An Offer of Assistance
The servant hesitated for a moment. Not announcing Raphaelo’s arrival had been the emperor’s explicit order.
“What are you waiting for?”
When Cayena’s smile vanished and her voice turned icy, the servant had no choice but to step into the bedchamber. Reporting to His Majesty that the Grand Duke of Kedrey wished for an audience was far safer than enduring one of the princess’s tantrums over being ignored.
Raphaelo observed the entire exchange with a gaze laced in suspicion. Though Cayena had performed countless eccentric acts to win his favor, this was the first time she had offered any genuine help. Was this simply another ploy to pester him?
Yet after issuing the command, Cayena appeared unusually cautious. She even seemed reluctant to meet his eyes.
It was strange. He should have been able to read her like an open book, yet he sensed no motive at all. It was as if the kindness she had shown moments ago carried no hidden purpose whatsoever.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Cayena departed with her maids in tow. The deliberate distance she placed between herself and Raphaelo left everyone puzzled.
Raphaelo nearly called her back. Frowning slightly, he watched her pass with an odd feeling stirring inside him.
“Lord Kedrey.”
The servant emerging from the bedchamber called out to him. Only then did Raphaelo tear his gaze from the door through which Cayena had disappeared.
“His Majesty is currently resting. It seems you will need to return tomorrow.”
The servant spoke with obvious discomfort.
At once, Raphaelo’s attendants revealed their deep fury.
“Are you certain you delivered the message properly? Did we not just see Her Highness the Princess emerge from that very room!”
The aides waiting behind Raphaelo clenched their fists, killing intent radiating from them.
“Enough.”
Raphaelo commanded them to withdraw their hostility.
“We stand before His Majesty’s bedchamber. Do not raise your voices.”
“...Yes, my lord.”
Those who had roamed battlefields had known killing firsthand. The servants who faced their bloodlust directly let out sighs of relief. They considered themselves lucky that Raphaelo was such a gentleman.
Yet that was a shortsighted mistake. In truth, Raphaelo had nothing to lose here. He possessed overwhelming power and held no interest in the struggle for the throne.
The Emperor Esteban cannot be unaware that I am the one maintaining the balance of power.
The emperor could not remain obstinate forever. Raphaelo was merely extending tolerance because he disliked unnecessary commotion.
“Then I shall return another time.”
The servant nodded frantically while mopping cold sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.
“Yes, yes. Please do.”
As Raphaelo exited the reception room, he stopped short. Cayena was waiting for him.
Ah, of course... He should have known she would not withdraw so easily.
“It seems His Majesty did not grant you an audience after all.”
Her complexion remained pale from the lingering effects of the poison, yet she had stood waiting in the corridor for him to emerge.
It was hardly the conduct expected of a noblewoman. Indeed, most of the maids behind her were so mortified they hardly knew where to look. Only her closest attendant maintained a composed expression.
Raphaelo’s gaze swept the surroundings once before returning to Cayena. When their eyes met, something in her gaze felt strangely unfamiliar.
“Since things have turned out this way, would you care to join me for a cup of tea before you go?”
Under normal circumstances, he would have refused without hesitation. He would have done so now if not for the words that followed.
“I believe I may be able to assist you with the matter that is troubling you.”
“...The matter troubling me? I’m afraid I don’t follow.”
Cayena’s eyes widened in apparent surprise.
“Truly?”
At that charming display, the aides behind Raphaelo either cleared their throats awkwardly or found themselves momentarily speechless.
“It is closely connected to the reason you sought an audience with His Majesty.”
The princess knows why I wish to see the emperor?
Raphaelo had requested the meeting to receive military governorship over the western territories as reward for his achievements in the war two years prior.
Such authority was granted only to a duke. And Raphaelo had a specific reason for seeking it.
There is no way the princess could know I am trying to escape my family’s marriage pressure.
Though not yet public knowledge, the Duke and Duchess of Kedrey were currently embroiled in divorce proceedings.
His mother, Noah Kedrey, had only ever been prepared to become the wife of someone other than a duke. She had two older brothers, after all. The previous duke could never have imagined both sons would perish in war. That was why he had hastily taken Leo Francis as a son-in-law.
Yet Leo Francis had committed adultery before Raphaelo even left childhood. Afterward, the proud Duchess Noah Kedrey had broken with him completely.
They had been unable to separate while Raphaelo was too young to inherit, but now they were quietly pursuing divorce.
Noah had no intention of granting her husband any alimony. If the vassals agreed that her son could inherit the family without issue—especially given her husband’s incompetence—then it could be managed. For that to happen, Raphaelo needed unanimous recognition from the vassals as the next head of house.
There was, however, one small problem. Rumors had begun circulating secretly among the vassals that Raphaelo possessed certain sexual preferences that prevented him from producing an heir. After all, he had reached the age of twenty-three without ever taking a woman’s hand. He had also coldly rejected every lady the nobles had thrust into his bedchamber in attempts to seduce him.
The rumor had reached his mother’s ears. She had begun pushing for marriage to dispel the sordid and groundless gossip attached to her son.
But Raphaelo had no desire to marry. Instead, he sought the emperor’s recognition of the western military governorship—a privilege granted only to dukes. With such authority in his grasp, he believed the vassals would have no choice but to acknowledge him as head of the family.
Just how could Cayena possibly help with any of that?
Yet behind her blue eyes, he sensed a gravity he had never witnessed before.
...Intriguing.
He felt a powerful instinct that he should accept her invitation.
“Thank you for the invitation.”
Raphaelo stepped to Cayena’s side to escort her. She placed her hand lightly upon the arm he offered.
“I happen to have some excellent tea. I believe you’ll enjoy it.”
She spoke to him ceaselessly as they walked, yet none of her questions carried any real weight. To an outsider, it would appear Cayena was once again scheming to ensnare him—the same behavior she had always displayed.
But something about it felt deeply off. Cayena frequently made verbal slips. She often said things that breached etiquette and regularly broached sensitive subjects. She had never hesitated to ask about assumptions of marriage between them or matters concerning his personal wealth.
Yet now she spoke only of today’s fine weather, the standards for quality tea leaves, and even the recipe for delicious tarts—whose origin she could not possibly know.
She’s deliberately lightening the weight of the conversation.
Raphaelo grew certain as he observed the maids’ now-relaxed postures.
Cayena halted at the flower garden along the path to the princess’s palace.
“The sunlight is lovely today. Let’s have our tea here in the garden.”
“I will prepare it at once.”
Cayena dismissed all the maids except Vera.
“Then we should continue our earlier discussion.”
Raphaelo understood at once that she referred to the matter of his troubles. He wondered what solution the princess would present.
Cayena parted her red lips.
“You are at an age when your family must be making quite the fuss about marriage prospects, are you not, Lord Kedrey?”
Raphaelo assumed she was once again indulging in fantasies of marrying him herself.
Even setting aside his personal aversion to marriage, neither the imperial family nor the ducal house desired such a union. Both factions were too powerful to divide authority and influence equitably.
“There must already be candidates with whom marriage talks are underway?”
“Marriage candidates?”
When he responded with genuine confusion, Cayena covered her mouth. “Ah.”
“You truly haven’t heard…?”
“...What exactly are you referring to?”
Cayena smiled.
“Then I suppose I can share some rather useful information regarding your marriage prospects, Lord Kedrey.”
The Kedrey ducal house ruled the west. They were one of the few powerful military families in the entire Eldaim Empire capable of rivaling House Hill. How tempting a prize their only heir, Raphaelo, must appear.
Whether aware of her own value or not, Cayena smiled at Raphaelo’s apparent indifference to talk of marriage.
How very like the male lead.
Through the novel, she already knew why he had never once pursued romance.
He simply never felt affection for anyone. Attachment and love were merely uncomfortable, bothersome concepts to him. People called such a man a refined gentleman, but it resembled a mental condition more than mere personality.
“A suitable young lady to become mistress of House Kedrey…”
Cayena wore an expression as though searching her memory.
“There is Lady Dolores of House Eban.”
In the original story, that very family had sent a portrait to the Kedrey duchy.
“She plays the piano beautifully and excels at embroidery. But how could a young lady who faints at the mere sight of blood survive in the harsh western lands? At the same time, one cannot expect the mistress of the house to remain in the capital indefinitely.”
Without hesitation, Cayena described exactly what would happen if he took a complete stranger whose name he had never even heard as his wife. She continued without pause.
“Lady Rita of House Brukin would be far more suitable in that regard. She once trained as a knight, after all. Unfortunately, that young lady lacks both knowledge and wisdom. She can also be rather violent.”
Raphaelo immediately identified the common thread between the two ladies she had named.
“Both are from capital families uninvolved in the imperial succession struggle.”
Cayena smiled and praised his deduction.
“As expected, Lord Kedrey is quite perceptive.”
“...”
Cayena casually treated Raphaelo—who was older than her—as though he were an adorable younger brother. It went without saying that everyone present had been rendered speechless. Yet the attitude suited her so naturally that it only heightened the strangeness.
“Furthermore, they are young ladies from families where the marriage could be arranged and completed within two years.”
His attention sharpened on the phrase within two years.
With her own coming-of-age ceremony approaching, she is recommending candidates to me?
Did this mean she no longer desired a union between them? The conversation had suddenly become genuinely interesting to Raphaelo.