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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: A Painful Truth
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The man was the most beautiful person the young Ryan had ever seen. Thinking back now, the man had still been a boy himself.
“Play with me!”
At Ryan’s innocent words, the man fell silent, then ruffled his hair and muttered, “To a little brat like this...”
It was the first time anyone had used such vulgar language toward him, and Ryan was utterly shocked.
The man called out to him by name and met his gaze.
“Erase all your memories of this place. And don't come in and out of this palace. That's how you'll survive.”
That was the last memory.
It's impossible for memories to return so suddenly.
It was more likely that this man had restored his memories.
If this person had truly been in the imperial palace, it meant he possessed a useful ability. And if he was in an abandoned palace...
It was undoubtedly the work of Emperor Kies.
He understood why the Emperor would want to use him.
“...So he had the ability to brainwash people.”
The power to control others—what a coveted ability.
However, it was a mystery how Emperor Kies controlled someone so unruly. Right now, hatred was written all over the man's face.
‘That must be why he tried to get rid of him.’
The story about the band of mages recently must have been an excuse.
The fact that he'd tried to grant him Saisen Palace, where the man had been, meant he intended to destroy all the evidence.
Naturally, this man shouldn't have escaped unscathed...
Yet the man stood before him, perfectly fine. Not only was he alive, but he exuded an air of leisure as he brazenly roamed the imperial palace.
‘What happened to the Emperor?’
It was a world where you either killed or were killed. Realizing he hadn't seen the Emperor in the past few days, a cold sweat ran down Ryan's back.
“This is much easier than talking.”
Darcy replied with a deadpan expression. Ryan, clenching his jaw, asked grimly.
“...Did you kill my father?”
“There's no reason to kill someone who's still useful. He's the one who will personally announce me as the Prince before the ministers and nobles.”
Kies, who had raised a monster, was ultimately devoured by it, unable to overcome its power. Though Ryan didn't consider him a father, the fact that he'd failed to deal with the man before him was infuriating.
For Ryan was a man who took great pride in his lineage.
“...Do you really think it's right to become the Prince by brainwashing the Emperor with your demonic ability?”
“You're getting ahead of yourself. Being acknowledged as the Prince is something I achieved without brainwashing. Besides, aren't you the one who's closer to being a demon?”
Darcy, sitting at the table with his legs crossed, leaned forward and rested his chin on his hand, looking toward Ryan.
Staring at Ryan with a placid expression, he turned the muzzle of the gun to the side.
Bang!
Darcy's bullet grazed right past Letty's ear. His aim was perfect.
“Hngh...”
Letty gritted her teeth and clutched her ear.
“Letty!”
Ryan, dumbfounded, rushed to Letty's side. It was just like Ryan, who cared fiercely for his people.
“How are you?”
“I-I'm fine.”
As Ryan's attention was diverted to Letty, Darcy struck him on the back of the head with the gun.
“You should be glad I didn't kill the spy. To think you didn't even reveal such a disgrace to the Emperor—it's enough to make an angel weep.”
Ryan rubbed the back of his stinging head and glared at him. His gaze quickly shifted to the object in Darcy's hand. The power it had unleashed moments ago, at a speed his eyes couldn't follow, was immense.
“What in the world is that?”
“Something that can take your life in an instant.”
As if to prove his words, Darcy fired at the wall again. A solid marble pillar shattered and collapsed.
*Cough, cough.* Ryan, coughing incessantly from the thick dust, was suddenly seized by fear. The weapon, against which a sword would be useless, seemed like magic.
‘Is it magic?’
The number of people who could use magic in the palace was limited, but it was possible this man had broken that taboo.
The tables had turned. Ryan stood frozen in place, unable to move.
Darcy saw the sense of defeat welling in Ryan's eyes. To think a coward who got scared this easily had tried to take everything.
“Was your devotion to the woman you so love a good enough reason to have someone watch Marso's every move?”
Ryan, who had frowned at the sudden mention of Marso, said confidently.
“Considering Marso Etoile's actions, it was more than justified.”
“Like father, like son. You have a real talent for self-justification.”
Darcy's voice was chilling.
“I'll let this end with a warning today. Don't even think about putting anyone on Marso again.”
From the moment they'd first met, Darcy's behavior toward Marso had been consistent.
His gaze, his actions—they were all for Marso. He didn't know how deep it ran, but he was on her side, cherishing her.
‘How in the world did those two meet?’
Were they drawn to the same essence in each other?
“How can you take the side of a woman like that?”
He had his answer, but he couldn't understand it.
“Answering that would be a waste of time.”
Darcy immediately shut him down.
“For the record, I'm not the kind of idiot who falls for a pretty face.”
Ryan's face flushed.
It was a well-known fact that he had fallen for Reshuan on the very first day he saw her and began to court her.
But things were different now. Her appearance was just one part of what made Reshuan who she was. He loved everything about her.
“I—”
“I can't be bothered to listen, so get out. My business with you is done, and I have to eat with Marso.”
It would be a problem if I missed an important engagement because of something like this.
Darcy frowned and waggled the gun in his hand.
Ryan flinched.
“If you don't want to move her, call a servant.”
“...No, this is my fault. I'll help her.”
“What a beautiful sight. It's enough to bring a tear to my eye.”
Darcy watched with his arms crossed as Ryan helped up Letty, who was still clutching her ear.
“Don't even think about showing your face in front of Marso.”
Ryan gritted his teeth. It was all his fault that this had happened to his subordinate.
“Punish me instead. I was the one who ordered it, so I don't see why my subordinate has to suffer.”
“Why would I? It's quite amusing to see you like this. I always found it annoying how you held your head so high, thinking you'd become the crown prince.”
Darcy, who had been speaking with a smile, folded his fingers.
“She was by Marso's side for a year. Doesn't it seem fitting that her punishment should last for the same amount of time? The delicate Marso would surely be unable to punish her properly.”
...That woman was delicate? The sky might as well fall.
It was absurd, but the rose-colored glasses this man wore wouldn't be coming off anytime soon.
“So I'm doing it for her. Torture is a pain in the ass, but it's quite effective.”
There was even a hint of affection in his voice.
Ryan let out a hollow laugh.
This man was a prince?
He talked like a thug you'd find in some back alley.
As Ryan stared at the man in disbelief, the monotone voice reached his ears again.
“I'm sick of talking to you today, little brother. Should I put a bullet in you so you and your subordinate can die side-by-side? The head seems like the best spot.”
This man had no sense of decorum. All that existed for him was the goal he had to achieve.
‘...How did Father create such a monster?’
Ryan was struck anew by how terrifying a person Kies, who had controlled Darcy, must have been.
If someone like this became the Prince, the future of the imperial family was in danger. If Kies was alive, he had to meet him right away. They needed to talk, figure out how deeply the man's brainwashing had taken hold, and form a plan.
To move forward, one must also know when to retreat.
Ryan acknowledged the humiliating situation and realized his own power and foresight had been lacking.
He didn't know Darcy, but Darcy knew him all too well.
Today, he was bound to lose.
Ryan opened the door while supporting Letty. Leaning against him, Letty groaned. Blood was trickling from her grazed ear.
‘I have to move her quickly.’
She was someone who had willingly entered the Etoile household for his sake.
With no time to waste, Ryan hurried his steps, only to freeze. He had come face-to-face with an unwelcome sight in the hallway.
The unwelcome guest, Marso Etoile, was leaning against the corridor wall.
“...”
Ryan's and Marso's eyes met.
As did Letty's, who was being supported beside him.
***
I thought I must be seeing things.
But that was definitely Letty. The same Letty who served me dessert and apologized for overstepping her bounds.
...The Letty who should be working at the marquis's estate right now.
I blinked in bewilderment before finally managing to speak.
“Letty?”
At my question, the woman being supported by Ryan flinched. No matter how you looked at it, she was someone who knew me.
I realized red blood was dripping from her ear.
“...Letty, why are you here? What's that wound? Are you hurt? But...”
As I asked in alarm, staring at her bleeding ear, my gaze met Ryan's.
My voice, reminded once more of what kind of person he was, instantly turned cold.
“Why are you with the Prince?”
A sense of unease washed over me. A strange hypothesis formed in my mind.
I quietly shook my head. I hadn't heard Letty's answer yet. Assuming the worst-case scenario on my own would only be poisonous.
But I had to know the truth.
I quietly pressed Letty for an answer.
“Letty.”
Letty remained silent. It was unlike her usual self.
With her head lowered, I couldn't see her expression.
‘...The male lead has really outdone himself.’
There must have been some kind of deal between Ryan and Letty. Now I had to suspect everything, starting from the moment Letty was first hired.
So he finally put a tail on me.
Every single one of my actions must have been reported to him. I felt absolutely disgusted.
Would it have been better if she had denied it? If she had just denied it so I could turn a blind eye, pretending not to know?
I let out a hollow laugh, looking at the girl who couldn't bring herself to answer me. It seemed her paltry conscience had finally decided to show up at the last moment.
I saw Darcy emerge from the room behind Ryan. He rushed over to me.
“Marso, this is—”
To be honest, I wanted to deny reality. This was the girl who had taken such good care of me. There was no way a girl like that could be one of Ryan's people.
“Letty, explain it in your own words.”
But the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, one by one.
“What am I seeing right now.”
Ryan, who had known a peculiar amount about me.
“Is this, too, part of your act for my sake?”
My dry voice was brittle.
