LBRM-Chapter 21

Berry carefully picked up Sephiel and placed her on the bed.

 

Berry and Marie exchanged glances before looking at Daihan.

 

Was that a signal to stay quiet?

 

“Huuh…huuh…”

 

Sephiel exhaled steadily through a tiny nose on his tiny face.

 

Daihan quietly left the room so as not to wake Sephiel.

 

<Unfilial child.> 

 

<Traitor.>

 

“pfftt….”

 

Daihan burst into laughter several times in his office that day.

 

“So, you really hate the Allegro royal family that much?”

 

Even as an old and experienced being, Daihan had never encountered such an amusing little one before.

 

“Indeed, she is different from the rest of the Allegro royal family.”

 

And that was the biggest laughter Daihan had in years.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

However, as soon as Elton came in, he became serious.

 

“What?”

 

“You were making a strange expression.”

 

“Shut up,” Daihan replied bluntly.

 

But Elton smiled as if he knew something.

 

“Our Miss Baby is special, isn’t she?”

 

“Special? Nothing like that. It’s just a little bit funny, like a baby raccoon.”

 

Daihan shook his head.

 

“Are you ready?”

 

“Yes. The lawyer’s license I got as a hobby in the past will be helpful. An external legal team is also on standby.”

 

“Good. It’s been a while since I had some real work to do.”

 

Daihan nodded.

 

“If the little raccoon hates her biological father so much… we should put on a good show and make him cry, shouldn’t we?”

 

* * *

 

“Let me out!”

 

In the prison of the Grand Duke’s household, Erata kept screaming.

 

“I am a noble of Allegro! How dare you treat me like this, you lowly creatures! Open this door now!”

 

As if responding to her wishes, someone slowly approached.

 

Twin sisters who looked exactly alike.

 

“You… that lowly girl?”

 

Clearly, it was the woman who protected Sephiel in the forest.

 

“Hah! Forget—bring me the Grand Duke! No, let me contact my homeland!”

 

“Oh my. You can’t do that. You’ll have to talk to us.”

 

Berry smiled faintly.

 

“You’ve tormented our Miss Baby, right?”

 

Marie took the word.

 

“And you tried to twist my wrist earlier, didn’t you?”

 

Berry placed a hand over her mouth.

 

“Then… Shall we start… with a dream where you lose your wrist?”

 

“That seems a little weak. What about a dream where your fingers disappear one by one?”

 

“Or maybe your fingernails. One by one… I’ll make sure you see it clearly.”

 

Berry’s hand lowered, revealing a sinister smile.

 

“Our dreams are quite special—you can even feel pain as if it’s real.”

 

“And the more happy dreams we consume, the more terrifying nightmares we can create. That’s why our ancestors were feared.”

 

“But don’t worry—we’re not demons.”

 

“Yes, during the Kingdom’s Liberation War, we chose to be servants rather than the demons.”

 

“As much as we have swallowed Miss Baby’s sweet dreams so far…..”

 

“We’ll turn them into nightmares and give you a taste.”

 

“Consider it repaying the debt you owe her.”

 

“Now then, shall we begin?”

 

Marie and Berry spoke in unison.

 

“We, the Succubus Queens, will guide you through a wonderful night.”

 

Marie said expressionlessly. The twins glanced at each other and smirked.

 

“Let’s get started.”

 

* * *

 

Munch, munch.

 

Sephiel was sitting on a chair, eating a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie.

 

“Confess eveyyithing?”

 

“Yes, the woman confessed one after another. She even stamped the document.”

 

“I see….”

 

Berry and Marie’s methods must have been quite effective.

 

“They are really shameless people,” Marie said.

 

“Yes, they discovered that our Grand Duke’s territory had magic stones and set up a proper mining operation in secret.”

 

The problem is that there are more than one or two places like that.

 

Sephiel took a sip of milk with satisfaction, feeling the sweetness in her mouth.

 

‘Now, what would my father do in this situation?’

 

Sepiel’s father, Wittegar III.

 

The only people he truly cherished and loved were his precious sons.

 

His first wife, who bore the Crown Prince, had passed away years ago. The concubines that followed were easily replaceable.

 

Erata had been cunning enough to hold onto the queen’s position for over a decade, but in the year Sephiel turned seventeen, she was divorced and replaced.

 

‘So the next move is obvious. Cut off the tail.’

 

Sephiel smiled brightly.

 

‘I won’t let that happen.’

 

Sephiel held the pink raccoon doll tightly and smiled sinisterly.

 

‘I’ll make sure that tail stays firmly attached.’

 

* * *

 

“What is this ridiculous compensation amount? You expect us to pay this?”

 

The Allegro royal family was in an uproar.

 

“Not to mention, the queen has been imprisoned for stealing magic stones?!”

 

King Wittegar III of Allegro slammed the letter from Remdragon onto the ground.

 

“That foolish woman! She couldn’t even bring back that child?”

 

In his fury, Wittegar began throwing things around.

 

Heron, watching carefully, spoke up.

 

“You should have killed that wretched girl. Keeping that stain on our family was a mistake, Your Majesty.”

 

“Hah…”

 

Wittegar sighed.

 

“I spared her life, and this is how she repays me? Truly ungrateful.”

 

“This is why we cannot tolerate impure bloodlines.”

 

“….Yes, you are absolutely right.”

 

Looking at his clever and most beloved second son, Wittegar’s gaze softened.

 

“What will you do now, Father?”

 

But the moment he thought about Sephiel, rage flared up again.

 

Wittegar gritted his teeth and gripped the arms of his chair with his hands.

 

“The Grand Duke Remdragon has long withdrawn from worldly affairs—how has such a nuisance arisen?”

 

“Shouldn’t we go to war? After all, this union of kingdoms will all fall into our hands!”

 

The first prince, Kuron, who had been quiet, clenched his fist and spoke.

 

“War? You want me to go to war with dragons? Create such a nuisance?”

 

Wittegar scoffed at the idea.

 

“I must pass this kingdom onto you, Kuron. Be wiser.”

 

“But—”

 

“There is a way.”

 

Wittegar said coldly.

 

“We can just throw away Erata.”

 

Heron’s eyes shook.

 

“But… Erata is… she is the queen.”

 

“But she failed in her mission. I will take good care of my son Huron, whom she bore, but I do not need such a failed woman any longer.”

 

Wittegar continued.

 

“The illegal magic stone mining was led by Erata’s family, the Marquis of Haman, wasn’t it?”

 

“But father,”

 

Heron swallowed hard.

 

In reality, there was no way Erata’s family could have done something so massive alone.

 

‘Our royal family was behind it too…’

 

But Heron immediately understood what Wittegar meant.

 

“We need to cut off the tail. Frame it entirely as an independent crime by Erata and her family. We just need to make it seem like we had nothing to do with it.”

 

Understanding the king’s intent, Kuron smirked.

 

“Yes. Father, you can just bring in a new woman. I understand your great intentions.”

 

Wittegar’s eyes filled with pride.

 

“Kuron, Heron—you are not like that cursed rat or that disposable woman. Learn from this moment.”

 

“Yes, father.”

 

His two sons nodded their heads in respect.

 

Wittegar called his secretary.

 

“Immediately send the divorce papers to Remdragon. Have Erata’s family arrested and taken to Remdragon Castle for execution under their law.”

 

 

And Wittegar added:

 

“Since it’s related to our royal family, I will take responsibility for divorcing Erata. Haha. Yeah, I guess that’s how it’ll go.”

 

The secretary’s face turned pale.

 

“But if we do that, there will be a lot of criticism within the Kingdom Alliance….”

 

Even though she was a concubine, Erata was still a queen. What would happen if he treated the queen and her relatives like that?

 

“All of that can be dealt with as the sole crime of the queen and her family. People will praise me for handling things strictly according to the law. Now, begin the propaganda right away.”

 

“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”

 

Just then, a servant rushed in.

 

“Something terrible has happened, Your Majesty!”

 

“What’s going on?”

 

“T-this… take a look at this newspaper!”

 

Wittagger’s hands trembled once as he read the newspaper article.

 

“T-this article….”

 

Thud.

 

The newspaper slipped from Wittegar’s hands. A servant hurriedly picked it up.

 

<Behind the illegal mining of magic stones was the Allegro royal family> 

 

That was the title of the article.

 

“Give it to me!”

 

Kuron snatched the newspaper away violently.

 

‘Father! How could this happen? Even the records of the illegal transactions have been published in the article.”

 

“Erata! You wretched girl, you kept those illegal records! No, wait… Is this the work of the Marquis of Haman?

 

The usually kind-looking Wittegar’s face twisted into something monstrous.

 

“Huh?”

 

Kuron blinked, not understanding.

 

“Isn’t it obvious? Erata didn’t trust me and kept those records, only to expose them now. She must have used her family to do it. I’ve told them countless times never to leave behind any financial records!”

 

Wittegar had ensured that only one person in the royal palace, known as the “Shadow,” was allowed to create secret ledgers.

 

He had also forbidden anyone involved in the back market from recording any illegal transactions.

 

But that sudden revelation meant that Erata’s side had made the first move.

 

“She couldn’t have done this alone, which means this is the only logical conclusion.”

 

Wittegar gritted his teeth.

 

“Even worse, her family submitted a confession exposing that they acted under the royal family’s orders. And it’s been published in the article?! Damn the Marquis of Haman and Erata. I will kill them all!”

 

“Huh? You said you were going to throw her away earlier.”

 

The stupid Kuron said.

 

“Kuron, Can’t you see it? We can’t cut her off anymore. A divorce is no longer an option.”

 

“Then…?”

 

“Yeah. If I can’t divorce her, I can’t throw her away either!”

 

Wittegar stared off into the distance, then banged his hand on the table in frustration.

 

“In the end, it means that we cannot avoid responsibility!”

 

* * *