Didn't Plan to Become a Companion - Chapter 31

Ricardo clicked his tongue without trying to hide it. Usually, Julian openly disrespected the Second Prince. But that was only before the Crown Prince fell to his knees.

“As death approaches, do you wish to squander all your possessions?”

The Crown Prince looked at Ricardo with an innocent expression, as if to say, “What do you mean?”

“Isn’t that too easy a bet?”

“Is it?”

Incredibly, the Crown Prince looked surprised. Of course, Ricardo wasn’t fooled by Stuart’s clumsy acting. But even if he was acting, there was no reason to refuse the bet.

“I’ll wager my townhouse in Sevran that Julian will approach the Second Prince before he even finishes one glass of wine.”

The townhouse in Sevran was the mansion with the garden that the Duke of Rochester cherished most. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t Ricardo’s yet, but it was the family inheritance he would receive upon engagement.

The townhouse, which the Duke and Duchess visited periodically to coincide with the changing of flowers, would now be bursting with red roses. So betting that prized Rochester mansion meant he was that confident.

“Faquin… is he that predictable?”

“Of course. So, Your Highness, what will you wager?”

“No matter how opportunistic he is, there’s still loyalty built up over time…”

Ricardo smirked. If there was one word that least suited Julian, he thought it was undoubtedly loyalty. The Crown Prince thought for a moment, then spoke resolutely, as if he had made up his mind. With a somewhat playful smile.

“I’ll give you Schneider’s treasured sword that I received from His Majesty the Emperor.”

Ricardo’s face stiffened slightly at Stuart’s outrageous betting condition.

Schneider’s treasured sword was a treasure passed down since the first Emperor, which only the heir to the imperial family could possess. There were legends that it was directly bestowed by God, and theories that it was taken after winning a war against God. Whatever the background, there was no disagreement that it symbolized the imperial family.

“Are you serious?”

“What use would it be for a dying man to lie? It’s not like Schneider’s treasured sword will protect me after I’m dead.”

“You’re thinking of appointing me as Crown Prince, aren’t you?”

As laughter mixed with the heavy topic, Stuart also chuckled, his chest heaving slightly.

No sooner had that laughter faded from his face than Faquin moved. Directly picking up a wine glass and heading towards the Second Prince. At that sight, Ricardo and the Crown Prince burst out laughing loudly. It was a somewhat hollow laughter.

“I’ll give you my sword at the imperial palace banquet.”

Ricardo looked down at the first floor hall with sharp, gleaming eyes. The imperial palace banquet was the biggest feast to be held right after his engagement ceremony.

He couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Stuart handing him the sword there, with the Emperor watching.

It would probably be tantamount to a declaration of war. Stuart Reid Schneider directly conveying it to his father.

And Ricardo accepting it would be his own declaration.

That he would act according to the contents of the oracle from now on.

Since he won the bet, there was no way or reason not to accept that sword.

Ricardo looked at Stuart with fresh eyes. As expected, he was a Schneider. Relentless and incredibly shrewd.

At that moment, Stuart’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. Ricardo found it truly fascinating. That a human being could still have his eyes light up at interesting things even when facing death.

“There’s a new Yellow Rose over there.”

Ricardo’s gaze naturally turned to where the Crown Prince was pointing. But the new yellow rose the Crown Prince spoke of was already standing with her back to them. Her beautiful silver hair and silver dress of a slightly lighter shade were rippling like waves, flaunting her figure.

“You didn’t see her face, did you? I’d like to see it once more myself.”

The body’s graceful lines, which even the dress couldn’t conceal, and the long exposed neck were perfect for stirring men’s base desires. It wasn’t a vulgar dress with excessive exposure like other women’s, but that made it all the more eye-catching.

“It’s no ordinary eye, to have chosen such a dress.”

Ricardo was ignorant about women’s evening wear, but even to him, the woman’s back view from afar was beautiful. Beautiful… Had he ever had such an appreciation before?

“No matter how I look at it, she’s no ordinary family’s woman, so why is she holding a yellow rose?”

“How on earth do you know such things?”

“What do you mean?”

“Things like… women’s clothes.”

“This is the difference in experience between a single man and a married man. No, even setting that aside, it’s strange that you don’t know. It looks extremely expensive at a glance. Mariette said that price is discernment.”

Silver hair was not a common color not only in the Dermeyer Empire but in many countries Ricardo had visited. Moreover, with such a beautiful back view, that woman would undoubtedly be the best Yellow Rose of this party today.

Wasn’t Julian’s gaze, who was handing a wine glass to the Second Prince, also turning in that direction?

Then would that woman achieve this year’s myth of social climbing?

Ricardo calmly thought that today’s new chapters of the play were much more interesting than other days.

“It doesn’t matter how beautifully they’ve decorated their appearance. The fact that the content is vulgar doesn’t change.”

“You’re lacking in many things, but flexibility is what you lack most. Instead of calling all the women wearing yellow roses down there vulgar, I’d use the expression ‘fierce’.”

“Isn’t this fierce competition happening because the Emperor has been handing out noble titles indiscriminately?”

It was an era of many wars. Most countries that lost in war were forcibly integrated and incorporated into the Dermeyer Empire, but it was difficult to maintain power by force alone.

“I never said it wasn’t. I’m just saying to understand.”

From Schneider’s ancestors several generations back to the current Emperor, imperial titles were given to citizens of subjugated countries.

Whether it was for show or not, it was quite a good compensation for those who had lost their countries.

The royalty of subjugated countries were given somewhat better titles, but most nobles were given the title of baron in the Dermeyer Empire.

That title, handed out like throwing food to dogs to the citizens of subjugated countries, seemed to be regarded as a medal. Those who received even that title oppressed their surroundings, making even others loyal to the Dermeyer Emperor.

The problem was that they gradually wanted to advance to the center.

The easiest way to advance to the center was through marriage alliances.

So this party itself was a festival of large-scale matchmakers. Whether it was the parents or themselves aiming for social advancement, unmarried women from families below viscount willingly wore yellow roses on their chests to become even the mistress of a man from a family of count or above.

He had heard that they didn’t hesitate to pay enormous sums to obtain an invitation to this party.

“But why isn’t that woman turning this way?”

He thought women knew how to tease men even from afar. She looked around as if searching for someone, but never turned around.

“I wonder what expression Her Highness would make if she knew you were so curious about another woman.”

At Ricardo’s jab, Stuart’s eyes widened in genuine surprise.

“Don’t even joke about that. You must know that Mariette is the person I fear most in the world. This is just a secret between men.”

He really shuddered as if frightened, then pointed to a spot in the hall.

“Oh, there’s Walter.”

Where the Crown Prince pointed was Walter Shaw Chaplin, the heir to the Chaplin duchy. He was one of the few properly recognized men in the empire.

Ricardo tended to agree with that assessment, but that didn’t mean he liked him.

Although Walter was still a viscount, his father had been seriously ill for a long time, so he was already performing the duke’s duties. Impatient people already called him Duke Chaplin.

“Look at that. Even Walter, known for his high standards, is approaching her. That’s how all men are. So don’t even think about breathing a word to Mariette.”

To be precise, Walter wasn’t approaching the new yellow rose.

It didn’t make sense for him, who suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder only regarding women, to approach a yellow rose first. If anything, he might be backing away, chased by them.

But Walter’s OCD was a fact that Ricardo had discovered with his discerning eye for truth. That condition was as secret as the Chaplin family’s power, so it wasn’t strange for the Crown Prince to misunderstand.

For whatever reason, it was clear that the silver-haired woman was the protagonist of this hall today.

The Crown Prince and Rochester, Chaplin and Faquin, even the Second Prince. All were heading towards that woman. Whether with their gaze or body.

Ricardo was laughing hollowly at the situation unfolding before his eyes when it happened.

“With men pouncing on her left and right, why don’t you try your luck too?”

The woman who had been facing away from them all this time turned around. At the same moment, the Crown Prince’s voice began to sound distant.