Kneel Before The Villain

Chapter 22

I pondered on the Crown Prince's words.

If what he said about Claire and not being lovers was true, then their relationship was very tenuous.

She was much closer than a friend, but not a lover. ...Claire might think so too, but it's not hers that's important, it's the Crown Prince's point of view.

I thought as I held the chess horse in my hand.

Then what exactly was Claire to the Crown Prince? A friend? A mistress? If she was not a lover, did he think of her as a toy?

Probably not the latter, judging from his attitude towards her. There were some nobles who occasionally comforted beauties of lower status than themselves. However, their attitude and the Crown Prince's were completely different.

There was a similar but subtle difference between a lover and a concubine, and a concubine and a toy. In particular, the boundary between lover and concubine was a particularly blurry one. A concubine was like a lover, but a little lower than a lover.

'Does the Crown Prince intend to make Claire his concubine?'

The empire had a Queen system and a concubine's system.

The Empress was the officially recognized concubine, and the concubines were naturally lower rank than the Empress, but they would be treated better than the royal family who lived in the palace. They occasionally threatened the status of the Empress, if they were more favored than the Empress.

And while they were not officially recognized, they were instead treated as "people of the emperor" and could freely come and go from the imperial palace with the emperor's permission.

Of course, they often lived in the Imperial Palace and received a kind of dignity maintenance fee.

Claire's low status would make it impossible for her to become an Empress, but it would be possible for her to become the Emperor's concubine.

Now, even in the situation of a Baron and a daughter with no power, Claire still had the favor of the Crown Prince on her back, and she had Roxana to play with in her own hands.

However, if she later gained power and became the Emperor's most favorite concubine, what would happen then?

It would certainly be an incomparable headache compared to now.

"It's ......."

I grunted as I quickly hit the king with my queen and knocked him down.

The fallen horse made a clear sound and hit the chess board, rolling a few laps before coming to a stop.

The ruby of the crown ornament on the horse's head glowed intensely in the setting sun.

I looked down at the fallen chess horse with a worried look on my face.

Actually, it didn't really matter what Claire was like in the Crown Prince's mind.

All I was worried about was what they might do to me in the future.

I looked down at the chessboard again.

The game was over now that I had defeated the king, but I could see in my mind that the Rook, who was advancing as fast as he could on the edge of the board, the weakest one in chess, was the Pawn, who could be anything except a king once he reached the end of the board.

Rooks, Bishops, Knights, and even the Queen. So I could never underestimate them.

As long as they don't bother me, I don't mind if the Crown Prince and Claire show their deep affection in front of me.