Chapter 112
Cesare raised his voice, vehemently criticizing the empress consort.
“How can you handle this so carelessly, unlike a mother? If you can’t even silence the newspapers, can you really call yourself the mother of this nation?”
By now, the empress consort, who would have listened to his words while sobbing, was unusually firm today.
“Cesare. Lower your voice.”
The empress consort sighed and pulled Cesare toward her.
Sensing something off, Cesare reluctantly sat on the sofa.
But his anger still simmered, and he kicked at the innocent table in frustration.
Waiting for him to calm down, the empress consort began to speak.
“Things will quiet down with time. So for now, stay quietly in the prince’s palace and reflect…”
“What are you saying right now? You’re telling me to sit tight until this ridiculous rumor dies down?”
Cesare cut her off abruptly, reacting harshly.
“Why? Has cleaning up after your son become too bothersome now?”
“That’s not it.”
“If it’s not, then do something—issue a correction article, take down the story, anything!”
Crash—!
The water glass Cesare had been holding shattered against the wall.
Rosaria was terrified by the excited Cesare.
It wasn’t that she wanted to endure this either. She was just afraid that if she corrected the article, Jasmine might submit the evidence.
It was better to be seen as a fool smitten with a courtesan than to be exposed for instructing one to impersonate the Peris lady.
Moreover, the courtesan was under the protection of the Peris family.
If it came out that they’d tried to kill the courtesan to hide the truth, the image they’d built up would crumble in an instant.
“Last night, the Duchess of Peris came to see me in secret. She brought all the circumstances and evidence of you keeping a courtesan at the villa and making her act like Lady Peris.”
“What?”
“If that gets revealed, it won’t end as a mere mishap. Wouldn’t it be better to be seen as someone who acted childishly because he fell for a woman?”
At the mention of the Duchess of Peris visiting, Cesare fell silent.
The empress consort, mistaking it for her son understanding, reached out to stroke his shoulder.
Cesare roughly shook off her hand and growled with bloodshot eyes.
“So in the end, you’re saying I fell victim to Alferen Ainluk and Rodellia Peris’s scheme.”
“C-Cesare.”
“You should have handled that woman properly from the start. What do you even do besides sitting around idly drinking tea?”
Before long, Cesare’s fury turned toward the empress consort. Rosaria, who loved her son more than anyone, clutched his sleeve pleadingly.
“I’m sorry. Mommy can only do this much…”
“Can’t you fix that habit of crying when things turn against you? I’m sick and tired of your tears.”
Cesare shoved the weeping empress consort aside and stormed out of the room.
Just then, spotting Pierre standing in front of him, he spoke.
“Follow me.”
Even at a glance, he exuded a sinister aura.
No one could dare defy Cesare when he was this enraged.
Pierre let out a deep sigh.
‘To think I have to make someone like him the emperor.’
To restore Serak, they needed the royal bloodline.
Though the one he served had passed away, Princess Rosaria still remained.
Seeking her out, who had been chosen by the emperor and was living well, and planting vain dreams in her—all part of the plan.
If it meant raising their lost homeland again, his life was worth sacrificing.
When he first approached the empress consort, he believed that day wasn’t far off.
But Rosaria, the sole remaining royal bloodline, lacked magical talent.
Her power was pitiful, given her history of once abandoning sorcery.
At least Cesare had talent, but the problem was that the gods hadn’t granted him any decency.
He was rotten to the core by nature.
Obsessed with women and hot-tempered, the empress consort was always on edge because of him.
Unable to watch the empress consort chasing after the prince’s messes any longer, Pierre had left three years ago.
When she called him back, he thought she’d finally come to her senses.
But Cesare was still a wastrel, and the empress consort hadn’t changed at all.
If there had been no hope at all, he might have given up long ago.
‘Thinking like this means I’m getting old too.’
As soon as they were alone, Cesare said,
“We need to proceed with the plan quickly.”
“But we still haven’t figured out how Davin Ainluk recovered. If we rashly activate the spell again like this, we could get caught… Ugh.”
Pierre trailed off mid-sentence with a groan. It was because Cesare had kicked him.
“Didn’t you hear me? I said quickly. If we get exposed anyway, we can just say you did it.”
It was a shameless response, even knowing Pierre was risking his life for this.
“Once I’m at the top, I can silence these kinds of rumors, right?”
His face showed unwavering belief that he would become emperor.
Pierre clutched the spot where he’d been hit and bowed his head.
“I’ll prepare.”
* * *
The Miranda earl’s residence was in an uproar as well. It was due to the Peris family’s lawyer who arrived early in the morning.
“A lawsuit! What on earth have we done!”
“You broke the agreement from eight years ago. Moreover, we’re planning to address everything, including how your daughter fabricated stories that severely damaged our lady’s reputation.”
The lawyer replied coldly, presenting a copy of the contract.
The Earl of Miranda hid his fear and snorted.
“Th-This is just a copy, isn’t it? What can you even do with this?”
“Oh, of course, the original will be submitted to the court.”
“Th-The original still exists?”
The Earl of Miranda stumbled, his eyes widening in shock. He’d clearly heard the contract had been lost.
Reading his anxiety, the lawyer smiled brightly.
“His Grace the Duke of Peris expresses deep regret over the current situation. He’s ordered me to secure the maximum fine possible, so there will be no leniency. See you in court.”
The lawyer said his piece and left. The fact that he’d come in person to give this warning showed the duke was thoroughly prepared.
The anxious Earl of Miranda headed to Jessica’s room.
“Jessica! Get up right now!”
Jessica, who hadn’t risen yet after spending the night crying with her eyes wide open, was forcibly roused.
Seeing her swollen eyes, the Earl of Miranda flinched. Jessica said weakly,
“Dad, I’m so tired. If it’s not urgent, can we talk later?”
“It is urgent! The Peris dukedom is suing our family for defamation!”
“What?”
Jessica, who had been rubbing her sleepy eyes, jolted in surprise. Then, seeing the lawsuit, her hands trembled uncontrollably.
“Rodellia Peris…”
The wound from Cesare’s betrayal hadn’t healed yet.
To send a lawsuit so callously after witnessing her in that state.
It couldn’t have been this quick unless it was prepared in advance.
The things she’d overlooked in her panic yesterday flashed before her like a lantern.
Of all places, a five-way confrontation at the Ainluk estate!
‘It was all planned! She pretended not to hear the rumors all along, just to stab me in the back!’
She felt wronged. She never imagined Cesare would deceive her by passing off a courtesan as Rodellia.
“What have you been up to, Jessica!”
“I-I was just fooled! This is obviously all Rodellia’s scheme! Father, help me, please!”
“Haaa.”
The Earl of Miranda clutched his head. This morning, he’d received the imperial seal approving the harvest festival event.
Returning to the territory now would be like kicking away a windfall.
But leaving Jessica in the capital seemed like it wouldn’t avoid the Peris family’s wrath.
After a moment of deliberation, the Earl of Miranda commanded sternly,
“You go back to the territory first.”
