Chapter 71: I took away Yeju's first love.
The hunting festival, which had caused a lot of talk and trouble, was finally over.
I thought I would finally be able to get some restful sleep at the mansion.
Lying in bed, I stared blankly at the ceiling and fiddled with the bracelet on my wrist.
A status window had appeared when Raymond pledged his loyalty to me, indicating his success.
Thinking about it, Wilhelm's ending wasn't perfect either.
In the original story, he made scented bath salts and started a cosmetics business.
But my business plan was different.
I chose to start with perfume and then move on to bath salts.
I thought it would be easier to start with familiar perfumes rather than unfamiliar bath salts.
So, it seemed I just needed to recreate a similar scene.
“Since the conditions are met, it should be fine...”
I kept tossing and turning in bed.
Sleep didn't come easily. There was one reason for that.
I kicked the blanket with my feet, struggling.
My proposal of marriage, aimed at expanding my influence in society, was rejected outright.
And she didn't even change her expression.
‘I'm sorry, it's not that I don't like you. If I were to become engaged and marry someone, I would want it to be you. But I want to do it when we understand each other better.’
Though she said it to avoid embarrassing me, it was still a rejection.
“I thought she would definitely like it...”
My face burned with embarrassment.
While still lying in bed, I heard a strange noise from somewhere.
It sounded like something was scratching the tree.
I got out of bed and opened the door.
There was a small fur ball sitting on the floor.
It had sharp blue eyes and was glaring at me, looking both cute and pitiful.
“P-Pio, how have you been?”
[Do you think I've been doing well?]
I had been so busy that I had completely forgotten about Pio, who had been in Lily's care.
He came into the room as if he had been waiting for it.
Though he held his head high, the sight of him walking in with a pink ribbon around his neck was truly adorable.
I tried hard not to hug him.
[I came to hear about your future plans.]
I had promised to take Tatiana to the forest, so I needed to do something to keep that promise.
“First, we need to get rid of the men guarding her.”
[Hmph, those punks, if I just step in...]
“One is a Sword Master, the other is the next Tower Master, and her husband...”
In the original story, there was no description of Andrew's strength.
But there was a special power flowing through the imperial family.
Though it wasn't clear what exactly it was, considering Aster's power, it probably wasn't much weaker than his.
“Anyway, they seem quite strong. I'm not sure, but they should be about as strong as the first two.”
[So, there are that many strong humans?]
“Yeah, we need to beat three of them.”
His proud and confident demeanor vanished, and his tail and ears drooped.
Seeing his pitiful state, I unconsciously stroked his head.
After enjoying the petting for a moment, Pio stepped back in shock.
[If there are that many strong people guarding her, what do you plan to do?]
“We need to separate them first.”
Raymond wouldn't be a problem.
If he became the Tower Master, he would have to leave the empire, and Andrew often went on long trips by Aster's order.
“So, the only one left is the Sword Master. Can you handle that, Pio?”
[Of course. That should be enough.]
“Then it's settled. We just need to wait patiently.”
Pio nodded, his eyes sparkling.
[Or we could think of a more constructive way.]
“A more constructive way?”
[That bracelet is the root of all the problems, but there's nothing we can do about the already transformed monsters. Personally, I think we need a way to purify them.]
I thought he was just a mindless wolf, but he was smarter than I expected.
“A way to purify them... Yeah, just finding the bracelet won't solve everything. We need someone who can create a magical device to purify the monsters, as Pio suggested.”
Pio wagged his tail happily.
“I think it's a good suggestion. I'll look for someone who can make such a device.”
Pio's tail spun like a windmill.
It seemed he would answer anything I asked.
Since we were at this point, I decided to ask him about various things related to half-humans.
Pio answered diligently, and thanks to him, I forgot my worries about Aster.
I fell asleep while talking to him.
The next day, I had a lot to do from early morning, so I was buried in my office.
Lily placed a cup of iced tea and a plate of cookies in front of me.
Lily put down a rather thick bundle of letters in front of me.
“I've never received so many at once.”
“It seems our store is going to be a huge success.”
I started tearing open the letters Lily had brought and checking their contents.
Most of them were about when the products would be available for sale.
I gathered the ones that needed to be replied to in Nivea's name.
I tore open the envelope with the Enrique Marquis family's seal and read the letter.
It said that she had enjoyed the hunting festival and wanted to stay in touch and become friends if possible.
It was rare for someone not to have a crush on Tatiana.
Moreover, she wasn't the female lead, so she wouldn't suddenly betray me.
‘It should be fine to get along with her.’
I sighed, thinking I had to have this thought every time I met someone.
After a moment of consideration, I took out another invitation I had prepared.
“Are you going to send one to Lady Helen too?”
“Yeah. She sent a letter, so I should reply.”
It was the first time I had received such a letter from a woman, so I was more nervous.
I wrote her name on the envelope and started writing the names of others I wanted to invite.
The only people who danced with Aster that day were me and Regina.
Originally, Regina was on the invitation list.
‘She won't create an awkward situation over Aster, right?’
The Regina I saw that day was calm and polite, leaving a strong impression.
She probably wouldn't cause a scene if she came.
After a moment of hesitation, I wrote her a letter too.
With the launch date approaching, I needed to send out the invitations as soon as possible.
Lily took the letters from me and left the room.
It would be nice if everyone came, but even if half of them showed up, I would be grateful.
While organizing my work and thinking about future plans, someone knocked on the door.
“Miss, may I come in for a moment?”
The butler entered the room after I answered.
He was neatly dressed and handed me a letter.
“This letter came through a servant this morning. It seems to have been sent secretly...”
I hastily took the letter from the butler and opened it.
The content was as expected. It was about wanting to meet privately and asking me to keep it a secret from Robert.
Is there something more between them?
I started writing a letter to arrange a meeting with Alison.
After the hunting festival, Aster wasn't in a good mood.
The head butler speculated that it was probably because of the Pionia Countess.
Now that the hunting festival was over, the hottest topic in society was the Pionia Countess.
Not only had she saved the Grand Duchess, who was practically her enemy, but she had also been involved in a suspicious incident.
There were many discussions about her, but the most heated topic was her romantic life.
After the hunting competition, the Malphiron Duke expressed his feelings, and now Raymond had even pledged his loyalty.
“Your Majesty, is there something troubling you?”
He looked up from his papers, which he had been shuffling while resting his chin in his hand, at the head butler's words.
He wasn't the type to ask such questions first.
Aster rubbed his face and muttered.
“It's not easy to hide such things. It seems the Countess has made quite an impression on you.”
The head butler smiled and placed a cup of tea in front of him.
“If you're worried, why not get engaged?”
At the word "engagement," Aster's face stiffened.
The head butler, realizing he had said something wrong, closed his mouth.
He bowed quietly and left the room.
Engagement was certainly a good proposal for him.
But when she suggested it, he felt more annoyance than joy.
‘There's no one in the social circle who can exert influence on your behalf. Everyone just looks at you like a fruit in a painting, and no one reaches out. Perhaps there's an unspoken agreement among them. So...’
Aster couldn't hear Carina's passionate speech about the benefits of this engagement.
Instead, he felt a sense of betrayal from her thoroughly calculated approach.
He had proposed a formal contract relationship to her because he was confident she wouldn't demand blind affection from him.
He thought they would be a perfect match, but it was just his delusion.
He didn't want to end this engagement purely as a political move.
He wanted the woman behind that solid wall to give him affection more than anyone else.
He wanted Carina's sincerity.
“I didn't expect it to turn out like this.”
Aster tapped his fingertips on the desk. As his thoughts cleared, his mind became even more complicated.
He had already seen the catastrophe caused by the overwhelming obsession of the late emperor.
Perhaps the moment of choice had arrived.