But even if that were not the case, Odette would not have chosen Walter.
Any person in the empire, or even a foreigner, would have been fine.
Only Ertman was virtually impossible to marry a princess because of ‘that incident’.
Among the marriage candidates, Ertman was one to be avoided for Odette, who had to find someone to marry right away.
‘Anyway, since His Majesty spoke to this extent, the rumors will be somewhat dispelled.’
Since he openly warned, even Walter wouldn’t dare to bring up the story of proposing to Odette.
“……I understand Your Majesty’s intention.”
Sure enough, Walter nodded his head.
But the words that followed almost made Odette spit out her tea.
“If it’s something that happens willingly, Your Majesty will also forgive, I have listened carefully.”
“Cough.”
Odette, who heard the joke, put down her tea cup unnaturally, but no one paid attention to her.
As soon as Walter finished speaking, the Emperor’s face turned pale.
“……It seems the Duke did not properly understand my intention.”
“I understood it properly. Didn’t Your Majesty say so? If it’s something that happens willingly, what can you do?”
Even if you’re displeased, you need to turn a blind eye sometimes, the Emperor certainly said that.
Only that it would be interpreted like this, no, that someone would dare to interpret it this way, he hadn’t thought so.
“I was very cautious that Your Majesty might find Ertman unpleasant because of what happened in the past, but thanks to your words, I feel relieved. As you know, love without permission tends to cause unintentional accidents.”
“So? Are you going to cause an accident now?”
“Why would I? Your Majesty has said that you will generously accept with such magnanimity, so why would I need to? Or…….”
Walter’s gaze briefly turned to Lizaina and then returned.
“Will Your Majesty not permit what the princess wishes?”
At that question, the nobles began to stir, and the Emperor’s previously bored face hardened.
If he misspoke here, the Emperor would be a person who went back on his word.
Or, after getting everything that could be gained through Ertman’s merit, he didn’t properly atone for the sin and opposed the princess’s marriage as a shameless person.
Regardless of the reality, there was a huge difference between circumstantial evidence and the words the Emperor let slip.
And Walter had sharply pointed that out.
In the end, the Emperor chose to change the subject instead of answering.
“……When you say that, Duke, you mean you have some thoughts to some extent. Just by what you’ve said so far, it sounds like you certainly have feelings for the princess. Is that correct?”
Indeed, it was a serpentine, imperial eloquence.
In an instant, all eyes were drawn to Walter.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for Walter’s lips to part.
And then,
“Taste usually follows lineage, as my grandfather used to say.”
Walter’s lips opened as smoothly as a snake’s.
A languid and soft tone, as if to enchant the listener.
“I never thought it was a credible story, but now my mind has changed.”
“Huh, are you drawn to the princess by Ertman’s bloodline?”
“Isn’t it strange not to be, with such a charming person present?”
“Duke, did you sharpen your tongue instead of your sword on the battlefield? Your speech is very smooth indeed.”
The emperor spoke thus, letting out a hollow laugh as if annoyed, and finally stood up abruptly.
There was no point in continuing the conversation here, as it would lead to nothing but talk of Ertman’s marriage to the princess, which would not be good from the emperor’s perspective.
“I am not feeling very well today. I see that even this much conversation is quite draining. The entertainment is enough. The rest of you enjoy yourselves.”
As soon as the emperor left without looking back, the nobles who had been holding their breath began to buzz all at once.
“Who would have thought…”
“Who do you think the duke has in mind out of the two princesses?”
“It must be the 3rd princess, right? He was sitting next to her, and he looked at her before speaking!”
“If he really has feelings for the 3rd princess, the 4th princess must feel quite foolish. She’s been used.”
Without daring to ask the party in question directly, they eagerly speculated.
But the prevailing opinion was that he had feelings for Lizaina.
Given the situation, it was a natural conclusion.
‘It will probably spread throughout the social world in less than a day.’
In this uproar, only Odette was calmly sipping her tea.
The fact that Walter had feelings for Lizaina was not particularly surprising to her.
No one would care for Odette, the weed of the imperial court.
She knew. But…
‘…Why does it taste so bitter?’
Was it because the tea had cooled and become astringent?
Yes, that must be it.
The reason her vision was so blurry was that the tea had cooled too much…
Odette blinked her blurry eyes and set down her teacup.
No, she thought she had set it down.
Clang!
Her eyes popped open at the sharp noise that rang out at that moment.
Only then did her clear vision register what she had done.
Because she hadn’t slept, her vision had been blurry, and in trying to set down the teacup, she had dropped it on the floor.
‘Of all times, it had to be now.’
Feeling all eyes on her at once, her face flushed. Odette quickly rose from her seat.
“II apologize. My hand slipped… I’ll take my leave now, Your Highness the Empress.”
And before even hearing Katarina’s response, she tried to leave the place.
“……!”
Her body swayed, and her vision tilted for a moment.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
