CH 18

“…..”

Mikhail’s green eyes trembled in shock. As he was about to say something, he saw the Grand Duke and immediately shut his mouth.

He seemed to realize that I had deliberately not mentioned the exact location because I was conscious of the Grand Duke.

I said with a leisurely smile.

“If that fact became known, wouldn’t the other person be in trouble?”

I didn’t mention the name in case that the Grand Duke would understand, since the other person, Sorel,  would be in great trouble once this was known.

A scandal will spread if it is discovered that the unmarried Princess secretly exchanged letters with the deputy commander of the Knights Templar.

And it would be a big scandal, because the Princess’ lover was a former commoner.

“…..”

Mikhail’s green eyes were faintly field with anger.

I, on the other hand, who he saw as the original Eve, tried to threaten Sorel’s status by mentioning her name. And I’m very sure that he’s really angry at me right now.

Eve was a bad sister who always bothered Sorel.

“Don’t worry. If you keep this meeting secret, I will keep it a secret as well.”

“How can I…..”

“How can you believe my words? Well I’ve been keeping it a secret up until now, right.”

Mikhail tried to refute my words, but kept his mouth shut.

His green eyes showed signs of confusion as he looked at me.

As if saying that, it’s really unbelievable.

If it was the original Eve, she would have already informed everyone as if she had waited as soon as she found out about the information that would be unfavorable to Sorel.

Eve must have already been screaming about it all over the capital.

After a brief thought, Mikhail nodded.

“All right. In my honor, I will thoroughly hide this matter.”

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

“Thank you, then.”

Mikhail’s gaze wandered anxiously between me and the Grand Duke.

“I’ll take you back to your palace now.”

“It’s okay. I can go back alone.”

Everyone is trying to take me back to my palace, it makes the Imperial Palace seem like a dangerous back alley.

Even so, it’s still a short walk from the Imperial Palace.

Mikhail looked worried for a moment, but eventually turned around politely.

“Then I’ll excuse myself.”

I watched his back slowly move away to the end of the hallway.

According to the original story, Mikhail was originally the illegitimate son of a high-ranking nobleman.

Abandoned by his father, he lived alone with his poor mother.

It is a setting that he trained to become a knight in his spare time while earning a living by doing chores from an early age.

He was a hard worker to match such a background setting, and he was also a person who valued faithfulness and honor more than life.

In a way, he was considered to be an upright person.

“It was amazing that you have the weakness of the deputy general of the Knights Templar, trusted by the Emperor.”

……It’s the difference between heaven and earth with the arrogant man over here.

While looking at the place where Mikhail had disappeared, I heard the Grand Duke’s voice from behind me.

There was again a feeling of interest in his gaze.

His handsome face overlapped with the appearance of Mikhail whom I just met.

Although the atmosphere was completely different, there were parts of the facial features that were somehow similar.

‘Come to think of it, these two……’

The relationship between the original work came to mind belatedly.

These two were definitely half-brothers.

The secret of his birth is revealed only in the later part of the original story.

The main character, Mikhail, and the sub-male lead, Grand Duke Terrence, are actually half-brothers.

It is a setting where the former Grand Duke, a playboy, forced Mikhail’s mother, who was a maid, to conceive and abandon her.

Until then, the Grand Duke had kept it a secret, and no one knew about it except him.

Even Mikhail himself did not know.

Mikhail’s mother did not tell anyone who his father was after she was driven out of the Dukedom while being pregnant.

I quickly told the Grand Duke.

“Sir Sheldon is a man of integrity, so there is no need to worry. He would never reveal what happened today.”

I was afraid that this man might assassinate Mikhail to keep his mouth shut.

Even in the original plot, the Grand Duke was deeply displeased with Mikhail.

He couldn’t look at him in a good way, especially after he had known that he was his  illegitimate half-brother.

‘Well, what did Mikhail do wrong?’

Mikhail is only guilty of having the wrong parents.

Rather, he was a sincere man who overcame an unfortunate birth and worked hard to become the deputy general of the Knights Templar with his own strength.

In addition to that, he is the Male Protagonist of this world and if he would be killed in such a way, the original story would be shattered.

As if reading my mind, the Grand Duke asked with a cynical look.

“Are you afraid that I will kill him?”

“Yes, I am worried.”

It was either the Emperor or this man who conspired and assassinated people here and there.

Even in the original story, they make plans for each other while giving and taking.

‘I think I can see now why the heroine chose Mikhail over this man.’

For a husband, Mikhail, who is faithful and trustworthy, is far better than such an arrogant and insidious man.

Work hard and be diligent. Is such a good trait for a man.

The Grand Duke approached me with a strange look.

“Is that why you stopped me just now?”

He seems to be talking about the circumstances that we had in the hallway.

“I have no choice but to stop it. If you kill someone inside the Imperial Palace, how are you going to handle the aftermath?”

“Who said that I was going to kill him?”

The Grand Duke said, while he smirked.

“I was just trying to stun him with a dagger dipped in sedative.”

“Wasn’t that the same?”

Stabbing with a dagger to stun someone?

If you make a mistake, he would also die, right?

Even if he wakes up alive, they will thoroughly investigate whoever attacked the deputy general of the Knights Templar in the middle of the night.

The Grand Duke stared at me for a moment without saying a word.

There was a slight discomfort in his numb purple eyes, but it disappeared in an instant.

“I will admit that the Princess’s method was way more effective.”

Surprisingly, he readily admits it.

“I should get going now. We might end up meeting someone else again.”

The Grand Duke followed me without saying whether he agreed with me or not.

I walked with him down the corridor.

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

Fortunately, after that, I was able to get out safely without encountering anyone.

In front of the garden road leading to the back gate of the Imperial Palace, I parted with the Grand Duke.

“I hope to see you again soon.”

Instead of answering, the Grand Duke looked at me for a few seconds and then turned around.

I watched him go back and went into the palace.

‘It was a stormy night.’

When I entered the bedroom, I was completely exhausted.

I collapsed in bed and fell asleep.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

(Terrence’s 3rd Person POV)

The Milky Way ran through the pitch-black night sky.

After leaving the Imperial Palace, Terence returned to the Duchy in a carriage that had been waiting for him.

He let out an annoyed sigh as he got off the carriage.

‘I wasted my time needlessly.’

The secret meeting with his fiancee left only an uncomfortable feeling.

It was common sense that there’s no way that he would be playing cards at a time like this.

In the first place, the foresight was somewhat absurd and random.

But still, somehow, he felt uneasy.

Was it because the Princess that he saw in the dark hall left a strangely deep impression?

‘Anyways, the Emperor needs to be investigated.’

With that thought in mind, Terrence walked towards his office.

“Your Grace, Colonel Camion has been waiting for you for hours.”

Before entering the office, the old butler followed Terrence and reported.

“Camion is here?”

“Yes, he’s been waiting for you in the break room.”

Camion has long been a close aide to Terrence as his right hand.

Terence opened the door himself and entered the break room.

As soon as the door opened, the men who were sitting at the table got up immediately.

Two young knights in military uniform.

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

Meanwhile, a dark-brown-haired man sitting in the middle bowed his head politely towards Terence.

“I greet you, Your Grace.”

Terrence, who went inside without much thought, was startled to see what was on the table.

Cards were scattered here and there on the round table in the center of the break room.

Terrence, who had paused for a moment looking at the card drawer, quickly regained his senses and went inside.

“Camion. What are you doing in my break room?”

At Terence’s hard tone, Camion let out an embarrassed laugh.

Camion was an outstanding soldier and a loyal servant of Terrence.

He was a fairly decent handsome man with dark brown hair and dark red eyes, but a scar across his left eye added a dangerous impression to his handsome face.

The solid and strong-looking physique also created an intimidating atmosphere.

Camion made a hasty excuse.

“I have been waiting here for two hours. It’s so boring that I have to endure it. While we were waiting, we chatted for a while to clear our minds.”

The other officers who were playing with each other politely bowed their heads and went outside.

Instead of answering, Terence turned his gaze to the table scattered with cards.

‘I thought that I would never go near the gambling house, let alone a card game, but as soon as I returned to the Duchy, a card appeared right in front of my eyes.’

‘It’s just  a coincidence.’

It was certainly a coincidence, nothing more than that.

(PR: Haha, hilarious our dear Duke, think that way……for now.)

However, even though he judged it as rationally as possible, he couldn’t hide the strange feeling he was getting.

Suspicions began to bloom at the bottom of his heart.

No way, Impossible……