Chapter 2. Wilma

My engagement with Cassian was announced in a very simple and clear way.

Cassian Artez, the Second Prince, announces his engagement to Miss Roselita Saliche!

The first report was given to places that maintain a good relationship with the imperial family and generally use a polite tone.

Therefore, this article was quite official yet moderate, but newspapers that pursued even a little sensationalism were different.

The union of the Demons of the Winter Palace?! Is it love, or a pursuit of work efficiency?
The birth of the strongest and worst couple, Second Prince Cassian and Assistant Saliche announced engagement!

They published articles as if Cassian and I were the most insane people of the century.

Even among the places making a fuss,

Check the ledgers and systems! What are the countermeasures for the union of the Demon of the Winter Palace?!
Major businesses in the capital on high alert! Emergency measures revealed!

They were publishing such ridiculous articles.

No matter how it is, isn’t it too much for an engagement?

Usually, scandals have adjectives like ‘rosy’ or ‘happy’ attached, don’t they?

The reality is gloomy and dark.

Besides, I’m a baron’s daughter. Not even the word ‘social rise,’ which appeared so often in the original novel, was mentioned.

The original Roselita was heavily criticized for that…

Even the maid who brought the newspaper in the morning reacted like this,

‘Miss, were you threatened by His Highness the Prince?!’

That reaction was somewhat comforting because she asked out of genuine concern.

At least my maid didn’t associate Cassian and me with the Demons of the Winter Palace.

Thanks to that, I had to deal with a commotion in front of my house on my way to work.

“Miss Saliche, what is the truth of this engagement? Is it a declaration of war against the businesses within the empire?”

“It is suspected to be for strategic reasons, but are you announcing it as a romance as a smoke screen?”

“Can you tell us where the next target for the audit is, Miss Saliche?”

Seriously, these journalists…

I felt really wronged by the flood of bewildering questions.

Even while writing the engagement press release myself, I thought no one would believe it, but I didn’t think they wouldn’t believe it to this extent…

As expected, the answer seems to be Plan B, Your Highness.

*

At 11 a.m., before the official state meeting, a meeting was held to decide on the marriage partner with the kingdom’s princess among the imperial family members. When Cassian and I appeared, the Empress shouted angrily.

“…What is this outrageous behavior, Prince Cassian!”

“I do not understand what is outrageous, Your Majesty.”

“How could you announce the engagement in such a manner through an article! Where are the procedures that the Prince valued so much!”

The Empress spoke while banging on the armrests.

She was like this in the original story too.

‘Of course, in the original, even though she consistently demanded permission for the engagement before the marriage talks with the kingdom’s princess, it was not allowed.’

She never permitted it, because Roselita was a daughter of a humble baron family.

In the original story, the Empress treated Cassian as a discarded prince but only invoked her imperial authority at times like this.

“Moreover, a baron’s daughter! What do you think of the imperial family, Prince Cassian!”

Look at how predictable she is. The Empress even raised her voice as if she were a person of the kingdom.

“It’s not just the imperial family, but it’s also an insult to the kingdom! At a time when good talks are coming out with the kingdom—”

“Empress, enough.”

It was the Emperor who cut off the Empress’s words.

“What do you mean by enough?”

“We can’t send Cassian for the marriage with the kingdom, anyway.”

“…What?”

When the Emperor shook his head with a grim face, the Empress was dumbfounded.

“Why, Your Majesty? Do you misunderstand that I am advising Prince Cassian to do something bad? I did it all for Prince Cassian’s sake.”

Then she raised her handkerchief as if she were about to cry out of injustice.

“It’s the position of the kingdom’s heir, the princess’s consort. It’s definitely not a bad position—”

“I’m not misunderstanding your intentions, Empress! We just can’t send Cassian, and Cassian is not the only prince in the imperial family.”

“…What do you mean, Your Majesty?”

The Emperor sighed deeply and spoke to Cassian and me with a bitter expression.

“Cassian, Roselita. I sincerely congratulate you both on your engagement.”

“Your Majesty!”

“We will send the Third Prince to the kingdom.”

“Your Majesty!!”

“It has already been decided, Empress. Do not speak further.”

Even at the Emperor’s words, the Empress looked as if she couldn’t believe it, and his face became stern.

“Have you forgotten my words to restrain yourself, Empress? Compared to you, who’s proceeding with the royal marriage with the kingdom as you please, Cassian is better!”

Then he got up and left as if annoyed.

Cassian then politely and plausibly offered congratulations to the Empress, who was still in shock and unable to grasp the situation.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty. How happy you must be that the Third Prince is going to a good position.”

“Cassian, the prince…!”

The Third Prince was the Empress’s son. As she gritted her teeth and glared, Cassian spoke with a relaxed face.

“Then, since we have received the Emperor’s blessing, I must leave to spend a romantic time with my ‘beloved’ Rose, Your Majesty.”

As if to tease her, he pulled me by the waist and even kissed my ring finger. The Empress’s fair face turned into that of a demon.

*

The Empress’s mistake was not properly considering Cassian’s cunning and sly nature.

Well, it would be hard to imagine unless you’re familiar with it.

Who would have thought he would threaten the Emperor?

But some of Cassian’s words were far from reality.

Romantic, my foot! After signing the engagement contract, the dark circles under my eyes only deepened.

“It’s a bit disappointing, isn’t it, Rose? A romantic getaway with you seemed like it would be fun.”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“That’s sad, I was sincere.”

His eyes were completely joking.

As I sighed deeply, hoping for him to hear, and took a step away from Cassian, his laughter only grew deeper.

Unlike the soft Cassian in the original story, he was not an idealist.

‘Then shall we aim for the head, Rose.’

After signing the engagement contract, Cassian and I stayed up all night writing a tight handover document. Then, we boldly declared in front of the Emperor.

‘I love Rose. I wish for a life with her above all. However, it is also my duty to prepare to follow Your Majesty’s command.’

And we presented the handover document, which was hundreds of pages long, to the Emperor.

‘Minimizing the gap left by my departure is also my duty, this is my handover document, Your Majesty.’

At that point, the Emperor already looked a bit weary. Even so, he still had the expression of someone willing to endure it until the end.

That’s as far as it went.

‘And my lovely Rose says she has no reason to stay in the capital without me.’

The Emperor succumbed to the handover documents of ‘me’ that were presented next.

It was 1.5 times the thickness of Cassian’s handover documents.

‘Thank you, Professor. I made good use of the skill of writing dozens of pages of reports every two weeks.’

Cassian also padded his handover documents a bit more by referencing that.

Can you imagine how much care we took to ensure it wouldn’t be faulted even under thorough scrutiny!

This was Cassian and I’s Plan B.

“But, Your Highness.”

“What is it, Rose?”

“If you were going to use this method from the start, wasn’t there no need for an engagement?”

“Are you rejecting my love after getting engaged?”

When I became serious, Cassian laughed lowly and placed my hand on his arm as if to escort me.

“Wilma.”

“…Sorry?”

Cassian looked at me with leisurely eyes.

I felt a chill down my spine at that gaze.

Why are you saying that name while looking at me?

As if I should be caught off guard by that name?!

“Why that expression, Rose?”

“This is my usual expression, Your Highness.”

I answered him as calmly as possible.

When I tried to pull away, he didn’t let go of my hand on his arm.

“Hmm, I see. So Rose has been deliberately not showing me such cute expressions.”

“Your Highness!”

“Why are you so surprised.”

Cassian explained to me again with a smile.

“I was just going to tell you that Wilhelmina Lopez, the young lady of Lopez ducal family, is returning soon.”

At those words, I managed to calm my stiff neck and nodded.

“Isn’t that enough reason for the engagement?”

And I nodded to that question too.

Wilhelmina Lopez. The villainess of the original work, one of the characters who tormented Roselita mercilessly.

In her teens, she was captivated by Cassian’s improving looks and chased after him saying she would marry him, but of course both the ducal family and the Empress strongly opposed.

Saying they couldn’t give the ducal lady to Prince Cassian. So the Duke sent her to the kingdom’s academy hoping her feelings would change, but….

Well, in the original work, that much wasn’t enough to stop Lady Wilhelmina.

‘It’s likely to be the same this time too.’

But the reason I was tense wasn’t because I was afraid of Lady Wilhelmina.

At most, it would just be getting slapped a bit, having juice spilled on me, and being cursed in social circles, which doesn’t bother me much.

Rather than that….

I looked up at Cassian intently.

“What is it, Rose? Are you hungry?”