Maxentius' POV

The palace got gloomier all of a sudden, and it's mainly because the beloved princess of Daemonorops fainted even without harboring any grave illnesses to cause such a feat. The maids and butlers were all disspirited, the knights have no will to train and even Nehemiah-ou had a dark aura hovering over him.

After eating a light breakfast, I placed and sat on a stool to her bedside. I just stared at her unconscious figure from her beautiful silver hair scattered around her pillow and her porcelain-like pale skin.

After fighting my hidden urge, I finally managed to caress her cheek with my right hand and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Sese-chan..."

"Hngg..." I heard her groan that I stood up in the blink of an eye.

"Are you awake..?" I asked in uncertainty.

"..."

Maybe it was just my imagination. I've lost her many times already, I can't let that happen again. The gods know how much I need her to pacify me whenever I feel the need to drown this world in eternal suffering.

"Your Imperial Highness, I bear great news!" Quatre said as he shamelessly went inside the room with Un. When they saw me, their bodies started trembling in fear.

"Hurry up and said it, I'm busy." I asked in impatience.

"Many commoners are sending a petition to His Imperial Majesty about the issues relating to Countess Machiavel and Earl Adolf. So far, the Emperor ignored it making some prominent higher nobles step in."

"Oh?" I reacted in feigned surprise. "A

So they also saw this as a chance to trample on those two? I must commend them..."

*gulp

"Among those who sided with the petitioners, the most note-worthy would be Duke Cassias and Marquis Hollard."

"An illegal casino owner and the secret merchant guild master? Duke Cassias must be planning to eradicate those two's influence in the underworld so he could rise to the top while Marquis Hollard... hmm, why would a respectable merchant such as him participate in this?"

"Trois spied on him as what you would've ordered and found out something gruesome. Marquis Hollard sells fake paintings and jewelries and after a client pays for it, he secretly steals it back. And if that person knows, the marquis will eliminate him not leaving a drop of blood in the crime scene behind."

"Oh~ho~ For now, tell ojiisama to find more evidence to indict Countess Machiavel and Earl Adolf. We need to eliminate those two first, but as for Duke Cassias and Marquis Hollard, let's just let them enjoy their limited freedom."

"Yes, Your Imperial Highness."--Un

"We shall follow your orders, my liege."--Quatre

I prisoned Quatre with my gaze.

*hic

"Hey Quatre, have you found a way?"

"*hic* Y-Yes..? *hic*"

"Have you found a way to catch a bird?"

"Why would you need to catch a bird, Your Imperial Highness?" Un curiously asked. "Aren't you already a grandmaster in hunting, sire? Why don't you shoot one in the woods?"

Even is he's the most skilled in my assassination squad, he's the most shameless and annoying. Hah, what a waste it will be if I killed him right now.

"What nonsense are you speaking? Why would I catch some useless bird?!"

*sigh

"Your words confused me, Your Imperial Highness." He cleared his throat. "What did you really mean, my liege?"

"It's because she keeps slipping out of my grasp. She's starting to suspect me..." I rested my chin on my hand. "How to catch her permanently~?"

"Why don't you bait her first, Your Imperial Highness?"

"Bait her..?" I asked in interest.

"Give her some foods she deems her favorite. That way you can get used to you and she won't notice that you're slowly trapping her."

"I must commend you, your idea is quite good. How did you come up with it?"

"Every time I try catching a rare specie of birds, I always research for some foods it will like. When I encounter it again, I'd throw my bait to it and it immediately comes closer to me for more."

Oh, so that's how it is~

But I never saw her eat some food more frequently than the others. She'd anything that is put on the table that I have a hard time finding out about her favorite. Even if I have to analyze how long she eats a certain food, it's always the same duration.

Should I ask her? But will my intentions be easily revealed? Despite her denseness, she still has keen eyes.

"I wonder how I'll do that~"

"It's the first time I saw you being this uncertain about something Your Imperial Highness, don't you always handle everything with ease? Why do you have a difficulty in catching a bird?" Un shamelessly commented that a tick grew in my forehead.

"Un, I think you've tattled enough, should I get rid of you now~?"

*gulp

Good thing you still know your place, but you're also right. All the things that I wanted to obtain fell to my hands except her pure affection. How do I make her mine?

"Your Imperial Highness, I've read many romance novels and all of it were about dark-hearted male leads and innocent female leads. The guys got the girls through the powers of skinship and light seduction."

"Oh, so you read those kinds of books? Interesting~" He flinched that I snickered at him in ridicule. "Don't tell me Un, you'r--"

"I am a man, sire!!"

"Oh~?"

"I swear to the goddess Centifolia, I am a healthy and straight man..!!"

"Seriously Un, I'm just messing with you~ And to you, Quatre, also."

"Your Imperial Highness..?"

While the Coelacanthian Crown Prince was jesting with his pitiful subordinates, the King of Daemonorops completely destroyed his drawing room. The desk and chair were turned to bits and the ceiling, the walls and the floor were cracked beyond repair.

"Curse those annoying bugs! They dared to send me these useless gifts for Sese-chan's recovery when indeed, they are currying favor so one of their sons could be her fiancé!!"

"Calm down, Your Majesty..!"

"How could I calm down when they're so persistent on making their sons the prince consort?! How daring of them!!!"

"Himesama is still asleep Your Majesty and you still haven't slept a wink, why don't you rest?"

"Fine..."