Cedre was in the office given to him in the royal palace, signing one paper after another. He’d managed to become Friede’s aide by handing over the documents Elizabeth had left behind, but that meant he now had to do part of the prince’s work for him.
“Good grief. Why do I have to take care of such insignificant matters?”
“There’s no point in complaining. This is necessary to control that foolish prince’s moves,” said Anna, the maid Friede had assigned to him. Her tone was cold.
“You do know I’m not overjoyed at the prospect of working long hours just because it’ll serve her cause, right? I don’t blindly worship her like you or my father do.”
Anna flashed her knife in front of Cedre’s face and smirked. “Does that mean you intend to betray her?”
“Calm down. It was a joke. I’ve been promised a fitting reward after she ultimately triumphs,” Cedre said. He glanced in the general direction of Adel’s office. “What do you think Her Highness will do about the national highway project?”
“I wonder. The prince’s superiority is clear at the moment. Many people don’t even know that Her Highness Adel is back yet. In fact, I suspect most have no clue that a fight for the throne is happening at all.”
“That’s true. Her Highness will most likely need to make her presence public if she wants to challenge him.”
“Do you think she will?” Anna asked.
“While Friede was still considered an incompetent fool, remaining in the shadows and growing her influence slowly was effective, but the situation has changed now. From here on out, hiding will be detrimental to her.”
“I agree. I also think we’re bound to see a reaction from her soon. I have no idea what she’ll do, though. Her Highness is very careful. Personnel she hasn’t personally approved of, including me, cannot step anywhere near her.”
“That’s the complete opposite of the prince’s quarters, where every spy in the world can come and go as they please,” Cedre joked. “The funniest part is that this idiot’s camp is more or less kept afloat by the spies doing his job for him.”
The two kept chatting as Cedre trudged through his work. Then, a knock on the door interrupted them. Cedre immediately pulled Anna to him. He had her sit practically in his lap with his arm draped over her shoulder before telling his visitor to come in.
“Pardon me for interrupting,” said a feminine voice.
Friede’s fiancée Sylvia stepped into the room. As soon as she saw Anna on the verge of tears and Cedre’s vulgar smile, she glared at the latter in disgust.
“I wasn’t expecting you, Lady Sylvia! What can I do for you?” Cedre asked.
“I heard you’d be at the castle today,” she answered. She stood confidently but said nothing further.
“I see. Well, I’m sorry I didn’t visit you to offer you a proper greeting earlier,” Cedre replied with a loathsome laugh. “I should have been the one to come to you.”
“Y-You should have,” Sylvia replied, “but I shall forgive you.”
Cedre watched as Sylvia clumsily pulled out a folding fan to hide her mouth like a fancy lady would. He tried his best not to laugh at her. Instead, he lowered his head politely.
“S-So, tell me, what do you think of His Highness the prince?” Sylvia asked.
“That he’s the worthy successor to our great king, of course!” Cedred replied immediately. “He’s even inherited his thunder! That proves the purity of his blood!”
“And...what of Her Highness Adel?”
“The princess? Isn’t she studying on the Southern Continent? I’m sorry to say that I’ve never had the chance to meet her. I heard she’s very pretty, though—an oriental beauty. Truth be told, I’d love to see her, heh heh heh.”
Cedre’s lecherous laugh disgusted Sylvia, and she couldn’t stop herself from glaring at him, but she still asked one more question.
“What about Crow?”
“Crow? Who is that again? Ah! That secretary who waits upon His Highness nowadays! People say she’s competent, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s some lowly commoner. His Highness needs us, his noble supporters, much more than he needs her.”
“Don’t you think we ought to get rid of this woman, then?!” Sylvia exclaimed.
“No. She’s good at her job, isn’t she? Nobles should know how to use talented commoners to their advantage, but... Well, she is beautiful, so I can see why you might feel jealous, Lady Sylvia. You needn’t worry about her, though. She’s a mere commoner. What threat could she pose to you? She’s a toy to His Highness at most, heh heh.”
Cedre grabbed Anna’s chest to drive the point home. Sylvia clicked her tongue and spun around to leave immediately, grumbling an angry “Good day to you” on her way out.
Anna waited until she couldn’t feel Sylvia’s presence anywhere near the room before she broke free from Cedre’s hold. “What did she even want?” she asked.
“I guess she’s desperate to secure her position. She lost all her relatives during the insurrection in her father’s territory. On top of that, the prince can’t give her much attention because of his power struggle with Her Highness Adel and the chaos left by the prime minister’s disappearance. It wouldn’t be all that surprising for a young lady with no backing like her to be thrown out of the palace at a moment’s notice.”
“I’m not sure I get how showing up here helps her case, though,” Anna said. “Besides, she’s just a baron’s daughter at the moment. Her attitude toward you, the heir of a count, was anything but appropriate.”
“She might be trying to assert herself as the prince’s fiancée and show she can’t just be pushed around. From what I know, though, she hasn’t been attending her princess lessons at all, so I bet she’s just clueless. Why else would she mention the princess whose presence in the palace is still under wraps?”
“Her biggest worry seemed to be Miss Crow.”
“At least she seems to have good instincts. Or perhaps she’s simply not as stupid as the prince. Come to think of it, maybe she came to me looking for an ally who might protect her if push comes to shove.”
“What a hassle... Should I do something about it?” Anna asked.
“No, don’t. We’ve been told not to make any bold moves. Our job is to monitor the prince and keep track of shifts in the palace. Someone else must be watching Sylvia, I assume.” Cedre reached out for a piece of paper. “I’ve already made arrangements to sneak spies into the national highway project. There’s a different person we must be wary of now: Her Highness Adel.”
The document he was holding concerned the hiring of a large number of foreign workers from vassal countries to work on the highway. He signed it and handed it to Anna.