<CHAPTER 39>
Who Is the Prey
Everyone knew that Siaris had pushed for marriage because she loved war hero Maxwell Embrio very much.
And they also knew that he did not love his wife.
“…A surprisingly clever young lady.”
It was rumored to be amazing that the two had a daughter together, but no one spoke of it.
Maxwell Embrio was an unprecedented hero and cruel power holder that everyone knew, and Siaris Embrio was a noble woman with the blood of the Delpheo Imperial family mixed in her veins. The former Emperor had treated his young cousin like his own daughter and made her an Imperial Princess. Later, he cherished the daughter born to that Princess greatly and even permitted her the title of Grand Duchess, and that Grand Duchess was Siaris.
She had requested the privilege of choosing her marriage partner solely by her own will, and the former Emperor empowered her will with his dying words.
That was the circumstance that led to Duke Embrio’s unwanted marriage.
Evelyn waited with an anxious heart for her indignant mother to insult her. Or for someone to harm her.
Evelyn had devised a plan to provoke her mother and bring down her father.
Whether good or bad, Evelyn was the master of the season.
If her mother made a move, they could hold the Embrio family accountable. That was how she planned to implicate her father.
‘Was it insufficient? Should I push a bit more…?’
If there was something Evelyn hadn’t calculated, it was that Siaris had grown old.
In her youth, blood easily boiled and she trembled at trivial matters and swung her hand. But with age, it didn’t boil over so easily.
She had also become skilled at calculating the repercussions of acting while angry, so even more so.
“It seems His Highness the Crown Prince is still not pleased with the Embrio family.”
Evelyn flinched and trembled in surprise. Her mother’s eyes for reading the situation were sharper than she thought. Regret for underestimating her opponent overwhelmed her.
“It seems he cherished my daughter enough to involve a young lady in his schemes.”
Siaris seemed to think that Rexfail still held a grudge against the Embrio family over Evelyn’s matter. That he was trying to dig a trap to implicate the Embrio family using ‘Raven.’
Evelyn tensed.
“Duchess…”
It would be troublesome to be misunderstood as having Rexfail behind her here.
All the efforts of the previous day, when she had acted with the resolve to ruin everything, would be in vain.
Seeing Evelyn’s bewilderment, Siaris wore a deep smile. Before Evelyn could say anything, she leaned her body close and whispered in her ear.
“Isn’t it too big a morsel to swallow?”
“…That’s why there are forks and knives.”
It was too late to clear the misunderstanding. For now, it was important not to be pushed back.
When she retorted, Siaris laughed brilliantly and leaned even closer to whisper.
“Selection and focus are necessary for an enjoyable meal.”
Evelyn doubted her own ears. She couldn’t be certain if Siaris’s words meant what she suspected.
“If you try to enjoy a full course meal forcibly, you won’t be able to enjoy the main dish and your stomach will be full.”
“Surely.”
“I hope His Highness makes a wise choice.”
Siaris was trying to cut out Maxwell.
She had extended her hand to participate in the act of cutting out her husband, on the condition of the Embrio family’s survival and her own.
Evelyn hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she should be pleased or not.
Not knowing how it was perceived, Siaris seemed to feel the need to encourage the master of the Winter Palace.
“You must become the master of the four seasons.”
Before her death, her father had promised the position of Crown Princess, and after her resurrection, her mother promised it.
Each with their own ambition,
‘A tool.’
Evelyn didn’t know whether she was born with such a nature, or whether her mother and father only used people that way.
She only felt that the situation was quite ironic.
“Do you still need time?”
Siaris’s fingertip touched Evelyn’s cheek.
If she wished, she would create an opportunity to hold Duke Maxwell Embrio accountable by scratching her and making a wound. That was the meaning.
Evelyn focused for a moment on the sensation and body temperature felt on her cheek. As far as she remembered, this was the first time she had touched her mother.
And probably the last.
“No.”
Siaris’s eyebrows contorted fiercely. It seemed like a refusal.
Evelyn grabbed the hand that was about to withdraw and pressed it to her own cheek. Then she spoke.
“I thought a mad dog bit me and made a trap with momentary wit, but how sturdy could it be?”
Siaris’s eyes crinkled.
“Since I have a hunting dog, it would be right to prepare a trap a bit more thoroughly to catch a beast.”
Displeasure appeared in the eyes of the woman treated as a hunting dog. However, Evelyn had no intention of correcting her expression.
She was now Rexfail’s spokesperson.
‘If you think you can deal on equal footing with the Crown Prince, you’re mistaken. He is your master.’
The hunter leads the hunt. That was the Crown Prince, and what they could choose was whether to become the hunting dog or the prey.
Siaris’s lips twitched as she understood Evelyn’s warning.
“His Highness must cherish you very much.”
“In serving the one who will become the master of Delpeo, whether he has affection or not does not affect me.”
Siaris’s mouth, which had tried to entice the master of the Winter Palace by informing her that a man’s interest and love were finite, closed.
The political power of the still young lady was considerable. But Siaris was no easy opponent either.
“Who is the prey can only be known when the hunt ends. Just because you’re holding a gun doesn’t mean you’re always on the hunting side.”
A dangerous conversation ensued.
As the two exchanged words while pressed close together, people’s gazes didn’t fall away.
“Whether hunting dog or gun, what the hunter desperately needs is the tool. I hope your master is someone who doesn’t spare the price for what he needs.”
With those words, Siaris left Evelyn.
Only then did she realize that she had been tense. Her shoulders were raised and stiff to the point of being sore.
‘Roughly achieved the goal!’
The purpose of coming to the banquet with difficulty had been accomplished.
She had come to the banquet with the thought of somehow creating a disturbance and drawing out Maxwell, the head of the Embrio family.
Though she couldn’t create an incident immediately, she had created room to conspire with Siaris, which was fortunate.
‘If Mother cooperates, things will become easier.’
Duke Maxwell Embrio was authoritarian. He thought alone, judged alone, and decided alone.
That was highly regarded by his followers, but it was a source of dissatisfaction for those aiming for an equal collaborator position.
At a glance, the seemingly tightly united Embrio family was actually divided into several factions when examined closely.
The conservative faction prioritizing the family’s survival and the progressive faction pursuing power,
Those who believed Duke Embrio’s current command style was suitable for the values they pursued, and those who didn’t—two factions splitting into four.
Including the moderates and those who didn’t belong anywhere, the factions split even more.
Calculating the branches of external Embrio support forces made it even more complex. From those supporting the family to those supporting Maxwell personally.
‘I don’t know how much Mother will do, but if she acts for His Highness, the probability of bringing Father down increases.’
If she returned immediately, her intentions would be too transparent, so Evelyn deliberately wandered around the banquet hall like a swim.
She examined the desserts and appetizers on the table and picked up one glass of champagne offered by a servant.
But she didn’t drink it.
‘This isn’t my previous body. I must be careful about what I eat.’
With her previous body before death, she had some immunity to poison and deliberately tasted various things.
Since Rexfail, who came occasionally due to unavoidable circumstances, might eat them.
Though he didn’t know, from the moment Rexfail entered the Autumn Palace until the moment he left, everything that touched the Crown Prince’s body and entered his mouth passed through Evelyn’s inspection.
She carefully checked every time, even whether there was poison or medicine slowly vaporizing in the water of the flower vase.
What had acted quickly for confirmation was Evelyn’s tongue.
That was the fastest way to find out, and sometimes for that reason, she had also wandered between life and death.
‘I don’t regret it.’
Evelyn, who thought that Rexfail wouldn’t have suffered as much as she had suffered, found that past pain still satisfying even now.
‘I wish I could build resistance to poison… Should I start trying gradually even now?’
Thinking she had spent an appropriate amount of time, Evelyn prepared to leave the banquet hall.
The moment she called a passing servant, handed over the glass she was holding, and turned her body, a huge figure blocked her path.
“Pleased to meet you again. Lady Raven.”
Her breath caught in her throat.
She needed preparation before meeting this person. But he always appeared before her at unexpected times.
“…Your Grace Duke Embrio,”
Following behind Siaris Embrio appeared Maxwell Embrio,
the owner of the great shadow that still tormented her.
