Chapter 146
Alice’s gaze fell on the ring inside the box.
Perhaps because it was made long ago, it was a simple gold ring without any special decorations.
However, like some legendary ring from a movie, the engraved letters on the outside and the ethereally gleaming gold emanated an extraordinary aura.
“Why are you showing this to me?”
Alice raised her head to look at the Count.
She understood that a ring from the empire’s fourth Emperor was an extremely precious item, but she couldn’t guess why he was specifically showing it to her.
Count Latrang met Alice’s eyes and answered:
“Tomorrow, I will present this ring to the Third Prince and swear my loyalty to him.”
“…What?”
Alice’s eyes widened in surprise.
He had said that the fourth Emperor had bestowed this ring upon the Latrang family when granting them the southern lands.
If so, this ring was not merely a gift but practically a family heirloom that certified the achievements and honor of the Latrang family.
Yet he would present it to the Third Prince?
“This ring is both a family heirloom and a symbol of the Latrang family’s loyalty to the empire.”
The Count spoke with eyes that had already made their decision.
“Therefore, presenting it to the Third Prince is equivalent to dedicating everything the Latrang family has to him. It means I will pledge my loyalty—and that of all the southern knights—with our very lives.”
The Count briefly lowered his gaze to the ring.
Ors Latrang, the first Count Latrang, who had received the title for his great achievements on the battlefield.
When the fourth Emperor bestowed the title and the ring upon Ors, he had said:
Since Ors’s contribution in saving the empire from crisis was so great, the Emperor would grant one wish, whatever it might be, when the Latrang family needed the imperial power’s assistance.
As such, this ring was not merely a ring but a family heirloom with the fate of the Count’s family embedded in it.
His ancestors had preciously preserved this ring, and until now, no head of the family had ever used it.
No, they had not dared to use it.
Using this ring for vain ambitions would go against the wishes of their ancestors, so they had kept it in reserve for unforeseen dangers.
With this ring, the Latrang family could maintain its lineage as long as the empire existed.
But the Count had made up his mind.
If he could save the First Prince, Mariella’s only son, he wouldn’t regret staking the south.
Moreover, Duke Dearrut, who had become a hero in the corrupt empire.
Since it was the Third Prince whom such a Duke had chosen, the Count trusted his judgment.
That the Third Prince would become an excellent sovereign.
All he needed to do was abandon his desire for power.
Hadn’t he already lost his precious daughter because he couldn’t let go of that desire?
He didn’t want to experience that bitter regret again.
“When I present this ring to His Highness tomorrow, not only the nobles but the entire empire will know. That the Latrang family has staked everything on the Third Prince.”
Count Latrang spoke more decisively to Alice, whose expression showed slight wavering.
“It will be a loyalty that cannot be revoked, so even if the First Prince harbors different intentions, he won’t be able to become Crown Prince. He would have already lost the south, his greatest power base.”
“…”
“Will this be enough for you to believe my promise to keep my word?”
When the Count finished his long speech, Alice swallowed hard.
She had not expected Count Latrang to stake everything to this extent.
She had thought he would somehow persuade the First Prince to renounce his right to succession and support the Third Prince.
She had expected a written pledge of that nature.
But to offer the south?
It showed how… desperate he was.
But this was no time to be simply moved by the Count’s desperation.
Although the scale was larger than expected, she needed to properly conclude this deal.
Alice calmed her trembling heart and said to the Count:
“I cannot give you a definite answer yet. I will be able to give my answer tomorrow when I hear the news that you have met with the Third Prince.”
One shouldn’t believe until the contract is sealed.
Alice would believe the deal was confirmed the moment the Count handed that ring to the Third Prince.
Count Latrang nodded with a faint smile.
“I understand. Tomorrow, I will prove my sincerity to you, Duchess.”
“Yes, I will wait. Then I shall take my leave now, Count.”
“Of course. Thank you for accepting my impolite request today.”
Alice responded to the Count’s courteous farewell with a smooth smile, watching as the lid of the ring box closed.
She left the reception room, hoping that this deal would be well concluded tomorrow.
It was nearly midnight.
Most noble houses firmly closed their gates at this hour, but the Dearrut Duchy kept its gates wide open.
To welcome the lord of the house who was returning late at night.
Finally, the Duchy’s carriage stopped in the courtyard, and Kylus stepped out.
“Duke.”
As Kylus entered the mansion, the butler and servants who had been waiting in the lobby bowed in greeting.
“It’s late, everyone should go and rest.”
Kylus waved his hand as soon as they greeted him.
Some might think he was being cold to the servants who had waited for him until now, but this wasn’t indifference but rather Kylus’s own way of being considerate.
So that the servants who couldn’t retire until he returned could go rest as soon as possible.
As if understanding Kylus’s intention, the butler quickly dismissed the other servants.
And unlike the other servants, the butler followed Kylus to his bedroom.
“I don’t need assistance, go and rest.”
Before entering the bedroom, Kylus turned to the butler and said.
“How could I rest before Your Grace retires? I will just arrange your clothes and bed, then withdraw immediately.”
But the butler adamantly refused and bowed his head.
Knowing his stubborn loyalty, Kylus didn’t insist further and entered the bedroom.
The butler, following him into the bedroom, added:
“And I have something to relay to Your Grace.”
Kylus asked as he took off his jacket and handed it to the butler:
“What is it?”
“First, the Duchess waited for you today, saying she had something to discuss with you.”
“Is she still waiting?”
Kylus abruptly turned his head toward the butler.
If the answer was yes, he looked ready to rush to Alice’s room immediately.
His eyes were shining, with no trace of the fatigue from his late return from the palace.
“No. The Duchess retired about two hours ago.”
The butler bowed with a faint smile.
“Instead, she asked if you could return earlier from the palace tomorrow if possible, as she urgently needs to speak with you.”
“Important words…”
Kylus’s brow slightly furrowed.
He doubted that whatever important matter Alice had to discuss would please him, considering the current circumstances surrounding her.
And he knew his ominous intuition was correct when he heard what the butler said next.
“Also, Sir Ostein reported that the Duchess had a private audience with the Border Count Latrang today.”
A private meeting with Count Latrang?
Kylus stiffened his face coldly as he roughly undid his cravat.
It was obvious what the Count would have said to Alice even without seeing it.
He would have asked her to save the First Prince, despite Kylus having flatly refused.
“…Perhaps I should have killed him after all.”
Kylus’s low voice resonated.
The butler’s shoulders flinched at Kylus’s suddenly plummeting mood.
Kylus asked:
“How did my wife come to meet with Count Latrang privately? Did Count Latrang approach her first?”
For a moment, the butler swallowed nervously at Kylus’s flashing dark eyes.
If he said yes now, it seemed the Duke might go straight to kill Count Latrang.
But fortunately—if one could call it that—the butler didn’t know much from what he’d heard from Ruyd.
“…I apologize, but I don’t know that much. I only know that Lady Meltain and the Duchess went to Selena Park today, and there they met Count Latrang.”
Selena Park.
That place was the former Empress’s villa and currently land owned by the Count.
Despite there being many other parks in the capital, they happened to go to Count Latrang’s park.
While it wasn’t particularly strange to go to Selena Park, as it was the most famous park in the capital, Kylus was irritated by everything—Count Latrang and Selena Park.
He had been ensuring that Count Latrang absolutely could not meet Alice.
Two days ago, Kylus had sent a letter to Count Latrang, rejecting his proposal.
And fearing that Count Latrang might unnecessarily spread rumors or directly seek out Alice, he had added something close to a threat.
Still anxious, he had been creating a pretext to send Count Latrang back to the south.
The turmoil in the empire due to the Second Prince and black magic would have spread to other countries.
Thus, to prepare for possible attacks, the border counts needed to be sent back to their borders.
He had created such a justification and, as the empire’s Commander-in-Chief, was about to speak to the Emperor.
Just two days. If only they had waited those two days until the Third Prince’s knightly order was fully established, Count Latrang would have completely left the capital.
Yet today, Alice had met Count Latrang.
And she had gone to where Count Latrang was.
It would have been a chance encounter since Alice didn’t know anything, but Kylus’s head was already throbbing, imagining what Alice might try to do because of that chance.
At that moment, the butler, who had been quietly observing Kylus’s darkened face, spoke:
