Chapter 101
Chapter 101: The Promise of the Argenta Siblings
Anasha listened quietly to her brother’s words and responded with a slightly tearful voice.
“I know.”
“You… know?”
At Lupeon’s notably surprised question, the child nodded.
“Because you were originally the Crown Prince.”
It seemed Anasha had vaguely sensed that he intended to confront the Imperial Family to reclaim his position.
Lupeon, not wanting to burden the young child, deliberately cleared his throat and asked in a gentle voice.
“Anasha, will you make me one promise?”
“A promise? What kind of promise?”
Anasha tilted her head curiously, her eyes wide like a rabbit’s.
Lupeon’s blue eyes, filled with tenderness, shone more brilliantly than usual as he looked at the child.
“Promise me you won’t cry thinking you’ll be left alone, because that will never happen.”
He thought of all the people he needed to protect.
His one and only irreplaceable sister, the woman he had come to love, and the entire North including the Grand Duchy of Devonshire.
Lupeon, once again strengthening his resolve, raised his pinky finger with a faint smile.
Anasha stared intently at the offered hand before linking her own pinky finger with his and nodding firmly.
“Yes, I promise!”
Knowing that the child understood him, Lupeon made a promise to himself as well – that he would definitely achieve what he desired.
* * *
Lupeon had secretly completed preparations to restore his parents’ honor, taking care not to draw attention.
He created and discreetly distributed posters questioning the legitimacy of the current Emperor’s ascension to the throne, highlighting how the previous Emperor had been falsely accused.
Apart from the empire’s historical records, which someone had deliberately manipulated, there was no evidence anywhere of the previous Emperor’s supposed tyranny.
Anyone who remembered the previous Emperor’s reign knew well that he wasn’t the type of person to rule tyrannically.
Starting from the capital’s outskirts, the posters quickly spread throughout the Valdeon Empire.
Though the Imperial Family launched an investigation to identify the source, they made no progress.
However, the Emperor surely knew who would benefit from these posters.
After all, Lupeon, the previous Emperor’s son, should have been the one to inherit the throne.
Proving this, public opinion about the Grand Duke of Devonshire was stirring throughout the Valdeon Empire.
His relief policies in the North had gained widespread acclaim in the capital, earning him considerable public support.
Enraged, the Emperor seemed intent on naming Lupeon as a suspect behind the posters.
However, without concrete evidence, the Emperor couldn’t openly move against him.
As expected, the Imperial Family soon issued an official statement.
They claimed that, contrary to the false posters circulating, they had never tarnished the previous Emperor’s honor and always prioritized the people’s welfare.
Yet as public sentiment began shifting in Lupeon’s favor, the Emperor appeared unwilling to remain passive.
Marquess Byzantium, despite having lost his title, seemed confident he would regain his position as he spread malicious rumors about the Northern Grand Duke alongside the Delonso Guild.
They questioned whether the farming tools and fertilizer Lupeon had distributed throughout the North might have come from monster habitats, implying he must have been dealing with monsters.
They suggested that rather than exterminating monsters in the North, he might have entered their territory to ally with them.
They turned his path to becoming the North’s ruler into a political issue, deliberately misinterpreting everything he had done to survive and grow stronger.
His actions to help the starving people of the North had become poisoned arrows turned against him.
The key witness to Lupeon’s alleged misdeeds was none other than Marquess Laflodden.
Living up to his position as leader of the Progressive Faction nobility, the Marquess spoke loudly at social gatherings, and his false testimony was truly outrageous.
He emphasized Lupeon’s cruel nature by claiming he had punished the Grand Duke’s servants without reason, conveniently omitting that these servants were actually spies he himself had planted.
As Marquess Laflodden’s testimony spread, rumors about Lupeon spread uncontrollably.
They even suggested that if the former Crown Prince took the throne, it would be tantamount to a tyrant ruling the Valdeon Empire.
While the Grand Duke’s vassals were outraged and wanted to actively defend him, Lupeon firmly stopped them.
He knew that even if they opposed the Imperial Family and Marquess Byzantium now, they would just find other ways to block his path.
So he decided to pretend to endure while planning for the future.
‘This is too much, even so…’
Elena bit her lip as she thought about their vile and wicked actions.
Recent events had long since departed from the original story’s flow.
Yet some things remained unchanged.
Just as in the original novel “To the Blooming Lily of the Valley,” the plot seemed to be steering toward Lupeon Devonshire’s death.
The world that Elena had tried so hard to change seemed determined not only to drive Lupeon into the mud but to endlessly present him with trials and suffering.
The more she recalled his death from the original story, the more Elena couldn’t suppress her growing anxiety.
‘What should I do at times like this?’
Given Lupeon’s recent popularity among the imperial citizens, their opponents wanted to check his influence even if it meant spreading false information.
They must have been dissatisfied with the Grand Duke maintaining his firm position in the North, and growing increasingly anxious about their wavering imperial authority.
Lupeon ordered increased security at the Grand Duke’s residence in preparation for any possible situations.
Though they hadn’t physically attacked yet, there was no telling when they might invade the Grand Duke’s territory.
Security was stricter than ever due to the heavy tension in the air.
Elena, who had been researching herbs in her laboratory until late at night, looked at Josephine standing guard outside her door.
Even when visiting the Grand Duke’s library to borrow books, she had to be accompanied by her knight, Josephine.
While returning to her room after finishing her research, Elena’s gaze happened to turn toward Lupeon’s study.
“Sir, I suppose Lupeon must be… very busy?”
With work piling up all at once, he was managing both Northern affairs while dealing with pressure from the Imperial Family and Marquess Byzantium.
‘He shouldn’t strain himself…’
Josephine, who had hesitated to answer, slightly shrugged his shoulders before shifting his gaze toward the study.
“Why don’t you visit His Grace the Grand Duke briefly?”
“Well, I’m worried I might disturb him…”
As Elena trailed off uncertainly, he shook his head.
“How could that be? Your presence alone would be comforting to him.”
At this typical response from Josephine, she scratched one cheek and nodded slightly.
“Then I’ll stop by briefly.”
At this, Josephine showed a pleased smile before stepping away from the study.
He seemed to want to give Elena and Lupeon space to talk comfortably.
Feeling grateful to her knight, Elena carefully knocked on the study door.
Knock knock—
“Lupeon, may I come in?”
Soon after, a man appeared, showing signs of fatigue on his face.
Lupeon, who had been sharply scanning the surroundings, seemed relieved to see that she was accompanied by her knight.
“What brings you here?”
Elena fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a potion to hand to him.
“Ah… I had something to give you.”
She thought he would readily accept other nutritional potions since he was already taking stamina and immunity-boosting tonic potions.
Lupeon quietly looked at the potion before lifting the corners of his mouth and responding.
“Please come in, if you don’t mind.”
“Ahem, then excuse me for a moment.”
Elena, feeling somehow shy and deliberately acting prim, followed her fiancé into the study.
However, upon seeing what lay before her, she couldn’t close her mouth as she quietly surveyed the study.
