Chapter 23
Retrieving the items listed for the auction would cost a fortune, but there was something the Empress didn’t know.
Valter was the owner of the Lacna Auction House.
Of course, even as the owner, he couldn’t just pull items off the auction block on a whim. But he could very well intimidate the sellers into withdrawing their listings. That much was within his reach.
Naturally, he wouldn’t handle it personally. He had people for that—and he held secrets on many nobles. He also had plenty of subordinates who could act on his behalf.
It would cost him a significant amount of money… but not more than he could afford.
“The Empress… what are you trying to do?”
Roxana, who practically ruled the social circles, surprisingly hadn’t interfered directly in his and Charlize’s relationship. Surely, she must have known what was going on between them.
The interesting thing was—while this seemed like nothing more than mischief, she’d still handed him a proper opportunity. Because of this, the Crown Prince would have no choice but to lift Valter’s house arrest.
Meeting Charlize again, however… that was another matter entirely.
Right now, society was abuzz with gossip about the Princess and the Tower Master. The general consensus was that Charlize had managed to thaw the notoriously stone-cold Tower Master. No one had thought he was even capable of something like that.
There were even rumors that he’d carried her on his back when her feet hurt after the ball.
But Valter didn’t believe that one for a second.
“That stiff, expressionless man? No way.”
He also didn’t believe the rumors that Charlize had feelings for the Tower Master. People didn’t fall in love so easily—especially not in political marriages. Things weren’t going to go as smoothly as the Emperor hoped.
“Unless she’s pretending to be in love… just to hurt me.”
But was Charlize the type to pull off such a bold move? He doubted it. Still, people changed. And right now, she was facing the biggest crisis of her life. In such moments, people were bound to change.
And if she had… then what was he supposed to do?
Valter had no intention of letting her marry another man—even if that man had been chosen by the Emperor himself.
“I’ll start small.”
Just as he’d tried to plant seeds of doubt in Charlize’s heart about the Tower Master, now he would do the same to the Emperor.
“Master. The items should be handled within three or four days. Where should we send them once secured?”
Though the Crown Prince had sentenced Valter to house arrest, he hadn’t truly stayed confined. He always wore a disguise when handling his “other” affairs—so it didn’t really matter.
“Send them to the Duchess of Bianchi. Just tell her they’re the items the young master requested—she’ll understand.”
His subordinates bowed in acknowledgment. It was almost time to shed the chains of this tedious confinement.
The Imperial Palace had always been full of events, but lately, it felt like only the grandest of them remained. The ball announcing Charlize’s engagement had been a lavish affair, and now, the banquet honoring the Tower Master was just as extravagant.
The Tower Master was someone the Emperor had been courting for a long time, trying to officially bring him into the Empire’s service. Now that he would soon be the Emperor’s son-in-law, the favor being shown to him was plain to see.
Oscar, the Crown Prince, furrowed his brow as he read through event reports. It wasn’t that anything was going wrong. It was his mother.
“How could she release Valter on her own?”
“Charlize already likes the Tower Master. There’s no point keeping the young viscount locked away.”
“That bastard will try to shake her heart again!”
He had shouted, but the Empress had only furrowed her brow slightly, unbothered.
“They’ll still be visiting the palace even after they’re married. What, are you planning to throw Valter into a cell every time? If something’s going to happen, better it happens now.”
Her irresponsibility made Oscar seethe—but it was too late. The Emperor had already given his approval. As Crown Prince, there was nothing he could do.
“Charlize wouldn’t be reckless… but still. I’m uneasy.”
Everything about today’s ceremony was perfectly planned. No gaps, no oversights. And yet something still gnawed at him. He couldn’t put his finger on it.
He ordered the staff to double-check for any issues—security flaws, missing pieces—but the reports came back clean. Nothing seemed amiss.
Still, the knighting ceremony for the Tower Master—and the banquet afterward—had to go smoothly. Especially with all the disturbing rumors floating around the capital lately.
“Just as His Majesty says, can I really trust that man with Charlize…?”
Oscar wasn’t sure. Even if the rumors swirling around the lower districts of the capital were mostly hearsay, he didn’t want to overlook a single thing—no matter how small—when it came to his sister’s marriage. He had already begun his own quiet investigation.
There were quite a few rumors that cast the Tower Master in a bad light, but most of them were baseless.
He’d expected as much. The nobility clearly disliked the current situation, and gossip was one of their favorite weapons. Still, no one could deny the Tower Master’s long-standing contributions to the Empire.
That was why even the nobles hadn’t dared to oppose his receiving a title.
“They probably thought he would continue to reject it, like he always had…”
But today, he would finally accept the rank of Marquess. And after next month’s wedding, he was set to become the Empire’s only Grand Duke.
Oscar made his way to recheck the preparations for the title conferment ceremony.
Ralph held an invitation in his hands.
A formal invitation from the Imperial Palace.
Not everyone could attend this conferment ceremony. It was a prestigious event reserved for the highest-ranking nobles and those who had rendered notable service to the Empire. And yet, Ralph—a low-ranking noble—had received one.
That was because someone had given it to him.
One of “them” had stolen the invitation from a minor noble who couldn’t attend due to personal circumstances—and handed it to Ralph.
“We were enraged by what happened to your son. A man like that marrying Her Highness the Princess? It’s unthinkable.”
These people had shown Ralph what they claimed was real evidence related to Liam’s death. It was a witness statement—someone who claimed to have seen it with their own eyes.
The witness, dressed in rags and looking more like a vagrant than anything else, nervously spoke.
He said that light flared from the mage’s fingertips, and then Liam started screaming.
“As you can see, there’s a witness. But testimony from a beggar like this… well, you know how the courts work.”
Of course he did. Ralph had worked in a low-level administrative office, close to the courts. If it were a dispute between commoners, that would be one thing. But a commoner’s word held no weight against a noble—let alone a man like the Tower Master.
Before today, the Tower Master technically wasn’t a noble. But even then, he had always been treated like royalty.
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
Ralph cried out, devastated.
The man stepped forward with a carefully calculated suggestion.
“Expose him before the Emperor.”
Ralph flinched at the mere mention of the word Emperor. For a man of his rank, the Emperor was someone you couldn’t even look at directly, let alone address. To Ralph, the Emperor was as untouchable as a shadow.
“Even if His Majesty favors the Tower Master, a scandal this big can’t be swept under the rug. Her Majesty the Empress is also known to oppose the marriage.”
“It would be a perfect excuse,” the man whispered.
Ralph stared blankly at him.
“That’s it?”
“What do you mean, that’s it?”
“My son is dead. Dead. And all you’re telling me to do is accuse the man? You want me to stand up and yell at a monster like him in front of the entire Empire? That’s your plan?! I should—”
Kill him.
The words stopped in Ralph’s throat, lost in despair.
The man tsked quietly.
“You don’t understand. This is the Tower Master we’re talking about. A man who slays dragons as if they were mere wolves. What could you possibly do to a man like that?”
The candle on the table flickered wildly. The flame hissed, wax spilling over the edge as if pushed by a restless wind. The next morning, Ralph sat staring at the now-spent candle. The plate used as a holder was cracked, and the wick had burned out, leaving only hardened wax behind.
“It looks like me,” he thought.
He tucked the invitation inside his coat and stood.
His son was dead. Nothing would bring him back. And the man responsible was someone far too powerful for Ralph to challenge.
But…
“You may be gone, Liam, but my grudge remains. Even if it doesn’t kill him… it will expose what he really is.”
Whispering his son’s name, Ralph left his house.
Darkness seemed to linger in his eyes.
The Empress summoned Valter just as he finished dressing for the Tower Master’s title ceremony. He gladly made his way to the palace.
He had no reason to refuse her summons—especially since he still hadn’t been able to see the Princess since his release from house arrest.
“Your Majesty.”
He bowed deeply. The Empress looked down on him with cold, assessing eyes. Sharp-witted and bright though he was, Valter Bianchi was twisted in a way that intrigued her. His upbringing was fairly standard for a noble family, yet he had turned out this way.
“I don’t know yet if His Majesty or I have judged you more accurately.”
The Empress’s real intent was simple: she wanted to use Valter to destroy the Princess’s engagement with the Tower Master. Whether she’d marry him off to Charlize afterward… that was something to consider later.
“I heard about what happened at the welcome banquet—from your mother. I wanted to attend as well and celebrate Your Majesty’s return, but… I was indisposed.”
His voice was measured, polite—calculated.
The Empress smirked. She could hear it: he was probing to see if they were on the same side.
And she didn’t mind. Not one bit.
