“If His Majesty the Emperor has passed away…”
“Passed away?”
“That warrant. The one that allows forced transportation if there’s no response to the summons.”
“Yes, that warrant. Why?”
“Wouldn’t that be invalid now? The person who granted it is dead, so the document should naturally be void.”
That made sense. The Emperor’s permission is valid only while the Emperor is alive. So, Karl knew all this and kept silent about it.
And he used the Emperor’s warrant to get me on the train, revealing the truth only when it was too late to turn back.
“So, the Duke knew all this while talking to me?”
I stared aimlessly at the door Karl had exited through, but that only made my eyes hurt.
“Ah, I don’t know. I can’t figure it out.”
My head ached from thinking too much, and I was hungry. It had been dark outside for a while. Today, I had only eaten a brunch.
If I were at home, I would have gone out to find some snacks, but this was a train. I had to eat whatever was given to me, and this train from Urentum to the Central-Southern Station didn’t have a kitchen car, so there wasn’t much to eat.
“Originally, this train wasn’t scheduled to operate today, but His Highness the Duke hurriedly started it, so… there was no food prepared. We’ll arrive at the Central-Southern Station tomorrow and change trains, so please bear with it a bit longer, Countess.”
Tomorrow, we’ll change trains at the Central-Southern Station. It seems I’ll finally get to see outside food after four days.
“Alright, let’s sleep. Sleep. When you’re hungry, you should sleep.”
I wrapped my arms around my hungry stomach and closed my eyes, wishing for tomorrow to come quickly.
Capital Lahat.
Franz sat at his desk in his office for the first time in a long while. Recently, he had only frequented his bedroom and the streets of Keleber outside his mansion, so his butler Schultz followed him with an uplifted face, hoping his master would finally show some focus on his ducal duties.
“Lord Franz.”
Waiting in the office was Stillico, the captain of the guards for the Duke of Toscur. He was one of the few people Franz trusted deeply, known for his skepticism and distrust of others. Stillico quickly struck a match and offered it to Franz as he habitually picked up a cigar.
“I have new information: Countess Luizette has been spotted near Lake Filia.”
“As expected, she would have to pass that area to travel from the South to Lahat.”
“Yes, she changed to a direct train to Lahat at the Central-Southern Station.”
Franz nodded nonchalantly as if he had anticipated this. Since receiving news of Celeste’s whereabouts in Urentum, he had expected this sequence of events.
He had assumed Celeste, who cut off contact with him and hid in the countryside, used the magic stone as a signal to return to the capital.
Therefore, he naturally expected that she would reach Lahat via Lake Filia in a few days.
“There’s nothing significant to report, then.”
With a gesture from Franz, Stillico checked the surroundings, though only Schultz was there, then leaned in close to whisper in Franz’s ear.
“We can’t just let her return smoothly, Your Highness.”
“And?”
“We’ve taken measures to ensure she won’t arrive safely.”
“How far did you go?”
“At minimum, she’ll be incapacitated with injuries for several days.”
“And at most?”
“At most, death.”
“The cause?”
“Poisoning, just like before…”
Thick smoke billowed deep from Franz’s lungs.
“I’d prefer it if it were the latter.”
A thick, satisfied smile spread across his lips, incongruous for someone discussing someone’s demise, yet it was a happy smile.
“Ah, and I heard something strange from a contact.”
“What kind of strange thing?”
“That Countess Luizette is traveling with a child.”
“A child?”
“Yes. Apparently, the Countess boarded the train holding a baby herself.”
“Celeste with a child? That’s quite an unlikely pairing. Are you sure it wasn’t mistaken?”
“I thought so too and double-checked several times… but it’s certain that the Countess was moving with a child in her arms, and the child had the same hair color as the Countess.”
Tap, tap. His unoccupied hand tapped rhythmically on the desk.
“Purple hair, you say?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“…Isn’t that a distinctive trait of the Luizette family?”
“Yes. I understand it as such.”
Tap. Tap. Franz fell into thought.
Purple hair is a genetic trait that appears only in those who inherit the Luizette family bloodline. As far as he knew, Celeste was the last of the Luizette lineage.
Her parents had passed away, and she had not married yet, so it was impossible for a younger Luizette heir to appear other than Celeste.
But now, a young baby with purple hair?
“We should look into this.”
Tap, tap, tap. Franz’s fingers quickened their rhythm on the desk.
“Yes, I’ve already ordered further investigation, Lord Franz.”
Franz’s lips curled into a sly smile again.
“What’s she up to now, my dear Celie.”
His chuckle was tinged with amusement, his face blurring amidst a cloud of pale smoke.
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
