It has been a day and a half since contact with Duchess was lost. As time passed helplessly, Karl grew increasingly anxious.
And as Karl’s worries and fears intensified, Franz’s residence became a complete mess.
Worried that the imperial investigators might track him down, Franz had not communicated with the knights of LaHart, leaving him completely unaware of what had happened to him.
Although it appeared that he was being helplessly attacked by Duke Albrecht’s side, the subordinates unable to contact their master could do nothing.
Without a lord to protect them, no one could stand against His Grace the Duke.
As Karl made no effort to hide his movements, rumors about the two dukes spread rapidly throughout the capital.
It was reported that Duke Albrecht was mobilizing knights on a large scale to overturn Duke Toskur’s residence.
The background was the corruption and illegal activities that Duke Toskur had committed for a long time. Using all of this as justification, Duke Albrecht was preparing to establish a strong imperial throne.
Rumors increasingly solidified the conclusion that the next owner of the imperial throne would be Duke Albrecht.
Finally, the news that Duke Albrecht had revealed his ambitions for the throne gradually shifted attention towards the upcoming electoral vote of the prince-electors to be held in two days.
In terms of legitimacy, many nobles had long held the belief that Duke Albrecht was more suited to the imperial throne than Duke Toskur.
Eventually, discussions began to arise questioning the significance of holding the electoral vote.
When all aspects of legitimacy, character, and even intelligence indicated that Duke Albrecht was vastly superior, why should he compete with Duke Toskur for the throne?
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
None other than Pulcheria was the one who most welcomed this public sentiment among the nobles.
“That’s not wrong,” Monica agreed with Pulcheria.
Although they decided on the electoral vote method due to claims from the factions allied with Duke Toskur, Monica thought it was unnecessary from the beginning.
A son born from a woman who was not even a wife. Was it truly right to grant him all of his father’s rights? Especially when there was someone with even greater legitimacy.
“Laila, pour me some more tea.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Laila, who had been quietly listening a step back from the conversation of the two noblewomen, approached holding the teapot. She intended to pour tea into Pulcheria’s empty cup, but the pot shook and clashed with the cup, making an unpleasant sound.
“What’s going on?”
Due to her trembling hand, the tea spilled over instead of filling the cup. Pulcheria asked with a puzzled voice.
“I-I’m sorry, ma’am. I was just distracted for a moment… I’ll prepare fresh tea right away.”
“It’s alright, you can just clean up the spill. But why are your hands shaking like this?”
It was a mistake she had never made before. Laila sensed that something was truly off with this girl lately. Pulcheria’s gaze unconsciously followed her fingers up to Laila’s face.
“Your complexion looks so dark. Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m sorry, ma’am.”
“You’re really not yourself.”
Even in this situation, Laila felt embarrassed by Pulcheria’s concern for her health.
Unable to meet Pulcheria’s eyes directly, Laila quickly moved to prepare new tea, avoiding her gaze. Pulcheria’s worried look pierced the back of Laila’s head.
Laila had also heard the rampant rumors about the clash between Duke Albrecht and Duke Toskur. Living in the palace, she couldn’t help but be aware of such news.
Laila hoped and prayed it wasn’t true, but she couldn’t completely deny that the reason Duke Albrecht had launched a massive attack on Duke Toskur was somehow related to her.
It was just after she mentioned the actions of Duke Albrecht’s wife and the Ministry of Magic officials to Franz that he had stopped appearing.
Having shared a bed with Franz and completely captivated by him, Laila eagerly awaited their next meeting, only to receive repeated messages that the Duke was unwell and could not meet her.
Unwell? Through her long life in the palace, Laila knew well that such excuses were all lies.
Franz, who would go so far as to lie to her, was likely away from the palace. Convincing herself otherwise felt futile as everything seemed too coincidentally aligned.
Duke Toskur vanished right after the news about Duke Albrecht’s wife, and Duke Albrecht began his attack on Toskur.
Laila couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge that her own tongue was at the very bottom of this tremendous upheaval. It filled her with fear.
***
Franz offered no explanation as to why he had done this. When I became annoyed with his constant questioning, he gagged me and pulled a cloth over my head.
With my vision blocked and my right to speak taken away, I was truly unable to do anything for myself.
I was so anxious about the condition of the injured people and whether the child in the boat was okay, but it drove me crazy that I couldn’t even ask those questions.
Every two or three hours, Franz would remove the cloth from my head and give me something to eat and drink, but then he would cover my eyes and mouth again.
I didn’t want to give him anything, but I forced myself to eat, thinking of the child in my belly.
I felt it was better not to tell him about my physical condition, so I never mentioned the baby in my belly.
“Why can’t you finish your food?”
It’s because I feel like I’m going to throw up every time I look at your face. I wanted to say it out loud, but I couldn’t because my mouth was gagged.
If I could, I’d hit that Franz bastard with my eyes and curse him out.
“Why, is there something you want to say?”
If he shows any sign of removing the gag, I have to eagerly comply. I resent it, but I have no choice. I nodded, wide-eyed, and Franz smirked, then reached over and removed the gag.
Phew, I let out a choked breath and moved my mouth to loosen my tight jaw muscles. The sides of my lips were stinging, as if the gag and rope had cut my cheeks raw.
“Say it. Anything.”
“Do you take care of people who get hurt?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, there were some people who were bleeding a lot. Do you not treat them? What if something happens to them?”
“None of my business.”
“How could you…….”
“Are you being heartless?”
With all my might, I glared at the singleton in front of me. I wondered how he could be so amused when he was talking about someone getting hurt and possibly dying.
“He’s not even mine, so why should I care.”
“How could you say that?”
“Besides, they’re his minions, and I don’t want to see them, so I’ll be happy when they’re dead and gone.”
“Are you…… even a person?”
I felt lamentable that the only curse I could muster was something like this. The rage that surged whenever I saw Franz was immense, but if I expressed it, I couldn’t guarantee the safety of the hostages.
I tried to suppress my emotions as much as possible and carefully selected the most insulting words I could find.
“Well? I finally got the chance to take revenge on the bastard I’ve always wanted to kill. If not seizing this opportunity isn’t something a human would do… then maybe I shouldn’t be human.”
Then Franz smiled again, a grin spreading across his face. How could this person keep laughing even while saying such horrific things?
Through Franz, I first realized that there exists a smile meant to humiliate someone.
“Valerie. Where is our Valerie?”
“Valerie? Ah… that insufferable child who looks just like her father.”
“What did you say? How could you say something like that?”
How could I call that delicate child insufferable? My lips and fingertips trembled.
“I wanted to get rid of her first, to be honest.”
“You actually…?”
“Even that has its own use, you know.”
Use? What is he talking about? Franz’s tone, whispering with a smirk, felt unstable. The ‘use’ he referred to was certainly not a good thing from my perspective.
“So I’m sending her to a place where her ‘use’ can be truly beneficial.”
“What? You sent the child elsewhere? Where? Stop it, right now!”
At my frantic shout, Franz began to chuckle.
“Why should I do that?”
“Bring her back, my child!”
“My child, my child…”
In an instant, all the smiles faded from Franz’s face. His laughter, which seemed uncontrollable, suddenly shifted to a serious expression. It was clear this man wasn’t normal.
The way his face changed so rapidly, like Janus with two faces, was chilling.
“If you keep talking like that, I might want to get rid of her even faster, Celly. Speak wisely.”
“What on earth…?”
“Why do you think this is happening?”
I bit my lips repeatedly to suppress the emotions surging from within.
In the end, I could taste the metallic tang of blood, but if I didn’t distract myself like that, I felt I might spit in Franz’s face.
If I couldn’t control my feelings and only provoked Franz’s anger, Valeria and the hostage could be in even greater danger. This was a situation requiring the greatest patience I had ever had in my life.
