Chapter 187
At those words, Lucio’s lips slowly fell.
No sooner had he sat down on the sofa than Lia asked,
“How do you know about the demon’s relic? Why do you want to know how to break a contract? Is that why you founded the guild and hid your power?”
The barrage of questions left Lucio speechless.
They struck right at the core, giving him no room to dodge.
Why is she always so sharp in moments like this?
While he clicked his tongue inwardly, Lia continued, pressing for an answer.
“You asked if I knew about the demon’s relic. I know it well. Lord Raizel told me. I even saw it myself in the emperor’s treasury not long ago.”
At that, a crack finally appeared in Lucio’s face, which had so far hidden all emotional turmoil.
Lia’s heart sank.
***
The moment I saw Lucio’s wavering eyes, I clenched my fists.
It confirmed my dreadful suspicion.
“I…”
I bit down on my trembling lips and barely managed to speak.
“I can help you. You can trust me.”
Then I looked at Lucio with resolute determination.
At that moment, Lucio suddenly covered his mouth with his hand and started laughing.
“Why are you laughing now?”
Someone had spent the whole day torturing themselves with worst-case scenarios!
As I stared at him in disbelief, Lucio, still unable to fully suppress his laughter, said,
“I think I finally understand those kings who ruined their countries because of a woman.”
“What?”
“Is this what they call a femme fatale? I never thought that would work on me.”
Lucio leaned forward, stroking his chin.
“Just a little more, and I’d probably start spilling all the plans I haven’t told anyone yet.”
Seriously? He’s joking at a time like this?
I shot him a glare, but Lucio tilted his head.
“What? You think I’m joking? I’m being serious.”
“…”
“‘You can trust me’—no one’s ever said that to me before. Of course I’m shaken.”
Lucio’s eyes had turned serious before I even realized it, leaving me momentarily speechless.
But I quickly came to my senses and spoke.
“Then tell me honestly.”
“First, answer me. Is it true you saw the demon’s relic in the emperor’s treasury?”
“Yes. It looked like a compass…”
“With a concave center?”
As I was trying to recall and describe it, Lucio cut me off with a question.
When I widened my eyes, he nodded.
“You do know it. Then do you know how to destroy it? If it’s destroyed… does that break an already established contract?”
Lucio’s voice trembled slightly as he asked the last question.
Realizing his own emotional slip, he quickly shut his mouth. But I instinctively knew—this was the moment to hear the whole truth from him.
As I stared at him silently, he slowly began to speak.
“The House of Elard enjoys unmatched power and wealth under the emperor’s shining favor.”
Lucio’s voice was laced with sarcasm, as if he were speaking of something that had nothing to do with him.
“But the emperor’s favor isn’t born from affection for a loyal subject. It’s like the fondness one feels for a dog they’ve leashed.”
“!”
I asked with a trembling voice,
“Did the emperor… make a contract with the Duke of Elard? Did the duke offer blood to the demon’s relic?”
Lucio answered with silence.
My vision spun for a moment.
The demon’s relic I found in the emperor’s treasury was something Raizel called ‘Blood Subjugation.’
When blood is dropped into the concave part, the contract is instantly established, and the one who gave the blood becomes utterly obedient to the owner of the relic. And if they disobey…
“He can stop their heart at any time,” I recalled.
Words slipped out of my clenched lips.
“How did it come to this? Was it for the title?”
The only reason I could think of for the Duke of Elard to make a subjugation contract with the emperor was the title.
There are two main ways to inherit a noble title in the empire.
The first is when the previous head directly passes the title to the successor. The second requires the emperor’s approval, used in unavoidable circumstances, like if the head dies suddenly or the successor is too young.
Even the emperor was expected to respect internal family affairs.
But the Duke of Elard had gone to war at just the age of adulthood to oust the former duke and claim the title.
Though feared as the ‘Imperial Vampire,’ he had become a war hero recognized by all.
He collected evidence proving the former duke was unfit to lead, submitted it to the imperial court, and requested the emperor’s approval to succeed the title. He even fought fiercely with the elder council that once controlled the ducal house.
Since only two duchies existed in the empire, changing the head required noble consensus, and I’d heard that my grandfather and father supported the Duke of Elard.
I thought he barely managed to wrest the title from the previous duke.
Who would’ve imagined the emperor used the demon’s relic to trap him in a vile contract!
When I expressed my outrage, Lucio shook his head with a strange expression.
“It wasn’t because of the title succession.”
“What? Then…?”
He stared at me as if hesitating.
It was clear he had something he wanted to say but couldn’t bring himself to.
“You’ve come this far…what are you hesitating for now?”
When I questioned him with wide eyes, Lucio finally opened his mouth.
“Father… did it for someone else.”
“What? Someone else?”
Lucio slowly nodded and asked quietly.
“…You know who the Emperor’s first love was, right?”
“Gasp.”
I immediately covered my mouth.
“D-Don’t tell me… the Emperor was going to use the demon’s relic on my mom?”
“Strictly speaking, on the late Marquis. But since your mother was a princess then, the intent is basically the same… Lia?”
Feeling dizzy, I held my forehead, and Lucio quickly looked at my complexion with concern.
I quickly shook my head to say I was okay and spoke.
“Tell me in more detail. If the Emperor’s target was my mom, then why did he go after Grandpa? To threaten her?”
Even as I said it, I was appalled.
How could he claim to love her and still do something so awful?
“According to my father, Her Grace was the type with a fiery temper. If she realized she was walking into a trap, she would’ve drawn her sword and slit her own throat. The Emperor knew that too, so he must’ve gone after the late Marquis instead.”
Hearing Lucio’s explanation, I understood clearly.
Despite their cold exteriors, both my mother and grandfather were deeply affectionate and put family above all else.
If she knew Grandpa’s life was on the line, she would have… no matter what the cost.
“Yeah. If Mom had found out Grandpa’s life was at stake, she would’ve done exactly what the Emperor wanted.”
She wouldn’t have married Dad, and she would’ve willingly locked herself in the imperial palace even knowing she’d be miserable for the rest of her life.
“But the Duke…”
I couldn’t bring myself to ask how he found out about the plan and ended up falling into the trap instead of Grandpa.
It was the Emperor’s doing, but I felt guilty somehow.
Maybe sensing how I felt, Lucio gently held my hand in comfort.
“My father said he never once regretted what he did that day.”
And slowly, he began to recount the past.
***
18 years ago.
Lucio, who had been living in the duchy, was summoned to the capital by his father after a long time.
When he visited the Duke’s office, it was buried under towering piles of documents.
In addition to his duties at the palace, the Duke had to constantly deal with the fallout from the Elder Council and the former Duke’s past deeds.
Despite being so busy, the Duke had called his eldest son to the capital, and now sat before him, hesitating for a long while before finally speaking.
⟨Lucio, His Majesty wishes to see you.⟩
Lucio raised his eyebrows slightly.
People said the Duke was a cold-blooded man who wouldn’t bleed even if stabbed, but Lucio believed that was just a facade.
He’d seen his father let his guard down around family.
But now, his father’s demeanor was different—not just from when he was with family, but even compared to how he acted around others.
It was as if he were faking composure to suppress deep anxiety.
⟨I trust you’ll do well, but once you’re in the palace, you must behave with utmost propriety. Don’t show even the slightest vulnerability.⟩
On the surface, it sounded like a typical warning to a son visiting the palace for the first time, but to Lucio, it felt more like a foreboding warning before entering enemy territory.
After all, any place with many people is bound to have those who seek to bring others down. Especially with the Duke wielding immense power due to the Emperor’s trust, there were many who feared and envied him.
The palace was filled with such predators, it was practically a battlefield.
But then…
⟨Especially in front of the Emperor, show no emotion. Do you understand?⟩
That final warning struck Lucio as extremely odd.
When Lucio looked confused, the Duke sent him away, clearly unwilling to explain further.
That day was the first time Lucio realized something was off about how his father interacted with the royal family and the Emperor.
And the next day, when he met the Emperor, Lucio’s suspicions grew even stronger.
⟨Ah, so you’re the Duke of Elard’s eldest son. You look so alike—even if no one told me, I’d have known right away!⟩
The Emperor’s tone was friendly, and his eyes shone with joy.
⟨Your father is the person I trust most in the world. You must grow up strong and serve me loyally just like he does. Though, of course, I expect no less! Hahaha!⟩
But something felt off.
Though he spoke of loyalty and trust, the way he looked at Lucio’s father was more like a hunter gazing at a powerless prey he’d just cornered.
Lucio, who had picked up on this subtle tension, managed to get the full story from his father not long afterward.
