Chapter 125
Indeed. Kylus had already prepared to blindside the Emperor. Though he was burying the assassination incident to protect Alice, the battle was far from over.
Viscountess Rosetta. If Alice succeeded in persuading the Viscountess, Kylus planned to spread her story to all the Imperial newspapers. He would reveal that she had been pregnant when targeted for assassination, and that the child belonged to none other than the Second Prince.
After stirring public opinion to its boiling point, he intended to publicly conduct a paternity test between the Viscountess’s child and the Second Prince. Then, when the truth that it was truly the Second Prince’s child was revealed to all, the Viscountess would expose the Prince’s atrocities.
It would create the perfect stage to bring down the Second Prince.
Of course, it would be better if he could spread the information about the Viscountess to the newspapers immediately, but Kylus respected Alice’s wishes. Her desire not to deal with Viscountess Rosetta through coercion.
From the beginning, he could never win against her. And… Alice was right. Dealing coercively with the Viscountess might be convenient for handling the matter, but it wasn’t the right approach.
Moreover, Kylus believed it wouldn’t take long for Alice to persuade the Viscountess. If the Viscountess was of sound mind, she would inevitably recognize what a good person Alice was.
Kylus’s mood brightened at the thought of Alice. As his mind wandered, he naturally recalled what had happened at dawn. His emotions poured out honestly to her, Alice’s face not knowing how to react… and the kiss that followed.
The soft sensation of Alice’s lips and her hot breath remained vivid to him. So vivid he could recall it immediately if he closed his eyes. Not only was it their first kiss, making it unforgettable, but Alice’s reaction afterward made it even more memorable.
“…To think she’d faint at that moment.”
Alice had collapsed right after the kiss ended. Kylus chuckled as he recalled her falling figure. Though quite knowledgeable about intimate relations between men and women, he had never heard of someone fainting from just a kiss.
He could laugh about it now, but at the time, he had been truly shocked and flustered. So much so that he had nearly lost his composure and rushed out to call Helkin.
But just as he was about to dash out of the bedroom, Kylus had heard it. The sound of Alice snoring. Yes, Alice had simply fallen asleep after giving Kylus such a heart-dropping scare.
She had slept soundly with an inexplicable smile on her face. Kylus found her both ridiculous and… utterly adorable.
So much that he couldn’t stop smiling foolishly as he watched her. Thus, Kylus had stayed by her side all night without sleep. Gently stroking her pink hair without her knowledge.
“I miss her.”
Just thinking about her wasn’t enough. No, the more he thought about her, the greater his longing became. He wanted to see Alice directly and feel her touch.
Even Kylus himself thought he had gone completely mad for Alice, and was suppressing a wry smile when a knock came at his office door.
“Your Excellency. Count Latrang is here to see you.”
Count Latrang? Why would he suddenly…? Kylus hesitated at the Count’s unexpected visit without prior notice, but quickly spoke.
“Show him in.”
The office door opened, and the Count entered. Kylus rose from his desk chair to greet him.
“Count.” “I apologize for coming so suddenly without prior notice, Duke.” “Not at all. Please sit here.”
Kylus guided Count Latrang to the sofa inside his office. Kylus took the seat of honor first, and the Count sat to his right. Kylus asked him:
“Would you like some tea?” “No, thank you. I cannot take up too much of your valuable time, Duke. I’ll simply convey my business briefly.”
Count Latrang spoke with a voice tinged with a faint smile, but the look in his eyes as he regarded Kylus was not so light. A gaze filled with tension, uncharacteristic of the centenarian veteran. Kylus could instinctively sense that Count Latrang had come to see him on a matter of considerable importance.
Kylus nodded slowly and said:
“Very well. Please state your business directly, Count.” “The reason I sought you out so urgently is… I wanted to confirm something about the incident at the hunting grounds yesterday.” “What is it?”
“The tremendous wave of holy power felt at the hunting grounds yesterday—was that power not from the Duchess rather than High Priest Prion?”
For a moment, Kylus’s fingertips twitched. But the movement was so slight, and Kylus’s expression remained so unwavering that Count Latrang didn’t notice at all.
“The Duchess’s holy power? I don’t understand why you would suddenly entertain such an absurd notion.”
Kylus continued calmly:
“My wife was merely a victim in the incident and has no connection to that extraordinary holy power yesterday. As High Priest Prion clarified, that power was simply a wave released while he was treating my wife and the Viscountess.”
He showed no sign of being flustered. But Count Latrang’s gaze remained equally steady.
“I am well aware that High Priest Prion’s holy power is strong enough to make him a leading candidate for the next Pope. Had I not seen it myself, I too would have believed it was the High Priest’s power.”
The Count had reason to point to Alice.
“However, as I was leaving the hunting grounds yesterday, I happened to see High Priest Prion. He was running urgently somewhere with an uncharacteristically grave expression.”
He studied Kylus’s face carefully as he spoke.
“Sensing something had happened, I quickly left the hunting grounds and found priests gathered, murmuring amongst themselves. They said an exceptionally powerful wave of holy power had been felt somewhere in the hunting grounds.”
Seeing the High Priest? This unexpected information made Kylus curl his fingertips, and the Count continued:
“If it had truly been the High Priest’s power, I couldn’t possibly have seen him in the middle of the hunting grounds. He would have been busy treating the Duchess and the Viscountess.”
The Count caressed the corner of the sofa with his fingertips.
“Moreover, his hurried appearance was one of great confusion, not unlike the murmuring priests. So I pondered yesterday: if that holy power wasn’t from High Priest Prion, whose could it be?”
“…”
“The answer came surprisingly quickly. The Duchess of Dearrut, known to possess holy power. And you, Duke, who regained consciousness shortly after marrying the Duchess.”
Count Latrang had come to Kylus already convinced of everything.
“Your awakening, Duke, after numerous physicians and priests had given up, was not a miracle but due to the Duchess’s holy power. Am I not correct?”
There was no point in denying it to Count Latrang, who had already pieced together all the puzzle pieces. No, deceiving Count Latrang, a tactician who had traversed countless battlefields, was no easy task to begin with.
Yet he couldn’t dismiss the Count’s words as mere claims without evidence. After all, the rampant rumors that spread in social circles rarely did so based on evidence.
If it came from the renowned Count Latrang, even falsehoods would become truth. Thus, the moment the Count opened his mouth, the Empire would instantly be in an uproar over Alice’s holy power.
Before he speaks… should I kill him?
Kylus’s gaze darkened momentarily. Though the Count was someone he had once respected, if he threatened Alice, Kylus could kill him without hesitation. Even if it meant taking risks.
Seeing the murderous intent flicker in Kylus’s dark eyes, Count Latrang slowly opened his mouth.
“…Are you thinking of killing me, Duke?” “…”
When Kylus didn’t deny it, Count Latrang let out a faint smile.
“As the Duke, you could certainly dispose of me cleanly. But there’s no need for that.”
The Count continued in a candid tone:
“I didn’t come today to threaten you or to expose the Duchess’s holy power to the world. I came to make a request.”
“After pressuring me with what amounts to threats, you suddenly speak of a request. I must admit I’m somewhat perplexed.”
Kylus wore a scornful smile.
“If I’ve offended you, I apologize. But I had no choice but to reveal that I know everything in order for you to consider my request.”
“What is your request?” “Please save the First Prince.”
So that’s it, after all.
He had suspected as much when the Count mentioned having a request. After all, the Count Latrang’s only wish right now would be this one.
