Chapter 152
Chapter 152
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: Provocative Tea Time
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Not like the detached annex from last time, but one corner of the rear garden attached to the main palace.
On a bright sunny day, the lavishly decorated rear garden was filled with unique plants that looked like they'd been imported from afar at great expense, all housed in what appeared to be a costly crystal greenhouse.
Atop the round tea table there sat a pale pink lace tablecloth, adorned with colorful cupcakes and sweet fruit tea, arranged in the most lovely and saccharine way imaginable.
Anyone glancing over might think we were close friends, but this was nothing less than a blatant provocation aimed straight at me.
Smiling to myself, I took a seat first and waited for Princess Seria, while Kane and Rachel stood by at a short distance behind me.
How much time passed like that?
“Did I keep you waiting? Sorry about that.”
A sticky-sweet voice drifted over. I rose slowly, turning to watch Seria approach.
Wavy golden locks and eyes of deep purple, as if crafted from ground jewels.
Her face gleamed like a masterpiece painting under the sunlight, but what impression could it possibly make on me?
The moment our gazes tangled in the air, we both flashed dazzling smiles at each other.
Alright, then. Let’s see who can screw the other over first.
Taking in Princess Seria from head to toe, dressed to the nines, I offered a polite greeting with the aristocratic etiquette I’d diligently practiced.
“Greetings to your noble presence.”
At my flawless manners, Princess Seria smiled with her eyes, raising a hand to cover her mouth with the back of it as her laughter melted into the air.
“No need for such formalities, Young Lord Adelrian. After meeting this many times, aren’t we practically... close friends by now?”
She was returning the courtesy to my etiquette.
Normally, this would be the point where I’d heap on praise about her nobility, beauty, intellect, and so on, dancing around it like some code. But why bother... with Seria?
So of course, I wouldn’t miss her cue to loosen up.
“Ah, in that case. Have a seat. Looks delicious.”
Before she could sit, I plopped down and snatched a cupcake.
Zero would’ve cracked up seeing me pull out my own chair.
Any other noble youth would’ve pulled out her chair, showered her beauty with compliments, and the like.
But we’re not like that, are we?
Grinning ear to ear, I took a massive bite of the cupcake slathered in thick, stiffly whipped buttercream, and Seria’s smiling lips twitched.
“Ha. Haha. Yeah, it does look tasty. Right?”
But Seria had her own game.
She flashed another radiant smile, dragged over her own heavy chair, sat down, and took a sip from her teacup.
“I invited you here with regrets over how we parted that day, Young Lord.”
Watching her gently caress the teacup with her fingertips and speak in that soft tone, I took just one bite of the overly sweet cupcake before discreetly setting it back on the plate.
Ah, guess I can’t escape my Korean roots. I prefer stuff that’s savory and delicious... this is way too sweet.
“If the gossips find out you summoned me like this, who knows what they’ll say. Though I assume you anticipated that.”
Otherwise, she’d have dragged me here like a kidnapping again. I came in boldly through the front gate today, and plenty of people recognized me—what’s her plan?
Of course, I had a hunch.
At my words, Seria brushed back her wavy blonde hair with a finger and opened her mouth with a gentle expression.
“That’s some fine fodder for the gossips.”
Fair enough. The talk was predictable.
The scandals I’d spread.
In Seria’s case, aside from her seal trait, her others were worse than average, and until now, she’d kept her rivals in check with her imperial seal trait plus the power and wealth only royalty could wield.
Her own abilities were sorely lacking, so in the mudslinging fight I’d dragged her into, she’d given up on high-level maneuvering from the start.
The rumors now circulating publicly claimed that the Tateリア Empire’s First Princess Seria had caught the eye of the continent’s top wastrel—or that with her family’s power, it was groundwork for a political marriage to counter the Krugers.
Thinking about it, it wasn’t entirely baseless. Seria had likely abandoned the idea of blasting away the rumors all at once as a countermeasure.
Denials only make that kind of gossip spread faster, after all.
Her simplest option was a frontal breakthrough. And today’s meeting was essentially for that purpose.
Her plummeting reputation anyway, and the desire to turn that fall into a new rise.
“You’ll take responsibility, right?”
I burst out laughing at Princess Seria’s words.
“Me?”
“Yes. You will.”
“Why?”
“You know why. Spreading those words around the streets... wasn’t that for this very reason? I figured you were desperate for it.”
Desperate.
Me?
It might look that way. Gadia shining at the academy, while I had jack squat—utterly incompetent.
Everyone was betting that once Gadia graduated, the family would go to her without question.
That’s exactly what Seria was getting at.
Didn’t you want to get all tangled up with me before your string gets cut? A signal that instead of getting discarded by your family, you want to latch onto me.
So, let’s get engaged. But you’ll pay the price. That’s the gist.
Seria and I stared at each other, then smiled in unison without anyone going first.
To an outsider, it’d sound like nonsense, but this was classic old-money noble banter.
You know, talking in circles. Layer another meaning under the words. That sort of thing. Usually done more elegantly and metaphorically.
But I prefer blunt right now.
“His Majesty the Emperor would hate that.”
“Young Lord Adelrian might be out, but the Kruger family’s first heir would love it.”
“My family would just send me off with nothing but my body—no gold.”
“No way. Would Grand Duke Kruger do that? Everyone who matters knows how much he adores you.”
“Yeah. He would.”
I snickered. Seria’s expression slipped for a second, her eyes sharpening.
Trying to spin words around, haha-ing and exchanging pretty phrases while slipping daggers underneath with her tongue.
Let’s drop the wordplay, folks. Straight to the point, yeah?
“Wise Princess Seria. As you know, I’m more interested in other things than etiquette. Enough with the sugarcoating. It’s exhausting.”
“...I know you well enough, so it’s fine. But do you speak this way to other ladies too? I worry it’ll tarnish your honor.”
It’s just us two anyway. Still clinging to it, huh.
I rocked my chair back and shrugged.
Starting today, Seria would try to slowly tighten her grip on me, win me over, or overwhelm me. But not me. My healer’s waiting right now.
Long talks and meetings. The fatigue from all the probing and mind games—the payoff’s too meager for me to bother.
“Shall we get engaged? But is that really to your benefit, Princess?”
So I just threw it out there first. The word that would’ve circled around forever before coming up.
Adelrian’s value was just that, after all. The mighty Kruger family’s power. Overflowing gold. A stepping stone to deliver it all to Seria.
She hadn’t expected “engagement” to slip from my lips so easily.
No wonder she sat there with her mouth agape, staring blankly.
“What do you...”
“Did you think I came here clueless?”
The scandal I’d deliberately stirred up, using my filthy image to splash some mud.
Instead of slapping it down or denying it outright, the princess had summoned me.
And not secretly—blatantly.
“You plan to use me, don’t you, Princess?”
The combo of the empire’s infamous incompetent wastrel and the first princess rumored to have mediocre traits besides her seal.
Rumors that would spread like wildfire.
But flipping a bad image in one shot packs more punch than inching up from a good one.
Propaganda.
In the original story, Seria awakened impressive traits beyond her seal, and judging by events, she had backing from the Evil God Cult afterward.
Even as the grand duke’s heir, with Gadia around, getting engaged to the princess would naturally shove me out of the family succession.
She could use her seal to crush my arrogance or the cult’s power to turn me into an obedient puppet, then spin a tale of how great Princess Seria saved the empire’s top wastrel.
Plenty of laundering methods. I’m a versatile card anyway—milk me for all I’m worth, then kill me off. No need for actual marriage.
Obvious, right?
As imperial royalty, engagements were a dime a dozen—even a few broken ones wouldn’t dent her.
I didn’t hide my open displeasure, just tugging my lips into a smirk.
“I’m a busy man, and this is holding me up.”
A beat.
“So let’s wrap this up quick. Our little problem.”
Here was my chance to land a solid blow on Princess Seria.
I’d rattle her mentally before leaving.
I trust you, Shahad.
“Hey, hey. What’s going on over there.”
“Who knows.”
A short distance from where Adelrian and Seria sat in the garden.
Rachel, who’d come along as escort, muttered just loud enough for others not to hear, and Kane replied behind a mana barrier.
“Didn’t they just get engaged?”
“They did.”
Rachel jumped to conclusions based purely on what she saw.
Engaged?
She didn’t know much about basic human customs, but was “engagement” something tossed around so casually? By Adelrian, no less?
Her head tilted sideways, her long ponytail swaying.
Did he fall head over heels for that Princess Seria at first sight?
You’re the first woman to imprison me, or something?
“No way that happened.”
Of all people, Adelrian wouldn’t.
Even with her dragon ears picking up distant maids whispering that the wastrel Adelrian falls for any skirt!
...Or maybe?
“Ah, it’d be hilarious if it was real.”
Kane replied leisurely to Rachel’s giggling words.
“What would?”
“Adelrian getting engaged. Think of the teasing material. Endless fun.”
Hey, future married man? Teasing him that he’s eyeing every passing rabbit like it’s an affair—how much would he squirm?
As Rachel cackled, Kane recalled a term Adelrian often muttered.
Brainless Rachel.
But correcting her now would be less fun than watching Adelrian’s dumbfounded face later, so he kept quiet.
“Eek! Adelrian!”
“Good heavens, already on a first-name basis? Amazing.”
Princess Seria shot up from her seat with a shriek, while Adelrian grinned cheekily at the sight. Rachel’s shoulders, pumped up until moments ago, slumped.
“What...”
She’s just one of our class clowns too.
With a slightly pouty face, Rachel leaned crookedly against something, arms crossed, grumbling.
“I wanted to tease Adelrian a bit.”
“Not impossible.”
Rachel whipped her head toward Kane so fast it nearly snapped, then broke into a huge grin and slyly slung an arm over his shoulder.
A scene Adelrian would’ve loved, but unfortunately out of his view.
“How?”
“Soon.”
As Rachel’s head started tilting at Kane’s cryptic words,
“Is this any way to insult me?”
“Ah, why get so whiny, Princess? Fine, then. Engagement’s off.”
Rachel choked on laughter at Adelrian’s words, wrapping up an engagement and breakup in half a day.
“Whew, good thing I came instead of Zero. How’d you know it’d go down like that?”
At Rachel’s question, Kane fixed his golden eyes on Adelrian, who was brushing off his clothes and striding over, leaving Seria clutching her neck and keeling backward.
“He’s just the type.”