127 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 127
127
====
Leone was silent for a moment. After a long silence, he finally spoke with difficulty.
"...A will?"
"Didn't Your Majesty visit Aileen Elrod last?"
"......"
Aileen Elrod, who was arrested on suspicion of violating the Narcotics Control Act, was immediately imprisoned. No one looked for Aileen Elrod, who was certain to be executed.
Her father, as soon as his daughter was arrested, packed up anything of value and fled in a hurry, fearing that the fire would spread to him.
Cesare was her only support, but he was pouring all his energy into the Kalpen conquest, so there was no one in The Capital to protect Aileen.
Except for one person, Leone.
Cesare, as he set out to conquer Kalpen, entrusted Aileen to Leone. But in the final moment, Leone prioritized Aileen's will and the Traon Imperial Family over his brother's request.
Cesare understood Leone's decision. It was a practical judgment. But he understood it, but he didn't accept it.
They both already knew that the brothers' friendship could never return to what it once was. Leone quietly fell silent and lowered his head.
"Follow me."
Leaving his knights behind, only Cesare and Leone moved. Leone led Cesare to the Emperor's bedroom.
Pressing one corner of the Four-pillar bed revealed a small space with a click. Inside were a small knife, a pistol, some gold coins, and a neatly folded piece of paper.
Leone picked up the paper and stood there for a moment. He turned his back to Cesare and began to speak.
"I never intended to hide it from the beginning."
There was a rustling sound as the paper crumpled. It was because Leone's hand was clenched tightly.
"I thought you were having such a hard time, so I was just going to give it to you when you calmed down a little...."
Cesare stared at the hand with its blue veins bulging. Fortunately, the paper was only slightly crumpled. Leone took a deep breath and exhaled. Then he finally turned around and looked straight at Cesare.
"How did you know there was a will?"
When he met with Aileen, there was no one around, not even a jailer or a rat. Only Aileen and Leone were in the prison.
The meaning of Leone's question was clear. He was asking if he had been put under surveillance. To the one who asked if he suspected his only twin brother, Cesare gave a nonchalant answer.
"There's no way that child would have died without saying anything to me."
Leone was not under any surveillance. The reason he suspected that Leone was hiding Aileen's will was simple.
It was because she had not been summarily executed as soon as she was caught. Since she had been imprisoned for some time, he was sure that she had left him a message in some form.
She would not have had the money or the means to bribe the guards, so she would have asked Leone, the only one who came to visit her, to deliver the will. It was a simple deduction based on the way the child had thought since she was young.
"...I see."
Leone tightened his grip on the paper. As the paper made a precarious sound as if it would tear, Cesare immediately called out to Leone.
"Brother."
Leone's eyes widened at the title that fell from Cesare's lips. Cesare silently held out his hand to him, and Leone finally handed over the will.
He accepted the will but did not open it on the spot. After carefully placing it in his bosom, Cesare gave a twisted smile.
"You haven't forgotten, have you? That we agreed to pay the price together."
Leone nodded heavily. The Imperial Crown on his head seemed to be pressing down on Leone.
But Cesare did not take the Imperial Crown off Leone's head. Just as he could not put down his sword even after the war was over, Leone also had to wear the Imperial Crown.
Cesare left the Imperial Palace and went straight to the Brick house. Like the day he read the diary, he read the will in Aileen's bedroom on the second floor.
The will consisted of only one sheet of paper. It was not long, so he could read it all before the hour hand of the clock went around once.
But Cesare held the will for a long time and read it over and over again. It wasn't because he didn't understand it.
He felt like he knew why Leone hadn't shown it to him. After reading the words pressed hard on the paper countless times, he burst out laughing at some point.
He couldn't bear how ridiculous this whole situation was. Cesare, who was laughing like crazy, came to a conclusion.
***
It rained that day. As heavy raindrops poured down, all the nobles of The Capital were summoned to the Imperial Palace by Imperial order.
Nobles who had traveled abroad, gone to the countryside for recuperation, or gone down to their local territories were all summoned without exception. Everyone except for the local nobles who did not participate in The Capital politics gathered in one place.
The nobles gathered in the grand banquet hall, which was usually used for large events, could not hide their anxiety. It was because they had felt an unusual atmosphere from the moment they entered the Imperial Palace.
Inside the banquet hall, soldiers were orderly positioned. They stood with their hands behind their backs, their faces as stiff as statues.
"It feels like we're being herded for a hunt."
When one noble joked with a smile, the others agreed with uneasy smiles. Some were making jokes, but there were also quite a few nobles who raised their voices and got angry.
"Where is Archduke Erzeht! I need to speak to His Imperial Majesty directly. No matter how much of a hero he is, this is such an arrogant act!"
As Parvellini Duke trembled, shouting, the nobles around him raised their voices together.
If it were just an Imperial order, they wouldn't have gathered like this. But behind the Emperor's order was Archduke Erzeht.
The soldiers under the Grand Duke brought the nobles to the Imperial Palace themselves. It was called escorting, but it was practically the same as taking them into custody.
Many nobles resisted the assembly order, but the soldiers only repeated the same words. It was an Imperial order and also an order from Archduke Erzeht, so they should first enter the palace and speak to the Grand Duke. They also openly threatened that they would have no choice but to use coercive measures if they disobeyed.
As a result, all the nobles of The Capital gathered at the Imperial Palace on the same day.
"I don't know what kind of grand announcement you're trying to make, but you'll have to pay the price for it."
Parvellini Duke said, filled with anger. The Grand Duke had not even clearly informed them of the purpose of the gathering. Even Parvellini Duke, who was classified as pro-Imperial Family, had been dragged here without receiving any prior notice, so it was enough to make him furious.
The nobles were wondering what purpose Archduke Erzeht had in gathering them all in one place.
Not long after all the nobles had gathered, the door to the grand banquet hall opened.
The Grand Duke, wearing the uniform of the Commander-in-Chief of the Traon Empire, appeared. The uniform, covered in medals, was proof that he had defended Traon.
Four knights followed behind the Grand Duke. The knights, whom the Grand Duke had personally selected and placed under his command since he was a prince, were famous for their great skills. The nobles momentarily forgot the situation and turned their eyes to their figures in the Imperial Army uniforms.
And the moment the Grand Duke and the knights entered, the soldiers waiting in the grand banquet hall all saluted at once. The Grand Duke lightly waved his hand, and they immediately stood at attention.
The nobles swallowed hard at the seamless and perfectly coordinated actions, as if they were one body. It was because they realized that the Imperial Army's loyalty was beyond what they had imagined.
The high-ranking nobles who had been waiting only for Archduke Erzeht were the first to approach him. At the head was Parvellini Duke.
"Archduke Erzeht! Why have you committed such an outrageous act!"
While the Duke was shouting, Cesare sent a simple hand signal to the knights behind him. The nobles had no way of knowing the hand signals used only in the military. At the same time as the signal was given, the door to the grand banquet hall closed.
Following the heavy sound of the door closing, the windows that had been open closed all at once, and all escape routes were blocked. The soldiers drew the swords they were wearing at their waists. The blades of the swords, which they had thought were for ceremonial purposes, were bluish and sharp.
"...G, Grand Duke?"
Parvellini Duke, realizing that something was wrong, stammered in confusion. Archduke Erzeht drew his sword in front of the Duke. And stabbed it into his neck.
The series of events flowed smoothly. Until a fountain of blood spurted from Parvellini Duke and his body fell to the floor. No one in the banquet hall could open their mouths.
The Grand Duke, covered in blood like crimson eyes, smiled and ordered.
"Kill them all."
