Chapter 96
As he wrapped his legs around hers and his arms around her flat stomach, the unbearable thirst in his heart seemed to ease, if only a little.
Rubel buried his nose in the nape of her neck, breathing in and out to calm himself. He had never imagined he could be swept away by such emotions, but it felt as though his entire soul had been turned upside down.
Who would have thought that the divine blessing of impotence could become so frustrating?
He gritted his teeth and tightened his arms around her stomach. That night, Eir dreamed of being devoured by a giant lion.
***
Rubel Shinote has been kidnapped by a witch.
Magnus felt like he might faint when he heard the news.
“Why? Why isn’t he dead? Why?”
He was so bewildered that he shook the paper carrying the news and muttered “why” three times in a single sentence.
Damn it.
He had rushed into an alliance with the witches, knowing it was a bad idea, and this was the result.
He had thought this would finally be the end of Rubel, but why had the witch he sent to attack him chosen to kidnap him instead of killing him?
Magnus, restless, scribbled his questions onto a piece of paper, stuffed it into an envelope, and immediately threw it out the window. The envelope transformed into an owl and disappeared into the midday sky.
Waiting for the answer was pure torture.
Magnus briefly reflected on how he had ended up in this situation.
When he thought about it, it all came back to Isabella.
Hearing the Emperor’s true intentions by chance, hastily deciding to kill Rubel, and anxiously forming an alliance with the witches—it was all because of Isabella.
Isabella had comforted Magnus, who was reeling from the betrayal of the Emperor and his father, and whispered to him:
‘Why are you struggling so much? If you hate your brother, just kill him.’
Magnus clung to her arm and poured out his heart.
‘I can’t. He’s returning with reinforcements, and every place he passes through is under the control of the temples, which are completely in Rubel’s grasp. Even if I had the chance, how could I move troops privately? I’m not even a Duke yet—just the Duke’s son.’
Damn it. Damn it.
He muttered to himself, tears streaming down his face. He vividly remembered his father talking to the Emperor, saying that it would have been better if Magnus and Rubel’s positions had been reversed. And the drunken Emperor saying, “Then I’ll help you. It’s not that hard to make the second son the heir.” His father had said nothing, just downed his drink.
My father is trying to get rid of me.
He realized it instinctively.
For the second son to inherit, the first son had to die, become severely disabled, or commit a heinous crime.
He had known that his father had been keeping an eye on him lately, but he never imagined it would be to stab him in the back like this.
Magnus, who had grown up in what could be called a harmonious household, had a naive side to him. And that was why he had tried so hard to tolerate Rubel’s reckless behavior until now.
Isabella, looking at him with pity, knelt down and wrapped her arms around him.
‘Then you just need to get help from others.’
‘Who? My wife’s father…….’
Nora’s father was completely on the side of the temples and one of Rubel Shinote’s followers.
When Magnus brought up Nora’s family, Isabella laughed as if he were being foolish and flicked his nose.
‘Magnus. Do you think I’d introduce someone who would hate or despise you?’
He looked up at her, confused.
‘How could I ever hate you? I love you so much.’
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