59. Tense Atmosphere

The Imperial Palace, where the Raphelios delegation resided in the guest palace.

The nobles who had arrived as envoys from Raphelios were gathered in the conference room at the request of the Marquess of Euciliod.

With the Marquess yet to arrive, a few nobles whispered among themselves in hushed tones.

“I heard the medicinal herbs intended for shipment back to the homeland were discovered?”

“It’s unfortunate. They were meant to be presented to Lady Gwenhella.”

Gwenhella was the first concubine of the Emperor of the Raphelios Empire.

The nobles belonged to one of the many factions formed around the various concubines of the Raphelios imperial family.

Just then, the Marquess of Euciliod entered the room and fixed his gaze on the two envoys who had been conversing.

“What kind of secretive conversation were you two having?” he asked sternly.

Startled by Johannes’s sharp tone, the two envoys quickly straightened themselves and cleared their throats.

“It was nothing important.”

“We were merely discussing our concerns over the difficulties with the current treaty negotiations with the Empire.”

Johannes listened to their excuses with indifference, then turned his sharp gaze to survey the other envoys in the room.

“As it happens, I wanted to discuss that very issue. It would be wise to propose a slightly more favorable condition for the opening of Verdun Port in Rugbeljet.”

Johannes’s calm statement stirred the Raphelios nobles, who began to murmur in protest.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Why should our great Raphelios Empire bow to Rugbeljet?”

As expected, the response from the envoys was heated, and Johannes quietly watched the disgruntled nobles.

Under the weight of Johannes’s silent stare, the nobles who had raised their voices reluctantly fell silent, their dissatisfaction evident.

Although they resented the Marquess of Euciliod for his alignment with the Empress’s faction, they couldn’t afford to ignore his influence and stature, so they hesitated to push back further.

Johannes regarded them with disdain before speaking slowly.

“If the trade route between the empires opens through Verdun Port, the profits we gain will far exceed the initial investment—by many times over. This isn’t just trade with a small kingdom; it’s with Rugbeljet, a nation comparable to Raphelios in both size and population. If the port opens, both nations stand to gain astronomical benefits.”

A noble furrowed his brow in frustration and retorted.

“That’s precisely my point! If it benefits both sides, why should we be the ones to bend? Why is their Crown Princess being so stubborn…?”

Johannes frowned at the noble’s complaint and replied.

“Use your heads. While both nations may benefit in terms of trade, Verdun Port is a militarily vulnerable location for Rugbeljet. If Raphelios chose to invade, it would be an easy point of entry.”

“Oh, I see.”

One noble, seemingly realizing this for the first time, exclaimed with wide-eyed wonder. Johannes sighed and rebuked him sharply.

“Baron Limond, I’m not suggesting we invade them…”

He glanced around at the nobles in the delegation, his tone growing more serious.

“What I’m saying is that this poses a risk for Rugbeljet. To persuade them, we need to offer better terms.”

The envoys exchanged uneasy glances, grumbling under their breath.

Johannes’s expression betrayed a flash of disgust as he observed the delegation.

The imperial factions centered around concubines and the corruption among the nobility.

While everyone spoke of Rugbeljet’s instability due to the lack of an emperor, Johannes believed it was Raphelios, with its factional in-fighting, that was in the more precarious state.

The Marquess of Euciliod’s family, aligned with the Empress’s faction, often found itself at odds with the concubines’ factions.

His mother’s disappearance, along with Cecilia’s, had occurred around the same time the concubines’ factions had grown more aggressive.

It struck him that perhaps the ambush on the carriage carrying him and Cecilia had been tied to this very power struggle.

Though the memories from his childhood were blurry, he remembered it vividly.

His mother’s screams, Cecilia’s sobs, the clattering of hooves, and the shouts of men…

When the carriage was attacked, it had flipped over, throwing his mother out as she clutched Cecilia in her arms, while he had survived by being trapped beneath the overturned carriage.

At the time, at just around eight years old, he had assumed it was simply bandits.

But as he grew older, he became increasingly certain that it had been no mere coincidence.

It was also a time when the concubines’ factions, uniting against the Empress’s faction, sought to seize control of the imperial court.

The attack on the carriage of the Marquess’s family, loyal to the Empress’s faction, seemed all too deliberate.

Now, as the head of the Marquess’s house, Johannes had managed to stabilize their position within the Empress’s faction, but the concubines’ factions remained poised to strike at any moment of weakness.

Until he could strengthen his position and uproot those factions, keeping Cecilia hidden was the safest option.

These thoughts cast a shadow over Johannes’s expression.

* * *

Klaus stared at the door with an unmistakable look of displeasure.

Soon, Antonio, summoned by Klaus, entered the study.

Antonio, called in at this late hour, stood there silently in his neatly dressed servant’s uniform.

He hesitated, watching Klaus silently glare at him, and then cautiously spoke up.

“Um… Duke Valtazar… sir?”

Klaus remained silent, his gaze fixed intently on Antonio.

Through the shadow he had placed on Antonio, Klaus had learned of the day’s events.

Damn it, he had gone to the palace again, and this time, of all people, he had encountered the Grand Duke Rubelio.

He had warned him not to visit the palace, not to get involved with the Grand Duke of Rubelio.

Did this troublesome servant even listen to his warnings?

“Um… Did you call me because you needed something?” Antonio asked awkwardly, unaware of Klaus’s inner turmoil.

Klaus couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

“Something I need…? Ha… Yes, I do.”

With that, Klaus stepped forward, his demeanor suddenly threatening as he advanced toward Antonio.

Instinctively, Antonio backed away until he felt the wall behind him.

Klaus placed his hand against the wall beside Antonio’s head, leaning in close with a dangerous look in his eyes.

He couldn’t understand it.

Antonio’s wide, startled eyes looked up at Klaus like a frightened rabbit, and Klaus couldn’t understand why this ignited a darker desire within him.

How did Antonio know about the Grand Duke Rubelio? How could a mere son of a fallen baron recognize the insignia of the Rubelio faction?

What did he know about the Grand Duke’s schemes?

And why was Klaus so anxious, so desperate, at the thought of something happening to him?

“I need to confirm something.”

“What is it you need to confirm…?”

The sight of Antonio’s wide, innocent eyes only heightened Klaus’s dangerous urges.

As Antonio nervously swallowed, his gaze met Klaus’s intense blue eyes, which shimmered with something dark and unrestrained.

“Antonio de Hesingk.”

Klaus’s voice was low, filled with tension.

He had initially called Antonio to reprimand him, but the familiar scent that lingered in the air clouded Klaus’s mind.

There it was again—that scent that stirred something primal inside him, as if it touched the deepest, most depraved corners of his desires.

“Damn it… Didn’t I tell you not to wear that perfume?”

“I’ve told you before, I’m not wearing any perfume.”

Klaus growled, trying to place the blame on Antonio, but those green eyes sparkled with an almost indignant clarity, frustrating him further.

The way Antonio’s lips moved, saying everything so clearly and confidently, irritated Klaus and yet made him want to devour them.

Antonio, sensing the danger in Klaus’s gaze, looked up at him, confused and uneasy, yet unable to look away. Klaus, in turn, caught a glimpse of something deeper behind that confusion—was it a flicker of warmth, perhaps?

Damn it, this is dangerous…

“Your Grace…?”

Klaus tried to suppress the storm of emotions swirling inside him, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

He had called Antonio to confront him, but how had things escalated into this strange tension? Why did just a glance, just the sound of his voice, set Klaus so on edge?

Klaus kept telling himself that it was because Antonio resembled Roselia. But that excuse was growing thin, especially when his body refused to obey reason.

It was all because of the secrets that surrounded these siblings. He thought he knew everything about them on paper, but the more he learned, the more mysterious they became. And that mystery only provoked him further, fueling his curiosity and desire.

That’s all it was—curiosity.

“I told you, Antonio. I’m very good at uncovering hidden things,” Klaus said, though his voice was rougher and more strained than he intended.

Yes, once he unraveled the mystery that was Antonio, all these irrational desires would vanish. They had to.

“I need to know what you’re hiding.”

At Klaus’s cryptic words, a flash of panic crossed Roselia’s—Antonio’s—eyes.

This was dangerous.

Roselia had thought she had avoided Klaus’s scrutiny so far, but now, a fear gripped her that he might know everything. Or, at the very least, was close to discovering the truth.

She wasn’t foolish enough to misunderstand what this atmosphere between them meant.

Their bodies were too close.

She could feel the hardness of his muscles against her, could almost feel his breath grazing the side of her neck.

Startled by the overwhelming sensation, Roselia instinctively pushed Klaus away.

Klaus stepped back a few paces, looking just as confused as she was.

He ran a hand through his hair, trying to regain his composure, his voice coming out in a low, fractured growl.

“Don’t try to hide from me. The more you do, the more I’ll want to uncover.”

Roselia’s gaze wavered, unsure of how to interpret his words.

Klaus knew exactly how his words sounded in this charged atmosphere, but even he wasn’t entirely certain of his own emotions at this point.

A self-deprecating smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he added,

“I hope you won’t make a habit of wandering into the palace and running into the Grand Duke. Whatever you know about him, whatever you’re hiding… keep it away from that man.”

Only then did Roselia realize Klaus had summoned her to confront her about the incident at the palace, and she let out a sigh of relief.

Though his eyes had carried a different, more dangerous intent, at least that was the official reason.