Chapter 148

Chapter 148

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Chapter 148

As the Cavalry carriages sped towards the imperial palace in a long line, another carriage escaped from the quiet, closed-off grounds of the Apeto dukedom.

"Second Prince, are you really thinking of leaving like this? If the Duke finds out about this..."

"Silence. Since when have you been so bold as to challenge my words? You too believe I'm forever estranged from my heirship, don't you? Do you wish to die here?"

The occupants of the carriage were the Second Prince, Lenore Shand Apeto, and his servant. Lenore, after the unsavory incident a few days ago, was confined under house arrest by order of the Duke of Apeto. However, his servants dared not stop him as he decided to leave the mansion. The memories of his relentless violence still cast a shadow over the entire mansion.

The servant, forced to accompany him, was just as afraid of Lenore. He had mustered enough courage to speak, fearful of the backlash from the Duke of Apeto who would learn later of Lenore's disobedience. But his determination was swiftly extinguished in the face of Lenore's anger.

"M-, My Lord, how could I dare think such a disgraceful thought? This foolish man misspoke out of concern for you!"

The servant hurriedly prostrated himself on the carriage floor and apologized, but Lenore, unable to suppress his anger, kicked him hard.

"Ugh!"

"Fool. I should have brought someone else! I picked just anyone because I was short on time, and you dare to insult me?"

"Pl-, please spare me, my Lord. I'm sorry... mercy..."

Lenore finally managed to quell his anger a little, kicking the servant until the toe of his boot was stained red.

"Know that my not killing you here is mercy. You got filthy blood on it; clean it at once."

"Y-, yes, thank you..."

The servant stifled his whimpering and bowed his head. As he began to clean Lenore's boot, blood seeping from his forehead, he thought about lashing out once more as the man's feeble movement displeased him. But if he did, and the servant couldn't stand, he wouldn't be able to enter the imperial palace, so Lenore held himself back. Crossing his arms, he closed his eyes and focused on calming his rage.

'The letter. Think about the letter. I'm heading towards a second chance. I can't ruin this from the get-go by losing my temper.'

The thought was effective. Lenore traced the outline of a small letter hidden in the pocket of his formal attire with his hand tucked inside his crossed arms. That letter was the reason why Lenore abruptly broke the Duke of Apeto's command and fled from the mansion.

Two days ago, Lenore received a small note while confined to his room. Hidden skillfully within a tray of snacks brought by a maid, the note bore a name that he never would have imagined.

'The Crown Prince Katchian La Orr... wants me?' Checkk new novel chapters at novelbin(.)com

Remembering the day Beltrail had gone mad, and Revlin, his younger brother, had left their home, following Duke Peletta with a gleeful expression while he, Lenore, fell from grace. His teeth ground together at the recollection. Lenore surmised his judgment to be correct, his anger boiling over as he hastily wrote his response.

With the break of dawn, he slipped out of his mansion and was on his way.

"We'll be arriving soon. You can see the checkpoint, prepare yourself, my Lord."

Lenore opened his eyes at the cautious words of the coachman. The stiffened servant caught the harsh gaze of his master, gulped in surprise, but didn’t dare meet his eyes.

Lenore extracted two sealed letters from his pocket. One was the formal reply to the Crown Prince, but the other wasn't. The latter was the original of the second letter he had received from the Crown Prince.

‘As desperate as I am, driven into a corner, I can't trust them completely.’

In case the Crown Prince and Duke Diarca didn't keep their promise, Lenore kept the original letter and returned a replica hidden in the tray. He doubted they would meticulously examine the returned letter, and even if they did discover the deception, he could simply explain it away after the meeting with the Crown Prince.

He swiftly noted down the series of events that had befallen him on the back of the Crown Prince's original letter and signed it. If his meeting with the Crown Prince resulted in a favorable outcome, this second letter would never see the light of day.

However, if the opposite were to occur...

"You. Hold on to this while I am in the palace."

"Eh? Yes! Understood."

After thoughtful consideration, Lenore handed the second letter to the servant. The servant, with due respect, received it without daring to glimpse at it.

"Keep it with you while waiting with the other servants. If I return, hand it back to me. If I send word that I can't collect it personally... Hmm. Right. Deliver that letter to Revlin."

Mentioning Revlin was a purely impulsive decision. Even though they had a strained relationship at the moment, the most naive and least suspicious person in the Apeto family was undoubtedly Revlin.

"The... The Revlin who is said to have joined the Cavalry? Is that alright?"

"Don't make me repeat myself."

The servant quickly bowed his head and apologized in response to Lenore's stern warning.

'If that idiot doesn't lose the letter, it'll be a miracle. Tsk.'

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