After Emilia left, he was alone with the Count again.
Yuri was frantically spinning her brain.
If the charges of attempting to kill Esika are confirmed, there’s a high probability of at least hanging.
No matter if she’s pregnant with the Duke of Klaus’s child, Esika is the Duchess and she is still just a mistress.
If she is to be hanged, the timing would be… after giving birth.
‘That absolutely cannot happen.’
As the future of having her baby taken away and standing on the gallows flashed before her, Yuri clenched her fist.
‘I am to be the Duchess. I won’t suffer such a fate.’
“Then let me ask about the motive. Was it indeed jealousy that made you try to poison the Duchess?”
“Count… I really didn’t do it.”
Clear tears flowed down Yuri’s cheeks.
Yuri knew well the points that make men pity women.
Slightly hunched shoulders trembling delicately, clear eyes, and a frightened expression.
Just like when she persuaded the investigator at the previous office, Yuri did her best to appeal to emotions.
“It’s true that I was jealous of Esika, but to harm her? She’s a precious friend I grew up with since childhood.”
“You wrote a false letter to steal that precious friend’s jewelry.”
“That… that was just a thing of the past.”
Her voice came out a bit forceful.
Yuri cleared her throat again, composed herself, and said to him.
“The Grand Duchess was tormenting Esika so much, I had to give her the pearls to ask her to stop bullying Esika.”
Yuri spoke while lowering her gaze as if embarrassed.
Whenever something happened, she always escaped from the center of events like this.
Pretending she wasn’t involved, pretending to be the victim.
“Is that so?”
At the Count’s words, Yuri inwardly smiled with satisfaction.
She thought he was taking her words to heart.
Perhaps he was even starting to feel sympathy for her.
But that expectation shattered in less than a few seconds.
“Then why did all the maids of House Klaus give the same testimony? That Head Maid Yuri Anesis took the lead in tormenting the Duchess.”
Yuri’s eyes wavered.
“What… what do you mean? Those girls are all on the Grand Duchess’s side, so they’re unfavorable to me, Esika’s friend…”
“The servants, and even the testimony of Cella, the Duchess’s personal maid, are the same. Even the kitchen chef’s testimony points to your cruelty.”
The Count was not a man who fell for acting ‘weak’ or ‘ignorant’.
“I just… followed the Grand Duchess’s orders. If I didn’t pretend to bully her, the Grand Duchess would torment Esika even more viciously.”
“So you admit to the bullying.”
“…That… that…”
“Then about the Grand Duchess, Lady Riona Klaus… if so…”
The Count’s eyes flashed sharply.
“Is the Grand Duchess also involved in poisoning the Duchess?”
“No, that’s not…”
Yuri was flustered. He was as persistent as a hunting dog sniffing out its prey’s weakness.
She felt a chill, as if he might bite her neck at any moment.
When Yuri closed her mouth, the Count rose from his seat with a faint smile.
And he tossed a newspaper in front of Yuri.
“We’ll know soon enough when we conduct a cross-examination. The Grand Duchess of Klaus has quite a few charges against her as well.”
Yuri looked at the main article of the newspaper he had thrown.
The large letters in the center read:
[His Majesty the Emperor Orders a Sweeping Investigation of House Klaus!]**
News of victory from the final battlefield arrived.
Even though Resban did not personally take the field and only commanded through messengers, they easily repelled the enemy and recaptured their original territory.
While the Empire’s social circles were shaken by the shocking news from House Klaus, the Imperial Palace alone seemed untouched by such news, with everyone holding their breath.
Resban’s gait was as majestic as ever.
The attendants were deeply bowing, and soon his footsteps echoed to the Emperor’s office.
The Emperor, who had recovered somewhat from his chronic illness, was sitting at his desk reviewing a few documents.
Resban, standing before him, bowed his head according to etiquette.
Then he looked at the Emperor again.
The darker shadows under the Emperor’s eyes revealed that he did not have much time left to live.
“At last, this war seems to be coming to an end.”
An aged voice was heard.
After a moment of silence, Resban opened his mouth.
“You asked me about a reward before.”
His low voice reverberated gently off the walls of the office.
The Emperor slowly nodded.
“Have you decided what you want?”
“I have, Father.”
At the start of the conquest, the Emperor had promised Resban.
That when all the country’s territories were reclaimed, he would grant whatever Resban wished.
“Yesterday, I heard Her Majesty the Empress pleaded with Your Majesty.”
At Resban’s words, the tip of the Emperor’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
When she visited the Emperor yesterday, she knelt and begged.
The tears in the young Empress’s eyes looked desperate enough to move one’s heart.
“…Indeed.”
The Emperor’s voice was heard.
Resban knew what request the Empress had made.
Most of the pro-Klaus nobles, including House Klaus which was closely tied to the Empress’s position, had purchased land and assets in Tzuchen.
In the current structure where the next Emperor seemed already decided, the reason the Empress and the Second Prince could maintain their position was because of the noble faction.
The nobles’ hearts leaned more towards the Empress and Second Prince than the Crown Prince who started a war and requisitioned supplies.
In this situation, if Elmure were chosen as the western stronghold, the position of the Empress and Second Prince would become as unstable as crumbling ground.
“The western stronghold.”
The Emperor looked at Resban with a slightly uncomfortable expression.
Resban continued speaking with a chilly expression.
A heavy atmosphere filled the office.
**
“Today’s the day.”
Esika muttered while looking at the garden scenery.
Riona had not come out for a walk all day.
From what she heard, Riona had disposed of most of her private assets.
They say she even sold her favorite dresses, so she must be in a hurry.
‘But why… don’t I feel relieved?’
Resban, who returned to the Imperial Palace, would have made a request to the Emperor.
He said he would help Esika, and surely must have asked for Elmure to be confirmed as the western stronghold.
Then the stronghold to be announced will certainly be Elmure.
‘It feels like I’m missing something…’
“My lady.”
Cella brought a tray with desserts.
On the tray were several sweet desserts including cake.
It seemed Hemos had put in quite some effort.
“Sweet things are good when you have a headache.”
Cella chattered as she placed the plate on the table.
“To be able to bring such delicious snacks openly to you, my lady. I can’t tell you how happy I am these days.”
“…”
“Before, maids like Annie or Lusa would glare and snatch them away… it was really awful. But now they’ll know too. That the Grand Duchess’s era is over.”
“…Cella.”
Looking at the fork on the napkin, Esika said.
“If you had put everything into something, and were waiting for the result.”
“…Yes?”
“Think of gambling. You’ve bet your life’s savings on a gamble. What would you do then?”
“Hmm…”
After thinking for a moment, Cella said.
“I would wish for it desperately. Since my whole life is at stake.”
“You wouldn’t be able to make rational judgments. Having devoted yourself to a single goal.”
“That’s right.”
“Yes, this is a fact everyone knows. That House Klaus is clinging to Tzuchen.”
Esika still didn’t pick up the fork.
She just stared intently at the plate, lost in thought.
The feeling that she was missing something.
“…That’s His Highness the Crown Prince, isn’t it?”
Suddenly, far down the road, someone on horseback was approaching the mansion.
Riding a magnificent white horse befitting the Imperial Palace, it was Resban wearing the Crown Prince’s uniform.
Esika looked at him, startled.
With the sun at his back, his face was not visible.
A moment later, Resban’s horse stopped in front of Esika.
Resban lightly jumped off the horse and stood before Esika.
A small dust cloud rose.
The maids and servants, including Cella, stepped back and bowed their heads.
Esika looked at Resban with a slightly stiff expression.
Such an unreadable expression makes anxiety sprout.
“I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
And she gave a slight bow towards Resban.
Instead of answering, Resban reached out and cupped Esika’s cheek.
Since everyone had their heads bowed, they did not see this gesture.
Being in the shade of the trees, their figures would not be visible from other floors either.
Resban’s low voice seeped into Esika’s ear.
Soon, Esika’s eyes shook violently.
Her clenched fist slowly relaxed.
“…Tzuchen was not selected as the western stronghold.”
Esika let out a shaky breath that had been held in tension.
She had won against Klaus.
“Congratulations, Esika.”
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
