Ch. 114
The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became ObsessiveThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Notes
T/N: We’ve come to the end of this novel’s main story. But don’t worry, we’ll still have some side stories. See you there~
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
T/N: We’ve come to the end of this novel’s main story. But don’t worry, we’ll still have some side stories. See you there~
Chapter 114 – End
Ardion gave a small smile as he gently grabbed my wrist. Then, looking into my eyes, he placed a kiss on it. “Laila, don’t you have something to say to me?”
“… Thank you.”
“Not that.”
I wracked my brain, but nothing came to mind. Ardion’s face gradually hardened.
Suddenly, Derol popped up. “Master has only just recovered.”
Ardion stared at me intently for a moment, then slowly let go and stood beside the bed. “Is ‘thank you’ really all you have to say to me?”
I furrowed my brows slightly. What else was I supposed to say? My mind was drawing a blank.
Then a knock came at the door. “Your Highness, are you in there?”
Ardion let out a faint sigh and looked at me. “Laila, I’ll be right back.”
With that, he left the room. I sat there for a long while, wondering what it was I hadn’t said to him.
Still, nothing came to mind. But even so, something gnawed at me, like I’d missed something important.
❋ ❋ ❋
Here’s what really happened with the carriage explosion incident. Rowell had kidnapped Serina and found the carriage Ardion had arrived in.
“If they try to kill me, blow up this carriage if things go south.”
“You mustn’t, Your Highness. If it comes to that…”
“If it does, I won’t want to live anyway. Just follow my orders.”
With no other choice, the knight commander relayed the order to the person instructed to threaten Serina.
“Set explosives in the prince’s carriage. If the crown prince can’t make it out, detonate it immediately.”
The commander had always followed Rowell’s orders to the letter, and this time was no different. Once the situation was somewhat resolved, the day of the trial arrived.
The courtroom was packed. Today, the knight commander and the knights stood trial. People shouted insults at them, especially towards the crown prince.
“We knew something was wrong when they started arresting people left and right!”
“He couldn’t even wait for the emperor’s mourning period to end before planning his coronation!”
The resentment towards Rowell was intense. Clearly, discontent had been building up for a long time.
As the trial began, the knight commander and several knights stepped forward with grim expressions.
“I was simply following His Highness the Crown Prince’s orders. None of this was of my own volition.”
With that statement, the charges against them escalated. Now implicated in the attempted murder of the prince and princess, they confessed everything.
The knight commander was sentenced to 100 years of forced labor. The key knights involved received 20 years of forced labor and imprisonment. Ironically, the explosion helped stabilize my mana, and a faint glow began to return to my arm. Luck was oddly on my side.
The next day was Rowell’s trial. I went to the courthouse with Derol and Ardion.
By the time we arrived, many from the imperial palace were already there, like the healer who had escaped prison with us, Duke Delit, and Zikard.
Rowell was already seated in the place designated for criminals. His face was rigid, his eyes sharp with suppressed rage. Yet all he evoked now was a sense of pathetic desperation, like a man clinging to his last bit of power.
The nobles had long since turned their backs on him.
“Most of the nobility are against Rowell. Everything’s been piling up,” Ardion whispered beside me.
Then the judge entered, and everyone rose to their feet.
I’d been to a trial before, so I was familiar with the process. That one had ended so anticlimactically. Rowell had evaded punishment, twisting my evidence to his advantage.
“This one will go properly, right?” I asked Ardion.
He nodded, his green eyes shimmering as he glanced downward. “There’s no escape this time. All the nobles around him have already been imprisoned.”
The murmuring in the room died down.
“Then let us begin the trial concerning the crown prince’s poisoning and assassination attempt, the monsters in the imperial forest, and other related charges.”
The judge’s opening statement was long and unsurprising, given the sheer number of crimes Rowell had committed.
One by one, witnesses entered to testify against him, most of them people who had escaped prison with us.
“I was His Majesty’s personal healer. But when I merely questioned why mana had been added to the medicine, something a criminal would obviously try to conceal, I was thrown into Entry Prison.”
Sighs swept through the courtroom.
The healer continued calmly, “I’ve already been acquitted of all charges. But I’m here today thanks to Her Highness the Princess.”
The crowd’s attention shifted to me. I felt a quiet sense of pride at their subtle admiration.
The healer went on, “I believe most of the people testifying today feel the same way. Rowell has committed countless crimes, such as wrongfully imprisoning the innocent and even taking lives…”
The murmurs grew louder.
Then Rowell’s lawyer stood up. “Your Honor, the testimony is becoming needlessly emotional. This is—”
The judge raised a hand, signaling the healer to continue.
He resumed, “Rowell has been feeding poison to His Majesty for a long time. The prince discovered that and asked me to investigate. My analysis revealed traces of poison consistently present in His Majesty’s medication.”
Clearly, Ardion and the healer had uncovered a lot while I was unaware. The courtroom gasped.
People covered their mouths in shock. All eyes turned to Rowell, who simply stared ahead with a hard expression.
“That concludes my testimony. I’ll also submit the results of my analysis as evidence.” The healer handed over the documents to someone near the judge.
Then Zikard and Duke Delit stepped up to testify. Despite acknowledging his own crimes, Duke Delit revealed everything about Rowell.
“Yes, I did serve under Rowell. But I believe there are still undisclosed truths, so I’ve brought the ledger documenting all of my activities.”
Others who had escaped prison with us also gave their testimonies. One by one, they shared the injustices they’d suffered and the oppressive regime Rowell had enforced.
After all the testimonies ended, the judge looked to Rowell.
His lawyer quickly rose. “All of this is part of a conspiracy to discredit His Highness and strip him of his power!”
The courtroom erupted in chaos, yet the lawyer stood firm.
“Though the coronation did not take place, His Highness was entrusted with full imperial authority. Let us not forget that.”
The judge turned to look at Rowell.
Rowell smiled faintly and said, “All verdicts must go through me in the end.”
My hands trembled. He was still smirking, without a trace of remorse. I clenched my fists.
Ardion slowly stood up. “That authority has already been transferred to me.”
Rowell’s expression, and that of the people beside him, froze.
“The Council of Nobles and the temple have both acknowledged it.” Ardion held up a document. No wonder he’d been so busy. He had been preparing this.
The temple already favored Ardion, but now the nobility had officially transferred their support as well. It was clear—Rowell was finished.
Just then, a servant approached Ardion. Ardion handed over the documents. The servant quickly gave them to the judge, who bowed his head.
“Since the prince has received all delegated authority, he will have the final say in this verdict.”
“But all of this is fabricated, an attack by conspirators!” Rowell’s lawyer repeated himself, flustered.
The judge’s brows furrowed. “Then present your evidence.”
The lawyer turned to Rowell. He stared blankly ahead, not answering.
Panicking, the lawyer quickly said, “His Highness would never do such a thing. Surely someone here is willing to testify to that…”
He scanned the courtroom with desperate eyes, but people only looked back silently.
Some even frowned in disgust. The room was deathly quiet. No one, not a single person, rose to defend Rowell’s character. His lawyer looked more desperate than he did.
Then the judge spoke. “In the absence of testimony or evidence, the trial is concluded. As there is sufficient evidence and witness accounts regarding the poisoning of the emperor, His Highness the Crown Prince is sentenced to 200 years of forced labor and 300 years in prison under imperial law. Additionally, for attempting to harm the prince and princess, he is sentenced to another 100 years of forced labor and 200 years in prison. And for tampering with evidence in the Orchid mansion arson case…”
The judge’s sentence went on. Everyone listened silently in the solemn courtroom.
No one dared to speak first.
“… In total, His Highness the Crown Prince is sentenced to 1,200 years of forced labor and 1,500 years in prison.”
As the judge concluded, everyone rose and began shouting at Rowell.
“You threw people in jail like it was nothing. Rot in prison forever!”
“So much for looking down on us frontier folk. Serves you right!”
“You tried to cover up the Orchid mansion arson…!”
Some had come prepared, hurling eggs at him. One person even lunged at Rowell in rage.
Clearly, resentment had been building for a long time. The knights barely managed to hold the crowd back.
Rowell was a mess. Eggshells clung to his clothes, yolk dripped from his hair. Then his face twisted. He exhaled sharply and clutched his chest. He hadn’t taken any magical medicine, so his heart must’ve been in pain. He would live the rest of his days in prison, dying slowly in agony. A fitting trap he had set for himself.
Smirking to myself, I walked out of the courthouse with Ardion.
A carriage waited for us outside. Several people approached, but Delzion’s knights formed a barrier and escorted us safely.
Only after climbing into the carriage could I finally breathe. Derol slipped out of my pocket and perched by the window. Lately, he enjoyed watching not just people but the scenery too.
Ardion closed the carriage door and sat across from me. Looking at me, he smiled gently. “Laila.”
When I raised my head, he leaned forward, locking eyes with me. I could feel his breath against my lips.
“Still nothing you want to say to me?”
Something to say… I thought hard. Rowell’s story was over. There wasn’t much left. No matter how much I thought, nothing came to mind.
So, I just said honestly, “Ardion, is there something you want to hear?”
At that, his expression subtly stiffened. “No.”
He gave a weak laugh, then quickly hardened his face. I studied him carefully.
What in the world has he been waiting to hear from me this whole time?
Just then, Derol stood on two feet and looked at me. When our eyes met, he waved.
I placed him in my palm.
He leaned towards my ear and whispered softly, “Master, perhaps what he wants to hear… is that you love him?”
A sigh followed. “I can hear everything, you know.”
“Ardion…” I looked at him in surprise.
Ardion’s face flushed bright red. “It’s not that I just want to hear you say it. I mean, I just…”
Unlike his usual self, Ardion avoided my eyes and spoke quickly. I couldn’t help but laugh.
Come to think of it, I had never even told Ardion that I loved him. I hadn’t fully realized it until now, but I definitely…
“Ardion, I love you.” I said while looking at him.
In that moment, his face froze as if he’d lost all thought. His green eyes wavered faintly, and his face and ears turned a deep red.
I couldn’t help but laugh again. Maybe because it felt like the first time I’d seen him like this since he was a kid. Ardion let out a soft breath and lifted his head. Then he came right over and sat beside me.
His eyes were dark, like he might devour me at any moment. His long fingers gently cupped my cheek. “I love you too, Laila. No—just, I love you.”
And then Ardion pressed his lips to mine. His breath brushed against mine, leading into a sweet kiss. The carriage rocked slightly, and as our breathing deepened, our foreheads bumped.
He immediately pulled back. When our eyes met, we both laughed. My forehead throbbed a little, but I had never felt so lighthearted and at peace.
The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became Obsessive
— The End