Chapter 102

Chapter 102

“Come in.”

A sign of movement was heard from the inside the next moment. Hearing that, without hesitation, the man opened the door and entered the bedroom.

“Welcome, Judith.”

“I greet Grand Duchess Blaine.”

It was Grand Duchess Blaine, leaning against the back of the high bed in the middle of the bedroom, who greeted him. Dressed in a long, white nightgown, she was covered in thick goose fur sheets with a fluffy cushion on her back.

Judith bowed deeply as he greeted her before turning to Vivian, who was massaging the Grand Duchess’ hand by her side.

“It seems like Young Lady Vivian is here as well.”

“It’s been a while.”

After the banquet at Loengram Castle, the two exchanged brief greetings after not seeing each other for a while.

“Has the emperor gone into his bedroom now, Judith?”

It was then…

A man sitting at the tea table on the other side of the bed, sipping tea with his legs crossed in an arrogant manner, spoke to Judith.

Judith answered with a slight, faint smile at the voice.

“Yes, Lord Rupert. With a tired look on his face, he gave the order to let no one in for the time being and went into his bedroom.”

“That’s a relief. If the emperor wakes up and goes around, it’s difficult to sneak in and out because it’s heavily guarded by the tight security.”

“….”

“Tsk, anyway, the Emperor is still good at useless things. All he had to do was send an imperial courtesy to Blaine’s mansion, but he brought Louise into the palace, making it harder for me to come see her, even though part of me wants to stay with her every day.”

“…Rupert.”

Grand Duchess Blaine slightly blushed at Rupert’s grumbling.

Looking at the Grand Duchess, the corner of his mouth twitched upward before he set down the teacup he was holding. Then, with slow steps, he walked over to the bed where she was sitting and sat down at her feet, gesturing toward Judith, who was standing near the bedroom door.

“Come closer, Judith.”

“Yes, Lord Rupert.”

With those words, Judith slowly walked toward Rupert. When he stopped close enough to talk without difficulty, Rupert asked him as if he had waited.

“Alright. Seth Persen, what conversation did he and the Emperor have?”

“At first, the Duke of Persen asked His Majesty to spare the Duchess of Persen, but His Majesty stubbornly refused.”

“So?”

“And His Majesty suggested that he might as well take another wife, but the Duke of Persen stubbornly refused to that suggestion, saying that he couldn’t take another wife.”

At those words, Vivian, who was by Grand Duchess Blaine’s side, flinched and trembled. Judith paused and glanced at Vivian, but Rupert urged him to continue.

“…Hmm. And after that?”

“A few words were exchanged, and the Duke of Persen begged to be allowed more time to plead her case, saying that he would give anything for her, whether title or fortune.”

“….!”

“…What? Is that true? Did he really say he would give up his position or his fortune?”

“Yes. His Majesty then replied after much deliberation that he’d postpone pronouncing his verdict until two days later… Of course, he didn’t forget to warn them to keep in mind that if they failed to present proper proof in two days, they could lose everything.”

“…I see.”

At Judith’s answer, Rupert nodded slightly with a pensive expression.

Rupert, immersed in deep thought alone with an expression as if he couldn’t understand, seemed to take no notice of anything, not even Vivian, who was so startled that she let go of Grand Duchess Blaine’s hand, which she had held the moment she heard Judith’s answer, or Grand Duchess Blaine, who looked annoyed.

As he was lost in thought for a moment, Rupert eventually soon laughed briefly and uttered.

“…Hmm. It’s a pity that it can’t be settled tomorrow right away, but it’s great that I don’t have to execute my plan for the complete downfall of that lowlife.”

“….”

“Still, what I didn’t expect was that the lowly b*stard would give up his position and fortune to save her… to change the b*stard who was obsessed with his position.”

“….”

“Well, even so, it’s a benefit to us in many ways since it took less effort to persuade the Emperor and the Pope to imprison the witch for eternity in the imperial tower… She’s got a lot more charm than I thought, doesn’t she, melting that icy b*stard?”

“In that case, shall I tell Morgan to hold off on the plans we prepared?”

“…Hmm.”

Rupert, who had been muttering to himself in a happy voice as if he were pleased with the situation, was interrupted by Judith’s question.

He thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

“No. Keep that running.”

“…Will that be alright? It would be more difficult to steal the Duchess from the dungeon than from the Imperial Palace to the Imperial Tower.”

“If it were before, I would’ve had to waste two days without moving… but things have changed. Did you forget, Judith? We have Morgan now. With her magic, it wouldn’t be a big deal to move Minase’s body from the dungeon to my mansion, where the magic circle is set up.”

Saying so, Rupert smiled with satisfaction as he thought of Morgan, who was probably in his manor right now, drawing up a spell circle for the half-soul magic.

While he had doubts until the trial was carried out, when Morgan pulled out a mirror and held it at Minase Persen in the courtroom to show the truth, Rupert was able to dispel all doubts that had lingered in his mind.

None of this would have been impossible without the help of that witch, Morgan. At this point, his mind secretly began to fill with other desires.

‘…She’s something I can keep by my side and use in the future.’

Once the task of recovering Minase’s soul was complete, Rupert vowed to himself that he would keep the witch by his side at all costs after that.

“Oh, and when you’re done with that, go to the dungeon and meet her.”

“…That woman—”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? Not only did she dare to take possession of Minase’s body, but she tricked everyone into pretending to be her. Find the girl and tell her that if she doesn’t confess, the Persen knights will die together with her, and call the paladins and get the woman’s confession.”

“…There’s no way that woman would readily confess her sins if she ever heard the fact that the Duke of Persen has delayed the sentencing.”

When Judith spoke anxiously at his words, Rupert shook his head firmly and replied.

“The only people who know about this now are the Duke of Persen and the Emperor, and the Emperor hasn’t even written a formal letter about it yet.”

He continued, smirking with a relaxed expression.

“You said the Emperor is resting now, right? If that’s the case, it’ll be at least tomorrow morning until he sends the letter announcing the postponement of the sentence and after noon tomorrow before it reaches the Vatican. So, it means we have until then to elicit that woman’s confession and all the time in the world to get the letter out of her hands.”

“…I see.”

“Perhaps she’ll do anything to spare those two knights who were captured with her, but if she doesn’t listen, bring up the Duke of Persen and his younger brother, and she’ll do as you say.”

“I understand, Viscount. I’ll follow as you command.”

At Rupert’s command, Judith bowed deeply and immediately turned before he left the bedroom.

Click.

The door closed behind him, and Rupert, satisfied with the conversation, was about to lift himself from the Grand Duchess Blaine’s bed…

“…What did I hear a moment ago, Viscount?”

Vivian, who had been sitting by the Duke of Blaine’s side, stood up alongside Rupert and spoke to him in a trembling voice. Her whole body trembled and she stared at Rupert with a pale face, obviously shaken by the conversation earlier.

Glancing back at Vivian, Rupert shrugged and turned to her.

“What? I don’t know what the Young Lady is talking about?”

“You said a moment ago that you were planning the complete downfall of that lowly b*stard…! When you say lowly b*stard, are you referring to the Duke of Persen?”

“Is there anything wrong with that?”

When Rupert asked with a puzzled look on his face, Vivian answered in a stifled voice.

“You certainly promised me that if I help the Viscount, you’ll make me the Duchess of Persen in return! But now, destroying the Duke of Persen? Are you going to break the promise you made with my father and me?”

“That? Nothing of the sort, Young Lady Vivian. You heard it a while ago that the Duke of Persen refused the Emperor’s order to take another wife. It meant that since he refused to marry another, we have no need for him anymore.”

“…When you dragged me into this, Viscount, you made it clear that if I helped you, you’d make me the wife of the highest-ranking nobleman in this empire. Is there anyone in this empire right now who fits that condition other than the Duke of Persen?”

“We can’t force him to do it when he refuses, can we? Besides, you know how much the Emperor values him as a subject, and there’s only so much we can do to persuade him through Louise.”

“…So, what are you going to do now? Are you trying to forget the promise between the Viscount and me?”

“How could that be? I’ll keep my promise, and I’ll definitely find you another young nobleman worthy of you.”

When Vivian argued harshly, citing the promise, Rupert tried to calm her temper with sweet words. However, her anger, once boiling over, wasn’t something that could be easily quelled by a few words.

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