Young Master Is a Pure Love Type
That stupid Grace! That traitorous lizard bitch!
Emma had every reason to seethe.
The three women of the Grand Ducal household had never exactly gotten along, but she had believed they at least shared the same feelings for Edward — and that was why she had agreed to cooperate. And then one of them had gone and betrayed them.
To fold for the princess that easily!
The reason for Grace’s sudden change of heart was obvious without even looking.
The way she kept clearing her throat and glancing away, as if her own conscience were pricking her. And that faintly flushed face.
“You must have been promised a place as a concubine, at the very least.”
Emma had never expected the princess to put such an enormous condition on the table.
A woman keeping several male consorts was one thing.
But a man keeping several women?
And not just any man — the man who would become the husband of the princess destined to be Empress of the Empire?
It was a situation practically designed to set every tongue in the realm wagging.
For the princess, it was an extraordinary gambit.
If it were our young master, of course no one would dare complain even if he kept several women…
Naturally, a man involving himself with multiple women was considered thoroughly improper and invited harsh censure.
But this was Edward.
Second son of the Northern Grand Ducal house — a family that stood equal to the Imperial family itself — and a man so beautiful that calling him peerless was no exaggeration.
At the Imperial debutante held not long ago, even though the whole affair had descended into chaos because of the Hero, more than half the noble daughters in attendance had thrown themselves at Edward with open courtship.
They knew the princess had her eye on him. They knew his sister Lirith guarded him like an iron wall. And still they risked their lives to throw themselves at him.
Which was why — much as Emma hated even thinking it —
Even if, after Edward and Charlotte were joined, he went on to form relationships with other women…
There would be some gossip, yes, but people might well accept it to a certain degree.
That’s why that stupid lizard bitch caved.
Realistically speaking, they might be able to stall the marriage for a while, throw a few obstacles in its path — but producing an outright broken engagement as the final result was impossible. That much was true.
So when a favorable condition had been offered to her, Grace had compromised with reality, choosing whatever path would let her remain at Edward’s side. Emma could understand that feeling.
However.
It wasn’t a condition the young master set, and there’s no way he’d ever allow it! You absolute idiot!
Yes.
Of that, Emma was certain.
Edward clearly knew nothing of the deal the two of them had struck.
Because Emma knew something else.
She knew Edward would never permit a transaction like this.
Young Master isn’t the kind of man who would give his heart to more than one woman!
Emma found herself recalling a conversation she had once shared with Edward.
That day, too, Emma had been attending Edward, lingering at his side.
And she had been watching him read.
Edward rarely read anything beyond the textbooks related to his private tutors’ lessons, so she watched him all the more carefully.
Young Master reading a book… this is truly a rare sight…
Even the way he read was beautiful, and Emma found it nearly impossible to look away.
She even thought she would rather not simply commit the moment to memory — she wanted to record it.
If she could cast portrait magic, which transferred a scene before one’s eyes or a vision in one’s mind onto parchment, it would have been entirely possible.
Unfortunately, Emma had no talent for magic, so she had to abandon the idea.
No — even if she could use portrait magic, abandoning it would still have been the right choice.
Edward hated having his likeness captured by portrait magic with an extreme, almost violent intensity.
Because once, at a banquet, some deranged mage had secretly recorded beautiful Edward with portrait magic and then spread the image throughout the Empire.
As a result, every woman in the Empire learned that a man of such beauty named Edward existed.
After that, whenever a banquet was held at Frigid, throngs of people poured in, each one determined to attend.
Once Edward realized that portrait magic was the reason so many women had suddenly learned of him and come seeking him out, he absolutely refused to allow his image to be captured for anything short of a special family occasion.
And so there was no chance Emma would ever do something Edward hated.
Still, she couldn’t help feeling a little regret.
Moments like this — especially him reading a novel with romantic elements — almost never happened.
Edward was different from ordinary men in a great many ways.
He showed no interest in romance, and his hobbies were utterly unlike those of other men.
A proper man was supposed to take a keen interest in love, devote himself to embroidery and flower arranging and refining his appearance, all so he might look good to women.
Edward, by contrast, poured himself into sword training and physical conditioning, and scowled at women while keeping them at a distance.
Doing all of that with such a pretty face had, of course, produced the opposite effect — even more women found him appealing.
If Edward had any masculine hobby at all, it was probably cooking.
The reason a man like that was reading a novel against his usual habits was simple: it was a book popular enough to become a major sensation across the Empire.
Emma had read the novel herself, so she knew the story reasonably well.
It was based on the legend of the Hero — a tale of setting out on an adventure, ultimately defeating the Demon King, and ending by joining with beautiful men.
The plot was thoroughly entertaining, the male characters were charming from a woman’s perspective, and from a man’s perspective the Hero was a magnificent woman — which was why the novel was wildly popular with everyone.
Several hours after he had begun reading that celebrated novel…
“That’s a bit much…”
“Pardon? Young Master, is something the matter?”
“Ah, no, Emma. It’s just that the content of this book is a little strange.”
“Was it not entertaining…? I heard that novel has been selling extremely well throughout the Empire lately!”
Emma had expected him to say something like I enjoyed it! The Hero was magnificent! Instead, after finishing the book and closing it, Edward wore an ambiguous expression.
Had he not found it interesting after all?
But that didn’t seem right either — he had immersed himself without a single break and read it all the way through.
“No, the story itself was fun, but there were parts I found a little hard to accept… The protagonist is kind of… you know.”
“Pardon? Wasn’t she a truly magnificent and righteous Hero? What about her did you find disagreeable?”
Every man who had read the book had fallen head over heels for the protagonist — the female Hero.
So Emma had assumed that Edward, having finished it, would fall for the Hero just like everyone else…
She immediately asked him why he was looking unfavorably on the Hero who had captivated most men.
She wanted to know what parts of the Hero he disliked — what kind of woman he found unappealing.
“Well… I won’t deny she’s a righteous character… but the way she gets involved with so many men is a bit much…”
“Ah, because she’s capable and magnificent, a great many beautiful men end up entangled with her, don’t they? Why is that…?”
Powerful, highly capable women often kept only a single husband, like Northern Grand Duchess Camilla — but many also kept several.
That was why no one found it strange that the novel’s protagonist ended up joined with multiple men.
But Edward said:
“A woman being so improper, I mean…”
“Pardon? Improper…?”
What on earth was he talking about?
Emma couldn’t help but look puzzled.
Seeing her expression, Edward reacted as if he had just remembered something.
“Ah, right. This place is like that.”
“Pardon? What do you mean, ‘this place is like that’?”
“Ah, never mind… Anyway, it’s just a bit much, that’s all…”
“?”
After muttering something incomprehensible to himself, Edward called to her.
“Ah, I have a question, Emma.”
“Yes! Ask me anything, Young Master! Even if I don’t know, I’ll make sure to look into it and tell you!”
She was no private tutor or scholar with vast knowledge, but if it was something her young master wanted to know, she would find a way to tell him no matter what — and she answered with her enthusiasm blazing.
“No, no… I’m not trying to ask anything that difficult, so calm down a little…”
Startled by the sight of such an eager Emma, Edward soothed her and then asked his question.
“Is there ever a case where a man keeps several women? Multiple wives, or something like that…?”
“Pardon? Um… well… it’s not that it never happens… but as you said a moment ago, Young Master, people would call it improper, and a great many unkind things would be said.”
If a woman had the power for it, she could keep several husbands.
But the reverse — a man keeping several wives?
She couldn’t bring herself to say anything too crude in front of Edward, so she softened it somewhat.
But if a man truly kept several wives…
Improper would be the least of it.
Wouldn’t people call him a whore, a slut?
Could it be that Young Master wanted to keep several women himself?
For any other man, the abuse would be inevitable…
But standing behind the Frigid name, and being as beautiful as he was, it might just be possible.
In which case — though she would never dare hope to be among them — even the slightest chance might open up…
Emma waited with anticipation for Edward’s reaction.
But contrary to her hopes:
“Is that so? So this is a world where a man almost never ends up involved with multiple women? Excellent.”
Hearing that a man entangled with several women was looked down upon, Edward responded positively.
Emma was disappointed, and just to be sure, she asked him.
“So Young Master believes a man should be joined with only one woman?”
“Of course. Hmm? Emma, why that face?”
“Ah, it’s nothing, hehe…”
That day, Emma learned something.
That if Young Master ever loved someone and joined with them, he would be the kind of man who looked only at that one person.
It was the attitude any ordinary man ought to have…
But Edward, who differed from ordinary men in so many other ways, being the same on this point left her with no small measure of regret.
For that very reason, she found the princess — who had been involved with any number of men since childhood — utterly unforgivable.
Why do they just decide things among themselves however they please?
Emma was furious with both Charlotte and Grace.
“Young Master is a pure love type!”
Should she just tell him, if the chance presented itself?
But they could simply deny it, so the situation was a little too ambiguous for her to speak up.
Still, thanks to Grace’s betrayal, Edward and Charlotte were drawing closer and closer.
I can’t let this continue.
Unlike Grace, Emma had no intention of making agreements on her own without Young Master’s permission — and she could not leave Edward in the princess’s hands either.
How deeply would Edward, a pure love type, be hurt if he learned of this?
To inform Lirith of Grace’s betrayal, and to work out a plan together, Emma hurried toward where Lirith was.