215 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
“Why on earth did you make up something that wasn’t true?”
“Ha-”
The Emperor let out a hollow laugh as if he was dumbfounded.
“Marin Schwentz Young Lady is not a Witch. That Monster only followed the Young Lady because it remembered her as its pet.”
Alecpet suppressed his emotions as much as possible and explained to the Emperor what he had heard from Dia.
“Chamberlain.”
The Emperor called the Chamberlain while fixing his bitter gaze on the Crown Prince.
“Yes.”
“How long do I have to waste this useless time?”
“Your Majesty, please listen to me!”
Alecpet looked at the Emperor, who always turned a deaf ear to his words, and pleaded desperately.
“Why should I?”
“If the Duke of the West gives up Western trade, Monsters will overflow, and the Empire will be in danger. Who do you think would want this the most? The Sanders Empire, separated by the desert. What they want most is the weakening of the West.”
“You dare to try to teach me.”
Flames rose in the Emperor’s eyes.
“You dare to discuss the Empire in front of me? Who is the Emperor of this Empire!”
“Your Majesty.”
“Yes, I am the Emperor, and my words are law. Are the nobles sticking to you and encouraging you to covet the Emperor’s throne?”
The Emperor’s anger exceeded the threshold. The Emperor trembled and glared at the Crown Prince as if he would kill him.
“……”
Alecpet lowered his head silently.
As the Emperor said, due to the series of misfortunes that had continued for several weeks, the nobles’ secret invitations were increasing. He was rejecting them all, though.
“Why are you silent? Has your mouth been glued shut!”
The Emperor slammed the desk, then closed his eyes as if he was dizzy.
Then the Chamberlain’s face turned white.
Today, the Crown Prince’s momentum was also considerable, so he couldn’t just send him back like this.
The Chamberlain watched the Emperor’s face and prayed inwardly.
Please. Please.
Soon, the Emperor slowly lifted his eyelids and frowned at the Crown Prince.
“Crown Prince, what brings you here when I didn’t even call you?”
It was the Emperor’s voice, tinged with annoyance rather than anger.
Alecpet’s eyes widened in shock.
“Your Majesty……”
“I forbade you from entering the office until I called you, so why don’t you ask what brings you here?”
“Ah, I, I……”
Alecpet, flustered, trailed off, then met the pale Chamberlain’s eyes.
His heart sank at the Chamberlain’s restless attitude.
The Chamberlain already knew. Whatever it was.
“……Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Alecpet asked cautiously, watching the Emperor’s face.
“You barge in without permission, and that’s what you say?”
The Emperor narrowed his eyes and stared suspiciously.
“When did you last meet the Imperial Physician?”
Bang!
The Emperor slammed the desk. His deep golden eyes gleamed with anger.
“Chamberlain, drag that guy out! He dares to pretend to be concerned about my health! He’s been completely played by the nobles’ games.”
The Chamberlain hurriedly approached the Crown Prince.
“Crown Prince, just a moment-”
“When did His Majesty see the Imperial Physician?”
Alecpet interrupted the Chamberlain and raised his voice, which was rare.
If the Chamberlain had hidden the Emperor’s illness, he couldn’t trust him either. He had to find out for himself what the Emperor’s illness was.
“Your Highness, lower your voice. I’ll explain everything.”
The Chamberlain whispered softly so that only Alecpet could hear.
Alecpet ignored the Chamberlain and stared intently at the Emperor.
“Bring the Imperial Physician here immediately!”
“Crown Prince……!”
The Chamberlain called him sadly, his eyebrows drooping.
When Alecpet stood there without moving, the Emperor shouted loudly.
“Guards, come in!”
Two Imperial Guard knights quickly entered the office.
“Confine the Crown Prince to his residence!”
“Your Majesty!”
Alecpet looked at the Emperor in surprise, his golden eyes flashing fiercely.
“Crown Prince, you’ve crossed the line.”
The knights grabbed the Crown Prince’s arms and pulled him away.
“Chamberlain! Bring the Imperial Physician! Immediately to His Majesty-”
“Shut that guy’s mouth!”
At the Emperor’s cold command, a knight gagged the Crown Prince.
In the Crown Prince’s bewildered eyes as he was dragged away by the knights, the Emperor’s angry face was reflected.
The Chamberlain felt his vision darkening.
The matter he had been postponing for the Emperor’s sake had finally completely divided the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
“Chamberlain.”
“Yes.”
The Chamberlain hid his sweat and answered.
“Prepare for the Crown Prince’s abdication!”
The Emperor shouted like a thunderbolt.
“Your Majesty!”
The surprised Chamberlain raised his head.
The Emperor’s angry face was stiff.
“Currently, there is only one Prince in the Empire. Please, just one more time-”
The Emperor coldly cut off the Chamberlain’s desperate words.
“Yes. That’s why I was holding onto that idiot, but in the end, that bastard showed his teeth to me, didn’t he? I have to throw him out before he bites me.”
The Emperor’s golden eyes darkened with jealousy and fear towards the Crown Prince.
“And call the Southern Duke.”
“……I understand.”
The Chamberlain barely regained his dizzy mind and bowed his head in response.
\ \ *
Smije was reading the letters from his vassals when he threw them on the desk with a touch of annoyance.
The vassals involved in the Western trade business were pleading with him to persuade the Emperor.
It wasn’t just the Southern vassals.
All the nobles in the capital were resenting the Emperor and clamoring for the restoration of Western trade.
The rumor that the Duke of the West’s fiancée was a Witch had completely disappeared, and some even called her a Saintess.
If she could communicate with Monsters, she could reduce the danger of Monsters.
“They’re out of their minds.”
In his twisted smile, he saw the letter from the Duchess of the East, which had been pushed to the corner of the desk.
It contained a coded message that the majority of the nobles were in favor of deposing the Emperor.
The Emperor, who was still stubborn, would soon break his will and listen to the nobles.
Or, because the throne was in danger.
“Tsk, how incompetent.”
There was no hope for the Emperor, who had started the work but couldn’t finish it properly.
He had tried to use the Emperor to suppress the West, but in the end, he would have to side with the East.
It was then.
Bang!
The office door opened violently, and the aide rushed in as if he was rolling.
“He, he appeared!”
“Who?”
Smije’s eyes, looking at the aide, were full of annoyance. It better not be unimportant news.
“The real- no, the fake one has appeared!”
“Where did you find him?”
Smije’s eyes lit up with joy.
Even though he had been monitoring his lover’s surroundings so closely, he hadn’t appeared. He could finally kill that bastard and become the perfect Duke.
“Th, that’s not it. You have to run away right now……!”
The aide glanced behind him and barely spoke in a trembling voice.
“What?”
Smije frowned.
“The Southern Knights Order has surrounded the Duke's Residence!”
“What?”
A startled Smije pushed back his chair and jumped up.
They suddenly came up to the capital? But a siege? Why?
“At the very front, there was Jin- the fake one. You must escape quickly. The mercenaries are barely holding them back now.”
“What are you talking about!”
Smije snapped irritably.
“It seems that Smith has taken control of the Southern Knights Order.”
What, what did he just say?
Overwhelmed with shock, Smije gaped with a blank face.
Words did not become sound.
“Lord, Lord!”
The aide’s voice sounded far away, as if water was in his ears. The aide grabbed his arm and shook him.
A beep- tinnitus rang in his ear, and the aide’s voice pierced his ear again.
“Lord! Get a hold of yourself!”
“What…… did you say?”
“Smith has come up to the capital with the Southern Knights Order……!”
“How could a guy with no power……”
It was possible to move the Southern Knights Order with the Ring of the Head, but only his people remained in the main castle.
They would have had to get past them first to meet the Southern Knights Order.
“You must escape quickly! I’ll buy you some time for now!”
Soon, he saw the back of the aide hurrying away.
Smije looked down at his trembling hands and quickly left the room.