Chapter 239: The Secret Revealed
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 239: The Secret Revealed
As Adrian approached, the Grand Duke spoke softly to the Grand Duchess.
“Annette, would you mind staying with the knights for a moment?”
The Grand Duchess glanced at Adrian, nodded, and then turned to the maid standing behind her.
“Cecilia, let’s go.”
Escorted by a knight, the two women descended the steps of the Imperial Annex.
The Grand Duke’s intention to keep her as far away from Adrian as possible was transparent.
As Adrian drew closer, the Grand Duke straightened his posture threateningly.
“Make it brief.”
“You crazy bastard.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
Adrian let out the raw frustration simmering inside him.
“Because of you, the entire North was nearly slapped with charges of treason.”
“I didn’t realize the Commander of the Imperial Knights cared so much about the North,” the Grand Duke muttered, his face cold as ice. “Have those few days in Blenheim actually made you fond of my territory?”
Provoked, Adrian lunged forward and grabbed the Grand Duke by the collar.
“Do you even think? Were you planning to turn the innocent Grand Duchess into a traitor as well?”
This son of a bitch.
The Grand Duke spat out a curse under his breath, his dark eyes flickering with savage intensity. He reached out and violently seized Adrian’s collar in return.
“Didn’t I warn you? I believe I told you I’d kill you if you harbored any filthy desires for my wife.”
“Her Highness the Consort is a holy representative of the Goddess before she is your wife.” Adrian gritted his teeth, forcing the words out. “As a faithful servant of the Goddess, I am merely concerned for her.”
“How amusing.” The Grand Duke’s grip tightened until his knuckles turned white. “I have no need for the concern of someone as incompetent as you.”
Adrian’s face flushed crimson. As the Commander of the Knights, his pride had already been thoroughly trampled.
“Am I wrong?” The Grand Duke sneered, his lips curling. “You were right next to her, yet you couldn’t even stop the Empress’s pathetic little scheme. You let the Grand Duchess get frightened.”
“I would have handled it regardless!” Adrian shouted, the veins in his neck bulging. “I was just about to go and escort Her Highness!”
He, too, was well aware of how the Empress controlled the noblewomen. He had sensed something was wrong and was just about to send the Emperor’s attendant to the lounge.
“But you, you idiot, jumped straight into the trap without a second thought and blew everything out of proportion!”
Just as Adrian began to mock him, asking if his brain had regressed to the level of the monsters he hunted, the Grand Duke leaned in close, a twisted smirk on his face.
“Do you really think I didn’t know it was a trap?”
He knew and still did something so reckless?
“Listen,” the Grand Duke whispered, his voice a low, ominous rasp. “I simply cannot tolerate anyone daring to frighten my wife like that.”
A strange golden hue shimmered within his dark pupils.
“Whether it’s a bluff or a trap, I don’t give a damn.”
“You were willing to commit treason for such a trivial reason?”
“As many times as it takes.”
Adrian flinched, his shoulders tensing at the sheer ferocity in the Grand Duke’s eyes.
“You know it too, don’t you?” the Grand Duke said, releasing Adrian’s collar and shoving him back. “The safety of the Empire doesn’t depend on you or your flashy, hollow Imperial Knights. It all depends on what decision I choose to make.”
His pride was crushed, but Adrian couldn’t find the words to refute him. He knew better than anyone that even though they were both Sword Masters, he and the Grand Duke were in entirely different leagues.
“So, don’t give me a reason to change my mind,” the Grand Duke said, turning away and waving lightly to the Grand Duchess, who was waiting for him. “That is, if you want to remain the Commander of the Imperial Knights.”
The Grand Ducal carriage had already arrived in front of the Annex. Adrian could only stand there, watching the Grand Duke’s back as he leisurely departed.
* * *
As they waited for the carriage outside the Annex, the sun began to set, and darkness started to settle over the grounds.
“Annette, I’m sorry for making you wait.”
Loik’s face was bathed in the glow of the sunset as he descended the stairs.
I had so much I wanted to say. I figured we could talk comfortably once we were in the carriage.
With Loik’s escort, I hurried inside. But just as Loik was stepping in behind me, I heard a violent retching sound.
I turned around instantly, and my mind went blank.
Red blood was dripping through the fingers Loik had pressed against his mouth.
Loik reached out with his other hand to steady me, as if trying to reassure me, and barked an order to Norton, who was standing outside.
“Drive.”
Norton’s face hardened. He quickly shut the door and gave the command to depart.
“Loik! What’s wrong? Is it a mana overload?”
Now that I looked closely, Loik’s face was deathly pale. When I cupped his cheeks with my trembling hands, his head slumped heavily into my palms. His breathing was ragged and broken.
Even then, Loik managed a faint smile and whispered, “It would be better if Annette hugged me, though…”
I hurriedly pulled his head into my arms, and he collapsed against me, his strength failing. The back of his neck, where my fingers touched, was burning with a fever.
I began to pour my holy power into him with everything I had. A white light flowed from my hands, slowly seeping into his broad back.
He must have lost consciousness, as his large frame went limp and heavy. Trembling with the fear that something might happen to him, I continued to breathe my energy into him without pause.
* * *
Norton sat in the dining room of the Grand Duke’s townhouse.
The table was laden with food—stew packed with meat, bread, sautéed vegetables, and steaks. They were dishes Berni had rushed to prepare so the knights could fill their empty stomachs.
The knights, who had practically starved all day while storming the palace, were devouring the food. But Norton couldn’t bring himself to swallow a single bite. For some reason, this felt like a Last Supper.
Across from him, Leon was relentlessly stuffing steak into his mouth. Norton was staring at the carefree youngest knight while stirring his soup aimlessly when he heard it.
Click. Click.
The sound of perfectly measured footsteps echoed through the dining room, sending a chill down his spine. The knights, who had been busy with their forks, all froze.
A moment later, the Grand Duchess entered the room, her expression calm.
“No need to stand. Please, continue your meal.”
Waving off the knights who tried to rise, the Grand Duchess sat at the head of the table as an attendant pulled out her chair.
“Is the food to your liking?”
Her tone was kind as usual, but there was a distinct chill in the air.
Upon arriving at the townhouse a short while ago, the Grand Duke had been carried to his bedroom on a stretcher. Fortunately, thanks to the Grand Duchess’s holy power, he had regained some stability and was now asleep.
The Grand Duchess hadn’t asked a single question about what had happened. She had simply sat by the bed, carefully wiping the blood from the Grand Duke’s hands with a damp towel.
“You’ve all had a long day. Go and eat first.”
Only after hearing those words did the knights finally breathe a sigh of relief and head down to the dining room for a late meal.
“It is more than enough, Your Highness. We are nearly finished,” one of the knights answered cautiously.
The Grand Duchess slowly rested her clasped hands on the table and leaned her chin on them.
“Then, shall we talk?”
Silence fell instantly. The knights, sensing the ominous atmosphere, swallowed hard.
It’s finally happening.
Norton felt a cold shiver run down his spine. The Grand Duchess’s eyes were smiling, but her lips were set in a hard line.
What if the Grand Duchess finds out?
This was what the knights had been worried about ever since the Grand Duke had coughed up blood in the Dragon’s Lair. However, they had assumed the Grand Duke would be the one to face her wrath.
“Who wants to go first?” the Grand Duchess asked in a remarkably sweet voice. “How exactly did the Grand Duke get hurt like that?”
The knights’ mouths remained clamped shut as if they had been nailed. They all kept their eyes fixed firmly on the table, terrified of making eye contact with her. Even the Mage sat with his hands folded politely.
As the suffocating silence stretched on, the Grand Duchess singled out Norton.
Why me of all people…!
When he dared to look up, he saw a fire smoldering in her eyes.
I swore I’d keep the secret until my Lord confessed his sins himself…
The moment he met the Grand Duchess’s terrifying gaze, Norton’s mouth opened as if by magic.
“We went to the Dragon’s Lair to slay it!”
The Grand Duchess’s face went cold.
“What did you just say? A dragon?”
Faint groans escaped from the other knights. Norton squeezed his eyes shut, thinking that it might be better if his Lord didn’t wake up for a very long time.
* * *
Loik’s eyes snapped open.
He felt refreshed, as if he had slept exceptionally well. Though his energy was still a bit unstable, the agonizing pain that had been tearing through his body was completely gone.
The room was dim, but he didn’t need to see to know who the source of the warmth in his arms was.
Annette.
Loik buried his face in the crook of her soft neck, inhaling her sweet scent deeply. As he pulled her supple body flush against his, the warmth of her skin made his lips curl into a smile.
He cupped her small face, his thumb brushing against her soft, moist lips.
I want to kiss her.
As a reward for the agonizing loneliness of the past few days, Loik moved his face closer to the sleeping Annette.
But just as his lips were about to touch hers, a slender finger pressed against them, stopping him.