†††
IMMEDIATELY after arriving in Astra, I began to seduce Prince Evan.
“Aisha, don’t you think you’re coming on a bit strong?” said my brother. Rather than returning to his own room after tea with the crown prince, he followed me. Maybe he wanted to talk to me about something.
“In what way?” I asked.
“Every way.”
“I expected him to reject my request to be my escort. That was just to get him to agree to my invitation to have tea. I don’t see anything wrong with it.”
My brother was a worrywart. I understood wanting to be careful because we were in a different country, but our time here was limited since we were just studying abroad. We didn’t have time to take things slow.
“People treat us like members of a viscount’s family, but our father is still royalty,” I argued. “We have his blood in our veins. That means they can’t treat us poorly without risk. It’s fine if I’m a little aggressive.”
My only concern at the moment was that girl, Selena Violette. She seemed dangerous. I got the impression she wasn’t the same as the idiot girls I dealt with in Rienbul. Though, I couldn’t exactly say what was different about her.
“Besides, I need to know what type of man Prince Evan is. I’d like you to just turn a blind eye to some of my pushiness,” I said.
I’d tried clinging to Prince Evan’s arm and pressing my chest against him, but his reaction was entirely gentlemanly. He didn’t forcefully remove me, but he also didn’t even glance at my cleavage.
Any inexperienced man would look in that direction if I pushed my chest against him.
“Can you seduce him?” asked Ismail.
“I don’t have a battle plan yet, but I’ll find one soon. Don’t worry. You know how good I am.”
All the idiot men who were our allies back in Rienbul were men I’d seduced. All men are idiots. Well, not my brother, of course.
No matter how repulsive a man claims I am, the moment I press against him and fawn over him, he becomes much more forgiving. After that, I just need to fulfill his desires for conquest and sex.
How repulsive.
“I will conquer Prince Evan,” I said. “And then we’ll get back at everyone who ever mocked us.”
“Yes, we will. You will be the next queen consort of Astra, and I’ll be the next king of Rienbul.”
“Exactly, brother.”
We will claw our way up. I won’t let them call us repulsive. I won’t let them say our mere existence is a sin. I will make them acknowledge us. All of them, all those who mocked us. And then I’ll make them kneel before us. I’ll make them understand they were the fools all along. How comical they’ll look.
I gently touched the lapis lazuli ring on my left hand. It was a gift from my brother. He always wore an earring with a gem cut in the same style from the same stone.
Lapis lazuli gives trials and rewards those who overcome them with blessings.
We will overcome this trial.
✦ ✦ ✦
†††
IN the end, my brother was my escort to the evening party held to welcome us. Prince Evan refused to escort me when I asked at tea, and I did as he said this time. Being too demanding could backfire.
Noblemen liked women who were weak, reliant, and submissive. Princes were likely the same.
The first dance of the night was, of course, with my escort, my brother. I swayed my hips and accentuated my breasts as I danced. It was easy for someone as knowledgeable in the ways of attraction to tempt an inexperienced nobleman.
It could be a hassle sometimes when a useless domineering man approached, but I just needed to have the more useful men get rid of him.
I checked my surroundings as I danced with my brother, giving sidelong glances and smiles to the red-faced boys looking at me. Well, my chest. Their red faces turned even redder, and several even rushed out of the hall.
How easy!
“I’d prefer it if you didn’t go all-out on sexuality when in front of me, your brother,” said Ismail.
“Oh, am I tempting you, too?”
“Of course not.”
I chuckled. “It wouldn’t be so bad if you were tempted. I would dote on you.”
That joke-filled time between us was quickly over, though, and next, I had to work on the idiot boys. I picked a few marks while I danced with Ismail. I’d start with the lowest ranking among them. While I worked him, I’d keep an eye on the higher-ranking nobles as I plied the first one, seeing how they reacted and what they thought. If things looked doable, I’d do it. If not, I’d write that one off.
Unlike in Rienbul, my only ally here was my brother. I couldn’t take too much of a risk on the higher-ranking nobles since so many here thought of me as nothing more than a viscount’s granddaughter.
I went to a table holding alcoholic drinks as I figured out my targets. It was there that I decided on my first mark.
But I couldn’t act right away. First, I’d pick up a drink, then wait alone by a wall, acting drunk. The alcohol made it easier for inexperienced men to approach me because it gave them the excuse of pretending they were looking out for a defenseless lady who drank too much.
Oh, how tedious.
“Miss Alaban, please don’t drink that. It has alcohol in it.”
“Lady Selena?”
I took it ON PURPOSE!
Selena Violette snatched away the alcohol I intentionally picked up, stopping me from drinking it.
She really cannot take a hint! It’s not like I can’t tell the difference between juice and alcohol. What an idiotic mistake.
Not that I’d ever tell her that.
“Oh, you’re right,” I said. “Thank you for letting me know.”
“It’s all right. It’s my duty.”
Duty?
Selena Violette, the girl set to inherit the title of Duke Violette. You and I have surely lived completely opposite lives. Everyone accepts you. No one points fingers at your back.
I watched as she walked away. “…You don’t detest me, do you?” I murmured.
Most high-ranking noble ladies like her hated my and my brother’s lineage. They acted like they’d be tainted just by coming near us, but I didn’t get that impression from Selena Violette.
Which might mean she just doesn’t care about us. Like we’re not even worth that.
“U-Um.”
As I was thinking about that, one of the boys I made eye contact with while dancing approached of his own accord. His cheeks were red as he drummed up the courage to talk to me, which told me everything.
What a cute little thing.
He didn’t even notice me lick my lips as he fell victim to me.
I didn’t feel guilty taking advantage of his innocence. After all, he only thought of me as someone perfect for having a little fun with. That’s just how men are.
They approach me to fulfill their desires, but when things get inconvenient for them, they bring up my birth, wail pitifully, and try to convince everyone that they’re in the right. They really are the most worthless of living creatures.