IBMMLLWAM Chapter 047

Rachel glanced at the gathered nobles and spoke.

“Now that you understand I’ve became the Countess of Fram, shall we continue our previous conversation?”

“The previous…?”

“The matter of Theodore.”

“Ugh.”

Berengella bit her lip and trembled. She never dreamed her lies would be exposed in this manner.

“I told you, I don’t love Theodore. He cheated on me for seven years, starting a year before our wedding up until recently. There’s no way I could still love such a man.”

“But you—no, the Countess clearly wants Theodore—”

“That was before I knew what kind of person he was. There was a time I had feelings for him.”

She hated to admit it, but it’s true that Rachel loved Theodore before she was possessed.

Cian’s eyes flashed. He looked like he had something to say but remained silent.

Rachel continued.

“I demanded the divorce and filed for annulment myself. You knew all this and still lied to His Highness using my name as an excuse.”

“Th-that was…”

“You didn’t expect me to become a Countess and show up here. You never could’ve imagined that I’d be acquainted with His Highness the Archduke. Isn’t that right?”

Berengella kept her mouth shut. It was a silent admission.

Rachel smirked.

“Trying to deceive His Highness and steal his belongings by using me, how shameless.”

“I-I didn’t intend to—”

“You didn’t? Deceiving someone with lies to obtain something is fraud. You tried to con His Highness.”

Rachel looked at Cian, silently asking for his support.

Cian responded by narrowing his eyes and crossing his legs. The sight of him lazily rolling the cufflinks around in his fingers exuded the air of a relaxed ruler.

“You tried to scam me, all while knowing how much I wanted this item.”

Berengella collapsed to the floor, trembling.

“Your Highness! It wasn’t like that.”

“Besides, you don’t even have an invitation.”

“Invitation?”

Rachel frowned and pinched the tip of her nose.

“Yes, an invitation. How dare you sneak into His Highness’s party without an invitation, pretend to be a guest, and then drink his alcohol? Did you not realize that every word you speak carries the scent of liquor?”

The nobles who’d gathered around widened their eyes.

“Did she just say that woman entered without an invitation?”

“That’s why she was disguised as a servant?”

“I paid 6,000 gold for my invitation!”

“I paid 7,000 gold!”

Most nobles had spent thousands to tens of thousands of gold for their invitations.

This was the Archduke’s mansion, where even the emperor couldn’t enter unless he received an invitation. It was natural to incur public outrage for sneaking into a place like this.

Stefan smiled, crossing his arms.

“Hey, you dared sneak into the Dicarsignac mansion and trick the Archduke? Should I praise you for your bravery? I’ve never met anyone with more guts than me before.”

Although they’d intentionally created the opportunity for her to sneak in.

Unaware of this, Berengella was on the floor, trembling and stammering a weak excuse.

“I-I just… I heard about the party and wanted to explain my situation to His Highness and beg for mercy…”

A noblewoman standing nearby threw her fan at Berengella.

Thwack! The fan’s handle hit Berengella’s head and fell to the floor.

The noblewoman shouted.

“When it was announced that His Highness the Archduke was hosting a party, word spread not only throughout the capital, but also the provinces. Did you think everyone who heard about the party snuck in like you?”

Once the floodgates opened, the nobles spoke as if they’d been waiting for the opportunity.

“I remember you! You’re the mother of the Count who snuck in a commoner mistress to the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet! Like mother, like son!”

“If you snuck in, you must’ve stolen those clothes!”

“Your Highness! Strip her of those clothes! We must not allow even a single speck of dust to be stolen from His Highness’s residence!”

At the noble’s shout, servants rushed over to strip Berengella of her servant’s attire, leaving her in thin white undergarments. She looked miserable, like a drenched rat.

“Ugh… damn it… damn!”

Berengella muttered curses under her breath as she crouched down, head hung low.

Rachel quickly looked at Cian and Stefan. She’d anticipated that Berengella, proud as she was, might do something drastic when cornered.

Recognizing Rachel’s signal, Cian stood up and grabbed Berengella’s shoulder to pull her up. Stefan stepped forward and stuffed a handkerchief into her mouth.

Blood trickled from Berengella’s lips.

“Mmph!”

A noble in the crowd screamed.

“Ahhh!”

“She bit her tongue!”

Rachel sighed internally.

‘To try and end her life by biting her tongue, Berengella is still Berengella to the end. How could she do this just because of some humiliation? How can she value her pride over her life? I don’t understand.’

The knights guarding the mansion approached and dragged Berengella out of the room.

Her body hung limp as if her strings had been cut. The proud woman who threatened Rachel and struck her son was nowhere to be seen.

She valued her honor more than her life or her child. Having been humiliated before so many nobles, she wouldn’t dare show her face near the capital again.

‘It’s almost time for the emperor to arrive. There’s no better ending than to be humiliated in front of the pinnacle of the power and honor she’d followed and admired so much.’

 

* * *

 

Emperor Sigar and Empress Beatrix boarded the imperial carriage heading to the Dicarsignac mansion.

He’d thought Atreille, who admired Cian, would want to go with him, but surprisingly, the child refused.

As soon as they departed, silver fireworks exploded in the sky near the Crown Prince’s palace where Atreille was staying.

The fireworks that lit up the sky were strange, but Sigar didn’t really think much of it. He just thought Atreille was playing an immature prank again.

The carriage ride was silent. Beatrix, fearing Sigar’s mood, dared not speak.

She’d been chosen by Sigar to strengthen his imperial authority. She came from a ducal family, and her timid, obedient nature was exactly what he wanted.

The fact that Beatrix was the same age as Sigar’s mother, Dowager Empress Belwinder, wasn’t even taken into consideration.

Sigar, fully aware of Beatrix’s wariness, glared at the wasp wine. Ever since he granted Rachel her title, his mood had been foul.

‘Seeing Cian lose his composure would be satisfying.’

Cian, Cian, Cian.

Sigar had hated and envied Cian his whole life.

But he’d never felt this level of intense irritation. Cian, who’d been living quietly, suddenly threw a party, drawing Sigar’s attention.

Rachel’s presence also reminded him of Cian.

‘That woman is irritating. She hides her true nature and pretends, just like Cian.’

He was once again annoyed by Cian, who’d completely withdrawn from the power struggle, created a family called Dicarsignac and left the imperial palace.

Cian had supposedly withdrawn from power struggles when he founded the Dicarsignac family and left the imperial palace. But thinking back, his demeanor hadn’t been that of a defeated man. Instead, it had been that of a victor showing mercy to the weak.

‘It’d be better if he challenged me outright so I could justifiably kill him.’

He knew that if he tried to rashly dispose of Cian, who had many loyal followers, he would face backlash. His imperial power could be shaken by a group of nobles who rebelled.

Moreover, the damnable Cian was an excellent swordsman, making assassination attempts risky.

Sigar waited for an opportunity to strike, ready to cut off Cian’s head at the first sign of weakness.

But Cian never showed any weakness. He always slipped through Sigar’s grasp with ease, maintaining his loyalty to the Empire and setting an example for the nobles.

‘Disgusting bastard.’

Arriving at the Dicarsignac mansion, Sigar stepped out of the carriage. Seeing the beautifully lit mansion and the courteous servants only soured his mood further.

He wondered if he’d come in vain.

He had wanted to unsettle Cian, but it only felt like his own irritation was growing.

Just then, he saw a woman in white undergarments being dragged away by knights.

Sigar gestured to a knight.

“What’s going on?”

The woman muttered something.

“H-H-Honorable E-Emperor…!”

“We’re trying to remove someone who’s committed a crime and being punished.”

“Can’t she speak?”

“She bit her tongue.”

Sigar stroked his chin and grinned.

“Hmm. I was in a bad mood, but this is interesting.”

Fear filled the woman’s eyes.

 

* * *

 

Shortly after, the doors to the party opened and Sigar appeared.

Beatrix stood behind him, looking pale, like she’d seen something she shouldn’t have, but when she saw Stefan her expression immediately turned angry.

The attendant at the entrance announced loudly.

“His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Sigar Aisa, has arrived!”

“Long live Your Majesty, the Great Emperor!”

Sigar surveyed the bowing nobles, then spotted Cian and smiled happily.

“It’s been a while, little brother. I came here because I heard you were throwing a party.”

“It is an honor, Your Majesty.”

“Now, this is a gift I prepared especially for you. A beautiful party shouldn’t lack valuable alcohol.”

Sigar held out the wasp liquor he’d prepared. Inside his drink were several wasps the size of a fist. Some nobles looked away, covering their mouths, feeling queasy, and Rachel was also surprised.

‘Wasp wine? Wouldn’t that be even stronger than the mead wine I said I would gift to Theodore? Why did the emperor bring that? Does he hate the Archduke?’

A chilly tension settled over the room as Sigar poured the wasp wine into a glass.

“I heard mead wine is good for vitality. Since you should be thinking about marriage soon, I prepared this for you. Here, I’ll even pour you a drink myself.”

Rachel’s face turned pale.

‘No! That’s wasp wine! It’s so potent that even one glass could be lethal. What should I do?’

Most of the nobles gathered were those who’d attended Rachel’s title award ceremony. Not only Rachel but everyone, including Cian, knew what wasp liquor meant.

The atmosphere became frigid.

Rachel anxiously glanced around and saw Stefan standing next to her, looking serious.

‘The Archduke said Stefan was smart and quick-witted. He is also said he was good at responding quickly when problems arise. I must trust him.’

Rachel quickly tugged on the hem of Stefan’s clothes and whispered.

“Duke, fall down. Quickly. Right now.”