.jpg)
“Something like that, yes.”
Before I knew it, Yulan’s fingers, which had been beneath my hand, had grown still.
It gave me the feeling of having tamed a wild animal, and I couldn't help but smile.
However, that was only from my perspective of being completely composed; Yulan, who had suddenly been presented with a request to help a Princess run away, clearly didn't feel the same.
I could tell by the way he leaped over the back of the sofa to claim the spot right next to me.
“Princess, are you insane?”
“I’ve been that way for quite some time. Haven't you heard? The crazy Princess who stirs up the social circles of the Atrux Empire's capital.”
“Ha… Explain yourself properly. If you’re actually planning to run away, I intend to go straight to Duke Martir and inform him.”
“Oh, that simply won't do.”
As I crossed my legs, the neatly arranged hem of my dress slid up.
Only then did Yulan realize he was sitting on the edge of my dress and leaned back, at which point I pulled a necklace from my bodice and held it out to him.
“…Is this a down payment?”
“No, it was a gift from my mother. This should be sufficient as a token of love, don't you think?”
“Surely you don't…”
I thought Yulan would understand with just that much.
The moment I uttered my real request with a satisfied smile—
“Introduce me to a Young Noble who can act as my fake lover!”
“Have you fallen for me already?”
The words shouted almost simultaneously were enough to make my jaw drop.
It seemed I had overestimated Yulan.
Something akin to running away, a man with a weakness—movable by money but disposable when unnecessary—and even my mother's heirloom to serve as a token of love.
If you weave those three things together, isn't it only natural that one's thoughts would lead to a request for a fake lover?
‘…Wait. Aside from the fact that he’s not just any noble, most of that description fits Nox perfectly, doesn't it?’
Of course, the identity of that ‘Nox’ was Yulan Artlux, the Second Imperial Prince, but as long as that fact remained hidden, there was no better candidate.
Moreover, since that fact was ultimately his weakness, he wouldn't use the request as an excuse to actually embed himself in House of Martyr.
‘No, that’s absurd. I’ve already been in too much contact with Yulan. Getting any more entangled would be a mistake!’
I had asserted that I would never fall in love with him, but the human heart isn't something that can be blocked just by deciding so.
Furthermore, Yulan and I were in a relationship where we regularly shared a bed.
If we interacted more frequently and deeply, it would be the perfect environment for unwanted feelings to grow.
Holding my throbbing head, I sank deeper into the back of the sofa.
“I admit there is no one more suited for my request than you. However, I need a noble male of clear origin. Ideally, someone of very low status who lived in the countryside, far from the capital, would be perfect.”
“…Is that also part of the plan to break off the Princess's engagement?”
“As expected, I knew you’d notice.”
As I clapped my hands as if praising him, Yulan’s expression shifted as if he were looking at something bizarre.
I wouldn't say my plan was flawless, but at least in the current situation, it was hard to find anything more fitting.
Feeling as though my abilities were being doubted, I found myself rambling.
“Until now, I pretended to love Raymond, but in truth, there was someone I had loved from the start. However, the difference in status between that person and me was too great, and because I didn't want him to suffer, I found Raymond—someone whose status was appropriate and who wouldn't love me.”
“What an interesting load of bullshit.”
“Now, listen further. I planned to act intensely jealous so that no one would doubt my love, and then, after marriage, I intended to secretly meet the man I truly loved. Fearing that the man might lose heart thinking my feelings had changed, I even gave him the necklace my mother gave me as a token.”
Thinking of the Yevgenia from that timeline almost brought tears to my eyes.
Wasn't it a truly beautiful love story?
It was no different from the protagonists of the romance novels that noble ladies and Young Ladies adore.
Of course, the atrocities ‘Yevgenia’ had committed in the meantime were a bit—no, very—severe, but…
‘I’ve been trying to normalize my image by attending banquets with Raymond recently. As for the victims of my atrocities… well, if this works out, I should visit them one by one and apologize.’
One could call it mere performance, but if the haughty Princess Martyr personally visited and bowed her head, it would lend even more credibility to this far-fetched story.
Having listened to my grand explanation, Yulan now had a thoughtful look on his face.
At first, it may have seemed like ‘interesting bullshit’ as he said, but he must have been somewhat persuaded as he listened.
However, I needed an event to drive the point home more firmly.
In truth, if I just needed a simple lover, any country noble would have sufficed.
But this part was tricky, which is why I had come to Yulan.
“The man I love must come to House of Martyr as soon as possible.”
“…The Princess doesn't want this matter to remain known only within the Duchy, then.”
As expected, Yulan did not disappoint.
“He needs to shout ‘Give me the Princess’ as loudly as possible in front of the Duke's manor, loud enough to reach all the way to Baron Aer's estate. It would be even better if he claimed we've already slept together.”
If he stalled as long as possible outside the mansion, it wouldn't take a single day for the rumor that ‘Princess Martyr has a lover’ to spread through society.
And inside the mansion, I would throw myself into his arms, sobbing and confessing.
“You intended to live in hiding forever, but seeing the name slowly fade, you believe the divine wishes for your falsehood to be revealed. You intend to cover up the disappearance of the name in that manner.”
“Then my father will truly believe it is the will of the divine, and he will stop digging into the Imperial Family.”
“And by extension, your engagement will be quickly canceled?”
I gave a smirk at Yulan's question.
As if that alone was answer enough, Yulan relaxed his posture and leaned his upper body against the sofa.
As we stared at each other while half-lying down, the atmosphere began to feel a bit strange, so I quickly changed the subject.
“Ahem. Anyway, so. Do you know anyone suitable? Someone with a lot of debt but a deep filial piety would be perfect. People are usually weak for the tear-jerking love story of a pitiful man.”
“Well, that is true. It would be even better if that pitiful man also possessed beauty.”
“You know your stuff. Have you tried inciting people before?”
“I won't say that I haven't.”
His light tone allowed me to laugh more comfortably.
Then, while stroking his chin, Yulan spoke in a serious voice.
“According to this plan, the man doesn't necessarily have to be a noble. No, it would actually be better if he were a commoner. Then the claim that the Princess couldn't even consider marriage would be more believable.”
“Oh, I like that. If he were a noble, my father would think I would have insisted on marrying him regardless. But if he's a commoner…”
“Unless they're insane, there's no noble who would marry a commoner, nor any parent who would allow it. A father who cherishes his daughter as much as Duke Martir does would likely kill that commoner.”
“Perfect. …But, would there be a commoner capable of continuing the act without freezing up in front of my father?”
Nobles aren't perfect actors either, but at least they wouldn't be terrified by the thought that the father could kill them.
But commoners were different.
Even a mere Baron could easily kill a commoner who bumped into his shoulder, so a commoner who overturned a marriage between Ducal houses…
‘It would be hard to get a clean death. Even if it wasn't my father, Duchess Larsen wouldn't just sit back and watch.’
.jpg)