Chapter 54 - The Treasures in Helsarose

“Are they all hallucinating?”

“Woah, woah. Calm down, Your Majesty,” coaxed the man who had just finished reporting. 

The reason everyone was making him sick and tired boiled down to nothing but stupidity. He couldn’t keep calm. It had only been a week since his return and during that time…

He had been assailed by a sudden wave of marriage proposals. Every night, a different woman was hiding in his bedroom. The nobles had kept sending women to him. 

“Do they have a death wish?” Miltiades genuinely wanted to know. 

“What’s there to be embarrassed about if the empress comes from their family?” someone said, his blue eyes sparkling.

“Achillios.” 

He was a good-looking man, with snow-white hair and an innocent face. And although he acted like everything was the other nobles’ idea, he also took part. 

“Is that why you sent a woman to me? And your cousin, no less?”

“Well, I learned to use every tool at my disposal. Don’t you think we both would have gained something if Katarina became the empress?” 

While Achillios stood smiling, Miltiades couldn’t hide his disgust. 

“I understand where they’re coming from. As the one who knows you best, even I was surprised by how you behaved when you were with the saintess.” 

In fact, Achillios thought he would’ve been less surprised if he had seen the world’s most ferocious beast on a leash. 

“Who would have thought that you would play the role of a father so calmly?” 

Although Achillios knew the situation, he was still shocked. But he was also happy about it. He enjoyed unexpected situations.

“Everyone kept saying you finally learned to love.”

“Bullshit.” 

Achillios smiled at Miltiades’s fierce dismissal, “Well, I think it’s true.”

Others, however, thought differently. A predator who showed his weak spot looked like easy prey. Now that a weakness had appeared, who knew how many more there were?

“You already had countless women around you. I guess there’ll be more.”

“…”

“Now that it’s come to this, why don’t you just follow along? Kill two birds with one stone.” 

“Get rid of them all,” said Achillios, laughing at Miltiades’s low voice. “You didn’t hate playing around with women. You seemed to be having fun.” 

Miltiades’s expression crumbled, and a sharp glint appeared in his golden eyes. He had been that kind of person in the past: unable to sleep at night, so he needed an activity to kill time. And the women who tempted him had been enough. But with time, strong alcohol and beautiful women couldn’t get him drunk anymore.

“Anyways, get rid of them all before I kill them myself.”  

“What a shame. And here I thought Rahel would finally have an empress.” 

Miltiades couldn’t tell if Achillios was happy or sad. Truth be told, Achillios wasn’t interested in Rahel’s empress. 

“Your Majesty, when will you introduce me to the saintess?” Achillios asked, looking at Miltiades with the excitement of a little boy who was entering the palace for the first time.

Miltiades looked at Achillios calmly. Despite his innocent appearance, the latter was actually quite dangerous. He had no scruples. Miltiades’s expression immediately hardened when he thought of Achillios being near the child.

“Drop dead.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll introduce you when you drop dead.”

“…”

Achillios’s face fell, “Your Majesty? You’re telling me to…”

“Drop dead,” repeated Miltiades a third time. 

Achillios’s dreams were crushed.  

* * *

I blinked in silent confusion at the huge pile of boxes before me, “What are…all these?”

The servants brought in even more items. I only had a few dresses, robes, and formalwear items, but the closet was full of luxurious dresses. And as if that wasn’t enough, there were also shoes on display. There were even hats and glasses, even though I didn’t usually wear those.

And to top it all off, an extravagant, jeweled tiara sat on a velvet red cushion. 

“A tiara?” my gaze was drawn to it despite the many other items in the room. My eyes widened in awe at the unusually intense shine of the diamonds. ‘I think I’ve only seen this online. How much would I get if I sold it?’

Entranced, I kept gazing at it while Miltiades’s servants proudly explained, “This is from the vault of the previous Princess Royal. It hasn’t been officially sealed yet, but you are the only princess in the Rahel Empire, so you have the right to wear it.” 

I tilted my head at the servant’s proud voice. ‘Did he send this because he saw how happy I was with the heart?’ 

The servant’s expression faltered at my lukewarm reaction, but he cleared his throat and continued, “His Majesty has already ordered us to make room for your things.”

The servant glanced at me. He seemed to be asking if I was happy with it. 

“Hm,” I was happy to hear that he wanted to make a vault for me. I was happy with the pretty things and jewelry. But… 

“Is he the type to give money as a substitute for attention?”

“…” The servant’s face fell. I seemed to have hit the nail on the head.