CH 146

The grand duke appeared at the top of the staircase. He had the appearance of a sprightly young man in his early twenties, sporting short brown hair and brown eyes. Estian knew better—this man was over 80 years old, and his face had remained unchanged since Estian’s youth.

“I see you’re still living with that monstrous face of yours,” Estian sneered.

“And you’re still living with the face of a human. Such a pity. I was very fond of your ‘true appearance,’ you know,” the grand duke retorted with a laugh. Mirth hung on his lips. “Ah, yes. They say you’ve taken in an empress lately. You really are an odd one, aren’t you? Do you really intend on living like a human because you wear the skin of one? That empress wouldn’t have known why you never sent a single portrait before the wedding, so I took the liberty of rectifying that. Her Majesty should be receiving and admiring it right about now.”

Estian hardened at his words, and clenched his hands so hard the sounds of bones cracking were audible.

‘Oho? And I was thinking what if…’ Grand Duke Farus beamed at the sight of Estian’s twisted expression. He’d been keeping close tabs on Estian, and had been troubled when he heard the emperor accepted an empress.

Farus had pushed women to Estian’s side in the past. Naturally, they were empress candidates of the finest pedigree, with exceptional backgrounds, sophistication, and beauty. It was difficult finding women that met such criteria, but it was even harder persuading them to enter the palace. Even after barely managing to convince them, none managed to survive. It wasn’t long before other women were sent in by Farus’s rivals. Obviously, the grand duke gave the order to have them killed.

‘It turns out I wasn’t the only one scheming, but I’ll never let anyone else have him.‘ Grand Duke Farus gnashed his teeth. Like Farus, there were many others who coveted Estian and his blood. All of them held the same desperate desire. Estian’s child—a child borne from the sole complete specimen of Eugendiph’s blood. It was the only way to obtain a similar specimen, or even one that surpassed him. Still, he couldn’t be hasty. Those that tried to control Estian all inevitably perished at his hand.

Estian never spared a glance for any of the women sent to the palace, and then one day, he suddenly brought in an unknown lass from a tiny kingdom in the corner of the continent and crowned her empress. Farus assumed it was Estian’s ploy to discourage people from sending women his way. That is, until he heard about Estian’s behavior after the wedding.

Rumors circulated that Estian would spend his nights at the empress’s palace instead of returning to the main palace. There was no need to confirm the legitimacy of the rumors since he openly showed his affection for his empress. What was even more convincing than the moans heard through the night or the love marks left on the empress’s body was the fact that Estian had carried the empress into the church on their wedding day.

‘He hated touching others more than death.’ Eugendiph’s blood had made Estian terribly averse to touching others, for fear of affecting them with his accursed constitution. Yet, that man carried someone in his arms?

His gaze fell back on Estian. A black fog was beginning to spread around the emperor, and his eyes were turning red. “My, my. Do you hate the thought of Her Majesty seeing your true self that much?” the grand duke teased.

The emperor had regained his human form, but that didn’t mean his original form had disappeared. The first country Estian had razed to the ground upon ascending the throne was the location of the laboratory. While laying destruction to the lands, he briefly returned to his true form. Imperial knights that disobeyed orders and entered the fray to aid him were killed alongside the enemies. It spoke to how much Estian loathed his true form. ‘…And how he fears it too.’

Farus’s eyes shifted briefly to his right hand. He just needed the emperor to move a little closer. “Come now, Your Majesty. Don’t you have to kill me?” Farus taunted.

Estian began to move, with his heavy footsteps echoing through the empty hall. With each step he took, stone cracked beneath his feet. Just as he reached the center of the hall, the grand duke pressed down on what was held in his right hand. A loud rattle roared and the floor under Estian crumbled, dropping him into the darkness.

“Blast it,” Estian cursed with annoyance. Normally, he would’ve noticed such a crude trap, but he’d missed it in his agitated state. Looking upwards, he realized the hole  was quite deep. Still, this was nothing for him.

Suddenly, the opening above closed engulfing him in darkness. A singeing smell filled the room and he realized something was burning. Looking down, a red line appeared under his feet and began to light up in the form of a complex magic circle. Estian’s face twisted in recognition and he placed a hand against the pattern. His hand sizzled and burned on contact. It was the same pattern used to imprison him back in the laboratory, although it no longer had the power to contain him. At best, it would stall him for several minutes.

‘What’s he plotting?’ Estian wondered. The grand duke was aware of the magic circle’s capability and its limitations.