DPATV - Chapter 27

I should buy a pair of men's pants soon, too.

I told you women's riding breeches are so tight they're uncomfortable to move in.

Erencia took off the bed sheet and rolled it up.

Agnes's eyes wavered.

"Miss, surely... through the window...?"

"Yes, I'm going out the window."

"We're on the second floor, Miss!"

Agnes shouted.

Erencia quickly approached and covered her mouth.

"I know! Who doesn't know? This is the only way to get out."

"We could just swap clothes and..."

"Stop reading novels."

In novels, people might not recognize you even if you just put a single mole on your eye, but reality is different.

Although Agnes and Erencia were similar in build, they were completely different in everything from hair color to appearance.

Does it make sense that they wouldn't recognize you just because you swapped clothes?

Especially since they are people they see every day.

Erencia pushed away the slumped Agnes

"If you're scared, just stay here."

Before she knew it, Erencia had placed her foot on the windowsill.

"Miss..."

Agnes, with a tearful face, grabbed Erencia.

Erencia pushed Agnes's hand away.

Agnes's hand lingered in the air.

Erencia smiled sweetly and threw herself down from the balcony.

***

"Isn't this going too far? To publish an article about your romance with the Princess without even giving me a heads-up!"

Maximilian, wearing his fedora crookedly, immediately lost his temper as soon as he saw Euclid.

Maximilian was the president of a small media company supported by Euclid. If he had seen his sponsor's expression properly, he would surely have kept his mouth shut.

However, Maximilian did not take his eyes off the extra edition leaflet and did not see Euclid's grimly crumpled face.

"You are really going too far. Considering how much information I gave you in exchange for the exclusive article on you, young master, to stab me in the back like this..."

A book flew into Maximilian's face.

Frederick pushed Maximilian mercilessly to prevent bloodshed.

Maximilian fell to the floor with a loud crash.

"Ah. Did I put too much force into this?"

Maximilian glared at Frederick, stood up, and brushed off his clothes.

"You all think I'm an easy target. You're all being too much..."

Maximilian, who had been muttering complaints, belatedly realized the atmosphere in the office and shut his mouth tightly.

'It's a lake covered in thin ice...'

Maximilian cleared his throat for no reason and glanced at Euclid.

"Maximilian, do you have something to say?"

Euclid asked clearly.

Maximilian quickly shook his head at the mountain of extra edition flyers piled up in front of Euclid.

“I have no business.”

Even Euclid fell for it.

His lost sense of awareness returned only when he was facing death.

"Did you find out which media outlet distributed these flyers, Frederick?"

Euclid ignored Maximilian, rose from his seat, and sat on the desk.

He stomped down on the flyers lying under his feet and crushed them.

Maximilian twisted his body.

Well, whoever it is, they really got caught.

Even if it's third-rate gossip, there are people you should mess with and people you shouldn't.

"It is a one-person media company that started recently. It is small, shabby, and has very little capital."

"How dare you publish a gossip article linking Gredelus and the Imperial Family in a place like that?"

"Of course, there must be someone behind it."

“Who could it be?”

His nasty habit of asking questions while knowing Euclid's answer popped out.

"I believe she is Empress Lillie."

"Then what am I supposed to do now?"

"Go visit Her Majesty the Empress to understand her intentions...."

"No, that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking my fiancée, who might have misunderstood because of this crappy article, uh, I'm asking what I should do."

"Yes?"

Leaving the dumbfounded Frederick and Maximilian behind, Euclid approached the window.

Maximilian walked over to Frederick and nudged him with his elbow.

'Did I hear that right?'

Frederick scolded him with his eyes to be quiet.

Euclid pulled back the curtains and looked down at the garden.

As soon as he saw the vulgar flyer slogan, 'Selvarena and Euclid's Hot and Moist Secret Rendezvous,' Euclid thought of Erencia, not Lillie, who had caused this mess.

Even though there was clear evidence that left her no reason to suspect him, it was actually Erencia who had left Euclid's mansion at dawn, so his first concern was what would happen if she misunderstood.

After all, even though they were contract fiancées, they had to maintain some semblance of etiquette.

Hadn't Erencia even resolved to do her best?

Euclid's expression as he looked out the window gradually darkened

"Wouldn't the best way to clear up the misunderstanding be to talk face-to-face? You should go visit her even now..."

Maximilian cautiously offered his opinion.

"No. There is no need for that."

Euclid flatly rejected Maximilian's suggestion.

Warmth filled his voice, which had been cold just moments ago.

"Maximilian and Frederick looked at each other at the same time."

"It looks like my fiancée came to confront me in person."

Euclid threw back the curtain and pointed out the window.

***

He saw a horse crossing the garden.

Guests visited the Gredelus mansion one after another.

Thanks to this, the butler Heinley had to move busily to entertain the guests. As Erencia, Agnes, and even an unnamed painter burst in following Maximilian, the usually quiet mansion became noisy.

Guests who had not been invited by the host gathered in Euclid's office under the leadership of Erencia.

Euclid rested his chin on his hand and watched Erencia.

Appearing on horseback, she said to Euclid, who was apologizing, "Never mind the apology, let's just get this settled."

And she said there was a solution.

Euclid watched silently, wondering what solution Erencia would come up with.

"I heard an incredible story today."

Euclid flinched and froze at Erencia's words.

"To start with the facts, it was not Her Highness the Princess who had a secret rendezvous with Sir Euclid last night."

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Erencia.

Erencia smiled sweetly and pointed at herself with her finger.

“It’s me.”

At the anticlimactic confession, Euclid slipped his hand resting on his chin, Frederick cleared his throat, and the portrait painter and Maximilian's eyes sparkled.

"But why did the rumors spread like this?"

Maximilian raised his hand and asked.

"You asked at a very opportune time, but it is a truly unimportant question."

Maximilian flinched.

He sometimes heard other people say that he lacked common sense.

To think she recognized that after exchanging just a single word, she is not a lady to be taken lightly.

"Right now, 'how to resolve this' is more important than 'why the rumor started or who started it.'

Wise words

Frederick nodded.

If it were Euclid, he would have ordered 100 different tasks for one incident, such as finding out who spread the rumor, catching the person who spread it, and thoroughly investigating the people around the president of the media company that spread the rumor.

However, Erencia was very wise.

Got a problem?

Then we can solve it.

“Is there a way?”

“Of course there is!”

Erencia answered confidently. Then, she effortlessly sat down next to Euclid and linked arms with him.

"Let go of gossip as gossip, and let sensational articles be even more sensational!"

Everyone tilted their heads as if they didn't understand what was going on.

Erencia secretly stroked the back of Euclid's hand.

Erencia, raising her eyes slightly, whispered into Euclid's ear.

"Let's cover it up... with our own."

Euclid froze solid.

"What... did you say?"

He thought he had misheard.

Erencia narrowed her brows in frustration and whispered again.

I must have heard correctly.

Euclid ran his dry hand over his face.

"Please don't keep this a private conversation between the two of you; we want to know about it together. Didn't you call us because you needed our help?"

Maximilian interrupted without thinking.

Frederick nodded enthusiastically. He was curious, too.

Erencia gave Euclid a look that demanded his agreement.

Euclid did not want the method Erencia suggested, but he couldn't think of any other clever solution.

Left with no choice, Euclid agreed.

"The method I came up with is to cover up the scandal with Princess Selvarena with Sir Euclid and my steamy story."

"What... did you say?"

Frederick shouted in surprise.

Then, realizing he had been rude, he quickly bowed his head

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I think you didn't hear me properly, so I'll tell you. I said I'd put the rumors to rest with a hot story..."

"Do you know what "hot" means?"

Euclid had Frederick open the window.

"Of course. You know me, right?"

Euclid shook his head.

I don't know.

I really don't know.

I never thought there would be something I didn't know in his life.

I hate to admit it, but he really doesn't know.

What are you thinking?

"Ah. I agree, too. If you mean a steamy scandal, is it something like the two of you hugging each other?"

This will be an article!

Unlike the dumbfounded Frederick, the reluctant Euclid, and the bewildered painter, Maximilian’s eyes sparkled as he enthusiastically agreed with Erencia’s solution.

“Absolutely not!”

Agnes interrupted.

“I don’t like it either.”

Euclid said it bluntly.

Good grief, you're counting your chickens before they hatch.

I don't plan on doing that either.

Erencia stood up.

With her arms crossed in front of her chest, she looked down at the people and spoke.

"It wouldn't be fun if you showed everything. You always have to make them curious about what happens next. I'm telling you, you have to leave room for the imagination."

Maximilian only realized what that meant the next day.

***

The next day, Maximilian let out a happy scream.

"What? It's all sold out already? What are you doing? You should be printing more!"

Maximilian recorded record-breaking sales since opening the media company.

And that was just two hours after the stall opened.

The first edition is already sold out, and a pub that wouldn't even glance at Maximilian's newspaper is clamoring for just ten copies.

"Boss, a Horseshoe Pub employee is here. He's asking for just five copies..."

"Ignore it, just say it's not there!"

Horseshoe Map was a very famous traveler's inn.

When newspapers were included in that Pub, the story spread to every corner of the empire.

Various publishing houses and newspaper companies were clamoring to include newspapers and magazines in the Horseshoe Pub.

Maximilian was the same.

He went in and out of the Horseshoe Pub until the threshold was worn down just to put a newspaper in it.

However, the haughty owner of the Horseshoe Pub didn't even glance at the pleading Maximilian.

"I'm not going, sir?"

"Just close the door!"

Maximilian laughed heartily.

So this is exactly what it feels like to abuse your power!

It is pleasant, exhilarating, and refreshing.

It’s like the feeling of a chronic constipation patient satisfyingly emptying their rectum.

Maximilian felt as if he were flying. He was so happy that he hugged the portrait of Erencia from the newspaper tightly to his chest.

Then, remembering that this person would become Gredelus's wife, he quickly pulled away.

Rub your hands together vigorously to make a crumpled portrait.

'Miss Erencia is a genius. We absolutely must bring her to our media outlet!'

While the portrait featuring Erencia and Euclid's stunning faces was fine, Maximilian was convinced. 

It wasn't selling because of the portrait. 

The reason it was selling was the headline Erencia had chosen. 

He was certain of it.

***

"The capital is abuzz with the story of Lady Erencia and Grand Prince Euclid." 

Snip! 

Lillie, who was trimming flowers for a flower arrangement, mishandled the scissors.

 A luscious rose bud fell to the floor. 

"Not Selvarena?" 

Instead of answering, Berle handed her a newspaper. 

Lillie took it with a displeased expression and crumpled it up.

"Is this kind of thing... actually circulating on the streets?"

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