Chapter 74: CH 74

‘Or Count Sage…’

An aristocrat, he is Gabriel’s enemy.

Even now, he insists that he dethrone Gabriel, who grew up on the streets, and that another royal blood should be appointed as the crown prince.

But his arguments are all about power.

If Gabriel directly delivers to him the benefits of having a royal other than himself, will he still remain as aristocrat?

‘Daphne can never be taken away from me.’

A dangerous thought ran through Gabriel’s head.

****

3 days have passed.

Shannet looked into my complexion.

“Madam, should I prepare a bath? How about relaxing in hot water and taking a break?”

“It’s okay, Shannet.”

With a faint smile, I declined Shannet’s offer. I was not in the mood to enjoy a pleasant bath leisurely and luxurious.

“Madam…”

Shanet’s voice trembled.

“But, madam. You can’t even eat properly these days. You can’t sleep well at night… If madam is going to faint, I…”

“It’s not like I’m going to faint.”

“That’s what I see!”

Shannet exclaimed, sobbing.

I turned to Shannet with a slightly surprised face.

“You must stay healthy so that you can leave here.”

“Shannet.”

“Don’t give up after failing a few times. I’m sure you’ll succeed next time. Let me help you.”

I bit my lower lip.

Just yesterday, I know how Shannet was punished, when she tried to spike the maid’s meals with diarrhea pills in the hopes of buying me time to escape.

Shannet’s calves are probably still stained red.

“I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

“Madam…”

“So it’s okay.”

It wasn’t that I hadn’t tried to escape until now.

Me and Shannet tried many different ways to get out of this mansion every single day.

On the night when everyone was asleep, I tried to leave the room with Shannet to escape from the mansion, and in other cases, I tried to sneak out pretending to be a servant by changing clothes with Shannet.

But we were all captured by the knights and forced to return to this room.

And in the end, Shannet was punished. This was a very effective way to voluntarily lock me in.

Because I had no intention of leaving without her.

This place was literally a huge cage to keep me in.

When I was led by Cesare and imprisoned in the tower, although I was angry with Cesare for imprisoning me, I didn’t feel so miserable.

This is because there was an optimistic hope that, according to the original storyline, I would be released after they were sufficiently satisfied with each other.

But in this imprisonment, I was terribly entangled with both of them.

I had to find another way to get out of here.

‘What does Gabriel want?’

Gabriel said he wanted me, but I didn’t think he liked me rationally.

Rather, it felt like a chick that woke up from an egg and recognized the first person it met as its mother, a feeling that followed blindly.

There may be that kind of love between a man and a woman, but in any case, you shouldn’t do this to someone that already had a husband.

‘Cesare… I have to rescue him.’

I was worried about Cesare, who would be framed and imprisoned because of me. The other servants in the mansion who were also captured…

I thought it was all dry now, but tears were flowing again.

“Madam, don’t cry…”

If Gabriel gets everything he wants, will Gabriel be able to release Cesare at that time?

If Gabriel wanted to do what he wanted, I had to part up with Cesare and stay with Gabriel.

But even if I had to give up everything, that wasn’t a choice I wanted to make.

*****

The Emperor invited Gabriel to the palace.

After Gabriel became Crown Prince, the emperor called Gabriel several times a day.

It was to inform Gabriel, who was still inexperienced, about the duties and affairs of the Emperor.

Gabriel was also happy to accept the Emperor’s invitation.

However, today, the reason why the Emperor summoned Gabriel was different from usual.

“Father. What do you mean?”

Gabriel’s voice trembled.

“Are you going to release the Duke of Burstoad?”

“That’s for the best.”

The Emperor was confused.

“That’s all I need to do to set an example for the arrogant nobles before I become Emperor. Don’t escalate this any further.” The news that the elder nobles of Burstoad had returned to the estate also reached the Emperor.

Along with the news that the elder Duke’s son, who will inherit the Duke title, is missing.

To this day, Cesare Burstoad was imprisoned in the imperial dungeon.

And the nobles were constantly submitting petitions to the Emperor to reduce the sentence given to Cesare.

It is a different look from the way everyone was saving themselves at the beginning of the trial.

As an Emperor, he could not leave the owner of the estate for a long time, and in his heart, He was thinking that the scale of what Gabriel was doing was too large, so now was the opportunity.

Only now could Gabriel’s testimony be covered up.

‘Cesare has committed a big crime, but he has already paid the price for it. We can’t continue to ignore the opinions of the nobles who support the Empire, so he’s trying to show mercy by looking at the achievements of the Burstoad in the past in consideration of various circumstances. Once again, let Cesare Burstoad fulfill his duty as Duke of Burstoad.’

He had prepared such a scenario.

It would be difficult to release Cesare if it is not now, and it would be a big deal if someone digs into Gabriel’s testimony.

To find out if Gabriel’s testimony was true, I secretly contacted the people who worked for him.

How can you completely believe the testimony of an inn owner named Amy and a pathetic aristocrat who tries to turn a gambler into a Duke for dealing with a country.

He kept his mouth shut for the sake of Gabriel’s authority.

How could the Emperor, who has maintained the throne so far, manage his affairs so sloppily?

The Emperor felt miserable.

It was Gabriel who set the fire, and it was Gabriel who made Cesare a criminal. His frustration turned to utter conviction.

Gabriel set fire to the Emperor’s property.

Such a crime was difficult to forgive, even for the Crown Prince.

All of this must be covered by releasing Cesare before all the facts are revealed.

Naturally, Gabriel, ignoring the Emperor’s heart, protested.

“But Father!”

“The Crown Prince, Gabriel.”

“… Your Majesty the Emperor.”

Gabriel added reluctantly. Gabriel’s face was still full of displeasure.

The Emperor clicked his tongue. The Emperor knew why Gabriel appeared like that.

“Did you like her that much?”

Gabriel looked up in surprise.

“How do you…”

“Did you think I didn’t know? I’ve heard all about your relationship with the Duchess when you were in the Burstoad mansion before.”

Gabriel shut his mouth.

That meant everyone knew that he was a slave in Cesare’s mansion.

As an Emperor with unlimited power, he didn’t expect them to know, but he felt as if he’d just uncovered a past he’d never wanted to talk about.

“Gabriel.”

The Emperor looked at Gabriel with pity and said kindly.

“There is no unquenchable love. There is no eternal love. And the original love is something that feels more special when it’s interrupted by someone else. It’s as if we are destined to be lovers, and this love must be preserved, it was like that.”

It was quite an emotional story for the Emperor of an empire to tell.

Gabriel listened to the Emperor quietly.

“But a man who allows himself to be swept away by every single one of those emotions will never be Emperor”

“Your majesty.”

“Give up the Duchess. Even if the Duke is punished and another person inherits the Duke of Burstrod, you, the Crown Prince, can’t marry the Duchess. A scandal will follow you.”

The Emperor tried to soothe Gabrielle as gently as possible.

Gabriel, who has fallen into a fever of love, will not hear anything.

“… So that’s why Your Majesty abandoned my mother?”

The Emperor’s perfect face cracked for a moment. Gabriel had touched his nerve.

This was something the Emperor had always regretted.

Gabriel laughed.

“I see you thought that your love for my mother was nothing more than a momentary emotion that was not special as time passed.”

“Gabriel!”

“I don’t want to do that.”