125. That one, deceiving me again

2024.02.02.

The Rev brothers, suddenly finding themselves exiting the room along with the other two women, were soon pushed back downstairs to the first floor as the women guarding the door stood their ground like it was their own private chamber.

At a glance, the veiled women clearly did not carry the aura of ordinary commoners.

For a moment, the brothers wondered whether it was acceptable to leave such women waiting outside Clade’s room, but considering the reaction of Federico and his daughter, as well as the fact that Clade was a Swordmaster, they chose instead to sit in the first-floor lobby and wait anxiously.

Eddie, who had been lost in thought, suddenly took off his glasses with the blank, dazed expression of someone struck from behind.

Rubbing his tired eyes, he muttered,

“He deceived me. That one, Clade. He deceived me again…”

“What are you talking about?”

When Lancelot asked sharply, Eddie responded just as sharply.

“Women! The women going in and out of Clade’s room! What if Clade never actually spent the night with them? Not just these veiled women revealing themselves now, but even back in Roxenheart!”

“What are you saying?”

Seeing Lancelot frown in confusion, Eddie abruptly stood up and began pacing in circles around the lobby, piecing things together.

“The rumors about Clade becoming debauched spread far too quickly. Of course, he did bring in many women and allowed servants to spread gossip, but even the nobles in the eastern regions—on the opposite side of Roxenheart—already knew when we attended the investiture ceremony. Right?”

“That’s true. Even the reclusive northern nobles were whispering about it.”

“And they didn’t act like they’d just heard the rumors. They reacted as if Clade had always been this way, like it was completely natural.”

“But what does that mean?”

“Clade made those women spread the rumors themselves.”

Eddie Rev chuckled bitterly, as if he’d just taken a direct hit.

The women summoned to the Black Mansion were professional courtesans who operated across the Marquisate, servicing various nobles.

Their value fluctuated based on whom they had served.

If a courtesan claimed to have been a high-ranking noble’s mistress or lover, other curious nobles would desire her more, raising her price. That was the world they lived in.

But unless a noble was exceptionally careless with their lover, would they ever openly admit it or allow such rumors to spread?

While many Euphris nobles kept lovers, they were quite sensitive about their lovers’ social status.

Whether it was a courtesan, a commoner, or even a foreign slave, it was ultimately their choice—but nobles preferred, or at the very least expected, their lovers to be of noble or merchant class so they could accompany them to social events.

It was only if no one noticed nobles parading around with lovers they claimed were distant relatives that things went smoothly.

The decadent nobles of the Empire didn’t hesitate to bring their lovers to major social gatherings.

But even lovers had a hierarchy.

No noble, not even at the smallest social event, would openly declare a courtesan as their lover.

Paying for a lover was tantamount to admitting a lack of personal charm. So while they might whisper “lover” in the bedroom, outside they’d casually refer to them as temporary playthings.

But what if Clade had explicitly permitted the courtesans to talk about him?

The courtesans who passed through the Black Mansion would have unanimously gossiped about how sweet and intense their nights with the Crown Prince were—whether or not he had even touched them with a fingertip.

Receiving a hefty sum of gold, they could claim to have shared their bodies with a Crown Prince, a charming member of the royal family—making Clade a sort of living medal for them.

Was a royal just any royal?

Even if he was a disgraced Crown Prince, he was still the legitimate heir of the late Emperor, a notorious figure constantly featured in newspapers for his womanizing and violent tendencies.

A famous royal figure who resurfaced in scandalous headlines just as people began to forget him.

Lancelot shook his head as if to cool his overheated mind.

“If you want to fit the pieces together, I suppose you could see it that way.”

There was certainly logic in Eddie’s reasoning.

If someone had decided to play the role of a reckless, degenerate Crown Prince, what was so shameful about being seen as a courtesan’s lover?

After all, Emperor Igor himself indulged in far more degrading companions than paid courtesans, repeatedly tarnishing the dignity of the imperial household.

As Lancelot pondered Eddie’s theory, one point still nagged at him, and he shook his head.

“But that alone doesn’t prove he didn’t indulge physically. Clade could have used those women. Yes, he’s absolutely capable of that. But that still doesn’t serve as proof that he didn’t spend the night with them.”

Lancelot frowned, grinding the words out.

Even if Clade was as cunning as a hundred-year-old serpent, a rejected man with his mind unhinged was capable of anything. Clade had never been an upright man to begin with.

“I fully understand the possibility that he used those women, not just treated them as one-night companions. But I hate to admit it—yet it’s true—that he’s been rolling around like a naked man in a storm.”

“Did you even look inside his room?”

“What?”

“While we’ve been sitting here, eleven women entered and left that room. And yet, did you look at his bed?”

“Twelve. And who says such things only happen in bed?”

“The same applies elsewhere. Think about it.”

Lancelot, now deeply suspicious, crossed his arms and twisted his eyebrows.

Clade’s bedroom, suddenly raided, had been suspiciously clean.

They had confirmed it remained exactly as it was when Clade entered—freshly bathed, wearing a robe.

Every chair and sofa showed no sign of having been sat on.

“Still… it’s not like you have to lie down or sit to do anything—”

“Now the puzzle pieces finally fit!”

Eddie, pressing hard on his temples, cut Lancelot off with a deep groan.

“When I was packing this time, I noticed the contraceptive herbs I’d stored in the medicine warehouse were completely untouched.”

“What?”

Eddie laughed weakly, as if blaming himself for only now realizing the implication.

“He hasn’t taken a single one since he started bringing women in.”

From the moment Clade began summoning women, Eddie had procured contraceptive herbs faster than the women themselves and stored them in the mansion.

He had instructed butler Gustav to keep large supplies of the herbs in Clade’s office and bedroom drawers, and to refill them without fail whenever they ran low—stacking them in the medicine warehouse accordingly.

Eddie, who prided himself on managing the women around Clade, would never have forgotten the herbs while preparing for the southern journey.

He wouldn’t have entrusted it to anyone else—he intended to check and manage it personally.

After all, during such a critical period, an accident in the wrong place could be disastrous.

Yet the herbs remained untouched.

“Would someone like Clade really spend nights with courtesans without chewing contraceptive herbs?”

“Then… so you’re saying…”

“I don’t think so.”

Unlike Lancelot, whose eyes now trembled even wider, Eddie’s gaze had settled, calm and cold.

Now it was Lancelot who abruptly stood up, mirroring Eddie’s earlier pacing, circling the room in agitation.

“I don’t understand what’s going on. Then who were the women who came today? Not just the ones with Federico Companni—but all the veiled women who’ve come so far—were they all like that? I need to ask Clade directly. What is this bastard planning now?”

Lily Companni, whom they believed dead, had suddenly appeared alive, sneaking in to deliver her thanks.

One unbelievable event after another was unfolding.

Just then, Lancelot noticed Federico Companni and Lily Companni descending the stairs.

They bowed formally to the Rev brothers, their expressions grim.

Lancelot, awkwardly returning the bow, carefully observed Federico Companni, whose face was so pale it had turned blue, and Lily Companni, who trembled as she supported him down the stairs.

In mere minutes, the Companni pair had transformed into withered trees, every ounce of vitality drained from their bodies—so much so that even the emotionless Eddie Rev was left speechless, unable to demand, “What in the world have you done? Explain yourself!”

The Companni pair paid no mind to the hesitant Rev brothers and left the townhouse with expressions and steps that could not be ignored.

And standing above them on the landing, watching their retreating backs, was Clade Euphris—his face icy cold.

The Rev brothers rushed toward him.

***

Even under the Rev brothers’ blazing, furious stares demanding immediate explanation, Clade simply stared at the door through which the Compannis had left, then turned and walked into his bedroom.

The Rev brothers charged in after him, frantically searching the bedroom for any trace of a woman—but found nothing.

“You! You tell us the truth! Explain! What did you do with the courtesans at the Black Mansion?”

“No, answer this first. Clade Euphris. Did you secretly save Lily Companni in the past? And what did you say to them?”

“Yes! Answer that! And what exactly did you do with all the women who came to your room during this time?”

Clade picked up the crystal wine glass he’d been sipping from earlier and perched himself at the foot of the bed, its sheets perfectly smooth, not a single wrinkle.

The hand not holding the glass stretched behind him for casual support. His face showed absolutely no intention of properly answering their barrage of questions.

“Are you going to sit properly and talk? What did you say to Federico Companni? Start with that!”

Eddie, gripping Lancelot—who was struggling and shouting for more explanation—asked calmly and swiftly.

“I’ll ask one by one. Who exactly were all the women you brought in?”

He asked quickly, sensing that if he didn’t, Clade might simply grow bored and order them to leave.

But contrary to Eddie’s concern, Clade slowly raised the wine glass to his lips and replied,

“They were the ones who spread my information outward without suspicion, and fed me vulgar gossip in return.”