The Tyrant Empress is Obsessed with Me

39 – Men Understand Each Other

The crown prince was in a good mood today.

No, it had always been the case these days.

After sending off the pesky eunuchs to the Zurat Prison, the empire was running quite smoothly.

To be honest, at one point, he had thought about just throwing everything away and living leisurely, riding on horseback. But eventually, there are better days after tough ones.

Of course, it was undeniable that one person’s contribution was especially significant.

Ascal Debr.

The crown prince was grateful to him for his devotion to the empire.

Therefore, he felt a sense of duty.

‘I will definitely choose a suitable companion for my friend.’

An exceptional talent needs a fitting companion.

As the crown prince, he had met and evaluated numerous people.

Kain was, to some extent, confident in his ability to judge people.

The crown prince’s keen eyes began to scan the young ladies gathered at the Debr estate.

They were all here for the marriage meeting, wearing expensive dresses and showing off their efforts.

It was a garden full of flowers, enough to make an ordinary aristocrat’s eyes spin with a desire to approach them, but the crown prince knew that even flowers could be poisonous.

‘Is that Lady Emilia? I’ve heard rumors that her father, the Viscount, is meddling with money-lending. Disqualified.’

Kain politely greeted Lady Emilia and, in his mind, removed her from Ascal’s companion candidate list.

Next, his eyes fell upon Lady Iris.

‘Oh dear. This young lady, who has been spreading rumors with this man and that man, now wants to finally start living right? But it’s much too late. Disqualified.’

No matter how beautiful a flower may be, it must have strong roots. A flower that pricks others with thorns while emitting a fragrance to anyone cannot receive good evaluations.

Especially, purple.

It’s not Aksal who came to see the face-to-face meeting today that held interest, but the crown prince himself who was garnering even more attention.

“I’m sorry. I’m a bit busy, so I’ll be going.”

“Ah… Your Highness!”

Coldly pushing away Iris’s amity, Cain began to worry.

They are not up to par.

Most of these gathered young ladies are eliminated.

Is there really a companion among these ladies who will match Aksal Devere?

No, there is.

A young lady who has not given him a single glance since a while ago and is looking the other way.

At this point, it’s rather curious.

Just who is this young lady who can treat the crown prince of a country like a small stone on the roadside?

Cain strode towards the young lady.

“You must have had a hard time coming from afar. If it’s alright, may I know your name?”

A head of hair that brings to mind the violet flower.

A matching light purple dress.

It made one wonder why he didn’t notice her earlier because she had such a unique aura around her.

Her seemingly strong-willed eyes were silently looking up at the crown prince without a word.

“I am Seri Lavione.”

“I see. Miss Lavione. You are…”

“Cain, the crown prince, I assume. I’m being disturbed, so would you please step aside?”

A twitch.

The crown prince’s eyebrows raised.

It’s been a while since he felt someone else’s impoliteness.

It even felt refreshing. What could this young lady believe in that she could be so rude? Is she saying that she’s a hidden child of the emperor?

The crown prince turned his head and managed to confirm the face of Miss Lavione who kept trying to avoid him.

“Ser…”

“Be quiet, please. Brother.”

A deep breath.

The back of the shoe pressed down on her foot.

At the end of that pain, the Crown Prince realized something.

Ah.

There was something to believe in.

It wasn’t hidden, but openly displayed.

And you did your makeup quite heavily, my younger sibling.

“Enjoy the show.”

As he watched the disappearing backs of the siblings, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but wonder about one thing.

Why are you here, after all?

Sereina hesitated alone in the empty mansion hallway.

Everything was just annoying.

Her older brother, who appeared at the engagement party without any tact; the young ladies, laughing and gossiping among themselves; even her past self, who decided to participate without any plans.

‘What were you thinking, Sereina?’

Sometimes, she felt she was incredibly irresponsible even to herself.

It was understandable not wanting to be taken away by someone else. Then, as a princess, she should have used her power to postpone or disrupt the engagement party.

However, the one choice she actually made was to participate in the engagement party herself, not as Sereina, but with a fake identity as Seri Lavionella.

If, just if Seri was chosen by Ascal, would she reveal herself as the Second Princess Sereina then?

Nonsense. She would become a laughingstock among the young ladies for the rest of her life.

“Sigh.”

“You seem to have something on your mind.”

For some reason, it was a comforting voice.

The short black hair, the strong face that showed he had lived as a knight for a long time.

It was almost as if you add age and intense physical activity to Ascal Debreu’s appearance.

Sereina easily guessed the other person’s identity.

The man was Aser Debreu, Ascal Debreu’s father and the head of the Debreu family.

“Excuse me, I am…”

“One of the young ladies here to see my son?”

“Yes.”

Sereina easily agreed. Revealing her fake identity every time felt like something was being chipped away from her heart. If the other party took the lead, it was rather comfortable.

“I see you’re not too pleased with this place.”

“Yes… I guess you’re right.”

Arthur came to the point without beating around the bush or dressing it up.

But this was actually more comfortable for the tired Serena. That’s why her true feelings, which were rarely revealed, slipped out unintentionally.

“Do you like Ascal?”

“…”

However, she couldn’t help but hesitate on this question.

Did she like Ascal?

She was interested in him.

But strictly speaking, that interest was in his value as an accessory worth collecting.

From No ble mt L dot c om

A luxurious and expensive accessory that would arouse other people’s envy just by having it and subtly brag about it at parties.

His face, if you had to say, was also her type. If it wasn’t, she wouldn’t have stubbornly clung to him after being rejected.

However, this question about liking him was a little different.

Yes.

‘The Prince of the Night.’

From that day on, there was only one person who took away her ‘liking’ – Ascal D’euvre, you’re a little late.

“No. I don’t like him.”

“That’s settles it. There’s no need to waste valuable time for someone you don’t like, is there?”

Serena stood up and dusted off the dirt that had gotten on the hem of her dress.

“Thank you. This was helpful.”

Her complicated thoughts had cleared.

There was no longer any need for her to be here. Serena wanted to hurry home, recline in her bathtub and have some delicious cheese with a glass of wine.

As soon as she lifted her head to express her gratitude to Arthur, who had solved her problems, a familiar face appeared before Serena’s eyes.

‘Yulia?’

Why are you here?

Before her confusion could pass, suddenly appearing Yulia glanced at them and snickered, following behind Arthur like a well-behaved daughter-in-law.

‘Did she just laugh at me?’

Hmph.

It was clear that she had just heard that sound.

Serena’s head began to feel hot again.

“Since when, why, do you only take what I care about!”

If it was anyone else, it would be bearable, but not with Yulia. Rather than being stolen away, Serena would rather let someone else take it away.

“Do you think you’ll take it away again?”

Serena bit her lips and headed to the party venue once more, her determination burning.

The number of princesses increased.

Kain was shocked to see Yulia appear in the main hall of the mansion. Could this place be a royal palace, rather than the Dever mansion?

Seeing Yulia avoiding his gaze, Kain felt various emotions.

And as Ascal, who faced two princesses as his opponents, the crown prince felt genuine sympathy for him.

‘This isn’t right. Participating in a match without revealing their identities. Even though they are my sisters, they have crossed the line.’

To inform the person involved, Kain went to find Ascal first.

“Oh, there you are, Ascal.”

“I am honored to see Your Highness, the Crown Prince…”

Ascal looked as if he was a pig that was dragged to the slaughterhouse, devoid of any vitality.

‘How could someone so clever…’

Kain clicked his tongue and was about to speak to Ascal.

At that moment,

Ascal shivered and glanced at the disguised princesses, as if he already knew about their identities.

“Could it be that you already…”

The eyes of the crown prince and Ascal met.

Sometimes, among men, sincerity can be communicated without words.

How difficult and suffocating it must have been to not say anything the whole time.

Their feelings were directly exchanged.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“Ascal.”

Ascal spoke in a weak voice.

“Please save me.”

“Uh, somehow… I will try my best.”

Kain said, while also glancing towards the exit of the mansion.

Would it be better to just run away?