Chapter 205

 

* * *

 

“That child!”

At the end of Owen’s shout, Jeremiah’s voice began to be heard from outside the door.

It seemed he was scolding Evan for something.

For a moment, the Magic Tower Master’s gaze turned toward the door.

Claude hoped his mind might change even a little.

“…”

But he just bowed his head deeply without saying a word.

Before Claude could say anything more to persuade him, the door soon opened.

“Brother, the tea…”

“Sorry, Jeremiah.”

Although he felt sorry for his brother who had gone through the trouble, he decided to get up from his seat now.

He had no time to sit still and have tea.

“Are you going back already? So soon?”

“Yeah, I’ll come back next time with proper etiquette.”

Claude patted Evan’s head and also bowed to the Magic Tower Master.

It was then that the Magic Tower Master, who had been keeping silent all along, opened his mouth with difficulty.

“That child is… innocent.”

His voice and both shoulders were shaking badly, and Claude thought Owen seemed to be afraid of something.

“I… I know that fact…”

Claude stared at the Magic Tower Master’s face. He seemed to regret his words, but was trying hard to remain composed.

Claude gently pulled up both corners of his mouth to reassure Owen.

“Thank you.”

After that, he ran down the stairs of the Magic Tower with quick steps without looking back.

 

* * *

 

Even though he had once decided to trust Samuel, the Emperor was unable to grasp his own feelings.

How could he? If Samuel was truly innocent, it would mean he had ordered countless unnecessary deaths.

‘There’s no way I was wrong. Samuel was trying to kill me and become king.’

While having such thoughts, he suddenly recalled the lovely Samuel of his childhood.

The small child who called him brother, held his hand, and smiled at him brightly.

His beloved youngest brother, whom he loved the most in this world and even vowed to protect in every way.

Did the youngest sibling, to whom he had devoted all his affection, really harbor murderous intent towards him?

The Emperor shook his head. No, he hoped not.

But if that was the case…

“Hah.”

At this point, he found it painful to dig into the past he had been turning away from.

But he couldn’t delay it any longer.

Since that day, the health of Owen, who had given up his position as an imperial prince, began to deteriorate rapidly.

If he delayed any further, the three brothers might lose the chance to be together forever.

His extreme anxiety was also evident in his daily life.

He could only have one meal a day, and even that was just a snack to go with alcohol.

He couldn’t sleep at night, and even if he did fall asleep, he had nightmares.

In the midst of all this, he couldn’t even meet his brother from the Magic Tower, so he had to endure this anxiety all alone.

“Your Majesty.”

An attendant who had been ordered to investigate came with a meaningful face a month after the Emperor met Loretta.

The Emperor had a certain intuition before he even reported.

That he had found out something important…

“Wait a moment.”

The Emperor first had all the officials and attendants around him leave.

Only the Records Keeper, the attendant, and the Emperor remained, unaffected by the order.

“Speak.”

The attendant hesitated for a moment, and the Emperor did not rush him.

Perhaps he had already figured out the answer from his slow behavior.

“I’m sorry to say this, Your Majesty.”

Finally, the attendant cautiously began to speak a certain truth.

The Emperor’s hand gripping the armrest tightened.

 

* * *

 

Claude’s guess was somewhat correct.

There was no evidence anywhere of any special relationship between Prince Samuel and the maid.

But the fact that she had conceived and given birth to a child of an unknown father was revealed through an old midwife who couldn’t speak.

“She gave birth to… a child?”

The Emperor asked again as if to confirm that part, and the attendant answered yes.

“Samuel had the child without my permission!”

The Emperor got up from his seat in anger.

“B-but since the midwife can’t read or speak, we haven’t been able to find out the detailed situation. Whether it’s really his child…”

At his cautiously delivered words, the Emperor immediately rushed to him and glared at him with blue eyes.

“It must be Samuel’s child, of course!”

“However…”

“Otherwise, there would be no reason for her to go around to other noble families as soon as the child was born! That woman must have plotted something with Samuel.”

The Emperor began to blurt out the thoughts that came to mind while rapidly pacing left and right.

“To put the child they gave birth to on the throne, they went around looking for nobles to support them. I’m definitely right!”

“B-but that woman said she was just looking for a job…”

“That must be a poor excuse! She approached the nobles that way to gauge who could help her. Oh, God.”

The Emperor pressed hard near his heart and let out a deep sigh.

“I was never wrong! It was right to kill that woman. She was a traitor!”

Not just her.

The ghosts of the past that had been in his dreams every day until now must have all been people who deserved to die.

“…Even after killing all of them, I spared only Samuel.”

The Emperor stopped his busy steps and muttered gloomily.

“I showed mercy to the brother who tried to kill me! With only one oath!”

He ordered Samuel to live alone forever. He prohibited not only interaction with other nobles but also marriage.

Only by doing so could he shut the mouths of the hardline pro-emperor officials who were shouting that Samuel, the leader of the rebellion, must be killed.

“It was all to keep Samuel alive! I only wished for that child to live…! He betrayed me without knowing that…!”

Perhaps because he suddenly became agitated, his breath suddenly became blocked.

He sat down for a moment, clutching near his heart.

“Your Majesty!”

The startled attendant approached and quickly supported him.

“You need to rest. You don’t look well.”

“…No need.”

He gathered his rough breathing and slowly straightened his body.

After staring blankly at his throne for a moment, the Emperor turned his body again and shouted in an unwavering voice.

“Bring Samuel before me immediately!”

 

* * *

 

When Claude returned to the capital from the Belhold region, the Duke had already left for Kristonson.

Meeting Samuel at this time was a dangerous thing in many ways, but the Duke went ahead with it.

“If you want to run away now, I will help you. Prince Samuel, at this rate, you will face the Emperor’s anger head-on.”

Despite his passionate words, Samuel shook his head like a man who had given up.

“No, it will cause trouble for the Duke. It’s enough that you have protected my son.”

When the Duke of Baldwin took charge of protecting August, he vowed that no matter what, he would never send August before the Emperor.

“Of course, I will protect August even at the cost of my life.”

The Duke repeatedly told Samuel the oath he had made then so that he could be at ease.

“But if something happens to you, what will I tell young August?”

“Well…”

Samuel lowered his head. Now his son was not an ignorant young child.

He fully understood what kind of person his father was and why he had to live in hiding.

If the news of his father being dragged before the Emperor and killed in this situation was known, his kind son who loved his father might hold a meaningless grudge.

And that feeling would only lead August to ruin.

“You’ll have to speak very badly of me, Duke. So that the child doesn’t hold even the slightest grudge.”

“August knows you better than anyone else.”

“…”

“And he loves you.”

So no matter how badly the Duke spoke of him, August would not abandon his faith in his father.

“Run away, Prince Samuel. It’s not too late.”

The Duke held out the “potion that changes appearance” prepared by Jeremiah.

“And this is an identity certificate. You just need to change your appearance and cross the border of Kristonson. No one will be able to find you.”

At his desperate words, Samuel was reminded of a question he had long held.

Why was the Duke of Baldwin so favorable to him?

To begin with, he had little connection with the ducal family.

He was a loyal subject to the current Emperor, who was also his older brother.

He had a bad relationship with Earl Grimes, Samuel’s maternal family, and had no cooperative relationship at all.

Nevertheless, the people of the ducal family suddenly came to him one day and began to provide him with devoted help.

“Why… Why is that? Why is the Duke helping me? The fact that you know I’m innocent doesn’t explain it.”

He kept questioning without rest.

“Couldn’t you use the truth you know to gain benefits in other matters? But why are you only doing things that are disadvantageous?”

Instead of answering, the Duke just stared at Samuel’s face.

As if recalling a different moment.

“…Duke?”

When he called again, the Duke of Baldwin gently shook his head.

“No, I was just reminded of the opposite moment.”

“The opposite… you say?”

“I once asked someone the same question.”

A long time ago, when Melody told him the story about the ducal family and Loretta.

The Duke had asked a similar question.

“Didn’t you think to use that knowledge for your own benefit?”

How did Melody answer to that? The Duke rummaged through his memory of that night and slowly opened his mouth.

“It is also for my benefit, Prince Samuel.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t either, but now I think I kind of know why.”

Because he didn’t want to let someone flow into the clearly visible gloomy future.

Whether it was a girl he had only met recently or an imperial prince who was misunderstood and hated by the Emperor.

The Duke didn’t know if this feeling was sympathy, justice, or simply a rebellious spirit against a future that someone had arbitrarily decided.

Anyway, the important thing was that all these feelings were sincere.

“I hope you also find happiness, Prince Samuel.”

The Duke held out the potion to him again.

It was just then that the Emperor’s knights stormed into Samuel’s mansion.