Anxiety reared its head. Even if she had misjudged, Mel thought Genoa was partly to blame. His way of speaking—always cryptic, testing her with words that seemed to have hidden meanings—was truly malicious. So if things had gone wrong this time, Mel planned to appeal by clinging to Genoa’s manner of speaking.

Mel glanced at Genoa, who was lost in thought in the carriage, and asked,

“Are you angry?”

“Why would I be?”

Genoa answered without looking at her. Unlike his lips that denied it, his stubborn refusal to look at her seemed to tell a different story.

“……Because I was alone with the Second Prince?”

“I’m not just because of that.”

“So you are angry.”

At Mel’s observation, Genoa pressed his lips tightly together. The corner of his eye twitched as he stared somewhere beyond the carriage window. Mel, almost grateful for even this slight reaction, recited her prepared excuse.

“I had my circumstances too. Do you know that you were also responsible for how things turned out, Duke? If it weren’t for the dress you gave me as a gift, I wouldn’t have chosen to completely antagonize the First Prince.”

“I didn’t expect you would make such a choice.”

“You said I was the question you were posing to the First Prince. It’s not right to reproach me for failing to ask the question you wanted when you didn’t specifically share what that question should be.”

Mel spoke more rapidly than at any other time today. This seemed quite refreshing, as it successfully brought Genoa’s gaze back from outside the carriage.

“You seem quite indignant.”

“It doesn’t seem like your anger should be directed at me, yet I feel like I have to bear it.”

“……”

At Mel’s words, a gleam appeared in Genoa’s eyes. His tightly set lips also softened a bit then.

“Indeed.”

One corner of Genoa’s mouth curled up slightly. He rested his elbow on the carriage window frame, propped his chin, and looked at Mel through narrowed eyes.

“You are wise.”

“……What does that mean? So, am I right that I have to bear it? Or am I right that it’s not my responsibility?”

“Both are correct.”

“Then that’s extremely unfair to me. As you can see.”

Truly. Mel’s expression was the very picture of someone who felt extremely wronged. Genoa struggled to swallow the laughter he had been holding back.

The inexplicable displeasure dissolved. From the moment Mel had followed him with small steps while carefully watching his mood, the displeasure had melted with each step and quickly disappeared. However, what took its place was an emotion he could neither understand nor name.

“It’s because I realized you’re wiser than I thought, princess. And the results you bring are likewise.”

Yes. She had exceeded expectations as the princess of Reibritton. The princess was the first person to fill Genoa’s insatiable nature with a sense of calm satisfaction. It would be right to praise her and give her more trust.

But he couldn’t do so because his wretched insides constricted sharply as soon as he noticed something.

“What does that mean?”

“Thanks to you, princess, I’ve had quite a good idea.”

“Ah.”

Mel nodded slightly at Genoa’s words. Seeing her attitude as if she had understood even before he explained, Genoa tilted his chin, asking her to speak.

“But it seems to be an unwelcome idea in your mind?”

Genoa’s eyebrows lifted slightly at Mel’s response, and a gleam appeared in his eyes. He thought he couldn’t answer about this emotion that even he didn’t understand, regardless of how she interpreted it, but she had hit the mark quite precisely.

“So I understand that even though it’s not my responsibility, my actions affect your mood. I get it.”

With that, Mel stopped rolling her eyes uncomfortably as if the matter was settled. Seeing her relax against the carriage seat and release the tension in her body, as if she would no longer watch his mood, Genoa smiled slightly. Truly, his princess was remarkably wise.

When he saw the princess wearing Rudrich’s clothes in the lounge, calculations that betrayed Genoa’s feelings and will were instantly made in his mind. Perhaps it was because the two looked so good together, with an atmosphere of mutual respect in the way they looked at each other.

“Your understanding is extraordinarily accurate, princess.”

If the Second Prince of the Raon Empire and the princess of Reibritton were to be joined, the result could take quite a pleasing form. It was thanks to the princess’s wisdom that Genoa was led to this thought.

Amelia Reibritton was wise, her maternal relatives had lost power, and she was an excellent justification for raising the imperial honor that the late emperor had buried. The number of kingdom citizens who would naturally be absorbed into the empire according to her choice would make the empire bigger and more beautiful, and Rudrich would certainly manage that empire wisely.

They were truly an exceptionally well-matched pair, Genoa thought.

‘The nobles would likely give their blessing, the imperial citizens would cheer, and the kingdom’s citizens would accept the new changes, leaning on the princess.’

His calculations were not limited to the Reibritton Kingdom and the Raon Empire. As Genoa intended to be a most faithful servant in the empire that Rudrich would lead, it was also his role to choose an empress candidate who could provide stability to Rudrich, who could be considered his future lord.

In his mind, the name Amelia Reibritton had pushed to the forefront among numerous candidates with the most overwhelming presence.

If Rudrich and the princess were to be engaged, they could be quite satisfactory spouses to each other. There was no history anywhere of a righteous emperor and a wise empress conflicting and opposing each other. Rudrich would respect the princess, and the princess would admire Rudrich.

After many years, they would place that respect and admiration side by side, and the day would surely come when they would call it love.

“I was quite perplexed, not knowing why I disliked it so much.”

Because the result was so excellent and satisfying, Genoa’s mind became clouded instead. Even while speaking to Mel, Genoa was trying to organize his thoughts.

Having something unpredictable and irregular lurking within him irritated Genoa’s nature—he wasn’t satisfied unless everything was under his control. As he suppressed his sensitively sharpened nerves, Mel let out a deep sigh and said,

“I really don’t know. What you truly want, Duke Ivanstein. How I should act so that you will willingly gift me freedom.”

“……”

“Is your intention to give me freedom still valid? According to our contract.”

Freedom. Yes. What the princess wanted was freedom. The moment he realized this, something sharp within Genoa began to rapidly soften. It was as if he had been desperately searching for a variable needed for this calculation. What could be further from freedom than the position of empress of the Raon Empire?

“That’s right. I promised to give the princess freedom when this deal ends.”

Genoa murmured in a low voice, as if he had just realized it.

Could he have forgotten? Seeing the princess’s face as she silently criticized him with narrowed eyes, he felt even more acutely how desperately she longed for freedom.

Wasn’t she the princess who dared to create a vegetable garden and learn farming at the Ivanstein mansion? A woman who wanted to fly away like a free bird would hardly want the large cage of the imperial family.

“Of course.”

“It feels as though you forgot for a moment, Duke.”

“That’s also correct.”

“……”

Mel glared at Genoa, not hiding her incredulous expression. From his pleasantly curling lips, even Mel could easily notice that Genoa’s mood had improved considerably.

Mel took this opportunity to express a complaint she had always had about Genoa.

“As much as you can give me freedom, I will do anything for you. So by now, couldn’t you trust me a little?”

Though she was the enemy’s princess, Mel thought she had sufficiently proven to Genoa that she was harmless. Even Genoa, whose personality had become more twisted than when he was young, couldn’t deny the fact that she could not harm him.

So it was time for Genoa to reveal his true purpose to her. While running together toward a single goal, the purpose Genoa had told her was always hazily veiled. Because of this, Mel could only struggle within limited information, not knowing exactly how to move or how to avoid going against his will.

“I can fall asleep defenseless in front of you, but it’s difficult for you to share your inner thoughts?”

“That’s a good point.”

Genoa sincerely praised Mel. Of course, that wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

Before Mel could speak again with a disgruntled voice, Genoa spoke first.

“I thought you and His Highness the Second Prince looked quite good together in the lounge earlier.”

“……Me and His Highness the Second Prince?”

Though she didn’t actually say “what nonsense is this,” Genoa could see it on her face. He observed Mel’s undignified expression as she gaped in astonishment. Somehow, Genoa found that face quite pleasing to look at as he continued speaking.

“The benefits brought by maternal relatives would be vast, yet they wouldn’t be granted power to exercise. I’ve calculated that you are not at all inadequate to become the future empress of the Raon Empire.”

“That’s absurd. You’re not actually planning to pursue this, are you? Oh, please. Please, couldn’t you just say no?”

“Yes, I won’t.”

“Which is it—yes or no?”