Chapter 47

“This part here is wrong.”

Callisten pretended nothing had happened, released her chin, and stood beside her writing in the book.

Briseyes was a bit flustered but looked at Demian naturally.

“It’s not broken. Because of the recent construction, you need to turn the lever in front.”

“Ah, this one.”

Demian turned the lever in front of the bathroom and went back inside. She chuckled as she remembered this was the first time he had come to her room like this.

“If you do this one more time, you’ll be in trouble.”

“Punish me.”

When Callisten spoke as if looking forward to it, Briseyes stared at him. His attitude hadn’t changed at all, yet why wasn’t it bothering her anymore?

But soon she came to her senses.

She knew all too well his false sincerity when he wanted to obtain something. The moment she fell in love with him, he would abandon her.

Then she shouldn’t get involved any further.

Even now she was swaying according to Callisten’s wishes.

“Do you think I’ll punish you the way you want?”

“Then how will you punish me?”

“By cutting you off forever.”

“That can’t happen.”

Callisten grabbed her shoulders with wide eyes. She had never seen this expression on him before, so she found herself staring at him.

“That just can’t happen.”

He emphasized again. Perhaps because his hands were trembling subtly, it felt sincere to her.

But his sincerity was only for now, when he couldn’t have her.

He was someone who would discard her as soon as he possessed her, calling it boring.

With that thought, Briseyes became cold again.

“Then sit quietly. And if you want to help me, don’t act like this.”

Briseyes felt stifled, as if the medicine’s effects still lingered. Yet she turned her attention back to the book, determined not to get further involved with him.

He followed her instructions and sat down, moving his chair closer to press his shoulder against hers.

“Bri, why are you angry?”

“I’m not angry.”

“Did I make a mistake? If I did, tell me, I’ll fix it.”

Briseyes, not wanting to look at Callisten’s face, fixed her gaze on the book again. She could feel his persistent stare but didn’t raise her head.

Callisten then leaned his face over the book to enter her field of vision and looked at her.

“Do you want your face scribbled on?”

“Go ahead, it would be an honor.”

Seeing her expression, he finally smiled with relief.

“Stop bothering me.”

“Okay, I understand.”

He lifted his head from the book and sat right next to Briseyes.

“Move away a bit.”

“Why? Isn’t it better to teach you while sitting close?”

“I don’t need you anymore. I only have review left, why would I need you?”

Briseyes spoke coldly but glanced at his eyes, so he smiled broadly and sat beside her.

“Tell me when you need me then.”

“Do your own studying.”

“I am.”

“Is watching me studying?”

“Yes, I’m studying Briseyes.”

At his words, Briseyes let her hair down on the side like a curtain to block his gaze.

“My goodness……”

He exclaimed admiringly and then:

“So cute.”

He said such nonsense. Briseyes sighed as she turned her body away from him, and once he was out of her sight, the words in the book began to register again.

—Click.

“Ah, Bri. Mother was saying she has something to discuss about the mine.”

Demian came out of the bathroom and looked at Briseyes. He smirked when he saw her with her hair down like a curtain, turning her body away from Callisten to block him while reading her book.

Their relationship seemed strange, but he thought it might be his imagination.

Demian believed that Callisten was definitely not her type.

‘I like bright people. That’s why I prefer people with bright hair and eye colors.’

‘What kind of personality do you prefer?’

‘I like gentle people.’

Based on what Briseyes had told him before, Callisten would be the worst match. His hair was deep black, his eyes were blood-red, and he looked like a predator. Moreover, Callisten was far from gentle.

There wasn’t an imperial citizen who didn’t know how cruel he was.

It was just that his cruelty had blossomed in war, making him highly popular among imperial citizens and someone to whom knights pledged their loyalty.

Despite thinking this way, Demian hated Callisten.

He had gone to war with support, while Callisten had been pushed into war to die.

It didn’t feel good that Callisten’s victories seemed more valuable than his own. However, Callisten was the one who would become the next Emperor and the only one with outstanding legitimacy.

Not the Second Prince born to the current Empress, who had been another man’s wife before.

It was also clear that it would be much easier to persuade the ministers this way.

The Emperor was aging, and old power could not defeat young power.

It was obvious why Crown Prince Callisten had come to the Academy to build intimacy with the children of high nobles.

At the center of it would be his desire to receive Briseyes’s help.

Briseyes was a noble flower even within Wilhelm Academy. Although she was married, she was the most beautiful among the few female students.

Demian knew well how men looked at her. They all must have suffered heartache at least once for Briseyes’s intelligence and her noble rose-like appearance.

That’s why he couldn’t understand Callisten.

Callisten’s way of expression seemed somehow different from affection.

What man would torment a woman he was rationally attracted to? Especially by tormenting people close to that woman.

From that perspective, it seemed that Callisten wasn’t treating her with rational feelings.

No, Demian wanted to believe that. It was the easiest way.

“Are you going to sell the Endar mine to Mother?”

He sat down in his seat after kissing the top of Briseyes’s head. Callisten was watching with a smile, but it was a strange smile.

This time, Demian couldn’t tell if he was genuinely smiling or smiling because he was displeased.

“I don’t know. Should we have a conversation with all four of us?”

Briseyes thought it would be better to use Callisten for something useful rather than having him bother her from the side.

“Your Highness, do you have time……”

“I do. Sounds fun. I’ll join the discussion.”

When Callisten said this, Demian frowned.

⁕⁕⁕

So Abenr Di Mays came to Briseyes’s room where they had been studying.

The matriarch handed the documents she had brought to Briseyes and sat on the sofa. Everyone had moved from the desk to the sofa.

An aide stood behind Abenr.

“Where is my aide?”

“Aide Memphis has taken sick leave due to a severe cold, I’m told.”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

“A letter just arrived saying so.”

Briseyes received what the chief chamberlain handed her and sighed as she saw Memphis’s handwriting.

“At such an important time.”

She gave the paper back to the chief chamberlain, who received it and withdrew. The head maid was pouring tea into the teacups placed before the four sitting on the sofa.

“You’re the one in charge anyway.”

Abenr spoke as if she held her daughter-in-law in high regard only at times like this. The matriarch actually found Briseyes easy to deal with, but she was also afraid of Callisten who was right in front of her.

“Bri, I want to see too.”

Briseyes handed the documents she had been looking at to Callisten. He smirked and said:

“You’re going to buy a ruby mine with only about a year’s worth of deposits left at three times the market price?”

When he twisted the corner of his mouth and glared at Abenr Di Mays, the matriarch’s mouth went dry, afraid her true intentions would be discovered.

“Don’t interfere, Cal.”

Briseyes twisted her body as if uncomfortable with the two men sticking to her. Callisten sat on her left, and for some reason, Demian sat on her right.

Callisten examined her expression with a strange look, and she stared straight back at him. Seeing Briseyes’s eyes, he smiled as if he had realized something.

She thought he must have understood what she meant, so she turned her gaze away.

“Mother, let me be clear that the ruby mine in Endar is not worth this much. Why do you want to buy it with such a large sum?”

When Briseyes asked as if puzzled, Abenr Di Mays looked at her son and then directly at Briseyes.

“I want to apologize to you for what happened before.”

“Apologize?”

“You suffered a lot because of your allergies due to my mistake.”

“Allergies, Mother.”

Abenr, who was about to get irritated at Briseyes’s correction, forced herself to be patient once and smiled artificially.

“Yes, that. So I want to express my apology to you with what I have.”

Briseyes pretended to be moved and looked at Demian. He seemed a bit confused, but his confusion subsided somewhat due to his wife’s expression as she looked at him for confirmation.

Briseyes’s money would become the Grand Duke family’s money anyway.

Then Mother’s money would eventually be his money too.

Demian smiled generously with that thought.

“Demian, do you really think I can… hand over the ruby mine in Endar to Mother for this amount…?”

When Briseyes asked cautiously, Demian stroked her hair as if finding her lovely and said:

“I think it would be fine, Bri.”