Damon was understandably angry at Cecilia's answer delivered through the actor's mouth.
“Even if I cut off your head, you won’t open your mouth?”
“Why would you risk cutting off my head now when you could have done so after becoming Crown Prince with my help?”
But there was no way to win against the calm answer, so he soon gave up.
“Good. If the second result and the third progress are as you said, I will come back to you and give you a proper reward.”
Cecilia doesn't need any compensation. She just needed to prevent Eden from becoming Emperor and keep her family safe. That's enough for her.
“But if it is false, you must keep in mind that you will be executed for blasphemy.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Damon, who had completely forgotten why he had come today, left with an excited look on his face.
“You’ve worked hard. If you keep today’s work a secret, you’ll be the female lead in a new play.”
Cecilia looked down at the actor whose hands were trembling slightly and whispered, and then left the place through another passage.
“...Sienna?”
Sienna had already arrived at the entrance to where they were sitting. Cecilia hurried her steps. In her head, she was thinking of what she could say if someone asked her where she had been.
“Cecilia.”
But Sienna, whose eyes met hers, didn't seem to have the slightest interest in such things.
“Sienna, your complexion is pale.”
"I'm okay."
A pale, tired face and trembling hands. If you think of it as a reaction after chasing after Marquis Calibre and returning, you can guess the situation without having to ask in detail.
Sienna recently became pregnant. Since the news became known, the Marquis of Calibre has started seeing women. He has done everything he can to have a successor, so it seems like he has done everything he can.
“Would you like to go back to the townhouse?”
In fact, it was common in aristocratic societies where most marriages were politically arranged. Each person's life was important. Unlike Cecilia and Eden, the couple had separate bedrooms for that reason.
“No, I don’t want to do that right now.”
Of course, if such things were agreed upon between the two, it wouldn't be a big problem. However, if the heart was one-sided, it became a problem. Because someone's heart was bound to rot away.
“Then let’s go to the Grand Duke’s residence, Sienna.”
Cecilia grabbed Sienna's weak arm and supported her. Sienna, who had no intention of returning to the Marquis of Calibre, obediently followed Cecilia's suggestion.
Cecilia felt sorry for Sienna, as she had experienced similar things. At the same time, she thought that there was no need to have any unreasonable expectations of past traitors at any moment.
People don't change.
“Be careful.”
After Sienna got on board first, Cecilia also got on board. With a bang, the door closed, and the carriage wheels started rolling.
***
The second competition day dawned. Eden and Damon were asked to talk about where Wyatt should go concerning the economy.
Of course, Cecilia knew the outcome.
'The current economic structure of Wyatt is mainly composed of agriculture and commerce. We need to consider tourism, which can provide added value, like Lanier Island.'
Eden will argue for a shift from a traditional agricultural and commercial economy to one of tourism and trade intermediation.
'There is a lot of good ore in Wyatt. Why do you think of letting the resources sit idle?'
On the other hand, Damon was in favor of improving security by focusing on the military industry, such as weapons development, while at the same time improving the profit structure through the weapons business.
The winner of the second competition was going to be Damon. Even though he chose to maintain relations with Benia, everyone thought that war could break out at any moment. As Eden said, it was premature to lower the threshold of the border and allow visits.
“Your Highness, I brought you some medicine.”
At that moment, Madame Monte knocked on the bedroom door. Cecilia gulped down the pitch-black liquid in the bowl on the tray.
“Oh my, how long do I have to take this medicine?”
After her severe illness, Cecilia took medicine regularly. It was always Madame Monte's job to give her the medicine. However, she always felt bad when she handed over the tray containing the medicine.
“It’s better to keep taking the medicine.”
“Of course. It’s better to prepare in advance than to get sick again.”
Madame Monte spoke as she put a warm snack in Cecilia's mouth, still speaking to her as if she were a child.
“But I’m worried that you might be able to eat it for the rest of your life. And if you have a child..."
Cecilia smiled silently. It was a secret even from Madame Monte that she was taking birth control pills.
“But that doesn’t mean I can tell you to take birth control pills.”
“What can I do? I guess I have to accept it as the will of heaven.”
To be perfectly honest, the medication she's been taking regularly lately has nothing to do with her health but rather birth control. She can't avoid Madame Monte's eyes forever, so she has Diego change the dried herbs in the pills.
'The effect is certain, but I heard that the medicine is toxic and taking it for a long time is not good for the body.'
It was said to be a medicine that made the body cold and prevented the baby from being able to settle in the womb. However, it was said that the effect was so strong that it could cause side effects such as infertility or the body's balance being disrupted, making the patient sick.
'It's okay. That's all.'
Cecilia laughed off such worries. She had no intention of having Eden's child anyway. She had no regrets about never having children in her life.
“How’s Sienna?”
Madame Monte shook her head with a bitter face at Cecilia's question.
“It must be bad for her. She's in the early stages of pregnancy, and it must be so upsetting to see her husband with another woman.”
It was only yesterday that there was a sign of bleeding. The Marquis of Calibre didn't even know about it. In the first place, he didn't even seem to know that Sienna hadn't returned to the townhouse. Even Eden, who had wanted to kill Cecilia, didn't show any sign of it.
“Thank goodness His Highness the Grand Duke is not that kind of person.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. When Your Highness was sick, he acted as if he was sick himself. When Ilya and Jackinson crossed the line, he struck them down so coldly.”
Madame Monte went on and on about Eden's gentlemanliness. Cecilia dismissed Madame Monte's remarks with a brief smile.
It was because she knew that even such a gentleman could cheat. If it weren't for the efforts that Cecilia made in this life, Eden might have lived like Marquis Calibre.
“Ilya Jackinson, Honey, you mentioned that to me. Did you hear about it?”
“What are you talking about?”
“She were embezzling money from the Countess of Jackson and secretly accumulating it as slush funds for the Count of Nova.”
Cecilia had guessed it. Ilya had been deceived by a false confession of love and had gotten married, but she would soon find out the truth. She was sure that Ilya, feeling betrayed, would do anything to revive her family and return.
“But the husband said that even though his wife was a spendthrift, a braggart, and not in her right mind, he would love her.”
Cecilia made a humming sound with a dull expression. She thought that he was impatient because he didn't want to get a divorce.
“When we got married, we pretended and all, but I think we really loved each other.”
Of course, they don't have any children yet, and in this situation, if his true nature is revealed through a divorce suit, it would certainly not be easy to remarry. Furthermore, since Ilya embezzled the money, it would be a waste of money.
The interpretations of those who knew the inside story and those who didn't were very different.
“There are also rumors that Ilya Jacinson was the one who tried to take advantage of her husband. If you think about the history of their family, it’s not such an unconvincing story...”
“Divorce will be difficult.”
Madame Monte nodded as well. Cecilia was certain that the day would come when she would have to pull the trigger.
***
“Your Majesty, it is late at night.”
The emperor, who had been pouring a bottle of wine alone, slowly moved his gaze. The chief chamberlain was looking at him with a worried expression.
“Is it that time already?”
It was close to dawn. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even realize it.
“I started to think, maybe I was being too narrow-minded.”
The Emperor chuckled. It was about Damon. It was impressive to see the youngest son, who had always been considered pitiful and lacking, express his opinion in front of people with confidence. Even the opinions he gave were quite appropriate.
“Yeah, he’s my son too.”
Of course, this is not just his opinion. However, dealing with people was also an ability that an Emperor should naturally possess.
“That is a valid point.”
“As Eden said, we need to take a serious look at those two.”
The chamberlain nodded at the Emperor's muttering.
“I should go to sleep. Move all the papers here onto the desk.”
At the Emperor's words, the chamberlain hurried to his feet. He neatly organized the documents that the Emperor had been looking over while drinking and moved them to the desk.
The Emperor's disapproval was indicated by a large X above Ilya Jackinson's divorce petition.
And the next day, Ilya's divorce application was dismissed.
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