The Puppet's Gaze
The investigation into the attempted assassination of a member of the imperial family must be reopened.
Rezef said this while loosening the clasp of his cloak with a strangely dazed expression, addressing his aide, Zenon Evans.
“You once issued warrants for several fallen nobles, didn’t you? Among them, select those with families to support. Bring me men who would willingly climb onto the guillotine if paid enough.”
“As you command.”
Zenon Evans thought that Rezef seemed different from usual. It wasn’t uncommon for him to return from meeting Cayena looking tired or irritated, but he had never appeared this utterly out of it.
“…And station more people around Princess Cayena. Monitor her every move.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The more Rezef thought about it, the less he understood. Until now, he had believed she was firmly within his grasp. Had he, in fact, been the one caught in hers?
Rezef refused to accept that. She wasn’t that clever, that wise, or that intelligent.
Then there must be someone around her giving her such advice.
He immediately thought of the Hamel marquisate. But what reason would the Hamel family have for handing him such a weakness?
Rezef called Zenon back before he could leave to carry out the order.
“Look into Olivia Grace.”
“As you command.”
Once Zenon had gone, Rezef roughly ran a hand through his hair, his mind a tangled mess.
“What are you really after, Cayena…?”
The emperor was old and ill—practically living on borrowed time. Aside from the son he had with his mistress, his only official children were Rezef and Cayena.
The other claimant to the throne was Duke Heinrich, the emperor’s half-brother.
Originally, the duke had no right to succession. His mother had been nothing more than a concubine of the previous emperor, not an empress, so he could not be recognized as a legitimate direct descendant by the temple. Moreover, he suffered from an incurable disease. No one paid any attention to a man who was simply waiting to die.
Then suddenly, a provincial noble appeared claiming to be the duke’s adopted son. That was Yester Heinrich. After being adopted, he swiftly elevated the duke’s mother to the status of former empress and had himself recognized as a legitimate heir to the throne.
At first, people assumed the emperor’s illness had worsened into senility. But that wasn’t the case. The one who had ruined and seized control of Catherine Lindberg’s household—the emperor’s favored mistress—was none other than him.
“To take the emperor’s mistress hostage…”
In exchange for leaving Catherine Lindberg’s family untouched, the emperor had granted Duke Heinrich the right to succeed the throne.
“If only I had an army…!”
Every time he found himself helpless against the so-called “thug organization” owned by Duke Heinrich, rage boiled inside him.
I was going to use Cayena.
He had planned to use Cayena to drag Duke Heinrich into the abyss. But after today’s events, he would have to revise his plans entirely.
He had spent a long time taming her. Slowly, he had bound her hands and feet, making sure she could accomplish nothing on her own unless she relied on him for everything.
It had seemed almost complete. At least, until he spoke with Cayena today.
Rezef lay back on the sofa. Those blue eyes that had stared straight into his refused to leave his mind. The once-empty gaze that had only chased pleasure now held sharpness and presence. He had never received such a deep, penetrating look from anyone his own age.
Had his sister always possessed such beautiful eyes?
“Cayena…”
Rezef raised a hand to shield his eyes from the light streaming through the window.
Then he lifted it again. It was the back of the hand Cayena had kissed.
“My foolish, beautiful doll.”
He stroked the back of that hand slowly with his other fingers. Then he lowered it to his lips, still cradling it. That gaze of hers—straight, unwavering, somehow chilling.
Thinking of Cayena, who had seemed like a different person, Rezef whispered softly.
“What should I do with you?”
Chapter 2. Beauty That Calls Death
A high fever brought nightmares.
“You can do it, right? Senior Templar.”
The nightmares jumbled together, alternating between the company and the imperial palace.
“And you call yourself an imperial princess!”
“This is all your fault!”
“…!”
Her eyes flew open amid a pain that felt as if her intestines were being torn apart.
…It was a dream.
She stared blankly for a moment before feeling the tears sliding down her face and came back to her senses. The tears were merely reflexive. She had grown too numb to feel fresh sorrow or pain from those old memories.
“Are you awake, Your Highness?”
Vera quickly approached and gently wiped the tear-streaked face with a towel dampened in lukewarm water.
What kind of nightmare must she be having to cry like this every time?
“You should drink some water, Your Highness.”
Vera helped Cayena drink enough lemon water.
It had already been two weeks since her confrontation with Rezef. During that time, Cayena had remained quiet. Recovering her strength was important, but she also wanted to ease Rezef’s wariness.
Rezef was a villain. He would poison his own sister or kill someone without hesitation if it suited him, feeling no remorse whatsoever.
He valued others’ lives lightly when it came to his own safety. The most obvious example of someone sacrificed to Rezef was Cayena herself.
My marriage must not disrupt the flow. I need to remain in a position that’s difficult for any faction to claim.
Only then could the Zengen family avoid collapse even if she stepped away.
Rezef was deeply suspicious. He would continue testing her endlessly.
Still, I must prevent him from trying to kill Olivia.
Even though she had been deceived by Rezef into poisoning Olivia, she was the one who had carried it out. Even if the event had been erased by her regression, the sin did not disappear.
She was sick of being manipulated by others. She had been sincere when she told Rezef she wanted marriage to the person she desired as a condition.
The person I will marry probably doesn’t exist in this world.
Cayena planned to invent a suitable fictional person to marry.
Until then, I’ll just placate Rezef and live quietly.
“Your Highness, they say the culprit who poisoned you has been arrested.”
She wiped her lips with a silk handkerchief and asked calmly.
“Is that so?”
He did as I said.
Cayena was not impatient. She had waited quietly all this time, and Rezef had eventually moved exactly as she wanted.
“Today is the day of the criminal’s execution. Would you like to go watch?”
She shook her head. There was no reason to witness such a gruesome sight. This was an era where people flocked to see criminals beheaded on the guillotine. It only filled her with revulsion now.
The noble who had tried to poison Princess Cayena was placed on the guillotine before the eyes of the public.
“I did it because I loved her too much! Not even death can stop my heart from reaching her!”
The criminal was an unknown fallen noble. The aristocrats buzzed with surprise, asking if such a man had even been at the banquet.
To find someone willing to choose death in just two weeks.
When rumors spread that the princess’s condition was critical, the nobles avoided mentioning the poisoning incident.
The faction supporting Rezef made a fuss, insisting that—young as he was—Rezef should be named crown prince immediately.
“The only one with a right to the throne isn’t just Prince Rezef! That matter cannot be decided so hastily!”
The nobles aligned with Duke Heinrich turned pale and tried to sweep the incident under the rug.
Then, at just the right moment, a gossip magazine ran a story about the obsession sparked by her beauty.
He even recruited journalists and prepared everything. He must have been busy.
Gossip always spread quickly, but the people connected to Duke Heinrich poured all their effort into amplifying the interest. This was because Duke Heinrich’s side was currently losing ground in the battle for the throne.
With their interests aligned this way, Cayena’s beauty became the center of explosive attention.
“Her Highness’s beauty didn’t appear overnight. Isn’t it rather late to be making such a fuss?”
At Vera’s words, Cayena let out a small laugh.
It was already widely known that Cayena was beautiful, but now the word “beautiful” alone was no longer enough.
Beauty that calls death.
One gossip sheet even compared the princess to a rose harboring a poisonous thorn.
The rumors and interest spread as smoothly as if oiled. When Cayena canceled all her previously scheduled parties, the fervor turned almost manic.
The attempted poisoning of the princess had already become little more than an additional footnote to the question of just how beautiful Cayena Hill truly was.
“The nobles are already counting the days until Your Highness’s coming-of-age ceremony.”
Cayena’s coming-of-age would become an unprecedentedly grand marriage market.
“You may soon have a fiancé, Your Highness. Would Lord Kedrey be a good match?”
Vera asked cautiously, as if testing her.
This question would surely find its way to Rezef’s ears. Cayena pretended not to notice.
“I’m not sure. Since His Majesty doesn’t wish it, it may be difficult, don’t you think?”
The villainess is a marionette.