Chapter 26

Then, without missing a beat, she promptly presented Anna with an employment contract and handed it to her. Watching this, Alice couldn’t help but be genuinely impressed.

The Second Prince had been right.

Her younger sister had an exceptional talent for getting exactly what she wanted.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

“How about we set the contract for three months, and then extend it by mutual agreement?”

“Yes, that sounds good.”

Anna nodded and signed the contract.

After suggesting we begin the work in two days’ time, I left the fitting room. I couldn’t stop smiling all the way to the carriage, with Alice beside me.

“Are you really that pleased? Just because you managed to hire the painter you wanted?”

I nodded at Alice, who looked at me as if she couldn’t believe it.

How could I not be? This time, fortune had truly smiled on me. I’d been wracking my brain over how to spirit Anna away from the atelier, but thanks to that ruffian of an aide making a scene, the perfect excuse had fallen right into my lap.

“I didn’t expect the atelier to not just keep quiet, but actually welcome the arrangement. I thought at the very least, they’d show some reluctance.”

“Well, I did suffer a loss because of the Second Prince’s aide stirring up trouble.”

After all, I had paid a hefty sum to rent out the atelier, only to be caught up in a commotion rather than enjoy any of the benefits. Even if the ducal family demanded a refund, they wouldn’t really have grounds to object. While it might seem unfair from the atelier’s perspective, that was simply how things work here.

In this society, rank trumped everything.

“They probably figured it was a fair trade, lending us one employee for three months to avoid a complaint from a duke’s household.”

“I suppose so. Still, I imagine there’s quite a demand for the jewelry Anna makes.”

“She mentioned as much herself. She’s fine with painting, but making jewelry might be difficult for a while.”

“Well, she’s still technically an employee of the atelier.”

“That’s true.”

Three months.

For the next three months, she would be painting my portrait while still reporting to the atelier, but after that, Anna would be free to do as she pleases.

“You signed the contract without even checking her artwork. They probably just see it as the whim of a naive young noblewoman.”

And that was exactly what I was aiming for.

It needed to look as though I had stumbled upon Anna’s talent by chance, not because I had recognized it in advance and decided to support her.

“If you end up regretting it, just let me know. I can always ask around for another decent painter.”

With those parting words, Alice gave a polite farewell and stepped down from the carriage. Left alone, I began pondering my next move when a sudden thought occurred to me.

‘I wonder if the Second Prince is meeting with him by now?’

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

The sudden sound of the door swinging open made the Second Prince, Aaron Valentin, turn his head. Meeting his gaze, Louis wasted no time getting straight to the point, barely settling into his seat.

[ So? How did it go? ]

[ I failed. Ren will remain my aide for the foreseeable future. ]

At Aaron’s reply, Louis tilted his head slightly.

[ Is that so? ]

He added in a tone utterly devoid of surprise.

[ What a pity. ]

Aaron lifted his teacup with a sigh, listening to a voice that sounded anything but regretful. To minimize the risk of information leaking, the two conversed in the language of the kingdom.

[ I told Father that Ren had been disrespectful to the future Duchess, but he only brought up the Marquis Regen. ]

In other words, Diego’s connection mattered more to him than any trouble with Leonia.

[ On top of that, he spun the whole affair as though Ren had only caused trouble while running an errand for my sister, so I was busy trying to straighten that out. ]

[ His Majesty hasn’t changed a bit. ]

[ Exactly. Sometimes, I wonder why he even named my sister as Crown Princess in the first place. I can’t understand it. ]

At Aaron’s lament, Louis casually gave voice to the king’s true intentions.

[ Since the Crown Princess is too capable for him to appoint you directly, he’s put her in that position for now, watching and waiting for the right moment to betray her. ]

[ …Whatever Father’s intentions, I want no part of it. I have neither the ambition nor the will. ]

Above all, if he made a move for the throne, the Crown Princess would hardly sit by and let it happen.

[ My goal is simply to live a long and quiet life. ]

[ It seems His Majesty has other plans. So does our side, for that matter. ]

[ Come to think of it, wasn’t the Marquis of Regen named as the Emperor’s heir apparent?]

Louis fell silent.

The imperial line of succession was even more tangled and hopeless that it made Valentin’s look stable by comparison. Picturing that grim scenario in his mind, Aaron smoothly shifted the conversation.

[ By the way, how did your fiancée end up running into Ren? I noticed you even assigned her a few knights. Was that intentional? ]

Even so, he wouldn’t have been surprised. Louis Arvan was certainly the sort of man who was capable of just that.

[ It wasn’t intentional. ]

Surprisingly, Louis denied it.

[ I assigned the knights because I’d heard rumors that Ren Reichsten was looking for substances nearby. ]

In other words, the rest had been unforeseen, even for Louis.

[ Hmm, you’ve changed, haven’t you? Assigning your fiancée a personal guard, and not just any guards, but the finest knights of your house… ]

Aaron hesitated for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully, before he spoke.