Chapter 13
This was the first time in his life he’d been treated like this. Him, the crown prince? Threatened with a teacup being thrown at him?
Josef stared at Roshanne with a look of utter disbelief. Her lips were pressed firmly together in determination as she gazed back at him, her face showing no change in expression whatsoever.
If it were anyone else, maybe not, but this mad duke’s daughter seemed like she really would throw the teacup.
And Josef didn’t have the confidence to dodge it like Roshanne could.
“If you hurt me, His Majesty won’t let it slide!”
Josef shouted, glaring at the teacup in Roshanne’s hand. The sly, smirking pressure he’d exuded when he first saw her had vanished without a trace.
‘…It’s just a joke.’
Even though Roshanne didn’t know much, she at least understood that if a noble lady threw a teacup at the crown prince, it would be a huge disaster.
She hadn’t expected Josef to take it this seriously.
As she sensed someone approaching from beyond the closed parlor door, Roshanne wondered if she should put the teacup down.
“His Majesty commands the empire’s guardian like a limb, the sealed hero—he’ll summon him to crush the Railaten family. Can you handle that, Lady?”
Perhaps his pride was wounded from being momentarily scared by a mere teacup, Josef ground his teeth audibly.
“…Commands like a limb, the sealed hero?”
Roshanne’s voice changed, though her expression had remained unchanged no matter what he’d said until now. Her slender arm, holding the teacup high, trembled faintly.
Noticing that brief shift, Josef let out a scoffing laugh.
She was clearly frightened.
Josef’s shoulders, which had been tense with anxiety, relaxed all at once.
“Yes, Lady.”
Josef lifted his chin as if daring her to throw it.
“Even if you’re said to be mad, you’re still a duke’s daughter by name—you must know of that hero called His Majesty’s puppet.”
“…Puppet?”
“The very one who does whatever His Majesty orders. They say he doesn’t feel personal emotions at all, so don’t expect any mercy…”
Before Josef could even finish his words, something whistled past his face with a whoosh of wind.
Crash—!
The shattering sound of glass pierced the atmosphere sharply for a moment.
Josef, who had been staring at the teacup that had hit the wall and broken, slowly turned his head.
His eyes met Roshanne’s.
“My hand slipped. A mistake.”
Contrary to her light tone, an indescribable sense of intimidation bore down on Josef.
“Are you going to call that hero now?”
“What?”
“But to do that, you’d have to reveal that you were threatened by me. Are you okay with that?”
Even the lowly Duke Railaten had hidden the fact that Roshanne had grabbed his hand and hurt him because he didn’t want it known—there was no way Josef, called the crown prince, would announce this situation to everyone.
The fact that in this small parlor, he’d been scared and run from a young lady who hadn’t even learned swordsmanship.
Roshanne knew that all too well.
“Won’t people start doubting the crown prince’s qualifications?”
Josef’s face flushed red with humiliation.
“And wrapping up our meeting today as amicable would be good for your position as crown prince…”
Josef had come to keep an eye on Cheyton.
In this situation, rumors spreading that he’d made an enemy of the Railaten family wouldn’t be good for Josef.
“Well, if you don’t want to, fine.”
The Roshanne who used to only watch others’ reactions and couldn’t even make eye contact had clearly gone completely mad.
Josef bit his lower lip hard and was about to open his mouth to say something.
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the parlor door.
“Ah. The person to clean up after this has finally arrived.”
It seemed like they’d been walking this way for a while—why so slow?
Roshanne furrowed her brow and stood up from her seat. Seeing her move as if fleeing, the enraged Josef jumped up after her.
“Where do you think you’re running off to…!”
“Running off?”
Roshanne looked at Josef with an odd expression as she opened the parlor door.
“I was just going to open the door.”
The closed parlor door swung open.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
And into the tense atmosphere stepped Duke Railaten.
Welcome.
True to his role at the center of the emperor’s faction, as soon as he entered the parlor, Duke Railaten attended to the crown prince first.
‘If I look closely, he might even have a tail.’
Roshanne narrowed her eyes and scanned the back of Duke Railaten, where nothing was attached.
“Your Highness, thank you for coming all this way. I had prepared fine tea and desserts to share with you when you arrived, but… what?”
Duke Railaten faltered, his eyes falling on the empty table, devoid of even a single teacup.
He quickly spun around, shouting at the maids.
“The crown prince is here, and you haven’t even brought out the tea? What are you all doing?”
Naturally, he assumed the maids had failed to serve the tea.
Before he could unfairly scold the innocent maids, Roshanne moved. Approaching Duke Railaten from behind, she lightly tapped his shoulder.
“Duke. That’s not it.”
“Hm?”
“Look over there. There.”
“What?”
Roshanne pointed first to the left wall, then to the right.
Duke Railaten’s head swiveled side to side, following her fingers.
The maids waiting behind him cautiously raised their heads.
“Good heavens!”
The moment Duke Railaten saw the stained wall and the shattered remains of the teacup, he let out a booming cry.
The maids’ eyes widened in shock.
“Why is this—! This was brand new! It took months to have it shipped from abroad!”
Duke Railaten’s body trembled with fury.
“Who did this? Who! Roshanne, was it you again?”
For a moment, he forgot they had a guest in the parlor and roared.
“No one else would do something this reckless!”
“Duke, listen to me.”
“Who in the empire would commit such an uncouth act!”
“Duke?”
“I’ll deal with you right now, Roshanne—!”
“You’re half wrong, Duke.”
Roshanne shook her head with a calm, almost pitying expression.
“That was thrown by the crown prince.”
“What?”
“I’m saying the crown prince did this uncouth, reckless thing too.”
At the mention of Josef throwing the teacup, Duke Railaten visibly faltered, his lips clamping shut.
As if the heat in his head had suddenly cooled, he lowered his voice.
“When did I ever call it reckless, Roshanne?”
“Just now.”
“…You! You must have thrown it first! So—”
“The crown prince threw it first.”
Roshanne shook her head with a mournful air, murmuring softly.
Realizing that arguing further would do no good, Duke Railaten gave up trying to salvage the situation.
Roshanne glanced at the now-frozen duke.
Josef might be the heir, but he wasn’t the emperor yet. Yet here was Duke Railaten, acting so cautiously even toward him—Roshanne found it utterly pathetic.
‘So much to fix.’
Josef seemed to need the Railaten family’s power. The emperor’s throne wasn’t just about ascending—it was about holding it afterward.
To think he was staring at the broken teacup with a sad expression, unable to even demand compensation from someone begging for his protection.
Roshanne shook her head at Duke Railaten.
She’d explained the situation thoroughly, so there was no need to stay any longer.
“Now that the head of the house is here, I’ll take my leave.”
Roshanne turned without hesitation.
“Wait, wait! Roshanne, we need to confirm—”
Startled, Duke Railaten hurriedly stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
‘Is he seriously trying to stop me from leaving?’
Roshanne looked at him with incredulity. The reason was obvious without asking.
The atmosphere was tense, and he probably wanted her to stay until it was smoothed over.
“Hm?”
But it was no use to Roshanne. Seeing the foot he’d thrust forward, she tilted her head, and then—
Crunch.
She stepped right over it without a care.
“Ugh!”
Duke Railaten groaned behind her as his foot was stepped on, but Roshanne paid it no mind.
‘If you’ve done nothing for your daughter until now, you should at least handle this kind of cleanup properly.’
With her confinement still in effect, the only place Roshanne could go was her bedroom.
‘…He didn’t seem to know the hero was gone.’
Silently heading to her bedroom, Roshanne recalled her earlier conversation with Josef.
She’d worried about being found out if she encountered royalty, but judging by Josef’s reaction, that didn’t seem necessary.
Moreover, Josef didn’t even know the hero had disappeared.
‘The emperor… there’s no way he doesn’t know.’
It was highly likely that the greedy, distrustful emperor hadn’t even shared that with his own son.
‘A puppet that doesn’t feel personal emotions…’
Recalling Josef’s words, Roshanne let out a chilling smile. Entering her bedroom, she sat in a chair, gripping the armrests to calm her surging emotions.
‘Is that what they thought?’
That he wasn’t a living person.
Just a sword swung to kill someone.
A cold, murderous intent flickered across Roshanne’s face.
Crack!
At the same time, the chair’s armrest, gripped tightly by Roshanne, splintered easily.
She stared at the broken armrest, taking a deep breath. But the moment she pictured the emperor and the crown prince—those two faces so alike—her teeth ground together.
If it weren’t for the sealing magic, she’d have marched straight to them, wanting to wrap her hands around the emperor’s slender neck and squeeze.
‘I never expected gratitude. But I thought they’d at least see him as human.’
Roshanne’s eyes glinted coldly.
