When Annecy gestured with his eyes, the person standing behind lifted Count Eliom’s body again. The count knelt in the same position as before and looked up at him with a bewildered face.
“I know that the First Prince and Rubiette wanted to handle things quietly. Since the Empress was pretending to support the Second Prince, they feared a backlash if they involved him too much. However, the situation escalated, and the Empress found out about the existence of the illegitimate child.”
Thanks to you, Annecy smiled with narrowed eyes.
“Do you know why I’m telling you this so kindly? Because I want you to know.”
“Uh, uh…”
“I want you to know that I already know everything, and that I desperately want to save time right now.”
There was only one thing he hadn’t confirmed. He had only been greedy and stupid, yet who knew he had such extraordinary talent to help the rat escape.
“Where did you send Mathel? The maid you used and discarded.”
“Dead…”
“It seems you still have many teeth left to chew food, don’t you?”
Count Eliom’s eyes rolled around. He didn’t know how something so lowly could rise to the rank of marquis, but it was clear that his life was in Annecy’s hands right now.
But isn’t another word for crisis an opportunity? It didn’t matter to Eliom whether the opponent’s origin was lowly or noble.
It was Valverde who dragged him out of hiding and into the warehouse. They didn’t seem to hide that they were from Valverde except for the moment they kidnapped the count.
Therefore, at first, he suspected that it might be another force disguised as Valverde. No matter how he thought about it, Count Eliom had no ties with Valverde.
However, the moment he saw the face of Exer, the leader of the merchant group, the count had to acknowledge that they were indeed Valverde. Eliom was one of the few who knew the face of the leader.
Valverde was one of the top three merchant groups publicly, and needless to say, they were the top in the underground world.
They controlled over 35% of the underground wealth. Even if he could get hold of a tiny part of it, the count could live buried in a pile of gold coins for the rest of his life. Greed shone in his wide-open eyes.
“If I tell you, what will you give me?”
“Well…”
“If I don’t tell you, you’ll never know where she went! Even the prince, no, the marquis must avenge his mother’s enemy, right?
It’s all because of Mathel, that wench whispered everything. I just listened to her, I didn’t do anything. She was blinded by jealousy and tried to destroy Eliza!”
I’m tired of listening.
He kicked the count in the stomach. Because someone was supporting his back, the count couldn’t fall backward and crumpled forward.
“Why do you speak my mother’s name so recklessly?”
“Cough, sob, cough…!”
“No one around me is someone you can speak of so carelessly. Speak respectfully.”
Panting, the count gritted his teeth. The dull pain from his stomach made him feel even more wronged.
What had he done to be dragged into a warehouse and suffer such humiliation? The count couldn’t understand at all.
All he had done was inform the Empress of something that everyone already knew.
Although he had intended to have some fun by hiding the Emperor’s woman, Eliza, it was a failed attempt and thus a nonexistent matter.
Eliza was found as a cold corpse even before she fell into the count’s hands.
It was already infuriating to live hiding from Rubiette’s eyes in fear of being discovered as the one who informed the Empress, and now to be kicked while kneeling before someone so lowly… His situation was pitiful enough to bring out his indignation.
“Why on earth are you doing this? Isn’t it enough that you’ve become a marquis! No matter how you lived as a child, now that you’ve reached this position, isn’t it partly thanks to me!?
If I hadn’t sold you, Valverde wouldn’t have bought you! Now that the kid who was hiding and crawling around has become the master of Valverde and a marquis, you should live gratefully and quietly! Why act so wickedly!”
“A mere ‘marquis’?”
Annecy’s lips thinned into a smile. It was unclear if he was laughing or angry.
“You must be mistaken, a marquis is not my final goal.”
“What…?”
“I’ve been despised as a bastard, so now I must claim my due. I will become a grand duke.”
The count repeated the words he heard in a daze. Then, soon burst into laughter.
“You, a grand duke? Hahaha, what an absurd dream! With Alte and Rubiette watching with sharp eyes, you, with your filthy bloodline?”
“And even the title of grand duke is not my final destination.”
“You’re spouting more nonsense, are you planning a rebellion?”
Not at all. Annecy shrugged his shoulders and bent down to meet his eyes.
“Did you know that a grand duke has the right to succeed the throne?”
“What…?”
“Of course, the succession rank would be lower than the direct royal family, but what if, by chance, all their heads were to fall off? There might be a chance for me to legitimately become emperor.”
“Emperor… You’re crazy, completely insane.”
“Now, I’ll give you one last chance.”
Annecy drew a sword from the scabbard of the person standing next to him. Even in the dimly lit warehouse, the sharpness of the blade was clearly visible to the count.
The weighty pressure was palpable in Annecy’s gaze, devoid of any trace of laughter.
The count’s back was drenched in cold sweat. Holding the sword, Annecy tapped the count’s chin with its tip and asked.
“Where did Mathel go?”
The count’s dry and cracked lips trembled. It felt as if his head would be severed any moment.
“…She went to Albre.”
“Where in Albre?”
“She took a ship, not an airship, and went to the Port of Forshendo. I don’t know anything beyond that. I let go after that…”
Albre, she went far. Annecy returned the sword to its place.
Even after seeing the sword go back into its sheath, Count Eliom’s heart pounded as if it would burst. His whole body felt cold, and he tightly closed his eyes. Just looking at Annecy’s face intensified his fear.
He sensed the presence before him turning away. Unable to open his eyes, the count waited for the footsteps to fade.
Soon, the sound of the iron door opening was heard, and a thin light pricked his eyelids. He had barely felt relieved when.
“Kill him.”
With that one word, the door closed with a thud.
* * *
“I thought you would handle it yourself.”
“It would be problematic if there were a smell of blood. Goyo seems to have a rather sensitive sense of smell.”
“Is that so?”
Exer nodded with a subtle expression. Then he remembered a question he couldn’t ask in the warehouse. Despite knowing that Annecy disliked hearing unnecessary words, Exer couldn’t overcome his rising concern and asked.
“Master, do you really intend to go that far?”
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
Annecy exhaled deeply, looking at the moon shining yellow as usual.
“From birth, I wasn’t destined to be ordinary. Not in bloodline, not in talent. So ordinary happiness is an impossible story from the start.
If there’s anything I can do, it’s to climb higher in extraordinary places. If being the master of Valverde isn’t enough, then a marquis, if that’s not enough, then a grand duke, and if that’s still not enough, ultimately the emperor.”
He continued in a calm voice.
“I have to have it all. Then maybe the emptiness I’ve felt since birth might be filled a little.”
“What if becoming emperor still doesn’t fill it?”
“Exer, what do you think will happen if I become emperor?”
Exer’s face subtly changed. It was difficult to think of a positive answer to Annecy’s question.
As the master of Valverde, he led Valverde quite well. He was smart and resourceful.
Above all, he had a keen eye for people and was skilled at placing talents in the right positions. He learned what was needed and worked on what was lacking.
However, all of this was because Annecy had affection for Valverde. He was not generous with things outside his embrace.
Having an empire didn’t mean he would embrace everything within the empire. If he became emperor…
“I would become a tyrant or be overthrown by someone else.”
“Master!”
“I am well aware that my end can never be a happy ending. I already guess that nothing would change even if I become emperor.
Yet, the reason I can’t get off the train heading towards the cliff is because if I don’t even do that, nothing will change.”
I am afraid of standing still. No one ever looked back at a standing me.
Exer opened his mouth to speak at the words that sounded lonely. He wanted to say something comforting, but he wasn’t good with words.
“Would it have been better if Valverde hadn’t saved you, master?”
“There is no such thing, Exer.”
“What?”
“If Chloe hadn’t bought me, I would have been sold off as a slave to some sexually perverted deviant. There’s no such thing as someone else rescuing me. That’s just how the world is.”
That’s why I’m so fixated on my promise to Chloe.
To lift his sinking mood, Annecy brought up another topic.
“I forgot, have you completed the investigation on Terio Alte?”
“Yes. But aren’t you going inside? It’s late. You should rest and continue tomorrow…”
“I can’t sleep even if I go back.”
Annecy recalled a particular face. Who would have thought that having someone next to you in bed would be so bothersome?
The sounds of tossing and turning, and even Goyo’s breathing seemed to penetrate his ears, making it impossible to sleep even for a short while. He hadn’t been able to get a wink of sleep until dawn.
Having slept alone for so long, it seemed he had gotten used to it.
Swallowing the ticklish feeling in his chest, Annecy took the stack of documents Exer handed him.
“The original duke was Giselle Alte. After her death, the dukedom passed to her husband, Contrass. Since then, his life has been remarkably smooth.”
Terio Alte’s mother died when he was about four, so he wouldn’t have any proper memories of her. Growing up, he might have occasionally felt her absence, but by Annecy’s standards, it wasn’t a life that even scratched the surface of misfortune.
Judging by his standards, how many people in the world could be considered unfortunate? His deep-seated contempt made Terio Alte’s life seem like a bed of roses.
“He has an eighteen-year-old sister. She’s not without talent and could become a capable successor with a bit more refinement.”
“Master, are you thinking of changing the head of Alte…?”
“I’m just considering it for now. Don’t ask too many questions, it’s tiresome.”
Annecy, skimming through the documents, stopped at a particular section. Chestnut hair, chestnut eyes, and a lyrical face. The pale, white face looked somewhat familiar.
“This face…”
“This is Giselle Alte, the former duchess and Terio Alte’s mother. As you can see, she resembles the lady.”
“Resembles? Goyo is much prettier.”
“What…?”
Ignoring Exer’s bewildered response, Annecy raised one corner of his mouth. He wondered why Terio Alte was so obsessed with and trying to manipulate Goyo—it was due to his longing for his mother.
Annecy could now understand a bit of what Terio was seeking in Goyo.
Of course, whatever he sought, there was nothing he could take from Goyo in the future.
Turning to the last page of the document, Annecy handed it back to Exer and asked.
“Is there any blood relationship between that woman and my wife?”
“No, nothing within six degrees. There might be a distant connection if we look further. Shall I investigate?”
“No need.”
All matters regarding Terio Alte will be put on hold for now. Annecy’s eyes sank deeply.
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