Chapter 158: Scheme (3)

Chapter 158: Scheme (3)

My goodness, Marquis Duhem-nim?

A shocked Christelle raised her voice.

I calmed my wildly beating heart and almost creaked as I turned to look at him.

Ganael, who had been quietly following behind me, rubbed my back for me. It had been a while since we had seen Franois Duhem.

He looked quite anxious to see us, which was not a common reaction for him.

However, he was quick about the recovery as well.

I heard that love and sneezes are unavoidable; you three esteemed individuals must be my dearly beloved!

The handsome man's light pink eyes curled up as he bowed. His opera-actor-like attitude was still the same.

Your Royal Highness, Dame Sarnez. My deepest congratulations for successfully becoming Archbishops. You are the glory of our Empire and this is truly a happy occasion.

He used elegant movements to kiss the back of Christelle's hand.

I finally came back to my senses just as the Marquis grabbed my hand and was about to lift it up and pulled my arm away.

His actions had always been quite dramatic, but he seemed a bit rushed today.

It felt like he was charging in really fast. I smiled awkwardly and observed the Marquis.

Hello, Marquis Duhem. You seem busy. Is something the matter?

Not at all, your highness. There are absolutely no suspicious incidents whatsoever! Please keep it a secret from my younger sisters that I was here today.

The reason he specified his sisters was probably because he already met his younger brother, Captain Duhem, at the appointment ceremony.

Young lady Antoinette and the other siblings did not seem to come up to the Imperial Capital with him.

Christelle and I nodded with baffled looks on our faces and he smiled elegantly before bowing again.

He seemed to be the one to step away for once. It was at that moment.

Plop!

Marquis Duhem, you dropped this.

A sparkling card fell from the mans pocket.

The Marquis seemed explicitly anxious as I picked it up and handed it to him. What is up with him today?

"Thank you very much, your highness.

He seemed to swipe the card out of my hand. Christelle scowled.

Youre not feeling ill, are you, Marquis Duhem?

Of course not, madam.

Will you be coming to the House of Blanquers masquerade?

Oh.

Emotions disappeared from his face for a moment.

He quickly started smiling again but a stoic Marquis looked quite cold unlike his usual self.

Unfortunately I do not think I will be able to be by the three of your sides that day.

He then slowly winked.

He then showed his respects properly without any flaws before quickly disappearing beyond the hallway.

We watched him leave in silence for a bit.

Benjamin observed that the Marquis did not come from the direction of her Majestys office. This is really suspicious.

He is plotting something.

It really did seem that way, didnt it?

The crown prince mumbled and Christelle immediately agreed.

However, they had no justification to dig into it when the person claimed nothing was going on.

It was disappointing that we will not see him at the masquerade but his daily life itself was similar to a masquerade.

We shrugged our shoulders and headed toward the office where the Chief of Staff was waiting for us.

I was imagining a secret little rendezvous, but that image was long gone because of the large number of people with me.

At least it was nice that people didnt stare at us for a long time as we walked by because the crown prince was with us.

Knock knock.

We arrived at the door and Ganael knocked. However, the reaction was oddly slow.

Forget the door opening, we couldn't even hear any footsteps inside.

The young boy tilted his head and as he raised his hand again

Slam!

Holy Almighty God.

We saw a familiar mans face and a repeat of the gasp from earlier.

Our eyes opened wide at the unexpected individual who appeared through the door.

He seemed anxious after seeing us as well as he could not speak for a moment.

Christelle was the one to break the silence.

Father?

Christelle. I greet our esteemed Royal Highness and Prince Jesse as well.

Duke Simon de Sarnez politely lowered his head.

I was well aware that there were many Pair de Riester who frequented the Empress Palace, but this was the first time I met two familiar faces back to back.

I was wondering what was the cause before it seemed obvious that the large event, the Holy Knight Appointment, was the reason.

Father, I heard that you were returning to the Duchy first so I didnt expect to see you he

Christelle suddenly stopped talking. It could not be helped.

Inside the Chief of Staff's office, an attendant who looked like a secretary was urgently fixing her clothes as she bowed toward us.

Her flushed cheeks and the awkward look on her face made it pretty easy to imagine what was going on just now.

Benjamin and Ganael let out some fake coughs and turned their heads. My neck started feeling hot as well.

We, no, I, forgot what I was going to say and just opened and closed my mouth without saying anything.

Mm.

This This is not right. The father of the main character of a Romfan cheating with an attendant of the Imperial Palace

Actually, nobody should be doing this. This is extremely wrong. I didn't see him as the type?

Rustle, rustle.

W. B.

There were two initials on the surface of the letter.

People who did not know would think nothing of it, but the man knew exactly who this was talking about.

The Holy Kingdom's royalty wrote the initials for their first and middle names when sending an order to their spies in the Empire.

There was currently only one person in the Holy Kingdoms royal family whose name started with a W.

Werner Venetiaan.

The man said the name that was the source of his despair.

He had never received an order as a spy since he was born.

That was something that happened during his great-grandmothers generation and none of her descendants had actively taken part.

Of course, he was well aware of what his great-grandmother had done.

She framed an innocent Baron and destroyed his family while she remained a noble and loyal Pair de Riester.

The man clearly remembered what he had heard on his great-grandmother's deathbed.

It was a decision for our survival. That is why I am not ashamed of it.

She had not repented for her actions even until her last breath.

That had remained quite vivid in her young great-grandson's mind.

Rustle, rustle.

He bit down on his lips and opened the letter.

The writing was as straight as if it was a book and the size and spacing of each letter were chillingly uniform as well.

Lead the pilgrim out of the Almighty Gods sight.

I seek not an execution but a scheme.

Eat it up and strike his honor.

The one who rejects and ignores this

They will close their eyes as the dogs of the hunter.

It sounded like a riddle. However, this was not difficult for the man.

He was a noble of the Empire who was used to the ambiguous style of the upper class, and, more importantly, he was a member of a family of spies.

It would be weird if he did not understand this at once.

The mans hand started shaking after he understood the meaning between the lines.

Riiiiiip. The paper helplessly ripped.

The devils whisper reorganized itself one word at a time in his mind.

Murder the pilgrim.

Do not use an assassin but make a scheme.

Eat the message to get rid of it and dirty the person's honor.

If you reject this order

I will reveal the fact that your family are our spies.

Huff, haaaa

It was a dreadful request and a threat.

The man caught his breath and guzzled down the wine he had left here last night.

He could not harm an innocent person. He should not do that.

However, he had to do so in order to survive.

He was the patriarch of a great and loyal family that supported the Empress and the number of family members he was responsible for were endless.

On the other hand, the target was just one person.

The pilgrim. A person who left their home to find the Holy Land.

Prince Jesse Venetiaan.

"Great-grandmother

He groaned and his head dropped on the table.

The sins that she had committed, one which the former patriarchs had all just watched and feigned ignorance about, the negative karma built from all of that was coming back during his generation.

The man could not claim that he was innocent either.

He recalled the purple pair of eyes he saw in the Empress Palace.

The way the prince had seemed concerned about how shocked he was was still vivid in his mind.

The prince had exchanges with not just the man but the mans family as well and was someone who had the Imperial family's affectionate attention.

He was a good and gentle person.

There was nobody in the Empire who did not know that the Prince Consort was being treated viciously and cruelly by the Prince Consort.

Cough, cough cough!

He finally choked on the alcohol. His insides were churning violently.

He nonetheless had to make a decision and he was someone who could not find that decision to be difficult.

The mans hands shook as he picked up the letter. And then

Riiiiiiiip! Rip!

He ripped the paper into small pieces and slowly placed them in his mouth.

He used wine to suppress the dry heaves that came up from deep inside his stomach.

Cold sweat dropped from his chin.

It was a decision for our survival.

His great-grandmothers voice echoed in his ears like a curse whenever the blood-colored wine lessened in the bottle.

However, he could not get drunk.

He had a scheme to plan.

Translator's Comments

How scandalous of you, Christelle's daddy.Reaad the latest stories on novelbin(.)com