Chapter 128
Alferen used magic to conceal Rodellia’s and his own presence.
If Jessica happened to spot them and they became her target, a full-blown brawl would be unavoidable.
Jessica was that quick to explode in rage at anyone in sight.
Even as they quietly slipped away, Jessica snarled like a well-trained fighting dog.
“You were the one who pushed this ridiculous engagement forward by using my father as a shield! I’ve reached my limit putting up with it for that damned business!”
Finally, the crown prince, unable to stand it any longer, intervened, but he couldn’t silence Jessica’s mouth.
“Why aren’t you saying anything, Your Majesty the Consort? You’re the one who can’t bear to see your precious son’s flaws exposed—why are you so silent now?!”
Even as she was dragged away by the knights, she hurled venomous barbs, fiercely denouncing the consort, Nanael, and Cesare.
The effects of hormones and the curse were potent.
* * *
The fury Jessica unleashed delayed the Founding Festival events by about an hour.
Jessica, who had been spewing profanities nonstop, collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut, losing consciousness.
It was thanks to Pierre secretly countering the curse without Cesare knowing.
When Count Miranda arrived belatedly and took her away, the scene was in utter disarray.
Not only had she dared to ruin an imperial event, but she’d also insulted the imperial family and caused injury.
Normally, this would warrant severe punishment.
But Cesare was instead frantic to clean up the mess.
He knew there was another reason behind her outburst.
If the emperor caught wind of it, even the trap set for later could be exposed, risking everything.
Jessica was just a spare anyway. There was no need to amplify the noise right before the main stage.
In the end, Cesare had no choice but to bow his head to the emperor and beg forgiveness for causing the disturbance.
‘What a pathetic, incompetent fool. You can’t even keep one woman in check, yet you think of marriage.’
Cesare barely endured the emperor’s scorn, his insides boiling like a volcano.
‘Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!’
Even venting curses inwardly didn’t quell his rage.
It was then that he slipped away, using his injury as an excuse.
The consort followed him in after a delay and began loudly berating Jessica.
“In all my life, I’ve never seen such an ill-mannered woman. How dare she…! Pregnancy isn’t some badge of honor, yet she has no shame, strutting around all high and mighty!”
She hadn’t uttered a word in front of the emperor.
Now that she was defending him, irritation surged within Cesare.
“I don’t want to hear it. Earlier, you couldn’t say a thing by His Majesty’s side, and now your tongue is suddenly loose.”
Cesare was already deeply wounded by Jessica’s outburst.
Others might not know, but he understood exactly why she’d been so furious, which made it all the worse.
It was a situation where he’d fallen into his own trap.
An unforeseen consequence of Jessica’s pregnancy.
Cesare covered his eyes with his uninjured arm and let out a bitter groan.
‘This is so humiliating I could go mad.’
It was even more disheartening to have received help from his brother in such an undignified way.
The fact that he hadn’t punched the crown prince in the face as he patted his shoulder in supposed comfort had already exhausted all his patience.
Unaware of his state, the consort continued to grate on his nerves from beside him.
“Cesare, don’t worry. I’ll make sure that family never sets foot in the capital again. This might actually be for the best. Thanks to her causing a scene, it’ll be easier to deal with her, won’t it?”
“For the best? Everyone’s looking at me like I’m an idiot and now a bastard too?”
Properly provoked, Cesare glared and sneered.
At his self-deprecating remark, the consort jumped in alarm.
“A bastard? Don’t say such things!”
Fretting that someone might overhear, she urged him to watch his mouth, which only fueled Cesare’s irritation.
Cesare roughly swatted away the consort’s touch and said,
“Enough. Anyway, soon there’ll be an even bigger uproar, and my story will be forgotten.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Mother, just stay here. Don’t get caught up in the chaos and get hurt.”
Cesare ground his teeth.
As he resolved to pay back all this humiliation twofold, he belatedly noticed Pierre’s absence and frowned.
“Where is Pierre?”
“Why are you suddenly looking for Pierre? What on earth have you been plotting!”
The consort, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, pressed Cesare.
Her constant anxiety if she didn’t know every single move he made felt utterly burdensome.
He shoved her away roughly.
“I said just stay put!”
At his roar, the consort froze stiff and couldn’t utter a word.
Giving her a cold glance, he left her behind and headed to the stage.
Just then, Alferen was on the platform, demonstrating magic on behalf of the Magic Tower.
‘Hah. What an idiot.’
A cursed spell had already been set beneath the stage to react to his mana.
A fatal curse for someone like him, who had accumulated dark magic over years for Daven Ainluk.
Cesare waited from a safe distance for him to go berserk.
A few minutes later.
“What? Why isn’t anything happening?”
Seeing Alferen descend from the platform perfectly fine, confusion clouded Cesare’s face.
‘That bastard was supposed to do it right!’
His irritation turned toward Pierre.
It seemed things had gone wrong, and he’d fled in advance.
The guy already had a grudge against him for reviving Daven Ainluk, and now he’d botched the plan again and run off.
It was just as Cesare was about to hunt down Pierre and interrogate him.
But the bewildering events didn’t end there.
“What’s that now?”
Spotting Adrian, Cesare instinctively hid and furrowed his brow.
Adrian was leading the imperial knights toward the infirmary where the consort was staying.
The sight of them armed stirred an ominous premonition.
As he quietly made his way to the back of the barracks.
“Let go of me!”
The consort, bound by the knights, was struggling as she was dragged out.
Seeing the imperial knights, who were supposed to protect the imperial family, detaining the consort, Cesare stepped forward immediately.
“Stop!”
At his command, the knights halted. Adrian, standing at their front, saluted with a stern face.
Emboldened by this, Cesare warned them with regal authority.
“What do you think you’re doing to my mother? Release her at once!”
Despite his terrifying presence making the knights hesitate, Adrian’s expression remained serene.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible, Your Highness.”
At the casual dismissal of his order, Cesare’s face twisted in fury.
“What? You dare defy a prince’s command?”
“To be precise, we’re following orders from someone higher than Your Highness.”
At the mention of someone higher, Cesare blinked in surprise.
The only ones above him were the emperor and the crown prince.
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Cesare’s momentum faltered.
“What exactly are you taking her for?”
Adrian stared steadily at Cesare.
From his guilty expression, it seemed he had a rough idea of what the consort had done.
“Her Majesty the Consort is currently suspected of attempting to assassinate Her Highness the Crown Princess and the child in her womb.”
“That can’t be. My mother isn’t the type to do such a thing. There must be some misunderstanding…”
He’d intended to brush it off and handle things with Consort Rosaria later.
But Adrian blocked Cesare’s path and stated firmly,
“We wouldn’t be taking Her Majesty without evidence.”
“…”
“If you have nothing more to say, may we proceed?”
His polite words belied the clear tone of annoyance.
Cesare bit the soft flesh inside his mouth and stepped back.
As she was dragged away, Consort Rosaria mouthed urgently to Cesare.
‘Find Pierre first!’
Just from her desperate expression, it was clear things had gone seriously awry.
Cesare, who had been searching for him anyway, kicked the ground roughly in frustration.
