Callian’s face hardened at Resban’s sudden appearance.

Riona and Yuri also looked at Resban with frozen expressions of surprise.

This was too private a place for a war-crazed man who brings bloodshed wherever he goes to intervene.

Unable to manage his expression, Callian spoke to Resban with an awkward stiffness.

“If you wait in the reception room, I’ll finish up and be right there.”

“You seem to find my words amusing, Your Grace. Didn’t I say I came for my own business?”

Resban’s chilling golden eyes emitted a cold aura.

“What do you mean? I was just having a private conversation with my wife and family…”

Resban frowned slightly, then immediately put his hand on his scabbard and drew his sword.

Shing- The sound of the blade being drawn was spine-chillingly clear.

Callian, standing before Resban, also flinched and stepped back a little.

Riona instinctively shrank her shoulders in fear.

It’s not good for the Crown Prince to draw his sword. Even with the absolute power of the imperial family, it’s not customary to draw swords recklessly in a noble’s house unless it’s related to imperial authority.

Riona is under investigation by the imperial investigation team on charges of exchanging with the Ganeshoff forces…

“…”

Her tightly clenched fist was trembling.

“Crown Prince!”

Ignoring Callian’s cry, Resban raised his sword with a graceful hand movement.

Riona, her face turning pale, closed her eyes, sensing that it would surely be aimed at her neck, but she felt no pain.

When she opened her eyes a moment later, she was surprised yet relieved.

“…!”

Because the tip of Resban’s sword was pointed at Yuri’s neck.

Yuri’s face was frozen white as she stood with the sword nearly touching the tip of her neck.

Yuri couldn’t understand at all.

Why the suddenly appeared Crown Prince was pointing his sword at her neck.

Callian, with furrowed brows, said to the Crown Prince.

“Your Highness, I don’t know what this is about, but if the head maid has offended you…”

“I don’t know how the discipline of House Klaus has fallen so low.”

A chilling voice flowed from between the Crown Prince’s lips.

“No one expects to survive after stealing the Crown Prince’s ring.”

At those words, Yuri’s eyes shook violently.

In Yuri’s hand was the ring she had taken from Esika’s room.

“That ring was made with the jewel of my sister Astia, who died 20 years ago. Her name is engraved inside the jewel.”

Yuri couldn’t understand this situation at all.

Riona stumbled and held her forehead.

‘That stupid woman! What on earth has she done!’

The evidence of adultery she brought, claiming to have found it, was this war-maniac’s ring?

Stealing imperial property is treated as a serious crime equivalent to treason and punished.

Anyone can see that the probability of that bloodthirsty warmonger Resban Deon Lucein being Esika’s insignificant adultery partner converges to zero.

Whatever happened, it’s a complete bust.

Not only is the plan to make Esika a dirty adulteress thwarted… a crisis may befall House Klaus.

“I… I… I didn’t steal it! This is what I brought from Esika’s room!”

Yuri spoke in a trembling voice.

“St… Steal? That’s nonsense. Even if it’s stolen goods, it would be Esika who stole it, not me. I… I’m saying it wasn’t me!”

And she shouted inwardly at Esika.

‘Say it’s yours! It’s yours, isn’t it!’

Esika observed this situation for a moment.

Did Resban know that she had the ring?

No. That’s not the important point right now.

The purpose of Resban’s appearance here was… perfect assistance for Esika.

“…”

And the moment Esika’s lips curled up, Yuri realized she had fallen into a trap.

Whether it was a planned trap or a lucky coincidence, Esika Klaus was no longer the foolish woman who would throw Yuri a lifeline.

“I.”

The Crown Prince’s blade, which must have been stained with countless blood, was about to pierce her neck.

“Esika… please…”

But Esika continued in a cold voice.

“I don’t understand what Yuri is saying. From beginning to end, it’s all nonsense.”

“…!”

Yuri’s red eyes shook violently.

She saw Callian turning to look at her with a chilling gaze.

Riona pretended not to know, not even making eye contact, as if she didn’t want to be involved with Yuri.

All the accusing gazes that had been directed at Esika were now turning and piercing her.

Tears of fear welled up in Yuri’s red eyes.

“Pl… Please spare me. Your Highness. I really swear I know nothing about this. I really didn’t steal it! Really…!”

The Crown Prince had entered and exited the Klaus mansion several times to discuss state affairs with Callian.

So it’s a plausible story that the head maid stole the Crown Prince’s ring.

“Ah, something just occurred to me.”

Esika opened her lips with a rather cheerful smile.

“Yuri Anesis has stolen my jewels sent from Brigitte several times. I sent a letter to my brother telling him not to send jewels, but she lied and tried to extort more jewels, and was even investigated at the government office for several months due to my brother’s report.”

As he heard Esika’s words, Callian’s eyes, which had been full of jealousy and anger, began to calm down gradually.

“You can check the results of the government office’s investigation regarding Yuri’s sticky fingers.”

The man’s ring that Yuri brought to frame Esika turned out to be a stolen ring.

Callian was no longer even disappointed in her.

Yuri Anesis. A vicious and cowardly woman.

Then the accusation of adultery that was pinned on…

Callian’s heart thudded.

“…Duke.”

Riona spoke to Callian with an awkward smile and a voice that seemed to be on the verge of tears.

“I… I know nothing about this. I only heard from Yuri that Esika had committed adultery. I was deceived too.”

Her voice was trembling at the end.

It was very dangerous to be involved in such a matter while being investigated for ties with subversive forces.

If it spreads that Riona had Yuri steal the Crown Prince’s ring to tarnish the imperial family’s honor, things could become more difficult.

“How could you do such a thing, Yuri Anesis! I… I trusted you completely!”

Riona covered her face with both hands as if shocked.

It was an act for the Crown Prince to see.

Esika could barely contain her laughter at seeing through her obvious ploy, but well, it’s not bad to take them down one by one slowly.

Yuri was just the first in line.

“I’ll take it that no one objects to the summary execution of Yuri Anesis.”

Resban’s dry voice sounded quite languid.

He seemed to be quite enjoying this somewhat boring role-play.

“Ah… No…!”

There wasn’t a shred of sympathy in Resban’s cold golden eyes for the trembling Yuri.

“There’s also a need to set an example for servants who covet others’ possessions.”

“…Cr… Crown Prince… Your Highness… It really wasn’t me! I didn’t steal it!”

Yuri begged, trembling.

The fear of death, which had reached her throat for the first time, was already choking her.

The dense silence that had settled indicated that no one would save her.

Esika’s laughter seemed to ring in her ears like an auditory hallucination.

Just as Resban, who had been staring at her as if looking at something dirty and insignificant, was about to move his sword,

“Please save me, Your Grace!”

Yuri, who had been shedding tears, cried out, pointing at Callian.

Yuri cried out to Callian, sobbing.

“I’m carrying Your Grace’s child in my womb!”

For a moment, the tip of Resban’s sword, which was about to pierce Yuri’s neck, hesitated.

Yuri clutched her stomach and screamed at the top of her lungs.

“I’m pregnant with Your Grace’s child!”

**

After everything was over, Callian entered his room and fell to his knees after taking just a few steps.

The sound of his fist hitting the floor, bang, was loud enough to be heard outside.

His face, with his head bowed, was covered by his brown hair that had fallen forward.

Resban looked at Callian with a cold expression, his eyes filled with contempt clear enough to hurt one’s pride.

While a mere head maid could be easily executed by imperial authority, it’s problematic to summarily execute even a lowly woman if she’s carrying a duke’s child.

“…Your house is truly a mess.”

When Resban withdrew his sword, Yuri, who had crawled to his feet, had begged.

She said she had become pregnant with the duke’s child that day, and pleaded to spare her life and that of the child.

This was the most terrible accident in Callian’s life that had never happened before.

Her red eyes, which he once thought were purer and more dignified than his wife’s, were shaking with fear, losing all reason… and it was unspeakably ugly.

“You’ll take me in, won’t you? Right?”

A woman who plotted a stupid, impossible thing out of greed.

He had shared a bed with her and now it had become an irreversible fact.

But what was most horrifying in that situation was Esika’s reaction.

“It seems you have things to discuss with Yuri, so I’ll see the Crown Prince out.”

Esika, who had snatched the ring roughly from Yuri’s hand, turned around.

“Congratulations on at least saving your life, Yuri.”

And to Callian, who grabbed her with trembling hands, not knowing what excuse to make, she threw one expressionless remark before moving her feet.

There was no inflection, but it sounded like a reproach, no, like mockery.

“…Adultery?”

In her blue eyes, warmth towards him would never seep in again.

Though he had already heard the story, Callian couldn’t help but admit that he had buried himself in his own coffin.

A suffocating, tearing pain was engulfing his chest.

Callian kept striking the floor while sitting.

Outside Callian’s office, at the sound of Callian’s voice ringing out like a scream, passing servants paused in their steps before moving on again.