Philip woke to find himself bound to a chair. Deep in an underground dungeon where not a sliver of light could enter, he had long lost track of whether it was day or night.
His eyes barely had time to adjust to the torchlight whenever someone came in before being plunged back into the dark once they left.
“His Majesty will arrive shortly, so keep quiet.”
Luce said as he untied the ropes binding Philip. With a mocking smirk, Philip rose from the chair and dropped to one knee before the Emperor.
“I greet the only sun of the Empire, Your Majesty.”
“Raise your head.”
“Thank you.”
Philip stood and slumped back onto the chair, without an intact shred of clothing left on him.
Traces of the beatings he had endured over the past days marked him everywhere, and dried blood was caked between the tears in his clothes.
“Are you sure it wasn’t you who inherited the Dragon Power? You seem remarkably intact after days of beatings. My sister appears to have chosen well.”
The Emperor gave a loud command.
“Come now, Duke Eustia, whom we have all been waiting for, will arrive soon. Fetch some fresh clothes for my brother-in-law. If my dear nephew saw you looking like this, it would break his heart. Wouldn’t it, Brother-in-law? We wouldn’t want him so shocked that he decides to wipe this country off the map.”
At the Emperor’s words, Philip burst into laughter, unable to hide his joy.
“Xenos is finally coming. Yes, indeed. I must welcome him in my finest form. I cannot greet him looking like this, especially when he’s returning with someone so precious.”
Philip continued defiantly,
“He is returning with his cherished wife, his life partner, his fated companion. Your Majesty isn’t feeling jealous just because he married before the Crown Prince, are you? If your son takes after his father, he must be burning with envy. Jealous when Xenos gains power, jealous when he wins in war, and jealous even when he finds his fated partner.”
“How dare you! Who do you think you’re speaking to?!”
The Emperor roared and struck Philip with his ring-adorned fist. Blood trickled from a split on his face, but Philip did not care in the slightest; he only smiled.
“Your Majesty… you seem to have grown old. Your strike is weaker than a toddler’s fist. Guards, bring His Majesty some tonics and let him get some exercise so he can… Kehk!”
Before he could finish, the Emperor cut him off with another punch, but Luce stepped in to stop him.
“Your Majesty, you must not! If you continue like this, you will give Duke Eustia a reason to raise the banner of rebellion. Control yourself, Your Majesty!”
“Be it a Duke or a Duchess… I will kill them all! I will slaughter them!”
The Emperor shrieked in fury, while Philip, slumped in his chair, let out a derisive scoff.
“Kill them? And how? Your Majesty, let me tell you the truth. The Dragon Power makes its first manifestation when its bearer finds their fated partner. And once they bond, the second manifestation begins. I heard this directly from Christa herself.”
Philip’s eyes gleamed with stubborn defiance.
“And after the second manifestation, the scale of that power is incomparably greater than the first.”
The Emperor sneered back at him.
“And so what? Do you think that disappearing for twenty-three days and traveling in secret to the edges of the Empire makes their marriage real? I am the Emperor of Savaya, and unless I recognize their marriage, it doesn’t exist.”
“Even if you don’t recognize it, they are married. A lawful marriage that you will have no choice but to acknowledge. For they have already recognized each other as husband and wi—Kehk!”
Philip was cut off by another relentless strike from the Emperor.
“Go on, keep talking if you can! As long as I do not sanction it, their marriage is void!”
“Your Majesty, if you persist, you will ruin your clothes just before attending the banquet. Please control yourself.”
Regaining his composure at Luce’s intervention, the Emperor wiped the blood from his hand.
“My dear brother-in-law, that daughter-in-law you treasure so dearly… I will be confiscating her. She arrives in the capital tomorrow, and I have already arranged her welcoming party. Anyone who dares stand in the way will be wiped out of existence. So don’t try anything foolish.”
At the Emperor’s signal, two knights guarding the door hauled Philip up.
“Take him back to the ducal residence.”
And so, after twenty days of imprisonment since being brought to the imperial palace, Philip was released.
Though he could barely walk on his own, a smile lingered on his lips the entire way back.
‘Tomorrow… Tomorrow I will finally see you stronger, my son.’
As soon as the Emperor left the banquet, he went straight to the room where Count Arsene was being held.
The room was a world apart from the dark dungeon below, yet Count Arsene’s heart could find no peace.
“I greet the only sun of the Empire, Your Majesty.”
“Raise your head.”
Taking a seat, the Emperor spoke without delay.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but your daughter returns to the capital tomorrow.”
“Is that true?”
“Do you know why I kept you detained here?”
“How could I presume to guess Your Majesty’s intentions?”
“You certainly have a knack for pretty words. Fine… I’ll be blunt. I kept you here so you wouldn’t run around outside making a mess trying to restore your daughter’s reputation.”
The Emperor said, pouring wine into a glass on the table.
“Your stepson did a magnificent job. He spread rumors painting Selina as a villainess. Do you have any idea how stunned I was when I first heard? And when I looked into who devised such a brilliant scheme, it turned out your stepson and your wife were the ones circulating it. Hahaha.”
Before the laughing Emperor, Count Arsene could only bow his head in silence.
“It must be agonizing to watch your daughter endure ceaseless insults and slander while you can do nothing. But isn’t this better than her dying?”
Count Arsene’s brow furrowed, as if the mere thought brought him pain. But the Emperor went on,
“Originally, my plan was to dispatch the Duke straight to the border to separate him from Selina, then summon her to the palace to marry Erik as planned. But seeing how things turned out… there’s no need for me to step in. The people will turn against the Duke and Selina on their own. The entire empire rejects them, so what can that girl possibly do?”
Count Arsene remained silent as he listened to the Emperor’s words.
“And naturally, I can’t marry her to Erik right away under these circumstances. If I took her in immediately after she ran off after a man outside the capital without her father’s permission, what would people say about me? But… if it looks as though the imperial family is rescuing the wretched daughter of an old friend after everyone else ruined her, that’s another story. We will appear as Selina’s saviors.”
Count Arsene let out a heavy inward sigh.
“Your Majesty, is all of this truly necessary?”
“Isn’t this the least she deserves for daring to weigh my son against the Duke?”
“Selina did no such thing.”
“Yes, I know that, you know that, and your wife and her son know it as well. But now… this is the new ‘truth.’ She is the girl who put the Crown Prince and the Duke on the scales, decided the Duke was easier prey, ran after him beyond the capital, and brought disgrace to her house. That is who Selina is now.”
“That isn't true.”
Yet the Emperor did not relent.
“A shameless girl who didn’t know her place and committed her misdeeds without a shred of guilt. And is that all? She even harmed the girl the Crown Prince loved just to claim him for herself, reaching out for him while threatening another’s life. That is the Evil Selina.”
“Enough! My daughter is not like that!”
“Say whatever you wish. Who would believe you? Now return home and think only about how you will persuade your daughter.”
“Why? Why do you want Selina this badly?”
At Count Arsene’s question, the Emperor stared at him for a moment.
“It seems you haven’t betrayed me entirely.”
“What do you mean? I have always…”
“Stop spouting words about ‘loyalty.’ After sending your daughter to the Duke, how can you say that with a straight face? Just remember this: Selina’s reputation will be dragged through the mud even further… and in the end, she will enter our imperial family.”
“Your Majesty!”
“Escort Count Arsene home. And make sure no one sees you.”
“Understood.”
And so, Count Arsene was finally released after thirteen days of detention.
