Chapter 110
“There’s been a report that [Raul Herben Guten] is behind the terrorist attacks?”
The Emperor lifted his gaze from the documents and smiled leisurely.
It was the smile of someone who had finally heard the news he had been waiting for for a long time.
Standing beneath the imperial throne, Jerome kept his head deeply bowed while wearing a similar smile.
“Just as Your Majesty predicted.”
“We merely planted a single suspicion, yet Rebelt proved to be a group completely devoid of loyalty.”
Jerome’s voice carried both contempt and ridicule toward Rebelt.
“To think they would turn on one another so easily after such a slight nudge.”
“It was truly a sight to behold, watching them drive one of their own comrades into certain death.”
The rumor that Raul had intended to hand the members of Rebelt over to the Imperial Family.
The Emperor knew that rumor had originated within the Imperial Palace.
After all, he himself had been the one to spread it.
Even such childish wordplay had been more than enough to provoke Nick, the hot-headed leader of Rebelt.
“This is precisely why those without proper roots can never succeed.”
The Emperor openly mocked Rebelt’s ideology of rejecting the class system and preaching freedom.
He had also already seen through the truth that the current wave of terrorism was not truly Raul’s doing.
It was Nick who had gone berserk and unleashed the attacks.
Naturally.
That, too, had been arranged by the Emperor himself.
Otherwise, how could a group like Rebelt have managed to transport bombs throughout the city while avoiding the knights’ surveillance?
The suffering inflicted upon the Empire’s citizens by the terrorist attacks meant nothing to the Emperor.
After all, every gain came with a price.
In any case, what value did the lives of a few commoners possess?
If they were sacrificed for the joy of someone as noble as himself, should they not consider it the greatest honor?
The more of Jerome’s report the Emperor heard, the more satisfied he became.
A completely divided Rebelt was the perfect bait.
And once the prey had been lured in, the bait could simply be discarded.
“What should be done with the terrorist who dared reject the opportunity bestowed by the Imperial Family and instead brought chaos upon the capital, Brother?”
At the unfamiliar title of *Brother*, rather than vermin or fool, Jerome’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.
However, Jerome skillfully concealed his expression beneath the mask of absolute loyalty.
“If such a vicious criminal is allowed to live, the citizens of the Empire will remain in danger.”
Jerome’s answer pleased the Emperor immensely.
“So you think the same.”
“In that case… regrettable though it may be, there is no other choice.”
The Emperor nodded with a sorrowful expression before issuing his command.
“The terrorist Raul Herben Guten is to be executed on sight.”
The Emperor covered his mouth with one hand.
Even so, he could not hide the corners of his lips curling upward beneath it.
After Raul’s death, they would reveal to the world that he had been Agnes’s biological father.
Then they would brand Agnes as an accomplice to terrorism and use her as Lionel’s weakness.
What a flawless trap that would be.
The Emperor’s smile deepened as everything unfolded exactly as he had planned, without the slightest deviation.
☆☆☆
An execution-on-sight order had been issued against Raul, the worst terrorist in history.
After reading the article, Agnes slowly folded the newspaper and placed it on her lap.
Lionel, who had promised to return soon, had already been gone for several days.
Explosions continued to erupt across the capital day after day.
Agnes turned her gaze toward the window.
Even in this bedroom she had recently moved into, there was a flower vase beside the window.
Unlike before, however, no fresh flowers appeared each day.
Instead, the same flowers remained in the vase for days, slowly withering away.
The only thing that had changed was Lionel’s absence.
The flowers had not changed.
‘So it really was Lionel who brought fresh flowers every single day.’
It felt like discovering a truth she had never wanted to know.
Then Agnes realized she had been unconsciously tracing Lionel’s presence.
She curled her lips inward and bit them.
This was not good.
Anxiety washed over her.
What if, before she even realized it, she returned to the days when she waited for Lionel and placed her hopes in him once again?
At that thought, a chill ran through her body.
Her right leg throbbed painfully.
Fortunately, just before her anxiety could consume her, an unfamiliar voice brought her back to her senses.
“Your Grace, are you truly certain you wish to proceed this way?”
Turning her head, Agnes saw a stern-looking middle-aged man seated with a briefcase beside his chair.
The man was the legal representative of House Valheim.
Until just moments ago, Agnes had been listening to his explanation regarding the transfer of ownership of the Bardo trading company.
Just as Lionel had promised.
He had ultimately placed ownership of the Bardo trading company into Agnes’s hands.
While hearing the details, Agnes learned several things she had not known before.
One of them was that Chloe had been imprisoned.
Another was that the reason was her role in spreading the false rumors that had tormented Agnes for so long.
She also learned that the person who had testified to everything was Hunts Lockwood.
Strangely enough, upon hearing that, the very first thought that crossed Agnes’s mind was not anything else.
‘Lionel met Hunts.’
That single thought occupied Agnes’s mind for quite some time.
Lionel already knew the truth.
Even so, he had said nothing.
He had hidden everything behind that proud face and chosen silence until the very end.
What, then, was the meaning behind his offering her the Bardo trading company?
Was it compensation?
Or was it another prison meant to keep her trapped within his world?
If that was the case, was accepting the ownership the right decision?
Or was rejecting it the right one?
Without saying a word, Agnes lowered her gaze.
Tucked inside the newspaper she had been holding was a postcard.
It had come from Leuceviten.
The postcard explained that the new theater company would be established in Maresen, the Empire’s southernmost port city.
Enclosed with it was a ship ticket to Maresen.
The departure date printed on the ticket was drawing near.
At that moment, the legal representative cautiously asked once again.
“Do you truly intend to refuse the transfer of ownership of the Bardo trading company?”
“……”
Agnes silently stared at the date on the ticket.
Then she slowly parted her lips.
“…Yes.”
“I’ll refuse.”
☆☆☆
“…Damn it.”
Standing in the middle of yet another terrorist attack site, Lionel roughly ran a hand through his disheveled hair.
Impatience gripped his throat like a tightening noose.
Too much time had already passed without him returning to Agnes.
The fact that he remained trapped here, unable even to properly apologize and forced to stay away as though he had fled, was driving Lionel to the brink of madness.
If this continued any longer, he feared he would lose even the right to stand before her again.
Unable to endure it any longer, Lionel was about to leave the scene in Kalt’s hands and prepare to return to the ducal estate.
“Who’s there?!”
One of the knights shouted.
Turning toward the source of the noise, Lionel spotted a figure wandering near the burning building while clutching something against their chest.
The moment their eyes met, the hooded figure immediately turned and fled without hesitation.
“After him!”
Lionel and the knights moved almost simultaneously.
The clash of metal overlapped with the pounding of military boots against the ground.
The shadows of pursuers and prey blurred together between the narrow alley walls.
Not long after the chase began, they reached a point where the path split into several directions.
The knights scattered, each taking a different route.
Some rushed left.
Others disappeared down a flight of sunken stairs.
Lionel also chose one of the alleys and headed inside.
*Step.*
As he entered the long, narrow alleyway, the sound of his footsteps echoed off the damp stone walls.
At the end of that echo, the fleeing figure had stopped.
He had turned around to face Lionel.
Without hesitation, Lionel drew the pistol from the holster at his waist.
At that moment, the other man slowly raised both hands.
As though declaring he had no intention of resisting.
Then, carefully, he reached one hand toward his hood and revealed his face.
The man was someone Lionel knew very well.
The moment Lionel saw the revealed face, his eyes sharpened with terrifying intensity.
“…Raul Herben Guten.”
It was Raul.
“What exactly are you trying to pull?”
“I am not the one behind these terrorist attacks.”
“I find that rather difficult to believe.”
Without taking his eyes off Raul, Lionel kept his pistol trained on him as he slowly advanced.
Even so, Raul did not retreat.
He remained exactly where he stood.
Almost as though he had deliberately lured Lionel here.
“A far greater terrorist attack is about to occur.”
“It must be stopped before more innocent lives are sacrificed.”
As Raul spoke, his pale gray eyes looked so astonishingly similar to Agnes’s that Lionel’s breathing faltered for an instant.
Not missing that fleeting opening, Raul spoke again.
“Help me, Colonel Valheim.”
“There is no one else I can turn to.”
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
