A Pledge of Loyalty
Rezef was utterly bewildered.
Is this woman truly the Cayena Hill I know?
Until now, Cayena had been nothing more than a puppet he could manipulate at will whenever he needed her. Yet for some reason, he now felt a chilling aura from her—like a blade hidden beneath silk—that sent a shiver down his spine.
“And furthermore.”
Cayena was not finished speaking.
“Let us both add weight to the poisoning incident and simultaneously lighten it.”
What did that mean? Rezef found himself almost eager to hear the words that would next fall from those lips.
“Spread rumors that my condition is dire, creating a sense of crisis regarding the line of succession. With His Majesty already in poor health, if word spreads that I too am in critical condition, the ministers will grow anxious.”
That was so obvious it could hardly be called a scheme. Just as Rezef’s budding curiosity toward her began to cool, she continued.
“And then we transform this poisoning into gossip.”
“Gossip…!”
He finally understood what she meant by lightening the weight of the incident.
“If we recast this event as a scandal committed by a man driven by unrequited love, high society will fixate on it. The public’s perception of the incident’s gravity will diminish, yet its topic value will soar even higher.”
That made sense. People had always been obsessed with tales of romance. Already, several plausible scenarios were forming in Rezef’s mind.
Is this someone’s advice? Or is this truly my sister’s own idea?
At this point, Rezef could not help but ask. He stared at Cayena sharply, as if trying to pierce through to her true intentions.
“What exactly are you thinking?”
Cayena did not answer. She simply met his gaze.
The standoff did not last long. She suddenly threw back the covers and rose from the bed.
“Sister?”
Rezef frowned as he called out to her.
At that moment, Cayena slowly lowered herself onto both knees.
“My king.”
“…!”
Cayena performed the formal obeisance of a vassal and pressed her lips to the hem of Rezef’s robe.
“What are you doing!”
This action could easily be interpreted as treason. Rezef shot to his feet and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her upright.
“Cayena!”
It was a name he had called countless times before, yet now it felt strangely unfamiliar, as if its very texture had completely changed.
Paying him no mind, Cayena rose to her feet, took both of his hands in hers with utmost reverence, and kissed the back of his hand.
A low groan escaped him.
Why?
Why on earth was Cayena kissing the back of his hand in a show of respect? And she did so with both hands, carefully and politely, exactly as a loyal subject would before her sovereign.
Kissing the back of the hand was something Rezef had often done to Cayena. He had needed to lower her guard and make her believe that her position was more secure and noble than anything else.
But he had never once taken her hand in both of his own to kiss it. After all, he had never felt even the slightest shred of genuine devotion.
Yet now Cayena was doing exactly that to him.
“You are all I have, Rezef.”
Yes. Those were the words she had always said to him.
“There is no one but you, Rezef.”
“You are my little brother. My only family.”
“Stop it…!”
Rezef yanked his hand from hers. He clenched the hand that had received her kiss so tightly that it trembled.
“The next emperor of the Eldaim Empire is you. I am merely offering in advance the loyalty I ought to give.”
Cayena had clearly gone mad. Had the shock of drinking the poison been that severe? He glared at her with open suspicion.
“What is your true aim?”
“Do you trust me?”
Cayena smiled softly. Even that smile looked suspicious to him.
“…What are you saying?”
“I am asking whether you truly see me as your sister.”
For a moment, Rezef was rendered speechless.
Cayena continued in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
“If I were no longer useful, what would you do with me?”
“…”
“My situation is so obvious it would be tedious to guess. The most ideal and safest way to dispose of me would be to sell me off in a suitable political marriage that benefits you.”
She added the chilling remark as if it were nothing.
“Provided I am not murdered by a mad husband, of course.”
If she were married off again as she had been to Gillan, she might once more end up imprisoned, abused, and eventually killed. Cayena recalled those distant memories. The horrific recollections—whether truly hers or not—made the atmosphere surrounding her grow even lonelier.
“I know my position well.”
The smile vanished from Cayena’s face.
“I also know very well that you still need me.”
Rezef looked at her with an equally cold expression.
As she said, he did need Cayena. His father was still alive, his own position remained precarious, and her influence in high society was genuinely useful.
He could have her marry and entrust the matter to a wife, but the card of “imperial princess consort” was too valuable to waste on an early marriage.
Cayena knew perfectly well that Rezef was weighing his options, calculating what would benefit him most.
“What do you want?”
Rezef took a deliberate step back, attempting to negotiate. His attitude suggested he would at least hear her out. Cayena spoke the one thing she had never possessed but had longed for more than anything.
“Freedom.”
She knew how foolish she must sound saying such a thing. Yet this was the most sincere statement she had uttered since opening her eyes in this place once more.
Freedom to remain whole as herself.
Freedom that guaranteed her the right to do nothing at all.
Freedom to tend to her own heart.
That was the kind of freedom she desired.
Rezef burst into laughter as if he could no longer contain himself.
“Freedom!”
Of all words, freedom was the one least suited to an imperial princess!
“You would abandon all this wealth and glory? Do you truly believe you could claim freedom simply by obtaining a title and leaving the palace?”
He gazed at his sister with genuine pity. He even cupped her pale cheek and gently stroked it.
“You may find this place stifling. But there is no place in the world better suited to you than here.”
As he spoke, Rezef ran his fingers through her soft hair, letting the strands slip smoothly between them.
“Because poverty is not beautiful.”
Cayena knew far better than he that poverty held no beauty. In her previous life, she had come from a single-parent household. Her mother’s income had been modest, and she had never been able to attend even ordinary academies. Though her good grades had earned her a corporate scholarship, allowing her to complete her studies and join a company, that had been the extent of it.
It was quite an eventful life.
Yet even that life, when compared to her current one, made it impossible to judge which was worse. It was truly a pitiful thing.
All Cayena wanted was to escape the long, tangled flow of her life and spend her remaining days in quiet peace. Would the story of this world not continue just fine without one villainess?
She attached a condition he might actually accept.
“Allow me to marry the person I want. That is the freedom I desire.”
The condition was so very like Cayena that Rezef’s interest instantly waned.
“With Raphaelo, you mean?”
Cayena shook her head.
“No.”
“…No?”
That was unexpected. Rezef frowned as he looked at her.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Then what can you offer me, sister?”
Cayena could not answer right away. A sudden wave of dizziness had struck her.
I must not collapse here. Not yet. Not yet.
Chills ran through her body and her vision began to blur, but she forced herself to maintain a serene expression. If not now, she would lose the chance to shake Rezef. She could not give him time to think calmly.
Why is she dragging this out?
Rezef interpreted her brief silence as something meaningful. It made him oddly tense.
The moment Cayena was certain she could speak in a steady voice, she opened her lips.
“I will make you emperor.”
She said it with the casual tone of someone suggesting a birthday gift.
Rezef was stunned.
“You will make me emperor?”
Even if Cayena was a useful card, she was not the decisive one that could place him on the throne. He was about to correct her arrogant delusion when she continued.
“How could I not know that you will inherit the throne even without my power? But you will clearly have to share what is yours with others.”
“…”
In the current manner of things, even if his faction won and he inherited the throne, it would come at great cost. Because it would not be solely through Rezef’s own power. Cayena drove that point home.
“Especially the Evans family, who act as your strategists—you will have to make their stomachs even fatter.”
The Evans family was already a great noble house and major landowner possessing the eastern granary region. Rezef had been paying considerable attention to them, and Cayena knew that fact well.
“…Then are you saying you can fulfill the role of strategist?”
Rezef asked.
“I won’t ask you to trust me right away.”
Cayena smiled gently.
“Don’t you need time to think for yourself about what truly benefits you?”
No one had ever spoken to him in such a way. Like an adult, in other words.
At that moment, Cayena’s body swayed.
“Sister!”
Rezef reflexively caught her, holding her protectively. Her entire body was burning with fever.
To push herself until her body became like this…!
Cayena’s forehead was drenched in sweat. She had exhausted every ounce of strength maintaining consciousness and carefully conducting this conversation.
Only then did Rezef realize the true state of her condition. He shouted in alarm, calling for the maids.
“Someone come! Bring the physician at once!”
He laid her down carefully. Just before she lost consciousness completely, Cayena reached up and stroked his hair.
“What a good boy you are.”
She fainted just like that.
Leaving behind Rezef, who wore the expression of a lost child.