This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
T/N: I don’t understand why most characters like Elizabeth loved to steal someone else’s husband, like, is he the only man left on earth? Or you just love deliberately messing with someone else’s marriage just because you couldn’t marry the person you want to? 🥴 Like bruuh, get a life
Chapter 45
“Young Lord.”
“Alec.”Damian quickly asked in a low voice upon Alec’s arrival.
“What’s going on?”
“His Excellency made a deal with the Emperor. In exchange for accepting the Imperial Princess as his partner, he will send a priest to the North. But Young Lord, the Madam…”“Your Excellency! The Young Lord is here.”It was then that a coquettish voice interrupted them. Soon, Edmund appeared, arm-in-arm with the elegantly adorned Imperial Princess, as the crowd parted for them.
“It is an honor to meet the little light of the Empire.”
“It’s a pleasure. Raise your head, Young Lord.”As soon as Damian finished his greeting, the crowd swarmed around the Imperial Princess, as if they had been waiting for the moment. The provincial nobles, eager to exchange even a few words with her, were numerous. This allowed Edmund and Damian to step away from her side.
“…Father.”
Edmund, his expression clearly troubled, glanced at Damian with a blank face.
“Damian, where is Daphne….”
“Father, where is Mother….”Both spoke at the same time and immediately stopped. Their gazes met in midair, after cautiously glancing at each other. It was at that moment, when Edmund and Damian’s faces stiffened, and their bodies flinched in realization.
“My word, am I seeing this correctly?”
“Indeed, if you saw the Duchess Winter arrive alone, then you’re not mistaken either.”Both of them turned their eyes toward the door at the same time.
There stood Daphne, alone, despite being the subject of all the murmuring and stares from the crowd. Unaffected by the piercing gazes, Daphne walked toward Edmund and Damian.
“I am not feeling well. I’ll take my leave for now and return tomorrow for the hunting competition….”
“Duke.”Elizabeth appeared, interrupting Daphne’s words as she wrapped her hand around Edmund’s arm. The overpowering scent of strong perfume made Daphne momentarily stagger before she regained her balance.
“It’s nearly time for the dance. Let’s go.”
Elizabeth widened her eyes as if she had only just noticed Daphne.
“My goodness, Duchess. Do you not have a partner?”
The Imperial Princess’s innocent face belied the malicious comment she had just voiced aloud, echoing the whispers from the crowd.
“Incidentally, I heard my brother also lacks a partner. Shall I perhaps…?”
“Your Highness.”Edmund gently pulled Elizabeth by the hand. Just then, music began to play.
“Shall we?”
A bright smile spread across Elizabeth’s face at Edmund’s words.
“Yes, my Lord.”
Daphne watched the pair from behind.
The cold, rational, but beautiful Duke, and the sweet Imperial Princess with her honey-gold hair and golden eyes. They truly made a perfect couple, just as people said.
Daphne turned away.
“...”
Damian, who had raised his hand toward her, moved his lips but said nothing. His sharp gaze remained firmly fixed on her like a dagger. But Daphne remained utterly unfazed. Truly.
* * *
Daphne opened her eyes. It was dark.
She slowly blinked, then pulled back the curtains next to her bed. The night sky, tinged with a bluish hue, loomed overhead. Daphne’s gaze drifted to a carriage that had just arrived.
The carriage soon came to a stop, and from it stepped Damian and Edmund.
As soon as Edmund turned his head, Daphne hastily closed the curtains. Her heart pounded faintly.
Worried that she had been noticed, she cautiously opened the curtains again, but neither Edmund nor anyone else was in sight.
Out of habit, Daphne opened the window. She shivered slightly, not from the cold air, but from the refreshing breeze that brushed against her shoulder. Reaching out her hand, she absentmindedly watched the wind slip through her fingers.
[“Your Excellency.”]
A soft voice, the gentle intertwining of arms, and the faint scent of a peculiar perfume lingered at the edge of her memory.
It wasn’t necessary. Not at all.
Daphne squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again. Only after she pulled her hand back and closed the window did her turbulent emotions settle.
It was over.
Whatever fragile thing that could barely be called love had already ended. It had shattered beyond repair.
Yet, why did it hurt so much? Daphne couldn’t understand.
She blinked blankly at the sky.
Whatever the Emperor’s command, she shouldn’t have come here. She should have stayed in the North, no matter what.
“Ugh….”
Daphne clutched her aching arm. A faint trace of blood was visible beneath the bandage. She unwrapped it. The wound had faded, but the red scar remained stark.
Her heart pounded for a different reason now. Had she not broken the window and cut her arm back then, things would have been disastrous. Like when she had dug up the grave of the former Duke, she couldn’t let such things happen again.
‘No… I can never let that happen again.’
Daphne shuddered, recalling the events of that day.
Tap, tap.
Already on edge, Daphne turned her head at the soft sound. It was coming from outside the window. Frowning, she approached the window and found a crow pecking at it, holding a letter in its beak. Daphne quickly opened the window and tore open the letter.
“Hah….”
A thin sigh escaped her lips as she stumbled, losing her balance. Her hand, clutching the letter, trembled uncontrollably. She immediately pulled the cord to summon someone.
“Madam, what’s the matter?”
Anna rushed in, hearing the bell.
“Anna, prepare for me to attend the hunting competition tomorrow.”
“You’ll be participating after all?!”Anna’s face brightened instantly.
She had been confused when Daphne, after returning to the manor alone, had told them not to prepare for the competition. Although she had stopped preparations as instructed, she welcomed this sudden change of heart.
“I’ll finish everything right away!”
Anna disappeared in a flash. Watching her retreating figure, Daphne turned around. In her hand was the letter, crumpled beyond recognition.
[Let’s meet at the hunting competition, my dear sister.]
“…Sergei.”
Sergei Bled.
The sender was none other than Daphne’s brother.
* * *
“Again?”
“Yes.”Edmund’s brows furrowed slightly.
It was the second day of the hunting competition. Since entering her tent on the first day, Daphne hadn’t stepped out even once. Alec, noticing Edmund’s gaze fixed on the entrance of Daphne’s closed tent, asked,
“Shall I go to Madam?”
“No need.”Edmund immediately stopped Alec without hesitation.
The hunting competition lasted for three days, but it was only from the second day onward that things truly began.
On the first day, knights selected from each family participated, while the second day saw the family’s heirs and lords, with the heads of the families taking part on the final day.
Alec, who had competed on the first day, intentionally placed in an average rank, knowing that the head knight of the imperial family was also participating.
“Your Excellency.”
“It’s an honor to meet the bright light that of the Empire.”It was Crown Prince Carlito.
“I’ve heard you’re my sister’s partner.”
Carlito’s smile deepened.
“The meaning of that is clear. May I assume it’s what I think it is?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”“Hmm.”Carlito narrowed his eyes but then smiled again as he firmly grasped Edmund’s shoulder.
Whether by chance or by some intent, Carlito’s hand landed on Edmund’s right shoulder. The wound underneath it throbbed, and blood threatened to seep out, but Edmund didn’t flinch.
Carlito, observing Edmund with a smile, suddenly withdrew his hand and stepped back.
“Today’s the day the Young Lord participates, correct?”
“That’s right.”“Well, I wish him luck.”As Carlito and his entourage disappeared, Edmund quietly watched them, but soon someone else appeared behind him. It was Johann, who had been confined to his tent due to an injury. He whispered in a pale voice,
“Nick is here.”
Edmund turned away from where he had been heading toward Damian and instead made his way to his own tent.
“Your Excellency.”
There stood Nick, his face gaunt. Nick anxiously glanced around, checking the tent was securely closed before he finally felt at ease.
“What I’m about to tell you cannot be avoided. You must find a way to escape.”
Nick had gone to the capital ahead of the others two weeks ago. His original mission had been different, but events overlapped, and he stumbled upon unexpected information.
“Tomorrow, the Emperor will appoint Sergei Bled as the head of the Bled family.” Nick pulled out a piece of paper from his coat and quickly scribbled something on it. “And the Emperor is targeting you. He plans to use Sergei Bled to make you lose control.”
[We are being eavesdropped on.]
Edmund’s brow furrowed.
Nick’s behavior was strange, but more unsettling was the awkwardness in his expression, as if he were being manipulated. But now was not the time to question it, so Edmund, a beat too late, asked,
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”Nick nodded. He had first realized something was wrong shortly before Edmund arrived in the capital. Upon learning of the Emperor’s plan, Nick had discovered that he had been cursed by black magic.
What the Emperor’s men had failed to consider was that Nick was already under a different black magic curse known as the ‘black stone.’ The conflicting natures of the two curses had caused them to clash, weakening the new one.
As a result, Nick had figured out that everything he said and heard was being monitored, transmitting all that information to a person in real time. It took him a while to realize this, so he came to see Edmund after a few days they’ve arrived in the capital.
“And… I found something.”
“What is it?”
“Madam is planning to poison the Imperial Princess.”
Edmund raised his head. At the same time, Nick’s eyes blinked red then disappeared.