Chapter 4
Seeing her son’s snarky face, sparks flew from Empress Yekaterina’s eyes. Having risen to the position of Empress after suffering every kind of humiliation as a B-Class Guide, she was known to have a temperament likened to that of a lioness.
“Crown Prince, apologize to Baroness Linier. She is a noble who has received her title from His Majesty the Emperor. How dare you…”
At the icy glare directed at him, Kasselard flinched.
“You’re not challenging His Majesty’s authority, are you?”
He had expected that if he openly insulted that Guide in front of everyone, both Their Majesties, especially Her Majesty the Empress, would be angered. Kasselard spoke in a smooth voice.
“How could I, as a son, possibly challenge my lord father’s authority? I am merely stating the facts—”
“The reality is simply that she is the only Guide in the Empire whose match rate aligns with you, Crown Prince.”
At the Empress’s sharp retort, a pout of dissatisfaction rose on Kasselard’s face.
“She’s two whole ranks lower than me, so what does the match rate matter? Guiding wouldn’t even work unless it’s contact guiding!”
At the Crown Prince’s loud voice, the faces of the Empress and several Guides flushed red all at once. The fact that guiding had to be done through sharing fluids was an issue whispered about among nobles. It was one of the reasons the treatment of Guides had sunk to the worst level.
It was also why Transcendents tried to bind Guides to their side through marriage and the like. There were no Guides who wanted to perform contact guiding with multiple Transcendents.
Guides’ minds were worn down and their abilities declined, and there were countless cases of suicide. That was why guiding was officially recommended only up to kissing, yet most Guides refused even kisses.
Ephinia too felt as if she were being branded a prostitute, and her face burned with shame. She had merely been exploited while working as a maid who cleaned corridors. She had simply worked without being paid, yet she had to hear such words, and tears welled up.
‘You must be very happy to have been born a Crown Prince! I had to work as a maid because my own father sold me!’
The Crown Prince was a being she was afraid even to look at. She could not possibly shout such words at him. Even if she poured out her circumstances before all the nobles, it would only earn her mockery. She knew well from working in a count’s household that no one would sympathize.
Nobles were disgusting bastards who pretended to be lofty.
Ephinia clenched her trembling fingertips. She worried whether she could properly raise her voice, but thankfully it came out quite loud.
“Your Majesty…”
When she spoke, the murmurs ceased, and even the Empress, who had been trying to scold the Crown Prince in a lowered voice, fell silent. The Crown Prince glared at Ephinia as if to say, what nonsense are you about to spout.
“Please, allow me to withdraw. His Imperial Highness has…”
She tried to endure it, but tears rolled down her cheeks.
“…I believe I have been sufficiently humiliated. Please allow me to leave.”
The Emperor was momentarily at a loss for words. He knew her complexion had not been good after hearing the Crown Prince’s verbal abuse. Now that he looked closely, it seemed she might faint if left any longer.
‘She must have already been very tense, having become a noble from a commoner.’
Letting Ephinia withdraw in this situation was not ideal, but if she were left here and fainted in front of everyone, that would be an even bigger problem.
It would become a case of the Crown Prince openly persecuting a Guide. And it was not as though the Karnan Empire were the only nation in the world, and Guide shortages were the same in other countries as well.
“I will apologize on behalf of the Crown Prince. You may withdraw.”
“…Thank you.”
Ephinia quickly paid her respects and stepped back. All the nobles gathered there saw her fingertips trembling violently.
As silence fell, arrow-like gazes converged on Crown Prince Kasselard. Kasselard felt somewhat awkward.
Why? What! Did I say anything wrong?!
He had intended to demean Ephinia here and break the Emperor and Empress’s resolve, but with what had just happened, he had become the perfect aggressor. Especially the compassionate noble ladies could not hide their displeasure, sighing behind their fans.
In particular, those who had been born commoners and later awakened as Transcendents, thus gaining a place here, could not help but look unfavorably upon the Crown Prince. As nobles of commoner origin, they were in a position where they had to wait a long time to be matched with a Guide.
“Crown Prince. I believe we need to talk.”
Yekaterina said this while glaring at Kasselard with eyes that looked ready to kill. Kasselard felt a chill run down his spine, but he followed the Empress nonetheless.
Left alone, the Emperor looked around at the nobles. The atmosphere in the ballroom was in a miserable state, but no matter what, he could not simply leave the gathered guests unattended.
“It seems this is a moment that calls for music.”
He did not feel like going on about his son’s foolishness. When the Emperor looked toward Duke Lanas, his wife’s nephew, the Duke and Duchess stepped onto the floor. Soon, gentle music filled the ballroom.
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