Chapter 7.13
“If it were me…”
The nobles rolled their eyes and listened intently to Daniel’s words. With an impassive expression, he delivered a chilling, horrifyingly graphic scenario.The longer he spoke, the more ashen and sickly the nobles around him became.
Among them, some retched, while one noble who had hoped to make his daughter the Crown Princess turned yellow-faced and quietly backed out of the ballroom. Even Judy Esther muttered, “Brother, that’s too harsh.”
“Impeccably excellent.”
“Just a few examples.”
“A genius’s methods of punishment are truly innovative.”
Judy Esther thought it was anything but innovative. Unlike her, Richard was very satisfied. It was the moment she realized the Emers family and Richard were of the same breed. When on the same side, they were formidable allies; but if enemies, they would have to cross an irreversible river.
“But will there ever be a need for me to put those torture devices to use?”
If Judy Esther didn’t marry Richard, there would be no need for them. Daniel carefully examined Richard. Today, his silver-rimmed glasses sparkled unusually brightly.
“17x² – 161xy + 17y² = 225.”
Daniel recited the strange equation in a calm voice. Silence fell over the hall.
At last, the final hurdle. All eyes focused on Richard to see if he could pass Daniel’s challenge. It was so quiet that one could hear even an ant crawl.
Richard, however, remained composed and spoke in an unruffled voice.
“Rotate the equation of the ellipse using rotational transformation and draw a straight line through it using absolute values at its center? Oh, how lovely. You end up with a beautiful heart-shaped graph.”
“Is my gift to your liking?”
“Very much so.”
Apart from the two of them, no one had a clue what was being said. Only Judy Esther managed to recall an old movie she’d seen in her past life about math geniuses. But even that memory had only come to her because Richard had explained it was a heart-shaped graph—she didn’t understand a thing about that 17x business.
For Daniel to recite the formula so casually, and for Richard to unravel it right away…
Judy Esther shook her head at the two of them. She now realized Richard was a genius on par with Daniel. Seeing him converse with her brother so effortlessly drove that reality home. He really was the male lead who had all the world’s gifts poured into him.
“Now, I can only hope that none of the torture devices I’ve invented will ever have to be used.”
Daniel’s lips curled into a smile as he looked at each noble in turn. That must be what they called the devil’s grin.
Judy Esther finally understood why she had died in the original story. In Adrian, a royal could take multiple wives. Even if Richard fell for Ella, there would have been no problem with him marrying Judy Esther as his crown princess. It would have strengthened his position to have the powerful Emers family on his side while taking Ella as a concubine.
The real problem was the Emers family itself. Both in the original story and now, the father and son of the Emers family—both completely devoted to their daughter and sister—would never have allowed Ella to be taken as a concubine. Judy Esther would have agreed with them, of course. So, to claim Ella or protect her, Richard would have had no choice but to eliminate the Marquis of Emers. In the process, Drummell, close ally of the Emers, would have turned his back on Richard as well. In the end, he would have wiped out the entire pro-royal faction, leaving only the noble faction standing.
Even if Ella had married Richard, she probably wouldn’t have been happy.
Like his mother, Richard would have spent his life with a heart full of anguish. Losing his own power base, he would inevitably have been left at the mercy of the nobles. The part of the original story where he killed Judy Esther and spent a week in the bedroom with Ella was a foreshadowing of the bleak future that awaited them.
The Crown Prince who eliminated his own allies for Ella.
To become king, overcoming his half-brothers backed by powerful maternal relatives, Richard would have had no choice but to win over the other nobles. And to do that, what better way than marrying the daughter of a noble family?
“Would you be happy living with me?”
She wanted to ask him if he was happy to have met her.
“………”
“……?”
Richard and the Emers father and son turned their eyes to Judy Esther. Richard looked at her, his smile gone, his deep golden eyes shimmering with emotion.
“No one has ever asked me if I’d be happy. Everyone just assumed I would be.”
His words made the air in the hall feel heavy. Born with an innate gift for ruling, he had maintained his position without controversy.
“Nothing’s a given. The higher your station, the more there is to protect. The weight of that responsibility can keep you from doing what you want…”
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