Chapter 62
Seeing this, Kainri took a deep breath and rose, bowing his head.
“If permitted, I would like to personally handle Lady Louisa’s remains.”
Now, he was overwhelmed by a gnawing regret—regret for not having rushed in, for not having saved her when he heard her screams from that room.
Even if it meant losing his head, even if it was a sin he couldn’t confess to Luina or the young Grand Duke waiting for him, he couldn’t simply abandon a young girl who had only him to protect her.
‘So then…’
All I could do was push forward, adding this regret and unfulfilled longing, taking steps that wouldn’t shame those who had already sacrificed so much. As the first step, I had asked for permission to retrieve Louisa’s body, and after a brief pause, Schvachen nodded, gesturing for me to come closer.
“Marquis, just a moment.”
When Kainri bent down to listen, the young Crown Prince Schvachen whispered something. Kainri’s eyes widened in shock.
“But, Your Highness…”
Seeing Kainri’s face turn pale, as though he’d heard something unthinkable, the Crown Prince kept a composed expression. It was clear that he knew the implications of what he had just said.
Almost as if to answer Kainri’s silent question, the Crown Prince repeated his words in a steely voice.
“I am well aware of the consequences.”
Sometimes, even a move that seems like a fatal mistake can become a saving grace when one is surrounded by hell on all sides.
This was one of those times. No matter how much sympathy or consolation was offered, it would change nothing. They would merely face the next victim with guilt.
That was not his duty.
When faced with the choice of sacrificing one life to save a hundred or watching a hundred lives perish, many answers might come to mind, but to him, the choice was clear. The role of a leader was to save the ninety-nine, to take responsibility and bear that duty.
The innocence he once carried in his heart was discarded long ago when he came to understand the nature of his beastly father. In the name of survival, he had chosen to dig into the shadows, telling himself that if it would end this nightmare faster, he would willingly dive into the pit with it.
With a voice full of resolve, the Crown Prince spoke,
“What else can I do? The current Imperial Family is foolish and incompetent…”
“Your Highness…!”
“I am too weak to save them any other way.”
Even though he should have upheld the strength of the imperial power, the young Crown Prince’s gaze was filled with a cold, piercing determination, as if he had been cornered with no other options.
His piercing eyes, a trait he inherited from his father, held a cruelty as sharp as the Emperor’s own. Like father, like son: one consumed by lust, the other hardened by fury.
It was hard to believe such words had come from the mouth of a mere nine-year-old, and Kainri’s heart raced with anxiety at the child’s ruthless strategy.
* * *
“So, you’re asking me to procure poison?”
Ernst, holding Lilian in his arms, immediately frowned. Then, with a scoffing laugh, he shook his head, clearly astonished by the absurdity.
“Po-i-son. Poi-son. Get it, get it!”
“Shh, Lilian. Don’t say things like that in front of your mother.”
Your mother already worries enough just with me around.
As he playfully held and comforted his three-year-old, Ernst clicked his tongue before turning to Kainri, who had sought him out, and delivered a sarcastic jab.
“Forget it and get out of here.”
“That discussion… is over.”
“Are you out of your mind? What do you plan to achieve, going up against a madman?”
Madman. That single word summed up Ernst’s opinion of the current Emperor, Heinz Ludendorff.
As a child, he was a bit unhinged; as he grew older, he fully embraced his madness. Now, he had truly settled into his insanity. And as far as Ernst was concerned, you don’t try to reason with a lunatic—you beat them with a stick. Unfortunately, this lunatic happened to be the Emperor.
So what else could they do but avoid him? The best way to deal with a rabid dog was to steer clear of it.
Yet no matter how Ernst tried to dissuade him, Kainri’s stubborn loyalty to the young Crown Prince, the future of this country, left him exasperated. Why couldn’t Kainri, his old friend, see reason?
‘If it weren’t for the help he gave Julie, I’d have washed my hands of him by now.’
Ernst held back a sigh, holding his tongue at what would be an outrageously scandalous remark if anyone from the palace overheard it, and replied bluntly.
“Go to a brothel. Don’t ask me for things like that. It’s faster.”
“Bro-thel! Bro-thel!”
“No, Lilian. Let’s stop here. Daddy was wrong.”
Just like Julie always said, you shouldn’t even drink cold water in front of a child. He shouldn’t have said anything reckless in front of Lilian.
Holding her mouth gently closed, Ernst sighed heavily.
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