Ch.8383. It was truly an absurd and bizarre name.

“How could you invite Lord Selden to the imperial banquet without my permission?”

“Why would I need your permission?”

“Lord Selden knew me first!!”

“And what does that matter? I know him now too, don’t I?”

“How did you even meet him? Wasn’t it when he came to the imperial palace last time?”

“Yes, and?”

“If you invited him to the imperial palace, shouldn’t you have told me in advance?”

“Again, why should I?”

Just as the saying goes that shrimp get crushed in a whale fight, ‘Selden Alphonse’ was about to be crushed in the princesses’ quarrel.

The atmosphere was so intimidating that he couldn’t utter a single word.

‘What on earth are they fighting about?’

Could it be that Princess Sairine had plans to bring the ‘Alphonse’ family into her faction, rather than Selden himself?

Or was she anxious that I might side with Princess Etherian?

I don’t know.

One thing is certain, though: women’s power struggles make it hard to even breathe.

Rather than backing down, Princess Sairine becomes flustered by Princess Etherian’s composure. She opens and closes her mouth before raising her voice.

“Lord Selden is my person!”

“What does that mean? Are you saying you’re in a romantic relationship?”

“N-no, that’s not it!! I have a right to know!”

“Why should I inform you about who I invite to my birthday banquet?”

Princess Sairine’s shoulders rise and fall as she breathes heavily. She glances at me, then squeezes her eyes shut with a reddened face.

“Ugh, never mind!!”

After throwing a fit, Princess Sairine storms out of the room with loud footsteps, followed by Butler Oliver scurrying behind her.

The room feels like a storm has just passed through.

Princess Etherian brings her teacup to her lips as if nothing happened, then suddenly bursts into laughter.

“Pfft!”

“…Pardon?”

I tilted my head in confusion, and Princess Etherian quickly composed herself and cleared her throat.

“Ahem! Why is this tea so hot?”

“It’s been cold for quite some time though?”

“…My tea is still warm.”

I want to ask why she laughed, but the atmosphere suggests she wouldn’t tell me anyway.

But wait, are princesses not allowed to laugh freely?

Why does she need to hide it with such ridiculous excuses…

It’s fortunate I was reincarnated as a nobleman; if I had been a prince, I would have found such a life suffocating.

By the way.

After drinking heavily last night, I just want to rest a bit, but why is Princess Etherian lingering here?

We don’t even have anything particular to talk about anymore.

As I sit quietly, Princess Etherian raises her head.

“I still haven’t received an answer.”

“Pardon?”

“Why you didn’t speak honestly and instead covered for Reagan by calling him a friend.”

A question I had completely forgotten about due to Princess Sairine’s interruption.

I blinked and adjusted my posture.

“I apologize. I completely forgot.”

“Understandable. Sairine made me lose my train of thought as well.”

“I wasn’t covering for Reagan as a friend, but rather because I didn’t want to cause trouble for Princess Etherian.”

“Trouble? Are you referring to the relationship with House Strom?”

“I don’t know about the relationship between Your Highness and House Strom.”

“Then what trouble are you referring to?”

“I didn’t want to make Your Highness get blood on your hands.”

That’s a lie.

I did consider the relationship with House Strom.

However, it was also true that I didn’t want to see Princess Etherian kill someone, at least not in front of me.

Of course, even if I try my best, if history flows as it should, the succession battle will still happen.

But what can I do?

If there’s even a small hope, I have to try.

That’s the best I can do right now.

Princess Etherian carefully places her cold teacup on the table.

“Do you remember the proposal I first made to you?”

How could I forget?

At that time, thinking I was Jawil Wilson, she tried to make me spy on the relationship between ‘Selden Alphonse’ and ‘Princess Sairine.’

Of course, I refused.

With a smile on my lips, I nodded.

“Yes, at that time, Your Highness thought I was a knight of the Alphonse family.”

“Yes, Jawil Wilson. Looking back, it was such an absurd and strange name.”

“…He’s actually a knight who serves me.”

“Ahem, I apologize.”

“Not at all. As Your Highness said, he has quite a peculiar personality.”

Princess Etherian fidgets with her teacup, seemingly quite embarrassed.

“Anyway, that was the first time someone had ever refused me.”

“Ah… was it?”

“It was an absurd proposal to begin with. You weren’t Jawil Wilson but Selden Alphonse.”

“That’s right.”

“If you had answered as Selden Alphonse back then, do you think your answer would have been different?”

Loyalty to the imperial family.

That question was asking if I was willing to participate in the upcoming succession war.

Of course, I wasn’t.

I didn’t want to clash with the protagonist Serion later, and I didn’t want my desired easy life to slip away.

But.

For some reason, I find it difficult to speak.

Especially after knowing how much Princess Etherian cared for me last night.

After sighing several times, I opened my mouth.

“Your Highness, as I mentioned before, I desire a quiet life.”

“Yes, you did. A cozy life without competition or anxiety… But could you explain exactly what kind of life that is?”

I looked into Princess Etherian’s eyes.

They were genuinely curious.

Of course they would be.

She must have spent her entire life worrying about whether someone might harm her and how to survive in this hellish pit.

Though we were in an enclosed space, it felt as if a cold wind was blowing through the room.

In that cold, Princess Etherian seemed to be shivering, giving off a poignant feeling.

I explained to Princess Etherian with all my heart.

“There’s a house in a large blue forest. It’s a small space, but spacious enough for a family of four to live comfortably together. The two children study, and a woman who appears to be the wife begins preparing food, waiting for her husband to return.”

Princess Etherian nodded with an interested expression, and I continued, meeting her gaze.

“Around evening, when the husband returns home from work, the family begins their meal. The topics of conversation are simply sharing what they did that day, what interesting things happened, all while laughing together.”

I had only wanted to live an easy life, without specific plans.

However, as I explained to Princess Etherian, I realized that this was truly ‘the life I dream of.’

I was continuing the conversation excitedly, like a child.

“The family’s only worries are what delicious food to eat tomorrow, how to fix a leak in the roof—just trivial concerns. And that’s how they end each day as night falls.”

I smiled at Princess Etherian, who was listening intently.

“And in this story, I want to be that husband.”

“…So that’s the life you dream of.”

“It might seem unremarkable to some, but it’s the life I desperately want.”

Princess Etherian looked toward the window with a serene face.

The room, which had felt filled with cold wind, now seemed bathed in calm sunlight.

“No, rather, it’s the enviable life that I alone cannot have.”

Her large eyes, thick blinking eyebrows, and full lips stood out.

She was truly beautiful.

Not only did she have depth as a character from the original work, but her features were elegantly proportioned.

I was momentarily entranced by Princess Etherian’s beauty before regaining my composure.

“Your Highness can certainly have such a life too.”

“…What can I do, confined to the imperial palace?”

“Aren’t you confining yourself?”

Princess Etherian hesitated at my words, then smiled faintly.

Her gaze still fixed on the window.

“Perhaps I am building my own prison, as you say. But if I leave the imperial palace, there’s nothing I can do. Not even simple cooking.”

“Cooking is something you can learn. I believe Your Highness can excel at anything.”

“How can you always make such confident assertions?”

“Haha!! To be honest, I can’t guarantee Your Highness will excel, but one thing I am certain of.”

“And what is that?”

“Your Highness will live a happier life than you do now.”

This was something I could say as a reader of the original novel.

If Princess Etherian changed, perhaps everyone, including the protagonist, could live ideal lives without bloodshed in the imperial family.

Princess Etherian’s face had turned red, perhaps from the strong sunlight. She finally turned her gaze from the window to me.

Looking straight into my eyes, she nodded.

“Very well, I’ll try to become the wife in that story.”

“…What?!”