Although Corellia said they would only be entering a superficial marital relationship and didn’t need to truly become a couple…
But they would still be married.
Caine had seen many stories like that, hadn’t he? The kind of romantic comedy where the characters had no feelings or were even hostile before marriage, but started falling in love afterward.
Even if Corellia appeared calm and indifferent, no matter how he looked at it, Caine felt like he was the one getting the better end of the deal.
And Caine was not the type of person to believe in a free lunch.
He did not believe he could marry a Queen without paying some sort of price.
He seriously suspected that Corellia wanted him to handle her troublesome affairs as the Prince Consort so she could slack off and enjoy herself.
After all, Corellia had said they were the same person. Since Caine wanted to live a quiet and comfortable life, there was an eighty percent chance she did too.
Besides, it hadn’t been confirmed that she wasn’t the culprit. What if she really was the one behind it? What if she had staged the night raid just to trick Caine into being her ‘double’ and fool him into marrying her?
“…Corellia, your suggestion is good, but let’s put it on hold for now.”
No matter how he thought about it, the suggestion was far too abrupt and ridiculous.
For the sake of safety, Caine pressed his aching head and declined the massive temptation that anyone else would have been desperate to accept immediately.
“…That is fine, but why? From a rational standpoint, there shouldn’t be any problem. You would gain a standing in this world, and I would no longer need to worry about marriage. Compared to a stranger whose background is unknown, another version of myself is much more trustworthy, isn’t that right?”
Seeing Caine refuse, Corellia did not get angry. Instead, she agreed to his wish to put the matter aside.
However, she intended to get to the bottom of why he refused. She felt it was a good suggestion for both of them.
As she voiced her doubts, Corellia naturally folded her arms under her chest, further emphasizing the already prominent and majestic curves of the Queen.
While she seemed to be tempting Caine in an offhand manner, her expression remained as cold as usual, making it impossible to tell if she was doing it on purpose or unintentionally.
“…That’s only if *you* can feel at ease, Corellia.”
Regarding her question, Caine only glanced at her before quickly looking away to avoid letting her influence his judgment.
Caine’s voice was full of helplessness.
Corellia was certainly at ease with him, but what would others think?
A man of unknown origin entering an engagement with the Queen and becoming her husband so quickly?
Wouldn’t that cause an even greater uproar?
It was a wonder Corellia could even come up with such a proposal.
“…Hmm, I won’t deny that. Rather, that is the most important point. The opinions of others are not worth mentioning. As long as you and I feel at ease, that is enough.”
Corellia did not deny it. As she admitted it frankly, she also inadvertently displayed her strength and arbitrary nature as a Queen.
She wasn’t joking; she truly felt that the two of them being together would be a good thing for both sides.
“…Is it possible that you are worried about being unable to vent your desires, Caine? You can rest assured about that. I will accompany you. In the end, this kind of thing is just like taking care of it yourself. As long as we take contraceptive measures, you can do whatever you want. Of course, if I have needs, you must accompany me as well.”
Perhaps sensing that Caine was not convinced, Corellia suddenly seemed to think of something after a brief moment of silence.
She continued to speak those ridiculous words bluntly in her majestic, cold, and pleasant voice.
Hearing her state her position like this—good grief—Caine could only marvel at her words.
Corellia really didn’t treat him as an outsider at all to be able to say such things so casually.
What did she mean by ‘just like taking care of it yourself’? Just how thick-skinned did she have to be to consider that self-service?
“…That’s not the issue. Anyway, let’s end this topic here.”
Seeing that the Queen’s narcissistic tendencies were becoming more and more severe, Caine immediately called a halt to the conversation.
“…It seems you have other concerns, Caine. Fine, let’s keep this suggestion as a last resort and discuss other solutions first.”
Corellia would certainly not be so lenient with anyone else; no one else could tell her to stop and have her actually do it.
But since it was Caine, it was another matter.
She nodded slightly to show it was fine, then released her arms from under her chest and resumed a natural standing posture to discuss other solutions with Caine.
For example, secretly arranging guards to lie in wait in Caine’s place, or conducting a secret investigation of everyone in the Royal Palace — very serious suggestions, unlike her previous one.
She was so earnest while discussing these methods that it was as if the words she had just spoken had never happened.
Because it was getting late and would affect their rest, Caine did not stay long before leaving.
As for how to handle the matter, the two decided to discuss it further during the day. For tonight, they would each go back to sleep.
Having left Corellia’s bedroom, Caine naturally did not go to sleep right away since he had slept a lot during the day. Instead, he intended to go back, turn on the lights, and read until he felt sleepy.
He wouldn’t be standing guard tonight. After all, it was impossible for the attacker to come back after already visiting once during the day.
…Furthermore, after being in the same room as Corellia, it wasn’t easy for him to forget her figure and her remarks.
The attempt to test Corellia had been a failure.
Caine had not been able to figure out whether Corellia was the culprit or not.
Fortunately, there was progress in handling the matter itself. With the Queen’s support, it would definitely be resolved faster. Therefore, looking at the overall situation, Caine considered it a minor victory.
As for Corellia on the other side?
“…”
She simply looked at the door of the room silently, then sat down in front of the mirror without saying a word.
The face reflected in the mirror was one she was all too familiar with. It was a cold and heartless face. Although the ice-blue eyeshadow and lip makeup looked a bit strange at first, she had long since grown accustomed to seeing them on that face. In fact, she felt like something was missing if they weren’t there now.
Even she had to admit that it really suited her.
Someone had used the same lip makeup as her to raid Caine at night and deliberately left a lip print on him?
That was certainly bold. If she caught them, they would surely be executed.
Unfortunately, that would not happen, because the person who had committed such a treacherous act was indeed herself.
As for the reason?
Naturally, it was because she also wanted to win Caine over.
The version of her from another world, the male version of her, was quite simply the best possible substitute.
If she could keep Caine by her side permanently, she didn’t know how much easier things would become for her.
Although she wasn’t a total narcissist, the current her didn’t have many romantic feelings for Caine as a male version of herself.
However, there was one thing she could be sure of: the act of raiding Caine at night truly made her, who considered herself cold and heartless, feel pleasure and heat.
Even though she had been a virgin with only basic knowledge and zero practical experience before meeting Caine.
But that first night raid had made her unable to resist being so intense. At the very least, it proved their physical compatibility was excellent, didn’t it?
It was a pity she couldn’t get Caine to agree to be her husband tonight, but fortunately, he had put it on hold rather than refusing outright.
It seemed she would have to think about how to take down the male version of herself from another world later.
As for tonight? Anyway, she should sleep. She wouldn’t get addicted to raiding Caine every night just because she had experienced an unprecedented sense of excitement… probably.