25
===
It was a lucky day.
Michele, who had been guarding the brick house, received an invitation from Aileen. Aileen had invited the knights to her house to treat them to a delicious dinner, excluding their superior, Cesare, from the gathering of subordinates.
The Grand Duke's knights swore absolute loyalty to their master, but sometimes they wanted to commit insubordination.
Diego, hearing the invitation from Michele, made a grand plan: "Dinner at the would-be Grand Duchess's house with the Grand Duke's knights, excluding His Excellency the Grand Duke," and decided to unite with his colleagues after a long time.
"Lady Aileen sent an invitation?"
Senon reacted violently upon receiving the invitation. He was so excited that he even crumpled the corner of a document that he had to report to Cesare.
Senon was the only nobleman among the Grand Duke's knights. He was very intelligent and worked as Cesare's adjutant.
Senon was also the one who organized the research materials found in Aileen's laboratory this time. Currently, Senon was consulting with several lawyers regarding drug-related laws and the Grand Duke's immunity.
He was working overtime and staying up all night alone to prepare everything perfectly before Aileen's wedding.
However, even Senon could not ignore the tremendous news of "Dinner at the would-be Grand Duchess's house with the Grand Duke's knights, excluding His Excellency the Grand Duke."
He was already very upset that he couldn't go to the banquet the other day. He vowed to participate at all costs, saying he couldn't miss this opportunity.
"Absolutely. I'm definitely going... I'll stay up all night for a week after I come back..."
While Senon was muttering darkly to himself, Diego was stroking a rabbit doll with an excited heart. It was said to be made with foreign cotton that had crossed the sea, and the texture was amazing. Touching the soft doll made him feel healed.
Seeing the burly man hugging a rabbit doll and happily fiddling with it, Senon couldn't stand Diego's unsightly appearance and rebuked him.
"Lady Aileen is already twenty-one years old, what's with the doll?"
"The young lady will definitely like it."
Diego naturally condemned Senon, saying that it was because his sensitivity was lacking. He had brought it to show off his amazing gift, but he also lamented that no one recognized it.
Senon frowned, recalling Diego's house full of various dolls and cute props. He was about to rebuke him, telling him not to impose his taste on Lady Aileen.
"Emergency!"
Michele burst into the office and shouted.
"The madam has been kidnapped!"
At her cry, Senon put down the documents, and Diego put down the rabbit doll and ran out of the office in a flash. Already, soldiers were gathered on the first floor of the Grand Duke's Residence, and Cesare was receiving a report on the situation from Rohan.
Although the soldiers guarding the brick house had been withdrawn, security personnel were always stationed out of Aileen's sight in preparation for any possible situation.
But all of those personnel had been killed. Those who went to the shift change found the soldiers dead with their uniforms stripped off and immediately reported the kidnapping.
"It has been confirmed that there is a traitor in the military high command and is currently under investigation."
Diego, who reported the betrayal of a high-ranking official, first examined Cesare. Unlike the soldiers who were furious at the betrayal of a trusted superior, he seemed very calm.
However, his seemingly calm red eyes flickered with a different light than usual. He was just pretending to be calm. Cesare, after hearing Rohan's report, was lost in thought for a short time.
"...Has it changed? The situation has changed, so it may not be completely controlled."
Cesare uttered incomprehensible words and immediately ordered.
"I'm going to the Speaker of the Senate."
Speaker of the Senate, Marquess Menegin, was from the military.
When Cesare was a prince, the Marquess was leading the military as commander. He often called Cesare to the battlefield, and he sometimes stole some of the achievements Cesare had made.
With the fame he had built up in that way, he rose to the position of Speaker of the Senate and was currently the central figure of the anti-royal faction.
Senon quickly winked at Rohan. Rohan objected to Cesare's order.
"Wouldn't it be difficult to see Marquess Menegin as the culprit?"
Although he was a damn bastard, the Marquess did not win the position of Speaker of the Senate by luck. He was good at political maneuvering. He would not have committed such a foolish act that would end not only his political life but also his real life.
"Not the Marquess, but his son-in-law."
"...!"
The knights all had knowing expressions at Cesare's casual remark. Marquess Menegin, who had been childless for a long time, barely had a daughter in his later years.
He wanted to pass on everything to his precious daughter, but according to imperial law, a woman could not be given a title. So, he took in a young and talented member of the Lower House as his son-in-law and made him his political successor.
He had carefully selected his son-in-law, but there was something the Marquess had overlooked. His son-in-law, Mattio, was more greedy than the Marquess.
The Marquess's son-in-law was not satisfied with just the name of Menegin. Mattio wanted to seize not only power but also wealth. So, he secretly imported foreign grass that was not yet known to the empire. It was marijuana.
It was easy to smuggle it in using Menegin's power. Mattio mixed marijuana with other grass to create a new drug and began selling it little by little. All of the new drugs that were popular on Fiore Street recently were Mattio's goods.
He twisted the transaction route two or three times to prevent anyone from finding the mastermind, but Cesare immediately pointed out that Mattio was the drug dealer, even though there was no information.
Even though he had noticed it early on, Cesare left Mattio alone until he had made a considerable amount of money. Mattio thought things were going smoothly, but he had jumped into a deep trap on his own.
Cesare appeared before Mattio only when he was completely cornered.
It was a drug scandal that would blow away even Marquess Menegin. By the time Mattio realized it, he had already fallen into Cesare's grasp.
Mattio, realizing that his life was over, went completely insane. He hired an assassin, thinking that if Cesare was gone, everything would be fine.
However, the assassination ended in a miserable failure. Rather, the event of that day was called the "Bloody Banquet," and it only provided an opportunity for the nobles to fear Cesare.
Mattio, whose last struggle had failed, eventually kidnapped Aileen. Since he was going to die anyway, it was an act of malice to take revenge on Cesare before he died.
Marquess Menegin was still unaware of all of this.
Of course, ignorance was no excuse. The Marquess would pay the price for his misjudgment.
"Archduke Erzeht!"
Marquess Menegin shouted and came down the stairs leading to the hall. The Marquess's Residence was as bright as day because of the soldiers who had suddenly invaded in the middle of the night.
The Marquess, wearing an eye patch, came down the stairs diligently, even though he was limping on one leg, and swung his cane at the soldiers who had invaded rudely, shouting in anger.
"You, you, you heinous bastards...! Do you know where this is!"
Cesare shot with a blank face. The bullet accurately hit the ring of the heavy chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The chandelier fell to the marble floor.
Crash!
Fragments of the chandelier filled the floor of the hall. After scattering hundreds of pieces of glass over the imposing crest of the Menegin family, Cesare approached the Marquess.
"Marquess Menegin."
He pressed the muzzle of the gun, which was still warm, against his eye patch.
The Marquess, who had been shouting just now, immediately became docile. As soon as he faced the madness in Cesare's red eyes, he realized that something was wrong.
"Why, why are you doing this..."
"Where is the location of the villa you gave to your son-in-law, Mattio?"
The Marquess looked bewildered at the sudden question. But at the sound of Cesare cocking his gun, he immediately revealed the location.
"It's about thirty minutes by car from the capital!"
"Guide me."
Cesare lowered the gun and nodded. Rohan picked up Marquess Menegin and put him on his shoulder.
"I will serve you, Marquess."
The Marquess, helplessly held by Rohan, went to the villa with him. Since they covered the thirty-minute distance in ten minutes, he vomited as soon as he got out of the car. However, no one paid attention to the condition of the elderly Marquess.
Faint lights were leaking from the villa. Cesare gestured lightly. Snipers approached the villa. It was not difficult to find a sniping position because there were many windows. Michele sent a signal that preparations were complete, and Cesare authorized the firing.
Gunshots rang out. The villa was filled with the screams of men who had lost their legs. Listening to their screams, Cesare walked alone towards the villa. It was a hasty pace, unlike usual.
