122

The first step to escaping gaslighting is to change your environment.

Try to resolve it by talking with the person who gaslit you? It’s more realistic to believe I became the Chancellor. That was true in my case too.

‘It took about a year to get out…’

Through friends and professional counseling, I realized it was gaslighting.

After that, I avoided contact with the team leader as much as possible. My mind calmed compared to before, and I gained the distance to view my condition objectively.

As a result, I succeeded in getting a job at a large company.

Although I couldn’t make the first day, reference checks, final acceptance, and salary negotiation were all finished, so it was fair to call it a success.

In Prince Raven’s case, it was even worse.

‘He was living under the same roof with a family member who was also a superior at work.’

Make them believe, then manipulate them.

Make them break down on their own.

It was a truly vicious method.

I only saw him once, but he treated lives like flies, so the Crown Prince seemed close to a psychopath. A man like that wouldn’t have felt guilt for acts like this.

“Let’s check the people first.”

He must have manipulated those around him to erase tasks Prince Raven had done or to create suspicious situations. Otherwise, a perfectly sane person wouldn’t suddenly become an anxious fool. It was highly likely Prince Raven had planted his own people as aides.

As expected.

“Brother, you said you’d recommend professionals to take care of me…”

“You changed them all.”

He nodded.

‘That bastard Crown Prince.’

It must have been their only thread of hope at the time, so they accepted it without suspicion. I inhaled heavily.

“You said you wanted to get away, right? The Crown Prince appoints his pages, servants, and maids. If the staff sent by the palace isn’t to your liking, you can replace them. Send a message right away saying you want to recruit new people.”

“Without a clear reason…?”

This wasn’t the time to argue about that. We had to act as quickly as possible.

“The image of His Highness the Crown Prince is someone shut up in the palace who no one knows what he thinks. So say something like he’s boring and you’ll recruit someone new yourself.”

“…I had that image…”

He seemed trapped in his own thoughts and unaware of how he appeared to others. There also seemed to be no one to tell him.

This wasn’t just about replacing aides.

“Have His Highness pick personally. Tell me the candidates you want to choose and I’ll check once more whether the Crown Prince has planted anyone among them. Even so, it’s likely his people will sneak in. My goal in replacing the Crown Prince’s aides is the attendants.”

“Attendants?”

Attendants. A royal attendant often serves as an aide as well.

When there’s much work, they have a separate aide, but Prince Raven had little to do, so his attendant handled aide duties—someone the Crown Prince had appointed.

“While the new staff are being assembled, His Highness must find a trustworthy page. That position must not be filled by someone of the Crown Prince’s.”

“Brother, won’t he be upset…?”

Prince Raven was anxious. Understandably so—it’s hard to accept the truth about a trusted brother; he saw it as betrayal. But if the relationship had been normal, would there be any need to worry about replacing a single attendant?

‘The Crown Prince frequently fires his aides.’

Building one’s own faction is also a royal skill. So royals fighting for rank obsessively plant spies among each other’s aides.

“He’ll say something like that. You can’t change a royal’s aides at will, even if you’re the Crown Prince, without his consent.”

Still reluctant, the prince kept his hands clasped and his mouth shut.

I didn’t press him and instead thought up a justification the prince could accept.

“The Heir once offered me an aide position as well.”

“…Really!”

“I refused, though. So if the Heir asks, say you heard he recruited a new aide and you wanted to take this chance to change yours too. That’s believable, right?”

“…Better than the excuse of being bored.”

It seemed workable. I eased his anxiety further.

“After notifying the palace, say you’ll travel and get some fresh air until candidates are shortlisted. You’ll want to stay away from the commotion anyway. You can also avoid meeting the Crown Prince for a while. If it’s all right, I’ll take you to the Libertas estate you were recently granted. The castle was just refurbished and has a private beach, so it won’t be bad to stay alone.”

“…Understood.”

Getting away from the people and environment that only caused the prince pain was most urgent.

“Have you come?”

Crown Prince Lawrence greeted the man who entered his room with a fake smile.

“What did you call me for?”

His cousin Vespera, radiating cold chill, gave a brief nod and sat opposite.

He was deeply displeased that Vespera, who ranked below him and had less power, received the people’s respect. Even the Emperor treated him like a cherished nephew. Worse, Vespera showed no fear of him, the future Emperor.

“I’ve been hearing interesting news lately.”

A page gracefully set down tea, but Vespera didn’t even glance at it.

Vespera clenched his fist as the incident where Ria almost drank poison came to mind. Whether he knew or not, the Crown Prince leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and sipped his tea.

“If you have no other business, I’ll be going.”

It was when Vespera was about to stand.

“Dominic and Eldo.”

The Crown Prince set his cup down with a clack on the coaster.

“I heard the Ministry of Justice is taking those two to make them work.”

“It’s business cooperation. I officially requested it from the Chancellery.”

“Of all people, mine?”

He didn’t bother hiding it.

Vespera’s red eyes slowly swept the Crown Prince sharply. Suddenly the Crown Prince burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! Oh, it’s nothing. One of your people left because you made things so hard. It put me in a bit of a bind.”

“…”

“Well, I know. The rumors about you in the central ministries are rampant. Workaholic madman, demon, fiend—lots of things.”

He himself seemed unaware of how others perceived him.

“Because they are Your Highness’s people, I expected them to handle the tasks you assigned responsibly, so I called for them. Since you’ve heard, you know. The work intensity wasn’t different from my usual; Dominic is just weak.”

Lorence waved his hand with a slightly pale expression.

“I hope this doesn’t happen again. That’s why I called you. Recruiting people every time is bothersome even for me. Still, with Eldo staying it was easy to raise him to first-rate. Anyway, remember that.”

Vespera wanted to say it wouldn’t happen if Lorence stopped assigning trashy tasks to cover his scandals, but the returning page ruined his timing.

The page whispered into the Crown Prince’s ear.

“…Raven?”

At the unexpected name, Vespera pricked up his ears.

“Hah, being unnecessarily troublesome. Put our people among the candidates.”

“Understood.”

The page bowed and quickly left the room.

“Tch. Still, it’s all in my palm.”

“Seems you have business.”

Vespera probed gently. The Crown Prince shrugged it off as nothing.

“What good is a fly’s struggle—it’s still just a fly, isn’t it?”

Then he poured the tea in front of Vespera into the potted plant by the window. It was the same pot that had held Ria’s tea. The fresh flowers that had been brought back withered dark in a matter of seconds.

“If only you learned a bit like others.”

“…”

Vespera was sure the act that had upset the prince moments ago was connected to Ria. The reclusive prince had moved for no reason but her.

The palace said it would take some time in response to Prince Raven’s sudden order.

‘It must be to have time to insert the Crown Prince’s people.’

If they had to place someone’s people, the Emperor’s people would be preferable… Even if it meant disadvantaging maids and valets, the pages had to be filled with Raven’s people. Meanwhile the prince, saying he wasn’t feeling well and would get some air, was packing for a trip. As he was skilled with the blade, he planned to take only a minimal retinue.

‘Hmm… still, the current pages won’t do.’

It was clear he couldn’t rest comfortably.

I wanted to reorganize the current escort, but I knew it would meet resistance. After all, he was royalty.

I was so absorbed in thought I couldn’t even touch the dessert.

“What are you worrying about, Coco. I’ll go.”

“…Aidan?”

Aidan, who had resumed coming to our house as soon as he became Magic Tower Master, popped a piece of cake into his mouth and nodded nonchalantly.

“If you go, everyone will accept it, but you’re now the Magic Tower Master. Is it all right for you to do that?”

“I’ve been curious about Coco’s estate anyway. If I want to be favored, I need to make an effort.”

“Huh?”

Aidan smiled without a word and changed the subject.

“The guard is settled then—who will take on the page role?”

“I’ll do it.”

Nicola, who had been listening quietly at the side, raised his hand. His father, whom they had brought to Resera, was fortunately treatable, so a weight had been lifted.

“This is how I pay back a debt.”

‘I’m uneasy.’

I felt an inexplicable unease watching Nicola’s kind smile.