I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 30

“Today the engagement will be announced,” Arthur said in a heavy voice. “It’s later than expected, but there are no variables.”

Listening to Claude’s words, Minaz’s gaze drifted to the terrace of the Princess’s palace across the way. Among the girls, the Princess was smiling as beautifully as an angel. That girl would soon possess the most beautiful and most formidable doll in the world.

“No.”

Minaz muttered stubbornly.

“I still believe in variables.”

The flow that was thought to be absolutely unchangeable was being moved by something. A crack had finally appeared in the diamond-hard plan. If there was even a thread of hope, Minaz intended to shake it in any way possible.

Claude gave her a ‘we’ll see’ look and returned to his seat.

Soon, the doors of the meeting hall opened.

“His Majesty the Emperor is entering.”

Count Zeppelin’s solemn voice rang out.

Eleanor’s steps as she left the detached palace were interrupted.

“Where are you going?”

The old man, whom Skye introduced as a butler, would be better off being vaguely evasive rather than lying, even for the future. However, there was no time to spare, so Eleanor wanted to end the boring Q&A quickly.

“I’m not going to see Count Calabria. Please move.”

Skye’s butler would know that Rian was currently at the imperial palace for a ducal family meeting. The butler blinked his light-colored, elderly eyes and asked again.

“When will you be back?”

“I don’t know, I really don’t.”

Eleanor shook her head and quickly added,

“The Grand Duke will know where I’m going. So just let me go.”

Given Skye’s personality, as she had observed, he would have a tail ready. The butler slowly moved aside in acknowledgement.

“Shall I prepare a carriage?”

Their eyes met, and Skye Phaidra flashed a slight smile.

‘What a sly man.’

There may be no other meaning to it, but he was a smart man, so he would surely know what kind of reaction his smile would elicit from women. Even Minaz, who was well-accustomed to dealing with bigwigs, found her face blushing at his smile. It was embarrassing to keep staring after being caught, so Minaz refocused on the reading.

Just as Minaz was reaching her limit trying to suppress a yawn, the awaited main topic finally began.

“Today’s agenda is a discussion to decide a major affair of the Empire.”

“The Empire has a long-deferred obligation: the subjugation of the Hakmersia.”

At the unexpected topic, the dukes’ expressions twitched in unison.

‘Hakmersia? Where did that come from?’

The Hakmersia was a rare magical beast that lived in the southern part of the Empire. It had a physique much larger than a typical building, extremely developed scales like armor, and sharp claws and teeth filled with venom. It was very dangerous and had attacked villages, so it should have been subjugated, but the reason the nation had not gotten involved was that it was an intelligent beast and a compromise could be reached. Since it liked shiny things, if an appropriate amount of treasure and livestock were offered, it would not bother humans.

“Recently, the Empire has been noisy both internally and externally. Since the emergence of a magical beast at a time like this would be ominous, His Majesty the Emperor desires its subjugation.”

If he wanted to build an achievement, that was one way to do it. But was this an agenda item important enough to urgently gather all the dukes for a meeting? As Minaz tilted her head in question, Claude spoke from beside her.

“The Hakmersia does not multiply beyond a fixed number. The amount of tribute we pay is not small, but isn’t it an acceptable price for not shedding blood?”

“If it were easy to subjugate, our predecessors would have taken care of it already. The Hakmersia is very fast, so it cannot be surrounded by a large army, and swords or bows have no effect.”

After Duke Bormia added his opinion, Zeppelin spoke again.

“According to past records of subjugation, it is said that a small number of exceptional knights are better suited to confront the Hakmersia than a large army. We happen to have a knight commander who is hailed as having the greatest talent in the history of the Empire, so isn’t this the perfect time?”

Minaz was dumbfounded. No matter how strong he was, there was no law saying he couldn’t die from an unexpected attack. To push a talented individual from a top family into an unnecessary death for such a reason—it was a bizarre meeting that no one would agree with.

“Is it necessary to force such a dangerous mission upon Count Calabria, who holds a significant role in the Empire?”

“It is believed that the Count will gladly step forward for the suffering people.”

Of course, given Rian’s personality, he would rather die fighting than cower in fear. However, the dukes’ reactions were all negative.

“However, as you all know, Count Calabria has long been a person considered for the position of the Empire’s consort. Her Royal Highness the Princess has come of age this birthday.”

Count Zeppelin paused and cleared his throat once.

“It is His Majesty’s opinion that if the two of them marry soon, it would be even more helpful for the stability of the Empire than subjugating the Hakmersia.”

To think he would resort to such a crude tactic. Minaz sighed inwardly. Even if the emperor was feeling anxious due to the sudden rumor with the widow, this was too shabby. It was the thought of a childish and simple mind, not the emperor who had ruled the Empire flawlessly for years.

‘The Princess, is it?’

Since falling in love with the Princess, the previously brilliant Emperor had been making strange judgments more often. His focus had shifted due to his affection, dimming his political vision.

“As this is a major agenda item, we intend to make a decision with the consent of the ducal families. We have gathered everyone from the ducal families, but for convenience, we will proceed with a vote among those who hold a ducal title or higher.”

Minaz scoffed inwardly. The words sounded plausible, but Arthur, Minaz, and Lowen were unmarried, both members of the Phaidra family held ducal titles or higher, and the Duke and Duchess of Floyd were a couple. In reality, the only direct member of a ducal family who was not a duke was Rian. This was not a selection; it was an intentional exclusion.

There was only one reason to proceed with his exclusion.

‘Rian still has no intention of proposing to the Princess.’

Even if the rumor was over, he had no intention of marrying the Princess. That’s why they had called in Rian’s parents to put direct pressure on him.

“What exactly are we voting on?”

Duke Bormia asked in his usual cautious tone.

“The vote is about whether to proceed with the subjugation of the Hakmersia or to ignore this appearance and accelerate preparations for the marriage.”

Surely this could have been handled more elegantly. Minaz forced a bitter smile at the overly simplistic behavior.

“Count Calabria isn’t yet engaged to Her Royal Highness the Princess, is he? Are we to proceed with a vote while he might still marry another woman?”

“If he does not marry Her Royal Highness the Princess, then it is irrelevant to the major affairs of the state, so the subjugation will proceed as planned.”

Even Zeppelin, as he spoke, seemed embarrassed, his gaze lowered.

‘Is this a choice between sending him to his death or having him marry the Princess?’

They planned to use his life as bait to pressure Rian, bringing together the dukes, his parents, and the imperial family. It was so underhanded that Minaz couldn’t help but interject.

“The nobles of the Empire have the right to choose their spouse, don’t they? No matter how important a state affair it is, isn’t it strange to decide by vote while excluding the person directly involved?”

The Duke of Calabria roughly rebuked Minaz’s words.

“You always object! It’s a matter decided by His Majesty, so just obey.”

Judging by his sharper tone than usual, the appearance of his estranged wife was clearly bothering him. But Minaz didn’t care about that. She was about to retort to his rude words, but the Emperor himself spoke, ending the argument.

“After the vote, I will speak with Count Calabria directly, along with his parents. The choice of whether to accept it is his.”

What choice did he have when the Emperor himself was bringing his parents to apply pressure? Regardless of Minaz’s frustration, the voting began. Zeppelin went around the meeting hall, handing out a white jade and a red jade to each duke.

“Those who approve of the marriage between Count Calabria and the Princess should push the white jade forward. Those who oppose should push the red jade forward.”

As soon as the Emperor’s words fell, the Duke of Calabria pushed his white jade forward. It was an attempt to create an atmosphere that would make it difficult to object.

‘Someone who would fall for such a shoddy trick…’

Before Minaz could finish her thought, a white jade flew to the center.

‘There he was.’

Minaz looked at the bored face of Grand Duke Robert Phaidra. It seemed he just wanted to agree and get out of the tedious meeting.

‘This is getting difficult.’

Skye was likely to agree since he had a baroness as a lover. But he was a man whose thoughts were hard to read, so he might make a different decision if the momentum shifted.

‘At least the three of us here should oppose first…’

Hoping for a small chance, she looked beside her. When he looked back at her, Minaz raised a hand so only he could see and mouthed words.

‘What are you doing? Are you crazy?’

‘If we can’t oppose it anyway, this is better.’

His clean enunciation made the shape of his mouth easy to read.

‘Or will you be the first to oppose it?’

Indeed, openly being the first to object in a situation where the Emperor was involved was dangerous. There was a high possibility of facing future retaliation.

‘What should I do?’

She wondered if she should risk political disadvantage for a vote she would likely lose anyway, let alone win. This was when Minaz was hesitating, holding the red and white jades in her hands.

Thud.

For the first time, a red jade fell to the center of the table. In the silence, everyone’s eyes turned to the person who had placed it there.

“You, what are you doing?”

Breaking the silence was the furious, trembling voice of the Duke of Calabria. His face twitched as he glared at the owner of the red jade, the Duchess of Floyd.

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