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If you asked who was most deeply involved in the relationship between Raymond and Yevgenia, excluding the two protagonists themselves, the answer would be Yulan.
However, the "setting" Yevgenia had initially established for him made it difficult to provide a reasonably appropriate explanation.
She already couldn't speak the deepest truth—the original novel—and the background Yevgenia had planted beforehand was now acting as a shackle.
'Yulan believes I love Raymond. I can't exactly tell him that I bought it just to screw over Raymond because his arrogant attitude in front of Stella was disgusting...'
So, she racked her brain to come up with a plausible excuse, but that was also no easy task.
'Because I felt bad for the auction house losing money? I might as well say the world has turned upside down. Because I liked the Rose of Light enough to spite Raymond? Does it make sense that I'd be swayed by a mere object when I claimed to love him enough to risk my life to erase a name?'
As Yevgenia struggled, crossing off one absurd excuse after another, Yulan spoke first, as if sensing her plight.
"Surely, you aren't going to tell me some nonsensical rubbish—like you did it all just to take the fall for the insults that shameless bastard deserves to hear behind his back?"
"..."
"I don't think the Imperial Princess is that stupid."
His voice was utterly cold.
It was an attitude that suggested he truly believed Yevgenia wouldn't make such a choice—or rather, that he hoped she hadn't.
But for Yevgenia, there was no excuse more fitting than that.
After a moment of hesitation, Yevgenia kept her mouth shut.
Yulan would be able to read between the lines with just this.
Sure enough, Yulan did not disappoint her expectations.
"Ha! It would be ridiculous to stop someone who insists on being stupid. Do you actually want to inherit the Dukedom?"
"..."
"Since your reputation has already hit rock bottom, you figure it doesn't matter if you throw the rest away? Do you think doing this will make that man look at you differently?"
Speechless.
It was the perfect word to describe Yevgenia's current state.
She wanted to refute everything from start to finish, but she couldn't.
'Dammit, why did I give that dog-like excuse about loving him when we first met?'
If it weren't for the original novel, she wouldn't have cared whether Raymond bought the Rose of Light or the Rose of Blood.
If she had known Yulan would interrogate her like this, she would have promised backing to any nouveau riche at the auction and helped them win the bid.
'But why is this man clinging to this issue and refusing to let it go?'
Since she had remained silent while he spoke, she thought he would just click his tongue a few times and move on.
However, he maintained an expression and attitude that seemed utterly displeased.
It was as if he were telling Yevgenia to make an excuse if she had one—no, it was an attitude demanding an 'explanation.'
This made Yevgenia extremely irritated.
In the first place, she hadn't thought he would care about this at all.
It wasn't something worth worrying about, and even if he did, she wondered what it had to do with her.
After all, Yulan and Yevgenia were in a contractual relationship tied together by mutual need.
Even if she truly did this because of lingering feelings for Raymond, he had no right to question her.
The only reason she was answering obediently was that she didn't want to ruin her relationship with him over such a trivial matter.
'My sin is simply being too kind.'
"It's not that..."
"Not that?"
"With Raymond—"
The moment she mentioned Raymond's name, Yulan's gaze turned sharply cold.
The change was so abrupt that Yevgenia momentarily fell silent.
She continued with a reluctant expression.
"I wanted to show that things have completely soured between him and me. I thought it would be best to clearly draw a line and push him away several times in a public setting."
"Against that man?"
Instead of answering with words this time, she responded with a faint smile.
For a lie made up on the spot, it was a pretty decent excuse.
Didn't it seem like a good start for building a foundation to inherit the Dukedom?
If there was a new problem, it was that she had originally intended to give this Rose of Light to Yulan as a birthday gift, but that plan seemed ruined.
'Who would want to receive an item bought for the future of another man? It's basically just taking someone's leftovers.'
Even if she didn't want to think that way, she couldn't help it.
'I'll have to spend twice as much money. If I'd known this would happen, I would have bought other things at the auction too.'
But how could Yevgenia have known it would turn out like this?
She would have understood if he were moderately curious, but right now, he looked almost...
'...like he's jealous.'
It was the same during their last meeting.
And now.
Yulan's attitude was truly strange.
Yet, it didn't seem like he liked or loved her.
'Is this that? That thing called the desire for conquest or whatever?'
When she first heard of it, it was utterly unpleasant, but she felt she was starting to get the hang of it.
Just because she understood didn't mean it wasn't unpleasant.
'Wanting to be jealous without actually loving someone... he's a complete lunatic.'
Thus, Yevgenia's attitude became increasingly reluctant.
Not wanting to indulge Yulan's emotions any further, she cleared her throat to change the atmosphere.
"Anyway, what happened with the thing I mentioned before? The tinted glasses."
"...Ah. The design is still being worked on, but the process of making the lenses from crystal is almost complete. They said it's actually easier since there's no prescription involved."
"Still, cutting the crystal without leaving scratches wouldn't be easy. If you're subtly bragging that you chose a great craftsman, well, I'll give you a round of applause."
Yulan let out a short snort at her joking remark.
Relieved that the topic had shifted naturally, Yevgenia swallowed a sigh.
If they continued talking about business, that subtle atmosphere from a moment ago would be completely erased.
"Oh, about what I mentioned before. That the target market might be too narrow because of the price of the tinted glasses. I found a way to solve that."
"Hmm?"
"I happened to have the opportunity to have a deep conversation with Lady Benson."
"Benson... the Imperial Times?"
Yevgenia gave a short nod and continued.
"I don't know about the whole Empire, but at least 80% of the people in the Imperial Capital read the newspaper, right? We put a story about the tinted glasses there. We'll turn a reporter's personal experience into a column."
"...Aha. It would be even better to put a drawing of the tinted glasses at the start of the column. It would stimulate curiosity."
As expected, Yulan was a man who returned three words for every one she threw.
It was no easy feat to not only accept concepts that had never existed in this world without panic but to immediately utilize them.
Perhaps that was why she enjoyed talking with him even more.
The trait of 'being on the same wavelength' seemed ordinary, yet it was something special.
Wearing a satisfied smile, Yevgenia spoke without thinking.
"Once the tinted glasses are easily distributed among the commoners, it'll be easier to cover your eyes. You've been lucky so far, but among the commoners you meet in the future, there might be at least one person who knows the color of the Second Imperial Prince's eyes."
"I can just get rid of that one person."
Yevgenia quickly looked up at the sudden, cruel remark.
On Yulan's face was a fishy smile, entirely different from her own.
A flustered Yevgenia asked,
"Then what, if you think my mouth is getting too loose, are you planning to get rid of me too?"
"I wonder."
"!"
Yevgenia's eyes widened.
An answer she hadn't expected at all had come out.
Perhaps to Yulan, his eyes were more than just a medium for revealing his identity; they might hold some deeper meaning.
'He said he inherited his eyes from the former Empress. Could the former Empress have been like an Emperor to him?'
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