“Let me think, Elise. Beating them?”
Karan answered quickly, knowing she wasn’t really asking him. He enjoyed any interaction with Elise.
“No, you feed them. If you keep feeding a wild beast, it forgets it’s a beast and becomes compliant, whether you beat it or starve it.”
Ilaria’s eyebrows twitched.
Observing her reaction, Elise asked Karan another question.
“Do you think there’s a way for the beast to break free from its master, Prince Karan?”
“That’s a tough one, Elise. What is it?”
Karan pondered seriously.
Of course, not knowing Elise’s intentions, he didn’t suggest the answer would be for the beast to bite its master.
“You kick over the food bowl. Find a new one. By the way, have you heard that the royal family of Magnus descends from black panthers? Known for their bravery among beasts.”
Ilaria realized that Elise was referring to the king of Pedroc as the master and grimaced.
As the atmosphere grew tense, others started to leave.
Now, only Elise, Karan, and Ilaria remained.
“Do you like riddles, Pedroc noble? Or am I just not getting the insult?”
Ilaria shifted her weight onto one leg and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Raising her chin, she appeared even taller than her already 10 cm height advantage over Elise.
Her overwhelming presence made Elise feel oppressed, but she stood her ground firmly.
‘Showing weakness in front of a beast means getting your neck bitten.’
Elise stepped forward with increased determination.
“A general who cannot distinguish between friend and foe.”
Elise approached Ilaria and looked up.
“Is doomed to fail in war. Are you such a general, Ilaria?”
“Be wary of those who approach with a weakness and seek conversation. They could be a spy or a scammer sent by the enemy.”
“Who told you that?”
“My mentor.”
“…Good advice, I think. But unfortunately, your mentor didn’t teach you how to recognize a noble person. What a pity.”
“Speak directly, not in the roundabout way of Pedroc nobility.”
“You need land, don’t you?”
One of Ilaria’s eyebrows shot up like a mountain.
Elise slightly lowered her gaze, then lifted it.
“Land for the people of the Kingdom of Magnus to eat their fill, shall I give it to you?”
Elise’s eyes sparkled.
“What, trying to sell me something? I don’t want to talk more with a mere merchant.”
Ilaria dismissed her coldly.
“Do you know? If you sell 100 items, you become a shop owner. 1,000 items, and you’re the owner of a trading company. But what happens when you sell 10,000?”
Ilaria squinted her eyes. She didn’t understand what Elise was getting at but was intrigued.
“At that point, it’s no longer business; it’s politics, Your Highness.”
“You want to engage in politics with me?”
Ilaria exhaled sharply.
To her, the idea of a mere noble proposing to engage in politics with a princess was preposterous.
“Just proposing. If you like my gift, then we can consider it.”
Elise took out a note from her pocket and extended it to Ilaria.
Ilaria hesitated, visibly torn about accepting it.
“Take it. It’s just a piece of paper.”
Ilaria, still glaring at Elise, reached out and snatched the paper.
“I hope you like my gift. And if you do…”
“Typical. You want something from me.”
Ilaria sneered, feeling like the hero who had uncovered a villain’s plot.
“The gift will probably be lousy, but I’m curious what you want from me.”
Elise reached out to fix Ilaria’s crooked collar.
Ilaria instinctively moved to draw her sword but hesitated, deterred by the formidable presence of Karan standing behind Elise.
Ilaria was skilled, and she knew she couldn’t beat Karan.
In the moment Ilaria hesitated, Elise quickly adjusted her collar and stepped back.
“My wish is simple. To have a conversation with me. But next time, don’t use informal language with me, Princess Ilaria. I am two years older than you. And also.”
Elise stepped back a few paces to stand beside Karan.
“I am Prince Karan’s fiancée.”
Ilaria, who had been staring intently at Elise, let out a sigh.
She leaned forward to get a closer look at Elise.
From Ilaria’s amazed expression, Elise was confident that she would definitely contact her.
The first day of the New Year’s party came to an end. As soon as Elise arrived at the mansion, she collapsed, exhausted.
She hadn’t drunk much, but her body felt extremely heavy, more so than after a night of revelry.
Was it because she had been so tense?
Elise, rubbing her throbbing head, recalled the people she met at the party.
Chase, Iris, Deboah, Ilaria…
‘All formidable opponents.’
She had expended too much mental energy.
Plus, Karan kept asking her to dance, so she hadn’t had a chance to rest.
Ugh, Elise barely lifted her swollen feet onto the pillow.
‘I’ve come to enjoy dancing.’
She would have politely declined anyone else, but Karan looked so excited, like a puppy seeing snow for the first time, that she ended up dancing every time he asked.
‘Ah, I promised to meet him tomorrow.’
Elise remembered the conversation she had with Karan.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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