Daily Life
“Nngh……”
After a long nap, Euphemia opened her eyes. She immediately checked if Ferzen was by her side.
“Slept well?”
Fortunately, he was sitting there beside her, reading a book in his usual impeccably composed posture.
“Y-Yes…… I slept so well……”
She wriggled closer, resting her head on his thigh, and beamed up at him.
“……”
But her smile slowly faded.
A familiar yet alien feminine scent wafted from his body.
This was unmistakably Uriel Wayne Daina Alfred. Her scent.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurting somewhere?”
“N-No……”
Euphemia, who had so often been seen through by him, turned her body slightly away to hide her face.
In truth, he had kept his promise to stay by her side until she woke, so she had no right to complain further.
I had him all to myself for breakfast…… and lunch……
It wouldn’t do to get jealous over the time she’d slept through, when Uriel had snatched him away.
“W-What…… time is it?”
“6:40.”
How long had she slept?
Euphemia sat up slowly.
“I’ll…… step out for some air to shake off the sleepiness. Then…… let’s go eat.”
“If your body aches, I’ll have a meal brought here.”
“Nngh…… no. I’m not hurting.”
Knowing that excessive greed invited disaster, Euphemia shook her head and left the bedroom.
The maid waiting outside tried to follow, but she waved her off lightly and headed to the flower beds in the back.
On this summer day when the sun lingered long, the sky was still bright despite the faint moon already visible.
“……”
But there was already a visitor at the rear flower beds.
Black hair identical to Ferzen’s—no need to check her face; it had to be Uriel.
“……”
She must have noticed Euphemia’s approach, as she turned her head slightly.
“……Your usual spot?”
“No.”
Euphemia denied Uriel’s question as she spoke first and sat down beside her.
“Good. My back hurts; I didn’t want to stand.”
“……”
Euphemia’s brow twitched at Uriel’s subtle emphasis that she’d shared her body with Ferzen while Euphemia slept.
“He must have been rough on you. The first time with me, he was ever so gentle.”
“……”
Embracing out of love……
And embracing to slake lust……
They can’t be treated the same.
Euphemia’s voice was low as she hurled her dagger.
……Of course, the first time hadn’t been gentle.
It had been outright rape.
But Euphemia had forcibly erased that initial night from her mind.
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
“……”
“……”
Silence hung between them for a moment.
Ferzen, who had admitted to his own subtle sadistic tendencies.
If he had never shown that side to Euphemia, not even once, it meant he treasured her enough not to cross that line.
Deep down, the thought that he vented all his negative traits on her…… while treating Euphemia with kindness…… stirred a swell of emotion in her chest.
But conversely, if Euphemia failed to notice that to the end, would Ferzen have any reason to stop visiting her bedroom?
Composing herself, Uriel gave Euphemia a gentle smile.
“……”
And whenever Euphemia saw that composed smile of Uriel’s, a base sense of inferiority always reared its head……
But not this time.
Because in the bath, he had given her something he did only for her.
A caress utterly unlike his usual demeanor.
And had this woman before her ever heard the words “I love you” from his lips?
Yes, Uriel Wayne Daina Alfred.
She was nothing more than a means to sate his lust.
A whore brazenly boasting of it to her.
So, as his wife should.
Euphemia met Uriel’s gaze and returned a radiant smile.
Uriel, seeing that smile, clenched her fist slightly and stood.
“Shall we…… head to dinner?”
“You go on ahead. I’ll shake off the sleepiness and follow.”
Smiles and laughter.
As always, they were a woman’s greatest shield and strongest weapon.
The next day, with no lectures, Ferzen rode alone in a carriage to the Imperial Palace.
He had stopped by yesterday to schedule a meeting with the 2nd Imperial Prince, and today was the day.
Setting it for the very next day means the matter is quite urgent.
Had the Robelium Kingdom, entangled with the Elmark Empire, become such a headache?
He racked his brains, but speculation without information was pointless.
As the palace’s main gate came into view, Ferzen straightened his attire.
“You’ve come.”
“Ferzen von Schweig Ruerg, at your service, Your Highness.”
“……Enough formalities. Sit, Count.”
“Yes.”
Not the reception room, but the 2nd Prince’s private chambers.
Discussing it here meant the issue carried significant weight.
“Where to begin……”
“I shall listen attentively.”
“Very well, Count. Do you know why we invited the Empress of the Elmark Empire to that banquet…… unofficially?”
“……”
To be honest, Ferzen couldn’t fathom that part.
“To probe her intentions.”
“……”
Probe? She’s not the type to spill easily.
But Ferzen held his question.
The imperial family had no need to suspect the Brutein bloodline.
Nor did Brutein need to suspect the imperial family.
It was a bond of trust proven by long history.
“What do you think drove the Elmark Empire to obsess over eradicating the southeastern threat for so long?”
“……Territorial expansion?”
“A side benefit. Precisely, vast gold veins lie dormant there.”
“……”
Strange.
Information like that leaking out would be the real anomaly.
And even if it did, Brutein’s intelligence wouldn’t have missed it.
Of course, Ferzen’s inner surprise was natural.
He didn’t yet know that Elizabeth Imperial Princess could read others’ minds.
“Count.”
“……”
“A rain of gold will pour upon the Elmark Empire.”
“……”
“And Gremory Eldin Ishtar Elmark…… she is contemplating war.”
That was the extent of what Gremory’s inner thoughts had revealed at the banquet.
“The three kingdoms, a bridge spanning our two empires. If the balance of powers in this era shatters…… war is highly likely.”
“I see.”
“Even if we seize the advantage in that balance, I can’t predict what may unfold.”
Ferzen leaned back comfortably, eyeing the prince’s troubled face.
“I can’t guarantee the future, but regarding the Robelium Kingdom, I’ll speak to my brother to secure greater support.”
“I appreciate it.”
“And don’t worry too much. Have you heard this?”
“Hm?”
“In a very distant future…… mere scraps of paper will replace the value of gold, silver, and copper coins.”
“……A recent thesis?”
“I don’t find it impossible. In any society, the value of goods is arbitrarily assigned.”
And those who assigned and controlled that value……
Brutein was undoubtedly among them.
If such powers colluded to manipulate food values, even a deluge of gold wouldn’t fill a well.
Minting and circulating veins of gold took time.
Moreover, the Ernes Empire had the north—vast storehouses for grain.
If war loomed not in fall or winter, but between spring and summer……
The outcome would surely be victory.
“Reassuring……”
“……”
“The imperial family’s steadfast wall, ever reliable…… such is the lineage of the ritual officiants.”
“Don’t gild my face too brightly.”
“No gilding. It weighs heavy on my shoulders. If I were a princess instead of a prince, I’d gladly flirt with you.”
“……”
“Though it’d mean nothing, since you don’t mingle blood with the imperial line.”
“……I didn’t hear that.”
The 2nd Prince gave a wry smile.
Then……
“Ah, I forgot something.”
He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a small missive.
A masked ball next week.
It will be sent to nobles in the capital by tomorrow, and I’ve already dispatched to those outside.
“Ah……”
“Forgot, have you?”
“Yes.”
A masked ball.
Typically a gathering where identities were hidden……
But the one before the imperial throne’s struggle held different meaning.
There, alone, the princes with succession rights revealed themselves.
In short, a chance to hear the unfiltered inner thoughts of nobles face-to-face.
Thus, many borrowed the mimicry ability of Netherworld’s first-layer denizens.
Disguising gender completely.
Feigning disability in a wheelchair.
Attending as a child.
And so on……
But the common thread: they all wore masks.
“Will you…… attend?”
To the 2nd Prince’s teasing query, Ferzen smiled as he replied.
“It seems…… I will.”
A mask of lamb would suit him well.
A young one, at that.
To avoid frightening them.