Chapter 45

“What’s this about? I’m going to watch Bri fall asleep and then leave.”

Callisten spoke to Abenr Di Mays as if warning her. The matriarch trembled in fear. The humiliation she had felt last time made her angry whenever she recalled it. But that anger couldn’t continue when she saw Callisten.

The anger quickly transformed into fear of his cruel nature.

“I-I just want to have a conversation with my daughter-in-law!”

“Then the three of us can talk.”

“You leave after dinner.”

“To your room?”

Callisten looked at Demian teasingly as he spoke. Demian thought that despite his words, Callisten wouldn’t stay in Briseyes’s room for long like last time.

He was someone who had desperately worked his way up to become the Crown Prince. It made sense why he had never caused problems with women until now.

Callisten was truly someone who aimed for the throne.

Such a person wouldn’t create rumors with Briseyes, the wife of a Grand Duke.

It must truly be strong family affection from growing up together since childhood.

That’s what Demian thought. Callisten had spent a long time living with the Philia Marquis family after losing his mother as a child.

Although he should have rightfully grown up in the imperial palace as the First Prince, the Emperor didn’t like Callisten much. Partly because of his overwhelming talent that the current Emperor hadn’t seen in his youth.

His beauty, which didn’t resemble his father, was also a factor.

If Callisten hadn’t wandered battlefields and handled matters ruthlessly, he could have become the most outstanding man in social circles.

However, women feared him, and men were divided between those who feared him but kept their distance and those who pledged loyalty to him with their lives.

The latter were those who had fought alongside him on battlefields.

Demian had also been in awe when he saw Callisten on the battlefield. His mysterious tactics and the undefeated legend of defeating massive enemy forces with minimal troops.

And the sight of him always swinging a giant sword as big as his body at the frontlines.

It was understandable why knights pledged their loyalty to Callisten. He was more familiar as something close to a Battlefield Demon.

The predatory behavior of being covered in blood, his red eyes glowing as if sucking in vitality, searching for the next piece of meat to cut.

“Who’s inviting you?”

But in front of Briseyes, he was just pretending to be a cat.

“What do I need to do to get invited?”

“You’re not an invited guest even now. What nobleman visits like this and receives meals?”

“I apologize. I’ll continue to be rude in the future.”

Briseyes couldn’t help but laugh at Callisten’s words. She seemed surprised that she had laughed instead of sighing, covering her mouth with wide eyes.

Demian was the first to notice this change in her and looked at her.

“Laugh often, Bri. It’s too beautiful.”

Callisten, of course, noticed too.

“Oh, and you. Get up.”

“What? Why me?”

Callisten smiled, pointing his chin at Delilah.

“How dare a commoner—no, you’re a courtesan—at a meal with imperial family members.”

“Your Highness.”

“Do you think a courtesan can sit here?”

Demian wanted to refute but his opponent was the Crown Prince. Someone who had proven himself through his own abilities, built trust among knights by accumulating military achievements in war.

“Dili, stand up.”

“What? Ah… yes.”

And he was someone Demian would have to serve as Emperor.

He had agreed to the marriage proposal from the Philia Marquis family partly because of their vast wealth that could repay his debts, but in reality, even though they claimed neutrality, they supported Callisten.

Someone with more legitimate claim than the current Second Prince.

And even if he didn’t get along with Callisten, since Briseyes was his wife, they would inevitably be politically connected.

“Then can I eat separately in Demi’s room later?”

“Sure. I’ll feed you myself.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Delilah pretended to be sad while forcing a smile. Briseyes sighed at those words.

“How can you just chase her away?”

“Better than having someone disturbing our meal.”

Callisten could tell just by looking at Briseyes’s expression that she didn’t want Delilah nearby. He had seen Briseyes’s forced smile hiding her pain whenever Delilah was around.

It made him feel disgusted every time.

Right now she couldn’t divorce, but once she did, he wouldn’t have to see such sights anymore.

“Why don’t you show some generosity instead?”

Surprisingly, it was Abenr Di Mays, the former Grand Duchess, who said this.

“Why? Does seeing a courtesan remind you of the woman you killed?”

“T-that was an accident! How dare you say I killed her!”

“Is there any fool who believes that?”

Callisten mockingly dredged up the past. Abenr Di Mays had suffered because her husband constantly brought in mistresses before his death. Among them was a truly formidable rival.

That rival soon became pregnant. But it didn’t last long. She was found hanged with her pregnant belly.

“What kind of suicide leaves a straight line mark on the neck?”

“…That……”

“That’s the mark of someone strangling from behind. The Emperor Father simply overlooked it.”

At Callisten’s words, Abenr Di Mays kept her mouth shut as if she had honey in it.

“Hey, courtesan.”

“Your Highness, I am a commoner.”

Delilah said this, but Callisten ignored her and continued.

“Even a commoner becomes a courtesan when she becomes a mistress. Because you’re begging for a living by clinging to a married man.”

With a pained expression at Callisten’s mockery, Delilah remained there with a face that made it impossible to tell if she was truly sad or just pretending.

Demian spoke as if her sadness affected him too.

“Dili is not a courtesan. And she’s someone whose military achievements were recognized in the war. Your Highness knows this too. His Majesty acknowledged……”

“If His Majesty truly acknowledged her, he would have granted her a title. He wouldn’t have left her as a commoner, not even a minor noble.”

Unable to continue speaking at Callisten’s words, Demian looked at Delilah again. Then he looked at Briseyes.

Briseyes said nothing as she looked at Callisten. Yet when their eyes met, Callisten unconsciously smiled.

Demian thought the two of them looked strange. His mind told him not to be suspicious, but his instincts felt otherwise.

“Your Highness might someday have a second love.”

So he was testing them, while pretending to defend Delilah.

“There is no second love in my life.”

“How can you be so sure? None of the previous Emperors had only one wife.”

“I’ll be the first then. I was also the first to subjugate the Biaten Empire.”

“Stop it already.”

Briseyes spoke with disgust as she noticed Demian trying to probe the situation. Seeing her look of revulsion, Callisten still refused to back down, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

“I’m fine, Demi. Thank you so much for caring.”

So Delilah had to go upstairs first.

After Delilah disappeared, the dining table truly became quiet.

“Bri, don’t eat this. It tastes strange.”

Only Callisten spoke excitedly, taking care of Briseyes.

“And you, stop picking out the carrots. How old are you to be doing this?”

“I’ll eat them if you feed me.”

“Don’t eat them then. I don’t care whether you eat or not.”

At her words, Callisten smiled regretfully, then picked up a carrot and ate it. Then he continued chewing his food with a smile that seemed subtly fractured.

The meal continued like a silent battlefield.

⁕⁕⁕

“You called for me, Mother.”

Briseyes was in Abenr Di Mays’s room.

She felt concerned because Callisten was still in the mansion. Additionally, his chastity belt key hanging on the long platinum chain around her neck made her uncomfortable.

Strangely, though it should have warmed to her body temperature, it still felt foreign.

She found herself unconsciously aware of the key passing over her collarbone and upper chest, just as he had persistently touched those areas.

“I know you’re trying to sell the ruby mine in Endar these days.”

“How did you know? Have you been harassing my employees again?”

“Harassing! I’m just telling you what I heard!”

“I’m curious how you knew about something I only told four employees.”

“Ahem! I just overheard it in passing.”

When Briseyes looked at her suspiciously, the matriarch cleared her throat and looked directly at her.

“The ruby mine in Endar hasn’t been fully surveyed yet. So I’m hesitant to hand it over to you.”

“Do you think I’ll ask for it at a dirt-cheap price?”

“Yes.”

“My goodness!”

Briseyes had never backed down in business matters, so she was treating this situation as usual.

“A mine with only 1 year’s worth of deposits left…. Why do you want to buy it?”

Abenr Di Mays, thinking that Briseyes didn’t know, had to struggle to keep her mouth from curling up into a smile.

Not even suspecting that what she believed to be true was actually false.

“I want to start a new business with those rubies.”

“If you want a ruby mine, it would be better to buy from the Rosenar Trading Company than the one in Endar.”

“That doesn’t match the unit price.”

Abenr Di Mays spoke while mistakenly thinking Briseyes was stupid.

“I’ll give you twice the price of 1 year’s worth of deposits.”

The matriarch had become like a moth to flame, jumping into Briseyes’s trap without realizing it.

“If you’re not satisfied, I’ll give you three years’ worth!”

She continued to babble on.