Kareena closed her eyes in relief upon hearing those beautiful words. Finally, she would be living in a luxurious place, with expensive clothes, rich people, and fancy food.

Throughout her life, she had always been considered the poorest among the poor, but now she would have a chance to social ascend. And that was an opportunity she wouldn't waste. "What excuse will I use to circulate among the nobility?" she asked.

The young man's red eyes, though beautiful, seemed distant and devoid of sparkle. They carried an empty expression, as if they were looking beyond the present, lost in unknown thoughts and emotions. "I will introduce you as my fiancée," he said.

It took Kareena many seconds to grasp the statement. "What? Are you serious?" She couldn't contain the excitement in her voice.

"Your Highness, don't forget," he replied seriously, as if what he had said meant very little.

And perhaps it didn't. Kareena thought he was probably making a tasteless joke. Instantly, a sudden irritation overtook her thoughts. "Jokes like this made by common people are already unpleasant. You doing it with your cherished title is even worse."

He looked at her in silence for a few seconds. "The lack of education among the working class in our empire saddens me. I will have to address this during my reign."

Kareena bit her tongue to keep from shouting and calmed herself. "I'm glad to know that you care about the education of the kingdom's population," she said, impressed with her own impartial tone. "But I still don't understand how I could be your fiancée."

He paid full attention to her when he said, "I've had a significant number of romances. No one will pay much attention to another girlfriend, especially a girl from outside the nobility like you."

Kareena had heard of this. That the first prince changed lovers as easily as he changed clothes. But even so, this situation was too absurd. "This can't be serious," she thought aloud, because being the prince's fiancée was all Kareena ever wanted, and what she usually dreamed of didn't happen so easily and effortlessly.

"Don't get too excited. It will be just an arrangement between us until I ascend to the throne and find your family."

"Am I dead or dreaming?" she thought, as this couldn't possibly be true. Kareena's mind was racing. "This can't work. I'm a commoner, in case you've forgotten. How could I date a prince and live with him in the castle?"

Kareena realized that her statement sounded somewhat ironic, given that her real goal was to marry him. But that would be in the future, when she would have the honor of helping the emperor ascend the throne and proving herself as the illegitimate daughter of the empire's last oracle.

She realized that Lysander wasn't taking her seriously when he suggested they start a fake relationship, much less the imperial court. But this fake relationship was almost confirmation that her crazy plan to become the empress wasn't so impossible after all.

"I thought about changing your identity, but my father would soon find out," Lysander finally said. "I talked to the emperor and didn't get his approval."

Her heart sank. "That was to be expected," she replied sadly.

"I'm not finished," he gave her a deadly look. "I talked to him again and got permission for you to reside in the palace and a brief relationship that shouldn't last even a month."

However, Kareena wasn't foolish enough to believe that the emperor agreed to a commoner dating his eldest son and living in the palace among the nobility just because his son asked him twice. "What did Your Highness negotiate with the emperor to get this permission?"

"Nothing," he said casually, as if he wasn't lying. "But what happens between my father and me is not your concern. Be content to know that I've secured this provisional approval."

Kareena looked at him, not knowing how to respond, and he stared back at her.

"What if it takes more than a month for you to come to power?" After all, her vision didn't provide a specific date. It wouldn't be many years, as Lysander still looked the same as today, but it could still be months.

"I hope it doesn't. After that, you can appear dead, having accidentally fallen down the stairs."

Kareena just blinked her eyes without a more dramatic reaction.

"I'm joking," but he didn't smile. "My father will simply kick you out of the palace before the first light of dawn."

But that didn't improve Kareena's situation. She needed to stay in the palace after Lysander's coronation to secure her own crown. "If I can prove my noble parentage before that, can I stay in the palace for a few more weeks?" she asked.

Lysander seemed to ponder. "Yes, if you are officially declared the kingdom's oracle, you'll have the right and duty to live in the palace forever."

The words "duty" and "forever" went unnoticed by Kareena as she realized that her priority upon arriving at the palace was to prove that she was the daughter of a lord and a legitimate clairvoyant. This was if she wanted to achieve her other goals. And she wanted that badly and would do anything for it.