Chapter 38 – If I’m The Only One

“Is it true that there is a slave in the castle?”

“Of course. Will the Emperor of Blanche lie to me? Look for it again. I’m sure they’re hiding like a rat somewhere.”

Veloa nervously tapped the table.

Her escort awkwardly looked at her with a troubled expression.

Even after coming to Schwarhan, the condescending princess had not changed at all.

Instead, she became sensitive to the restricted radius of action and often lost her temper.

“But, given the fact that we can’t find it no matter how hard we look, the Grand Duke may have taken the first step…….”

“If you say that one more time, I will tell everything to my father.”

Veloa growled irritably and knitted her brows.

[T/N: to “knit your brow/brows” means to frown because you are thinking carefully, angry or worried.]

Had it been her immediate maids she had direct authority over back in her home country, they would have been diligently trying to please her with their tongues. However, the escort assigned by her father, the king, was useless in that respect.

“……I’ll look for it again.”

“It’ll come out eventually. In any case, don’t make me say it twice.”

Veloa openly clicked her tongue and snorted.

At first, the endless snowfield felt quite romantic, and she liked the magnificent castle, but now everything was boring.

There were no parties in Schwarhan.

No matter how gorgeous a dress or the amount of jewelled accessories she was adorned with, there was nowhere to flaunt it.

Had Cabellenus not been a handsome man, she would have left this ridiculously lacking land.

“But what are you going to do after finding the slave?”

“Of course, I have to show my virtue as the future Grand Duchess.”

Veloa puffed out her chest and raised her chin like an elegant lady.

[T/N: “Puff out your chest” is a signal that one is dominant and virile and for a part of the universal expression of pride.]

“The Grand Duchess? But, when you met the Grand Duke, it was clear…….”

“Of course, it was just talk.”

“Pardon?”

“Easy girls are boring, aren’t they?”

Veloa nodded her head as if she was right.

Whenever she blinked, long, voluminous eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly’s wings.

“Nevertheless, the opponent is Schwarhan’s wolf. If you accidentally offend him…….”

“I think the notoriety is an exaggeration.”

“An exaggeration? No way.”

Cabellenus did not only have a vicious rumour.

He had countless achievements to support the rumour.

The notoriety of Schwarhan’s wolf could not be easily dismissed.

Of course, Veloa – who was ignorant of war – did not know this.

“No. It must be an exaggeration. Isn’t it strange to do something like that with such a beautiful face?”

Veloa was calm and relaxed as she touched the ring on her hand.

She was ignorant of what she lacked and had no intentions to know.

War and politics were all just unrealistic stories.

She always liked beautiful things, like all the nobles her age did, and she did not want to think about anything complicated.

Even if she did not become involved in complicated issues, she knew better than anyone that there were so many things to enjoy in the world.

“The wolf of Schwarhan is beautiful?”

“He’s the best-looking man I’ve ever seen. He’s tall and in good shape.”

In truth, she did not expect much, but Schwarhan’s wolf, whom she heard only through rumours, was a man with an unexpectedly beautiful appearance.

It was not comparable to herself, but she would not feel ashamed to stand together.

“It would have been better if it weren’t for his dirty taste.”

Of all the women, he chose a slave.

Veloa clicked her tongue.

It was a pity that they had the same noble lineage.

“Princess, are you seriously planning to marry the Grand Duke of Schwarhan?”

“Of course I should. I’m not an idiot, and I’m not going to miss my chance of a lifetime because of a vulgar slave.”

“You said this place is boring.”

“Even if it’s boring, I have to endure it for the future.”

Veloa clicked her fingers with an arrogant smile.

She had no intention of staying only as the Grand Duchess of a frozen land. What Veloa wanted was more than that.

“With just one marriage, I can become the ruler of that huge Blanche, but of course, it’s a profitable business, isn’t it?”

[T/N: Not sure if this comes across clearly, but pretty much, Veloa’s believes that by marrying Cabellenus (who currently rules over Schwarhan), she’ll not only become the Grand Duchess of Schwarhan but eventually rise and become the Empress of Blanche once Cabellenus takes his ‘rightful’ place as the Emperor of Blanche. (This was also implied in the previous chapter when she was speaking to Cabellenus). Her greed is real…!]

No matter how much love she received from her father and the people of the kingdom, the order of succession to the throne did not change.

The next king of the Kingdom of Christie had already been decided.  In the end, she was destined to lay at the bottom.

But Veloa hated that.

She always wanted to be noticed more than anyone else, and she liked it when everyone looked up to her.

The position of Cabellenus’s wife was an excellent position to achieve that goal.

However, there was a slave ignorant of their own identity and coveting the position of the Grand Duchess.

“Stop talking nonsense and try to find the slave as soon as possible. It’s better to get rid of the annoying things as quickly as possible.”

“But is it okay to touch the slave?”

“Is it okay? Are you really asking that?”

Veloa chuckled as if she heard something funny.

“A slave is an object. No matter how much he cherishes it, he can’t get mad at me because of such a thing. Even if I touched it, the Grand Duke can’t say a word to me, can he?”

“But I’m a little worried since it’s been hidden so carefully.”

“Doesn’t that only show how much he wanted to hide it from me? The Grand Duke, too, must consider the slave as a disgrace.”

Would he want to make a woman who he considered as a disgrace the Grand Duchess?

The escort thought that, but he did not dare to bring it up.

He knew that pretty face was no different from a colourful poisonous mushroom.

King Christie was always generous to Princess Veloa. Regardless of whether it was true or not, it was not good to offend her.

“I am Veloa. Veloa Christi. Do you think there’s a man who would reject me? It’s ridiculous to compare me to that vulgar slave in the first place.”

“But…….”

“If you have time to talk nonsense, go out and look for signs of the slave or organise something interesting. I’m trapped in a land where we have parties only twice a year, and I’m already dying of pain.”

“Well, how about calling for a seamstress?”

“It’s obvious what the level of clothes is like here in the countryside. There’s no point fitting for a dress.”

Veloa scowled at the escort with a stiff look.

The escort stuttered with a scarlet face.

“Then, a jeweller or…….”

“There’s no party, so why would I buy jewellery?

Veloa clicked her tongue as if she was dumbfounded.

“If so, should I call you an entertainer?”

“You want me to watch someone playing with a thousand things?”

She hated this, and she hated that.

The escort shed a cold sweat as Veloa fiercely raised her brows and growled.

“Oh, come on. I don’t like it. You cannot match my mood at all.”

“Or, why don’t you tell the Grand Duke you want to throw a simple party?”

“Party?”

“If it’s simple–”

“I don’t like simple things. If it’s for me, it’ll have to be magnificent.”

Veloa pondered for a while with her chin propped and soon smiled.

“Get a pen and paper right now.”

“Paper?”

“I’m going to test how far the Grand Duke will go for me.”

Veloa gave a haughty nod and grabbed the pen the escort brought.

* * *

“Please hold a party. That’s the princess’s idea.”

“It must be difficult to adapt to Schwarhan’s culture since she’s always enjoyed parties in her home country. Of course, even taking that into account, this is a rather unreasonable demand.”

Gazeff gently waved the piece of paper bearing Veloa’s requirements written on it.

“Does the Kingdom of Christie always hold parties like this?”

Cabellenus laughed as if the idea was absurd.

“No way. It’s ridiculous. Even if the Kingdom of Christie is a powerful nation, if you hold a party like this every time, the treasury would be empty.”

They were already well-informed about the financial condition of the Kingdom of Christie.

It was practically impossible to hold a grand celebration every time to meet Veloa’s demands.

“Then?”

“She’s clearly looking down on Schwarhan. She’s confident that she’s the one in control of the marriage.”

“That’s a quick judgement.”

Cabellenus briefly clicked his tongue.

“Maybe it’s because she lacks nothing.”

“What do you mean?”

“According to my intel, it is said that King Christie spoils Princess Veloa. She can do whatever she wants, and even if she commits a crime, he lets it silently pass by.”

“Crime?”

“It is said that she killed a teacher who she was not pleased with.”

Gazeff deeply sighed as he recalled the princess filled with endless arrogance.

No matter how optimistic he tried to be, he did not think she was suitable to be Schwarhan’s Grand Duchess.

“Killed?”

“She secretly hid a diamond necklace in the teacher’s bag and framed the teacher. It was an expensive item that the princess received as a birthday gift, so even though it was theft, the teacher was sentenced to death.”

“It was a thoughtless action.”

“She did it when she was 13 years old, so I wouldn’t describe it as a thoughtless action. However, the problem is that there was no punishment for the princess for committing such a thing. Most people don’t know it was actually done by the princess.”

Gazeff laughed bitterly.

While claiming that the princess committed the crime without knowing anything, she killed countless people even after driving her teacher to death.

And, that did not change much until recently.

“He must have a special love for his child.”

“She’s said to be special since she resembles the dead queen that the king cherished the most.”

“Special things can become poison.”

A memory suddenly flashed in his mind. Cabellenus remained silent for a while with his mouth closed.

He thought he had forgotten all about it, but there were times when he remembered that day.

“So, what should I do about this party?”

“Well……. Gazeff, what kind of person did Princess Christie look like to you?”

“She didn’t seem that great. At first glance, she looked young and inexperienced. And, that’s not much different from what we’ve investigated.”

“Really?”

Cabellenus tilted his head slightly.

“Yes. So, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to attempt to negotiate in a moderately amicable manner. Seeing Princess Veloa, it’s not going to be much different from coaxing a child. The problem may be easier to solve than I thought.”

Gazeff quickly nodded.

In the first place, what was important was not Veloa’s personality but how to use her.

Having confirmed that the opponent was clumsy, it would be much easier next time.

“Is that so?”

Cabellenus muttered as he touched his chin.

“What’s wrong?”

Gazeff tilted his head.

“As you said, Princess Christie is certainly clumsy. But, why was it her?”

“Well, wasn’t it because His Majesty was searching for your partner in a hurry? Anyway, Princess Christie is famous for being the most beautiful woman on the continent.”

Gazeff nodded lightly.

He didn’t really like Veloa, who behaved like a stupid foal in front of Cabellenus. But he couldn’t deny that she was a tremendous beauty. Although somewhat young, Veloa was the most beautiful woman Gazeff had ever seen.

“The emperor that I know wouldn’t make such a mistake.”

“You don’t think it’s a mistake?”

“Isn’t there another unmarried princess from the Kingdom of Christie?”

“Yes, right before Princess Veloa, there’s the second princess who is also unmarried. I heard that her beauty is no match for Princess Veloa.”

Cabellenus tapped the tip of his chin with his index finger, with his eyes slightly lowered. No matter how much he thought about it, it was strange.

“His Majesty already knows that beauty is not important. Furthermore, it is natural for His Majesty to prefer to side with the second princess, who has a slightly higher succession right.”

“It’s possible that Princess Veloa was purposely selected.”

“It’s very likely.”

The Gerpenus that Cabellenus knew would pretend it was a mistake rather than make a mistake.

There must have been a plot behind presenting a clumsy princess.

“Then, why Princess Veloa?”

“It’s one of the two. Either she’s acting on purpose, or she’s someone worth using.”

“It didn’t look like she was acting.”

Gazeff frowned slightly.

“You don’t know that.”

“Do you think Princess Veloa was acting?”

“No.”

Cabellenus briefly answered as he leaned his upper body against the chair.

Honestly, even in his eyes, Veloa did not seem to be acting.

However, behind her was no one else but Gerpenus.

It should not be taken lightly.

“Nevertheless, it’s not good to make a hasty conclusion.”

“So…….”

“For now, let’s listen to everything the princess wants. I will try to coax her in a moderately amicable manner. Instead, don’t be sure of anything. Don’t miss any chances, and don’t take your eyes off her.”

Cabellenus’s eyes shone sharply.

He was born as a silent predator, after all.