Chapter 18
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18.
Did the sun rise in the west today?
Troubled by a situation that shouldn't have occurred, I asked Cassian Artez with evident displeasure.
"What do you mean?"
For someone who told me to leave work, your Highness, the skin along your cheeks has grown rather rough, hasn't it?
When I asked with obvious bewilderment, Cassian Artez gazed at me with bitter eyes.
"My heart aches so deeply because Rose seems far too indifferent to herself."
A brief silence fell between us.
His eyes were far too earnest for this to be his usual jest.
"Is there something I've failed to notice?"
So I decided to ask him honestly.
"Yes."
Cassian Artez spoke slowly, threading his fingers between the bracelets adorning his wrist.
"Why are you so dull to malice directed at yourself?"
A low sigh escaped his lips.
"You're so perceptive about others' affairs, yet right now you're probably thinking my complexion looks rather poor."
How did he know?
When I looked up at him without concealing my expression, a smile somehow bloomed at the corners of his mouth.
"So how could I not worry? My precious aide—I must look after you myself."
With a softened expression, Cassian Artez slid his hand from the bracelets and took hold of mine.
"When you were beside Princess Alexis Periander, wasn't there someone who displayed their malice?"
I rolled my eyes for a moment.
There was indeed someone who grumbled and showed territorial behavior.
"Were you perhaps referring to Count Gash Youngshik?"
"That's a relief, at least."
Cassian Artez interlaced the hand he held, as if reassured.
"It's not that you're dull—you were simply overlooking it."
"Ah, well... but he seemed like the sort of person who would do nothing more than spill ink on the documents I'd written."
His mind seemed utterly shallow, so why would Cassian Artez be concerned to this degree?
Cassian Artez quickly answered my reasonable inner question.
"What if Count Gash Youngshik had a brief tea time with the First Empress four days ago?"
"Then the situation becomes entirely different."
I opened my mouth while meeting Cassian Artez's gaze.
"Among all the Kingdom's nobility, Count Gash Youngshik is the one with the least reason to meet the First Empress. He desires to become the secondary consort of Princess Alexis Periander."
Meeting the mother of the Third Prince, who will become the primary consort?
Even a fool would know that avoiding such a meeting is the wisest course, lest he be caught in a trap or subjected to coercion.
I brushed aside my complacent thoughts and spoke to Cassian Artez.
"Count Gash Youngshik will fall victim to the First Empress's shallow scheme."
"Indeed, the poor fool."
The First Empress was devising some plan to strike at me or Cassian Artez using Count Gash Youngshik as a tool.
And she would brazenly pin the blame on Youngshik, allowing her to eliminate Count Gash Youngshik—who would naturally become a rival to the Third Prince.
From what I'd observed these past few days, I'd already discerned that Count Gash Youngshik lacked the subtlety of character for such schemes.
That's why I hadn't been particularly cautious either.
"The First Empress exploited his impatience."
"Yes, whether in the Empire or the Kingdom, to become a concubine, one must either catch the eye of those in power or secure the consent of the legitimate wife—one of the two is essential."
"She must have persuaded the Third Prince to offer him the position of First Concubine."
"Precisely, which is why you now understand my concern for you."
Cassian Artez spoke thus, then lifted the hand he was holding and brushed his lips against it briefly.
"However... returning home early today will only be a temporary measure."
The First Empress likely knew that I visited Cassian Artez's Office regularly, and she could roughly guess my departure time.
Count Gash Youngshik had a high probability of intercepting my path home at a late hour.
But would avoiding him today truly solve anything?
As I looked at Cassian Artez with doubt in my eyes, he nodded knowingly with a faint smile.
"I'm hoping he'll give up after this."
"Because a diplomatic incident could arise?"
"Yes, Princess Alexis Periander has a weakness for men who are slightly foolish and beautiful."
"The Third Prince monopolizing all of Princess Alexis Periander's affection isn't particularly favorable for us either."
It would be ideal if the Third Prince stirred up the royal family with jealousy, distracting the First Empress.
I nodded in understanding to Cassian Artez.
"I understand. I'll avoid him today, and I'll also try to persuade Count Gash Youngshik."
"Good."
He nodded as though that were the best course, yet Cassian Artez's expression bore an oddly apologetic look.
I found that expression somewhat displeasing.
"Rather, Your Highness."
"Hmm?"
"Wouldn't you have avoided the broken engagement even without being betrothed to me?"
I posed the mischievous question bluntly.
"Everything fits except for the foolishness part, but..."
The apology vanished from Cassian Artez's face, replaced instead by an enigmatic smile.
"Am I not beautiful to Rose?"
"...Pardon?"
Shouldn't you be more concerned with the part about not being foolish?
As I stared at him in bewilderment, his face drew so close that our noses nearly touched.
"Truly, am I not beautiful?"
Have you not looked in a mirror?
My breath suddenly caught. Presenting that face at such close range was utterly unfair.
I felt my breath catch in my throat as I tried to avert my gaze.
Cassian Artez gently cradled my head, drawing my eyes back to meet his, and whispered in a low voice.
"Hmm? Rose, answer me. This is a very important matter to me."
Why on earth had I shown Cassian Artez such kindness, only to end up like this?
To prevent my oxygen deprivation from worsening, I barely managed to open my mouth.
"Of course, Your Highness."
Cassian Artez's violet eyes softened with a gentle curve.
His gaze urged me to speak further, and though I desperately didn't want to give him the answer he truly desired—
"You're always... beautiful, Your Highness."
There was no way I could win against him.
Even after I answered, he didn't release me, gazing at me as though he were searching for something more.
"...Your Highness."
I barely managed to move my eyelids, closing my eyes that had grown dry from forgetting even to blink.
A shallow sigh escaped from beyond my darkened vision.
Smack.
Soon a soft sensation touched my forehead and withdrew, and the warmth cradling my cheek vanished as well.
As I slowly opened my eyes, Cassian Artez spoke with a melancholy tone, his expression as composed as always.
"If my fiancée says I'm less beautiful, then I suppose I must make an effort."
"Pardon?"
But I said you were beautiful?
As I stared at him in bewilderment, mischief bloomed across his face, dispelling my anxious heart.
"Rose loves beautiful things so very, very much, doesn't she?"
Cassian Artez seized my hand and pulled me up with a swift motion.
"Just as she loves delicious things."
"...Your Highness!"
"I cannot afford to lose my precious aide, after all. I must make the effort."
Ah, this tyrannical employer.
I worried for nothing. He was simply teasing me again.
I felt thoroughly cheated.
*
That spicy stew I had that day was absolutely exquisite.
Somehow he knew I would crave it, and he'd even instructed the kitchen staff to prepare it in advance.
A truly uncanny man....
My every pattern is being read like an open book.
In any case, thanks to Cassian Artez's foresight, his protection, and the early dismissal time, I was able to return home without incident.
He even assigned two skilled knights to accompany me as a precaution.
They were the ones called Cassian Artez's blades in the original work, so even if something had gone wrong, the likelihood of my safety was high.
I could confirm the truth of his words the moment I stepped into Alexis Periander's Office on the next working day.
Count Gash Youngshik, who usually ignored me or glared at me, was blocking the entrance.
"I believe it's time you stopped coming here, Assistant Salice."
"Has Her Highness Alexis Periander dismissed me, Your Excellency?"
I asked him with a composed smile.
Having to appease someone like this was troublesome.
Since I'd always eliminated him through methods akin to tax audits, choosing a gentler approach was proving difficult for me.
"Then I shall also return to His Highness Cassian Artez with a glad heart."
I deliberately began to smirk.
"I've been quite lonely after being separated from His Highness for a whole week."
"Separated...?"
Count Gash Youngshik responded to my words as if they were absurd.
"You're spouting nonsense. Do you think I don't know?"
"Pardon?"
I deliberately looked at him with a vacant expression.
Everyone always got irritated by this clueless face of mine.
"You should be ashamed that Her Highness Alexis Periander even keeps someone like you by her side!"
"I'm afraid I don't understand what you're saying."
"Don't play dumb. Do you think I don't know that you confess all sorts of secrets to His Highness the Third Prince every evening?"
His rather handsome face was tinged with a sinister smile.
"You should be grateful. I could drag you before Her Highness Alexis Periander right now—"
"It's you who should be grateful."
I cut off his words and stepped closer, whispering.
"Cassian Artez and I prevented a diplomatic dispute for you."
"What, what...?"
"We have evidence, so don't play dumb."
I smiled wickedly as I looked at him.
His simple face turned pale.
There were many kinds of persuasion, after all.
Finding leverage was also a perfectly legitimate and clean method.
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