A Lion Stands Before a Rabbit (6)

The two-person carriage had only one window and one door. Isabelle pushed down her humiliation and made her way to the carriage. A soldier was waiting with the door open.

The carriage was set up with seats facing each other. Across from her was a guard who would keep an eye on her throughout the trip. The guard in charge of this convoy had a disgruntled look on his face.

The last thing any guard wanted to do was ride in a carriage with a prisoner. No one wants to spend days face-to-face with a prisoner in a cramped, uncomfortable carriage. What’s more, this prisoner was a lady of a marquis, albeit a disgraced one.

Guards especially disliked escorting prisoners from noble families, as even if their status had fallen, it could sometimes be reinstated by some event.

It was a rare occurrence in this era of imperial stability, but you never knew.

“Please get in.”

The guard offered Isabelle a seat with a reluctant look on his face. He was only being polite, of course, but when Isabelle seemed to stall, he poked her in the back with his bat.

“Kuk!”

A scream nearly escaped Isabelle’s lips as her wound opened. She glared at the guard, but he only laughed, a look that said, “Oh my, it’s a mistake”. Isabelle’s eyes glazed over, but she couldn’t say a word as she climbed into the carriage.

The jailer looked sorry for himself as he climbed into the carriage and closed the door. The jailer was a woman, of course, since she was transporting a female prisoner.

A man in a court uniform climbed into the coachman’s seat. The carriage rattled and rumbled out of the prison gates.

???

The Marquis of Mirse was being groomed by his servant since early in the morning, inspecting his clothes. He didn’t want to be intimidated by Rosetta’s attire.

Rosetta is now a duchess and would appear in a gorgeous dress. The wealth of the Duke of Arden is recognized by the imperial family. The Emperor would have given her a mine or two! He shouldn’t be held back by her attire.

‘Such simple things must be held down by a dress and a carriage.’

It was unlikely that he could out-dress the Duke of Arden, whose wealth ranked first and second in the empire, but the Marquis of Mirse was confident that he could, at least, dress to impress.

He had a full head of hair, not a belly like many middle-aged nobles. His hunter’s body wasn’t so bad looking after all.

The carriage he rode in had cracked two axles in the rear wheel and would take months to fix, so all he had to rely on was this suit from the capital’s finest dressing shop and his own body.

“Marquis, shall I tighten it?”

The servant who was pulling the laces of the men’s corset asked cautiously, and the Marquis of Mirse, who was already straining at his stomach, shouted.

“Stop pulling, I needs to breathe!”

“Yes, sir….”

Even though his body had been created by calibrated undergarments, he was no match for Prince Michael….

“I can’t help it, that body is….

The Marquis of Mirse’s head, which had been pouting, quietly lowered. ‘How can the prince have a body like that when he’s a wizard? Magic, of course!’

‘It seems like an unfair world….’

The Marquis of Mirse clicked his tongue in frustration, but quickly shook his head. No, the world was fair. Because despite all his beauty, figure, wealth, and power, the wife he found was no other than Rosetta Whirsen. It was clear that the prince had many things, except for an eye for a woman.

‘Why Rosetta Whirsen? There are plenty of other women!’

His daughter, for example.

The Marquis of mirse clicked his tongue and pulled on a shirt and jacket, which, once on, gave no hint of his male corset underneath.

“Hmmm.”

He coughed lightly, checking to make sure he wasn’t having trouble breathing. It was still a little difficult.

‘I’m not going to be able to sit for long.’

But he would have to keep a straight face in front of Rosetta. Adjusting himself in front of the mirror, the Marquis of Mirse looked back at his servants with a look of determination on his face.

“We’ll have to fix that one hole.”

The servants immediately set to work.

???

The Count was reluctant to lend his carriage to the Marquis, but he did so; he didn’t want to publicize the fact that he was hosting the Marquis in his home. The Marquis of Mirse used his power as a marquis to obtain a carriage and ride to the Duke of Arden’s castle.

‘What the… how far does the garden go?’

As he clung to the window, oblivious to the size of the garden, he saw the main wall. It was ornately carved and beautiful enough to make you forget it was a wall.

A carriage pulled up to one side of the mansion and an arrogant-faced servant appeared. When he dared to look at the Marquis of Mirse with a bug-like stare, he spoke with an expressionless face.

“…You’re late.”

How dare you.

There’s a word missing, the Marquis thought. The Duke’s servant had always been the epitome of a servant, but for some reason, his gaze and expression had a hint of pressure.

He seemed to see the word ‘trash’ in the lightest of glances. The Marquis of Mirse seemed to find it simply offensive.

“Please follow me.”

The duke’s chamberlain led the way with a stoic gait. The Marquis glared at the back of his head, unsure whether or not to reprimand the Duke’s servant.

A chamberlain was a chamberlain, even if he was a duke’s chamberlain, and if he couldn’t do it to him directly, he could turn the tables and criticize him by catching his own chamberlain. Though in some cases, it was a way to earn a laugh.

“This way.”

Just walking down the wide, high-ceilinged hallway was enough to make the Marquis giddy. It was said to be as large as an imperial castle, and it made him shiver.

‘Why is it so massive and high?’

Once the Emperor and Empress have a child, he will no longer be called a prince.

There was even talk that the couple had remained childless so that Michael could inherit the throne, but the Marquis of Mirse hoped that was not the case.

‘That would be the end of our family!’

He would defend it to the death. Even if it meant offering the Empress all the fertility pills in the world!

Reaching the parlor, the servant opened the door and waited for the Marquis of Mirse. His cold gaze sent a chill down his spine, but the Marquis of Mirse strode into the room, chin set arrogantly.

It was a vast parlor… with a large fireplace and a set of sofas. The Marquis of Mirse stifled a hiccup as he made his way to the sofa and sat down. The carpet beneath the couch was as plush and soft as ever.

The servant spoke with his eyes.

‘This is a very unworthy place for you to sit.’

The Marquis of Mirse’s servant tried to stand against the wall, as he had done when visiting other noblemen’s mansions, but the wall was too far away. He couldn’t afford to be too far away, as it was his job to be at his master’s beck and call.

The servant wandered around for a while and stood next to a chest of drawers.

‘It’s quite conspicuous….’

It was the nature of a servant in a noble house to be present as if he were not there. The Marquis of Mirse gave him a disapproving glance and waited for Rosetta.

5 minutes….

10 minutes….

35 minutes….

2 hours and 40 minutes….

After eight more minutes of waiting, the tea was served, but Rosetta was nowhere to be seen. The Marquis, exasperated, wanted to storm out, but he doubted he could get back in if he left now.

‘Is this how you’re trying to outmaneuver me?!’

It was one of the dastardly tricks of the trade to keep your opponent waiting in order to take a pawn at the negotiating table. The Marquis had used it countless times, but he hadn’t expected himself to fall for it.

“He’s coming.”

[T/N: Note that when the servant spoke, there was no pronoun used, therefore it was not announced if the one who’s coming is a man or a woman]

The duke’s servant, who approached without making a sound, announced to the marquis. The Marquis of Mirse gritted his teeth and straightened his posture.

He hadn’t forgotten to strain his eyes so that Rosetta, who had opened the door, could see the tears in his terrifying eyes. The Marquis was confident that even his temperamental daughter would lower her tail in response to such a glare from the Marquis.

Step…. Step step….

The door swung open to reveal a gorgeous man. The Marquis was so surprised that his eyes glazed over and he stared at him. Michael spoke in a cold voice.

“What is that look in your eyes? Do you want me to pluck them out?”

Why, Your Excellency?

The Marquis of Mirse turned white in a mere 0.2 seconds.

“Why is it not Rosetta!”

If earlier the atmosphere felt like a mild northern breeze, this time it was felt like the icy whirlwind of the Arctic.

“…Did you just call my wife’s name, Marquis?”

Calling a member of the royal family by name naturally required permission. The Marquis stared at Michael, unable to close his gaping mouth. He looked like a fool.

He answered, “Yes.”

???

He should have known it when he heard the thudding footsteps. The footsteps of the woman, Rosetta, were lighter.

‘Come to think of it…, the letter didn’t say the sender’s name….’

He doesn’t know if Prince Michael left it out on purpose or not.

“F, forgive me, Your Majesty!”

Calling a member of the royal family by name was punishable by imprisonment. For insulting royalty. Shakily, the Marquis rose from his seat and knelt on the carpet. The bare floor hurt.

“Your Majesty? You’re saying all sorts of things.”

Michael had left the palace two years ago and become a duke. So it wasn’t proper to call him ‘Your Majesty’; it was just that the Emperor and Empress still wanted to call him Prince, and they wouldn’t stop themselves from calling him Prince Michael.

When the emperor and empress do it, the other nobles want to follow suit.

Prince Michael had long since become a sort of nickname, passed around in his absence.

“Y, Your Excellency, I have sinned to die!”