Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 16
In my judgment, this was the perfect opportunity. A chance to test Auredhian Belgot’s limits—to discover how far I could push him, what tactics would elevate me above Soleia. How could I outmaneuver this man?
As the youngest princess of Lebovni, Yerenika possessed few weapons. Fewer still against the Emperor of Belgot. But among what I could attempt immediately, there was one tried-and-true method: seduction.
Auredhian had begun to turn away when he suddenly froze. I seized the moment and stepped closer. My beauty differed from Soleia Elad’s style, but I was hardly plain myself. Of course, if we were ranking by sheer magnificence, he took first place. Still, I had to try. I opened my mouth with bold confidence.
“If I told Your Majesty that I have feelings for you, would you need to be so cautious?”
The words came out far more challenging than intended. Damn—I should have spoken with more flutter, more bashfulness, more coyness.
I blinked my eyes rapidly, drawing on some half-remembered technique from my days as Seoeun-seo. I hoped desperately to appear beautiful and endearing. Come on, Yerenika’s eyelashes! My charm!
A shallow sigh escaped his lips. Auredhian turned only his head, his body still half-turned away. The emotion crystallized in those crimson eyes was unmistakably clear.
What am I to do with this foolish child?
His next words matched that sentiment precisely.
“And fourth: such words are not to be spoken carelessly, to just anyone.”
“That’s not what I—”
I rushed to speak, but Auredhian was faster. He smiled languidly as he continued.
“It would be wise not to attempt deceiving me, Princess.”
“…”
“My instincts are quite sharp.”
He spoke with such ease, such composure. He seemed to find me utterly laughable. I bristled inwardly. Sharp instincts? What good were they when he couldn’t see how wicked the woman he trusted truly was? Petulant defiance spilled from my lips.
“You don’t even see me as a woman anyway.”
“Why would you not be a woman?”
Auredhian answered immediately, as if I’d said something absurd.
“Such thinking hardly justifies your reckless behavior, Princess.”
“…Tch.”
I glared at him in frustration, but ultimately held my tongue. Seeing my rebellious expression, he murmured in an oddly detached tone.
“Truly. There’s no predicting where you’ll bounce next.”
The final words came out almost as a sigh.
Damn. Failure. I immediately purged the useless information about “seducing men with long eyelashes” from my mind. Such pathetic tactics were utterly ineffective.
I stared out the window at his retreating silver hair for a long moment, my fists clenched tight.
Fine. Now I’ll seduce him properly.
And Plan C—the supporting characters’ mutual benefit scheme—was officially renamed: “Seduce the villain’s father!”
* * *
Of course, Auredhian Belgot, master of the empire, could not have known the true nature of this scheme. As he departed Bellirook Palace, he pondered: what exactly was the youngest princess of Lebovni trying to accomplish?
He didn’t need to turn around to feel it—the gaze piercing from the second-floor window of Bellirook Palace behind him. The intensity of her stare was so fierce it made the back of his neck prickle.
The youngest princess of Lebovni. Yerenika Lebovni was a peculiar woman indeed. Her coloring alone was striking—pale pink hair fine as gossamer thread, light blue eyes, and skin so fair that her overall complexion seemed almost translucent. She looked as though she might dissolve into the air itself at the slightest touch of sunlight.
Her features were delicate, utterly devoid of intensity, yet her presence was undeniably powerful. A dry laugh escaped his lips. Auredhian continued walking slowly, acutely aware of that piercing gaze still fixed upon his back.
He had never intended to harm the princess he’d taken hostage. The raid on Lebovni itself was not meant to be a bloodbath—merely a warning. A demonstration of force, delivered personally and decisively. He had deliberately infiltrated with only his elite few, and ordered minimal casualties.
It had been more than sufficient as a warning. It was only a matter of time before Lebovni opened the Glucaman Road. Yes, that part was fine. But somehow, he’d picked up an unwanted complication along the way.
The pale pink hair surfaced in his thoughts again. Hair as restless as its owner, never still for a moment. The slightest breeze sent it tangling and floating about—and its owner was a mana-incompatible princess.
She reacted with agonizing sensitivity to even the smallest fluctuations of mana. Though her final dramatic collapse was undoubtedly feigned, everything before that had been painfully genuine. Even someone with his formidable mental fortitude couldn’t help but reach out.
The thought that he’d brought an innocent princess here and reduced her to such a state did weigh on him. So Auredhian Belgot decided to be somewhat more lenient.
Upon returning to the Central Palace, he ascended directly to his office. His aide-de-camp awaited him there.
“Have you completed the tasks I assigned?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. We have recovered all items within a 200-meter radius of Bellirook Palace that contained even the slightest trace of magical energy.”
“I see….”
I paused to consider. Two hundred meters. Would that truly be sufficient?
The image of the Princess of Lebovni bounding nimbly between the pillars of the Royal Palace flickered through my mind. At last, I spoke.
“Expand it to 500 meters.”
“Pardon? Your Majesty, but….”
My advisor questioned me in bewilderment.
“A 500-meter radius would include the Main Palace’s courtyard.”
“That is acceptable. Proceed as I have ordered.”
I did not reconsider. In truth, those words amounted to granting the hostage freedom to roam all the way to the Imperial Palace’s courtyard.
But Lebovni would need at most a month to open the Glucaman Road, and having promised her safety, I ought to demonstrate at least this much sincerity. It was far preferable to watching her wander carelessly into a mana stone and collapse lifeless.
Had I been in my usual temperament, I would never have permitted access to the courtyard. By nature, I maintained a high wall between those who belonged to my circle and those who did not. As the sovereign of an empire, such boundaries were only natural.
Then was this sudden indulgence truly because her antics were so endearingly amusing?
I let out a soft chuckle. The courtyard before the Central Palace was visible directly from my office. Judging by her behavior thus far, she would certainly be prancing about in front of it starting tomorrow without fail.
The corners of my lips curved upward, and my expressionless face finally gained expression. It was the smile that all the women of Belgot so desperately coveted. I brushed back my gleaming silver hair once.
That small head of hers seems to be constantly scheming about something. And she appears to execute her plans with considerable effort. Yet all her actions are remarkably clumsy while simultaneously quite ingenious.
Who would have thought she would dare to feign illness before me, right in front of Soleia Elad….
I let out another hollow laugh. Without question, that fierce and cunning woman must be seething with rage by now. The Princess of Lebovni has no idea whom she has provoked. Not knowing, she brazenly committed such an act.
But perhaps that is precisely what makes this entertaining. In short, she is like a naive little kitten ignorant of the world. Watching her, one feels compelled to toss her a ball of yarn.
“Felix.”
I called back my advisor, who was just about to leave my office.
“Soleia Elad is to be denied entry to the Imperial Palace for the time being. See that word is conveyed.”
“Pardon? But….”
My advisor’s eyes widened. I shrugged my shoulders.
“I have begun to wonder if I have grown too lenient of late. To see one who has not even received permission brazenly coming and going from the Imperial Palace as she pleases.”
“However, Your Majesty. Lady Elad will surely not accept this willingly….”
Concern flooded my advisor’s face. Yet this time too, I had no intention of rescinding my order. Soleia Elad was a woman who would not tolerate another ‘woman’ lingering near my side. I was not unaware of this fact.
Indeed, this very trait had served as an excellent pretext for repelling the troublesome noble ladies who pressed themselves upon me. I could avoid tiresome situations without lifting a finger, so I had felt no particular need to restrain her. Of course, she was not truly my ‘fiancée.’
At any rate, that had been the case until now. But now that a guest of utmost importance had arrived, I could not simply stand by and watch that woman continue to frequent the Imperial Palace. Not from a magical standpoint either….
That serpent of a woman would find a mere kitten hardly worth a single bite. I decided to provide the Princess of Lebovni with a safe sandbox to play in, rather than merely a ball of yarn.
I would not concern myself beyond that point. The Princess seemed to be the sort whose every thought shows plainly upon her face. I simply thought it that way.
And from the very next day, I came to regret that decision just a little.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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