Chapter 273
Izar’s life was filled with countless obstacles, both great and small.
His parents, the half-sibling who must exist somewhere, the stepmother who clashed with him over everything. And, finally, the illegitimate daughter the Emperor had thrown at him as an object of ridicule.
But even if all those were combined, none of them could wear down Izar’s nerves as much as the Emperor alone could.
The Emperor acted as if his life would be wasted if he didn’t insult Izar.
Still, in the past, the Emperor had at least maintained a semblance of courtesy toward Izar in public. The content may have been outrageous, but on the surface, it was plausible enough.
However, after the hunting festival, even that bare minimum of courtesy disappeared.
“You filthy wretch!”
The Emperor began to insult Izar directly in front of the attendants. No one could stop the Emperor, whose rage was so intense that the blood vessels in his eyes seemed about to burst.
Not even Izar himself.
“You worm…! What is it that you can even do?!”
“……”
“Your father as well! Every last one of you are worthless vermin! Scum hell-bent on destroying the imperial family!”
Prince Riegel had died.
Izar had been deep in the forest on the hunt, so he arrived much too late. There were other knights of the ducal house outside the forest, but the suddenness of the event made it impossible to respond perfectly.
With trembling fingers, the Emperor pointed at the silent Izar.
“You, and your descendants for generations, I will curse you! Only when you lose all your children will you know this pain!”
It was almost surprising he hadn’t cursed him sooner. But Izar merely clamped his mouth shut, thinking of Riegel’s tragic corpse.
This was his burden to bear.
Even as the insults continued, Izar did not move at all. At last, the exhausted Emperor screamed in his wrath.
“Leave! I never want to see that face again!”
In this grim situation, those words were the most welcome thing he had heard. When he returned to his residence, those whose faces had been clouded with worry over the family’s situation rushed to meet him.
Naturally, Electra’s voice was the loudest among them.
“Izar! Is the Imperial Palace safe?”
“……”
“We’re all safe, aren’t we?”
Izar hid his exhaustion and merely nodded.
‘The family? Yes, safe enough.’
Except for the fact that from now on, he would be the first to be sent out to suppress every uprising across the Empire.
But as he looked at those who had come to greet him, he frowned.
‘She’s not here.’
That woman never came out to greet or send him off. It was the rule that the family’s shame should stay quietly indoors.
But this time, there was something he needed to check regarding her.
“…Elder Madam.”
“Yes, Izar?”
“I saw the woman limping during the hunting festival.”
“What?”
While rushing to Riegel, Izar had clearly seen the situation of the Duchy’s entourage outside the forest.
She had been limping as she tried to escape. Nearly enough to be caught by the monsters that were chasing her…
‘When I brought her to the capital, she didn’t walk like that.’
His feelings of contempt toward her were unchanged.
Her awkward appearance that didn’t befit a noble, her demeanor that couldn’t shed the traces of a commoner, her flustered, lost look in every situation.
Every time he saw her, anger burned in his chest.
At the time, he had thought he could both kill enough monsters going after her and still save Riegel.
In the end, Izar paid the price for his foolish arrogance.
But Electra, oblivious to his feelings, replied without a hint of concern.
“Ah. It must have been from a wound she got at the Antares house.”
“……”
Unlike the unconcerned Elder Madam, Izar asked again after a moment of frozen silence.
“What did you just say?”
“She was hit at a banquet at the Antares house, Izar. Lady Antares disciplined her.”
Electra shook her head, as if irritated that Izar would ask about such a trivial matter.
“Of course the lady would dislike that illegitimate wench. Even now she still smells like a shepherd, and yet we gave her the ducal name—”
“But Elder Madam, you knew about it and did nothing to stop it? You didn’t even complain?”
“……”
“Were you planning to keep silent about it forever if I hadn’t asked?”
“Was that really something I needed to bring up, Izar?”
Electra replied calmly, without even blinking.
“Izar, didn’t you say you wouldn’t concern yourself with that wench when she was brought to the estate?”
Izar felt a vein throb in his temple at her words, but he didn’t show the pain as he answered sharply.
“Did you really think I meant to stand by and watch her get beaten in another house?”
“Izar—”
“Use a little sense. I shouldn’t have to spell out every single thing.”
“Hmph, fine. Call it my fault, then.”
‘Just like your father’, Electra sneered inwardly. But as soon as Izar left, she intended to call in that shepherd girl and vent her anger on her together with Merope.
Unaware of this, Izar sighed as he thought of the subjugation work to come.
‘Looks like I won’t be able to stay at the ducal estate for a while.’
He’d have to receive reports of whatever happened at the estate from a distance, through letters… Just then, as he happened to look up, he saw a woman with honey-colored hair lingering by a window upstairs.
But as soon as their eyes met, the woman startled and quickly hid herself.
He frowned at the spot where she’d vanished.
‘Why did I bother…’
He had saved someone so insignificant compared to Riegel.
He then forcibly erased the honey-haired woman from his mind, and was away from the ducal estate for a long time after that.
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