CH 28

The inheritance went to Grand Duke Damian Rupenwein, the apparent heir appointed by the Duke during his lifetime.

Damian was now the Grand Duke of Rupenwein and the Elector of Hemenlinna, and would also become the Duke of Hemenlinna, Grand Captain of the Alt Sea, and Count of Palmiens.

For the first time in the history of the Empire, he had an unprecedented status as the ‘Imperial Prince Elector’.

However, Emperor Claude’s side was also not easy.

After safely passing the first year on the throne, one year, two years, three years after that… And now 7 years.

No one could beat time. People became accustomed to Claude I, the Emperor, rather than Claude, the immoral man who killed his brother and took the throne and Empress.

His reign was stabilizing.

Fortunately, he had yet to have a successor, but the prince faction gradually needed a new center.

It meant that the marriage of the Grand Duke Damian and Lilian had reached the point where it would be revealed on the surface…

‘Now I have to move slowly.’

In addition, the time had come for her to act.

***

Lilian carefully summarized the facts she knew.

About a week from now, Prince Matteo would be kidnapped by the Emperor’s faction.

The place was Cantacun, under the direct control of the Emperor.

Seven years had passed, and now it’s a land that belonged entirely under the Emperor’s rule.

The current Emperor, Claude, had a clever planner.

Mrs. Rachel Elijah Wood, known to the public as his official mistress.

Taking advantage of the chaos from the death of Great Feudal Lord Hemenlinna, the biggest supporter of the Crown Prince, Rachel succeeded in kidnapping the Crown Prince.

Her purpose was not to kill the Crown Prince. It was to make him give up his right to succession voluntarily.

It wasn’t easy.

The process of giving up had to be done openly and voluntarily in front of many aristocrats to prevent rumors of forgery or alteration of documents.

They couldn’t even kill or abuse the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince had to appear before the people in a completely normal guise and renounce his right to succeed in front of his uncle.

After kidnapping and imprisoning the prince, Claude and Rachel tried everything they could to subdue the boy.

However, the Crown Prince did not break easily. He vowed that he would rather die, and stood firm.

As a result, time was greatly delayed. The Emperor’s faction was eventually caught by Damian.

So the wily Rachel chose a different method.

She used the Prince as bait to lure Damian into a trap.

Her plan to kill the Crown Prince and put the blame on Damian almost succeeded.

In order to capture Damian, the imperial family even brought out weapons from the Dark Ages, but the plan nevertheless failed. It was because Damian managed to get Matteo to escape.

It was a harvest to capture Damian, but even so, Damian succeeded in escaping after three days.

And after a day and night of chasing, he joined his allies, but unfortunately lost one eye in the process.

‘I’ll go and save him beforehand so that doesn’t happen.’

She hoped it would help her marriage, not harm it.

Besides, there were other important reasons for Lily to make this a success. Clever Rachel, on the pretext that there’s a magic tunnel between Islar and Cantacun, cleverly separated Islar and the Crown Prince’s faction.

It shook the blood alliance’s trust and had great impact on Lilian’s marriage.

So Lilian had to save Damian, even at her own peril.

‘I can do it. I have to do it.’

For the past seven years, Lilian had been carefully preparing for this day.

Now was the time to put the plan into action.

‘I should go to Cantacun first.’

The Cantacun Islands were imperial territory. According to common sense, Cedric wouldn’t send Lilian to such a dangerous place.

‘But the method is surprisingly simple.’

Lilian barely showed a smile.

***

That evening, Cedric heard the sad news.

“Recently, the amount of food the lady ate has noticeably decreased.”

Lilian was a patient whose core, the storage of magical energy, was damaged.

Until now, the mana leaking from the damaged core had been supplemented with Cedric’s.

However, there was no way to replenish vitality, so Lilian had no choice but to manage with what she originally had.

The method was qualitative. She had to eat well and rest well.

Not eating was the most dangerous thing for Lily. Her vitality could be out of balance and rapidly depleted, leading to death.

“It seems like her physical condition was disturbed because she overworked herself at the funeral.”

“The fact that it’s the changing season also can’t be ignored. Winston, can’t you prescribe some kind of appetite-stimulating drug?”

“My God, no.”

Shaw shook his head firmly.

“If you use that kind of poison on the lady right now, she’ll be in trouble.”

“My Lord.”

Mrs. Hayworth looked at Cedric. She seemed to believe that if it was Cedric, he would be able to solve this situation…

‘I wonder if I can.’

Anyway, he couldn’t just sit by and watch this happen. Cedric went to see Lilian.

Trying not to appear forced or angry, Cedric had a difficult time.

“They say the amount you eat these days isn’t very good.”

“I have no appetite…”

With her eyes half-closed, Lily behaved indulgently.

Cedric, heartbroken and unable to criticize her, approached Lilian.

Lilian quietly opened her eyes then spoke.

“I think it’s because the weather is a bit cold. I’ll try harder in the future so don’t worry too much.”

“Cold?”

It’s cold even though winter hasn’t come.

‘Could it be because she’s extremely weak…?’

At that moment, Cedric made up his mind. He would do anything to keep Lilian from getting cold.

“…let’s make a glass greenhouse and heat it up like the desert.”

Lilian giggled. Because she mistook it for a joke.

“I don’t think you need to do that. Although I would like to go rest somewhere warmer than here.”

When he was about to turn half of the trees of the Pasisa Forest, the legacy of his ancestors, into charcoal and burn it all winter long without thinking, Cedric hesitated when told so.

“Leave Turin?”

“I won’t go too far.”

Cedric was surprisingly hesitant.

Of course, it wasn’t a waste of time and money to send his sister in person.

“Lily, leaving here…”

“It must be difficult. I know. I don’t have the stamina to endure the long journey.”

Correct. Besides, it wasn’t just that one thing that he’s afraid of.

‘What kind of place is this world!?’

His father, who was like a tall tree that grew straight, was also broken. The Great Feudal Lord Hemenlinna, who was like a mountain, also died.

He didn’t dare let his sister, who was so tender, out of his arms at all, as if she would break into pieces without anyone touching her.

But…

‘What do to with this.’

Returning to his office, Cedric was in anguish.

A moment ago, Lilian hadn’t eaten half of her soft-toasted loaf the size of her fist.

She dipped it in the soup and chewed it for a while, and it was only when the bread melted and soggy did she swallow the food in her throat with a choking sound.

‘Even a sick chick would be healthier than that…’

“My Lord.”

Allen called out to him.

“Don’t we have a villa in the Cantacun Islands? How about taking the lady there?”

“What?”

Cedric frowned at him.

Cantacun was now a land strictly guarded by a standing army under the Emperor.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was the most dangerous place for Islar at the moment.

“Don’t speak nonsense.”

“On the contrary, it might be safer.”

But Allen insisted.

“As long as the engagement is confidential, Lady Lily is not a very important person for the imperial family.”

“Hm.”

“Besides, isn’t there a magical tunnel that runs in a straight line from Turin to Cantacun?”

Using this ancient tunnel, it was possible to reach Cantacun in two hours.

“The young lady is not in a condition to endure long carriage trips. Besides, she also have to receive magical power from the Lord periodically…”

In other words, it meant that Cantacun was virtually the only place for recuperation.

Cedric was troubled. After hearing about the decision he made after much thought, Shaw reacted like this.

“As a doctor, I have diagnosed that the two top decision makers of this castle have a disease that wouldn’t return to normal thinking patterns when it comes to the young lady. It’s very incurable.”

“But don’t you agree with the lady going to recuperate as well?”

“Yes, but that’s it. Isn’t she the kind of person who feels burdened by even a jewel-encrusted accessory? Would she really go on a trip that eats up such an enormous budget? It’s not that the two of you don’t know the lady’s personality…”

“I like it. I look forward to it.”

“Eh.”

Surprisingly, Lilian accepted the invitation to recuperate.

“Oh, my Lady! What a good idea!”

Mrs. Hayworth was delighted.

In this way, the decision to go to Cantacun was made in half a day.

It was perfectly according to Lilian’s plan.