Chapter 70
When Seriniel woke up, Lexion wasn’t there.
Instead, something unexpected greeted Seriniel.
The empty space beside her, where Lexion had been lying all night, was now neatly arranged…
– It was a short nap after a long time.
It was a short letter.
– It must be all thanks to you. I wanted to thank you and leave, but you looked exhausted from holding the pillow all night.
“….”
– Just like we promised yesterday, I’ll come back safely today too. I hope the master of deception and the chatterbox maid will welcome me.
That was all the content of the letter.
To others, it might seem like nothing much to laugh about, but Seriniel didn’t think so.
She read the short letter over and over again.
The neatly written handwriting looked just like Lexion’s.
…This, too, might make others laugh, but..
“Madam, good morning.”
Kina’s face appeared just in time, with a bright smile. She seemed like she had rushed over to deliver something.
“Goods arrived at the store today.”
“Goods?”
“Yes, very pretty furniture. A sofa that resembles the color of madam’s hair. Two of them came.”
Furniture…
At that word, Seriniel suddenly remembered. On the day they visited the temple together, Lexion had visited Paul’s shop and handed over a large sum of money, asking him to make the yellow sofa as soon as possible.
She faintly smiled, remembering how Paul’s face would light up whenever he quickly changed his expression from almost dying to his usual self.
And that moment came.
“Miss, you’re awake. Please excuse me.”
In Vain’s hands as he entered the bedroom, there was a rolled-up piece of paper. Kina looked puzzled, but Seriniel quickly realized what it was.
“It’s a list of the villas owned by the Verdellete family, as well as the former properties of the Eren family.”
Vain continued speaking as he entered.
“The former properties were already known to Duke Lexion, but there seems to be a problem with the latter.”
“Problem?”
“To be precise, it’s about Belles transferring the Eren family’s villas to his own assets.”
Seriniel wore a puzzled expression.
“Of the five villas belonging to the Eren family, Belles sold three of them along with the mansion. He didn’t have ownership over the other two.”
It didn’t make sense. As far as Sereniel knew, the only thing she inherited from the Verdellete family was one thing. That mine.
“And a while ago, the remaining two villas were transferred back to your name. Probably after manipulating the documents.”
“….”
“More precisely, it was after we found the Magic stone in the basement.”
“After a moment of silence, Seriniel’s gaze turned to Vain. She began speaking seriously, and Vain nodded with a tense expression.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Beyond the large carriage window, the night sky was painted black.
“….”
Lexion’s face, sitting alone, was stiff with concentration.
Lost in his thoughts, he slowly recalled today’s events.
…Of all the people Lexion had met, the one from the Rosenvester family was the most influential among the nobility.
Old and feeble, and knowing everything that happened in the Rosenvester family.
[He’s a shameless guy. What face did he come to see me with?]
…He didn’t entertain hopeful thoughts that the nobles, including himself, would be friendly to him.
He didn’t believe that Royden would be friendly to him. Lexion wasn’t stupid enough to have such thoughts.
Instead, he believed in something else.
The petty pride of nobility.
[I know. You and the others from the Rosenvester family conspired with the nobles who had negative feelings towards me, probably because of Royden Rosenvester and Belles.]
[….]
[But do you happen to know? I also think and live, you know. It’s rather sad.]
[What, what are you talking about right now….]
[If Royden and Belles rebel, will we just sit idly by? I’m still the head of the Rosenvester family, and we have many soldiers in this clan.]
[….]
[If the rebellion fails, all of you, including you, will be considered traitors. But the same goes if the opposite happens. I’ll immediately take all the soldiers and attack Duke Clan. That’s what Belles is expecting too.]
[….What?]
[It would be a great pretext for Belles if Rosenvester attacks the new emperor who succeeded after the rebellion. He will involve Royden. He already considered it an opportunity to get rid of Rosenvester, which was already a thorn in his side because of its large size, and to take control of a large number of soldiers.]
[….]
[Did Belles really not calculate that far and help Royden?]
Ridiculous, Lexion laughed at him.
[Everything is just a game already set up by Belles. If you’re lucky, Royden might end up being just a scarecrow, but even that won’t last long.]
Using Royden to get rid of Lexion was Belles’ first goal.
The second goal was even bigger.
After Lexion’s death, to take over the Rosenvester family that had been taken over by Royden…
By manipulating and covering up Lexion’s actions of leading soldiers to attack Duke Clan, making it seem like Royden did it, eliminating Royden, and even going so far as to swallow up the Rosenvester family itself.
[What will happen to the nobles if that happens? It’s easy to see without thinking deeply.]
The nobles couldn’t escape Belles’ ruthless punishment. It was already predetermined.
[I don’t think all the noble families had the same intentions. Especially if they’re old like you, with unnecessary pride in their family.]
[….]
[So, I’ll give you another chance to choose. Will you wait idly as a traitor, waiting for the day to die, or will you at least try a chance to fight?]
[Are you asking a despicable bastard like me… to save the family, to plead?]
[That’s how it should be.]
Lexion said, laughing at him.
[The only way to keep that noble family alive is with a despicable bastard like me.]
[….]
[Isn’t that right?]
And after a long time…
[I can’t… take back my words. The letter has already been delivered to the Emperor, and I don’t know where Royden is.]
The man said to Lexion with an aging face.
[….But we might be able to buy some time. Until you manage to defeat Belles Verdellete.]
“….”
Lexion’s face, lost in thought, was expressionless. He was calculating many things.
He couldn’t rely on the emperor anymore. Especially not in such a short time.
Then, again…
It was in that moment when Lexion was chewing on his lip.
Suddenly, the carriage came to a rough stop.
“Aah-!”
…With the screams of the coachman.
And then, with a bang, the door of the carriage flew open…
And one of the masked men, pointing a sharp sword at Lexion’s throat, said.
“Lexion Rosenvester.”
“….”
“That’s right.”
Lexion didn’t say anything.
He just looked at the man with eyes full of life and burst into laughter.
As if to say it’s all ridiculous.
Thank you so much, this novel is really something exceptional!❤️🔥