Celebrity Lady

Lark, who received a canteen from the knights, moistened his throat while sweeping his sweaty hair.

As the daylight pouring down on the training hall fell on him like a spotlight, a broken light shone on his fine silver hair.

“Ugh…”

“Wh-what’s this? It’s too bright. What’s wrong with the weather today?”

The knights, who were staring blankly at Lark, all covered their eyes and frowned. It was probably not just because the sunlight was too intense.

As if he was taking a photoshoot in the middle of the training hall, he was so eye-catching in the midst of the darkened men. This man was none other than Lark van Rashmagh Descarde.

He was the most popular person in the Empire, known as ‘the man to want to be like’ for men of the Descarde Empire and the ‘man to want’ for women.

“Get some rest, Sir Victor.”

“Ah, yes.”

Victor, who had been looking pathetically at his fellow knights with their mouths wide open, shook his head and nodded to follow him.

“I won, didn’t I?”

Lark, sitting idly in the shade, smirked and said.

“Yes, well.”

A gathering place for talented people that no one can join casually, the glorious Imperial Knights Order of the Descarde Empire.

Among them, Crown Prince Lark was the only competitor to Victor Diollus, the deputy commander who boasts outstanding skills.

“I trust you will not forget our bet.”

“Aah.”

Victor nodded at Lark’s question.

There was a bet on the mock battle today. The loser would grant a favor to the winner.

“But what do you want from me?”

“It’s just that these days, I’m a little flustered at every aristocratic meeting. Whenever those people see me, they only ask when am I going to get married.”

“Aha. Well, Your Highness can be considered pretty late.”

Crown Prince Lark was still unmarried and the position of the crown princess was vacant.

In the imperial family history, it is customary to marry at such a young age when the sword in the waist is still drawn to the floor…

‘Coming to think of it, why didn’t he?’

It was certainly surprising that Lark, who is 19 this year, has not been granted a crown princess so far.

Victor asked, tilting his head.

“…You can get married, so why? If you line up the aristocratic ladies who are anxious to get involved with you, there would be ten laps of them circling the capital.”

“I can’t let just anyone in.”

Victor shoved his neck like a turtle in surprise at the unexpected answer.

“What? Does nobody suit you? Or is it that you want to spend the rest of your life with a commoner girl you love passionately?”

“Do I look like the type?”

Lark burst into laughter at Victor’s nonsense.

“That is so cringe-worthy, so let’s refrain from talking about love and other childish things.”

That’s right. Victor let out a heavy sigh.

Crown Prince Lark van Rashmach Descarde. He was considered the most perfect of all the successors of the Descarde imperial family.

At the age of 10 or so, he mastered imperialism, stood out in politics and economics, and excelled in diplomacy. Lark was only thirteen years old when he negotiated a friendship with the Kingdom of Robben, the center of maritime trade.

Is that all?

What do the people want most from the leader of a great nation?

Needless to say, national defense (*preparing for foreign aggression and defending the homeland)!

Lark was also an unrivaled soldier.

‘As long as he’s there as the supreme commander, we’ll win a hundred battles…’

The spirit that Lark wielded was a land spirit belonging to the highest rank. Therefore, the battlefield where he went to war unconditionally became a stage where the imperial army was bound to be advantageous.

Rugged canyons become flat fields, so the enemy cannot ambush them, and even if they are pushed into the defense, there will be sand soldiers standing up. His was power without limits.

It is natural for everyone to praise Lark, who is so perfect. All of them gathered and expected the development of the empire after his enthronement.

And Lark…

‘Will only live for the sake of the empire for the rest of his life.’

To live up to those expectations, he was a man with an obsession to always be perfect.

‘A boring person.’

Victor thought as he shook his head.

He sleeps only 4 hours a day and doesn’t even blink an eye despite his murderous schedule of government affairs and training!

However, this hectic life is also his duty as a successor, a man who has no sense of fun!

“Ah!”

For a moment, Victor exclaimed.

This is because he vaguely guessed what “that” Lark was going to ask him to do as he suddenly made a bet.

‘The fact that he suddenly brought up the story of a marriage…’

Childish love play is the most unnecessary and useless element in Lark’s standards.

Naturally, his spouse, the crown princess, would also be nothing more than a means to become a perfect leader for him.

What are the conditions for the most ideal crown princess that Lark wants?

‘She must of course be a woman who helps his power.’

Only a woman from the Diollus family, which is comparable to the imperial family, would stimulate Lark’s taste.

“You’re asking me to introduce you to my sister, right?”

“Oh, I like that sir is quick-witted.”

Lark smiled brightly.

“I can no longer leave the crown princess seat vacant. Nathan’s been acting weird lately…”

“Nathan, the second prince? Why? More than that, why do you have to ask me for this? If you want to meet Lillia, you can meet her easily, right? She’s always at aristocratic tea parties every day…”

Lillia was, to be precise, Victor’s aunt, but she was three years younger than him, so everyone used to treat her as their younger sister for convenience.

Lillia, the youngest member of the family, referred to as the ‘swan’ of the Diollus family.

Despite her young age, she was already well known in social circles.

Because she was incredibly beautiful, just like her mother, Molga, who took the place of the duchess with only her beauty.

‘Lillia, for sure, is an eye-opener for this man.’

But for some reason, contrary to Victor’s expectations, Lark frowned and shook his head.

“No? Not that one.”

“…I beg your pardon?”

“Isn’t Princess Lillia sir’s aunt? I’m talking about sir’s real sister.”

Victor gasped for a moment.

When it comes to ‘real’ sister…

There is one more, so…

“…No way. Rubetria?”

Lark immediately nodded his head and asked again at Victor’s, who was startled, question.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

***

“Why? Is there a problem?”

Casting the Crown Prince, who is the most famous celebrity in the Empire at the moment, as a model.

As the first step to accomplishing that great task, I took the pretty good advice of Wishit to use Victor, my second brother, who is close to the Crown Prince, and made a rough plan…

“Is there a problem?”

For some reason, Wishit, who gave the opinion, looked bitter.

“There is a problem. Why don’t you think about when you were Juliet Karenina? If the owner of a new clothing store comes to you and asks you to serve as a model, would you do that?”

“Why not if the conditions are right? I mean, I’ve always been generous with sponsorship.”

I added, drawing the shape of money with my thumb and index finger in a circle.

“Because it’s money.”

“Oh, yes. Sponsorship. So you’re going to pay the models to dress up and promote?”

“That’s it.”

“So there is a weak point in that kind of sponsorship.”

“And what is that?”

“The Crown Prince doesn’t need money.”

“Aah!”

Was that a concern?

Looking at me, who burst into an exclamation, like a fool, Wishit clicked his tongue.

“You must have all of Rubette’s memories, but don’t you know much about the Crown Prince? This guy, he’s almost…”

Wishit pointed to my face and narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Should I say a made leader? He’s the boring type who only cares about the prosperity of the empire. Since his image is the image of the imperial family, he censors his every move. I’ve realized this every few times I’ve seen him. Basically, it’s a pretty suffocating personality.”

“So you’re saying, if I ask him to be a model, he’ll definitely reject it.”

When I asked the question after cutting his lengthy words, Wishit looked at me as if I was stating something so obvious.

“But I’m not going to pay money to ask for his sponsorship.”

“What?”

“Of course money cannot move the Crown Prince. How could I not think of that?”

“Then? Do you have any other tricks? Something to make him move?”

Wishit asked with no expectations at all.

Status, wealth, connections… The Crown Prince, who already has everything, cannot be subsumed by money, nor can he be moved with power.

However.

“If I save his life, wouldn’t it be possible for him to be my model?”

“…”

Wishit paused and then asked with sharp eyes.

“…Do you mean to save him? The Crown Prince?”

“It’s not a bad deal. Save the Crown Prince and get a model. Isn’t this killing two birds with one stone?”

I looked at Wishit, who still had the Crown Prince’s face, for a moment with pity.

“Honestly, it is a national loss to not live for a few more years with a face like this.”

Yes, the crown prince, Lark van Rashmagh Descarde, unfortunately, was about to die.

The imperial family of the Descarde Empire, the center of a bloody power struggle.

This was because the second prince, Nathan van Rashmagh Descarde, who was aiming for the successor’s seat, succeeded in assassinating the crown prince.