CH 79

Despite the Grand Duke’s warning, Ben still attempted to escape. Six months had passed since he was trapped in the basement.

“You’re going to die at this rate. Save your body.”

Archen still secretly visited Ben to heal his wounds. He couldn’t enter the prison, so he reached over the bars and applied medicine to the wounds.

“If I could die from doing something like this, I would already be dead.”

Ben’s eyes looked different from what he had six months ago. His dark purple eyes, which were weak and anxious, suddenly took on the appearance of beasts. Sharp, ruthless, and calm eyes without even agitation of emotions. He couldn’t survive in the endless darkness if he didn’t change like this. It was a kind of self-defense.

Archen knew what made him do this, so he healed his wounds every day to keep him from hurting. It was the only thing he could do for him.

“How about taking a break from today’s training?”

“I’m not going to do it.”

Ben stood up with a sword made of thick paper. From the day Grand Duke whipped him, Archen secretly taught Ben about swordsmanship. He wanted to give Ben strength even in this way because he was a subordinate of this family, and he couldn’t escape. He wanted Ben to have power so Ben could get revenge whenever he had a chance. Archen was okay with it, even though he might lose his life in Ben’s grasp. That’s the way he could atone for his sins.

Archen taught him every move to wield a sword. Ben soon followed along.  He even showed the applied movement. Ben grew up day by day. He had grown tall, and his shoulders become wider thanks to the swordsmanship, and now he looked like a dignified man.

“When can I go out?”

“I’m sorry.”

After training, they talked about the same thing. Archen felt sorry for always repeating the same words over and over. Ben smiled bitterly as he sat on the floor and touched the bracelet. Then a voice filled with longing was heard.

Then a voice filled with longing came.

“Well, how about Ben?”

That day was unforgettable. It was the first time since her mother passed away that someone called him by name. He liked the name Cersinia called him. He was so happy that tears flowed out when his name flowed out from Cersinia’s red lips. Ben slowly pictured the time he spent with her in his mind. On the day he was almost dragged by Viscount, Cersinai came to find him in heavy rain.

“You’re free now.”

It was only a piece of paper, but the slave document, which had become his shackle and shackled his breath, was scattered to dust in Cersinia’s grasp.

“Because of my power, you may suffer too. But… if that’s okay with you…”

When they were together, her face and voice suddenly came to his mind, and Ben’s eyes reddened with tears. Ben promised that day he would be with her. No matter what happens, whatever happens, we will be together. So he had to go back. To be by her side. His place was next to her.

“I miss you. Really.”

A voice filled with fleeting longing cast low in the basement. When Ben was brought here, he thought of Cersinia countless times before realizing it. Why does he want to go back to her side so much?

‘Because I like her.’

It started from the day he first held her hand at the gambling house. As Cersinia reached out her hand, a warmth wrapped around his hand. From that day on, his life completely changed. His body and mind, which had died due to his hard life as a slave, changed after meeting her. The feelings he felt for her made him know that he was still alive. His happiness was her. His heart beat so loud that it hurt, and the emotion that rises every time he meets her face, everything was good.

“Cersinia.”

He dropped his head inside the prison, where he was left alone. As always, that day was the night he missed her.

* * *

Next day

“So it was called Cersinia.”

Even that day, the Grand Duke, who beat him again, mentioned Cersinia’s name out of the blue. Ben, who had endured all the pain without making a single groan, lifted his head in anxiety.

“Why are you surprised? Isn’t that the name you called out for?”

The Grand Duke laughed at it.

“How dare you say that name.”

Ben growled as if he would kill the Grand Duke at any moment.

“Puhahahaha!”

The Grand Duke let out a laugh out loud, then he stopped laughing and talked with his cold face.

“She is in the Mulain Village. What should I do with her? Should I kill her or throw her into the street?”

The Grand Duke decided to change his strategy. Originally, if Ben didn’t listen to him, he would beat him up and brainwash him until he was being tamed, but it didn’t work. So he decided to threaten him with the woman was always looking for.

“If you touch even one of her fingertips, I will kill you!”

Ben, who was furious, shouted. He was so mad that his tightly tied body shook.

“Do you want her to die because of you?”

At those words, Ben stopped his action.

“It’s easier to take her life than to kill a passing ant. Even if she hides, it’s very easy to find her again.”

“…”

Ben chewed on his lips. Blood rose upside down, and his heart fluttered. Red veins of his neck were popping up from the rising anger.

“If you keep doing something like this, I will go find that bitch.”

Thump.

Ben’s heart fell to the floor. His complexion became pale, then fear and anxiety took over his mind.

“D-Don’t… don’t do that.”

“If you rebel against me again from now on, that bitch will not be safe.”

The Grand Duke laughed meanly. His laughter contained satisfaction. The satisfaction that he finally found out his weakness. He was delighted to be able to deal with Ben according to his own taste. But there was something the Grand Duke overlooked.

If Ben had been an immature child who was easily frightened by violence and intimidation, he could have been tamed by beating and intimidating in moderation, but Ben was already an adult. The Grand Duke would be unable to deal with his thoughts.

“Do you understand?”

The Grand Duke slapped him on the cheek.

“…Don’t touch her.”

Ben’s eyes glared at him, but his tone was softer than before.

“If you’re good, I will not touch her. From now on, you must obey my words. Otherwise, I will throw your precious Cersinia as crow food.”

From that day on, Ben obeyed the Grand Duke. He sent only one letter to Cersinia and didn’t bring up Cersinia even in front of Archen. He thoroughly hid his claws, feeling deeply that he needed strength to protect her. He vowed that if the opportunity came, he would bite off the Grand Duke’s neck without a single mistake.

* * *

Two years and eight months have passed.

Ben was aiming for the time when he trampled on Grand Duke’s plan while pretending to obey his words thoroughly. He will break down the Grand Duke’s plan of treason to become Emperor at once.

“A week later, there will be a birthday banquet for the Crown Prince. On that day, I will formally introduce you as Alexdemikan Shorevarce.”

The Grand Duke glared at Ben standing in front of the desk. Now Ben has truly become a man.  This child, who was born from spending a night with a maid, resembled the Grand Duke more than Alexdemikan, the child from him and the Grand Duchess. Especially the dark purple eyes that looked cold.

The Grand Duke, who could not make the Grand Duchess pregnant again, had no children except Alex and Ben, so he had only one choice. Alex’s health was so poor that he couldn’t get out of bed from birth until he died. So, after the death of the Grand Duchess, he found Ben, the illegitimate child who was taken away by the runaway maid. He brainwashed and tamed him to take full advantage of him. It took power to beat his older brother, the Emperor, and to sit on the throne. The Heirs of his lineage were nothing more than that.

“I understand.”

Ben answered the Grand Duke politely.

“Get out.”

The Grand Duke drew a fishy smile as he looked at the puppet that he could control to his liking. Ben left the office after greeting.

It has been two weeks since Ben left the basement, a month after Alexdemikan Shorevarce died of chronic disease. He had been locked up underground for over two and a half years. He thoroughly learned about nobles and took the succession classes during that time, then was brainwashed more than hundreds of times a day.

“Don’t think about it. Your ego doesn’t exist. You just have to do what I tell you to do.”

It was something that the Grand Duke said as often as Ben was eating rice. Ben obeyed the Grand Duke’s instructions. He did what the Grand Duke told him unconditionally and silently accepted any harsh words. From the moment Grand Duke brought up Cersinia, he neither spoke nor looked for Cersinia. It was just in case Grand Duke searched for Cersinia and because he still lacked power.

“Archen.”

“Yes.”

“The time has come.”

The time has finally come. There was a heavy tension in their presence. His solemn expression represented his long-standing commitment to revenge.

* * *

The Crown Prince’s birthday banquet has begun.

“Oho! It was true that he became healthy.”

The Emperor was very pleased to see Ben standing next to his younger brother, Grand Duke Kantrid. His nephew, who he had only seen for a few times when he was very young and was too weak to leave the mansion, has now completely recovered and become a dignified man. 

“I see the sun of the Belfar Empire. Greetings from Alexdemikan Shorevarce.”

Ben, dressed in a tailcoat, knelt down on one knee in front of the Emperor. The Emperor expressed his awe.

“I am really delighted to see my nephew again in good health.”

The Emperor was genuinely delighted. He undoubtedly believed that Ben was Alexdemikan. Everything was going according to the will of the Grand Duke. How could they dare to fool the Emperor? The end of the Grand Duke’s plan is to overthrow the Emperor and seize the throne.

Ben had to cut it all off with his own hands. If the Grand Duke, who didn’t want to be called father, became an Emperor, this Empire would only fall. Ben approached the Crown Prince as planned when the Emperor and the Grand Duke were away to talk.

“Your Highness, I sincerely congratulate you on your birthday.”