Episode 97: Can I Have an Affair Too?
The Branch Manager leaned back deeply in his chair, wrinkling his nose.
"It's dangerous."
"I don't think it's just dangerous. What is the CEO thinking…"
"The game ends when you capture the King. If we defeat King Herot, we don't need to fight the other minor kingdoms. Plus, he doesn't want to set a precedent of getting away with tampering with the machine room."
"So, you're going to fight the Herot royal family?"
"Great rewards come with great risks. And as it stands, it won't be an all-out war."
The Branch Manager took out a thick document from the first drawer. It was a Magic Dome repair request sent by the Herot Navy. The repair visit was scheduled for the week after next.
"Don't respond to the statement yet. Proceed with the repair visit first. Then, notify them that repairs will be difficult for the time being due to a lack of parts."
"Yes, I understand."
"By the way, what happened to the third-rate newspaper company I asked you to look into?"
"I found a suitable newspaper company."
"Give them plenty of money and acquire it on your own. Buy up exclusive gossip about actors. Gradually build up the newspaper's recognition by releasing stories from time to time."
"Yes!"
The Branch Manager threw the letter from Ansen into the blazing fireplace. The letter melted red-hot, spewed out black soot, and then disappeared completely.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
"Isabel, why are you doing this?"
Mrs. Seymour sobbed, clutching her dying daughter. Since returning from the Polo Club a few days ago, Isabel had been listless, barely eating or drinking.
Although she asked why, Mrs. Seymour already suspected the reason for her daughter's illness.
"You met the Prince and Princess consort at the Polo Club! What did the Princess consort say to you?!"
"……."
"Or, what did the Prince say to you?!!"
When tears finally fell from Isabel's eyes, Mrs. Seymour felt suffocated, as if she were about to die.
She gnashed her teeth and spat out her anger.
"Prince Noah has terrible taste in women! Does she look happy?! From what I hear, the Princess consort's refinement is laughable. She can't even play the piano, let alone the violin. That's to be expected. She must have grown up without any proper upbringing."
Isabel slowly raised her head to look at her mother.
Mrs. Seymour felt heartbroken at the sight of her daughter's sunken cheeks from weight loss.
Mrs. Seymour lifted Isabel's chin and met her eyes. Then, gazing intently into her jewel-like, clear, and beautiful eyes, she said firmly.
"Life is long. You may feel like your world has collapsed because you lost Prince Noah now, but someday the Prince will regret losing you. Marry Jackson Coleman and become the queen of high society."
She slowly stroked her daughter's face, offering comfort laced with malice.
"The Prince will soon tire of the Princess consort. He'll have affairs and wander outside. He'll ignore her, despise her, and treat her like she doesn't exist. The Princess consort won't even be able to properly enter high society. Daughter, you just need to be more dazzling than anyone else around the time the Prince gets tired of the Princess consort. That's the best revenge."
"His Highness will tire of the Princess consort?"
"Yes. Countess Timberline, who is teaching the Princess consort, says she's utterly hopeless. Look forward to it. The Prince will soon have a mistress. All the older noble ladies are sure of it. Have we only lived in high society for a day or two? We can tell at a glance."
Isabel slowly exhaled and took a sip of water with trembling hands. Then, she brought up a completely different topic.
"About Jackson Coleman. I can't bring myself to marry him. Sometimes I get goosebumps just looking at his face. His voice is disgusting, and when he kisses my hand, it feels like a leech touching my skin."
"Once you have a son, you can sleep in separate rooms. There are plenty of couples who don't even see each other once a month. Look at me and your father."
"Then, can I have an affair too? Like Mother?"
Mrs. Seymour paused at her daughter's bold and audacious words, but soon smiled gently and kindly. She gently stroked her daughter's hair and whispered in her ear.
"Yes. Just don't get caught."
Isabel slowly nodded and said with a determined tone, as if she had made up her mind.
"Call Jackson Coleman. I'll invite him to the Hemmington Battleship construction event."
Mrs. Seymour's face lit up.
"Yes. Good thinking, Isabel! Good thinking!"
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
From the day after meeting the Prince, Mrs. Timberlin could no longer criticize Olivia's posture.
Instead, she brought a vast list of books on culture.
"Have you read 『The Same Side of Love and Hate』?"
Olivia nodded.
"It's one of my favorite books."
"Is there a memorable passage?"
"I remember the passage, 'Loving so intensely and craving so desperately, one day a hatred resembling love was born. Love and hate were born in the same cradle.'"
Mrs. Timberlin twitched her lips. Thinking that she must have known one of the books by chance, she handed the list of books on culture to the Princess consort.
"These are classics that every Herot noble must read. Mark the books you have read."
The Princess consort held the paper with the list and read it calmly. The pen in her hand didn't move at all.
'I knew it. How could a commoner have read classics that only nobles read? And how could she have afforded the books?'
Mrs. Timberlin twitched her lips and smiled derisively.
Then, the Princess consort, who had scanned the list to the end, raised her head. Mrs. Timberlin put on a gentle expression and said softly.
"The books listed here are the very basics. My fifteen-year-old daughter is also reading them. If you haven't read them, you must read and understand them."
Mrs. Timberlin clearly expected the Princess consort to be embarrassed or flustered. However, contrary to her wishes, the Princess consort nodded calmly.
"Fortunately, I have read all the books on this list, Countess Timberline."
When the Countess's gray eyes showed disbelief, Olivia added an explanation.
"I graduated from Herollington University. Reading Herot classics was a required liberal arts assignment."
"But how did you get the books…"
At the overstepping remark, Olivia frowned and closed the pen cap.
"You don't think the prestigious Herollington University would have a library, do you?"
Only then did Mrs. Timberlin realize that she was the first female college student.
Although she didn't add it, the classic novels Mrs. Timberlin presented were only a small part of the university's must-read books. Olivia had to acquire all the classical philosophy, history, and politics books that only male nobles usually acquired.
However, apart from realizing it, Mrs. Timberlin couldn't believe it and presented a few questions as confirmation.
"Tell me about the life of Lucian Parfalle, the author of 『The Same Side of Love and Hate』."
"Tell me what happened to the main characters of 『Actus』."
Olivia provided rich answers to her simple questions, and in the end, Mrs. Timberlin had no choice but to drop the class on books on culture.
Furthermore, she was not only knowledgeable about the vast Biographical Dictionary, but also about the history of Herot, which she had studied at some point, and was even more knowledgeable than her.
Olivia explained what she knew naturally, as if she were giving a lecture, and Countess Timberline had to forcibly close her mouth several times.
There was nothing more to find fault with, and the head maid, who was waiting in one corner, was watching her with fiery eyes. It seemed certain that she was monitoring her under the Prince's orders.
'Just find fault with Her Highness.'
'Just say something similar to abuse!'
If she hadn't faced the Prince yesterday, she wouldn't have even snorted, but now she couldn't ignore the maid's gaze.
The inhuman green eyes were so eerie that she even had nightmares last night, which she rarely had.
In the end, Mrs. Timberlin had no choice but to change her stance. Furthermore, she had to admit it.
'All the Princess consort needs is to enter high society.'
She knew the etiquette at parties and the order of hosting to the point of memorizing books, so all that was left was to enter, gain experience, and build connections.
Of course, that was the most difficult thing.
Mrs. Timberlin steeled her heart and said.
"My family, the Letium Marquess, plays a very important role in the capital's high society. First of all, the Marchioness has decided to open a salon in the near future. Let's attend a tea party with me. It's my family, so it won't be bad as your first party."
"Okay, Madam. Let's do that."
"I'll tell the Marchioness in advance. It's common to bring a small gift when attending a small tea party. You can call merchants to your home, but these days it's popular to go out to the city and pick out items yourself. Why don't you go out?"
Mrs. Timberlin asked kindly.
Olivia smiled sweetly, maintaining an appropriate distance. To be honest, it was a welcome suggestion. She had been staying in the mansion for several days, and she was starting to wonder about the outside world.
"That would be nice too. Please tell me how to pick out good items."
"Of course, Your Highness."
Mrs. Timberlin recalled the Prince's sharp expression and acted more docilely than ever. It was impossible to even imagine her criticizing her posture with an icy demeanor.
"Oh, and there's homework from today."
She took out a round rattan basket and placed it in front of Olivia. When she opened the lid, fine cloth and colorful threads were revealed.
"Have you ever done embroidery?"
Olivia smiled awkwardly and shook her head, and Mrs. Timberlin smiled even more brightly.
'That's right. I found it!'
"It's the basics, Your Highness. My daughter has already embroidered her father's handkerchief. Your Highness must embroider His Highness's handkerchief."
Mrs. Timberlin forcibly placed the rattan basket on Olivia's lap.
Olivia stared blankly at the basket on her lap. Was it because she was facing a new challenge? Suddenly, somewhere in her chest seemed to ache.
