CH 82

Late in the evening, Rupert was in the townhouse’s office.

The Clifford duchy’s business papers were piled up on his desk, so he sat up late, but he couldn’t make progress because his nerves were elsewhere.

‘How long are you going to stay in the castle?’

Rupert thought Erin would be back in the townhouse when he was tied up in the duchy. But when he arrived, she wasn’t home.

Apparently, she was staying in the Imperial Palace for the magic stone mine development project.

The moment he heard that, he thought his blood gushed upside down. He wanted to run and catch Erin immediately, but real-life events kept him.

Besides, he didn’t have the courage. The day Erin left Clifford Castle, the events of that day were still vivid. But, even then, he couldn’t catch her.

It was terrifying to see Erin’s eyes filled with reproach and her cold attitude. The only hope he had, though, was that he and Erin were still married. Even though it was a one-year contract, it gave him comfort.

“Haa,” Rupert sighed, shook his head to shake off his thoughts of Erin, then tried to focus on the papers again.

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Knock, knock–.

“Rupert, it’s me.” 

A young woman’s voice came from the outside. It was Chloe. Shortly after Rupert parted from her at the seaside villa, Chloe followed him to the townhouse.

Rupert left her unattended and unwelcome. Since he didn’t have time to care about Chloe, but since Erin wasn’t there, he needed someone to manage the house.

But if Erin returned and showed her displeasure, Rupert was determined to let Chloe go without hesitation this time.

‘Chloe doesn’t ask for anything from me, so she’ll understand.’

“Come in.”

Chloe entered the room, a tray with a teacup on hand. It smelled of bittersweet tea, Rupert’s favorite drink.

“Rupert, I think you’re overdoing it. Take a break.” Chloe placed the teacup on his desk, but Rupert didn’t take his eyes off the paperwork.

He was still thinking of ending things with her. He didn’t know if Erin would come forward actively.*

Rupert answered in a friendly voice, “Thank you, I still have work to do. Go and rest first.”

He took the teacup and brought it to his mouth. The tea was stronger than usual, but it wasn’t bad.

Chloe stood by Rupert’s side and watched silently, and when the teacup was half full, she suddenly hugged him tightly.

“… Don’t do that, Rupert.”

As Chloe whispered softly in his ear, Rupert grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away. Obviously, at this point, he thought it was a little annoying.

But Rupert was overcome with an unknown impulse when he turned and their eyes met. It was something he had often felt since he met Chloe.

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“…Rupert, let’s go to your room,” she whispered, rubbing his ear and cheek, and Rupert loosened his grip on her arm and slowly got up.

The sticky, seductive scent of Chloe’s body gradually eroded Rupert’s senses.

“Let’s go.”

Rupert was eventually driven by instinct and grabbed Chloe by the wrist. He thought he would take her by his own will. Chloe just followed him and smiled silently.

The next day, Rupert woke up and looked around. Chloe wasn’t there, as if she had already woken up.

It seemed that he had slept for quite some time, but his mind was still hazy. One side of his head seemed to be throbbing. He was always in optimal condition, and it had been a while since he felt such symptoms in his body.

‘I’ve been neglecting my training lately.’

After he had reached a certain level, he stopped practicing. Although he occasionally competed, he only did it with Enoch. But he couldn’t do that these days because of his strained relationship with the Crown Prince.

Rupert got up and sat down after being idle for a while. Then, reaching out to his side table to drink his water, he found a piece of mail seemingly for him. It looked like Chloe had brought it.

Rupert picked it up and examined it–the envelope had been sealed with magic, so the sender was still unknown. However, it was quite wrinkled, as if someone had tried to open it first. Maybe Chloe?

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Rupert furrowed his brow and held his magic stone against the envelope’s seal. And as soon as he saw the sender’s name, his heart pounded.

‘Erin Spilet.’

Why did she send a letter instead of coming directly? Maybe Erin wanted to return, but the Crown Prince wouldn’t let her, so she asked for help?

Rupert calmly opened the envelope as he went on with his absurd imagination.

The paper inside was quite thick. The moment he unfolded the paper and read the text, Rupert’s face began to harden terribly.

“Divorce… agreement?”

There was a check in the envelope and a piece of paper with the words “Divorce Agreement” written in bold. It was worth exactly four billion gold. 

It was a clear indication of Erin’s intention to divorce him.

Thanks to the shock of reading the word ‘divorce,’ Rupert did not find the note fluttering between the papers.

The door opened soon after, and Chloe approached him with a strange smile.

“Rupert? Why? What’s wrong?”

“Divorce…Divorce…! Erin filed for divorce!” Rupert screamed as he tried to jump out of bed. But Chloe came over and pressed his chest to calm him down.

“Oh my gosh. You can’t.”

“Of course not. I must go to the palace right now.”

Rupert tried to get up again, but Chloe’s hand stopped him. Somehow, he couldn’t go against the usually weak Chloe. His body gradually lost its strength.

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“Calm down, Rupert. It’s not going to be resolved by pursuing it like that, is it?” Chloe sat down next to him, leaned over, and whispered happily. “Come on, sleep more. I’ll take care of everything.”

“Chloe… what?”

Rupert thought Chloe was acting strange, but his brain was so hazy that he couldn’t make rational decisions. Moreover, as soon as she told him to sleep, he couldn’t help but want to.

“I’ll get you to meet Erin, don’t worry. You can’t get a divorce now.”

“…”

Rupert opened his mouth to say something but eventually fell asleep. Chloe got up after making sure he was completely out.

Then she found a note that had fallen to the floor and picked it up.

「Chloe is a black magician.」

When Chloe saw the note, the corners of her lips rose, and the paper in her hand became ash and disappeared. Then she looked down at Rupert, who was sleeping with his arms crossed.

“Stupid woman, I can’t believe you dabbled in black magic because of a man like this. Well, thanks to you, I’m taking over this body. This is gonna be fun.”

Chloe, no, the thing that had taken over Chloe’s body disappeared out of the door with a smirk.

Enoch handed the report to Viscount Therian, who stood before him. The viscount nodded as he skimmed through the pages.

“This is enough. It’s up to His Majesty the Emperor to judge, but it’s evidence that, if not certain, arouses suspicion.”

Enoch took back the documents, and also the blood of the monsters found there.

“So I’m going to see His Majesty now.”

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“You’re leaving already? Would that be alright? Shouldn’t we gather more evidence…” Viscount Therien trailed off, worried. Of course, this kind of evidence could convince the emperor. However, at the center of this was Prince Breiman.

Even though Enoch was the orthodox heir to the throne, Prince Breiman was treated as a prince who used magic.

Therien was worried that he might be accused of trying to get rid of the competition contrary to what Enoch intended. 

“I don’t have a choice. Prince Breiman must have noticed by now that I was suspicious of him. And he will come up with a countermeasure,” Enoch muttered while holding a small bottle of squirming monster blood in his hand.

“Be careful. They might retaliate.”

Then Enoch’s emerald eyes gleamed coldly. “If he comes to fight, I’ll welcome it.”

“Well, black magic could be a little tricky sometimes.”

Enoch nodded as if agreeing to this, packed his things, and went outside.

As he walked down the hallway, he remembered what the Empress’s attendant had just said to him.

‘If you liked it that much, you should have taken it earlier. Why did you give it to others?’

The Empress must have seen her shoes. But, as expected, she didn’t vehemently oppose it. After all, there was a tradition of choosing the companion of the Imperial family.

He smirked.

“I wish I had, but she wasn’t looking at me back then,” he mumbled, then headed to the Emperor’s palace.

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However, when Enoch went to the Emperor’s throne room, the atmosphere was unfamiliar.

In front of the door was Prince Breiman’s aide who always exuded an eerie aura. He didn’t know why when he was younger, but he did now–the aide also had a deep connection with black magic.

Enoch spoke to him as usual. “Is Brother inside?”

“Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince. His Highness is attending an audience with His Majesty.”

Enoch heard something like a growl from the aide’s throat, but the aide maintained a polite expression. This one never went before the Emperor because he was afraid of revealing his identity. 

When Enoch heard the voice, he went inside the door and told him as he passed him, “Wolves are pretty good at acting like people.”

Squinting at the assistant’s hesitation, Enoch entered the audience room.

And so the door closed, and Enoch realized that he had been one step behind.