How to Survive as a Princess in a Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 65
After leaving the alley, Cirilla immediately returned to the palace. Her heart was still racing.
‘I didn’t think I’d get caught.’
Cirilla was confident in her abilities. Though she was young and her mana circuit wasn’t fully developed yet, the amount of mana she possessed was mostly determined from birth.
This was especially true for the royal family, who inherited the mana of the original dragon of Lublin. It was an absolute rule.
The closer one’s hair color was to silver, the more strongly they were influenced by the original Silver Dragon, meaning they inherited a great deal of mana. It was as if the choice of the next royal was decided from birth.
In that sense, it was entirely natural that Nepheli, born with pure silver hair, would become Evgenia.
However, an unexpected change occurred, and Nepheli was swiftly ousted from her position as a prominent contender for the throne. Instead, Meliana, supported by her family’s power, became the new strong contender.
When Cirilla was born afterward, her hair was lighter than Meliana’s and she possessed even greater mana, making her a potential threat to Meliana.
But Cirilla’s birth came with a fatal flaw, her father, Equus Cecil, was a puppet of Morris Futurum.
No matter how great her abilities were, if she had a leash on her from the start, she would only ever be a useful tool. That was the exact role Cirilla played.
Morris Futurum had warned Cirilla that they could kill her at any time, and Equus Cecil had also told her that she must not make enemies of Morris or Meliana. She had to obey whatever they wanted.
A child, whose sense of self had not fully formed, was unaware of the value of her own power and was easily swayed by those around her. Naturally, it was to be expected that she would distance herself from Nepheli, who they despised and saw as an obstacle.
Nepheli, who had lost her strong claim to the throne, gradually became isolated within the royal palace. Originally, she had a fragile nature rather than a strong one, and without resistance, she accepted her circumstances.
Even with the powerful tools at her disposal, Isaac Harsen and Killis Yelpen, she chose to remain discreet, quietly keeping to herself.
Meanwhile, Meliana, with Morris Futurum’s help, was steadily gaining control of the political scene. At this rate, she would smoothly ascend to become Evgenia.
The first signs of change in her came at the banquet.
“……There is.”
“Meliana’s opinion has merit, but as you originally feared, it seems like a heavy burden. Even if we push this off now, every time the prune harvest fails, they’ll come asking for help.”
She wasn’t shy about voicing her opinion to Evgenia.
Despite Morris Futurum probing and criticism, she didn’t shrink back.
“Is that not acceptable?”
Instead, she asserted herself by countering. At that moment, Cirilla was quite surprised.
It wasn’t just Nepheli’s rebuttal that was shocking, for her, Morris Futurum was someone you couldn’t oppose.
For Nepheli to stand up to Morris? It was unimaginable for Cirilla. Not just her, but most people would never have expected Nepheli to do such a thing.
Morris seemed flustered and irritated, but quickly brushed it off, knowing that this one incident wouldn’t change Nepheli’s position.
In fact, Morris openly declared that Nepheli’s argument was ridiculous and that no matter how much Evgenia pushed, it would fail.
Eventually, he said, they would come to acknowledge that Meliana’s devotion to giving up the Uolo plains had been the most helpful contribution.
Morris’s words were half true and half false. The former was about the Uollo Plains, and the latter was about Nepheli. Surprisingly, Nepheli’s argument was well-received.
It wasn’t just a stroke of luck—Evgenia had begun to take notice of Nepheli.
The news that Nepheli was separately called in, praised, and given a key to the national treasury worth 1,000 gold, greatly angered Morris.
Then, when he heard that Nepheli had requested an outing, he seemed to become even more anxious.
“That girl has changed. Follow her and keep an eye on what she’s doing while she’s out.”
There was no option to refuse. Cirilla had been well-trained since childhood, like a dog. She knew well what would happen if she disobeyed—she would be beaten to the point of almost dying.
Some might ask how a princess could be treated that way, but Morris Futurum was capable of it. In front of Evgenia, he was a loyal dog, and the First Duke. Also, Equus Cecil was his pawn.
Even if Cirilla was sick, Morris, the First Duke, would block it, and Equus, her father, would also block it. Evgenia herself would have given up on visiting.
“You should be able to spy on that girl without her guardians noticing.”
But then…….
