Sweetcrasy

I was momentarily flustered by Cedar’s words. His features were much more delicate than mine, yet he was saying this so casually that I fumbled with the hem of my clothes.

“I see…”

The idea of being a “man’s concubine” as a South Korean man is a bit repulsive but if it was necessary to survive, the act itself wasn’t a bad idea. It wasn’t as if Cedar would actually pounce on me.

“But even if you say you brought me back because you fell for me, the Emperor would still want to kill Louis… Since, in the end, Louis could also have a children.”

I wasn’t entirely sure… but Louis was a grown man, after all.

“Then how about lying that you’re infertile?”

“Would he believe that? I feel like he wouldn’t unless he saw it cut off with his own eyes…”

The problem circled back to the same point, making my head throb. Should I just cut it off myself? The insane thought crossed my mind, but just imagining it made me sick. I decided that option would be my absolute last resort.

‘Infertility… concubine… ransom…·’

As the words spun around in my head until, suddenly, a crazy idea hit me.

“…Haejin. How about this?”

“Did you come up with a good idea?”

“Is it possible for a member of the royal family… to be taken as a slave?”

Cedar furrowed his brow before nodding.

“It happens… mostly as sex slaves, though.”

“T-Then… what if you took me as a slave?”

“…What?”

“I mean, there’s no need for the whole ‘you fell in love with me’ story… Instead, Cedar takes Louis as a slave to humiliate the prince of his enemy nation, Milos. That aligns more with Cedar’s original character setting.”

“What’s a ‘character setting’?”

“It’s, uh… I mean, it suits your original personality better.”

Cedar frowned at my explanation.

“Well, that could work, but… as long as your reproductive capabilities remain intact…”

“You can just say you cut it off yourself!”

“…Huh?”

“I mean, if you claim you assaulted me and made me a eunuch, people would believe it! If you say you took me because you loved me, even if you insist I’m infertile, the Emperor might misunderstand, thinking, ‘Cedar is just lying to protect the prince he loves.’”

“That’s true.”

“But if the story is that you didn’t love me, but instead took me as a slave to violate me, the Emperor wouldn’t doubt you and I don’t have to become a eunuch for real…!”

I spewed out my words in a rush, panting by the time I finished. But even with just that much explanation, Cedar seemed to grasp the situation.

His expression brightened.

“Oh, that definitely sounds convincing. Cedar’s original personality is a bit psychotic… so this fits better.”

“Right?!”

I had created a perfect character interpretation to navigate this crisis. The thrill of it sent a shiver down my spine. But as I grinned, Cedar’s expression suddenly stiffened slightly.

“…It looks like my adjutant is about to arrive. I’ve been in the interrogation room for too long, so he’s probably coming to fetch me.”

I didn’t hear anything yet, but with Cedar’s sharp senses, he must have picked up on the approaching footsteps.

“Oh, got it.”

I couldn’t act friendly with Cedar in front of his adjutant, so I immediately shut my mouth and remained quiet.

Then, at that moment, Cedar turned to me and asked,

“So… should we start acting according to the plan now?”

“Huh?”

“You told me to violate you, didn’t you?”

“W-Wait, suddenly?”

But thinking about it again, Cedar was stationed here for only about a month before the Emperor summoned him back to the Empire. In other words, we didn’t have much time.

“…Yeah! Let’s do it.”

“Alright. Then from now on, make sure you follow my lead.”

“Got it!”

As I answered, Cedar smiled faintly and stood up.

Then, he let out a short sigh, closed his eyes, and reopened them. In that brief moment, as if a switch had been flipped, his expression changed entirely.

‘Huh?’

He had the same facial features, but the aura he gave off was completely different. I stared at him in amazement.

‘So this is Cedar’s default expression in the novel?’

He looked like a total bastard…·

Sensing my gaze, Cedar suddenly turned his head toward me. Then, he strode over and…

“Gah?!”

He grabbed my hair and slammed me onto the interrogation table!

“Ugh!”

It didn’t hurt as much as I expected, but the sheer force pressing down on me was so overwhelming that I couldn’t even lift my head. My breath caught in my throat.

“W-What the hell—?!”

“Stay still.”

His sudden roughness and the shift to informal speech froze me in place. I wanted to ask what the hell he was doing, but before I could, I heard the thick iron door of the interrogation room creak open.

Creaaak—

“Your Excellency.”

“Immanuel.”

The man called Immanuel stepped into the room but hesitated when he saw Cedar gripping my hair.

“…Has the interrogation not finished yet?”

“There wasn’t much to get out of him.”

Saying that, Cedar smirked before suddenly stroking my hair. The soft touch only heightened the tension. As cold sweat dampened my scalp, Cedar spoke as if a good idea had just occurred to him.

“There’s a banquet tonight, right?”

“Yes. Do you need anything for it?”

“Milos is a country with highly developed culture, so… wouldn’t the prince have a better sense of refinement than our crude Imperial swordsmen?”

“…”

Neither Immanuel nor I responded, but Cedar continued, humming lightly.

“If the prince attends, it could make the victory banquet more glamorous. What do you think?”

“If you wish for him to attend, we can arrange it…”

“Louis, wouldn’t you like to attend the banquet? You have been locked up for so long, you must have missed out on eating good food.”

His tone was gentle, but the underlying coercion made me tremble as I replied.

“…Yes.”

Only then did Cedar finally let go of my hair. My heart was still pounding violently, and I couldn’t bring myself to look up.

Cedar whispered softly, leaving my back trembling behind him.

“Then I’ll see you tonight.”

Immanuel quickly followed Cedar out of the room. Left alone, I stared blankly at the closed iron door and let out a hollow sigh.

‘This bastard… why is he so good at acting out his character?!’

He said he hadn’t even read the novel, but he was playing Cedar perfectly…

Just how did he survive this long? I was starting to realize having memories from another life could be used in a way like this.

‘This is basically a cheat ability, isn’t it?’

Even though I knew Cedar was Haejin, the way he had crushed my head down and then gently stroked my hair made me feel like I was going to suffocate.

‘Wow, my heart’s still racing.’

Cedar must have had a reason for doing this. I recalled the plan we had agreed on.

A show of dominance…

‘He probably wanted to display my humiliation in front of his adjutant, right?’

And the invitation to the banquet must be part of that.

‘I need to brace myself.’

Seeing how well Cedar played his role, I realized I needed to match his performance too. In dramas, bad acting stood out more than great acting.

A prince who is weak, whose kingdom was destroyed, whose family was all killed and only one brother survived is on the run… yet even he can’t be helped…

There’s no way I should be smiling. I let my lips droop as I thought about my character.

‘Faced with an enemy general forcing him to attend a banquet, he’d be wary and terrified, barely able to breathe, unable to respond properly…’

It was best to hesitate before replying to anything Cedar said, as if I were too scared to process it. Maybe I should cry, too…?

‘Wait, but would a royal cry that easily?’

I didn’t know what Louis’s real personality was, but since Johan had been so protective of him, he must have been fragile. So rather than showing a proud royal demeanor, it was better to act like my spirit was completely broken.

‘Alright. I’ll be obedient.’

After organizing things up to this point, it was decided how Louis would act in front of others. I cracked my knuckles and closed my eyes.