Chapter 1 – 【 The Princess’s Preference 】 (Part 2)

Charlotte, who had no money for a dowry, married a man who didn’t demand one and came to Ritano, where she had no connections. She came relying solely on her husband, but he died within a year, leaving Charlotte to endure harsh treatment from her in-laws alone. She couldn’t return to her family, as her impoverished family couldn’t support a divorced daughter.

Yuria was similar. She had come to Ritano, where she had no relatives, because of Cedric, but she must have felt lonely in her husband’s indifference. She couldn’t return to the palace after a divorce either. The palace or the social circles in the capital would never accept a princess who was dishonorably divorced due to an affair.

“So what do you plan to do?”

“…I am thinking of having a baby. If I have a baby, he won’t be able to easily ask for a divorce.”

It was a sure method. If only the other person wasn’t Cedric.

“So, could you get me some aphr*disiac?”

“You know what that is, right?”

“I’m not that naive.”

Maybe not naive, but certainly reckless. 

Even among the large men of the South, Cedric stood out. If he, with his large build, were to be drugged and become aggressive, the frail Princess would never be able to handle it.

Pregnancy? She would be lucky if she didn’t get crushed and break something under Cedric.

“If the Count is intoxicated by the potion, he might not recognize you, Princess. You have no experience, so it will be hard for you to handle. You might even get hurt.”

“I know, Charlotte. Thank you for worrying about me. But this is my only option.”

Yuria’s pale complexion as she answered calmly made Charlotte feel responsible. Although it had ended now, Charlotte had created lovers to enjoy lightly whenever she was exhausted from harsh in-law treatment. It gave her some breathing room, so she had slightly recommended it to the Princess. Since the Princess didn’t outright refuse, Charlotte thought she enjoyed that sinful excitement.

But for Yuria, affairs were a kind of desperate act. A silent cry for attention. She wanted to prick her indifferent husband’s pride, but in truth, she wanted Cedric’s attention. Even if it was negative attention.

Otherwise, it couldn’t be explained why the Princess insisted on Cedric’s salon as the place for her secret meetings.

“I’ll try to get it for you, Princess.”

But the Princess’s desperate acts had been of no use so far. Cedric had never responded.

“Don’t worry and go back to the mansion for now.”

Charlotte comforted Yuria and sent her back. Getting an aphr*disiac wasn’t difficult, but it would only have adverse effects. Charlotte thought there might be another way to solve this problem.

Although Cedric seemed to have no interest in Yuria on the surface, he didn’t completely neglect her. He regularly received reports from Charlotte about the current people the Princess was meeting. If he saw no problem, he left it alone, but if there was a potential issue, he got rid of them.

Of course, this was kept secret from the Princess. Charlotte felt sorry for her, but what could she do? She only had one life.

‘The atmosphere has been unusual lately.’

Cedric’s surveillance had become particularly thorough. A man who had been hanging around Yuria was expelled from Ritano with one leg broken. He hadn’t even exchanged a few words with Yuria. This meant that there was some change in Cedric’s feelings.

‘If he were going to divorce her, he would have needed a man as a witness, so he wouldn’t have done that.’

Now, there might be a slight change in the relationship between Yuria and Cedric. At least, there would be no need to carry out that reckless plan to have his child. Charlotte changed her destination instead of going to see Cedric.

Of course, she could have gone to Cedric directly. It would have been a brief pl*asure for the eyes. Regardless of his personality, Cedric’s exterior was excellent. Even in this place full of well-built, rugged men by the sea, Cedric was overwhelming. He was different from the men who ostentatiously pretended to be rough.

Even without flaunting his muscles, he was a strong male. The kind of specimen any female would covet. Jet-black hair, cold eyes. Just imagining what it would be like if heat spread across his usually indifferent face was enough to make one’s mouth water. It was understandable why Yuria longed for his affection.

To have signed the marriage certificate with a man like Cedric and not be able to touch him—how frustrating must that be?

“Hello, Mr. Lawrence.”

“Welcome, Lady Mowbray. What brings you here today?”

Charlotte naturally opened the door to the salon’s representative office. The handsome man, who greeted her mechanically, paused as he stood up.

“Surely the Princess hasn’t found another new man?”

“Don’t worry; it’s good news today.”

Lawrence, who had somehow caught Cedric’s eye and ended up managing the salon, mainly conducted background checks on the Princess. Specifically, reporting on which men the Princess was meeting.

But today, he had a slightly different task. He had to go to Cedric and poke him in the side, urging him to spend the night with Yuria. His fingers were thicker than Charlotte’s, so they would probably poke Cedric’s side better. Oh, if you ask if she was scared of getting her fingers cut off and that’s why she didn’t go to Cedric directly, Charlotte’s answer would be ‘yes.’

Lawrence, too, complained that he might end up with broken fingers. However, it wasn’t easy to completely ignore Charlotte’s story. If you had to pick the person the Princess relied on the most, it was Charlotte.

So Lawrence mustered up the courage,

“Are you calling my wife a pervert now?”

“No, what I mean is, well, the Princess has somewhat unique tastes, that’s all.”

He hid his fingers first. The reason he was involved in this scheme was simple. Lawrence really didn’t want to get involved in the Count’s marital affairs anymore. Whenever he caught the Princess’s secret meetings, he had to beg Charlotte for information and Cedric for mercy. He couldn’t understand why he had to suffer so much when it was the Princess having the affair.

He couldn’t prevent the Princess from entering the salon either. If he tried to stop her and she went to another salon and something happened, Lawrence would end up floating on the vast sea. Of course, with his face submerged in the water.

Yet, he was always curious. Why did the Princess only come to this salon when there were others in Ritano? And today, in his meeting with Charlotte, Lawrence got his answer.

“High-ranking people often find life so boring that they seek something stimulating. You know that.”

“I don’t know, I’ve never found life boring.”

Though he said he didn’t know, Cedric knew better than anyone. His half-brother, Henry Spencer, had grown up like a flower in a greenhouse but had a bizarre desire to show others his intimate moments.

At first, he did it in hallways or gardens, but later he had spectators in his bedroom. Cedric, who had no say, no backing, and was young, was the most frequent spectator. He thought Henry was the only one who became a pervert due to a lack of life challenges, but he was wrong.

To think the Princess also had abnormal s*xual desires, a sigh escaped him. Still, if there was a silver lining, Yuria was a more moderate pervert than Henry. The Princess merely wanted to be obsessed over, roughly handled, and desired somewhat coercive and primal s*x by her jealous husband.

The fact that Yuria always sought Cedric’s salon for her affairs was proof of that. Charlotte thought Yuria frequently visited the salon, mistaking the owner for Lawrence, but that wasn’t the case. Yuria knew exactly who the salon owner was.

“Think of it as a role-play.”

Lawrence brought some alcohol from the office and placed it next to the teacup.

“The setting is that she’s being punished for having an affair, so pretend to be moderately angry.”

Cedric, who hadn’t touched the teacup, immediately grabbed the filled glass and drank it down in one gulp.

“Even if the Princess says no, it’s not her true intention, so never stop. Lady Mowbray emphasized this several times.”

Charlotte hadn’t emphasized that. She merely advised showing affectionate anger over Yuria’s affair and demanding to spend the night together, and if Yuria hesitated, to coax her two or three more times instead of storming out.

This was because Charlotte overlooked the fact that Lawrence was a fundamentally flawed person. Having lived off women since childhood, Lawrence didn’t think like normal people. He believed love between a man and a woman equated to sex.

To his ears, Charlotte’s words sounded like a complete explanation of the Princess’s s*xual preferences, and he added a little to the explanation he conveyed to Cedric. Words tend to get distorted and exaggerated as they pass from person to person.

“You’ve got nothing to lose, so give it a try. If you don’t attend this year’s birthday celebrations, you might really get into trouble.”

Cedric’s brow furrowed deeply. In the three years since their marriage, Yuria had never once gone to the capital. Every year, she declined invitations to the King and Queen’s birthday celebrations, citing illness.

The social circles believed the Princess hated the royal couple who married her off to an illegitimate child, hence her absence. If that was all, Cedric wouldn’t have cared, but rumors of Yuria’s affair had started circulating in the capital’s social circles a few months ago.

There were rumors, slightly different from the truth, that Yuria was so enamored with another man that she had brought a lover into the mansion. Although he had managed to keep these rumors from spreading, he had expected they would eventually come out. The timing was just unfortunate. Just as the royal family was about to grant Cedric the railroad construction rights, such rumors were circulating in the capital.