"It's true, Mom! Chloe really came! Please believe me!"
Andrea felt as if he was going crazy from the sight of Kavala looking at him as if she was looking at him with pity.
"Chloe showed up and called me a bastard! She must have figured it out, Mother!"
Kavala's gaze grew even fiercer as Andrea mentioned the word illegitimate.
“Shut up, Andrea.”
"Mother...!"
“I heard that you wasted the large sum of money that Dnieper gave you and ended up penniless.”
“Why are you suddenly bringing that up...! I told you, that’s not the issue right now!”
Andrea, who had been stamping his feet in frustration, belatedly realized why Kavala had brought up that story and jumped.
“No, Mother!”
“I guess you thought this method would work.”
“No, it’s not what you think!”
But Kavala didn't even blink an eye.
Kavala's gaze turned cold as she thought Andrea had done this pathetically to extort more money from her.
His eyes were not the eyes of a son.
It was the look in his eyes of a pest trying to eat her flesh.
“Behave yourself.”
Andrea felt as if he was going crazy from the sight of Kavala looking at him as if she was looking at him with pity.
"Chloe showed up and called me a bastard! She must have figured it out, Mother!"
Kavala's gaze grew even fiercer as Andrea mentioned the word illegitimate.
“Shut up, Andrea.”
"Mother...!"
“I heard that you wasted the large sum of money that Dnieper gave you and ended up penniless.”
“Why are you suddenly bringing that up...! I told you, that’s not the issue right now!”
Andrea, who had been stamping his feet in frustration, belatedly realized why Kavala had brought up that story and jumped.
“No, Mother!”
“I guess you thought this method would work.”
“No, it’s not what you think!”
But Kavala didn't even blink an eye.
Kavala's gaze turned cold as she thought Andrea had done this pathetically to extort more money from her.
His eyes were not the eyes of a son.
It was the look in his eyes of a pest trying to eat her flesh.
“Behave yourself.”
“...Grounded? Grounded? What does that even mean?”
Kavala commanded instead of explaining.
“Listen! Lock the Prince in his quarters and don’t let him step out without my permission.”
It was confinement.
Andrea collapsed in despair behind the closing door.
"Mother...!"
He could tell.
That he had been abandoned by Kavala.
"Mother!!"
***
'That pathetic guy.'
Kavala clicked her tongue as she left the palace.
Even while imprisoning her son, she showed no sign of regret or remorse.
Rather, she seemed to have a hint of impatience.
'If you leave me alone, I'll do my best.'
Every time the word illegitimate child came out of Andrea's mouth, Kavala became sensitive.
She thought that one day Andrea would give her wings.
She believed that if Andrea became Emperor, she would be able to completely seize power for herself.
But seeing Andrea foolishly running around and causing accidents, she no longer saw him as a trophy for a secure old age.
Andrea was the one who had to solidify the position of Kavala.
If the opposite were true, Andrea would have no value to Kavala.
'If there's an obstacle blocking my path, I must regard it as an enemy, even if it's my son.'
Kavala had no intention of releasing Andrea from her captivity.
***
There was a heated debate among the aristocrats of high society about Andrea's seclusion.
“I wonder if he really went crazy like the rumors say?”
“They said he was running around the palace naked.”
“I heard he's been having a hard time lately, with a lot of debt due to a series of investment failures...”
For a while, the social world was abuzz with Andrea's story.
Kavala tried to suppress the rumors, but she could not stop all rumors from spreading through eyewitness accounts.
Meanwhile, news that once again shook the social world spread.
"Oh my goodness, did you hear that? That mysterious investor who's been controlling the Arrental business district. That's Princess Chloe!"
“Are you talking about the man who provided the funds for Elford’s trade route?”
“Yes, and it was also Princess Chloe who took over the upper part of Teramo and the upper part of Kielce, right?”
"Those who knew already suspected it. The Szeged Merchant Company, owned by Princess Chloe, was growing at an alarming rate."
“Oh my god, Princess Chloe...”
“Oh, it must have been Montril Piraeus, the vice-captain.”
People were left wondering how much Chloe's fortune was, given her immense success.
Yet, many still believed that Montril was the one who had achieved real success, while Chloe simply sat back and reaped the benefits.
Of course, that wasn't very important.
“Anyway, the person in charge is Princess Chloe.”
This fact alone is important.
Rumors that Andrea was insane and that Chloe was incredibly successful spread around the same time and soon coalesced into one big story.
“The truth is, Prince Andrea fell ill because he knew about Princess Chloe’s success in advance?”
“It seems he was so jealous that he couldn’t stand it anymore.”
“Was he jealous because they were so close?”
“Isn’t that the story before the Princess became successful?”
“If he were to say that he was going bankrupt because he had a huge debt and couldn’t pay it back, and that the Princess was able to sit still and achieve great success thanks to the good people she had, would he be able to remain sane?”
“That’s right. I heard from Count Chervus, who witnessed Prince Andrea’s commotion that day. He said that Prince Andrea was screaming and yelling for Princess Chloe to come find him, saying that she tried to kill him.”
“As expected, you are blinded by jealousy.”
***
After confirming that Kavala had imprisoned Andrea in the Prince's Palace, I returned to Ronheim with Lamia.
It seemed like I wouldn't have to go to Andrea anymore.
I wanted to ask him.
How does it feel to be a crazy Prince?
'I hope you feel so confused that no one believes you, no matter what you say, and even you can't believe yourself.'
Just like I did.
Still, I hoped Andrea wouldn't break down too quickly.
'Just wait a moment, Andrea. It's just the beginning.'
I looked at the numerous letters that had flown all the way to Ronheim.
The various letters covering the desk were all filled with all sorts of flattering words.
As soon as the news spread that the Szeged merchants were a commercial success and that I was the owner of the place, nobles and merchants began to rush to write to me.
There were also countless invitations to all sorts of events.
These are not just invitations.
'This is proof that I have gained influence.'
In my past life, I had lived in the capital city all my life, but I had never received an invitation before, and now I was receiving it in this faraway place, Ronheim.
The nobles of Arrental were thinking of me and wanted to meet me.
“You’re popular, Chloe.”
As I was looking through the invitations, Callius appeared.
I smiled meaningfully and picked up a few invitations and waved them around.
“I’ve received so many invitations, I can’t help but accept them, right?”
“You need to prepare a dress. A luxurious one, something that the nobles of Arrental would like.”
We planned to use these invitations as a pretext to go to the capital of Arrental and consolidate my influence.
I smiled at Callius, delighted that everything was going according to plan, when suddenly he looked closely at the invitations and picked out a few of them.
“Still, I think it would be better to decline these invitations.”
"Why?"
I looked at the invitations that Callius had selected.
I was curious as to what criteria were used to exclude them, as they did not contain any particularly notable content.
“I just don’t like it.”
“...?”
The sullen face that didn't answer Callius was strange.
"But the invitees are nobles from quite influential families. I also like the event."
At my words, Callius handed over the invitations one by one and said.
"Count Blentz is known as a womanizer. The Baron of Liege has a very handsome, unmarried eldest son, and Count Steiff has a cheerful charm that's different from mine."
“Why is that?”
I had no idea what he was talking about.
As I blankly looked up at Callius, Callius, who was standing next to the desk, he came closer to me, grabbed the armrest, and trapped me in his arms.
“I wonder if Chloe will laugh at them.”
"Yes?"
"Ronheim was perfect. I'm the only handsome guy who can catch Chloe's eye."
I couldn't help but laugh at that shameless remark.
“What are you saying?”
“When you go to Arrental and meet people, promise not to look at men for more than three seconds, Chloe.”
"Just saying hello would take more than three seconds! If you, Callius, let those beautiful ladies steal your gaze, I'll crush your feet. Be prepared."
“Then I guess I’ll have to crush the feet of other men who look at Chloe.”
“Then I’ll wait and see if Callius really does that!”
“Good. I’ll make every man at the party limp.”
It was when we were giggling and talking nonsense like that.
A cough was heard from the door.
I was startled and pushed away Callius, who was clinging to me, and saw Brentian standing in front of the door.
“I apologize for leaving the door open. I have a letter from Count Elbern.”
Count Elbern was the one who had provided Andrea with a place to station his troops.
“I think you should check this quickly.”
He dropped the letter on my desk and ran away, shouting.
“Then have a good time again!”
He must have heard all our childish puns.
Count Elbern and all, I slapped Callius' arm with a bright red face.
“You should have closed the door!”
Comments
Post a Comment