A Fictional Husband
“No!”
Kayena cut him off with a flustered expression.
“The building is fine as it is now.”
Raphael leisurely considered something new.
Then would a holy relic do?
“Or if not a building, is there something else you desire? Perhaps a sacred artifact from an ancient kingdom…”
Completely disregarding his concerns, Kayena waved her hand as if the very idea exhausted her.
“No, no! It’s truly fine. Just knowing you care this much about me is more than enough to make me happy.”
“Is that so?”
Raphael’s lips curved into an unconscious smile, pleased by her words.
At the sight of his genuinely happy smile, Kayena let out a quiet sigh.
Does the male lead really need to be this handsome?
His smile, drawn without exaggeration and perfectly natural, made him appear even more mature. Perhaps that was why, despite his imposing physique, he never felt intimidating.
That was precisely why she couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter. He was simply too charming. It was like being swept up in a natural disaster—nothing more, nothing less.
But why is Raphael sitting so close?
Only now did she realize how near they were. She wondered if her old habits had resurfaced without her noticing. Should she move away now, or stay like this…?
Before she could decide, Raphael spoke.
“You may decide the purpose of the new building, Your Highness.”
Kayena snapped out of her thoughts. She had become so distracted that she had completely forgotten the main topic.
“Ah, right. So why did you come looking for me?”
Raphael answered honestly.
“I wanted to see you, Your Highness.”
His words elicited a violent reaction from elsewhere in the room.
“Cough, hack, cough!”
Baston, who had been sipping his tea, suddenly choked and broke into a fit of coughing.
“Oh dear, are you all right?”
“Y-yes. I’m fine.”
Baston stared at his master in bewilderment—the man who had gone from throwing a straight pitch to charging like a bull.
Even sharing emotions should have stages…
Unlike Baston, however, Kayena did not misinterpret his meaning in the slightest.
“Come to think of it, you said you had something to ask me, didn’t you?”
She spoke as if she hadn’t heard his declaration of wanting to see her.
At her excessively dry response, Raphael narrowed his eyes. He realized she wasn’t entertaining even the slightest possibility between them.
“My marriage arrangements have all been canceled.”
Raphael decided to play along with her lead for now. Kayena reacted with perfect composure.
“Congratulations.”
“So I’ve come to hear your next plan.”
At that, Kayena turned to the servants in the drawing room.
“Everyone, please leave us.”
She also asked Baston for his understanding.
“Would you step out for a moment as well?”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
Baston left the drawing room with the servants, his face beaming with a grin as he indulged in all sorts of improper fantasies.
Click.
The moment the door closed, Kayena said,
“This drawing room is completely soundproof. No one can eavesdrop from outside.”
Revealing the existence of such a room to outsiders would have been foolish. Yet Kayena disclosed the secret without hesitation.
“There are far too many spies in the Imperial Palace. Anything that happens here becomes a rumor within a single day.”
“I see.”
Raphael, who had planted quite a few spies of his own in the palace, simply nodded as if he knew nothing about it.
“My goal is simple.”
Kayena spoke calmly.
“I want you to create a husband for me.”
A brief silence fell.
Create a husband? Had she misspoke and meant to say create a child? No, there was no way a princess would utter something so vulgar. She wasn’t asking him to become her husband, nor to introduce her to someone. She wanted him to create a husband.
In all his life, Raphael had never heard such a strange and absurd request.
“…You want me to create a husband for you?”
“Yes. A fictional husband who doesn’t exist in reality. Only the person will be an illusion. The rights and assets must be real.”
In the end, the core of it was marriage to someone else. Caught off guard, an unfiltered truth slipped from Raphael’s lips.
“Didn’t Your Highness have feelings for me?”
“……”
This time, it was Kayena who became extremely flustered. Of course she had. He was her long-time crush and first love. That is, several decades ago.
I asked him to create a husband for me, so why is he asking this?
There wasn’t a trace of playfulness in Raphael’s question. It didn’t seem as though he had asked to deliberately put her in an awkward position.
Another silence descended.
Kayena tried to calmly recall an appropriate response for this situation, but her mind refused to cooperate.
Raphael sensed from her reaction that he had made a mistake. His heart was strangely impatient, and his thoughts refused to flow smoothly.
“Was that an impolite question?”
Of course it was impolite. But saying so felt strange. After all, she was the one who had gone around loudly proclaiming her love for him. If they were going to discuss rudeness, they would first have to revisit all of Kayena’s past actions.
Kayena steadied her heart and spoke.
“It was a rather startling question, yes.”
To prove her innocence, she declared firmly,
“I have cleanly sorted out my feelings for you. My vow that I would never bother you again was sincere.”
At that, Raphael’s expression shifted subtly. He had certainly heard those words. He simply hadn’t realized that the vow not to be rude had meant she would never like him again.
That wasn’t what I wanted.
No. Originally, that was exactly what he had wanted. Her constant contact had been unpleasant, and he hadn’t enjoyed the sticky gaze she always fixed on him.
But not anymore. Now, it was fine to be with Kayena. It was fine to kiss the back of her hand. Escorting her felt perfectly natural, and when he had held her in his arms…
She had smelled so sweetly.
It was the same now. Kayena seemed like a person made of the palest pigments—chilling yet warm. Being close to her brought him a sense of calm. It was a rather addictive feeling. Yes. He wanted to stay addicted like this. To throw all rational thought aside and simply continue…
Raphael called himself crazy and erased the thought from his mind.
“No. You don’t need to make such a vow. I will trust Your Highness’s words.”
When she saw that Raphael’s expression had darkened, Kayena found it difficult to believe him easily.
Was a simple vow not enough after all?
After tormenting him so thoroughly until now, perhaps it was shameless of her to think she could brush it all aside with a few words. But the only person who could help with her plan was Raphael. She had thought that if the male lead and the villainess could work together, they might get along well enough.
Colluding with Grand Duke Heinrich would be far too dangerous.
She had no desire to become entangled with that madman if she could help it.
If we could just forget the unpleasant past and become friends, that would be ideal.
That was, in her opinion, the most perfect relationship they could hope to achieve.
“…Have I made too shameless a request?”
Raphael could tell that Kayena was genuinely worried about his feelings. Why did that fact feel as pleasant as her smile?
“It was simply the first time I’ve ever heard someone ask me to create a husband for them.”
Raphael asked,
“But why do you wish to marry a fictional person?”
Kayena immediately recalled the reason.
Because that is the safest and most perfect way to leave the capital.
Who knew what kind of lunatic she might end up tied to if she married just anyone? Kayena no longer wanted to marry anyone at all.
No. My husband might be murdered before I am.
Just like the tragedy of the most beautiful woman in some ancient tale, Lezef might continue killing her husbands and using her as a puppet once again, just as he had always done. No—he would definitely do so.
After all, he had planned to send me to Grand Duke Heinrich to be used as a tool.
At times like this, she felt a slight resentment toward the novel that had revealed every detail of her death.
Once Lezef’s power weakened, it was obvious that Grand Duke Heinrich would try to claim Kayena for himself. He would attempt to compensate for his lack of legitimacy through marriage to her.
But since he is also one of the sub male leads in this story, he will fall for Olivia. And then my existence will become an obstacle.
If he seized the throne, he might kill her and then pursue Olivia.
Why did everything have to be so complicated and exhausting? Kayena felt a wave of fatigue as she reflected on her situation.
I suppose being born into the imperial family without knowing anything was my sin.
She spoke calmly.
“A person who doesn’t exist in reality cannot be poisoned.”
It was a statement that instantly captured the essence of Kayena’s predicament. Raphael recalled the secret nickname that circulated among the powerful nobles.
The Prince’s Marionette.
Kayena was reaching out to him to sever the strings of fate that bound her.
So has she changed?
The person who had once been so easy to read was now like a fog—he couldn’t see even an inch ahead. He had no idea what lay within.
Raphael suddenly remembered the story about her reading travelogues. Perhaps Kayena simply wanted to rest somewhere safe.
“First of all, none of this is possible until you inherit your family.”
It was only a matter of time before he succeeded to the ducal title. Soon, the Duke and Duchess of Kidray would finalize their divorce, and the duke—who had been a son-in-law by marriage—would return to his own family. With the connections and wealth he had accumulated, he would be able to live out his remaining years in comfort. It was an unexpectedly gentle ending for a man who had destroyed his family through infidelity.
I heard he cheated when Raphael was young.
The novel had barely touched on that affair. Most likely because the story’s focus had been centered entirely on Olivia.
Still, using someone else’s family matters doesn’t sit well with me.
“Is something wrong?”
Raphael asked, sensing her gaze. Unable to tell him the truth, Kayena gave a suitable excuse.
“You always look wonderful, but today you seem a little different from usual.”
It was a moderately flattering remark. No—it wasn’t mere flattery. It was the truth, and it was sincere.
Raphael glanced down at his clothes. The bright cream-colored shirt that Baston had strongly recommended caught his eye.
“Do you like it?”
She hadn’t expected him to ask such a question. After a brief hesitation, Kayena subtly avoided giving a direct answer.
“Hmm… It seems everything looks good on you.”
He knew she was speaking in a roundabout way and let out a small chuckle.
“The same goes for you, Your Highness.”
The villainess is a marionette.