1 - Oneshot

T/N: As much as this story focuses on the seduction of the female LI, please be aware that the MC is bisexual, polygamous, and has both male and female love interests.

MC is also a manipulative, sadistic blackmailer who toys with people specifically because she knows they’re stupid, easy to trick, and cute, but I thought that the above might be a bigger deal-breaker to some readers.

On that day, the Duke’s Daughter Lady Nice witnessed it.

Lot, the country’s First Prince and her fiance, was having a lovely time chatting with another young lady.

That other lady was Therese, the daughter of the Count and a classmate of theirs.

Her glossy golden hair is curled up in vertical drills, her limbs are slender yet sensual.

Her emerald eyes were a bit narrow, but Nice thought she could see her strength in them.

The scene was a salon inside their school.

For some reason, Nice heard Lot’s voice through a half-open door.

As a noble lady, it was probably not a good idea, but Nice was curious and decided to look inside.

There, she saw Lot and Therese chatting happily at a table.

An engaged young man alone with a member of the opposite sex in a private location.

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It was a situation where you couldn’t help but suspect he was having an affair.

If the Prince became King, he may surround himself with concubines.

In fact, the reigning King surrounded himself with three concubines in addition to his queen.

Therefore, it doesn’t matter that Lot is making friends with women other than Nice.

The problem is that he was keeping it quiet to his legitimate fiance, the Future Queen, Nice.

Up till now, Nice was unaware that Lot and Therese had such a close relationship.

The atmosphere radiating from those two as they smiled at each other was not something you would see with strangers just meeting for the first time.

If he intended to take her in as a concubine, Lot didn’t have to hide his relationship with Therese from Nice.

Lot and Nice have known each other for quite a long time.

He should have known that Nice would accept concubines.

But foregoing that means that Lot has no intention of welcoming Therese in as a concubine.

Isn’t he just playing with fire?

Or is he going to welcome her as his queen?

In the latter case, she cannot overlook this.

And just then, as Therese was still happily chatting away in the salon, she noticed Nice and turned to her.

“…!”

Oops.

Nice was caught peeping.

But for some reason, Therese didn’t even mention Nice, even though she was sure she had been caught.

On the contrary, it seemed she was more involved in her conversation with Lot than before.

(Ah, I understand… you’re deliberately showing off to me your relationship with His Highness,) Nice thought. (You even bothered to leave the salon door half-open.)

It was easy to guess.

Did she want to see Nice’s face in regret, after revealing Therese had taken Lot for herself?

(For goodness sake, what a stupid girl.)

Nice was engaged to the Prince.

This wasn’t just a story about their love for each other.

It was no exaggeration to say this was a power struggle among the aristocrats.

No matter how much the Prince desires it, Lot could not change his fiancee.

And in Therese’s case, she was the daughter of the Count going up against the daughter of the Duke.

Therese was not coming out of this unscathed.

She hadn’t even thought about it, her risking destroying herself just to laugh in Nice’s face.

(For her pride, she thinks she can overlook my status, as a peer of the same age and from a higher family.

Instead of just harmless flirting like the other young ladies, she’s choosing the path of conflict.

(How idiotic, how inadvisable—and yet so very cute.)

Her shiny hair, her soft body, her strong eyes, and her pride.

All of them were so cute to Nice.

(Until now, I haven’t touched Therese to act as a future queen would, but if it’s in response to a move from another party, it’s fine, isn’t it…?)

Nice licked her lips.

“My, my if it isn’t Lady Nice!”

It was the day after Nice witnessed Lot’s affair, she was walking down a hallway of the school when Therese approached her with her blonde drills bouncing.

“Good morning, Ms. Therese,” Nice said, smiling gently.

Until now, she had never received this sort of greeting from Therese.

Considering the timing, this was probably because of the incident at the salon yesterday.

“You’re looking beautiful day today, aren’t you, Lady Nice?” Therese said. “There seems to be no exaggeration to the claims of your attractiveness.”

“Thank you very much,” Nice replied. “You’re also very beautiful yourself, Ms. Therese.”

“Oh dear, thank you!” Therese replied. “It’s an honor to be complimented by you, Lady Nice. In fact, His Royal Highness Lot often compliments me as well. He calls me beautiful, too.”

Therese grins.

(I see, that’s her play…)

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As she’s the one Lot loves, she’s probably trying to one-up Nice by showing off to her.

Nice thinks she’s quite adorable immersing herself in that sense of superiority.

“Oh, by the way, you’re His Highness Lot’s fiancee, aren’t you, Lady Nice?” Therese asked. “I wonder if you also get compliments from His Royal Highness?”

It’s an outright provocation.

Therese probably already knows the truth.

Lot has never whispered such sweet words to Nice.

Their engagement was built on political alliances.

It would be possible to grow to love each other after their engagement was decided, but Lot never talked about love.

For Nice, who had been educated to be the future queen, she thought her engagement with Lot was for the country’s sake, and even if there was no love in it, there was nothing else she could do.

And she thought Lot understood that, too.

“His Highness and I are poised to devote ourselves to the country’s development,” Nice replied. “It’s an engagement just for that, there are no personal feelings in the matter.”

“My, my, what a positive attitude!” Therese said. “As expected of you, Lady Nice. But can a person who doesn’t even love their betrothed love the people?

“Are you referring to His Highness?” Nice said. “I’ll play deaf and dumb this time, but you shouldn’t say that before others.”

“I’m referring to you!” Therese yelled.

It seems that Lot is trying to get rid of Nice.

All that aside, Nice does love Lot.

Just not in the same way.

“So you were addressing that to me?” Nice said. “While we’re on the subject, I would like to ask you for your opinion: do you think you’re more suitable to be the future queen?”

“Yes, that’s right…” Therese said. “If His Highness can whisper his love to me, then I think I’m better suited to be Queen than you, Lady Nice.”

Therese does not even bother to hide her smug smile.

For goodness sake, why does she even look like that at all?

Therese may be ridiculing Nice, but if she makes such an endearing expression, Nice couldn’t stand it.

Nice approached Therese with her right hand raised.

“M-My,” Therese stammered. “Is someone of your status going to get violent, Lady Nice? It’s fine, do as you please. B-But, I will spread the news about this!”

She probably thought she was going to slap her cheek.

Though Therese is trembling, she’s clearly trying her best to take advantage of the situation.

Even though she was such a simple-minded person, her bites against the Duke’s Daughter only make her more endearing to her.

She looks like a puppy cutely nibbling on something.

Had Nice ever seen anyone so adorable?

Nice gently put her hand on Therese’s cheek, Therese had her eyes squeezed tight as she braced for impact, however unlikely.

Then, Nice gently stroked her luscious lips with her thumb.

“Eh…?”

Therese’s eyes go wide from Nice’s unexpected behavior.

Her face goes through so many different emotions at once.

It makes Nice want to see even more of her expressions.

“You talk big with this mouth of yours, don’t you?” Nice said. “If you’re too noisy, I’ll have to shut you up myself.”

Nice seductively licked her lips.

As she saw that alluring gesture, Therese probably understood what Nice just meant.

With her face burning bright red, Therese backs away from Nice, turns her back to her, and runs.

“Oh dear, oh my, she’s shy,” Nice said. “How cute.” 1

Nice smiled as she watched Therese’s back grow smaller and smaller.

It was the next day.

Once more, Therese rushed over to Nice.

“You made fun of me yesterday.”

It seemed that Therese had decided to take yesterday’s exchange as Nice toying with her.

Nice, however, was a serious individual.

“Good day to you,” Nice said.

She gives the same soft smile as yesterday.

“I was surprised by the suddenness of it all, but don’t think it’ll work twice,” Therese said.

It seems that Therese has decided to be difficult.

Nice would like to try for sure if it no longer worked, but that may not be the way to go.

“Incidentally, Ms. Therese, you have an older sister, don’t you?” Nice said. “I’m certain she was married to the Marquis the other day.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Therese said. “My sister is a good person. It’s no wonder she was married to the Marquis’s family although they were higher than us. Why, we could even marry into the royal family, don’t you think?”

She was saying it all with such passion.

Like usual, she isn’t even bothering to hide her relationship with Lot.

“Congratulations,” Nice said. “However, I witnessed something. I believe your older sister was meeting with a man outside of the Marquis’s family.”

“Wha–!” Therese gasped. “That’s not true! My sister isn’t the type of person to do that!”

“I see, forgive me, then. I’m certain it was my mistake, yes? The other party was a Baron below your family. He was a classmate with your older sister, and although he was from a different family, they seemed to be on good terms, so it was rather perfect circumstances.”

“… No way, my sister can’t be with that man?” Therese muttered. “No, but maybe…”

Therese goes from being prideful and happy to facing away from Nice as her face turned blue.

Perhaps she thought Nice’s claim was true.

In fact, there were lies in this story.

Only the part that Nice witnessed it herself was false, the rest was reliable intel obtained from the Duchy’s Intelligence Department.

“Supposing word gets out that your older sister who just married the Marquis was having an affair, the alliance between your Houses might be shattered, wouldn’t it?” Nice said.

“Are you certain you want to be threatening me?” Therese asked.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” Nice replied. “However, someone told me that a loveless marriage cannot make the people happy. For the sake of the people in your territories, I think it would be better for your sister to marry the Baron’s family. Although, I don’t know if someone who ruined her marriage with a Marquis can wed another.”

“I knew it, you’re threatening me!” Therese shouted.

Her face was bright red.

She was a person whose facial expressions changed very often.

Nice also loved that angry face of hers.

“If you want to say it, just say it!” Therese said. “A bad relationship with the Marquis doesn’t mean that our House will collapse so easily.”

“That’s true,” Nice said. “By the way, I remembered one more thing. It’s about the Countess.”

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“Y-You mean Mother?” Therese asked. “Fuhn, you can’t possibly be implying Mother is having an affair? That’s just not possible. Mother is still very close with Father.”

“Of course I know that,” Nice said. “The loveliness of their marriage is famous.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Therese said.

“However, I saw them the other day,” Nice continued.

“What did you see?” Therese asked.

She was already sitting down.

Even though she was putting up a strong front, she seemed to be completely terrified by the prospect of what Nice was about to say.

“In the middle of the night, in the woods behind the Count’s mansion, the Count had the Countess stripped naked and tied up before he had her way with her.”

“…!” Therese balked. “Stop! Don’t tell me about my parent’s play!”

“It was amazing,” Nice continued. “The Countess looked so ecstatic as the rope was biting into her skin. We’re of the same sex, but I was still so taken.”

“Yiaaahh–!!” Therese screamed.

Unable to withstand the shame, Therese ran away.

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“If I tie you up as well, Ms. Therese, I wonder if you’ll show me that same expression,” Nice said to herself.

She squirmed, imagining tying up her dear one and leaving them helpless.

They saw each other again the next day.

Without any restraint, Nice’s dear one stormed up before her.

“You!” Therese snapped. “Yesterday, you teased me about my parents ‘hanky-panky!”

“Good morning, Ms. Therese,” Nice said. “By the way, what do you mean by ‘hanky panky’?”

“Please, take a guess!” Therese snapped.

An angry, blushing Therese was also cute.

“Certainly, you have enough information to ruin my family, Lady Nice,” Therese said. “But it doesn’t matter. If I become queen, I will have the power to silence such things.”

At last, she was insisting she could become queen.

There were no people around them, but she was still being too careless.

It’s fun to watch Therese being an idiot, but if she did something too crazy, she’ll fly out of Nice’s hands and destroy herself.

That’s no good at all.

“Are you planning on marrying His Highness Lot?” Nice asked.

“What is it?” Therese asked. “Are you jealous that you’re not loved by His Royal Highness? Well then, I’ll tell you. His Highness will formally announce it soon: he will break his engagement with you and get engaged to me instead, you see? It’s your punishment for sitting with your legs crossed and looking down on His Highness from the position he affords you.”

Even though Therese is cheating on Nice’s fiance, Nice seems to be the one being despised, but regardless, all is well.

“Ms. Therese,” Nice started. “Do you really think you can become queen if you marry his Highness Lot?”

“What are you being so stupid about?” Therese asked. “It’s natural, isn’t it? His Highness Lot is the First Prince of this country. Because I’m going to marry His Highness, I’m inevitably going to be queen.”

“If I may interrupt, Ms. Therese,” Nice said. “Do you know why I, the Duke’s Daughter, was arranged to be wed to His Royal Highness Lot? This was to reduce unnecessary conflicts by concentrating power with the First Prince.

“If you married Prince Lot, Ms. Therese, then the Second Prince would sure come forth with objections. Unlike my family being second only to the royal family, your House is led by a Count. Your family will be the relatives of the next king, so it won’t be an acceptable situation for the other Counts or the Marquises, who are currently superior to your family.

“For sure, a faction that will appear that supports the Second Prince and pushes for him to be the King instead. It would be nice to settle the matter through negotiations but that wouldn’t work. Without a doubt, there will be a civil war to decide the next King.

“If that happens, the Duchy, who was deprived of their engagement with the First Prince, and the other high-ranking aristocrats should side with the Second Prince. This isn’t even taking into account the differences in military strength.

“If the First Prince loses, he will be executed. Of course, you will be as well, Ms. Therese.”

Well, it’s not going to play out like that in reality.

But it was no issue.

Nice just needed to be able to shake Therese at the moment.

Even with such a childish story, she can’t help but imagine this stupid and adorable Therese would buy it.

After all, it’s not an outlandish possibility.

“You’ll be a central figure of the First Prince’s faction, and I’m certain you’ll be considered guilty and given a death sentence,” Nice said. “It won’t just be a beheading. You’ll be crucified in the city square, left exposed to the sun until you starve to death.”

“Hiii…” Therese squealed.

She was probably imagining herself being crucified.

Her red face was now a deep blue.

(She’s trembling so much… oh, goodness, why is she so cute?)

As Nice approached Therese, she put her face in her hands.

As she touched her, she could see Therese quivering.

“People don’t die so easily,” Nice said. “They’ll show the people their slow deaths as they’re exposed to the wind, rain, and the sun for days on end. They won’t be allowed to relieve themselves in the bathroom or be bathed. You can see their filth dripping from them as they’re surrounded by a foul odor.”

“I don’t want that…” Therese whimpered, “no way, I don’t want that at all…”

She’s already half-crying.

Because she’s such a simple girl, she can easily be convinced to do stupid things with just one sweet word from Lot.

After wiping Therese’s tears with her thumb, Nice still goes on.

“The anger of the people caught in this conflict will be considerable. I’m sure they’ll curse your name daily, Ms. Therese. To them, it’ll be all your fault. What a pitiful fate, Ms. Therese. But no one will be able to help you. After all, you’ll all be killed.

“Everyone will die with you because you did something so foolish. His Highness, the Count, his wife, your sister. Everyone will die. All because of you.”

“T-That’s all wrong…!” Therese said. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen…! I just wanted to become Queen, so…”

“It’s too late now,” Nice said. “After all, won’t His Highness announce your engagement soon?”

“Ah, aaah, aaaahh….!” Therese screamed. “I have to stop His Highness right away…!”

Therese tries to run, but Nice hugs her tightly.

“Let go of me!” Therese cried. “I need to see His Highness immediately!”

“Calm down, Ms. Therese,” Nice said. “Isn’t your relationship with His Highness a secret? No matter how much His Highness likes you, I don’t think you’ll get what you want if you suddenly appear in the royal castle.

“But it’s alright: I will help you.”

“… Eh?” Therese asked.

From struggling, Therese suddenly stopped and turned to look at Nice with wide eyes.

“I wanted to get along with you, Ms. Therese,” Nice said. “If it’s for you, I’ll manage this situation, even if it’s a little crazy. Don’t worry, I’m still the Duke’s Daughter and the fiancee of His Highness. With my word, you can go in and out of the royal castle, and I can even protect you.

“… Ah, but you hate me, don’t you, Ms. Therese?” Nice continued. “You even robbed me of my fiance. Your pride won’t allow you to be helped by someone you despise. I’m sorry I’ve kept you.”

With a sad smile on her face, Nice let go of Therese.

At that moment, she was certain she saw the despair coming over Therese’s face.

“Kih, I don’t hate you!” Therese cried. “I want to get closer to you! So please help me!”

Therese desperately grabbed Nice’s hands and pleads with tears in her eyes.

The warmth from her trembling hands feels rather comfortable.

(Ooh, more, Therese! Show me more! )

“I want to help you, too,” Nice said. “But I can’t trust you on your word. Because of what happened, yes? All those words you spoke to me these last few days.”

“Oh, ooh…!” Therese whimpered. “What have I been doing…? Lady Nice, please forgive me for all my rudeness!”

Therese knelt on the spot and hung her head as well.

What a pitiful sight!

She’s kneeling before the person she was ridiculing earlier and looks so cute doing it.

But that’s why Therese is so dear to Nice.

Nice gently prods Therese and hugs her.

“Raise your face,” Nice said. “Your feelings were well-said. I will definitely protect you. I’m on your side no matter what happens. My beloved Therese.”

“Thank you very much… thank you, Big Sister Nice.”

Nice enjoyed hugging Therese and the softness of her skin, all while Therese’s cheeks were burning red and her eyes were moist.

“Your Highness Lot,” Nice said. “I, Lady Nice, am here to see you.”

“Nice?” Lot said. “I understand, come in.”

“Pardon me,” Nice said.

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Nice looked at Lot with a peaceful expression.

Lot thought Nice was up to something.

He frowns.

“It’s unusual for you to visit me outside of public affairs,” Lot said. “What on earth are you here for?”

“Your Highness, I have one thing to speak with you about,” Nice said.

“Tell me,” Lot said.

“It’s about Ms. Therese,” Nice said.

The moment he heard the same, Lot’s eyes shot wide open.

He immediately composed himself, but Nice picked up on Lot’s becoming upset.

“What about Ms. Therese?” Lot asked.

“It’s about your thinking of breaking your engagement with me and becoming engaged with Ms. Therese instead.”

“…?! How do you even know that?!” Lot snapped. “Impossible, did Therese tell you?”

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“Yes,” Nice said, “Ms. Therese seemed to be quite fond of you, Your Highness.”

“… Well then,” Lot said. “You’re right, I am thinking of welcoming Therese as my Queen. Unlike my engagement with you, there is love between me and Therese.”

It’s Love, wasn’t it?

Nice thought it was possible to fall in love later, even if the engagement was decided by other persons, but what was about now?

“… Is that so?” Nice said. “However, Ms. Therese seemed to be both pleased by her engagement with His Highness and simultaneously worried about her future.”

“What is she worried about?” Lot asked.

“Ms. Therese is a very thoughtful person,” Nice said. “She is the daughter of a Count and knows she’s too lowly to become Queen. She lamented that her ascending to the throne would become a source of conflict and hurt the people.”

What she was really worried about was her safety.

“Oh, did she really think so much about the people?” Lot asked. “As I’ve come to expect of her. But when it comes to respecting her thoughts, what should I do…?”

“How about welcoming Ms. Therese as a concubine?” Nice asked.

“Out of the question,” Lot said. “Therese is suitable to become Queen.”

“Then, you can’t love Ms. Therese as a concubine, only as your Queen?” Nice asked.

“That’s not the case!” Lot said. “I fell in love with Therese’s personality, not her status.”

“In that case, it doesn’t matter if she’s a concubine,” Nice said. “If I become Queen, there will be none of the conflicts that Ms. Therese worries about. Your Highness can love her as your concubine. So you see, there are no problems anywhere.”

“Well, but…” Lot said.

“Your Royal Highness, Therese becoming Queen would be a thorny path,” Nice said. “Don’t force her to walk such a harsh future.”

“… Yes, you’re right,” Lot said.

So simple.

His stupidity may be comparable to Therese’s.

That’s why Lot is so adorable, even if Nice doesn’t love him.

“Nice!” Lot yelled. “What have you done to Therese?”

“My, my, Your Highness,” Nice said. “Whatever could you be talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me!” Lot yelled. “Isn’t that a strange sight?!”

Lot points at Therese clinging onto Nice.

“Big Sister Nice!” Therese says. “You’re coming over to my mansion today, right? I ordered a lot of delicious sweets for you. Ooh, I’m so looking forward to it after school!”

“Thank you, Therese,” Nice said. “Sweets are good, but I want to eat you instead.”

“Seriously, Big Sister?!” Therese yelled. “You’re doing that in a place like this… it’s embarrassing, don’t you know?”

Therese blushed and turned away from Nice.

“Look, this is strange!” Lot said.

“I think this is just normal for the adorable Ms. Therese,” Nice said.

“I will admit that Therese is adorable,” Lot said. “But you were never this close in the first place. Until recently, there was nothing suspicious about Therese. Hence, you’re the cause of this current Therese. I’m certain of it!”

“Your Highness, please calm down,” Nice said. “Even if you weren’t concerned, we won’t leave you out of this group. Let’s have sweets together… Therese will eventually come around.”

Lot audibly gulped.

He was so easy to understand.

Therese and Lot.

Nice loves these two idiotic and simple people so much.

She smiles to herself.

Footnotes

If you’ve watched/read “Love is War,” YES, Nice said “O’kawaii koto.”