Chapter 46 - CHAPTER 44. BUT WHY DID HE CHOOSE HER?

The maid was bound to be weaker than the Duke’s, and her body collapsed in an instant. Patrizia calmly observed him to see what he would try to do.

“This is the main culprit who dared to both of Your Majesties.”

“SOB SOB.”

The maid was crying, and Patrizia asked him again.

“What do you mean, Duke?”

“This brat dared to go against Lady Phelps’ will, and acted arbitrarily, Your Majesty.”

“Duke Efreni, are you saying that to be believed right now? How does a maid even have enough money to hire an assassin?”

The Duke of Witherford fired at the Duke of Efreni as if it was ridiculous, but the Duke of Efreni simply just introduced another person into the room with a casual look.

“Come on in.”

At the end of Duke Efreni’s words, a man came into the room and walked to the side of the Duke of Efreni with an awkward gait, then knelt down. Lucio asked.

“Who is this man?”

“He is Baron Daiwadi, Your Majesty. He shares a close relationship with Baroness Phelps’s father, Baron Darrow. He has confessed to committing this cruel act, knowing that Lady Phelps would become the Empress if he assassinated Her Majesty.”

“It is false, Your Majesty! Baron Daiwadi is rumored to have a lot of debt. How can such a person have money to hire an assassin!”

“If Lady Phelps becomes the Empress according to his wishes, such a debt could be paid back quickly. He confessed that the money he used to hire the assassins was also part of a debt.”

At the words of Duke Efreni, Duke Witherford glared at him with murderous eyes. Patrizia was unable to hide her frustrated expression.

‘Darn it all, if this happened…’

“Then, are the two witnesses saying different things now?”

Lucio’s words made the whole room suddenly quiet. Now the choice was his. Either raise the hand of Patrizia or raise the hand of his mistress, Rosemond. Truthfully, the answer was already decided.

“Duke of Vashi.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“It is inevitable that the testimonies are contradicting one another. I will have you take over this case to investigate.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will do my best to investigate.”

Patrizia’s hand fell down slumping. ‘Damn, as time went on, it would become a tough fight for each other.’ She intuitively felt that things were going wrong.

It was again Rosemond that stood at the center of the whole vortex. She was locked in the prison and was drinking the tea she had elegantly requested from the guard, with no expression of concern. With a laid-back face, she was drinking her favorite rosemary tea and thinking about the future.

Probably by now, everything had been sorted out. It would have been better if Lucio raised her hand and it ended with such a simple happening, but it didn’t matter if he didn’t.

Duke Efreni was not stupid, and he would give his all to help her. That was why there was no reason for her to worry. At the very least, she would not die from this, and even if she was hit with some consequence, the worst would be losing the Baroness title.

That was why she had no concern whatsoever. This was because if she became the Empress, that mere Baroness title could be given to a dog. So only her body was in the prison, while her mind seemed to already be back at the Vain Palace. It was then that a guard approached her and relayed the situation to her.

“Lady Phelps, the meeting concerning you has just ended.”

“The results? What happened?”

“The testimonies were conflicting, and His Majesty deferred the sentencing. The Duke of Vashi will start the investigation over.”

“Hmmm.”

Rosemond nodded her head to show her understanding, and the guard returned to his post. Rosemond did not think that anything would go wrong. The cards she held in her hand were much more than one thought. That was why he would not work sloppily.

If she died, at the very least she would not be the only one to disappear like the dew on the guillotine.

When Patrizia returned to the Empress Palace, her expression of fury showed her anger had not subsided. Petronilla noticed something was wrong with the state of her sister, and carefully asked her a question.

“It didn’t work out well, Lizzy?”

“Duke Efreni plans to completely be on the opposing side of me. If that is not the case, he could not act in this manner.”

Patrizia muttered to herself in an angry voice. Duke Efreni definitely must have recruited or threatened a lower class noble to create this situation. If everything continued to unfold this way, she would be on the losing side. The Emperor loved Rosemond, and if things turned out ambiguous, it would be the end with him raising her hand.

Patrizia crumpled her face in dismay. Her life was on the line with nothing to be earned in this dangerous situation. During this, Petronilla made a strange expression. Patrizia noticed this and asked her.

“What is it?”

“But why did he choose her, wondering about this.”

“…”

It was a reasonable inquiry. Why did he choose her? She received the Emperor’s favor but was a lower noble’s daughter. He was a Duke and valued bloodlines over anyone else. Someone like him chose Rosemond over herself, and this didn’t make any sense.

Patrizia was suspicious about her not knowing something, and regretfully, the problem was that there was no way for her to find out. She let out a sigh and spoke.

“I do not even know that reason.”

“A secret affair or something of that sort is not it.”

“Those words will create trouble.”

Patrizia shook her head back and forth. If her words were true, then the Duke of Efreni would not be able to avoid being punished for touching the Emperor’s woman. Rosemond’s status was not so high that he would be ruined, but when viewed from the Emperor’s affection for Rosemond, there was a high probability of being punished with that level of equality. Patrizia scratched her forehead a couple of times before muttering.

“What happens now?”

“It can’t be helped, Lizzy. We have done all that we can do. Another piece of evidence can’t be introduced now. We just have to leave it to Heaven’s will.”

‘Heaven’s will.’ Patrizia sighed briefly, thinking those were very comforting words. However, what made her sigh even more was the reality that, as Petronilla had said, she was forced to entrust it to the will of Heaven. She asked Mirya for her favorite strawberry juice to cool down her complicated head. She thought that she had to first cool down and think again.

He had to fully realize it that day. It was a fact that the woman he had known until now had not shown herself completely to him, and that she was not as good and tender as he had thought.

He was the Emperor. His Empress could have laughed at his stupidity at being swayed by his mistress, but he thought she could not do so if she had been in his shoes. For him, his mistress was everything in life, a pillar that sustained his life, and a nourishment that led to his survival in life. Anyone, who was not even an Emperor, would have to fall in love with such an existence. Even his Empress, who spoke in a noble voice, would not be able to say that if she was in his perspective…

It was a matter of transcending beyond good and evil, right and wrong. Survival was the priority in any situation. Moreover, in the present situation, when there was no successor, it was even more so for him, the only direct lineage descendant. So he has no choice but to fall in love with her. He had no choice but to be caught by her.

However, behind the scenes, there was also the expectation that the woman who made him like that was different from the likes of him. Unlike his dirty and ugly self, there was an expectation that she would be a beautiful and good girl. However, when he looked into the eyes of the Duke of Efreni who came into the room today, and the words he had listened to after, he was forced to realize it.

‘Ah, he was wrong.’

Lucio had to completely admit it that day. The image he had for her was, after all, an illusion. It was unknown whether he was mistaken, or whether she had made him misunderstand, but what was certain was that what he knew was completely fictional.

Of course, he did not intend to blame his mistress for this. There was no intention to blame. She was not the first person to be judged by him with such standards. He had just simply realized. That she wasn’t a perfect match with his thoughts.

He sighed. ‘After all, it was what it was.’ After all, it was what it was…

Under the orders from Lucio, the Duke of Vashi eagerly investigated the matter to reveal only the truth without any discrepancy, but because everything had been falsified evidence and false statements, revealing the truth was like looking for fish on land. Eventually, the Duke of Vashi had no choice but to report on the day the Emperor had decided as the deadline.

‘Insufficient evidence.’

Conspiracy was a sin that was powerful enough to destroy three generations. Therefore, the punishment was difficult without accurate evidence. If any evidence was submitted and proven to be a conspiracy, then there would be a great possibility of political abuse.

Eventually, this work had to be done messily in the first place. Lucio took away the titles of Baron Diawadi and Baroness Phelps, and then drove out the two maids that made conflicting testimonies. It was the cleanest result, and anyone could accept it.

Of course, it was Patrizia who suffered the most from this, but it was inevitable. She decided to be satisfied that Rosemond was only called Rosemond, but not Baroness Phelps anymore.

Rosemond had to give up the title of Baroness but was not chased out of the Vain Palace. The maids of the Vain Palace were all replaced due to Rosemond’s shock at having a traitor, and the number had been reduced as well.

Rosemond realized once again that it wasn’t a good thing to have a lot of maids, and decided to think positively. Anyways, from now on, she would not be hit with the axe she believed in.

“Lady Rosemond, I’m glad you’re still innocent.”

“Relieved?”

Rosemond fired at Glara with an angry voice.

“The title His Majesty granted me was taken away. Do you see that as good right now?”

“…”

Glara’s mouth tickled at wanting to speak that it was fortunate she had kept her life, but she decided to endure it and kept it closed. If she had said more, she didn’t know what punishment would be given to her from one who became just Vain Palace’s Rosemond from Baroness Phelps. She reminded Rosemond that the title of Baroness was deprived from her, but she was still the Emperor’s mistress.

“But Lady Rosemond, the Emperor only loves you, Rosemond. Don’t be discouraged. When you become the Empress, what is the use of a mere noble’s title?”

“I’m a fool who hired those stupid things. From now on, I should find more guaranteed assassins. Oh my gosh. To withdraw without even checking properly. It’s a waste that I paid the entire amount of money.”

Rosemond burst out with an angry voice, and Glara just thought she was glad that she hadn’t been condemned. Rosemond herself seemed to be unaware of it, but in fact, this was a huge achievement.

To dare to try to murder the Empress, and she had even hurt the Emperor and she was lucky that she had only returned the title. Of course, Rosemond wasn’t the type of person to be very satisfied with the details.

“Ha… Anyways, I’m glad that there are reduced unnecessary disturbances.”

Rosemond murmured while looking like she was thinking for a moment. What was she planning on doing this time? Glara had stepped up and worked together on all of Rosemond’s work with her, but it was inevitable that she was terrified after having suffered through the recent events. Intermittent interrogation caused her to develop a pulmonary phobia. Rosemond opened her mouth while Glara facially expressed her anxiety.