The Villainess is a Marionette

“Your victory hasn’t been confirmed. Don’t you know how cunning Archduke Heinrich is?”

“Must I be considerate of a bug without any royal blood?”

Zenon closed his eyes for a moment to appease his anger.

The prince wasn’t dull-witted.

The prince wasn’t stupid.

Zenon kept repeating these words to himself in his head. But soon, he stopped those thoughts.

The prince was hopeless. He knew nothing of moderation nor patience and was violent and barbaric. How was he any different from Heinrich, who was infamous for not being a gentleman?

“You may say a person who can’t read a situation and is from the countryside is ‘inferior’ to you. But do you know how many thugs he brought from the countryside? I’m asking if you know how many mercenaries that man has!”

“Do you think that mercenaries or thugs can defeat the central army?”

“The central army is the emperor’s army, not Your Highness’s!”

Rezef threw the cup in his hand at Zenon.

“You’re merely the second son of a marquis. You dare lecture me?!”

Rezef burst into anger. After a while, his rage subsided. He clicked his tongue.

“It’s a trivial problem that will be resolved once I am on the throne. Once I gain control over the central army, it won’t matter. If not, I just need the cooperation of a military family.”

Cayena had chosen the daughter of a family on the borders as one of her ladies-in-waiting. She also maintained good relations with Raphael.

Rezef didn’t like that fact, but it was something that could help him.

Knock, knock.

At that moment, a deaf servant came in carrying an envelope on a tray.

The letter obviously carried news from outside. Rezef took the card out of the envelope, read it, and tossed it in front of Zenon.

Zenon picked it up and read it. The handwriting was Chancellor Debussy’s.

「 It is temporary, but Her Highness the Princess has been granted the same authority as the chancellor as His Majesty’s proxy. It seems that the next actions must be taken soon.」

All the rights and authority of a crown prince had gone to Cayena.

“I’ve gained a chancellor, Zenon Evans.”

Rezef smiled, not doubting Cayena in the slightest.

Zenon clenched his fist.

“Now my sister will uphold the military rule. It would be nice if you could win over the knight commander at this time, wouldn’t it?”

Rezef knew well that most of his power came from Marquis Evans’s status.

Marquis Evans had sent his second son, who could not take over the east, to Rezef so that he would not give up any imperial power. If Julia became the empress, they would overtake the Hill dynasty and become the new masters of the Eldaim empire.

But everything had gone off course because of Cayena.

“As long as I have my sister at hand, the imperial prestige remains safe.”

‘Gaining hold of Cayena has become an important game.’

Everything that Zenon had contributed through the Evans name had come to naught.

Since things turned out this way, it was difficult for him to prevent Rezef from poisoning the emperor in greater amounts.

If the emperor died, it would cause an advantageous situation for him in which Cayena’s authority would be revoked and everything would be in chaos.

One way or another, Rezef’s actions were beneficial. At least for Zenon.

Rezef mocked him, pretending to be regretful.

“You were supposed to be the next chancellor. Whatever should we do?”

That might be the case if Cayena was truly loyal to Rezef. However, Zenon did not think the situation was that comfortable.

‘Damn royalty. The whole family is as messed up as it can be, and they’re controlling the central army…!’

The lack of an army was an issue for Rezef, but it was also an issue for the Evans family.

They too wanted an army. They did have some soldiers, but they weren’t at the level where they could wage war with another territory.

When they needed fighters, they always had to hire mercenaries, who cost a lot of money.

Furthermore, mercenaries had to be recruited with great care because of Archduke Heinrich. He was known in the society’s underbelly as having control of most of them.

‘When our family researched, we found that most contract houses belong to Heinrich.’

The mercenaries and contractors in the capital belonged to Yester as well. If Zenon hired mercenaries, he may be stabbed in the back.

Thus, the Evans marquess won over Chancellor Debussy.

Chancellor Debussy’s niece, Viscountess Meryl Winston, was Duchess Noa Kedrey’s dearest friend.

Whether the Evans sent Julia off to the Kedrey duchy or to the imperial family, they just needed a link to gain an army.

It would have been easy and profitable for them to take over the imperial family with the current emperor.

However, Cayena’s sudden change was an obstacle in their course.

Zenon pushed down his rising anger and regained his cool-headedness. He couldn’t let his efforts all these years go down the drain.

“…Certainly, if Her Highness assists you with her current powers, there would be nothing better.”

“In other words, I’m a powerful successor to the throne whom Heinrich can’t compare with.”

“You’re correct.”

Rezef glanced over Zenon with searching eyes, then grinned.

“Hasn’t the Evans family solidly supported me? Your younger sister came as my sister’s court lady, right?”

“That’s correct, but…” Zenon looked at him suspiciously.

Rezef picked up another book. It was a travelogue of the western regions.

“It’s about time for me to start looking for a wife.”

Zenon became silent at the unexpected remark. Rezef lifted his head and looked toward him.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you leaving?”

“I’ll take my leave.”

As Zenon stepped out of the bedroom, Rezef stopped pretending to be calm and crumpled his face demonically.

“If you know the truth, you’ll probably be troubled.”

Before Henverton Gillian was assassinated, he had mocked Rezef with those words, who had visited him in the prison.

“My accomplice is Zenon Evans. That bastard betrayed me and tried to steal the princess from me.”

“He dares…!”

Rezef had nearly pulled his sword, unable to contain his fury, when Zenon entered his room. Not splitting Zenon’s throat right away used up all of Rezef’s patience for today.

He couldn’t touch Zenon right now.

“Not a single one of those that deceive me will be left alive.”

Rezef’s eyes shone with murderous intent.

Scene 15. Council Meeting

Cayena’s eyes felt strangely stiff. Was it because she was reading in the lamplight?

She briefly took her eyes off the documents. She pressed the top of her eyelids with her hand and rubbed her head.

“Why is my head hurting again…?”

She was as tired as she used to be when she continuously worked overtime to prepare a project at her job.

Her throat seemed to be sore as well. She picked up a teacup that was far away from her with her magical power and placed it on her palm.

She took a sip, but the tea that was once hot was now cold. Cayena realized that white light was shining between the thick curtains.

She had stayed up all night. She sighed. “I still have a lot left, though.”

She had tirelessly gone through the material, but there was still much she had to look over. Her learning process was slower given that she couldn’t call over a man to ask for advice on military law at dawn. She roughly figured out how the administration was run, but that was all.

‘It’s obviously impossible to figure all this out in one day.’

However, there would be people—including Chancellor Debussy—eager to prove her lack of ability.

Anyway, her goal was to understand enough to elicit a reaction from the knight commander and other officials. Cayena got up from the sofa and gently relaxed her burdened body.

The door opened, and Vera entered.

“Have you woken— Oh, Your Highness?”

Vera glanced toward the bed as usual, then hurriedly looked at the table.

The scene with lamps and documents placed everywhere on the table was unfamiliar, but it was very clear what this was about.

“Your Highness, did you not sleep at all?”

Vera was about to nag more when Cayena waved her hand.

“No. I slept a little.”

Vera checked the bed. Cayena also naturally turned her gaze to the bed.

It was neatly made without a single wrinkle, just as it was yesterday.

Hmm.

She hadn’t been very careful.

~~~