Chapter 1.8

Ten minutes after Carnier, who had thrown the entire morning into chaos, left the room.

The proud Crown Prince of Asherit, Servante, pressed a hand to his forehead and muttered gravely.

“…Did someone threaten her?”

“That doesn’t seem likely.”

“That’s not possible.”

His aide, Aleph, and knight, Luca, immediately dismissed the idea. Servante narrowed his eyes.

Realizing they might have been too firm, the two coughed awkwardly but did not retract their words.

‘Who would dare threaten her?’

‘And who would even think of threatening her to ask for a courtship?’

Their thoughts differed slightly, but their conclusion was the same.

“Still, Your Highness, if I may…”

Luca, who had been struggling to grasp the situation from the start, raised his hand.

“Why would there be a problem with dating? You can just do it, can’t you?”

“…What are you saying?”

“Well, you’re engaged, aren’t you?”

Luca still looked confused.

“Since you seem so serious, Your Highness, I thought… I thought you were saying Lady Raymore had someone else she wanted to date… Ow!”

Aleph stomped on the cheerful knight’s foot. Then, he glanced at Servante. With his head slightly lowered, his expression was hard to read, but the temperature around him seemed to drop by about two degrees.

Years of serving him had taught Aleph one thing: the Crown Prince was not in a good mood.

“Ahem. Be careful with your words. Do you not know who Lady Raymore is? She has been connected to the Imperial Family for years without a single scandal or rumor. And you suggest she might want someone else? Ridiculous.”

Ah, the temperature rose by 1.5 degrees.

“Why did you step on me? I was just saying it seemed that way… Scandals don’t announce themselves before they happen, you know. You never know with people.”

And it dropped again. Aleph shot a sharp glare at the oblivious knight, silently warning him to watch his mouth.

“Mind your words. Do you not realize how insulting it is to a noble lady?”

“Why is it an insult just because there was a slight misunderstanding? And wasn’t it reasonable to misunderstand? Didn’t she just say, ‘I want to date’? There wasn’t even a subject in that sentence.”

“Do you really need her to spell it out? Who else could it be but His Highness, the Crown Prince?”

“Well, you never know with people, right? As you mentioned earlier, Aide, dating isn’t necessarily a given in an engagement…”

“Enough.”

The lively back-and-forth conversation came to an abrupt halt. Servante pressed his fingers firmly against his temple with a tired expression.

“This isn’t a topic I brought up so you two could argue.”

“My apologies.”

“We’re sorry.”

“As I said from the beginning, there’s only one thing I want to know. Why did she suddenly bring up such… a topic? Have there been any unusual developments regarding her or the Raymore family recently?”

Servante had dismissed everyone else and kept only his closest confidants behind to ask this very question. Matters of romance were something even he was inexperienced in.

He had never turned his eyes to another woman, nor had he engaged in romantic relationships while having a fiancée.

However, Aleph, who had long suspected Carnier’s unrequited feelings, felt that this was simply the inevitable culmination of her emotions.

‘Lady Raymore has indeed waited for a long time.’

Even so, he hadn’t expected her to suddenly barge in and boldly propose a relationship. But regardless, Aleph was about to share his thoughts when—

“Didn’t she attend the gathering at the Lusein estate yesterday? Could something have happened there?”

“…!”

Once again, the young knight beat him to it. Aleph froze mid-sentence, while Servante gestured for the knight to continue.

“Actually, I had the same thought. I heard she even sat with Katrina Eseth…”

“Your Highness, that’s…”

“Katrina Eseth? Isn’t she the former fiancée of the deposed Third Prince? It’s no wonder Lady Raymore wouldn’t feel positively toward her.”

“Indeed.”

“Well… that may be true, but…”

Ignoring Aleph, who was nervously trying to interject, Servante thoughtfully stroked his chin.

“I’m aware that some small groups, centered around that woman, have been spreading malicious rumors. They’ve been slandering Lady Raymore, suggesting there’s an unspeakable flaw that caused the royal wedding to be delayed.”

“What? There are such disrespectful people?”

“Tch. I thought the rumors would die down once the wedding was announced… but to think they’d openly try to tarnish her reputation. I’ve been too complacent.”

This… this isn’t it! 

Aleph was flustered by how the conversation continued to unfold without him. Of course, he hadn’t expected Katrina Eseth to behave properly at the gathering either.

But that wasn’t the real reason Carnier had suddenly suggested dating.

Luca, on the other hand, seemed to have a lightbulb moment and clapped his hands.

“Then Lady Raymore must have proposed a ‘contract relationship’ to address public perception!”

“Cough…!”

That crazy…! 

Aleph choked but couldn’t stop himself in time. While he struggled to suppress his coughing, Servante raised an eyebrow.

“A contract… relationship? What is that?”

“It’s a relationship based on necessity. You set a time limit and pretend to date, usually for reasons like family interests or to manage public perception.”

“Cough—wait, hold on. Where did you even hear such nonsense…?!”

“Nonsense? My younger sister said it’s all the rage among people her age these days.”

“…What?”

To be precise, it was a trend in “novels.” But Luca confidently relayed the half-heard information as if it were a fact.

“Honestly, while the two of you have been engaged for a long time, you don’t exactly come across as a loving couple. You don’t meet outside of official events. Perhaps someone said something unpleasant about that? So, to appear more affectionate, she proposed a contract relationship.”

“…There’s some logic to that.”

No, that’s not it at all…!

Aleph finally spoke up.

“Well, if that were the case, wouldn’t Lady Raymore have specifically mentioned it as a contract relationship? It’s a bit premature to conclude that based on circumstantial evidence…”

“Then what’s your take on it?”

It was difficult to simply say this was the result of pent-up emotions finally bursting out. Aleph chose his words carefully, trying not to damage Carnier’s reputation.

“Just as you said, Your Highness, I believe Lady Raymore sincerely… proposed a relationship with you.”

And as he said it, he felt a pang of self-consciousness. 

Wasn’t my job supposed to be assisting with state affairs, not interpreting a lady’s feelings?

“Aide, come on. That’s not what His Highness is asking. He wants to know why she brought it up.”

Luca shook his head in exasperation.

“They’re about to get married anyway; what difference does dating or relationships make?”

“Hmm…”

Given Carnier’s feelings, it wasn’t entirely irrelevant, but Aleph couldn’t guess her reasoning either, especially given the timing.

‘Also, why only until the wedding?’

Was it because he was getting older? He couldn’t understand the modern approach to relationships.

“…Well, it’s not my place to judge the deeper motivations. But considering how she came unannounced, her intentions must have been very serious.”

That was all Aleph could say. Luca nodded in agreement.

“Exactly. Contracts should be taken seriously.”

“….”

Aleph resolved to smack the younger man on the back of the head later, regardless of rank or decorum.

“In any case, I understand both of your perspectives.”

Noticing that another argument was about to break out between his aide and knight, Servante intervened.

“Keep this conversation strictly between us.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Understood.”

“Now then… bring me today’s documents.”

“Ah.”

Only then did the mountain of neglected paperwork come into view. Without diligently working through it, leaving on time would be impossible.

Realizing this, Aleph quickly moved to his desk beside Servante’s. Luca also returned to his role as a guard.

“…By the way, Your Highness.”

Luca suddenly spoke up, his curiosity piqued.

“If it’s not too presumptuous, may I ask how you responded to Lady Raymore?”

Aleph’s hand, which had been reaching for a stack of documents, froze. Come to think of it, they hadn’t heard the most important conclusion. Despite the urgency of their work, curiosity lingered.

“…For now, I accepted.”

“Pardon?”

“What…?!”

Both men’s heads snapped toward him. Servante frowned slightly, pen in hand, but slowly elaborated.

“I added the condition that it must not interfere with our schedules or official duties, and that we maintain propriety… but yes, that’s how it ended.”

“…What?”

Dating that doesn’t interfere with schedules or official duties, while maintaining propriety…? What even is that…?

Luca glanced at Aleph and seemed to say with his eyes, ‘See? It’s totally a contract relationship.’

“….”

This time, Aleph couldn’t refute him.

Servante, aware of his confidants’ confusion, pretended not to notice.

Although he had sought their advice out of frustration, their differing opinions made it difficult to reach a clear conclusion.

Yet, as he listened to their bustling chatter, he found himself unexpectedly calm.

‘No matter what happens, my stance won’t change.’

Whether they became a married couple or lovers.

The fact that he must treat her with care and respect would remain the same.

With that thought, Servante turned the page of a document and signed his name in elegant script.

It wasn’t until the next day that he realized just how naive that conclusion had been.