try begging
The fancy restaurant behind the House of Lords was bustling with members of the House of Lords having lunch after their last meeting before the year-end recess. At one table in the middle of the room, the Archduke and the Count sat across from each other.
Leon thought that the one who had chosen the time and place where so many nobles would be watching for the gathering of the two families must have been the Archduke Yakdiyak.
"Count, when did you say your film would be released?"
In what way was that my movie? Leon replied blandly.
"I don't know about that. I think you can just look at the posters on the street."
"The Count is so busy that he doesn't have time to worry about such trivial things."
The mother sitting next to me laughed and chimed in.
"The opening will be on Christmas Eve."
"Oh, there are two weeks left."
"Isn't that day also the third anniversary of the Count becoming the hero who saved the kingdom? You heard from Rosaline that there's a preview at Prescott tomorrow, right?"
The Archduke nodded, his face dimly showing signs of embarrassment. The more the mother kept her mouth shut, the more the topic strayed from the author's purpose in mentioning the movie.
"So Rosalind and my family got to see each other two weeks earlier."
Although it may have been intentional, Mother spoke of the Archduchess and the Winstons in front of the Archduke, as if to make it clear that the Archduchess was not family. Leon cast his eyes at Jerome, who was sitting next to the Archduchess at the round table. When he saw the look of discontent on his face, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.
"I sincerely hope it will be a success."
"thank you."
"To become the head of parliament, relationships with the House of Lords and the royal family are important, but these days, public recognition and reputation cannot be ignored either."
Finally, the Archduke revealed his intentions.
Count Leon Winston is aiming to become the youngest ever Prime Minister.
This was the rumor that circulated in royal and aristocratic circles. It was a rumor that sprouted as he appeared frequently in the press.
It was a funny story for Leon. He didn't want that and it couldn't happen. The king, who had the power to appoint, still kept Leon in check for avenging his family.
He thought that the sprout of a rumor would soon wither and die. However, he was perplexed when the members of his own party, especially the Grand Duke, tried to nurture the sprout and make it a fact.
"Isn't there any better way to shake the ignorant public sentiment than through movies?"
"Yes, that's right."
When the Grand Duke again threw his weight behind him, his mother, who was full of expectations that her son would become the youngest Prime Minister in history, responded enthusiastically. When she returned to the town house, she would probably catch him and ask why he was not showing any enthusiasm for the position.
But Leon knew better. Even if I were to become Prime Minister, I would be a puppet king to the old people. Just like Little Jimmy.
The mother, who could not have known such a thing, continued to listen to the Archduke with sparkling eyes. However, once the Archduke began to talk about marriage, she kept her mouth shut.
"Oh, my. I see all the works here."
"Your Majesty, it's been a while. How is your knee?"
The Grand Duke left the room for a moment to greet another member of parliament. His mother, who was relieved to be temporarily free from the pressure of the Grand Duke to marry, probably did not know that there was a spy among his troops.
"If it's been more than three years since you got engaged, it's time to move on."
It was really admirable of my brother to try to make it sound like he was talking in passing while slicing the deer meat on the plate. Jerome was trying to hasten his marriage to his brother in order to gain a legitimate basis for living under the same roof as his lover.
"Honestly, it would be impolite to keep the Grand Duchess unmarried for so long... ."
"I'm fine."
The Archduchess sitting next to him spoke in a low voice, pretending to be humble. His mother glared at Jerome with displeasure, but said nothing. There was nothing wrong with what her second son said.
"There is talk going around in social circles and in the media that it is bad for the reputation of both families...."
"That's right. It's not good for the successor either."
Leon, who had been silent until now, suddenly intervened.
"Let's have the wedding. Your Highness the Grand Duchess, how about next spring?"
Even though he said he would grant her wish, his fiancée did not respond. My brother's face turned ashen.
Why? I said I'd marry you both as you wished, but why are you smiling?
But the only one laughing at the table was Leon. It was because he had used the excuse of being the heir to bring forward the wedding.
"I want to hug my successor as soon as possible. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever had this conversation with you before. How many children would you like to have? To be honest, I would like to have enough to form a polo team."
He hates children, but he wants to have four. When his mother looked at him with a look of disbelief in her eyes, Leon smiled with the corners of his eyes widening.
"I didn't know, but I found out recently that I really like children."
I could vividly feel the slight trembling of both the corners of my eyes and my mouth.
"Ah... but Your Majesty... ."
The Archduchess, who had been deep in thought at the suggestion that he would sleep with her, stammered and opened her mouth.
"Didn't you promise me that you would help me finish my studies?"
The Grand Duchess was attending graduate school in the capital. Jerome had also moved to the capital a long time ago, making excuses here and there.
"Well, school and a child. It's hard just hearing about it. You can have a successor after you finish your schooling..."
When Jerome, who was speechless from being caught off guard, also started to babble, Leon pretended to negotiate but made threats.
"For me, this marriage has no other meaning than producing heirs."
No, that's not what it means at all. The engagement to the Archduchess was just bait for Jerome to use when he was about to launch his final operation. That's why it was left there.
"So, if you are not going to have a successor, there is no need to get married. However, I must respect your wishes, so I will postpone the marriage until you have completed your studies as Your Majesty desires."
"...thank you."
Leon acted arrogantly as if he was doing her a favor, but the Archduchess did not respond and instead thanked him for postponing the wedding.
Now those two shameless foxes won't talk about marriage for a while.
Leon smirked beyond the wine glass he had tipped to his lips. Preventing his sister and fiancée from getting what they wanted was one of his few pastimes these days.
Do you think I'll just be used like this?
From the beginning, Leon had no ill feelings toward them because he thought they were just using each other for their future with their respective lovers. However, he felt disgusted when he saw them stepping on him while he was stuck in the mud and dreaming of moving on to a bright future.
"I hope the movie is a hit."
The Archduke said these words as his last greeting for the year and left with the Archduchess. He got into the Winston family's sedan that had stopped in front of the restaurant and started complaining as if his mother had been waiting for him on the way back to the town house.
"It's clear that the Grand Duke's family is the one publishing articles about an imminent wedding."
No, that's what the second son is doing, shamelessly linking arms with his mother.
Perhaps Grace still didn't respond to his provocations because Jerome kept spreading rumors about their imminent marriage. She wanted to shut down Jerome's media company and keep him out of the media world, but she couldn't do that because he would be of great use later.
"The Archduchess is becoming increasingly unsatisfactory. She seems more interested in physics than in becoming the mistress of a household."
"It's astronomy."
"The subjects that men learn are actually no different, Jerome."
Jerome intervened and corrected her slip of the tongue, hurting her mother's pride. In doing so, he seemed to have touched off a fuse that triggered her nagging.
"Why are you like this?"
"What should I do?"
"Why are you trolling the Grand Duke's family like this? When did our family's status change? I never thought I'd say this, but Jerome, please follow your brother's example."
I'd rather be in the annex hell.
This is also hell. Leon sighed. From this car to the townhouse, having to endure these writers was hell.
And there's even a preview.
He knew that tomorrow, too, only hell awaited him.
º º º
The department store was bustling with people looking for Christmas presents. It was the time when I was holding my child's hand and getting off the elevator, which was packed like a can of sardines. The clerk stopped Grace and shouted.
"Give your princess a gift of the toy of the year chosen by Princess Elizabeth!"
What the clerk was pointing to with his hand was a dollhouse. A huge, ornate dollhouse that reached as high as Grace's shoulders.
Her heart sank.
No. Ellie, don't look.
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