The feet that moved during the night were busy. Even in the darkness, many people pouring out of the imperial castle were clearly visible. The personnel naturally divided into several branches and moved. The Archduke’s subordinate, who had been observing the situation from a distance, held his breath and hid himself in the darkness as he watched the personnel approaching his side. One of the approaching soldiers crouched on the ground at some point and got up. It was a fixed point. After the soldiers had passed, the Archduke’s men came out of hiding. A small note pressed down with a stone was placed at a designated point.
[The imperial castle was empty because the entire knights excluding the imperial palace guards were composed of a search party. It is expected that some of the guards will be recruited soon.]
The Grand Duke was right when he said that the prince would divide his forces to find the woman. The prediction was correct, so all that was left was the report. The subordinate quickly rode his horse and entered the palace.
“Dismiss. Surveillance is back with intelligence.”
“Okay, come in.”
The low-pitched voice calmed his trembling heart and entered the room. The Grand Duke of the fortress stood upright. He didn’t know if he had a slight twist, he might die right away. It was a time when he had to risk his life even for one report.
“All right. Dismiss. As your Excellency said, troops are pouring out of the imperial castle and are scattering in various directions.”
“It doesn’t come right at me… Yes, that’s right.”
The Archduke muttered without expression. As soon as the prince realized that the woman was missing, he would have realized that the whole kidnapping was the work of the Archduke. Thinking of how the prince had been provoking the grand duke in the meantime, he wasn’t a man with a broken heart. When he remembered that he was careless thinking that he was half-hearted and got pissed off, it felt like his blood was gushing again. How angry he was when he saw the assassin he had sent, the body wrapped with a pink ribbon as if it were a gift.
“It’s something you just have to wait for, it’s me.”
All the Archduke wanted was for the prince, who was mad to the point of his head, to lose his temper and lead his army into the Archduke’s mansion. He predicted his chances of success by saying that he would break through the strict guard of the imperial palace, and if he brought him into the realm of the Archduke without having to cover the name of treason, he could surely win. Originally, in all battles, it was advantageous to bring the enemy into an area familiar to one and fight. He builds the mansion as a fortress, fires at the invading prince’s army, and eventually obtains the throne by negotiating with the woman as collateral. If this happens, the Archduke would only become a victim of the prince’s unprovoked anger. The woman’s existence should not be known to the world.
If the prince suddenly retreated or disappeared, people would be suspicious of him, but if the prince attacked the Archduke and then counterattacked, who would ask what? And even though the Archduke received the throne, the fact that the prince, who became nothing after that, wandered the streets and died abruptly, would not be the Archduke’s fault either. This scenario was the most ideal victory the Archduke hoped for.
The prince was colder than expected, and it seemed that he loved Beatrice Giuseppe very much. Seeing how he first thought of a way to save the girl rather than being angry at the part where the girl was stolen. He even came into enemy territory, and it’s a bummer if he didn’t have the girl. Rescuing the girl would be the first priority for the prince. He couldn’t even figure out whereabouts, so what’s the point of starting a fight?
The prince knew that the priority was to search all suspicious places other than the Archduke’s residence to find the woman. But no matter how hard he tried to find the woman, eventually his patience would run out and he would come to the Archduke on his own.
The Archduke simply had to wait until the prince, who had barely kept his cool, became impatient and lost his temper. The Archduke rose from his seat. He wanted to go and see the gift that made the situation advantageous. At the end of the footsteps was the dungeon of the Archduke’s mansion, where Beatrice Giuseppe was imprisoned.
“Hmm. After all, it was fun to be outraged when the hypnosis was over. I don’t like being quiet right now.”
Inside the prison, Beatrice Giuseppe, who he saw as she entered, was sitting with her head bowed. The Archduke clicked his tongue. When heavily hypnotized, his commands had to be as simple as possible. The Ripper’s order to Trixie was to wake up at the midnight bell after a full night’s sleep and come to the palace. He made her get out of the imperial castle and come to the Archduke’s residence. It was a long journey, so it was difficult to do a long and complex hypnosis. Thanks to this, Trixie’s hypnosis was lifted as soon as she arrived, and Trixie, who arrived, was surprised and rebelled against those who threatened her. The appearance of rebellion was desperate enough to suit his taste, but the Archduke was busy. He couldn’t be bothered with a noisy bitch, so he called the Ripper again and hypnotized her. This time, he was ordered to sit like a doll until Ripper released the hypnosis.
“It’ll all be a mess soon anyway, so there’s no need to be greedy now.”
In his mind, he wanted to take off the hypnosis again and torture her. The Archduke was quite fond of seeing women screaming, especially a proud and strong woman like this girl. There were many ways. He would enjoy the time he spent thinking about which method to use. It seemed like it would be fun to throw it in front of the prince. But the Archduke knew very well that now was not the time.
“Put her out in front of the prince in a clean form, and then dirty her so that the prince’s face will be worth seeing.”
He seemed to have a lot more fun using his hands when he could see the prince’s face collapse than torturing him now.
“Isn’t the prince getting more and more impatient? I’m going to take out the number of people, take them out and send them to the search party, and then empty the imperial palace. If there is no response from this side until the moment the prince is left alone, and if they cannot find you, they will eventually come to this place.”
The Archduke muttered with a satisfied face. There was even ecstasy in that satisfaction. Horribly.
“Anyway, there is no way the prince can defeat me. Even if you invade this place, you will be beaten by me, and you will be on the verge of going crazy if you stay still.”
In fact, if the prince had succeeded in gaining the cooperation of the northern loser and the northern margrave, he would not have thought of dragging the Archduke down like this and suppressing him with force. It must have taken more time and bothered him to hold the girl in his hand and negotiate endlessly. Of course, he was certain that he would win in the end anyway. However, the prince failed to receive support from the north. It’s about the knights who gave up for 5 years because Adler took the prince and ran away with the army of the peaceful western margrave. The Archduke was confident of winning. No matter how perfectly trained this side was, it was possible if they were dragged into the Archduke’s residence or captured with a grossly large number of troops in the empty imperial palace. Because they didn’t have an elite army.
“No matter how hard you try to fly and crawl, a prince who can’t even win the cooperation of the northern margrave in the end.”
The Archduke’s ridicule echoed through the basement. The Archduke, who dared to speak softly with a friendly voice, turned to Trixie, who was in a state that was nothing more than a hollow doll.
“Bittern. Don’t touch that bitch’s body. She has to meet the prince with a clean body so that a more dramatic production is possible.”
So the Archduke climbed the stairs leading out of the basement and returned to his room. The Archduke lazily leaned back in his chair.
“What about the Ripper?”
“He was tired, so I only brought food, and I told them not to let anyone into the room.”
“Okay. He said that using hypnosis or something takes a lot of stamina… bring him everything he wants. He is a valuable person.”
The Archduke smiled with satisfaction.
“Maybe the wait won’t be long. In at least three days, the prince’s patience runs out. Even if it takes longer, in the end, it will go my way. Inform the Reaper of the expected period in advance.”
“Yes, dismiss.”
Although the prince was a smarter man than the Archduke thought, the Archduke was confident. It was impressive to him that the Archduke found all the people he recruited at the welcome ceremony and persuaded them again. But he still couldn’t find the spy the Archduke had put in the Knights. Even if he was smart, it’s just that, a child. A child who believed in the mask of an ally. It’s not even a piece of wood that could identify spies. And the Archduke was more relaxed knowing that the prince’s heart was truly enormous.
What a painful love. The Archduke, who had witnessed countless stupid choices made by people who had lost their loved ones, did not even consider the possibility of losing. Wasn’t the prince’s love in the hands of the Archduke? This was no different from the story that the god of victory had raised his hand. Still, he had to be careful, so he just watched a little bit. To have an empire, this level of patience was necessary.
“Haha.”
After succeeding in kidnapping Beatrice, the Archduke’s mood became much better. Really… He didn’t know what love was, but he knew very well that it was a very useful emotion to use. Anyway, everything would go according to the Archduke’s will. He didn’t have to be nervous or angry.
* * *
“Your Highness, you sent out the knights from five days ago, and yesterday you said that the capital guards would also be assigned to the search team. But now, the imperial palace, and His Highness the Prince’s guards at that, are going to be removed!”
“It’s not possible. majesty!”
The knight commander and the new guard captain, who had been suddenly summoned late at night and heard an unexpected order, went to the palace with pale faces. But Leone was tough.
“My close aide and benefactor has been kidnapped. We still haven’t found it. If you leave it as it is, you will be insulted—to be tolerated. Isn’t it?”
The two men were at a loss at Leone’s cold voice. Anyone could see that his judgment was clouded. He heard at first glance that the therapist who was always attached to the prince was close. They say he takes such good care of the prince that even the emperor congratulates him. It was natural to be angry because such a person was kidnapped, but it was excessive to start deducting expenses for the prince himself. After hearing the prince’s order, the thoughts that the empire was doomed began to arise in the minds of the two.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on September, 4.
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