Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Evidence (3)
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Chwaaaah—
Sena stared into the mirror. The reflection staring back wore an utterly exhausted expression.
"…Haa."
The reason wasn't anything else. It was because the Northern Grand Duke was no doubt waiting outside by now.
"Why are you doing this to me…"
Both the Crown Prince and the Northern Grand Duke—why did they keep courting her like this? Sure, it stroked her ego at first to receive such attention, but in the end, it wasn't all that great.
'…I'm not even interested.'
Did they have any idea what people whispered about her at social gatherings or small parties?
That she'd dumped her lowly ex-fiancé and seduced powerful men of good bloodlines with her body, like some whore.
Of course, no nobles said it outright.
But what could she do when she'd accidentally overheard some jealous ladies muttering it behind her back?
'That's not true at all…'
It was even more frustrating because she truly hadn't done anything.
Far from seducing the Crown Prince or the Northern Grand Duke, she'd done nothing, and yet those men had approached her on their own. What was she supposed to do about that?
The broken engagement with Yujin to begin with? She hadn't pushed for it either. Her parents, who had never approved of her betrothal to Yujin, had forced it through.
Of course, Sena herself had only negative thoughts about Yujin, so she'd tacitly gone along with the one-sided breakup…
Kwak—
…Still, her heart ached because there were memories of happiness from their time together.
"…Ngh."
She shook her head.
Feeling these emotions was pointless. What had happened had happened, and it couldn't be undone.
'…Maybe I should have talked to him about it.'
Why had he killed so many people? What was the reason for meeting another woman? Why had he tormented others like that?
Maybe she should have properly confronted him.
…Because she'd turned a blind eye to reality, she still didn't know that it had all been a misunderstanding—a sticky product of malice directed at the illegitimate son.
Wungseong wungseong—
As she stepped out of the bathroom, she sensed the café buzzing with murmurs.
'…? What's going on?'
It had clearly been a quiet, pleasant café when the Northern Grand Duke had dragged her here…
'Why is it so chaotic?'
She slowly made her way toward the source of the noise.
There, she saw two men facing off, growling at each other.
And those men were—
"…Your Excellency the Grand Duke and Yujin?"
The Northern Grand Duke and her ex-fiancé.
Yujin seized the Northern Grand Duke's wrist.
'…Demonic Energy.'
…While Sena was away, something infused with Demonic Energy was about to be slipped into her coffee. This confirmed the Northern Grand Duke's connection to Pandemonium once and for all.
In the meantime, the Northern Grand Duke growled at Yujin.
"Marquis Banus…!"
"……"
"What is the meaning of this?!"
The Northern Grand Duke's shout drew everyone's attention.
The nobles leisurely sipping their coffee all turned to stare at the commotion.
The Northern Grand Duke soon wore a sinister smile. He didn't know where this guy had popped up from, but this was a chance to smack down the irritating Yujin.
"You shouldn't lay hands on another person's body without permission. Didn't they teach you that much as a noble, Marquis?"
Murmurs rippled through the crowd at the Northern Grand Duke's words.
Sogonsogon—
"Marquis Banus grabbed the Grand Duke first?"
"Hmmm. As expected of an illegitimate son…"
Marquis Banus, jealous of the Northern Grand Duke with his ex-fiancée—that was the vibe among the nobles in the café.
Just then, Sena returned from the bathroom.
She glanced back and forth between the two men.
'…Yujin grabbed His Excellency the Grand Duke's wrist first…?'
Her expression hardened. The atmosphere around her made her think Yujin had started some pointless provocation.
"…Yujin—no, Your Excellency the Marquis. Let go of his hand first."
The Northern Grand Duke smirked triumphantly at her words.
"You heard her. Let go of that hand right now."
All eyes turned to Yujin, a palpable pressure bearing down on him.
'…How laughable.'
Pressure, huh…
……
……
Yujin suddenly let out a snort.
"I can't do that."
Murmurs spread among the onlookers. But Yujin paid no mind to the whispers.
The surrounding reactions weren't what mattered right now. What mattered was the drug still clutched in the Grand Duke's hand, laced with Demonic Energy. With that, he could flip this atmosphere in an instant.
He fixed the Northern Grand Duke with a cold stare.
"First, Your Excellency the Grand Duke should drop what's in your hand. You were pulling something out of your pocket to slip into Lady Marilsian's cup…"
"……!!!!!!"
Sogonsogon—
"A drug? He said drug?"
"What…?"
"His Excellency the Grand Duke with a drug? That's impossible."
"Is the Marquis lying?"
But the story was so outlandish that the crowd was skeptical. And rightly so—the Northern Grand Duke held the pinnacle noble rank of Grand Duke.
The idea of such a high noble secretly drugging someone's coffee was simply unbelievable.
The Northern Grand Duke glared at Yujin as if he'd been slandered with absurd lies.
"Not content with petty jealousy, now you're lying too…? Can you bear the consequences of insulting me, Marquis?"
Lies, huh…
There was no trust in the gazes the surrounding nobles directed at Yujin.
Not even a shred of basic goodwill.
…Just like Yujin's childhood.
Cold stares filled with doubt and chill.
…No one bothered to hear the reason for Yujin's actions. Not even Sena, the victim.
'…Sena, you too…'
His ex-fiancée Sena was merely repeating the same mistake from the past.
…
At that moment, Irene, who had been hiding her presence in a corner of the café, stepped forward to back Yujin.
"No. It's not a lie. I saw Grand Duke Calderon trying to slip something into Lady Marilsian's coffee while she was away."
"……!!!!!!"
The café erupted in shock once more as Irene, daughter of a duke, sided with Yujin.
The atmosphere shifted with her intervention.
Amid the confusion, Irene gave Yujin a subtle wink.
He smiled faintly back at her gaze, seizing the moment to snatch the drug from the Northern Grand Duke's hand.
"……!!!!!"
"…Ha."
The clear form of the drug was now in Yujin's hand. Only then did the café's opinion swing toward him.
"…It's really a drug?"
"…Doesn't that drug look kinda shady?"
"His Excellency the Grand Duke really…?"
"More importantly, what kind of drug is it?"
Panicking as the mood flipped with the evidence thrust before them, the Northern Grand Duke lunged to grab it back from Yujin.
"Kuh…!"
Swish—!
But that was the worst possible choice.
It was as good as admitting his guilt. Besides, a non-master like the Northern Grand Duke had no chance of wresting it back from Yujin.
In the end, the Northern Grand Duke fled the scene in a hurry.
"…You okay just letting him go like that, Yujin?"
"Even if we caught him now, he'd use his influence to slip away."
A rotten fish was still a fish—he was a Grand Duke, after all.
Sena, the victim, was merely a count's daughter, while the perpetrator was one of the empire's sole Grand Dukes.
…The gap in status was immense.
"How did an idiot like that become a Grand Duke… Tsk."
"…Right?"
So the events that had just unfolded, along with this Demonic Energy-laced drug, should be tucked away for now—to be used later as ironclad proof to seal the Northern Grand Duke's fate.
'Besides…'
The chance to cut off the Northern Grand Duke's lifeline would come soon enough.
The Demonic Energy found in the Fenrir pup, the Northern Grand Duke's mana, his suspicious actions during the capital invasion at the martial tournament. And various other treasonous acts still hidden below the surface.
Concrete evidence was piling up, so the opportunity to strike would arrive any day now.
…The empire never let traitors live.
After the clash between the Northern Grand Duke and Yujin at the café, rumors spread like wildfire.
Nobles who heard the gist dismissed it as a lovers' quarrel. A spat between an ex-fiancé and a new suitor over one woman.
But a few who paid closer attention realized it was no mere lovers' spat. There were whispers that the Northern Grand Duke had tried to drug Lady Marilsian of the Marilsian Count family.
.
.
.
.
Soon after, an even stranger rumor swept through noble society.
…The Northern Grand Duke—no.
Rumors that the current Grand Duke Calderon and all previous heads of House Calderon had plotted to overthrow the imperial family.
The nobles dismissed it as 'no way' and baseless gossip.
…The subtle power struggles between House Calderon and the imperial House Argentus had always existed, so they chalked it up to the usual fallout.
.
.
.
.
Yet the rumor spread beyond noble circles to the commoners.
At an unprecedented speed. As if someone were fanning the flames behind the scenes.
As rumors of the Grand Duke's treason blanketed the empire, the imperial army suddenly began redeploying.
…In a pattern that very conveniently encircled the North.
But the nobles paid it little mind this time too. With the war over, they figured the army was being repositioned internally for stability.
It was a reasonable assumption.
However, some began to discern the 'true intent' hidden behind the imperial army's redeployment.
And that 'true intent' was…
.
.
.
.
The capital's mood grew increasingly tense.
Flyers circulated claiming that the Central Intelligence Agency, under Yujin's orders, along with a special task force, were secretly investigating the Northern Grand Duke for treason and anti-state crimes.
At this point, the nobles realized something was seriously off.
.
.
.
.
As the flyers proved true, the imperial family announced treason and anti-state sedition charges against House Calderon and several northern nobles.
An official summons to the capital was issued for detailed investigation and trial.
…But even as time passed, House Calderon and the northern nobles refused to comply. They merely barricaded themselves in their territories, issuing statements of regret.
.
.
.
.
The imperial family finally drew its sword.
All charges against Grand Duke Calderon and the northern nobles, who had ignored the summons, were confirmed. They were officially branded imperial traitors.
Nobles across the empire realized the balance of power had fully tilted toward the throne. Yujin's stock, as the core of the imperial loyalist nobles, skyrocketed.
…But House Calderon and the northern nobles remained unmoved.
.
.
.
.
…In the end, punishment for the arrogant traitors began. All imperial forces encircling the North advanced in unison.
And at their vanguard stood Yujin.
…To ensure the traitors' lifelines were severed for good.