Chapter 22
“Mother.”
It was obvious he had come from training—Valter entered the room in light clothes. The Duchess of Bianchi quickly gestured for all the servants to leave.
The butler was the last to go, closing the door behind him. Then the Duchess pulled out the piece of paper she had received and handed it to Valter. He recognized it immediately.
“The Lacna Auction list.”
“So, you know it too! The Empress said that if we get these items, she’ll lift your house arrest. But… is that even possible?”
“I think it is.”
The Duchess, who had slumped into the sofa with a sigh, looked up in surprise. Valter’s face was as calm and unreadable as ever.
‘More than half of these items belong to families I’m familiar with.’
He could already sense what the Empress was playing at. She often pretended to support him, but when she disapproved of how he treated the princess, she made it clear with little games like this.
‘She’s just trying to toy with me and my mother.’
“Really? It won’t cost too much?”
“If I contact the owners before the auction and negotiate directly, it won’t be that expensive. I’ll send someone to acquire the items. Mother, you should…”
“Yes, I’ll report it to Her Majesty immediately so your house arrest can be lifted!”
The Duchess seemed both startled and proud. Though the cost stung, the Empress wasn’t the kind to make empty threats. These items would likely end up as part of Charlize’s dowry, meaning they’d come back into the family anyway.
That’s what she told herself, at least.
After finalizing her wedding dress order, Charlize sat with a cup of tea, feeling more restless than ever. She knew dresses took time to make, which was why it had to be done early, but…
“The wedding date is just too close.”
It was too late to reverse the Emperor’s public announcement. Next week, there would be a ceremony where the Tower Master would formally receive the titles he’d delayed until now. The actual wedding was scheduled for the following month.
Having received a mansion in the capital from the Emperor, Charlize was starting to realize—she was really getting married. Their honeymoon was set to be in the seaside city where she owned a castle.
“Is this really, okay? Achilles is good to me, of course…”
But she didn’t believe that kindness automatically meant he was a good person. She wasn’t naïve enough to equate charm with trustworthiness.
“Even His Majesty isn’t someone who’s simply good.”
If he were, he wouldn’t have arranged her marriage to the Tower Master without even asking how she felt. Especially knowing Achilles wasn’t exactly a conventional personality.
Sure, his face was godly, his abilities unmatched, and his wealth immense—but people’s hearts weren’t that simple.
“Ugh… I’m getting annoyed again.”
The Emperor did love his children, that much was true. But that love had its priorities. Roxana, the Empress, came first. Then the Empire. Then came the Crown Prince and Charlize.
Charlize had accepted that reality. It wasn’t like she was suffering. She had food, clothes, safety. She hadn’t been abused.
Sometimes things were murky and awkward, but compared to many noble families, she was doing fine.
“My parents in my past life didn’t love me like that, either.”
They had cared more about their own security and their youngest son. While they claimed to love all their children equally, they made distinctions. And if you pointed it out, they’d say it was your own insecurity or that you were being oversensitive.
Charlize let go of the memory. She didn’t remember much about her past life anyway. What she recalled most clearly was the plot of the novel this world was based on.
Everything else was blurry. Sometimes bits of pain or sadness came to her in fragments, but nothing more. All she truly remembered was that she had been the eldest daughter—delaying marriage well into her thirties while caring for her younger siblings.
She couldn’t even recall the faces of her past-life family.
“Am I happy now…?” she wondered. “Sure, when I’m with Achilles, I feel good.”
She also enjoyed the time she spent with her brother, Oscar. He was a kind older brother. And then…
“Forget Valter. I’m getting married soon. Thinking about him now is neither wise nor right.”
Why hasn’t Valter shown up? Charlize wondered briefly. But then again, the Emperor was still around. Oscar, the Crown Prince, surely wouldn’t have welcomed Valter’s presence, either. Perhaps he had even warned him to stay out of sight until the wedding was over.
Knowing Valter’s personality, he might’ve rebelled by showing up even more often—but in truth, all his past defiance had only worked because Charlize had been on his side.
Now, Charlize was about to become the wife of the Tower Master. The Emperor had no reason to overlook Valter’s whims any longer.
“If that’s how it was going to be, you shouldn’t have made it seem like I’d be allowed to choose… Was the Tower Master really that valuable to you?”
Although the Emperor and the Empress oversaw most of the wedding arrangements, Charlize was responsible for choosing her dress and jewelry.
She sighed as she stared at the endless catalogs and samples arriving by the day.
“Is something wrong, Your Highness? Did nothing catch your eye?”
“It’s nothing. I just… feel like I’m getting married too early. Isn’t twenty-one too young?”
“It’s uncommon, but not unheard of. Princess Hislin from the neighboring kingdom married at nineteen, after all.”
“Ladies in the Empire’s social circles think even twenty-three is too soon to marry.”
“…”
The maids went silent at Charlize’s pout. They knew better than to argue—this marriage wasn’t really for her benefit. Everyone understood it was more of a transaction between the Tower Master and the Emperor.
Charlize simply had the luck of falling for the man her father had chosen. It had nothing to do with her will.
“Still… that’s luck, isn’t it?”
The maids looked at her with gentle eyes. They knew that even if she grumbled, things were going well between her and the Tower Master. Charlize, after all, was like a softer version of the Empress—just being seen together with him, they made a beautiful picture.
“Your Highness, the Tower Master has sent you more flowers.”
“Again?”
“At this rate, he might empty all the florists in the capital.”
Though they joked, he had been careful to rotate shops and arrangements. As more flowers were carried into the room, Charlize’s expression softened.
“…Will I really be able to live happily with him?”
“You will, Your Highness.”
“You’re the Princess—of course you’ll be happy! And the Tower Master truly cherishes you!”
Charlize smiled faintly at their encouragement. Her eyes drifted to the room, now filled with the Tower Master’s flowers.
Maybe… just maybe, it could work.
“Yes. And if I’m not happy, I’ll just run away back to the capital!”
“Her Majesty and the Crown Prince might welcome you back—but His Majesty probably won’t.”
Ha… Charlize let out a light laugh. As long as the Empress could outmaneuver the Emperor, that would be enough. Probably.
Ralph couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“The Count wants to cover this up quietly! He says it can’t be helped—after all, the man who did it is about to become the Emperor’s son-in-law! But I… I thought you deserved to know the truth.”
“There’s only one person becoming the Emperor’s son-in-law… That bastard? That man is going to marry the princess? That murderer?”
He thought of his son—his precious Liam—now cold and lifeless. He reached for his own face with shaking hands, but no more tears came. Only a numb, bitter ache.
“My Liam would never have died like that—not for something so stupid.”
They said the Tower Master cursed Liam after a trivial disagreement. Their shoulders had brushed. Harsh words were exchanged, but Ralph’s friend swore there had been no insult. Just a moment of friction.
“Then suddenly… he cast a spell. Just like that!”
Ralph clutched the man’s sleeve, desperate. The Tower Master might have been untouchable, but someone had to be held accountable. Someone needed to answer for his son’s death.
“I… I need you to testify. Will you say that in front of the guards?”
“Sir, just telling you this has already put my life in danger. I can’t go any further than this.”
The man waved him off, flustered, and tried to leave. Ralph clung to him, pleading, but the man panicked and ran away.
Left behind in a narrow alley, Ralph was alone again.
His son—his Liam—had died so unfairly.
Ralph beat his chest, trying to vent his anguish, but the pain only worsened. Rumors were spreading that the Tower Master would finally accept a noble title next week—one he had delayed for years despite his achievements.
He killed my son, Ralph thought bitterly, and now the Emperor rewards him with a title.
Madness clawed at the edges of his mind. He gripped the earth beneath him as if to hold onto sanity. He wanted to scream, but all that came out was a broken, grieving sob.
Unbeknownst to him, someone watched.
A figure, cloaked in shadow, stood just beyond sight—watching Ralph’s collapse. But he didn’t walk away. He stayed in the dark, unmoving.
“There’s no way he approached that man for such a trivial reason.”
The stranger narrowed his eyes.
He would watch Ralph a little longer.
