“Do you think you can treat me like this and get away with it?”

“At least for now, I can see that you can’t lay a finger on me in your current state.”

“Calic, you insolent fool!”

“You lack manners, Lord Crayton.”

His mouth was tightly sealed. Bake trembled in the crude grip that pressed his cheek. What kind of person had such brutish strength?

The Duke Piren wondered if it was not just an empty talk that the duke could break a person’s neck with his bare hands.

“Are you thinking secretly? That I won’t be able to kill you. More than being Lord Crayton.”

“Ugh, ugh, urgh!”

Thinking that he couldn’t be oppressed any further, Bake’s struggling body stopped. It felt like he had become a herbivore that had been subdued by a predator, and the will to resist the overwhelming pressure disappeared.

Only then did Bake realize how much patience Calix had been exercising.

“Stay still. I’m doing my best not to kill you.”

“…”

Of course, I don’t have much patience, and I’m worried about how long I can endure.”

Calix’s lips twisted in annoyance. He no longer had any intention of hiding his vitality. With his face held captive, the fact that he was caught felt even more painfully. His blocked nose and mouth couldn’t breathe freely.

“How many months are left now?”

To the slow question, Bake shook his head without the strength to answer.

His body was complaining about the lack of oxygen. At this rate, he might really die. No matter how, he had to break free.

But despite his urgent desire, his breathless body was getting weaker. Even though they were both males, Bake and Calix had different physical conditions.

I’m going to die.

The thought crossed his mind as his vision turned pitch black. Suddenly, a breath came in.

Bake, who didn’t know English, desperately gasped and inhaled as much air as he could with his nose and strength. Although his breathless body complained even more about the sudden influx of breath, breathing in any way was crucial.

After repeating several breaths roughly, Bake finally lifted his head. Only then did he realize that his face, firmly caught like shackles, had regained its freedom.

Despite being pleased with his freedom, the gaze of the man looking down at him remained chilling.

Bake cowered but lifted his head.

“What’s the ulterior motive?”

He was afraid, but he didn’t want to just lie down and sleep. Even if others didn’t know, he couldn’t do that in front of Calix Piren. Bake glared at Calix, biting his teeth as if to make a sound.

Calix glanced briefly at Bake’s face, covered in tears and snot, and sneered.
“His Majesty asked me for a favor. He said he wants to give a gift on the day a new Crayton Marquis is born.”

“…”

“Your child will inherit everything from you. In return, the child must become an heir. A well-off one, I assume.”

“My child?”

“His Majesty doesn’t do things that would cause him losses. The generational change has already begun since the moment he decided to protect that woman.”

Calix’s tone was flat and indifferent. There was no sense of mockery or disdain.

However, strangely, that aspect made Bake uncomfortable.

“That can’t happen.”

“That’s not a problem for you to decide.”

“When nobles in the empire commit a crime, they must go through a trial. They can’t just kill me like this.”

Bake raised his voice.

Initially, he was terrified of mentioning the charge of rebellion. However, in reality, it was not an issue that could be easily decided.

Regardless of the crime committed, nobles had to go through a proper procedure for the crime to be established. Until a trial took place and a fair punishment was given, they couldn’t be treated as criminals.

“If you fall off a cliff, those words will quickly sink in.”

“…”

“There are many ways to kill you without using my hands. Especially for a Marquis who roams outside like a fearless fool.”

“…”

“Maybe you were unlucky and encountered bandits.”

The important thing was not the truth. If you could make them believe it, that was enough. It was because such coincidental tragedies could happen in the empire.

Moreover, Calix looking down on Bake was a man who was ruthless in cruel matters. If Calix decided to, he could create a death incident so horrifying that it was unimaginable.

Bake hurriedly shook his head at the worst scenario he unintentionally thought of.

But once he thought of it, the idea did not easily subside. The more he tried not to think about it, the more vividly it came to mind.

“I have soldiers. Many eyes have been watching me getting caught. If I die now, those numerous witnesses will naturally suspect you, don’t you think?”

“Of course, they will. But does that seem like something I would care about?”

“…”

“I have nothing left.”

Thanks to someone.

Calix silently looked down at Bake. Bake’s lips, which were only quivering without uttering a word, were pale blue.

…He won’t find out, will he?

“I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve always been curious. Why you, of all people. Ten years ago, thanks to that day, I gained something, and ultimately, it was because I did something worthwhile.”