Chapter 294: One Step Ahead(1)
Chapter 294: One Step Ahead(1)
Marie Hausen Rekilis. She was the eldest daughter of the Duke of Rekilis and was "officially" known as Isaac's fiancée.
A relationship between the daughter of a Duke and the son of a Baron. Looking at that alone, one might wonder why a woman of Marie's stature was marrying into another family instead of bringing in a son-in-law to carry her own name.
Even though it was confirmed that her older brother, Kay, would succeed as the head of the family—making an outside engagement understandable—it was still enough to make people wonder: Why Isaac?
The Rekilis family was a steadfast partner to the Imperial Family; though they might lack raw political power, their authority was immense.
From a third party's perspective, it was difficult to understand why she would marry into a "mere" Baron's family when she could have gained massive benefits through a strategic political marriage.
However, that was only the case for those scratching the surface. Anyone who dug a little deeper would find it perfectly logical.
It was a move to firmly secure Isaac's father, the Red Lion, Hawk Ducard Maishal.
Though he had the support of the army, he was a hero who had suppressed a rampaging dragon—a level of military power the Empire absolutely had to keep on its side.
Furthermore, Hawk showed little interest in "honor," which is usually everything to a soldier, and possessed virtually no political ambition.
Currently, due to personal reasons, he had taken an early retirement and was living a quiet, ordinary life in seclusion, enjoying his family.
From the perspective of the high and mighty, he was doing everything right by staying out of trouble, but conversely, it meant he had no lingering attachments to the Empire.
If a force like Hawk were to defect elsewhere, the Empire wouldn't just shed tears of blood; they would be coughing it up. Moreover, because he had retired early, there was a high probability he still maintained his formidable skills.
In that sense, perhaps the Empire had requested the Rekilis family, who were more like business partners, to step in.
Perhaps they sent Marie because sending a member of the Imperial Family, like Lina, would have been excessive.
While these were merely speculations, they were highly persuasive hypotheses that most people accepted.
Of course, those hypotheses were entirely wrong. The two were simply dating because they liked each other. In the first place, it was Marie, not Isaac, who had confessed first.
Since they had gotten together even before Isaac revealed his true identity, it was only natural for their relationship to deepen. They were already famous within the Academy as a match made in heaven.
There were even scandalous rumors that the two would head to an inn holding hands whenever they had a spare moment, but the parties involved didn't care. They had no intention of denying it, as it was the truth.
This was the publicly known relationship between Marie and Isaac. But what if someone tried to wedge themselves in?
What if, instead of a common noble, a member of a foreign royal family expressed deep interest in one of them?
To others, it might look like a fun drama to watch from the sidelines, but for the people involved, it was the height of nuisance.
No, beyond a nuisance, it could be considered a serious diplomatic discourtesy. Marie and Isaac were officially "engaged," after all.
The situation was particularly grave because the other party's goal wasn't just to become Isaac's concubine, but to take him away entirely.
If there was any silver lining, it was that it remained a rumor for now, and no one was certain.
The story was so absurd and ridiculous that it was naturally hard to believe.
"So, why did you call me?"
From the perspective of the person involved, the situation was beyond foul; it was downright disgusting. That was exactly how Marie felt right now.
She expressed her dissatisfaction not just through her blunt tone, but with her entire body, crossing her arms as she glared at the woman across from her.
With her sharp, piercing gaze and an aura full of hostility, even someone unaware of the situation could tell she was in a foul mood.
"I have something to ask."
Hiriya, the woman receiving that glare, replied stoically.
She wasn't in disguise as she had been when stalking Isaac; her sky-blue hair and eyes were fully revealed.
Marie narrowed her eyes at Hiriya. Her irritation had peaked; she felt like slapping the woman's cheek.
As Isaac's lover and fiancée, she was well aware of the outrages Hiriya was currently committing.
Perhaps Hiriya had a shred of decency left, as she stayed quiet when Marie was around, but the moment Isaac was alone, the situation changed.
She would openly attempt physical contact with Isaac or try to create a private, intimate atmosphere. She was clearly determined.
No matter how much Cecile acted like a fox, or how much Adelia expressed her feelings in subtle ways, or how many other women flocked to Isaac...
Marie had been annoyed, but she had been understanding. After all, none of those women would give up no matter what she said.
She had half-given up on those cases, but she could never look kindly upon the blue-haired beauty before her, Hiriya.
It didn't matter that she was royalty from the Ters Kingdom, the rival of the Minerva Empire. The most important thing was that Hiriya was using Isaac for her own revenge.
Marie had long ago scrutinized the relationship between Adelia and Hiriya, and the incidents that had occurred between them, through Isaac.
‘That bitch.’
In Marie's mind, Hiriya was a bitch, plain and simple.
She occasionally called Cecile a "vixen," but that was mostly in jest; she had never felt the sincere animosity she felt toward Hiriya.
Because her feelings toward Hiriya were at an all-time low, she was suspicious of this sudden private meeting.
She had complied for now, thinking she would at least hear what kind of nonsense the woman had to say, but she was ready to turn her back and leave without hesitation if it was as ridiculous as she expected.
"You have something to ask?"
"Yes."
"If it's about Isaac, I won't answer."
Though she maintained the etiquette required for meeting royalty, her words were laced with clear hostility. There was no way anything pleasant would come out of her mouth.
Hiriya wasn't a complete fool, so she didn't show any outward reaction.
However, while she didn't react, she was rude enough to blithely ignore Marie's demand.
"I'm sorry, but I must ask, if only for my own personal curiosity."
"Ha. Does Ters royalty always ignore people even when they refuse?"
Marie wanted to curse her out and ask if that was how she had been raised at home, but she barely suppressed it, knowing that would be crossing a line.
If she retaliated in kind just because the other party crossed the line, she would only be giving them a justification.
In politics, justification is paramount, but power is just as important.
Even if the other party struck first, as long as the difference in power and rank was clear, it was better to watch her tongue.
"It is a very important matter. I hope you understand."
"Sigh... Fine. Let's hear what this is about."
Marie let out a sigh full of annoyance and reluctantly agreed. If it turned out to be something useless, she planned to storm out.
Before bringing up the topic she wanted, Hiriya decided to needle Marie's heart a bit. It was important to create a crack in her composure first.
As Isaac's fiancée, Marie surely knew more about him than anyone else. Hiriya maintained her poker face and spoke quietly.
"As Isaac's fiancée, you must know what he likes."
"And?"
"I want to give him a gift. Do you know what he likes?"
The moment she heard the question, Marie raised an eyebrow and thought:
‘Is this fucking bitch serious?’
In Marie's mind, Hiriya had been demoted from a "bitch" to a "fucking bitch." She almost lost her temper for a moment but managed to pull herself together.
Unlike Isaac, Marie had almost no prior contact with Hiriya. This was essentially their first meeting.
Yet, the woman had fired a missile as if declaring war the moment they met. Marie felt more dumbfounded than angry.
At the same time, a sense of unease crept in. It was difficult to tell what Hiriya's true intentions were.
She couldn't fathom what Hiriya wanted, to the point of throwing such provocative words at his fiancée. For now, she decided to respond.
"...Princess Hiriya. You must be aware that I am Isaac's lover and fiancée."
"I am."
"Then I don't understand why you are expressing such deep interest in my fiancé."
She already knew the reason. It was to get back at Adelia, who had humiliated her, by any means necessary.
However, since that was Hiriya's great shame, Marie intended to avoid mentioning it as much as possible.
Unless the other party insulted her openly, she would play it safe to avoid giving them any leverage.
Meanwhile, Hiriya stared blankly at Marie, who was making no effort to hide her discomfort, and replied in a flat voice.
"Because he's handsome."
"...Excuse me?"
"He's my type. That's all I can say."
Marie was left speechless by the unexpectedly plausible answer. What's more, Hiriya was being sincere.
As everyone knew, Marie was born with a sort of mind-reading ability that allowed her to instinctively sense a person's true intentions.
The reason she had confessed to Isaac was because of his honest words and actions, and even now, while he might have secrets, he was sincere when it came to his love for her.
Because she had such an ability, she couldn't help but be flustered when Hiriya's words rang "true." At the very least, it meant his face really was her type.
‘He just had to be so uselessly handsome...’
It was even more annoying that it made sense. Marie did her best to suppress the urge to look dejected.
Even back in his "penguin" days, when he was barely over 170cm, she had thought he was handsome. But because he lacked a masculine physique, he hadn't been particularly popular.
People had only shown interest in the striking combination of his red hair and golden eyes.
But as time passed, his body grew, and his beauty truly blossomed. To make matters worse, the scent of lilacs he began to emit after receiving divine power acted like a pheromone, causing his popularity to skyrocket.
Fortunately, their engagement had been officially announced by then, so things had remained relatively calm. If it hadn't been, there would have been countless female students just like Hiriya.
"...He's your type?"
"Yes."
"Just that?"
"I also like his considerate personality."
This is driving me crazy. Marie inwardly lamented Hiriya's perfectly honest answers.
Was she truly a princess of a nation despite being a knight? Hiriya was cleverly telling nothing but the truth.
There was no subtle reaction or tremor in her expression, and her tone remained perfectly calm.
At this rate, she would gain nothing, so Marie immediately went on the offensive.
"Is it not because you have a specific goal in mind?"
"..."
Perhaps this was difficult to answer, as Hiriya responded with silence instead.
Silence was as good as an admission. Marie clicked her tongue inwardly, thinking, I knew it.
It was true that Hiriya liked Isaac's face and personality, but it was certain that it wasn't romantic attraction. His looks were merely a bonus.
"Princess Hiriya. As Isaac's fiancée, I know very well what kind of person his guard knight is. And I know what kind of relationship she has with you."
"..."
"But to interfere just for the sake of some petty revenge... don't you think that's a bit narrow-minded for someone in your position?"
Since there was no longer anything to hide, Marie dropped a ruthless truth bomb. The moment Hiriya heard those words, she narrowed her eyes, showing her discomfort.
To Hiriya, the mere existence of Adelia was like a trigger, but she had to endure it to get what she wanted. She had called Marie here fully expecting this much.
She took a slow breath and finally opened her heavy lips to speak in her characteristically blunt manner.
"That is none of your concern. And it's not what I want right now."
"Then what is it you want that brought you to me? I thought you came to tell me to give up on the engagement, so this is unexpected."
Marie usually hated social gatherings where everyone wore masks, but that didn't mean her conversational skills were weak. Seeing her indirect jabs now, one would certainly think she was the daughter of a Duke.
Hiriya almost snapped but barely held it back. She couldn't afford to get angry before she had even achieved her goal.
Eventually, she gazed intently at Marie, who remained grumpy with her arms crossed, and asked in her husky voice.
"How much do you know about your fiancé?"
"We've already spent our first night together, if that's what you mean."
Marie's retort was clear, but the content was highly provocative. Hiriya, who apparently had little immunity to such things, looked visibly flustered.
But that wasn't what she had meant. Hiriya cleared her throat to suppress the heat rising in her face.
"...I wasn't asking about that. I was simply asking how much you know about that man. Nothing more, nothing less."
"You're not suggesting you know more about Isaac than I do, are you? If that's the case, this is a bit dull."
"In that case..."
As if the timing was perfect, Hiriya's sky-blue eyes flashed sharply as she asked point-blank.
"Do you know that man is deeply connected to Xenon?"
Hiriya had boldly pried open Pandora's box. However...
"What?"
Marie simply frowned, her beautiful face contorting as if she had heard something utterly bizarre.
"What are you talking about?"
She reacted as if she had never heard such a thing in her life.
"There's a limit to how much bullshit I'll listen to."
She even delivered a perfect counter.