The Duke took out a document from his bosom and shook it lightly.
“This is the justification.”
“What is it?”
Hersis asked, and the Duke smoothly smiled as he replied.
“This is what it is. A certificate proving not a single drop of Velkmer’s blood is mixed with His Majesty’s body.”
‘His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince, is truly the genuine offspring of Empress Mother Velkmer.’
Hersis had heard that phrase countless times since he was a child.
There was never a moment when he found it unpleasant. On the contrary, he was delighted every time he heard it.
It was because he could confirm his status as the most beloved offspring of his mother at every moment.
However…
“I didn’t expect you to utilize the fact that I resemble my mother in this way.”
“People who live in the mountains have to use anything they can.”
“But do the nobles really believe that?”
“Whether they believe it or not.”
The Duke confidently replied, “I thought he was my child, but it turns out he’s someone else’s child. Have you heard the saying that such words only appear in storybooks? It’s something that happens in reality too.”
“…”
“Believe it or not, some high-ranking nobles secretly conduct paternity tests if the child doesn’t resemble the father much, without their wives knowing.”
After a moment of thought, Hersis nodded.
“Well, those who resemble their fathers would be better off. There would be no need for paternity tests.”
At that remark, the Duke’s mouth curled up slightly. He, more than the former emperor and current prime minister, resembled his father, and he always took pride in it.
“But it will be revealed eventually. The fact that I am undeniably my father’s child.”
“Will it be revealed? How so?”
With a raised eyebrow, the Duke asked in response to Hersis’s words.
“Do you perhaps think the nobles will foolishly request a post-mortem examination of the blood His Majesty shed?”
Amidst the Duke’s mockery, the soldiers behind, unknowingly to the full extent of the conversation, chuckled.
“Why would they bother? What good would it do for them to prove the suffering of the departed one to themselves?”
“…”
“Rest assured; they are too busy with their own lives to bother confirming the truth.”
“…I see.”
A vague smile appeared on Hersis’s lips. The Duke, sighing, said, “Oh, dear. It seems our nephew is distressed. Allow me to apologize on behalf of those spineless people.”
“Apologize on their behalf.”
Hersis retorted, tilting his head.
“They should apologize themselves.”
“…”
“Will everyone really do that?”
Hersis asked. The unclear question created an odd sense of discomfort.
After a while.
With a slight , the full-length mirror that occupied the back wall behind Hersis slid inward like a door, and people stumbled out in between.
Without looking at them, Hersis asked again.
“I asked if everyone would really do that.”
“No, Your Majesty!”
Duke Bert was the first to kneel.
“Absolutely… There will never be such a thing. I swear.”
Following suit, all the nobles, including the councillors, approached Hersis and knelt beside him.
The voices of the Duke’s faction nobles trembled the most.
“We are the same. How could we disgrace Your Majesty and the royal family with such a foolish act? It’s unthinkable.”
“But aren’t you nobles from the Duke’s faction?”
Hersis met the eyes of each Duke’s faction noble, lingering longer on Duke Bert.
Trembling, Duke Bert said, “We are the same. How could we disgrace Your Majesty and the royal family with such a foolish act? It’s unthinkable.”
“That… that happened when the author wore the kind Duke’s mask. If I had known he would engage in such despicable acts, I would never have approached him.”
“Yes, Your Majesty! We were all deceived.”
They were Duke’s people, but they were also heads of prestigious families for generations. They were not lacking in pride to attach themselves to the side of a traitor who belittled them.
Even if their lives were at stake.
Hersis blinked slowly, looking at the Duke.
“They claim they are not involved. Whose words should I believe, uncle?”
The Duke’s gaze hardened. His pupils gleamed in a vivid crimson.
Those who had supported him could not meet his eyes and lowered their heads without a word.
“How amusing.”
Finally, the Duke chuckled.
“I feel more at ease now that you’ve come out like this.”
“…”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
With those words, the Duke stepped back a few paces. As if it were a signal, the soldiers swiftly advanced.
They approached wielding their weapons.
Although they lacked discipline, they were individuals well-equipped with savagery. When these frightening individuals charged, the substitutes scrambled and hid behind Hersis.
“Stop.”
Hersis’s voice was as calm as usual. However, about a hundred soldiers stood still like well-trained dogs.
The intimidation emanating from Hersis himself caused this effect. And the rest of the intimidation came from another source.
Their gazes rose.
Several arrows emerged from the inner terrace. The arrows were aimed at them, all elite archers.
To prove this fact, Hersis gave a signal.
The front five soldiers were hit in the exact same spot on the back of their necks with arrows, spitting foam as they fell.
Upon this sight, the momentum of the remaining soldiers wavered.
“Quite impressive.”
The Duke applauded.
“Whatever. If you’re going to raise someone, you have to use your brain.”
Apart from the change from reverence to disdain, his attitude was similar to the beginning. He showed no sign of resignation or desperation.
The Duke pushed the soldiers aside and stepped forward. Then, the arrows from the terrace simultaneously aimed at him.
“Now, is it my turn?”
He spread his arms wide like a scarecrow.
“Hurry up and shoot me. Why hesitate? Miss such a good opportunity like this.”
Hersis raised his hand.
That was all it took to show the fist to the archers. Then, everything would be over.
But… Hersis gestured as if waving his hand instead.
As a result, the arrowheads moved from the Duke back towards his soldiers.
The Duke frowned.
“Why aren’t you shooting, Hers?”
“Just… felt uneasy.”
Hersis spoke lightly and shifted his gaze to the Duke’s soldiers.
“Did you promise them something? Regardless of your life or death?”
Instead of answering, the Duke smiled. Then Hersis burst into a wry laugh.
“Indeed. Then it’s not surprising to come out so recklessly.”
Hersis stood up and moved away from the table.
In the midst of the bewildered feelings of the substitutes who had been hiding behind him, Hersis leisurely walked along the dais.
The Duke’s gaze followed him. The soldiers’ blades, the archers’ arrowheads, everything was in motion, all disregarding Hersis.
“How much did you promise them? Did you promise money? Or a house? I’m curious.”
Hersis continued to ask as he kept walking.
The Duke chuckled as if it were pitiful.
“If you think you can buy their hearts with just money and a house, Hers, you’re even more naive than I thought.”
He calmly spoke, his eyes turning a deep crimson once again.
“I promised to let them live like humans. I promised to unlock the chains for the slaves and erase the stigma for the branded thieves. There’s enough power in the imperial family for that. Of course, I also promised money and a house, but that’s just an extra.”
“I see.”
Hersis laughed and stopped walking.
“Indeed, a promise befitting you. You’ve always known how to move people’s hearts. I envied that about you.”
“…”
“But this time, you won’t be able to keep that promise.”
Suddenly, Hersis’s pupils flashed sharply.
“Because… you don’t have the right to do so.”
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
_____
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