CH 99

Leonis went to the bedroom with Michael’s invitation in his hand. The invitation sent three days before the banquet held by the imperial family was suspicious.

‘Bring Celia along……’

In addition, based on information from his aides, it seemed that Phil had prepared the banquet.

Phil, whose ability to handle business is terrible, thought that he had done a good job preparing the banquet, especially in comparison to Michael. Although he asserted that he was in charge of the head, it turned out to be fortuitous that he did not interfere from time to time.

Leonis, who knew Michael was behind the monster incident, couldn’t help but be enraged. He must have encouraged Phil to abduct Celia because he must have known that she would be terrified of Phil.

Conversely, there was a good chance that Phil would freak out at Leonis, but that was a good thing.

‘I can’t take Celia there!’

He was seen in the invitation trying to coax him out with flattery, but he was hesitant. After giving some thought to removing the invitation from his line of work, he changed his mind.

It was as if it came to Celia, so he had to show it first.

Knock, knock.

“Leon?”

Leonis’ face softened as he heard a voice from beyond the door. He spoke more softly.

“Yes.”

“Please come in.”

There was no one in the vicinity of the door to the bedroom. The ladies-in-waiting were about to give the order to wait in a spot that did not allow them to see what was on the other side of the door. In preparation for any eventuality, Celia hid the egg of the divine beast in the bedroom before drawing the curtains.

“Welcome back.”

As she got out of bed, Leonis stood there watching her beaming smile and opened his arms to welcome her. Celia landed on Leonis’s chest with incredible swiftness after her leap.

The shower of kisses pouring down his chin completely melted Leonis’ mood. Even so, he had no intention of attending Michael’s banquet, but his mood improved.

“What is that?”

Celia finally turned her attention to the invitation that Leonis held in his hand. Leonis gave it some thought while maintaining his frown.

“An invitation from His Royal Highness Prince Michael. The event will take place tomorrow at night. According to what they say, there will be an emperor. It was Phil who was responsible for preparing the feast.”

“Hmm……”

Celia, who was excited to attend the event, opened the envelope and read the message.

Leonis was nervous at the pensive eyes, as if she was plotting something. He thought about what she would do if Celia wanted to go.

Leonis didn’t want her body to suffer in addition to her heart.

“The news to the prince must have gone right, right? Phil prepares a banquet, calls us….. I think they are planning to feed the emperor with Penina powder.”

“It looks like everything went according to plan.”

When Celia looked up at her husband, her eyes gleamed.

“Send me away!”

When Leonis heard Celia’s words, his worried expression became more pronounced.

✦ ✦ ✦

The reply brought by the attendant stated that he would attend the banquet. Michael looked at it with satisfaction and motioned for the attendant to take it.

In his heart of hearts, he thought Leonis was worried about Celia and that she would not attend at all. The Duke of Cardian, on the other hand, chose expediency over love. Even if he had a heart for his wife, he would choose the image of the Duke of Cardian.

Celia was shaken by the events that transpired, but from a political standpoint, it was important for her to attend the banquet.

The continued protests against the Imperial family by the Duke of Cardian did not bode well for either side. That was why the emperor also intended to attend Michael’s banquet.

So, the sword wound left no scar on his abdomen.

On the other hand, Phil’s arm still had scars from the injury. The scars you see when you wash your body must have heightened his fear of the Duke of Cardian.

It was not the same as harbouring ill will towards him in any way.

“Yes. Are you afraid of the Duke of Cardian?”

When Michael asked, Phil raised his head, his face flushed.

“H-how could that be? The Duke of Cardian is the one who ought to be the one to be afraid of me because I am the prince.”

“Really?”

The Duke of Cardian was the one whom none of the princes feared. In fact, he had a history of beating Giel, the third prince, and acted impetuously even in front of the emperor.

The emperor gnashed his teeth inwardly and let it go, knowing it was a desperate act due to the curse.

‘It must be different now.’

He found something precious to him that he was willing to give up his life without having a reason to do so. Duke Cardian was not afraid to bare his teeth in front of anyone, including the imperial family, in order to protect it.

“And at that point, everything just clicked into place. The purpose of this banquet is to make amends for what you’ve done; therefore, you shouldn’t be negligent in hosting the Duke and Duchess of Cardian.

“That’s what…… it all comes down to.”

Phil glared at Michael with resentment but lowered his head. Michael tugged up the corners of his mouth as if he were quite pleased with how he looked.

If the Duchess of Cardian gets frightened by seeing Phil, the Duke of Cardian might harm Phil again.

Michael had high hopes for this event because it would also serve as entertainment for the banquet.

‘If that information is true… … I’ll be able to have the power of the imperial family too!’

Even if he earned the emperor’s hatred because of that, Michael was confident that he could make up for it through the power he had.

✦ ✦ ✦

Edna, who was forced to participate even in the capital’s procession, was anxious. She did not join the procession to the capital voluntarily. She was also forced to attend this time due to Joel’s errand boy’s orders.

Billy, who had to travel between the capital and the Cardian duchy, was overjoyed to see her more often, but Edna was not happy about it. 

‘I could be dragged out of this place at any time!’

This was true even though she was still in a position where she couldn’t approach the Duchess. Even if she couldn’t visit the nobles’ mansions, she could run into familiar faces while wandering the streets.

‘I have to run away quickly!’

The only solace was that Joel’s errand boy was generously compensated. When she complained to Billy or the other servants about the cost of obtaining the information, the errand boy gladly paid for it.

Because Edna had been receiving money at each and every opportunity, her pockets were bursting at the seams.

With that money, she bought a belt with a magic pouch attached to her, so she would be prepared with everything she needed to escape in case of an emergency.

As the afternoon approached, the maids became busy.

It was because the duchess decided to attend the banquet held by Prince Michael. The decision was made in a flash yesterday, and the dress had to be ready in a hurry, so the maids had a lot of work to do.

Edna ground her teeth in frustration while running the little errands of those maids. She wouldn’t have done it if she hadn’t been looking for real information.

‘I’m not the kind of person who does things like this!’

It was she who could decide which dress she should wear and go to parties. It was true that Celia Cardian was exceptionally beautiful, but she harboured a deep-seated feeling of envy.

‘Well, not everyone can live with that monster.’

The appearance of Celia in a golden dress amazed the maids. Edna clenched her teeth in frustration as she stepped back and examined her figure from further away.

Someone was running errands in a maid’s uniform, but that’s not how it looks! She was on the verge of breaking down into tears as she reflected on the affluent lifestyle she had once led in the past.

Meanwhile, Leonis entered the room after changing into a formal robe. Leonis was the man who had come to life after meeting Celia.

The workers were still terrified of Leonis, but they could tell that he was in a much better mood than they had seen him in the past.

“Celia.”

It was already getting dark outside. The banquet for Prince Michael should have started by now.  It would have been extremely rude for them to show up late to a banquet that the emperor was expected to attend.

Celia approached Leonis after seeing his outstretched hand. Her gentle hand was resting on the thick palm of her husband.

Her maids seemed to skip a beat when they caught sight of Leonis, who was gently holding Celia’s hand and kissing the palm of it. They would have screamed with delight and covered their mouths if it hadn’t been for Leonis.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

Celia was escorted out of the room by the Duke. The escort knights were waiting outside the room to ensure their safety tonight.

They were supposed to be getting ready outside the mansion, but he made them stand before the door to greet Celia.

Leonis introduced the escort knights one by one and followed Celia down the mansion’s stairs. His evening was filled with a lot of anxiety and stress.

✦ ✦ ✦

‘They are late.’

They were the ones who didn’t expect to arrive early in the first place. Michael turned his attention once more to the group of people that had gathered in the banquet hall. The vast majority of them consisted of high-ranking nobles, in addition to their vassals and assistants.

Since it was almost time for the emperor to make his entrance, the Duke and Duchess of Cardian had to get there before he could do so.

‘What a spoiled brat……’

It was a common occurrence for Leonis to be late for imperial events. It would have been even more so during a period of dissatisfaction with the imperial family, such as now.

At a banquet where the emperor was the main guest, it was unacceptable for the banquet order to be delayed while waiting for other guests. In the event that the Emperor is present, every action and event will be geared towards him.

Therefore, the emperor sends an advisor to as many weddings and funerals as possible without actually attending them.

“Your Highness, Your Majesty has arrived!”

Even after the emperor had arrived at the palace of the first prince, there was no word that the carriage of the Duke and Duchess of Cardian had passed through the palace’s main gate. Michael clenched his teeth and moved to greet the emperor.