I want him to taste humiliation, far worse than what I did.
“Of course, we have prepared something that will convince you otherwise as well, Prince Rudolf.”
“? and that would be……..?”
“Yes. From here onwards, we, the Andersen family will pledge ourselves to directly back you instead.”
Sheila put her hand on her plump chest, and quietly proclaimed so.
Her emerald eyes seemed to sparkle, as if trying to bewitch me.
“………you do realize that to support me is turn the entire Empire into your enemy, yes? And also, I believe you personally don’t have the right to make such an important decision by yourself, Lady Sheila.”
“Of course, but my mother has also already agreed that we should support you as well, Prince Rudolf.”
If I recall, Andersen house has always been headed by a woman since many generations ago.
And the girl in front of me, Sheila, must have also inherited her mother’s intelligence, and negotiating skills as well, considering how she’s acting in front of me right now.
Now then…………..what should I do with this.
In the first place, I have no interest in the succession war, and just wanted to live in some remote………well, that was my old dream, though.
Now, I wanted to be like him, the person I respect the most…….like Marquis Fahlcrantz.
For that reason as well, I needed to separate myself from the royal family and then get adopted into Liz’s family as the son-in-law as well.
I shot a quick glance towards Liz.
When I did, she noticed me, and then simply gave a smile and nothing more. It would seem, she intends to let me handle this matter all on my own.
In that case,
“I appreciate this valuable offer but, alas I must refuse your support. And so, I’ll have to ask you to prepare a different offer instead if possible.”
“!?!”
Hearing my reply, Sheila’s eyes widened with shock.
She must not have expected this response to come from me.
But from my perspective, to gain backing from a noble family also means to show consideration back to them constantly as well.
As long as I have the Fahlcranzt family behind me, I don’t need to tie myself to other unnecessary obligations.
And also, for someone who was aiming to separate himself from the royals, having my blood used like this was not something I appreciated.
“………May ask why? For you, who has no allies inside the Imperial Palace, this should have been a very good offer.”
“Well it’s quite simple actually. Your conditions are actually not useful to me personally whatsoever. That’s all.”
As Sheila stared at me trying to figure out my intentions, I simply shrugged my shoulders.
“That said, I doubt you would simply relent that easily either, Lady Sheila. I’ll give you a month, to prepare something other than the current conditions, and then I’ll consider it again. How’s that?”
“………….very well.”
She must have realized that there was no point debating further either as Sheila frowned, but still gave a nod.
“Then, let’s move on to the next topic. You said you wanted to my help, but what exactly did you want me to do?”
“Ah yes, well, we simply want you to be present during the negotiations Prince Rudolf, that’s all. Of course, as someone on the Andersen family’s side.”
“That’s……….really? is that all you want?”
“It is indeed.”
Upon my questioning, Lady Sheila replied without any change in expression.
Even though she should have been a little shook from my rejection, she still seemed in control.
But still, hmm……….from what I’ve heard, I didn’t need to do anything, so it doesn’t really sound that difficult either.
But.
“As you already know, I am currently allied with Brother Fredrik. And I imagine that during the negotiations, Queen Alicia and of course, Robin will also be there. In that case, simply by me being there, it’s more likely that the negotiations would go in a worse direction instead.”
I imagine my presence will make things difficult for Queen Alicia, and Robin will almost definitely explode and ruin the negotiations upon the mere sight of me.
So I don’t really get why………………..Wait.
“You don’t mean………”
“Ehehe, it seems you’ve guessed it.”
Seeing the bewilderment on my face, Sheila acted bashful.
It would seem that the Andersens actually want the negotiations to completely break down by bringing me there.
Which means……….they never had any intention of negotiating from the very beginning.
“Prince Rudolf, do you not think it’s entirely obvious? I didn’t make any mistake, and through no fault of my own, I was treated so rudely completely one-sidedly, and of all things, I have been made a victim of a scandal because of him falling in love with someone else’s fiancée. Do you really expect me to simply accept it all?”
“………………………………..”
In sharp contrast to her smiling face, her eyes were filled with rage.
Hearing that, I to was lost for words.
“That’s why, I……..the Andersen family, demands that Prince Robin be punished for it. I want him to taste humiliation, far worse than what I felt.”
And then, Sheila flashed a toothy grin.
“……….Forgive my impudence for asking this as I think I already know but still, Lady Sheila what were your feelings towards Robin…….?”
“I had no feelings whatsoever. That’s precisely why, I can’t forgive him for doing this to me, even though he’s just Prince Robin.”
I see………….the fact that fool Robin shamed her is what truly angers her.
“Very well.”
“……..Huh?”
“I, Rudolf Fürst Baldyk will accept your request after all, Lady Sheila.”
As Sheila looked at me perplexed, I gave a bow with a smile upon my face.