~TMPM 06~

Chapter 06

“…Cassian.”

The Emperor revealed his displeasure.

However, my boss had spent years building up the shamelessness required to not be intimidated by that.

“Are you saying you will not grant permission, Your Majesty?”

Cassian looked at the Emperor with a face that seemed genuinely troubled.

“If Lady Saliche becomes disheartened over this matter and returns to her territory, then half of the work Your Majesty assigned will have to be returned. And I am, unfortunately…”

He pretended to lower his head and slyly cast a strange glance toward the Empress. A faint smile briefly hung at the corner of Cassian’s lips, as if he wanted her to see it.

“…a rather inadequate person.”

Even though he clearly didn’t think that at all.

Cassian was repeating words the Empress had used habitually over the past several years, wielding them like a weapon as he once again looked up at the Emperor with pitiful eyes.

At the threat-that-wasn’t-a-threat, the Emperor frowned even deeper.

The amount of work Cassian handled really was enormous, and it was true that since he began staying in the capital, the Emperor’s workload had visibly decreased.

Moreover, if the Emperor told Roselita to greet the Empress first here, it would instead damage the Empress’s dignity.

There were far too many people watching.

The Emperor sighed as if he had no choice and looked at me.

The Empress’s expression had turned icy cold, and that bothered me a great deal, but I used the shamelessness I had trained over the past year under my boss and bowed to the Emperor.

“Roselita of Baron Saliche greets Your Majesty.”

“…Yes, I have heard you have been working hard. Continue to assist the prince well in the future.”

“I will, Your Majesty.”

After I bowed once more, the Emperor waved his hand as if he were done.

“The first dance will begin soon, so we will take our leave.”

And having achieved his objective, Cassian calmly led me away from the Emperor.

“How impudent,” I heard the Emperor mutter behind us.

It was a voice meant to soothe his beloved Empress.

*

“…I thought it was just an excuse, Your Highness.”

“If you lie in front of His Majesty the Emperor, it’s a crime of deception, Rose.”

If that’s the case, then I think you told far too many lies today, Your Highness.

Contrary to my expectation that we would go home immediately, I was actually dancing with Cassian.

After we left the Emperor, he had formally asked me for a dance with impeccable manners.

“It would be a waste.”

“…Pardon?”

“You dressed up so nicely today for once, Rose.”

“Is that criticism of my usual clothing?”

“Of course not. I quite like how you usually look. Even things like the loose strands of hair that fall out.”

When I frowned openly in dissatisfaction, he chuckled softly.

“More importantly, Rose.”

“Yes?”

“If the Empress calls for you, you can refuse.”

“…What?”

I blurted out in disbelief.

How could a mere baron’s daughter refuse the Empress’s summons?

“I’ll take responsibility for you.”

In the original story, Cassian also talked about protecting Roselita, but I remember he hardly ever actually kept that promise.

Of course, unlike in the original, this Cassian was more like a cunning fox.

‘And that expression he made in front of the Emperor earlier…’

Cassian Artez was proud and never the type to say things he disliked or ask favors from others.

In the original story, things often went wrong because of that.

He believed in fairness and honor, and because of his late mother’s reputation, he believed he should never bow his head carelessly.

So whenever someone called him lacking, he would suppress them with force.

‘But the current Cassian isn’t like that.’

If something could be handled efficiently, he would gladly use small tricks, and he didn’t really care if he looked foolish.

Because he knew he would be the one laughing in the end.

You could say he had improved the exact frustrating flaws he had in the original story.

‘Hmm…’

I suddenly felt uneasy.

It felt like I was forgetting something important.

Anyway, because of that, I thought I could trust his words about taking responsibility for me.

“It’s alright, Your Highness.”

I didn’t want to take an easy path and go around things either.

Unlike in the original story, Cassian’s position wasn’t terrible right now—but it wasn’t very good either.

He had no allies in the imperial family.

So I didn’t want to become a burden to him.

I was thinking quite seriously about it, but—

“That’s a problem.”

“…Why?”

“I’m hurt that Rose would accept someone else’s temptation.”

He teased me with a playful smile.

*

Still, I thought she would call me after a few days at least—or maybe not at all.

But while Cassian was briefly speaking with another noble, the Empress’s lady-in-waiting came to summon me.

“Her Majesty the Empress has summoned you. Follow me.”

The lady-in-waiting, a countess, looked at me arrogantly, clearly looking down on me.

I briefly felt the urge to blame Cassian and refuse, but unlike him, I was a reasonable person, so I quietly followed her.

The Empress was reclining lazily on a sofa, but the moment she saw me, she stood up with a strangely delighted expression on her face.

“Thank you for coming, Lady Saliche!”

Her voice even had a slightly nasal, sweet tone.

Why?

I came expecting to get slapped at least once.

Then Cassian would probably pay for the treatment, so I figured it would still be a profitable deal.

In the original story, Roselita was nearly poisoned by the Empress and slapped several times, so I assumed she had called me to vent her anger again.

But unlike her behavior in the ballroom, the Empress spoke very warmly and even wrapped an arm around my shoulders as she whispered.

“You don’t have to be so nervous. It must not have been easy working in the imperial palace at such a young age. I’ve been too careless.”

“It’s alright, Your Majesty.”

So I decided to act naive and a little stupid.

When you don’t know someone’s intentions, the best thing to do is appear harmless.

“I’m not sure if it suits your taste. I’m getting older, so I’m trying to reduce my sugar intake.”

The Empress said that as she offered me the neatly prepared desserts.

Knowing the original story made me hesitate slightly, but I eventually cut them into small pieces and ate them.

Right now, she had no reason to poison me. It would be far too risky just to vent anger like that.

“It’s very delicious, Your Majesty.”

So I deliberately chewed and swallowed like a fool and acted unsophisticated.

“I’ve never eaten anything like this before…”

Of course, that was a lie.

Cassian fed me so many delicious things just to make me work more overtime that my taste had become quite luxurious.

He somehow always knew that if I ate good food, I would work longer hours.

“Oh my, it’s not even that rare.”

The Empress seemed pleased with my answer and looked even more sympathetic.

“I heard the Saliche territory is having a difficult time. Is that why you left your parents and came to work in the capital at such a young age?”

“…Yes.”

I pretended to be embarrassed.

Most noble ladies wanted to hide poverty, and unless it was an honorary position, they rarely even considered working outside like this.

Then the Empress had the maids nearby step back a little, as if to be considerate.

“I was too inconsiderate, Lady Saliche. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I truly just wanted to look after you as an elder of the imperial family…”

As she said that, she took my hand.

Her skin was smooth and well cared for, and unlike mine, her fingers were straight and without calluses.

“You understand my heart, don’t you, Lady Saliche?”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

I deliberately didn’t add flowery words.

Even though I was pretending to be foolish, because of the work I had done with Cassian, I thought the Empress would realize that at least half of my behavior was an act.

The Empress silently watched me for a moment, then clapped her hands lightly.

“You’re so pitiful.”

I quietly lowered my head.

For some reason, Cassian’s words from earlier echoed in my ears.

“I’m sure Baron and Baroness Saliche would want to be with you too. If I think about my prince being far away, it would feel like my heart was being torn apart…”

And whenever the First Prince had to travel somewhere, all the difficult and dangerous tasks were dumped on Cassian.

“I’m a parent too, so I feel very sorry for you, Lady Saliche. I’m not usually someone who says things like this…”

The Empress placed her hand on my shoulder as if telling me to lift my head.

I thought sad thoughts while keeping my head lowered so that when I looked up, my eyes were slightly warm with emotion.

I could see satisfaction in her eyes.

“I would like to help the Saliche territory a little.”

“…Pardon?”

I deliberately spoke in a breathy voice as if I had never expected such a thing.

“You must have heard many unpleasant things after coming to the capital, and Prince Cassian is very strict about work, so it must have been difficult.”

The Empress let out a deep sigh.

“Prince Cassian never learned how to treat a lady properly. You must understand him, Lady Saliche. He has always been very busy because of His Majesty’s orders.”

“I’m alright.”

“No, no. You can be honest in front of me.”

The Empress slowly patted my shoulder.

“I will help you so that you can be with your parents.”

It was a very sweet, tempting voice.