--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The imperial palace was in an uproar.
The banquet was immediately suspended as news of Ludian's accident spread.
Azeff managed the aftermath of the banquet and ordered the post-accident procedures before he could come to the Crown Prince's palace.
He was an emperor before he was a father.
"Your Majesty."
As he entered Ludian's room, Empress Vanessa, who had arrived earlier, turned to him.
"How is Ludian?"
Azeff asked in a hurried voice.
He had confirmed Ludian's safety as soon as he heard about the accident, but his anxiety wouldn't completely subside until he saw it with his own eyes.
"He woke up briefly a little while ago and then fell asleep again."
Azeff was relieved to see the child sleeping peacefully and sat next to Vanessa.
"You must have been very surprised as well."
Vanessa silently stroked the child's head.
The moment he noticed her hand was trembling slightly, Vanessa opened her mouth.
"If I had been by Ludian's side, this accident wouldn't have happened, would it?"
"Vanessa, this isn't your fault. It's not like you wanted to leave Ludian alone."
Azeff took his wife's hand.
Vanessa, who had been weakened since childbirth, rarely attended events that required her to stay for long periods of time.
Today's founding anniversary was no exception.
But saying 'it couldn't be helped' didn't ease Vanessa's mind.
Vanessa smiled bitterly and looked at the sleeping Ludian before speaking.
"Still, it's fortunate that Duchess Farnese... no, Miss Leticia was there at that moment."
The moment the name 'Leticia' came out of her mouth, Azeff paused.
Just from the fact that Leticia was referred to by her name instead of 'Duchess,' he could guess what the story would be.
"I'd like to invite her to the imperial palace soon to express my gratitude. She also helped find my mother's necklace the other day. You'll allow it, won't you?"
"Vanessa, she is—"
"I know. You don't approve of Miss Leticia."
"......"
"But her personal life is a separate matter, and we owe her a great debt that we can't repay with anything. So we should express our gratitude. And more than anything..."
Vanessa turned to Azeff and paused.
"Don't we still not know her well enough to comment on her personal life?"
"......What do you mean?"
"Of course, no matter what reason you give, you can't justify Leticia's actions. Getting involved with someone else without ending her relationship with her husband is definitely wrong."
"......"
"But, Your Majesty, if she had requested a divorce because her husband had taken a mistress, would anyone have listened to her?"
"......"
"They would have said things like, 'Is that all?', 'How will a woman live alone?', 'Just endure it'..."
It was common to have mistresses in the empire, but that didn't mean it was recognized as grounds for divorce for the spouse.
However, as Vanessa said, it was much more difficult for the woman to get a divorce.
No, starting the divorce itself was much more difficult for the woman.
"She might have desperately wanted a divorce enough to endure all of that."
"......"
"Before we blame her, shouldn't we first consider whether we were prepared to listen to her voice?"
Azeff was stunned, as if he had been hit on the head by Vanessa's sharp words.
He looked at the peacefully sleeping Ludian for a moment before nodding.
"...You're right. It seems it was I, not Idris, who was caught up in personal feelings."
He thought approving Leticia and Peytan's divorce would be abandoning his impartiality as an emperor and looking out for Idris's circumstances.
'But after listening to Vanessa...'
He wondered if he had been ignoring Leticia's voice under the pretext of impartiality, hoping Idris would meet someone better.
"Do as the empress wishes."
Of course, neither Leticia nor Peytan had officially filed for divorce yet, and he wasn't ready to readily grant approval, but...
At least he thought it would be okay to express his gratitude to Leticia for this incident and listen to her story.
"However, after both you and Miss Leticia have fully recovered your health."
His permission came with a firm condition.
Only then did Vanessa smile and lean on her husband's shoulder.
"My wise Majesty. Thank you."
"I should be the one thanking you."
Azeff was convinced as he looked at the safe Ludian and Vanessa.
That her decision to thank Leticia was the right one.
After the banquet ended, Deon also returned to the Grand Duke's residence.
"Welcome back, Your Highness."
Deon passed by the butler and servants who greeted him and entered the mansion.
The butler immediately noticed that Deon's mood was different from usual.
Normally, he would ask the butler if there was anything wrong, or at least pretend to acknowledge the greeting by nodding his head.
But today he didn't even do that.
As the butler keenly followed Deon, Deon quietly ordered.
"Bring me some water."
The butler signaled to a servant next to him, then followed Deon.
Deon headed to his room.
As he nervously loosened his cravat, a servant brought a water jug and a cup.
The butler skillfully poured water and approached Deon.
Deon snatched the cup, drank the water, and threw the empty cup against the wall.
Crash—!
The servant was startled by the sudden sound of shattering, but the butler didn't even flinch.
The butler signaled the servant to step back, then closed the door.
Deon's voice echoed in the darkness.
"The plan went wrong."
The butler, who had guessed from Deon's actions that the situation was not good, didn't even show surprise.
Sitting on the sofa, Deon frowned, thinking of the face of the culprit who had thwarted the plan.
"...My beloved brother blocked my path again. How adorable."
Today, the plan to kill Ludian during the banquet failed.
It would have been good if it had just ended in a simple failure, but today's failure ruined everything.
'Azeff knows that there are forces targeting Ludian.'
There are many old men who don't like Ludian because his position is unstable, so the encirclement won't narrow easily, but the problem is...
'From now on, the security will be several times more stringent.'
It has become much harder to kill that little brat.
The only saving grace is that Idris killed the maid who was trying to kill Ludian.
But even if the maid is dead, there is still information to be collected, so they will desperately track down the clues they find.
Besides...
'He even publicly insulted me.'
Idris appeared holding the hand of the woman he had been eyeing, and even insulted him in front of everyone.
He wanted to kill Idris and Leticia, whom he couldn't have in the end, but...
Now was the time to lie low and wait for the next opportunity.
Deon took a deep breath, as if to suppress the rising anger, then called the waiting butler in a low voice.
"Gilbert."
At Deon's call, the butler, who had been silently guarding his side like darkness, stepped forward and answered.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Finish cleaning up Kanna Rier. Before dawn tomorrow."
"Understood."
After giving the order regarding the dead maid, Deon turned and headed to his room.
'It just takes a little more time, and eventually the throne will be mine.'
So he suppressed his emotions.
Comments
Post a Comment