Do I think that Christine is pitiful? I do.
Do I feel bad after using her? I don't.
Since the start, Christine and I were enemies. She is someone that tried to kill me, and even tried to kill the people close to me in the process. Moreover, she has supported many of Alan's plans against me.
Why should I feel pity for someone like her?
I was stronger, so I won. If she would have been in my position, she probably would have treated me even worse.
Thus, I made her choose between her lover and her family.
And she chose.
Christine's choice was not surprising. Since the start, I believed that she would choose her family.
After all, although she does love Alan, Alan is also the son of the family that ruined her house, her parents, her siblings, and her entire family. She loves him, but she can not help but resent him as well.
Of course, I was not stupid enough to trust her completely. So I put a small suggestion on her mind to make sure that she fulfills her promise.
When I finished telling her what I wanted her to do, Christine fell silent.
"… It's… Simpler than I thought."
"Is it so?"
"It is." Christine looked at me with a strange expression. "To be honest, I was expecting to suffer a lot when I came here. I was ready even to lose my virginity."
I chuckled with an amused expression.
"It's a good idea."
To be honest, I was considering it at the start.
However, I decided not to in the end.
To me, sleeping with Christine is not something necessary. Certainly, I can hurt Alan this way, but there are other methods to do it.
And right now, I don't have much interest in sleeping with her.
Now that I have completed my greatest wish, that kind of thing doesn't look as interesting as before.
I'm going to spend eternity with my women, so I prefer to spend my time loving them and making sure that they felt cherished instead of sleeping with every beautiful woman that I see.
Christine looked at me fixedly when she saw that I did not seem interested in making a move on her.
"… Actually, Prince Claus, I don't hate you and Princess Dina too much."
"Really?" I raised an eyebrow curiously.
"Really. We were enemies from the start. What you did was what I would have done. However…
"… I hate the Empress, Earl Riea, and Alan. I hate them deeply.
"They were supposed to be my allies. My family put everything on the line to support them. But then, we were discarded when we lost our use and became a burden, treated like traitors despite everything we did for them!"
"It looks like you have a lot of resentment inside your heart, huh."
"I do." Christine smiled self-deprecatingly. "Funny, right? I was once the fiancée of the crown prince, future Empress of this empire. However, I'm nothing more than a traitor right now.
"… I know that Alan wants to make me his empress despite the current situation. And I know that he loves me. However, I also know that it is impossible… And despite my love for him, I can't help but hate him as well.
"It was due to his words that I trusted him. His words were the reason why I convinced my family to give our full support to him. And my foolish love for him was the reason why my family fell into ruin.
"How can I not hate him? Every time that I see him, I can't help but think about the pain and hunger that my family is suffering right now."
I looked at Christine and put a hand on my chin.
"Why are you telling me this, sister-in-law?"
"Because I agreed to cooperate with you."
"Mm?"
"I hate Alan, but I love him as well. And I don't want to ruin the last hope of my family due to my love for him."
Taking a deep breath, Christine stood up and looked at me with an expression of determination.
Then, she slowly started to unbutton her clothes.
… So it ended with this development anyway, huh?
"… Are you sure about this?" I asked.
"I am." Christine nodded firmly. "I love Alan, but I have never given him my body. I promised him that I would do it when we marry.
"That is his greatest proof of love towards him, and my greatest proof of love towards him. So, if I sully it… If I betray him with the person that he hates the most, then I will not hesitate to betray him again when the time comes.
"This is the only way to shatter all my hopes with Alan. If I want to betray him cold-heartedly when the time comes, I need to do this."
I stared at Christine's determined brown eyes for several seconds before sighing.
"You are a very decisive woman."
Then, I stood up as well.
"Very well, if that is what you want, I don't mind it."
Certainly, I said before that I prefer staying with my women than with someone that is technically my enemy.
But hey, I don't plan to reject a palatable dish served on my table.
Thus, I walked slowly towards Christine and grabbed her hand.
"Come with me. This is not the place for something like this."
Then, I teleported the two of us to my room.