TGDWDS 17

Chapter 17

“So that’s how it is.”

The Crown Prince raised one eyebrow in displeasure.

“Even more insignificant than I expected.”

Then, without hesitation, he turned his gaze away from Anais.

“……”

Only then did Anais finally relax and let out a faint breath.

Feder, on the other hand, had already lost interest in the conversation.

She was merely a little irritating. As expected, there was nothing particularly special about her.

Watching him, Diego raised an eyebrow sharply.

“Quite a few eyes are on us, Your Imperial Highness.”

Diego’s eyes turned toward the direction where the Empress was.

Feder followed his gaze and his expression stiffened slightly.

“Ahem.”

The arrogant Feder fell silent as he watched the Empress’s reaction.

Just as Diego had expected, the corner of his mouth curved smoothly upward.

Even then, Anais’s hand remained on Diego’s forearm.

So that her efforts to respond calmly would not be wasted, Diego willingly lowered his head according to her wishes.

“Let us move somewhere else and speak privately.”

His attitude was exceedingly obedient.

Seeing only that, Feder’s lips twisted with satisfaction.

He deliberately delayed his answer, putting on airs.

After a moment, he casually replied, as though tossing a treat to a dog that had faithfully guarded the house.

“Hm. Very well.”

It was a ridiculous permission to give.

Diego inwardly let out a hollow laugh.

With one corner of his lips lifting coldly, he immediately moved.

“I’ll be back shortly.”

Leaving those words behind, he quickened his pace.

He then led Feder in a direction as far away from Anais as possible.

A short while later, Diego settled in a corner of the banquet hall where the scenery outside could be seen.

“This way, Your Imperial Highness.”

Even in that situation, Diego’s red eyes sharply swept over Feder.

Crown Prince Feder was the kind of man who could only feel satisfied after taking everything Diego possessed and destroying it.

Because of him, Diego had lost his precious mother and even his nurse, who had been like family to him.

Diego’s lips hardened coldly.

“It irritates me.”

Or—

“I like it, so I’ll take it.”

Such trivial reasons.

Whenever words like those came from Feder’s mouth, the Empress would move afterward.

And one by one, everything that had once been at Diego’s side disappeared into death.

“……”

Unlike before, murderous intent filled Diego’s eyes as he looked at Feder.

Skillfully concealing it, he began to speak.

“Recently, many people have been investing in the business Your Imperial Highness has been pursuing……”

He deliberately changed the subject to one of the ventures the Crown Prince had recently taken an interest in.

Diego continued the conversation so that Anais would never come up again.

While the Grand Duke was taking the rude Crown Prince away,

Anais moved toward the table marked with a sign reading Grand Duke’s Party.

It was the seat Diego had pointed out to her before leaving.

This was supposed to be a reception celebrating the marriage of Anais and the Grand Duke.

Yet there was no sign anywhere that anyone was celebrating their marriage.

Even the carpet that had stretched across the hall along the path the two of them had walked had long since been removed.

The only things left were the white flowers.

The flowers that had decorated the carpeted path had been moved around the hall.

One of them had been placed near Anais’s table.

Anais stared at it.

The round flowers looked almost like tiny little birds huddled together.

As she gazed at them, a smile appeared on her lips.

Their sweet scent drifted all the way to the table and tickled the tip of Anais’s nose.

What kind of flower is this?

Anais had learned everything she needed to know to gain an advantage in high society and the marriage market in a short period of time.

But even she had never seen this flower before.

Anais tilted her head.

She had never encountered it among the flowers commonly used by noblewomen of the Empire to decorate their gardens or for floral arrangements.

If so, it must have been a rare variety valuable enough to be imported from another country.

But there was no way they would have used something like that for the wedding of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess.

Simply curious, Anais turned her head and looked around.

Unfortunately, there was no one nearby.

That’s a shame. I wanted to ask someone what the flower was called.

Anais looked around once more.

And then she noticed something unexpected.

She discovered countless gazes secretly stealing glances at her while pretending not to look.

Hmm. Everyone is just staring. Like they’re watching some kind of spectacle.

Anais wore a gentle smile.

Then she began returning the gazes directed at her one by one.

She met the eyes of each noble who showed interest.

“……?”

Anais tilted her head slightly at their unexpected reaction.

Normally, she would have intended to start a conversation with anyone whose gaze she met.

Yet strangely, everyone flinched and quickly turned their heads away.

Every time their eyes met, the nobles startled.

The situation unfolding differently from what she intended was almost amusing.

Perhaps that was why Anais continued the little game, unlike her usual self.

Still, maybe I can have a conversation with someone?

It was an action born of a small, lighthearted hope.

If she had still been Anais Orelsian, she would have been the first to look away.

But Anais Lisandro no longer felt the need to do that.

Do not go against what the other person wants. Move obediently.

The words of the Orelsian family that had once been the most important thing to Anais had already been shattered.

They had become meaningless.

Anais continued meeting the gazes of the nobles.

Yet she could not find anyone willing to speak with her.

Even so, she somehow felt refreshed.

What was so difficult about this? Why couldn’t I do it before?

A small laugh escaped Anais.

And just as she was slowly finding her true self again,

a voice she had never wanted to hear again—but knew far too well—reached her through the surrounding noise.

“Big Sister. Have you thought about it?”

Anais’s face hardened instantly.

When she turned her head, Rex Orelsian was standing right beside her.

The man she had once believed to be her half-brother was now a complete stranger.

Just as he had when he revealed that truth to her, Rex leaned close and whispered into her ear.

“Have you thought about how you’re going to survive as a noble until the end? I told you that you need to stay on my good side. Anais.”

His sticky whisper sent chills crawling over Anais’s skin.

I actually lived thinking of someone like that as my little brother.

Disgust filled Anais’s face.

Rex gave a light scoff and leaned even closer, speaking directly into her ear.

“If you don’t know, I can make it a real situation for you. I have nothing much to lose by exposing the fact that you’re an illegitimate child to the Imperial Family.”

“……”

“Oh. Or perhaps I could tell only the Grand Duke and threaten him with it. I wonder if he’d choose you, his newlywed wife, even if doing so caused him trouble?”

At that moment, the Grand Duke’s cold words echoed in Anais’s ears.

“Are you talking about that damned Orelsian who released rats into the Grand Duchy to steal information?”

“By the Emperor’s damned order, I was the one who even paid money to bring you here. I didn’t expect you to come with a whole nest of rats around you.”

In her dream, the Grand Duke had hated being entangled with the Viscount’s family more than anything.

If the Grand Duke suffered because of Rex……

The ending would be just like the prophetic dream.

Anais realized it without difficulty.

In the end, she would be giving the Grand Duke a reason to kill her.

Anais’s face gradually turned pale.

Rex, meanwhile, assumed that Anais was frightened because her secret of being an illegitimate child might be exposed.

His lips twisted with satisfaction.

He leaned back and spoke leisurely.

“Congratulations on your marriage, Big Sister. And in a situation like this, you’re supposed to greet Father first. If you don’t want to become complete strangers, that is.”

Leaving those words behind, Rex casually walked away.

But that was not the end.

A rough, unwelcome voice came from behind.

“Anais. So this is where you were.”

It was her father, Nectar—the last person she had ever wanted to encounter again.

He strode toward her, rapidly closing the distance.

Having come over after receiving Rex’s greeting, he spoke.

“I’ve been looking all over for you, only to find you talking with Rex. If you’ve safely completed your wedding, you should have come to greet your father first. Tsk.”

“……”

Anais did not even stand.

She simply stared at Nectar with a dry expression.

Her reaction was different from before.

Nectar flinched, then became irritated.

“No. If you see your father, you should greet him! What kind of manners are those? You can’t behave like that in the Grand Duke’s household either. Do you understand?”

Just as he had at the Viscount’s estate, he scolded Anais.

Then he moved even closer and placed his hand on the back of the chair where she was sitting.

Nectar tilted his head.

His heavy, unpleasant breath washed over Anais’s shoulder.

Words she had no desire to hear spilled from his constantly grinning mouth.

“Well. Thanks to me, you married into such a fine family, and now you’re wearing all these jewels and expensive fabrics that you could never have afforded yourself.”

“……”

“I’ve started a business this time, so make sure you put in a good word with the Grand Duke. All I need is to secure an investment from him. Understand?”

Anais’s mind had already been complicated enough by Rex’s words.

But Nectar’s words that followed made her head feel completely numb.

What the Viscount had just said was exactly the same kind of thing he had always said to her mother.

“Just get the kingdom to invest. Muriel. Do you understand?”

“Just bring us a business deal from the kingdom. You’re the Viscount’s wife, after all. Surely you can do at least that much for the sake of the Viscount’s family.”