I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 61

Deputy Commander Michel of the Imperial Knights rode his horse from the rear to the front of the procession. He was on his way back from checking the state of the entire company. The knights were always well-trained, as befits the title of the finest elite of the Choi-Jang Empire, but now everyone was exhausted from Roan’s somewhat forced march. The commanders leading each unit were no different, and signs of fatigue were widespread.

‘There’s no reason to rush back like this,’ Michel thought.

It wasn’t a bad expedition, so he planned to ask Roan to slow down a little.

Roan was leading the charge at the front as usual. The strange thing was that his eyes were fixed on the sky, not on the path ahead. His horsemanship was so good that he had no problem riding without looking forward, but Michel was a little worried. Ever since the woman claiming to be Eleanor Mariche came and went, Roan had been spaced out.

Michel rode his horse closer to him.

“Commander.”

Roan didn’t answer right away. Michel looked where Roan’s eyes were fixed, but it was just a normal sky.

“What are you looking at?”

To his question, Roan replied as if to himself.

“Deneb is out.”

“Pardon?”

Deneb is a star that only appears on one day a year. There was no reason for it to be visible today. Startled, Michel quickly looked up at the sky, but the brilliantly shining Deneb was nowhere to be seen.

“I can’t see it, sir.”

“Its color is red.”

Roan went a step further. Was he seeing things from the non-stop forced march? As Michel stood there flustered, Roan mumbled again.

“I don’t think we can go on like this.”

That was what Michel was about to say.

“I’ll leave the knights’ return to you. Maintain the current speed and return to the capital.”

“What? Where are you going, Commander?”

“I have business to attend to and will return first.”

They were already marching at maximum speed, yet he was going to return even faster. But before Michel could question him, Roan galloped away.

‘Was he holding back?’

Michel stared blankly at Roan’s back as he sped away at an incredible pace.

The princess stood on a sturdy stool, looking in the mirror. For the first time in a long time, she had a tailor from the Imperial Palace making her new clothes. Today, she also planned to hold a tea party, which had been suspended for a while.

‘Everything is returning to its proper place…’

She had also captured that insolent girl.

‘To be bound by a vow before I even remember it. It’s truly fate.’

The princess thought it was very romantic. The existence of that vow was the most useful thing she had learned recently.

‘Now I won’t have to suffer because of a useless subordinate.’

If she had known such a thing existed, she would have placed a vow of subordination on Biancasta from the beginning. Having realized its convenience, the princess had Beatrix place vows of subordination everywhere. She started with the knights in the dungeon, then her ladies-in-waiting, and even the nobles she was using.

‘Why does His Majesty forbid something so convenient?’

If they were going to swear loyalty anyway, couldn’t they just take a vow of subordination? The princess decided that if she were to succeed the throne, she would allow it completely. Her reign would be smooth sailing from then on.

“I’m counting on you for a beautiful dress, Madam Bologna.”

After the fitting, the princess left Rosagrande. She was on her way to meet her new loyal retainer. The sky was blue and the weather was cool. The rose garden, which had been devastated by her temper tantrum, had returned to its original beauty.

Basking in the fragrant scent of the roses, the princess arrived at the detached palace. She entered the large palace at the very center. The person she had come to meet was out on the terrace in front of the garden.

“Duke Phaedra.”

Sky, who was leisurely reading a book in a long armchair in the sunlight, looked up.

“I came to thank you for safely delivering my gift.”

“Not at all.”

Sky smiled charmingly and was about to get up.

“You can stay as you are. I’m just here to thank you.”

The princess smiled brightly, walked over, and sat down opposite him.

“Did everything go well?”

“Yes. More or less.”

The princess pouted her lips cutely and tilted her head.

“It was almost a disaster because the Behind Knights showed up on the way.”

“Oh, are you alright?”

Sky put on a look of regret and apologized.

“It was my fault for not telling you the possibility of their presence in advance.”

“You knew they were around?”

“I thought there was a possibility. However, I believed that unless it was the elite, they wouldn’t be able to track to the underground, and they wouldn’t appear unless someone directly harmed Eleanor Mariche…”

As he said, they appeared when she tried to harm Eleanor, so the princess flinched.

“Well, anyway, they are safely locked up in the dungeon now. They will never escape, so for now, it’s resolved.”

“It’s good that everything turned out as you wished.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Duke.”

The princess expressed her gratitude in a theatrical manner.

The Duchess’s banquet. When Sky Phaedra used the Grand Duke Phaedra as an excuse to summon her, she thought it was to protect Biancasta. But then he said something unexpected.

‘I will make what you wish for happen.’

She was about to dismiss it, but she couldn’t stop when she saw what was in Sky’s hand. It was Adrian’s wrist, which the princess had secretly mixed in with the gifts at the banquet. She had ordered someone else to put it there to threaten Eleanor and ruin the atmosphere. The princess feigned ignorance, pretending the box had nothing to do with her.

‘It’s a gift too precious to waste anonymously. I’ll use this to bring Eleanor Mariche to you.’

At the time, she simply turned away, but when the emperor’s plan failed, Sky found her again and made the offer. She was half in doubt, but he really succeeded in doing what no one else could.

‘It’s a shame I can’t kill that woman right away.’

Sky’s advice to keep Eleanor alive and lock her in the dungeon was very annoying. However, when she listened to him, it was persuasive.

‘If word gets out that she’s gone, those who would belittle Your Highness the Princess will gain power. You must show them that Your Highness is innocent.’

Even if she didn’t actually kill Eleanor, who would believe it? They had already clashed several times, and the princess had even shown a little hostility at the Duchess’s party. But Sky so easily offered a solution.

The ‘Vow of Truth’—a spell that swears that what one says is true. It was the simplest spell, yet widely used due to its high reliability. All she had to do was cast the spell in front of people and declare, ‘I did not kill Eleanor Mariche.’ If it was proven to be true, even those who were suspicious would have no choice but to believe. It meant she could protect her image as a beloved, pure, and angelic figure.

And…

‘Count Calabria may also change his mind once he learns of your innocence.’

That was the line that shook the princess the most. The vow of subordination was convenient, but once activated, it would make one’s soul and emotions bland and their eyes vacant, causing people who knew them to feel a sense of unease. She couldn’t give up the hope of making him fall in love with her without activating the vow. Roan was more  (cool/charming) now that he was aloof than he would be if he were docile.

“Please don’t forget your promise not to harm Eleanor,” Sky emphasized again.

The princess’s brow twitched slightly.

“Yes, of course. I don’t want to harm people either.”

Well, even if she didn’t harm her, she wouldn’t last long in the dungeon. He said that if she died there, it wouldn’t count as her directly killing her, so the Vow of Truth would not be affected. The princess planned to have Beatrix erase all of Eleanor’s memories soon.

‘They say erasing memories causes regression and makes a person idiotic.’

Then that insolent look in her eyes would completely disappear. If she became docile and couldn’t say anything useless, maybe she would bestow her upon Duke Phaedra. After all, she was just a woman with a pretty face and nothing else.

The princess concluded unilaterally and smiled.

“I will follow your advice, so please advise me whenever you can.”

“What a humbling thing to say. It’s my honor.”

Sky’s charming smile was captivating. While she liked his dignified demeanor, she didn’t dislike this smooth and gentle attitude either. She also liked that he had excellent insight, unlike other useless people, so she didn’t have to say things twice. Above all, he was an outstanding sorcerer, and unlike Beatrice, he had a certain dignity.

‘If he’s useful, I’ll summon him to the Empire and keep him by my side.’

While her one true love was only Roan, it wouldn’t be bad to have Sky with her as well.

“Please continue to take good care of Eileen.”

The princess smiled, envisioning a life spent with both men.

“What happened?”

Minaz, who was sitting in her office, questioned the subordinate who entered as if she had been waiting.

“We have blocked all places where signal fires can be lit. There is pressure not to raise flags on the fortress or even use the bell tower.”

“Damn it. They’re practically imprisoning us!”

Minaz erupted in anger and sent her subordinate away.

Claude, who was sitting with her, narrowed his brows and spoke.

“We sent the Baroness, but the house arrest has only gotten stricter.”

“Exactly. This kind of interference in the Duchy… Does this even make sense?”

“Legally, the emperor can ‘recommend’.”

It was just a recommendation in name, but they had no choice but to follow. Defiance meant war.

Although they firmly held power in the empire through diplomacy, law, and the wealth of the Duchess of Floid, they were powerless to stand against the emperor in a war. Their private army and knight order were not very large. The standing army the emperor could mobilize was so powerful that it could overwhelm five nations combined, not including the empire itself.

They could use their wealth and connections to mobilize mercenaries or foreign troops, but infiltrating foreign forces in the current situation where the emperor’s misconduct was not clear would be an act of treason. Moreover, even if they did that, the balance of power would not be equal.

“Duke Calabria will side with the emperor.”

“That goes without saying.”

If Duke Calabria and the emperor joined forces, they would be virtually invincible in terms of military might. There would be only one person in the whole world who could create a rift and stand against them.

“Count Calabria won’t even know we’re under house arrest. When the Imperial Knights arrive in the capital, their first duty is to participate in the triumphant procession at the Imperial Palace, and then we’re finished.”

“You don’t have to worry about the problem of informing Roan.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Claude asked, but Minaz didn’t answer and got up. She paced around the room with a thoughtful expression, mumbling to herself.

“He’s been holding back, but it’s already too late for that. If he just surrenders, it’ll be much worse than if he had done nothing.”

“Of course.”

“Besides, the emperor has infringed upon the rights granted to a vassal. An emperor who trampled on a duke’s pride won’t be served willingly.”

Claude’s expression tensed at Minaz’s words. Anyone who heard her would have grounds to immediately accuse her of treason.

“What are you going to do?”

“We have to make sure we don’t just surrender. A diplomat is infinitely gentle when there’s something to gain, but they’re ruthless when something must be taken away.”

“But haven’t we been checkmated and tied up here?”

“There’s not no way to contact the outside.”

Saying that, Minaz walked over to the window. She gazed at the blue sky outside the balcony and said to herself.

“The Duchess has always carried her cherished hawks with her from a very long time ago.”

The Duchess was certainly famous for enjoying traditional falconry.

But Claude’s expression was indifferent.

“I don’t think the Duchess brought a birdcage with her here.”

“You don’t know much,” Minaz said, shaking her head with a slightly boastful attitude.

“Northern hawks are not kept in cages. They hunt for their own food and circle around their master, flying to them when called. Since the Duchess is here, they must be flying around somewhere nearby.”

A charming smile appeared on Minaz’s lips as she looked up at the sky.

“Sometimes, old hobbies come in handy.”

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