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Charles left the underground prison and headed to the Emperor's office for an audience.
'Keep a low profile as much as possible and avoid clashing with my brother.'
If sincerity doesn't work, I'll use schemes to stop the Emperor's tyranny.
Charles's eyes turned cold as he stood in front of the office door.
'And take them out one by one. The sycophants next to my brother...'
The secretary spoke to the door of the office.
"Your Majesty, Grand Duke Ervin has arrived."
"Enter."
With the Emperor's permission, Charles entered the office.
The Emperor was sitting at his desk, reviewing documents.
Charles approached and greeted him.
"Charles de Rubena greets His Majesty the Emperor."
"You've come?"
The Emperor rummaged through the documents without even looking up.
But for some reason, the Emperor had a bandage on his left index finger.
Charles noticed the Emperor's injury and asked cautiously.
"Your Majesty, have you injured your hand?"
Only then did the Emperor raise his head and look at Charles.
"Didn't Iana Archmage say anything?"
"...What happened?"
The Emperor changed the subject, reading the audience request Charles had written.
"I see. If purification magic is proven, you want all of The Nine punished?"
"I am the one who acknowledged the purification magic and brought Iana Archmage to the capital."
"So you want the losing side to be stripped of their status?"
The Emperor leaned back deeply in his chair and gave a twisted smile.
"Even in wartime, if a member of the Imperial Family is framed, shouldn't they be held responsible to that extent?"
"..."
"Even if not all of The Nine, the person responsible must be severely punished."
Charles bowed respectfully.
The Emperor continued, pretending to ponder.
"Well... monsters might invade from the north at any time. Can we really dismiss the Archmage like that?"
At that moment, Charles threw out the words he had prepared.
"I will return to the capital and protect Your Majesty."
"Does that mean you will abandon Ervin?"
The Emperor asked with a doubtful voice.
"I will abandon Ervin. As Your Majesty said, I can't keep wandering the battlefield and being the lord of cursed lands forever."
Charles trying to hide his true feelings, and the Emperor trying to grasp them.
Their gazes intertwined sharply.
Then the Emperor slowly rose from his seat and drew a decorative sword hanging on the wall.
"Do you think I don't know you're playing tricks?"
Swish-.
The Emperor swung the sword dangerously at Charles.
His sleeve was narrowly torn.
Charles remained calm and said indifferently.
"I'm getting tired of living in tension every day."
"..."
"I don't need a territory. Just give me a house near the capital where I can stay with Iana."
The Emperor grabbed Charles's face roughly with one hand and stared into his eyes.
"Alright. Then can I hand Ervin over to Duke Havel?"
"I will follow Your Majesty's will."
Charles answered without hesitation.
And thought.
'I'll get rid of Duke Havel first.'
✦ ✦ ✦
That night, Lady Riel was waiting for the Emperor in his bedroom.
She sat in front of the dressing table, slowly brushing her hair, lost in thought.
'What happened in the greenhouse?'
In any case, Iana being imprisoned by the Emperor's order was a good sign.
She had to take advantage of this momentum to make Iana fall out of favor with the Emperor.
"But why is His Majesty so late?"
A few hours ago, the secretary had come to tell her that the Emperor was going to have drinks with his ministers.
She asked who they were, but the arrogant secretary didn't answer as usual.
'I need to get rid of that secretary who's such an eyesore...'
Just then, she heard a commotion beyond the bedroom door.
Riel approached the door to greet the Emperor.
"His Majesty the Emperor enters."
The bedroom door slowly opened with the secretary's voice.
"…!"
At that moment, Riel's eyes widened.
Charles was supporting the drunken Emperor as he walked in.
For a moment, Riel and Charles's eyes met.
Emotionless eyes that revealed nothing.
But Charles bowed to her first and greeted her, then laid the Emperor on the bed.
"His Majesty has had too much to drink."
Although she couldn't explain it clearly, she sensed a friendly atmosphere between the Emperor and the Grand Duke.
Riel glanced at the secretary standing behind her and asked Charles.
"Did the two of you have drinks together?"
"Yes, that's right, Lady Riel."
Charles answered politely.
Riel was looking at the changed atmosphere of Charles with a puzzled look.
The Emperor grabbed Riel's hand, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her deeply.
In the embarrassing atmosphere, Charles and the secretary immediately left the room.
Charles bowed deeply until the door closed.
Bang-.
As soon as the door closed, the Emperor pulled away and asked in a clear voice.
"What do you think of Charles?"
"He seems a little different than usual. He feels more docile."
The Emperor, who had turned to his side, lay on his back on the bed and said.
"Charles says he will abandon Ervin."
"Why did Your Highness suddenly make such a decision?"
Riel asked with a suspicious look.
"He must have felt a sense of crisis because his woman is imprisoned."
'He's abandoning Ervin just because of Iana?'
It was too perfect.
The situation, where his woman was imprisoned and he succumbed to the Emperor, was unbelievable, yet it was a plausible explanation.
"Does Your Majesty believe what the Grand Duke says?"
"No, that's why I'm watching."
Riel studied the Emperor's expression.
The Emperor didn't believe it, but he seemed pleased.
An expression that he didn't believe it, but wanted to believe it.
In his heart, he seemed satisfied with the Grand Duke's apparent surrender.
Riel lay down next to the Emperor and said softly.
"Your Majesty, shall I find out? Whether what Grand Duke Ervin says is true or false..."
"How?"
A strange light flickered in the Emperor's eyes.
Riel whispered with a meaningful look.
"I can find out if Your Majesty helps me a little."
✦ ✦ ✦
Long past midnight, Iana lay down but couldn't fall asleep.
Walls blocked in all directions with gray. A damp smell. A faint light coming through the cracks in the iron door.
'What was Grand Duke thinking about here?'
After tossing and turning for a while, a phrase engraved on the wall caught her eye.
She approached and looked at it, and it was a familiar sentence.
[Human dignity comes from good will.]
It was what Charles had said to her the day she was appointed Archmage.
She carefully touched the inscription.
"I've never eaten here before."
The Emperor's oppression and hunger.
Her heart ached at the thought of Charles having to endure that pain by engraving those words on the wall.
It was then.
She heard the sound of several people's footsteps outside the iron door, followed by the sound of a key turning.
'What's going on at this hour?'
Iana quickly pretended to be asleep and lay down.
Creak-.
The iron door slowly opened, and a familiar silhouette in a dress came into view.
'Why is Riel here so late at night?'
Iana sat up with a wary look.
Riel entered the iron door with a candle in one hand.
"Iana, you're really carefree. You're sleeping comfortably here."
Iana retorted at Riel's sarcasm.
"Lady Riel, shouldn't you be sleeping comfortably? Why did you come to such a shabby place?"
"I came to tell you some important news."
As soon as Riel finished speaking, she gestured to the guards behind her.
The guards rushed over and tied Iana's hands.
But Iana watched the situation calmly without resisting.
When all the guards had left, Riel slowly spoke.
"Iana, it seems Grand Duke really loves you."
"What do you mean?"
Iana felt a sense of foreboding.
"What could it mean?"
"Stop playing around and tell me."
Riel leaned forward and brought the candle close to Iana's face.
The orange light flickered dangerously.
"Grand Duke has abandoned Ervin. For you."
"Really?"
Iana was surprised, but she regained her composure.
'Don't focus on the words, focus on the intention.'
The intention behind Riel coming to tell her this late at night.
She couldn't completely believe Riel's words, nor could she know the full story.
But she could roughly guess the intention behind the words.
'She came to confirm whether Grand Duke really abandoned Ervin.'
Then she had to give Riel something believable to say.
Iana opened her mouth in a low voice.
"If Grand Duke abandoned Ervin, it's not because of me, but because of Crown Prince."
"What?"
"Since you, a woman from the Estina family, are running rampant in the Imperial Palace, it's for the sake of Crown Prince's revenge."
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