บท 237: [Chapter 236] Adrian’s Death
Abelus thought Megara's words were completely absurd.
"My sister would harm Father? Maggie, what would she gain from doing that?"
He could do simple calculations. Just as Camille was the number one person who would want to assassinate him, if you listed the people who would want to assassinate the Emperor from the top, Camille would be much further down the list.
If the Emperor died now, Abelus would immediately ascend to the throne. And as always, the children of the title holder become collateral the moment someone other than themselves inherits the title.
Even now, Abelus was a little wary of Camille. Unless she was planning to gather nobles and stage a rebellion, she would be one of the people who would suffer the most if something happened to the Emperor right now.
Megara knew Abelus would react that way. So, she put on a sad face, making herself look as innocent as possible.
"That's why, that's why I thought it was strange, Your Highness. I'm really worried that if I tell you this, you might think I have a grudge against Her Highness…"
"I don't think you're slandering your sister. You're really kind, considering you've almost died twice."
Abelus was completely taken in by those large, moist eyes.
The two of them were at a party hosted by the Duke of Ricanthros. In the past, such parties would have been hosted by Rebecca, and the people of the social circles would have naturally accepted it, even if they mocked her for it. But now, Rebecca's family, the late Duchess's family, was glaring at her, tearing her down, so she couldn't appear in public for a while.
She had been pretending that her illegitimate child with a commoner was of noble blood. There was no one who dared to speak openly because of Abelus's favor for Megara and the inaction of other nobles, but the Duchy of Ricanthros was being ostracized. And there was only one way for the late Duchess's family to avoid sharing that disgrace.
To make the Duchess a one-sided victim.
In the rumors, the Duchess was a person who was forced to accept another man's child by her shameless husband and his wicked mistress, and lived with that wound for her whole life, dying young. It was a description far from the truth, but the Duke of Ricanthros didn't want to fight with his in-laws now. Even with a daughter who was favored by the Crown Prince, a family had to follow certain rules to remain in noble society.
In the end, the Duke had to spend a considerable amount of money, in addition to the enormous amount he had spent repaying Abelus's gambling debts, to keep the Noble Council quiet.
Rebecca's "confinement" made the Duchy's parties less fun. How could a party hosted by a family without a hostess, a daughter, and a young son who was at the academy be anything but dull? The fact that Abelus attended the Duke's party was to show other nobles that he favored Megara.
Megara tightly held Abelus's arm, surrounded by the admiring gazes of nobles who had come to try and get a word in with the Crown Prince. She whispered, feeling superior.
"Your Highness, I'm telling you this because I heard something. Lately, His Majesty's health hasn't been so good. It's unusual for a strong royal family member."
"Well, yes, but…"
Abelus recalled his meeting with the Emperor. It had been a few months ago.
The Emperor definitely coughed then. He didn't look well either. Abelus hadn't paid much attention at the time, but looking back, the gem-born royal family members didn't cough just because they were getting old. They also got sick, but unless it was a fatal illness, they recovered quickly.
But hadn't the Emperor been looking unwell lately?
"The Emperor is busy with state affairs, so of course, Father must always take care of his health… Ah, never mind, Maggie. My death and Father's death are completely different issues for my sister."
'This isn't easy.'
Megara gritted her teeth for a moment, a little annoyed, though she knew it wouldn't be. She soon spoke as sweetly as ever.
"Your Highness… Of course, it would be a relief if it wasn't true. I just mentioned it because it's such a scary thing."
"I know, I know. Our Maggie seems to worry about the Imperial Family more than I do."
Megara decided to back off for now, since she had already gotten her foot in the door. If she pushed too hard and aroused suspicion, it would backfire.
'I need to create a situation.'
A situation where anyone would think that Princess Camille's limbs need to be cut off. A situation where she is even more isolated, so that she doesn't have the time to care about Megara's affairs…
Megara realized that Abelus's gaze had already drifted away from her. She looked in the direction of his gaze, wondering, and flinched when she saw the person at the end of it.
A pretty woman smiled brightly, meeting Abelus's gaze. Megara knew who she was. A lower-ranking noble widow who seduced many noble men for a living, making them obsessed with her. She was probably at this party as the partner of the man she was currently seeing.
She was the kind of person Megara had despised more than anything else. She was worse than honest, hardworking commoners, she was the kind of person who broke up sacred families and made the word "love" worth less than a penny.
But the casual glance Abelus gave the woman made Megara vaguely recall a thought.
The thought that she and that woman were not so different now, or perhaps even the same.
'No.'
Megara quickly denied it to herself. That woman deserved to be despised, but she didn't. Yes, she was truly…
'I truly love the Crown Prince.'
Kindness, straightforward affection, simple to the point of being cute… Yes, at first, Megara had consciously targeted Abelus's position. But now, after spending every day together, whispering words of affection, she felt a clear attachment to him.
Yes, this was love. True love, realized belatedly. Her destined partner. That woman was forced to meet men for a living, but Megara wasn't. So, wasn't it obvious who was superior, who deserved to be despised and who didn't?
All sorts of thoughts swirled in her head. Megara stopped thinking and smiled brightly, speaking to Abelus.
"Your Highness, shall we go out for a while? I want to stroll through the summer night garden with you."
"Ah, yes? Shall we?"
Abelus had smiled at the pretty widow, but it was a meaningless gesture, so he quickly focused on Megara.
'My husband' and Megara went out to the garden, and she gestured to an attendant nearby. Soon, that woman would be gone. From the Ricanthros mansion, and from the Imperial City itself.
Megara knew that no matter how great her destined love was, her position could be replaced by another woman. So, whenever Abelus was distracted, she thoroughly cleaned up the women who became his targets. Those women would be taken away to a remote place where they had no connections, so they would be in a difficult situation, but…
"Why are you eyeing another man's woman? And you're even laughing freely in my house? You think you're better than me."
Megara trusted the skills of the Duchy's attendants. She was sure they would take care of it.
Feeling happy, she laughed brightly, looking at the garden. That's why she didn't notice Abelus glancing at the attendant, his gaze briefly leaving her.
The two of them strolled through the garden, thick with the scent of flowers, and talked.
"Will your younger brother come to the Imperial City soon?"
"Yes, Your Highness. He's on vacation, so he has to come."
"Tell him to come to the palace often. Didn't he really like his sister when he was little?"
"It would be an honor for him if Your Highness said so."
Megara's expression turned sour for a moment at Abelus's kind words. It was something only the family knew, but Megara's younger brother, the Viscount, had sent a harsh letter to their father shortly after her identity was revealed.
He wrote things like, "Do you know how I'm being treated at school because of you, Father?" and "How could you continue to humiliate me for so long after Mother passed away?" and "Get rid of those women quickly."
The Viscount had always been close to his sister since he was young, instead of his mother, who had died shortly after he was born. His sister, a perfect lady from a fairy tale, was heaven and law to the Viscount. Megara was shocked when she accidentally learned about the contents of the letter her brother had sent to their father.
The Viscount probably only heard the rumors in the Imperial City and thought that the Duke and Rebecca had threatened the Duchess to make Megara into the Duke's daughter. And since he was being teased constantly, he probably used harsh words because he was upset as a child… No matter how the Viscount felt, it was a painful wound for Megara.
But she had no intention of telling Abelus about this. She thought she had looked pitiful enough. Now was the time to make him think that she had a stronger backing than any other woman he could meet.
Megara skillfully changed the subject, and Abelus followed along without a second thought. As they entered a secluded area that only people from the Duchy could access, passing through a wall of bushes,
Rustle, rustle.
Suddenly, the wall of bushes moved. Abelus flinched, and Megara hid behind him.
Fortunately, it wasn't another assassin who appeared through the gap in the bushes. But it wasn't someone they expected to see here either.
Adrian, his usual luxurious attire gone, appeared before them, rolling in, wearing shabby clothes and with messy hair.
As far as Megara knew, Adrian wasn't on the guest list today. After Megara decided to push Camille aside, Adrian, Camille's subordinate, was naturally pushed out of all social events within the reach of the Duchy of Ricanthros's influence. Moreover, what was with that appearance?
Abelus and Megara gaped in disbelief. But Adrian looked at them with a terrifyingly relieved expression.
"Crown Prince! My goodness, I found the right place."
"What are you doing here? Duke Adrian."
When had the Imperial Family's madman, who caused all sorts of trouble in the name of a collateral royal family member, ever looked like this? Adrian immediately knelt down, his eyes welling up with tears, and begged with his hands clasped together.
"Please save me, Your Highness. Her Highness the Princess is trying to kill me."
"What?"
Abelus and Megara looked at each other, speechless. Wasn't Adrian Camille's pawn? Why would she suddenly try to kill him?
Adrian began to sob loudly.
"I know it sounds strange. I don't know why either. Hic! I've felt something strange for the past few days. Hic! There was a thorn in my horse's shoe, and the place where I drank and slept caught fire, hic!"
"Just a coincidence?"
Adrian's pronunciation was unclear, and he seemed very emotionally unstable. Abelus felt little credibility in his words.
Yes, there were probably many people who would want to take Adrian's life. He had made so many enemies. But why Camille…?
Abelus frowned, and another person emerged from the bushes where Adrian had come out. Seeing that he was Adrian's attendant, Megara quickly gestured to him to get rid of his master.
The attendant nodded.
"I apologize for showing you this sight. The Duke seems to be quite drunk."
"Yes, take him away. This is a place where no one can enter unless they are of the Duchy's blood, so keep that in mind."
Abelus gestured with a disgusted face. Adrian screamed when the attendant grabbed him.
"No! No, Your Highness! He's not my attendant, hic! It's Eunwol! Your Highness! Please save me!"
If Eunwol wanted to kill someone like Adrian, he would have done it long ago. Abelus thought so and gestured. Adrian screamed, but he was quickly dragged away by the attendant and soon fell silent.
****
"So, he saw me? Now it's done. The rest will be taken care of by that mistress."
Camille said with satisfaction.
She stood in the middle of a small room filled with blood-red magic circles. The windowless room reeked of a foul odor.
And in one of those magic circles, Adrian lay bound, his face contorted in terror.
There was no need to wait any longer. Camille stabbed Adrian with a prepared dagger.
The magic circle glowed as the blood that flowed to the floor seeped into it.
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