A Painting of the Villainess as a Young Lady

“What are you talking about?”

“Are you pretending not to know?”

Violet slowly closed her eyes. But as she opened them, once again, their eyes met.

“This is something that Lord Roen enjoys talking about. Still, I don’t understand why Your Highness is doing this to me.”

“Hmm.”

“Let me be straight with you, then. Why me?”

Violet completely lowered her pencil. Facing her unwavering purple eyes, Rajaden met her gaze, and he responded with a courteous smile.

“Then let me ask in return. Why not me?”

“……”

“Even if I had shown your drawing to that painter, he wouldn’t have been able to say anything. That’s the nature of power.”

“……”

“Lies can become truths, and even amidst nothingness, something can be created. With power, I can make you invulnerable, untouchable. Lady Violet, if you wish, I can give you anything you want.”

These words, spoken with a calm cadence, bordered on a confession, yet sounded dry. Violet understood the true meaning behind those words.

Thus, her expression remained as calm as a still lake without a ripple.

“Even if what I wish is for no one to surpass or harm me?”

“If it is your wish.”

“If it’s a reason as simple as that, aren’t I, a woman born as the daughter of a duke, already inherently untouchable?”

“……”

“You must be aware of the countless rumors about me. Since you speak as if you intend to be a shield.”

“……”

“Is power truly such a simple thing?”

Violet smiled.

Her smile, like a calm lake without a single disturbance, reflected Rajaden’s motionless response.

For no one to easily speak out, no one to easily surpass. That was power. Why an arrogant person like him could continue to live so arrogantly was precisely because of power.

On the surface, it sounded sweet. However, Violet knew that there was poison hidden beneath that sweetness.

“Are you willingly offering to become a tyrant for me, Your Highness?”

Countless tyrants had done as such. They crushed everything that dared to surpass themselves.

“…I didn’t know you cared about that.”

“I just pointed out the contradictions in your demeanor.”

“Haha. Well, I lost. You’re right, Ducal Lady. If I continue like this, it will be like a renaissance of the era of the First Emperor.”

“……”

Violet lifted her pencil again. The imperial princess, who didn’t understand the intricacies of the subtext behind their serious conversation, just kept looking alternately between Rajaden and Violet.

Watching Violet start drawing again, Rajaden tapped his chin. Soon, a deep smile appeared on his lips.

“It’s quite amusing. Have you ever thought that doing this makes me want you more, Ducal Lady?”

“…I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“I like talent. If you’re capable, I like you no matter who you are. Even if there are flaws in your character, it doesn’t matter. As long as I can control it.”

“……”

“In that sense, Ducal Lady, you’re optimal. Even the position of the princess consort eventually involves political calculations. It should be occupied by a suitable talent.”

Violet set her pencil down again.

“If that’s the case, then House Everett’s second lady would be the better choice.”

There was anger in her tone.

The improvement of her own situation was not something she herself could decide on.

Violet simply escaped. She ran away from everything that threatened her.

She had hoped to live in her own comfortable paradise, created by running away, and everything changed.

She did nothing.

So, Rajaden’s words about political calculations now were not accurate.

His tone remained high and mighty, but he sensed the emotion behind Violet’s words and wiped away his expression.

“Are you talking about Aileen Everett?”

“Unlike me, who carries the stigma of being a wicked woman, she has been known as a good child. She knows how to manipulate the public in a different sense than I do. And with the name of Everett, there should be no problem with her lineage.”

There were issues with the girl’s maternal lineage, but Violet didn’t point that out.

Rajaden tilted his head when he looked at Violet.

“A good child. But that in itself is a shackle. Once you put it on, you can’t get out.”nove(l)bi(n.)com

There’s no way that ‘Violet’ could sincerely wish for the best for Aileen. Knowing this fact, Rajaden asked in a somewhat lowered voice.

“Do you hope that your younger sister will become the empress?”

“……”

“Don’t you hate her? No, let me correct myself. I’m sure that you’re not on good terms with each other, so if Aileen Everett were to become empress, you wouldn’t be safe either.”

Violet didn’t respond. Seeing her cold, frozen expression, Rajaden furrowed his brow.

Even though the people of House Everett may have disputes with the imperial family, they still maintained a minimum level of courtesy.

But what’s with that expression?

Rajaden, who didn’t hide his discomfort, continued.

“And she doesn’t fit my ideal of talent. I don’t mind flaws in a person’s character, but it’s troublesome if they can’t be controlled.”

“…Is that so?”

Violet closed her eyes. Since Rajaden was truthfully revealing his discomfort, she also had to take a step back.

That’s how power works.

She laughed. She showed a smile that’s usually only visible to her family.

“If you need the name and support of House Everett, there could be other ways,” Violet said.

Rajaden fell silent for a moment at Violet’s face, which seemed to prefer an expressionless one.

“…What if I say that I’ve fallen for you?”