Ch. 78
The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became ObsessiveThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Notes
TN: Heyo, everyone's excited what will happen next right? Comment down to let us know your speculations ~ Thank you for reading!
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
TN: Heyo, everyone's excited what will happen next right? Comment down to let us know your speculations ~ Thank you for reading!
"Are you interrogating me again?"
What exactly would they get from me? Everything was under Rowell’s orders. It was so ridiculous.
"Are you mocking me?" The low voice echoed in the prison. The warden was staring at me.
I just wanted to step back quietly. "No."
"Then what was that laugh earlier?"
"I remembered something funny that made me laugh."
This time, the warden raised the corner of his mouth. "Well, you'd better try to recall it now since I doubt you'll be able to think of anything funny after this."
I silently cursed the warden in my mind. He nodded to another guard, who hurriedly locked the cell.
After they left, Duke Delrit stepped closer to the bars. "Are you out of your mind?"
Before I could respond, another voice came from somewhere else. "That’s only something someone naive would do."
"Maybe it’s because it’s her first time here."
At that remark, I unintentionally shouted, "I couldn't stand the injustice here."
I immediately heard a click of the tongue.
"Who here is not unjustly treated?" The voice came from afar.
I looked at Duke Delrit. "By the way, Duke Delrite, do you really think I killed the emperor?"
He blinked and avoided my gaze.
I spoke again, "You know, don't you? The one who really did it.”
It was quiet around us, as if everyone was listening to our conversation. But when Delrit didn’t answer, murmurs started again.
"Duke Delrit, do you truly know she didn’t kill His Majesty?"
"Speak up."
Duke Delrit frowned and lowered his gaze.
Noticing his hesitation, I spoke again. "You said you felt the injustice. In a way, we're both victims of the same person, aren't we?"
He sighed. "I know the crown prince did it. But no one will believe it. The crown prince must have manipulated the witnesses around His Majesty and probably even the physician."
Then a cough broke the silence, followed by the sound of whispers.
Someone spoke. "Not me."
Duke Delrit turned his gaze outside the bars. "Who are you?"
"I was His Majesty’s personal physician until two hours ago, but when I said it was impossible for mana to be intentionally mixed into the poison, they brought me here."
"So you’re the physician?"
The voice continued, "Yes, I served as His Majesty’s personal physician for nearly thirty years."
"Do you still believe it’s impossible that mana was mixed with His Majesty’s medicine?"
"My opinion hasn’t changed. Who in their right mind would intentionally mix their mana with poison? It’s the same as saying, 'Please arrest me.'"
I nodded. "Exactly. It’s clear that Rowell intentionally used my mana to mix it with the poison."
The physician asked, "But how did the crown prince get your mana?"
"I was once robbed of my mana by a mage. I think that mage kept it. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened."
Whispers started circulating, and someone spoke up.
"Come to think of it, Rowell did have a mage he frequently met. He despises meeting people like mages or commoners, but this one stayed by his side for a long time."
"Then, could that mage have been the one who killed His Majesty?"
"Now that you mention it, that is a possibility."
The surrounding voices grew louder. I quietly pondered while listening to the conversation.
From what they were saying, it seemed most of the people here had worked at the palace. Every time I spoke, they would share their own stories, so it was clear they had some knowledge of those matters.
If they hadn’t worked at the palace, they wouldn’t have known those details. From what I overheard, it seemed that most of them, like me, felt wronged.
Suddenly, a sharp voice pierced my ears.
"A rat! A rat!"
What was so scary about a rat? Having seen Derol every day, I wasn’t too bothered and stayed still.
Duke Delrit asked, "Aren’t you scared? There’s a rat!"
"It’s not like rats kill people, and if you look closely, they’re actually kind of cute."
"No, the rats in this prison kill people! You don’t even know anything!"
"Really?" I asked, flustered.
Duke Delrit shouted while stomping his feet. Suddenly, a black rat entered Delrit’s cell.
I stayed still and watched because the rat felt oddly familiar.
"Derol?!" I shouted.
The rat stopped suddenly, lifted his paws, and looked around.
Duke Delrit immediately grabbed a nearby wooden plank.
"Wait!" I shouted again.
Duke Delrit looked up.
At that moment, Derol ran towards me and jumped into my arms. "Master!"
"Derol, what are you doing here?" I stroked him while looking around.
Derol blinked his black eyes, looking as if he was about to cry. "I missed you, Master. Are you alright?"
"I’m fine. How did you get here?"
"Ardion told me you were here."
“So you came all the way here?”
“Yes. Are you really alright?”
I smiled and nodded.
Derol looked at my face for a moment and then said, “Actually, Ardion wanted to tell you something.”
“What does he want to tell me?”
“He said he’s sorry. Because of him, you’ve suffered so much.”
I couldn’t think of anything to say. When I thought about it, Ardion gave me more than I had suffered. Above all, my hands trembled much less than before. Ardion gave me a new life.
“Did Ardion really say he was sorry to me?”
“Yes, he definitely said so.”
I felt bad.
When I thought about it, Ardion was also a victim—a victim of Rowell since he was a child.
Nothing had changed since his childhood. Rowell still committed crimes and even dragged me into it. Just by looking at this place, I could tell there were many people who had been wronged.
I sighed. Suddenly, the surroundings seemed too quiet. The sharp voices from earlier, when everyone shouted ‘rat’, suddenly disappeared.
I slowly raised my head.
Duke Delrit was staring blankly at me. I turned my head and looked around the iron bars. Everyone was standing in front of the iron bars, looking at me with the same expression as Delrit.
Their faces were astonished, looking like they had lost their minds.
“Are… are you really talking to the rat?”
Those were the first words that came.
❋ ❋ ❋
As soon as Ardion got off the carriage, he headed to Rowell’s palace, his steps fast and steady. He stopped in front of the heavy door of Rowell’s office. It was a door luxuriously decorated with ornate patterns. Standing in front of the door were two guards with swords at their waists and leather breastplates.
As soon as they saw Ardion, one of the guards said, “What brings you here?”
“Tell him I’m here for Laila.”
The guard knocked on the door several times. There was no answer from inside, but the guard opened the door and went in. Laughs leaked through the crack. It seemed as if there was a celebration going on inside.
Ardion frowned. It was the emperor’s mourning period. They’ve all become insane.
He looked at the closed door with a cold gaze.
After a while, the guard came out. “Originally, only invited guests were allowed in, but His Highness is letting you in.”
The guard stepped aside, and Ardion entered. The neatly arranged furniture and hanging green leaves caught his eye. In the center was a table with people sitting around Rowell.
“It won’t be long before Your Highness becomes emperor.” The noble sitting next to Rowell smiled brightly and raised his glass.
Rowell didn’t raise his glass but simply smiled. He looked at the table and tapped his hand.
“Oh right, shouldn’t we call you Your Majesty now?”
Ardion sneered. “Your Majesty? The coronation ceremony hasn’t even taken place yet.”
There was silence for a moment. Then the noble sitting next to Rowell cleared his throat and said, “Your Highness, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you. Didn’t you come to congratulate His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“What congratulations?” Ardion said softly.
The surroundings instantly became quiet.
He looked sharply at each person sitting around Rowell. “It hasn’t even been a day since His Majesty passed away, and you’re already congratulating someone? Now that I think about it, it seems like everyone here has been waiting for this moment.”
“Your Highness, why are you saying that? We just returned from paying our final respects to His Majesty.”
At that moment, Rowell smiled. “Now that I think about it, Ardion, aren’t you the one who didn’t show up for His Majesty’s funeral?”
“I’ll visit him later on. Right now, there is more urgent business.”
“Urgent business?” Rowell asked curiously.
Ardion sat down in an empty seat. Seeing him sit down without waiting for a reply, the nobles coughed, but it was in vain.
Ardion looked at them. “How about you all leave? I would like to talk to my brother privately.”
The nobles looked around. Rowell tapped the table and chuckled. After looking at Ardion, he said to the nobles sitting around him, “I think my younger brother has something to say to me on good terms. Let’s meet later.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the nobles stood up. They looked at Ardion, bade farewell to Rowell, and left.
After everyone left, Ardion looked around the table. It was full of expensive wine and food.
He looked at the bowl in front of Rowell and said, "Is this what you call mourning?"
TN: I mean, I hate that Laila is becoming stupid… and for some reason, it frustrates me that Ardion is very restrained despite his power. But it’s also interesting, how will he react when he has this ability in him?