The grand hall is filled with the subtle clinking of silver against porcelain and the low, dignified murmur of conversation. Queen Yuehua maintains a pleasant, diplomatic cadence as she and Mikhail navigate the necessary small talk, eventually leading to the core reason for the banquet. "Prince Mikhail," she announces smoothly, raising her wine cup slightly, "we shall discuss the specifics of the royal marriage between my daughter and you tomorrow morning in the central courtroom. Let us celebrate this forging of alliance tonight." Mikhail returns the gesture with calculated grace, his exterior radiating calm acceptance. He needs to maintain the persona of the eager yet respectful suitor, the image of the prince who's worth marrying.
While responding to a polite inquiry from a nearby minister, Mikhail's eyes perform a slow, clinical sweep of the surroundings, landing finally on Princess Meilin. She sits across from him, beautiful and demure, playing the part of the obedient royal. But his peripheral vision catches something else entirely—a figure standing silently and utterly still just behind the Princess's chair.
She's a pale woman in a simple, long black kimono, her presence so restrained she's almost invisible. This is no common maid—her posture holds a latent, deadly tension, and her eyes, though currently lowered, seem to track every minute movement in the room. The details crash into Mikhail's foreknowledge with the force of a physical blow: the Sword Saintess, Miyako.
Fuck, I almost forgot about her. The internal monologue is sharp with self-reproach. Miyako is a critical figure, a character of unknown origin whom Queen Yuehua had adopted when the girl was only six, raising her to become fanatically loyal to Eldrath and the Queen. At this point in the timeline, she's merely the Princess's personal bodyguard, yet his knowledge of the future is stark: this woman will soon reveal her supreme talent for the blade, achieving the legendary title of Sword Saintess, and more critically, joining the Hero Ren's party. Mikhail mentally benchmarks her against Hilowat. Her raw talent is immense, and while Hilowat's experience might give him a marginal edge now, the swordswoman is already extremely talented and deadly. If he plans to make an enemy of Eldrath, he needs to either avoid her entirely or, more advantageously, neutralize her threat. I have to think of a way to pull her on my side. That's a complex puzzle for later.
The priority now is the woman at the center of this diplomatic charade. Forget about that. Let's see what my future wife is thinking. He focuses his gaze on Princess Meilin, effortlessly piercing the veneer of her polite, distant expression.
The thoughts that flood his mind aren't the vague hopes of a nervous bride, but a torrent of desperate, heartfelt longing that curdles his blood:
Ren, where are you? Come take me away from here. I don't need any luxury. I just wanna stay with you—with our little one.
The air suddenly feels thin, the sophisticated taste of the wine turning to pure bile in his mouth. The explicit mention of "our little one" is the final, devastating blow. Mikhail's teeth clench so hard his jaw begins to ache. This fucking bitch! Not only is she entirely devoted to the Hero, but the state marriage he's here to arrange is fundamentally compromised. She's head over heels for the Hero Ren and has already moved beyond merely flirting—she's already carrying the bastard's child. The magnitude of the impending humiliation, the absolute mockery of the Great Empire's heir, is now fully realized.
He quickly averts his gaze, forcing his expression into a neutral, polite mask, and shifts his mental focus to Queen Yuehua, whose face is currently radiating maternal pride.
I'm so happy that my daughter will get married to the Crown Prince, no less. This alliance is secured. Thank you, Goddess.
I don't think the Queen knows about all this, Mikhail calculates swiftly. The Queen's thoughts are genuine—she's entirely ignorant of her daughter's condition and emotional dedication to the Hero. The betrayal is solely between the Princess and Ren. I can't do anything rash. A public scandal now would ruin the alliance and potentially trigger a war, something he's not prepared for yet. He needs to be calm, wait, and allow the trap to close before he can spring his counter-trap.
He mentally reviews the game's narrative one last time, the details of the famous courtroom scene. Now that I think about it, in the game, it was one thing to get humiliated by the Hero because of his luck and plot armor. But for Princess Meilin to publicly reject a Crown Prince and directly jump into his lap like that—I thought it was weakly written. The sheer brazenness of the Princess's action in the lore had always seemed excessive. Now, with the knowledge of her pregnancy and secret relationship, it makes perfect, horrifying sense. But maybe it was because of the age restriction that the game omitted the part where the Princess and Ren already have a sexual relationship. The game had sanitized the full extent of the Prince's cuckoldry.
He subtly takes a slow, deep breath, controlling the tremor of cold rage that threatens to erupt. He forces a bland, diplomatic smile for the benefit of the Queen. Just wait for tomorrow, his inner voice promises, cold and venomous. I'll see every last one of you.