Bab 233: [Chapter 232] A Sudden Change in Attitude
"Oh, Your Highness. I won today? I'm lucky today."
Abelus burst out laughing at the gambler's banter. His friends sitting next to him laughed along.
The gambling table at the Finito Club was still bustling. Abelus, who initially came alone or with his confidant Ralph or Megara, who introduced him to this place, began to bring along newly made lower-ranking nobles or the well-behaved children of high-ranking nobles.
"Does that guy come around these days? You know, the one who won a lot of money in the last 'horse race' game."
At Abelus's question, the gamblers at the Finito Club looked at each other. After a moment, the one who lost the eye contact battle took on the role of making up a suitable explanation.
"Yes, he hasn't been seen lately. He's not a regular at the club, he's just a passerby, so we don't know anything about him."
"Really? Then he's made a fortune. He only comes in occasionally, and every time he does, he makes a small amount of money. Aren't you guys too strong against me?"
The gamblers who knew the truth laughed and pretended to be exaggerating in jest.
There were indeed a few lucky passersby like the man Abelus pointed out. Those who won a considerable amount of money in front of professional gamblers and left. Abelus didn't know much, so he just thought they were lower-ranking nobles with good skills and luck, but the club's gamblers knew that this was not a normal situation.
So, they reported the situation to Nellusion, the owner of the club, out of courtesy. But Nellusion told them to leave them alone. The Crown Prince's mistress had demanded her share, or something like that.
The money the fake passersby took was a lot for a cut, but they had no choice but to follow the instructions to leave them alone. Ironically, the club's gamblers had to play the role of covering up for the fake passersby in case they looked suspicious in front of the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince ever doubted the fairness of the game, the club would be ostracized.
After a few more rounds of cards, Abelus put down his cards.
"I have to go back today. I have a lot of state affairs."
After confining his sister, Camille, Abelus was given several times more state affairs than before. She had been idly interfering here and there, so he thought she wouldn't be doing much, but when she was gone, there were cries for help everywhere.
'It's all treason. How much did she ignore me, the Crown Prince, and wield state affairs?'
Cute Megara's words were right. Abelus doubted everything Camille had done so far. He couldn't trust anyone, including the people she had planted. That's why he had deliberately recruited lower-ranking nobles who frequented the club. It was an example to show anyone who foolishly relied on the Crown Prince's favor other than that would be nothing.
Yet, the fools said he was not handling things properly. They said things were not going as well as before.
'I'll show them my skills and shut their mouths. Like that monster did.'
Abelus thought about Maindelant often these days. He was annoyed by the nobles' noisy chatter, and it was frustrating that their unity was too deep-rooted to silence them easily. He even felt the urge to just behead them all.
But he couldn't really behead them all. He wasn't a monster, and what he wanted wasn't their death, but for them to obediently praise the Imperial Family...
Lost in contemplation, filled with a sense of duty to the state, Abelus put on his outer garment as his knight, Ralph, brought it to him, and took a promissory note from his pocket.
"How much did I lose and win today?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I've written it all down."
The club employee, whose specialty was cleverly altering records, showed him the records of Abelus's games for the day, fawning over him. Abelus wrote down the amount he owed without a word.
"Divide it among yourselves."
"Yes, sir. ...Ah."
The club employee, who had received the promissory note and checked it, looked bewildered.
"Why?"
"Your Highness, we can't accept this promissory note."
"Why? You accepted it a few days ago."
"Yes, we could accept it until then. But there are rumors that this Mori Trading Company, well, their credit isn't very good. Our boss told us to never accept it..."
"Really?"
Abelus was in a predicament. As the Crown Prince, he rarely had to pay for things himself, so he naturally didn't carry money. He only kept a few blank promissory notes that Megara had given him for use when paying for bets at the club. He would simply write down the amount he lost in the games that day on one of them, leave it there, and Megara would take care of the rest...
His friends, immediately sensing his displeasure, quickly stepped forward.
"Ah, then I'll pay, Your Highness."
"It's nothing, really."
"Will you let me? I'll pay you back tomorrow."
His friends' quick flattery did improve his mood, but Abelus was embarrassed. The Crown Prince losing in a game where even his friends were involved, and then having to borrow money to pay. He was already worried about what the lower-ranking people, who were always looking for an excuse to pick on him, would do if they published this in the newspaper.
'That novel, "Betrayal" or whatever it's called, has made even the nobles read the lower-ranking people's newspapers.'
Ridiculously, a novel featuring the blue gem. Abelus intended to be a benevolent ruler, so he could turn a blind eye to the foolish commoners making up stories about the gem. The Grand Duchess's purple gem seemed to have inspired the commoner writers, so the commotion would die down on its own with time.
But articles mocking him were a different matter. He would never tolerate that.
He would have to hold someone accountable for this situation. And Abelus knew who he could easily hold accountable.
****
Megara, who was in her luxurious room, as usual, beautifully adorned, rose to her feet with a bright face when Abelus entered.
"Your Highness! You said you'd be late today because you had a lot of work."
And she was about to add a few more words of endearment, but she was taken aback by Abelus's flushed face. After taking Megara as his mistress, and after she "saved him from assassination" and "almost got poisoned" as a result, Abelus was literally head over heels for her. He cherished her, adored her, and was so smitten with her that he didn't know what to do...
So, she was very comfortable in the palace these days. No one, except the Emperor and Empress, dared to disrespect her. Just as she had wanted, she even drank poison herself.
Megara sensed that something big had happened and was trying to figure it out, but Abelus exploded with anger like a thunderbolt.
"Do you know how much I was humiliated today? Maggie, how could you not check properly?"
"Yes? What do you mean, Your Highness?"
"The promissory note, the promissory note! I lost the game at the club and was going to pay, but they said they wouldn't accept the promissory note from that Mori Trading Company you recommended."
If the situation had been different, Megara would have immediately focused on calming Abelus's anger, saying that such a thing had happened and that she was sorry. She knew that his anger would pass as quickly as a summer shower.
But she was taken aback by the fact that Abelus, who had been listening to everything she said lately, had suddenly changed his attitude, so she was momentarily slow to react. Besides, the club, she had been thinking about that very thing.
Megara had clearly demanded something from Nellusion a while ago. She had asked for a portion of the money Abelus was losing to be given to her. As a co-conspirator, shouldn't she be getting that much? Nellusion had said, with a half-smile, "Go ahead," and then said nothing more. As if he had already given her the money, brazenly.
And yet, he suddenly refused the promissory note? Was he protesting like this because she had asked to share some money? Megara was furious with Nellusion. Seeing her face flush for a moment, Abelus exploded with anger again.
"Tomorrow's newspaper will be interesting. What will people say? Those ignorant fools who still want my sister to return will say that I'm foolish and incompetent and that's why I'm doing this! They'll say I'm so smitten with you that I've abandoned my people! Maggie, answer me. You should have handled things properly!"
It was only then that Megara came to her senses. She quickly put on a forlorn expression and approached Abelus.
"Oh my, Your Highness. Did something like that happen? I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I'll look into it right away and take care of it."
"Yes, do it right! Hmm."
The summer shower had passed. Hearing the assurance that everything would be taken care of, the embarrassment of having snapped at the person who had saved her life came back to him, and Abelus spoke very kindly.
"I'll come here after I finish work later, prepare dinner. Oh, right. You said you wanted pearl earrings before, right? Should I buy them for you?"
"Really? I'm so happy. You're the best, Your Highness."
Abelus embraced Megara, who was flattering him with childish and insincere words. Even as she embraced him, Megara felt a chill in her heart.
She had thought all this time that Abelus loved her and truly valued her. Although they had only been lovers for a short time, she thought she had captured his heart. She thought she had succeeded in becoming a truly useful woman to him, using all sorts of means.
But was that really the case? Maybe he...
Maybe he didn't feel anything more than picking up something he found on the street. Maybe that's why he could change his attitude so quickly, just because he was in a bad mood.
Maybe this love was just a rebellious pleasure for him, and a bonus excuse to fully exploit the remaining power of the Duke of Ricanthros...
No, it was no use thinking about it. If Abelus's feelings were less than she wanted, she would just get more. There was no turning back, so she just had to steel her heart.
Megara grabbed Abelus's sleeve, telling herself that.
****
Camille, who had been isolated from the outside world in her bedroom, learned about the recent trend of strange novels in the Imperial City. She threw the newspaper on the floor, furious.
"What are they all doing while this kind of insult to the Imperial Family is circulating openly!"
The Emperor's maid, who had been half-reassured by the Princess's quiet demeanor, was startled. But Camille was not in a position to care about what would be relayed to her father.
She thought that misunderstandings would clear up in due time. She was diligently investigating the aftermath of the assassination attempt, a ridiculous play, through the Silver Moon. She didn't even think it would be difficult to find evidence, as it was obviously the work of the loathsome Megara.
But for some reason, the tails of those who had attacked Abelus's carriage that day were not being stepped on. Had the Silver Moon's elite been killed off by the Grand Duke, leaving only fools behind? Or was the collaborator more cunning than they thought?
With the Silver Moon's skills and Camille's analytical ability, they should have known the truth long ago, but the Silver Moon had been decimated, and the nobles who could supplement them had been cut off. And Camille herself was imprisoned, so she was blindfolded and tied up, unable to move.
"Your Highness, if you don't like the newspaper, I'll take it back."
The maid, who had been kind enough to bring her the latest fashion items, said so with a displeased expression. She picked up the newspaper and went to the window.
Camille sat on the bed and gasped for breath. All the emotions she had been forced to get used to lately surged through her. Anger, fear, disappointment, gloom... Yes, the Grand Duke and Duchess knew everything.
'How?'
Were there records of the past in Maindelant? Or had someone told them the truth? If so, who? It couldn't be that the sealed Palos' eyes in the secret room could speak...
'I need to stay calm.'
The novel couldn't do anything. The Grand Duke and Duchess wouldn't be trying to bring down the Imperial Family with a cheap novel. The problem was that they didn't know what their real intentions were, and they couldn't find out while they were imprisoned.
'So.'
Camille's face, which had been contorted with bewilderment, became solemn with a cold resolve.
A decision that should have been made a long time ago.
Perhaps the destination that all her actions had been pointing towards.
'Everything is for the Imperial Family.'
A short while later, a servant belonging to the Silver Moon left the Princess's palace with a pale face. He glanced briefly at the Emperor's palace in the distance before hurrying on his way.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone