Chapter 1 – 【 The Princess’s Preference 】 (Part 3)

The royal family reacted sensitively. They couldn’t stand the criticism that they had sold their daughter to a lowly illegitimate child. Although the Crown Prince favored Cedric, he was displeased that his blood relative was caught up in such a scandal. The royal family didn’t care whether the rumors were true or not. They thought it was possible for the Princess to have a lover after being married off to such a remote place.

However, Cedric, who couldn’t stop the rumors of discord, felt like a sinner. If an illegitimate child had the fortune to marry a Princess, he should have managed the scandal himself, rather than letting it escalate to the capital, they grumbled. That, he could tolerate.

The annoying part came next. Suddenly, as if they had found a use for him, Henry, his half-brother, began to interfere. He suggested that the Princess might be carrying another man’s child and raising it as Cedric’s, and that Cedric could find a better bride than the Princess.

Not content with sowing discord, Henry even sent divorce papers and various documents. Cedric didn’t bother replying and threw them all into the fireplace, but it was very bothersome.

“Act like a man and cater to the Princess’s tastes, and attend the birthday celebration together amicably.”

Yes, that would solve all the problems. Assuming Lawrence’s words were true. On the night of their wedding, the Princess sat on the bed, holding back her tears, but burst into tears as soon as she saw his face. He wasn’t the type to postpone what needed to be done just because he saw a tearful face.

However, he didn’t want to coax and comfort a Princess who said she didn’t want him. The reason he paid a high price for this marriage was for the title, not to obtain a woman to satisfy his desires. So he gave up on the wedding night. It wasn’t that he couldn’t get aroused.

And that wasn’t all; he even tolerated seeing her play around with other men throughout their marriage. He could have confined her to the mansion or scared her by beating up men in front of her. But he did neither. He just monitored and quietly cleaned up.

It was unusually lenient for him. Sometimes, when he cleared away the pests around the Princess, he wondered what kind of nonsense this was. Just because he got the title of Count didn’t mean his core had changed. He was about to vomit the insults he had swallowed as a cold-hearted man. But he didn’t bother to think deeply about the reasons.

Through this marriage, he had obtained what he wanted. Well, except for what he had naturally expected to get.

“Lady Mowbray said that if you leave the Princess like this, she might do something even worse.”

“Worse? How worse?”

“She didn’t say, claiming it was out of loyalty to the Princess.”

What ridiculous loyalty. Should I just kick her out of Ritano? Worse than this, how far is she planning to go to bother me?

* * *

The aphrodisiac can only be used once. Cedric wouldn’t fall for it twice. If a baby isn’t conceived from that one time, Cedric would proceed with the divorce as planned. No, he would probably be even more determined to divorce her, raging all the while. How could he live with a wife who had even fed him a love potion?

Her father and brother would desperately try to stop it, but if Cedric cited Yuria’s infidelity, they wouldn’t be able to do much. Already considered a deficient daughter, if her immoral behavior were exposed, even her mother would turn away from her.

She could stay in the palace, but it would be like sitting on a bed of thorns. It would be better to live separately outside the palace. But with what money? Which of her six siblings would extend a hand to her? It might be better to swallow her pride and beg Cedric.

At least he wasn’t stingy with money. Even when Yuria was having affairs and buying expensive jewelry and dresses, Cedric said nothing. The budget allocated to Yuria was always generous.

If she scraped together all the jewelry she had bought, it might cover living expenses. It would be best not to get divorced, but she had to be prepared for the worst. Growing anxious, Yuria urgently rang the bell.

The maids, who rushed in at the loud ringing, blinked in confusion at the sudden order to bring all the jewelry.

“What are you doing, not bringing them?”

While the maids carried the jewelry one by one, Yuria called the steward and asked how many villas with a sea view they owned. If she clung to Cedric’s leg and begged, he might sell one of the villas to her at a cheap price.

“…What are you doing?”

While the butler was held by Yuria, Cedric, who had returned, was briefed by the head maid about the Princess’s bizarre actions.

She was taking out all her jewelry and asking about the locations of the villas owned by the Count’s family.  He wondered if she was planning to deck herself out in jewels and go to a villa? Cedric clicked his tongue, unable to understand her mind.

“Did she say who she was going with?”

“She didn’t mention anyone.”

“Then?”

“I didn’t hear everything, but she was asking about the market value of the villas and if they had caretakers.”

“Is the Princess planning to set up another household…?”

Another household?

Cedric froze in place. 

Something worse. 

Lady Mowbray had said that a frustrated Princess would soon do something worse. The Princess had been having affairs at his salon to provoke his jealousy but had failed to achieve her goal.

So, what could be worse? Instead of a salon, setting up a household in a villa, not just a fleeting affair but an entire setup to provoke him.

“Is she in her bedroom?”

“The Princess? Yes.”

Fine, if she wanted to provoke him into a fit of jealousy, she had succeeded. Cedric changed direction towards Yuria’s bedroom. A simple affair could be brushed off as friendship, but setting up a separate household would complicate matters. The one who would be bothered by dealing with it would most likely be him.

His hand was rough as he opened the bedroom door. The hand of the maid, who had reached out to open the door, awkwardly returned to its place. Yuria was forcing the butler to mark the locations of the villas on a map.

“You’re quite serious about this.”

“Cedric?”

As he scanned the stacked jewelry boxes with a cold gaze, Yuria widened her eyes in surprise upon seeing him.

“What brings you here at this hour…?”

Despite doing all this to provoke him, Yuria looked genuinely surprised. It was hard to believe it was an act. If she weren’t a princess, she could have been an actress. Cedric sneered inwardly, waving everyone out.

From the moment he knew that Yuria was planning to set up another household, and that too in one of his villas, Cedric decided to give the Princess what she wanted. 

Did she want to be ravaged until she was a mess by a husband driven half-mad with jealousy? Fine, giving her a good fuck wasn’t that hard.

It’s not like it would wear out from a few thrusts, and if a bit of sex could make the Princess move according to his wishes, it was a profitable deal. Whether this was truly what the Princess wanted or not didn’t matter. If she didn’t want it, she’d have to get used to it.

“What brings you here?”

Sensing something ominous, Yuria kept glancing towards the closed door.

“A villa by the sea.”

Ignoring Yuria’s question, Cedric scanned the map on the table. There was a mark on a villa that was not far from the city center, yet quiet and with a good view.

“If you set up a household here, even nonexistent affection might sprout.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s a very nice place to set up a separate household.”

Since coming down to Ritano, he hadn’t used honorifics with Yuria. His casual speech was so natural that Yuria missed the chance to correct it. If it had been Cristal, she would have immediately questioned it, but Yuria just watched cautiously. She always shrank in front of Cedric.

Aside from the fact that she was not properly treated as royalty, he seemed very accustomed to reigning over someone. Though he supposedly grew up almost like a commoner.

“It’s a compliment, Princess. So there’s no need to make that face.”

Lies. No matter how stupid I am, I’m not so dumb that I can’t distinguish between a compliment and an insult.