'Besides… the two of them are strangely close.'
Well, counting from the wedding ceremony, it's already been five months that they've spent together, so they must have gotten familiar to some extent. But at least Cecilia had never seen Carlyle talking so comfortably with a woman.
If there's any consolation, it's the fact that there's no sense of tension between a man and a woman between the two, and also that it doesn't seem like they're sharing a couples bedroom.
'What that woman is thinking is something I'll gradually find out later… the problem is me. From now on, by this man's side, I have to prove my abilities and worth.'
That's why, when the divorced Carlyle meets the 'real' crown princess, I had to make him choose me.
And Cecilia had confidence in herself.
***
"Damn it! Suddenly, what is with Cecilia Dupret!"
Giles, as soon as he returned to his room, yelled angrily, unable to control his temper.
"That Countess Pervaz as well, why is nothing going my way these days?"
Two months ago, due to the servants who insulted Asha and the Pervaz people almost having their tongues cut off, Giles gained white hairs and suffered insomnia.
He thought Carlyle would naturally reject Asha's request, but instead, he brought disgrace upon himself. At first, it was unfair and so infuriating he couldn't bear it.
However, after that incident ended, as he was about to press Carlyle about something, Giles felt a chilling feeling.
[Sir Giles Raphlet. You were certainly my tutor, and while I trust you as my advisor… I never gave you the right to disregard me or my wife.]
[Your Highness! That's not what I meant…!]
[Your attitude sets an example for the servants. If you disregard Countess Pervaz, the lower ones will also disregard her. I don't believe that is beneficial to me.]
The Carlyle at that time was not the boy he used to teach. He was a terrifying ruler who could control his life and death.
Since then, he's been living humbly, but the anxiety that he might lose his position as Carlyle's closest aide kept growing.
Even when the Igram tribe invaded, Carlyle volunteered to fight and didn't even ask Asha for a reward.
Somehow, it felt like the two of them were getting closer, and it was very unpleasant.
'What if His Highness starts listening to that woman's words more than mine…?'
There were no signs of that yet, but it's unknown what the future holds.
On top of that, Cecilia Dupret was also a problem. From an advisor's standpoint, the Dupret family withdrawing their support should be welcomed, but he wasn't happy about Cecilia at all.
This is because Giles himself was also aiming for the position of Carlyle's father-in-law.
'As I thought, she wouldn't give up her position as Crown Princess easily….'
When Carlyle married Asha, he didn't worry much. After all, Asha was just a pawn to be used briefly and discarded.
However, Cecilia is different. She was truly dangerous.
'While she meddles next to His Highness Carlyle and tries to buy his favor, that's ridiculous!'
Giles clenched his fist tightly.
"I need to call Dorothy."
Dorothea, often called affectionately by her nickname Dorothy, was his only daughter among his five children.
With calm, dark brown hair and clear green eyes, she was not a stunning beauty like Cecilia, but she had never received criticism for her looks.
On top of that, she resembled her father in that she enjoyed reading and was quiet.
'The Empress should be a woman like that, right?'
In Giles' eyes, both the current Empress Beatrice and Cecilia, who aims for the next Empress, were too greedy.
And he thought that such women were parasites that would eat away at this country.
'There is nothing I hate more than seeing women take the lead! The empress should just stay in the background, be a good wife, and have lots of children.'
No one was better suited for such an empress than his daughter Dorothea.
He still regretted hesitating until Dorothea was seventeen because she didn't meet the golden hair requirement, but he couldn't delay any longer when he thought of Cecilia clinging to Carlyle and trying to win his heart with her tricks.
'If I just sit here and do nothing, I'll lose to Cecilia Dupret. I need to move quickly.'
The only fortunate thing was that his family was staying in their territory, not the capital. It would take them a week at most to get to Pervaz.
The excuse to bring Dorothea was simple.
'I can just say she's going to help me with my work.'
It wasn't entirely a lie. Dorothea was smart enough to help him with his work.
Of course, he had no intention of letting her work in his office.
'I'll just take Dorothy with me whenever I meet His Highness Carlyle and make sure they get to know each other… And then they'll fall in love…!'
Having married the noblewoman he met through his parents' introduction, Giles thought that with a little push from him, Carlyle and Dorothea would easily get married.
Because even a man called a genius was ignorant of how love sparked between men and women.
Thanks to Giles' haste, a new guest arrived in Pervaz less than a week after Cecilia's arrival.
"This is my daughter, Dorothea, Your Highness. I called her here to help me with my work."
At Giles' introduction, the demure-looking young lady greeted him.
Unlike Cecilia, who flaunted her long, curly blonde hair, Dorothea had neatly braided her thick, dark hair.
Her smooth forehead seemed to be filled with wisdom, her long, thick eyelashes seemed to be covered in modesty, and her thin lips revealed a delicate sensibility.
"May the greatest honor be upon Your Highness. I am Dorothea Raphlet, and I present myself to Your Highness."
The young lady's voice was calm and graceful.
"It's been a long time, Lady Raphlet. I'm looking forward to your knowledge and skills, since Sir Raphlet, who is known for being picky, called you here to help him with his work."
"It's nothing. I only came here to help my father with his errands because he said he was busy."
Dorothea humbly denied it, but Giles coughed a few times and began to brag.
"Well, she's still better than the guys I taught at the academy. If I teach her 1, she'll know it's 1."
"Then she must be better than me."
"How can that be! Your Highness is the most brilliant person I've ever taught. I only called Dorothy here to do the little things."
Carlyle assessed the situation, watching Giles laugh and Dorothea waiting for her father's orders with her eyes downcast.
'My tutor is quite ambitious.'
He had sneered at Cecilia, saying, "How did you come to this dangerous place?" and then he had called his daughter, who was just of marriageable age, to Pervaz.
Considering the distance between Raphelt territory and Pervaz, it was evident that Cecilia had contacted them as soon as she arrived.
"Still, I'm worried about the delicate lady getting tired of the Pervaz lifestyle."
"I haven't raised her to be that delicate."
Upon hearing that, Dorothea swallowed her displeasure.
'You may not have raised me to be delicate, but you're hoping I'll be a delicate lady.'
She sat there with a dignified and graceful face, but the stifling feeling that had been pent up since she received the letter from her father, urging her to go to Pervaz, resurfaced.
Thanks to her father, who despised ignorant humans, she had been able to read books without limit since she was young.
But her father, who had allowed her to access that knowledge, didn't like her displaying it.
[Women who act that way won't be loved by their husbands! Pretending not to know is the wise behavior of a good wife.]
TL/N: UGH!!! If I were in his daughter's shoes, I'd have shoved the books in his throat!
Every time she heard such words, Dorothy felt unjustly treated.
But she couldn't rebel against her father.
He was the most authoritative figure in the academy, receiving praise as a genius of the century, and the tutor and librarian to the Crown Prince.
'I can never win against Father with words.'
It's not that she didn't muster up the courage. She had spoken her mind several times, but Giles dismissed her arguments by quoting the words or books of an unknown "renowned" scholar, making her seem foolish.
Eventually, Dorothea stopped initiating conversations with her father and kept her responses as brief as possible.
'Father praised it as a ladylike attitude…'
As days went by, she felt increasingly resentful towards her father, who praised her outwardly but accumulated grievances.
The letter summoning her to Pervaz was no different. Her circumstances were disregarded entirely, with only the command to send her to Pervaz immediately.
Thinking about that made her want to sigh.
"…thea, Lady Dorothea."
In her view, her father seemed to have fallen into foolish thinking.
Aiming for the position of crown princess.
After teaching the Crown Prince since he was young, how could he still not know what kind of person he was?
"…thea."
"Dorothy!"
Lost in thought, Dorothea snapped out of it at the sound of Carlyle and Giles calling her.
As she lifted her head, Carlyle was just smiling faintly, while Giles was giving her a displeased look.
It was only then that Dorothy realized they had called her several times.
"I-I apologize, Your Highness."
"No need. It's the fault of me and Lord Raphelt for keeping you standing for so long. Are you feeling dizzy or thirsty?"
"No, Your Highness. Thank you for your concern."
Carlyle glanced at Giles, who was eyeing his daughter, and nodded.
'He also seems like quite the ruthless father.'
Having hastily received and prepared the urgent message, she hadn't had a week's rest. And that, probably, after several months.
Yet, instead of worrying about her daughter's health, he was more concerned about how perfect she looked.