Deep red hair and vivid green eyes like summer foliage. Many noble ladies in society admired those eyes, identical to Henrietta’s, calling them beautiful.

But Edith was terrified just looking at them.

After briefly examining Edith, Neil raised his green eyes to meet Ludwig’s piercing red ones. Naturally, Neil spoke first, as he was the one who needed to offer greetings.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes, young duke. What brings you all the way here? Have you grown fond of me?”

Ludwig was relaxed. But Edith, sitting right next to the man, was not.

Edith watched the conversation between the two men with a pale face that looked ready to collapse, ears perked up as if not to miss a single word.

“Yes, Your Highness. It’s that…”

“Our Köhler ducal family has committed a grave offense against Your Highness. Though embarrassing, I’ve come to apologize and rectify our mistake.”

“Mistake?”

Unlike the tense Neil, Ludwig smiled languidly.

“Yes. That… While we did commit a wrong, I want to first say that my father had absolutely no ill intent. All this mistake was my fault for keeping silent out of concern for my father’s disappointment, despite knowing the truth.”

Neil bowed his head briefly before looking up cautiously at Ludwig.

“I don’t like ambiguous expressions. I’m in a hurry, so state plainly what the mistake was.”

Prince Ludwig tilted his head back, urging the man as if bored by Neil’s procrastination.

“The truth is… that courtesan’s offspring doesn’t even have half the ducal bloodline. Her bloodline is so filthy that even her mother doesn’t know who her father is. My naive father simply believed a courtesan he had bedded a few times and brought the woman in. That girl is clearly not of my father’s blood but of some collateral line. Even looking at her appearance, unlike me or Henrietta, she doesn’t have green eyes. If she truly had my father’s blood, she would certainly have green eyes like him.”

“……”

“She must have been born from the seed of some ruined collateral line. It’s absurd to call her of ducal lineage.”

Neil continued, glancing sideways at Edith. Was he angry that Edith had willingly followed the prince?

“So? Whether ducal blood is mixed in or not, what difference does it make for someone who’s just a lowly creature?”

“It does make a difference. Even as a mistress, she’s a filthy girl who would tarnish the reputation of Your Highness, who will soon become Emperor.”

Neil continued more aggressively toward the prince, who was just listening without saying anything.

“I want to correct this mistake now. I apologize for offering Your Highness a girl no different from a courtesan and receiving a carriage of gold. I wish to return more than the wealth we received, Your Highness. Of course, that lowly creature must be removed from your side.”

“I see, so you’ve come to pay money and take the woman back. Is that how I should understand it?”

The prince cut off Neil’s words as if annoyed. At the mention of returning wealth, Edith momentarily couldn’t breathe. Ludwig’s attitude remained nonchalant, making it impossible for Edith to read his thoughts.

“It is presumptuous of me to say, but if that’s how we can resolve the error we’ve committed, then yes, that’s what I wish to do.”

Neil affirmed without hesitation. The prince looked at Neil and flashed a smile that seemed almost cheerful.

As Prince Ludwig smiled, Edith’s fists began to tremble at his side.

“So, how much can you offer, young duke?”

Ludwig asked Neil with a smile, stretching his back straight and leisurely extending it against the chair.

‘Here it comes. Please don’t let Neil offer an amount that would satisfy the prince… please.’

Edith began to sweat. Though they were discussing her, she had no say in the matter.

“I heard that Your Highness would give that girl to your knights if offered two carriages of gold. It wasn’t espionage; it’s already a widespread rumor… So I offer three carriages of gold as compensation.”

“cough”

At the mention of three golden carriages, Edith began to cough dryly. She was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.

‘He’s going to sell me.’

Tears began to well up in Edith’s eyes. This was the moment she had feared all along. The prince had no connection whatsoever with her. He hadn’t brought her along because he liked her.

It was just that when Neil brought up the topic, Ludwig showed interest. The prince wouldn’t pass up such a profitable deal. But for some reason, the prince closed his mouth and didn’t give a specific answer.

Watching this, Edith’s heart shrank as if someone were squeezing it.

“Disposing of that much gold wouldn’t be a decision you could make alone, would it?”

“That’s correct. But I already have gold mines that my parents have handed over to me.”

Even when Neil said he would buy Edith with money, the prince didn’t show any particular aversion.

Neil carefully explained his financial capabilities, proving his words weren’t empty promises, after reading the prince’s reaction.

“Please give me a chance to resolve this situation. Our Köhler ducal family will pledge loyalty to Your Highness in the future…”

“Loyalty… money and loyalty…”

Ludwig spoke languidly, staring into space as if weighing the benefits.

“You claim she’s extremely lowly and worthless, yet you’re offering quite a sum. Isn’t that so, young duke?”

“Because we must apologize for our mistake, Your Highness.”

Pfft. The prince gave a slight smile at Neil’s answer. It wasn’t a full-on sneer, just a faint smile, but it was definitely a smile.

To Edith, who had been staring only at that man, it was exceptionally clear.

“But you see, young duke. This woman is more useful to me than you think. Three golden carriages won’t be enough.”

After saying that, the prince stood up, pulling Edith along.

As if he had no intention of listening to Neil any further, the prince ignored Neil’s protests about offering more golden carriages and returned to his quarters.

**

“Th-thank you, Your Highness.”

“No. I brought you because you’re truly useful to me, so there’s no need to thank me.”

‘Is it because of that assassin? Is he planning to prosecute the Crown Prince based on the assassin’s testimony?’

If so, she would be a card in the throne dispute, not comparable to mere gold. Or he could sell her to Neil after everything was over.

Edith quietly waited for the man’s next words.

“I need someone who can train the assassin not to change his testimony until the trial. Can you do that, Edith?”

“Yes. I can do that for you as much as needed.”

Edith answered enthusiastically, doing her best. If she was truly useful, he wouldn’t send her back to Neil, at least until the matter was concluded.

[Edith, people must survive in any environment. Eventually, good days will return. Days you can smile about when you’re dying. Just like when I gave birth to such a pretty girl like you.]

Her dead mother’s words came to mind. Edith wanted to survive. As long as she could live as a human being.

After lunch, in the afternoon, the prince took Edith to where another prisoner was being held.

“Try to persuade this man. You seem to have a talent for it.”

The man had been severely tortured, with the skin of his right thigh already flayed. Edith almost frowned at the pungent smell of blood coming from him but managed to hold back.

Edith began to speak kindly to the man, as if meeting a dear friend she hadn’t seen for a long time.

After spending all day barely persuading the man, Edith returned to the prince’s quarters with Siren.

“The lady seems to have a special way with words. It’s been extremely helpful to us.”

The prisoner, half-crazed from severe t*rture, had sexually harassed Edith in all sorts of ways, but she had steadfastly persuaded him.

Perhaps moved by this, Siren began to praise Edith on their way back.

“It’s nothing special. I just empathize with them more because I’m in the same position.”

It was true. If her opponents had been arrogant royalty or nobility, her persuasion wouldn’t have worked at all. They wouldn’t have even bothered to listen to such words in the first place.

“I heard you succeeded again today. Our mistress has a talent for persuading people.”

The prince greeted and commended Edith as she returned to the tent, apparently having already heard the report.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Have you ever thought about pursuing this path?”

“Pardon?”

“Using your appearance that bewitches men, your plausible voice, and your persuasive, gentle manner to convince people I designate. I’m asking if you’d be willing to do such work properly.”

“Then you wouldn’t send me back to the Köhler ducal residence even after this is over?”

Edith looked at the prince who had recognized a talent she hadn’t known she possessed, and asked the question that worried her most.

A kind smile spread across the man’s face as he looked at Edith.

“Of course. If that happens, you’d become my subordinate, so I wouldn’t casually discard you, Edith Köhler.”

“Would I only need to persuade with words? Or…”

Edith recalled the assassin who had harassed her earlier. If she, known as the prince’s mistress, were to persuade men, she might find herself in dangerous situations.

“Well, you can undress if you want to. But I won’t force you.”

“If it’s just persuasion with words, I’ll do it gladly, Your Highness.”

Edith bowed her head, accepting Ludwig’s proposal. Since the prince had ambitions to become Emperor, he would send her to persuade people he needed.

She might face harsh treatment, but Edith was also curious. Whether she truly had a talent for persuading people. Whether she could live without depending on men.