As Marianne said, the timing was not good.

Having to persuade Casius now, when he was so angry.

But if not now, there would be no other chance.

Vivian patted Marianne’s shoulder a couple times as she stood dazed, then hurried her steps again.

After collapsing yesterday, Vivian pushed herself even harder.

Telling herself she couldn’t collapse over something like this.

That she couldn’t get exhausted here.

So Vivian entered the Crown Prince’s palace without hesitation.

*

The Wolfdor knights guarding the Crown Prince’s palace bowed to Vivian simultaneously.

“We greet the Crown Princess.”

Though they maintained strict military discipline in giving the Wolfdor-style greeting, they looked quite bewildered.

It was understandable. With everyone knowing about Vivian and Casius’s relationship now, no one could have imagined she would visit.

Because of that, Marianne urged the knights who were standing around awkwardly, just watching:

“Are you not going to report this?”

Only then did one knight snap to attention, go inside to report, and come back out.

His shifting eyes as he returned suggested what kind of response he must have heard inside.

“Well… we were told not to let her in.”

“Tell him again that I have an urgent matter to discuss.”

“…Pardon?”

“I said go back in and tell him again. And add that I’ll wait until he comes out.”

The knight caught in the middle looked troubled, but went back inside at Vivian’s resolute expression.

Vivian decided to wait just a little longer like this.

If Casius still wouldn’t come out, then she planned to force her way in.

The reason was simple. He had barged in on her without warning many times too.

No. To be precise, had Casius ever made a formal visitation request before?

The reason she wasn’t barging in from the start and was showing this much courtesy wasn’t because Casius was the “Crown Prince.”

It was because there was nothing to be gained by upsetting Casius’s mood now.

At the same time, she had faith that Casius would eventually come out.

Because he would still think she had use value.

So after a while, the firmly closed door opened.

*

Casius wondered if the woman before him was in her right mind.

‘After deceiving me like that, she still has the nerve to come here?’

Moreover, her expression was as nonchalant as if nothing had happened, making it difficult to guess her intentions.

Well, whatever her intentions were, it didn’t matter.

Casius had no intention of listening to anything she said anyway.

Now that the tourist autonomous region issue had gone awry just because he trusted Vivian, and he was drafting ledgers to deal with the pitch-black Duke Bashuvir.

Casius’s anger had risen to the top of his head.

He chose his words carefully to cut Vivian as deeply as possible:

“From now on, I will share the imperial duties with Lady Evelina Winterdell, so you need not step forward separately.”

“……”

“If you have anything to say to me, relay it through Lady Evelina.”

Cracks spread at the corners of Casius’s eyes as he looked at Vivian’s unwavering gaze.

The woman he thought would be distorted by now showed not the slightest change.

It was getting to the point of being disgusting now.

Casius sneered and glared coldly at Vivian.

“I’d prefer not to see you separately like this anymore.”

After that, Casius turned his attention to documents and consistently ignored her.

The room filled with silence was suffocatingly quiet.

It was Vivian who broke the silence.

“I came because I have something to tell Your Highness.”

“How thoughtful of you.”

Casius still kept his gaze fixed on the documents.

It was an attitude full of contempt.

The scratching sound echoed through the space following Casius’s fingertips.

Vivian’s low voice overlaid it with gravity.

“Have you given up on making Rosemary an autonomous tourist region?”

With a thud, the rolling pen stopped, staining the papyrus where it landed.

“Do you think you have any right to bring up that issue now?”

“There is a way to make Rosemary territory an autonomous region.”

“What lie are you planning to tell this time? It’s not even funny anymore.”

Despite Casius’s fierce mockery, Vivian didn’t show the slightest reaction.

Looking at her like that, bewilderment settled on Casius’s face.

He now just looked at Vivian as if daring her to see how far she would go.

There was a sneer full of coldness at the end of that gaze.

Even while receiving such cold derision, she didn’t show the slightest reaction.

The light pink lips beneath her straight gaze opened only briefly.

“Soon rumors will spread that monsters have appeared in Winterdell duchy.”

Casius stared at Vivian as if entranced by the tremendous words and the low voice giving them credibility.

“And then someone will claim to have seen monsters in Snowfell duchy as well.”

The anger that was about to rise strangely subsided, and cold reason made Casius’s thoughts turn quickly.

‘Monsters occurring in both Winterdell and Snowfell at a coordinated time…’

“Who’s going to spread such rumors?”

“I told my father to do so.”

“……”

“Father will surely act according to my words.”

Looking at the motionless Casius, Vivian clearly conveyed the purpose of her visit.

“Chase the minions of Snowfell and Winterdell. If you reveal the source of the rumors, you’ll be able to get what you want.”

Casius felt his mind go blank for a moment.

‘Is this woman in her right mind? Does she think I’ll believe those words now? Or did I look so foolish to her?’

No. Until now, the officials had called Casius a ghost from the underworld.

Everyone trembled before him and tried to make up pleasing words. Except for a very few of his people.

Vivian Snowfell should have been standing at the very center of the opposite side.

But why…

‘Why are you babbling such words to me with those desperate eyes?’

He needed to stop right away. He should have sneered coldly, telling her to get lost, accusing her of lying again.

But those violet eyes, so full of conviction, seemed to suck in his mind.

‘Damn it. How long has it been since I was fooled, and here I am listening to Vivian’s words again.’

He felt ridiculous.

Nevertheless, Casius did not want to admit the fact that he had believed those words, even for a moment.

“Are you telling me to believe those words now?”

“If you can’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do. But if my words are true, Your Highness will be able to get what you want.”

“……”

“Even if my words are false, you have nothing to lose, do you?”

Casius, who had been silently staring at Vivian, finally retorted cynically this time.

“Do you think I’ll believe that you’re voluntarily exposing your own family?”

“You know. I’m someone who has betrayed my family once before.”

Vivian looked at Casius with a bitter smile.

Half of it was intentional, and the other half was due to the self-loathing she felt seeing Casius grow distant again over such a small crack.

The melancholic smile it produced was full of an innocence similar to what Rachel used to show one day.

Casius, momentarily breathless at the sight, unknowingly clenched his fist.

Looking at him like that, she left behind calm words and departed.

“For Your Highness’s sake, Snowfell must be brought down without fail.”

“……!”

*

On the way out of the Crown Prince’s palace.

As I gazed at the red sunset beautifully staining the earth as it hung on the distant mountainside, my thoughts naturally organized themselves.

‘By now, Casius should move according to my will.’

I had no doubt that Casius would carry out this task.

He may hate me, Vivian, but he loves Rachel and Rosemary even more.

That love will ultimately make him move.

After organizing my thoughts, Casius’s sharp words leaked into my mind.

Among them, the most confusing issue was that of ‘Lady Evelina Winterdell.’

‘Saying to discuss work matters with Evelina from now on. Surely he’s not giving Evelina the position of Empress to drown me out?’

As noisy speculations continued with every step, I had already reached the Crown Princess’s palace.

As I turned the corner, I heard Marianne gasp.

“Y-Your Highness.”

Turning my head in the direction of her gaze, there was a woman standing there.

The woman who met my gaze bowed in greeting.

“I greet the Crown Princess.”

Though I had never seen her before, I could immediately tell who she was.

With her hand placed on her chest, she introduced herself according to etiquette.

“I am Evelina Winterdell.”

Fluffy golden hair reflecting like a sculpture crafted by the brilliant sun, beneath it features arranged as beautifully as a watercolor painting.

Her straight body without curves gave a delicate impression, stirring protective instincts in the viewer.

Around her long, slender snow-white neck was a Winterdell-patterned tiara strung with tiny peach-colored jewels.

Evelina’s unique pitifulness was on a different level from my night-deep glamour hiding its own unique allure within.

Because of that, she and I facing each other stood out in stark contrast, reminiscent of a white swan and a black swan.