~TMPM 12~

Chapter 12

The engagement between Cassian and me was announced in a very simple and unmistakable way.

[Prince Cassian Arteze, Second Prince, Announces Engagement to Lady Roselita Salice!]

They first leaked the news to a newspaper known for maintaining good relations with the imperial family and for publishing articles in a polite, formal tone.

So that article was very official and fairly mild. But newspapers that chased even the slightest bit of excitement published things like—

[The Demons of the Winter Palace Unite?! Is It Love, or a Pursuit of Work Efficiency?!]

[The Strongest, Worst Couple Is Born — Engagement Announcement of Second Prince Cassian and Aide Salice!]

They wrote articles as if Cassian and I were some kind of legendary lunatics.

Some outlets even went as far as publishing nonsense like—

[Check Your Ledgers and Systems! Countermeasures for the Union of the Winter Palace Demons?!]

[Major Businesses in the Capital on Emergency Alert! Special Report on Survival Strategies!]

No, but seriously… even if it’s an engagement, isn’t this too much?

If it were a normal scandal, shouldn’t there be words like “romantic” or “happy” attached to it?

Instead, everything was gloomy and pitch-black.

And besides, I’m a baron’s daughter. Not even the phrase “rise in status”, which appeared so often in the original novel, was mentioned.

In the original story, Roselita got heavily criticized for that too…

Even the maid who brought me the newspaper this morning reacted like this:

“My lady, were you perhaps threatened by His Highness?!”

Still, since she asked out of genuine concern, it comforted me a little.

At least my maid didn’t lump Cassian and me together as the “Demons of the Winter Palace.”

Because of all this, I had to deal with a commotion in front of my house on the way to work.

“Lady Salice! What is the truth behind this engagement? Is it a declaration of war against the empire’s businesses?”

“It is presumed to be political—was the announcement of romance just a smokescreen?”

“Can you tell us where the next audit target will be, Lady Salice?!”

These reporters, seriously…

Listening to their noisy questions, I felt truly wronged.

Even while writing the engagement press release myself, I had thought no one would believe it—but I didn’t expect them to doubt it this much…

It seems Plan B really was the answer, Your Highness.

The Royal Family Meeting

At 11 a.m., before the main state council meeting, members of the imperial family gathered to decide who would marry the princess of the neighboring kingdom.

When Cassian and I appeared, the Empress shouted angrily:

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

“I’m not sure what you mean by outrageous, Your Majesty.”

“You announced an engagement through newspaper articles! What happened to the procedures you valued so much?!”

The Empress even slammed the armrest as she spoke.

She was like that in the original story too.

Of course, in that story she had been refusing permission for the engagement long before the kingdom princess marriage discussion even began.

Because Roselita was only the daughter of a minor baron, she would never allow it.

In the original story, the Empress usually treated Cassian like a discarded prince, yet in situations like this she suddenly talked about the dignity of the imperial family.

“And a baron’s daughter, of all people! What do you think the imperial family is, Prince Cassian?!”

She really was reacting exactly as expected.

The Empress even raised her voice as if she herself were from the kingdom.

“This is not just an insult to the imperial family—it is an insult to the kingdom as well! At a time when discussions with the kingdom are going so well—”

“Empress, that’s enough.”

The one who cut her off was the Emperor.

“What do you mean, enough?”

“Cassian cannot be sent for the marriage with the kingdom anyway.”

“…What?”

As the Emperor shook his head with a troubled expression, the Empress looked stunned.

“W-Why not, Your Majesty? Surely you don’t think I’m trying to push Prince Cassian into something bad? I only did this for his sake.”

She even raised a handkerchief as if she were about to cry.

“It is the position of husband to the kingdom’s crown princess. It is by no means a bad position—”

“I am not misunderstanding your intentions! It is simply that Cassian cannot be sent. And the imperial family does not have only one prince, does it?”

“…What do you mean, Your Majesty?”

The Emperor let out a deep sigh and then spoke to Cassian and me with a bitter expression.

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

“Your Majesty!”

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

“Your Majesty!!”

“I have already decided, Empress. Do not discuss this further.”

When the Empress stared at him in disbelief, the Emperor’s face hardened.

“Empress, have you forgotten the meaning of restraint? Compared to you, who tried to proceed with a royal marriage on your own, Cassian is the better one!”

Then, looking annoyed, he stormed out.

Cassian then politely offered congratulations to the Empress, who still looked stunned.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty. You must be very happy that the Third Prince will be going to such a fine position.”

“Prince Cassian…!”

The Third Prince was the Empress’s son.

As she glared at him through clenched teeth, Cassian smiled smoothly.

“Well then, since we have received His Majesty’s blessing, I should spend some romantic time with my beloved Rose, so we will take our leave now, Your Majesty.”

As if teasing her, he pulled me closer, then kissed the ring finger of my hand.

The elegant Empress’s face looked like that of a demon.

Plan B

The Empress’s mistake was that she failed to properly account for Cassian’s cunning and scheming nature.

Well, it’s hard for most people to imagine.

That he would blackmail the Emperor, of all things.

But some of what Cassian said earlier was far from reality.

Romantic? Yeah, right.

After signing the engagement contract, the only thing that increased was the darkness under my eyes.

“A bit disappointing, Rose. I thought running away for love with you might be fun.”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“That hurts. I’m serious.”

Your eyes are clearly joking.

When I sighed loudly and took a step away from him, his laughter only deepened.

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

How They Forced the Emperor

After signing the engagement contract, Cassian and I stayed up all night writing extremely detailed handover documents.

Then we went before the Emperor and declared confidently:

“I love Rose. I want a life with her more than anything. However, it is also my duty to follow Your Majesty’s orders.”

Then he presented hundreds of pages of handover documents to the Emperor.

“Minimizing the gap caused by my departure is also my duty. These are my handover documents, Your Majesty.”

At that point, the Emperor already looked somewhat exhausted. Still, he looked like he might endure it.

Up to that point.

Then Cassian continued:

“And lovely Rose said that if I am not here, she has no reason to remain in the capital either.”

The Emperor surrendered when he saw my handover documents next.

Because mine were one and a half times thicker than Cassian’s.

Thank you, Professor. Writing dozens of pages every two weeks really paid off.

Cassian even used mine as a reference and made his handover documents even thicker.

We had been incredibly careful so that even if they were thoroughly reviewed, no fault could be found.

This was Plan B.

Wilhelmina Lopez

“By the way, Your Highness.”

“Yes, Rose?”

“If we were going to use this method anyway, didn’t we not need to get engaged in the first place?”

“Are you rejecting my love even after we got engaged?”

When I stared at him expressionlessly, Cassian chuckled softly and placed my hand on his arm as if escorting me.

“Wilma.”

“…Excuse me?”

Cassian looked at me with a relaxed gaze.

That gaze made a chill run down my spine.

Why are you saying that name while looking at me?

As if I should feel guilty about that name?!

“Why that expression, Rose?”

“My expression has always been like this, Your Highness.”

I answered as calmly as possible.

I tried to pull away, but he didn’t release my hand resting on his arm.

“Hm, I see. So Rose has been deliberately hiding such a cute expression from me.”

“Your Highness!”

“Why so surprised?”

Cassian smiled and explained again.

“I was just going to tell you that Wilhelmina Lopez, the duke’s daughter of the Lopez family, will soon be returning to the empire.”

At those words, I finally relaxed my stiff neck and nodded.

“That alone is enough reason for the engagement, isn’t it?”

I nodded again.

Wilhelmina Lopez.
In the original story, she was one of the villainesses who bullied Roselita relentlessly.

When she was a teenager, she became obsessed with Cassian’s appearance after he returned from a victorious campaign and followed him around saying she would marry him. Naturally, both the duke’s family and the Empress strongly opposed it.

They said they could never give a duke’s daughter to Prince Cassian. So the duke sent her to a kingdom academy, hoping her feelings would change…

But in the original story, that alone wasn’t enough to stop her.

It’s very likely the same thing will happen again.

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

At worst, I’d get slapped, have juice thrown on me, and be insulted in high society. That much didn’t bother me.

Rather than that…

I looked up quietly at Cassian.

“Why, Rose? Are you hungry?”

His tone was completely normal, but it gave me chills.

…No way.

Even as I denied it in my head, the suspicion kept growing stronger.

Wilma…

That was the alias I had used when I was a child when talking to Cassian.