“Did you send it properly?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Of course.”

“Then why is there no reply. It’s already been two weeks.”

Lili rested her chin in her hand and muttered sulkily.

Her golden hair, brushed out to full volume, was unusually deflated today.

It had already been three hours since she came to the office.

With a pile of work in front of her, she couldn’t get anything done.

Not long ago, Lili had sent a small piece of information along with a gift as a gesture of apology.

The gift was for Rodi, the small and adorable friend she had met there.

Because she couldn’t so blatantly send a gift for Eclise under the pretense of an apology.

She hadn’t expected a reply to come, but even so, not even a single short word until now.

I know that’s just the kind of person he is.

Ever since being thoroughly put down by Eclise, Lili had been suffering from severe insomnia.

“Sigh.”

She had something to ask of him on top of everything, but going to see him in person right now felt awkward.

She did need to apologize properly.

She had sent the gift to create a reason to visit, and now going again just like that felt like too much.

Bang!

Without warning, the office door flew wide open.

“Sister.”

Lili’s face crumpled instantly.

“What is it? Can you please show some manners?”

The person who had flung the door open without so much as a knock was none other than Lili’s sibling and the Emperor’s only legitimate prince, Ryan.

Ryan Heritage Aros.

As befitting children of the same Empress, the two looked very much alike.

The only difference was that while Lili’s eyes were sharp and clear, Ryan’s were always half-glazed.

Lili’s eyes narrowed at the grin he flashed her.

The way he was swaying while leaning against the doorframe was thoroughly suspicious.

His clothes, which should have been neat, were all undone, and even the hem of his shirt that should have been tucked under his vest was sticking out.

He had clearly spent the night indulging again.

It wasn’t as though this was a one-day occurrence, but she truly wondered when he would ever come to his senses.

“Please keep that disheveled state to your own room. If you’re going to step outside at least look like a proper person. Aren’t you embarrassed for others to see you like that?”

“Ugh, nagging again. Aren’t you sick of it?”

He frowned and dug a finger in his ear, then simply walked inside on his own.

Staggering.

Sure enough.

The moment he came close, a strong smell of alcohol hit her.

He paid no attention whatsoever to being told to leave.

He came right up and planted both hands on her desk, leaning forward.

“Hey.”

Lili leaned back against her chair as far as she could and furrowed her brow.

The acrid smell mixed with the alcohol had grown even stronger.

“What.”

Lili’s eyes sharpened.

“You got something going on with that guy?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Ryan dropped his head and snickered for a long moment.

Then he raised his gaze.

“I heard you went to Cheiles.”

How on earth had he found out about that?

It wasn’t as though she had hidden it, but the fact that her brother, who did everything on his own whims, had brought it up had caught her off guard.

Though the real problem was that even this information was already days late.

“What does it matter?”

“Why wouldn’t it matter?”

He grinned and reached out to tuck Lili’s hair behind her ear.

Anyone watching might have thought it was a fairly affectionate older brother doting on his sister.

Smack!

She swatted his hand away the moment it came close, and Ryan’s eyes turned slightly cold.

“The one you should be meeting isn’t that lowborn wretch, it’s someone else.”

“Speak plainly.”

“Mother worries about finding you a match every single night, you know.”

“……”

“So this brother of yours looked into it a bit for your sake.”

“What?”

“How about Cesare? You like the sea, don’t you?”

Cesare?

Cesare was the second son of Margrave Homus.

He was a loyal subject who had guarded the western border and served the imperial household faithfully for a long time.

He seemed a bit rough around the edges, and outside of eating and sleeping, he devoted every waking hour to researching and building warships, a single-minded obsession, but there was no doubt he was a man who loved the Empire more than anyone.

Rough was inevitable.

Bordered by the sea, he spent much of the year outside of winter driving off pirates who came crashing in, and that was precisely why he researched warships.

Margrave Homus was certainly a figure worthy of respect.

But Cesare was a different matter.

He had never been a particularly notable figure compared to Homus’s firstborn, Ulas.

Yet at some point, he had begun associating with Ryan.

They were on close enough terms to address each other familiarly, so it went without saying that he was no different from Ryan.

Especially when watching the way he fawned over Ryan with a lowly deference that looked as though he would hand over his liver and lungs, it was impossible not to frown.

“Cesare says he likes you. At least he has an eye for pretty things.”

What utter garbage.

Lili treated it with complete contempt, as though it wasn’t even worth acknowledging.

Still weighed down by his hangover, Ryan went ahead and perched himself on Lili’s desk.

“Or……”

Hmm, Ryan stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes as if weighing something.

Just as the corner of his mouth began to curl upward, Ryan spoke.

“Then what about Duke Hickman. The Duchess’s seat has been empty for quite a long time.”

“If you have time to talk nonsense, use it to sober up properly.”

“Why, same blood runs the same. What’s the difference? Even so, Duke Hickman is better than that lowborn wretch. What does a man’s age matter? Mother would be pleased too. He visited not long ago, didn’t he.”

A few days ago, the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony had finally taken place.

Since then, Ryan had been in this state continuously.

With Mother’s full backing behind him, a position had been made for him simply by sitting still, and his arrogance had swelled to its fullest.

He was the son Mother had protected by pushing out the other siblings, so it was certain he would grow even more insufferable going forward.

“Must be nice, little sister.”

Now he had crossed his arms and fully settled in.

“……”

“Women have it easy if they just marry well. What do you have to worry about? Not like me, having to deal with this and that. Wouldn’t it be better to just go along with it while your brother is looking out for you like this? Every day sitting in a chair, why go through all this trouble…”

Before he could even finish, Lili couldn’t help but let out a quiet, twisting smile.

Not knowing what else he might spout if left alone, Lili closed her documents completely and rose from her seat.

“Your brotherly love is truly moving.”

“Of course. You know how much I care about you, naturally…”

“Wallowing in debauchery must have truly melted your brain.”

“What?”

Ryan frowned and showed his displeasure, but Lili paid it no mind whatsoever.

“If you want to win me over willingly, find another approach, or if you still want someone to play the fool for you, drop it from the start. Going up against your father like that amounts to nothing more than the antics of a sheltered princess who doesn’t know the world.”

To think I’m being lumped in with this idiot.

She couldn’t deny being called a sheltered princess who didn’t know the world.

She was only twenty, and having lived only within the palace walls, she had accumulated far too little experience until now.

“If you want to drag down the Crown Prince seat occupied by a brother without ability because it infuriates you, you’ll need to be at least smarter than you are now.”

She knew.

That right now, she was nothing but a greenhorn who could do nothing.

That she didn’t yet have the courage to stand up to Mother.

Her insides felt as though they were boiling.

Even so, I don’t want to truly become a foolish princess.

But showing that would only expose to the whole world that her worth amounted to nothing more than that.

She didn’t want to be treated the way Eclise had put her in her place.

Find it.

My weapon.

“What are you so anxious about that you keep coming here and saying these things? Can’t you sleep at night if you don’t push me out? Are you afraid I might take something from you?”

That way, she wouldn’t be beaten so helplessly like this.

“This girl is really. Doesn’t know the sky is high and her brother is to be feared! Your Mother will…”

The moment Ryan raised his hand, Margaret, Lili’s aide and lady-in-waiting standing behind her, reached out to intervene.

“Please don’t do this, Crown Prince Your High…!”

But what stopped him was Lili’s voice.

“Yes, Mother.”

She was tired of being called a sheltered princess who didn’t know the world.

Lili scoffed and pushed her face right up to Ryan’s.

“It’s the position Mother made for you. You didn’t get there on your own. But Father… does Mother know that?”

“What did you say?”

“Brother.”

“……”

With their noses nearly touching, Lili smiled coldly.

“You know what Father hates most, don’t you? Drunk on alcohol, drunk on cigarettes, drunk on women… that’s all fine.”

Lili gently brushed Ryan’s shoulder.

“But you can’t be drunk on drugs. Father won’t tolerate that.”

Flinch.

“Hey, you, how did you…”

The corners of Ryan’s lips trembled.

“Cesare? Why? Is Demian not to your taste? You go to Demian’s mansion practically every day. I thought you’d introduce him to me.”

It wasn’t as though she didn’t know who was dragging Ryan down further like this.

Ryan froze completely.

In that moment Lili gathered all her documents and tucked them under her arm.

Staying here with this idiot, she’d rather go work in the glass garden.

“Choose your friends carefully. How old are you already? Even if I can say my fate improves with a good marriage as you say, are you going to jump off a cliff just because your friends do? Honestly. I think those friends of yours would be the first to push you off.”

And she stepped completely away from Ryan.

Lili spoke to the frozen Ryan.

“Conduct yourself properly. If you fulfill your responsibilities as Crown Prince, I have no desire to fight with you either. I won’t be greedy.”

Lili left Ryan where he stood and walked out of the office.

“Hey!”

The moment Margaret followed her out, a thunderclap of sound erupted from behind.

Lili brushed off the part of her hair Ryan had touched and said:

“Let him bark. Let’s go.”