌‌you threatened by His Highness the Prince, Miss?!'

Given such a reaction.
I found some comfort in the fact that my maid had at least asked with genuine concern.
At the very least, my maid didn't lump ‌‌Cassian and me together ‌as the Winter Palace demons.
Because of that, I had to endure quite a ‌‌commotion in front of my house on the way to work.
"Miss Salice, what ‌‌is the truth behind this engagement! Is it ‌a declaration of war against the Empire's businesses?"
"We suspect strategic reasons—is your announcement of romance a smokescreen?"
"Could you tell ‌‌us which entity will be audited next, ‌‌‌Miss Salice!"
These ‌reporters really were insufferable.
I ‌felt genuinely wronged by the barrage of questions assaulting my ears.
Even as I drafted the engagement press release myself, I'd thought no one would believe it, but I never imagined they'd be this skeptical.
It ‌‌‌seems Plan B is indeed the answer, Your Majesty.

*

At 11 a.m., before the formal state council convened, a meeting was held among Imperial Family members to determine the marriage partner for the Kingdom's princess.
The moment Cassian and I appeared, the First Empress erupted in fury.
"...What kind of outrageous conduct is this, Prince Cassian!"
"I'm not certain what you mean by outrageous, First Empress."
"To publicize an engagement announcement in this manner! Where is the procedure that the Prince held in such high regard!"
The First Empress struck the armrest repeatedly as she spoke.
She was the same in the original story.
'Of course, there she had continuously demanded engagement approval even before the marriage talk with the Kingdom's princess came up, and it was never granted.' ‌‌‌
She absolutely refused because Roselita was merely the young lady of a humble baron's house.
In the original narrative, the First Empress had treated Cassian as an abandoned prince most of the time, yet only invoked Imperial authority at moments like these.
"Moreover, a ‌‌‌baron's daughter! What do you take the Imperial Family for, Prince Cassian!"
How perfectly she played her part as expected.
The First Empress even raised her voice as though ‌‌she ‌‌herself were a Kingdom citizen.
"It's not just the Imperial Family—this is an insult to the Kingdom as well! At a time when favorable relations with the Kingdom are emerging—"
"First Empress, that is enough."
It was the Emperor himself who cut off the First Empress's words.
"Enough, Your Majesty? What do you ‌‌‌mean by that?"
"We cannot send Cassian to marry into the Kingdom in any case." ‌‌‌‌
"...Pardon?"
As the Emperor shook his head with an ashen expression, the First Empress's face went blank.
"W-why is that? Your Majesty, surely you don't misunderstand—do you think I was recommending something unfavorable to Prince Cassian? Everything I do is for his sake."
Then, as if aggrieved, she immediately raised a handkerchief to ‌‌her eyes as though to dab them.
"It is the position of ‌consort to the Kingdom's heir, the princess. It is absolutely not an unfavorable position—"
"I am not misunderstanding your intentions! Simply that we cannot send Cassian, and the Imperial Family does not have only Cassian ‌‌‌‌as its prince."
"...What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?"
The Emperor exhaled deeply, then turned to Cassian and ‌‌me with a bitter expression.
"Cassian, Roselita. I offer you both my sincere congratulations on your betrothal."
"Your Majesty!"
"I shall ‌send ‌‌the Third Prince to the Kingdom."
"Your Majesty!!"
"The decision is already made, First Empress. We shall speak no further of this."
At the Emperor's words, the First Empress stared at him in disbelief, and his expression darkened considerably.
"First Empress, have you forgotten my warning to exercise restraint? Compared to you, who proceeded with the imperial marriage to the Kingdom on your own whim, Cassian is far preferable!"
With that, ‌‌irritation etched across his features, he rose from his seat and departed.
Cassian then turned toward the First Empress, who stood bewildered and unable ‌‌to comprehend the situation, and offered his congratulations with perfect courtesy and ‌‌composure.
"My congratulations, Your Majesty the First Empress. How delighted you must be that the Third Prince has been granted such a prestigious position."
"Cassian, the Prince...!"
The Third Prince was the First Empress's son.
As she glared at him, grinding her teeth, Cassian's face ‌‌softened into an almost playful smile. ‌‌‌
"Well then, having received the Emperor's blessing, I ‌‌‌‌must take my leave to spend some romantic time with my 'beloved' Rose. Forgive me, Your Majesty ‌‌the First Empress."
As if to tease her, he pulled my waist close and even pressed his lips to my ring finger.
The First Empress's delicate features twisted into something resembling a demon's visage.

*

The First Empress's fatal miscalculation was her failure to properly account for Cassian's cunning and sinister nature.
Though admittedly, it would be difficult for most to imagine.
Who would have suspected he would blackmail the Emperor himself?
Yet some of Cassian's words bore little resemblance to reality.
Romantic, indeed!
After signing the betrothal contract, the dark circles beneath my eyes only deepened.
"Isn't it a shame, Rose? I thought a romantic elopement with you would have been quite entertaining."
"Please don't say things you don't mean."
"How sad—I was being sincere."
Your eyes are completely mocking me.
Heaving a heavy sigh as if to make sure he heard, I stepped away from Cassian, and his laughter only grew deeper.
Unlike the gentle Cassian of the original work, he was no idealist.

'So shall I aim for her head next, Rose?'

After signing the betrothal contract, ‌‌‌Cassian and I spent the entire night meticulously drafting the transfer documents.
Then we presented ourselves before the Emperor and declared boldly:

'I love Rose. I desire nothing more than to spend my life with her. Yet I am also prepared to fulfill Your Majesty's commands.'

And then I thrust hundreds of pages of handover documents before the Emperor.

'It is also my duty to minimize the void left by my departure. These are my handover documents, Your Majesty.'

At that point, the Emperor already wore an expression of mild exhaustion. Yet his demeanor ‌‌‌suggested he could still manage up to this point.
Up to this point.

'And my dear Rose mentioned that she would have no reason to remain in the Capital City without me.'

The Emperor surrendered to the handover documents for 'me' that I presented next.
They were 1.5 times thicker than Cassian's handover documents.
'Thank you, Professor. I put to good use the technique of writing dozens of pages of reports every two weeks.'
Cassian also referenced that and inflated his handover documents a bit more.
How meticulously we had ensured there would be nothing to fault upon inspection!
This was Plan B between Cassian and me.
"However, Your Majesty."
"What is it, Rose?"
"If we were going to use this method from the start, wasn't the engagement unnecessary?"
"Are you rejecting my affection after becoming engaged ‌‌to me?"
As I hardened my expression, Cassian chuckled softly and placed my hand upon his arm as though to escort me.
"Wilma."
"...Yes?"
Cassian regarded me with ‌‌a leisurely gaze.
At that look, I felt a chill run down my spine.
Why was he speaking that name while looking at me?
As though I should be stung by that name?!
"Why does your expression look that way, Rose?"
"This is simply my natural expression, Your Highness."
I answered him as ‌‌composedly as I could manage.
When I tried to pull away, he would not release my hand resting upon his arm.
"Hmm, I see. So Rose has been deliberately ‌‌‌‌hiding such ‌‌‌an adorable expression from me."
"Your Highness!"
"Why are you so startled?"
Cassian smiled and explained to me again.
"Wilhelmina Lopez, the lady of the Lopez Duchy, will be returning to the Capital City soon." ‌‌‌‌
At those words, I barely managed to relax my stiffened neck and nodded.
"That is sufficient reason for the engagement, is it not?"
And to that question as well, I nodded.
Wilhelmina Lopez. The villainess of the original story, one of those who had tormented Roselita like a cat with a mouse.
In her teenage years, she had become infatuated with Cassian's improving appearance and pursued him relentlessly, insisting she would marry him—naturally, ‌‌‌‌both the Lopez Duchy and the First Empress had strongly opposed it.
They said they could not give a noblewoman to Cassian. So the Duke sent her to Kingdom Academy, hoping his mind would change, but....
In any case, in the original story, such measures had proven insufficient to stop Lady Wilhelmina.
'It's likely to happen again this time.'
Yet what made me tense was not fear of Lady Wilhelmina.
At worst, I'd receive a slap ‌‌‌‌‌or two, have juice spilled on me, ‌‌‌‌and face ridicule in society—such things were beneath my concern.
Rather, it was ‌‌‌‌something else entirely....
I ‌‌‌gazed up at Cassian intently.
"What ‌‌is it, Rose? Are you hungry?"
His tone was no different from usual, yet ‌‌‌something about it sent a chill down my spine.
'...Could it be.'
Even as ‌‌I denied it in my mind, doubt continued to rear its stubborn head.
Wilma.
It was the alias I ‌‌had given myself to Cassian in my childhood.

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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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