SILFCN 20

Chapter 20

The Emperor seemed to have no concern for the chaos that would arise with the succession.

‘In any case, the Imperial throne will be bestowed upon the favorite of my heart. Before that, try your best to grovel in front of me,‘ was… Such an egotistical attitude.

The Empress didn’t stoop down to meet the Emperor’s approval, nor did she openly argue with him for his favor, as the Queen did. She simply took a step back and watched the situation unfold. Prince Adrian’s demeanor was similar.

He didn’t want to get involved in the bloodshed, rolling in the dirt with those beneath him, begging for the Emperor’s favor. In a way, they did so to save their pride, but then again, in this situation, pride was all they had.

Even if Queen Cleo and Prince Brian seemed to have the Emperor’s favor for now, they just needed to poke holes in that when it mattered most.

‘The last man standing would be the winner‘ was their general attitude.

It was obvious that Prince Adrian was a clever man in his own right, and that he was at least as good with a sword as Brian, if not better.

“How does the tea taste?”

Naturally, the sickly, unable-to-fight-for-the-love-of-her-life Second Queen’s troublemaking daughter hadn’t been on their radar.

Until now.

“It’s bitter.”

“Really? I told you to add a lot of sugar…”

Adrian’s fine brow furrowed slightly.

“You have me here as a guest, your searching eyes are as sharp as needles, and the tea is bitter enough to make me want to swallow my words.”

“…”

I don’t think I need to play the fool here, and Adrian’s normally serene face hardened slightly.

“’I’m glad to hear that you’ve been well, and I’m sorry for all the unfortunate things you’ve had to endure. I’ll be a loving big brother to you from now on…’ You wouldn’t say anything so foolish, would you, Prince Adrian?”

“…”

Adrian laughed bitterly, as if he hadn’t expected to be called out like that.

“Titania, I thought you were just a child…”

“Well, it was obvious that I was basically a pawn in the hands of Queen Cleo, so you didn’t want to risk touching me, am I right?”

“And… you’re really sharp, aren’t you?”

Adrian scratched his cheek in a wry way. He looked embarrassed, but I wasn’t fooled. This was the man who had been described as a ‘snake’ in the original story.

A man who hid his true intentions until the last possible moment, waited for his opponent to be unwary and blindsided, and finally, when they could not fight back, slit their throat and emerged victorious.

“Queen Cleo seems to be in a very good mood.”

“Of course she is.”

“I’m surprised you’re willing to go to the Consecration yourself. It can’t be a very pleasant occasion… it will be dangerous, and you don’t even have a proper escort yet. Your mother, the Second Queen…. won’t be willing to go with you.”

“Then, would the Second Prince be willing to go with me?”

“Only if you ask.”

“Do I look so foolish as to think that I would openly antagonize Queen Cleo, to side with His Highness the Second Prince?”

A twisted laugh escaped his lips.

Titania, you truly are unlucky.

Dinner a little while ago had changed the Empress and the Prince’s impression of me. From ‘a child too stupid to be of any use to anyone’ to ‘a sensible child who is not being manipulated by Queen Cleo, and who has managed to keep her wits about her.’

At first glance, Adrian’s words sounded like the concern of a loving brother… But if I listened to him straight, I’d be openly at odds with Queen Cleo.

Does that mean that the Empress and Prince Adrian will stand up to Cleo and help me?

No, of course not.

In front of the Emperor, I would say that I wanted to go to the Great Hall alone to help everyone. Later, by pretending to be scared to death and dragging Adrian along, he could sneak into the Consecration Ceremony, which he’s never been able to attend due to the Queen’s interference. At the same time, he wouldn’t be blamed for it, since he was only doing it for his poor sister.

And best of all, Titania will earn the wrath of Queen Cleo.

You have no intention of taking me completely under your wing and protecting me, and yet you pull this stunt, all under the guise of ‘concern’?

“I’ve heard of how many of you have come to visit me while I’ve been walking the line between life and death.”

Adrian’s light green eyes darkened. I popped a sugar cube into my milk tea.

“There is no one else here.”

“…Titania.”

“Don’t you think it’s a little late for you to be playing the role of the brother who’s worried about his immature sister going away?”

“…”

Adrian fell silent, not knowing what else to say.

“Or should I be grateful that you’ve reached out to me now, the pampered young princess with nothing to show for herself? After all, you are the son of the Empress.”

“…Titania, we are still siblings…”

“Just as you don’t consider Prince Brian your brother, I’m sure you didn’t consider me your sister until now.”

The Empress and the Second Prince were the only people in the Imperial family who knew how to save face. But that was it. They had no use for the useless, insignificant, and unruly young princess. It was only reasonable. There was no need to stir up a quarrel by touching me when it was so obvious that Queen Cleo was playing with me, it wasn’t worth it.

There was no guarantee that I would ever become House Castraine’s Mistress, not when my relationship with my fiancé was so rocky.

It was a foregone conclusion.

It was also all so ironic.

Titania fell into such ruin because no one had reached out to her, but as soon as it looked like she might be of some use, they jumped on the opportunity.

And Titania was such a love-starved child. She was so desperate that she had to cling to the foolish fantasy that her fiancé, who clearly hated her, actually liked her. If only someone had reached out to her a little earlier, it wouldn’t have come to such a point.

“You didn’t care when I was the spoiled little princess, and you didn’t care when I was on the brink of death. Do you feel pity for me now that I might be of some use?”

“…I’m sorry, Titania.”

Adrian bowed his head. I was surprised by that. He had the decency to bow down and apologize without hesitation to his sister, who was one head shorter than him. No one had ever apologized so sincerely to Titania before, not even after she’d nearly died.

“As I said, I only became interested in you after seeing what you’ve been doing lately, and what you were like a little while ago. So it’s true that I don’t have any right to… call myself your brother.”

“…”

“However, even if my circumstances are better than yours, I can’t say that my situation, or my mother’s, is all that great… but I suppose that would be an excuse for you.”

“…”

“And I’m sure I’d be a better choice for you than either Queen Cleo or Brian, who both tried to take advantage of you.”

I suppose he had a point. If Empress Cleo and Prince Brian weren’t such unworthy bastards, I wouldn’t be here drinking tea with him. They didn’t say the enemy of my enemy was my friend for nothing.

“Considering the cleverness you’ve shown today, I don’t suppose you’re planning on giving me the benefit of the doubt?”

“…”

I pondered for a moment.

The problem was; I didn’t have many options. I couldn’t take the side of Queen Cleo and her demented son… who had been trying to use me, gaslight me, and kill me. There was only so much fooling around I could do.

And a powerless princess was no match for the Emperor’s general in the palace. So I tried to get help, not from House Castraine, but from…

…Right. People who aren’t even close to being human vs. people who still care about humanity. Overwhelmingly, the latter is the only answer.

I swallowed a sigh and spoke.

“…Let’s call it a temporary secret alliance, where we assist each other without harming the other in any significant way.”

Prince Adrian smirked, smugly. Such a quick-thinking and deceitful fellow.

“I see, it’s a decision you’ll never regret, sister.”

“Don’t pretend to be so friendly, Your Highness.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I’ll be a good big brother from now on. I mean it.”

“Don’t inject shallow kinship into a relationship of mutual understanding.”

Despite my harsh words, Prince Adrian smirked and began to call his personal attendants to arrange a game of cards, saying that there was another game he wanted to play.

He was like a golden retriever excited to have someone to play with…

I realized that it was an unavoidable choice, but I probably didn’t choose the right partner. I lamented in my heart.