I Will End My 10-Year Unrequited Love - Chapter 38

Camille also felt uneasy, as if people’s lives were being weighed like mere currency. But there was no choice. Cyrone was destined to become Emperor. Camille was destined to serve such an Emperor. Beneath Cyrone’s life lay the lives of millions of empire citizens.

Thus, the role of Emperor demanded that at every moment, one must think of the Empire and look toward the future. One had to be as sharp and cold as a blade. There could never be a moment to be swayed by fleeting emotions.

Born to inherit the throne and raised to be Emperor, Cyrone was the embodiment of royal talent, if only the variable named Elia had not appeared.

“Your Highness’s life is not your own. It belongs to the empire.”

Clearing her throat, Camille spoke firmly. Her sharp eyes were tinged with the chill of night.

“Therefore, no matter whose life it is… you must not let your heart weaken.”

In other words, even if that life belonged to Elia, there was no turning back. Cyrone had to survive, even if it meant sacrificing Elia on the altar, even if it meant stealing her heart and using it.

But Camille worried. If things continued this way, would Elia’s heart completely leave Cyrone? Would the last remaining option slip away?

Though speaking plainly, Camille’s heart was not at ease. She rubbed her face with a sigh, then raised her voice in frustration.

“Did you see the expression on the lady’s face just now? It was like she was utterly exhausted…”

Camille couldn’t finish her sentence and let out a heavy sigh.

She wanted to show Cyrone the look Elia had when leaving the room, but couldn’t even bring herself to try. If it had been hatred, it might have been better. Hatred, after all, springs from love. It means there’s still a final hope.

But Elia’s last expression held no emotion. It was as if she had grown weary of everything.

“That’s fortunate.”

At Camille’s words, Cyrone smiled as if relieved. His attendants, knowing this truth, were tearing their hair out. But Cyrone alone remained carefree. Camille pounded her chest in frustration.

“Your Highness!”

Cyrone waved her off as if tired of hearing it. Whether his chronic headaches had worsened lately or not, his voice was low and dry as he pressed his eyes tightly.

“Enough nonsense. Get to the point.”

Camille let out a long sigh and nodded. Before continuing, she adeptly caught the approaching sound and lowered her voice.

“There’s evidence of funds being gathered simultaneously to the southern territories of the Reiffers family. It’s the first time they’ve been so concentrated all at once.”

Cyrone listened with his chin resting on his hand, looking indifferent, as if he had already expected this. Watching him, Camille continued.

“Moreover, in the past year, more than half of the taxes collected in the southern territories disappeared into unknown sources. Only about half of that was sent to the imperial treasury, which means the rest was privately used by the Reiffers family.”

Camille narrowed her eyes.

“The past year exactly coincides with the period Reiffers remained secluded in his territory.”

Only then did Cyrone mutter with amusement at how the pieces fit together. For the first time in a while, he smiled with genuine feeling. The old man’s frantic attempts to control his future seemed pitiful to the point of being laughable.

“Most of that tax evasion likely went to military funding.”

For the past year, Duke Reiffers had stayed hidden in his southern lands, making no appearances. Setting aside smaller events, he even skipped the Crown Prince’s ceremony.

Plus, with half the taxes disappearing into untraceable places and an abnormal concentration of funds gathering recently, it was unlikely such capital was for anything other than raising an army.

In other words, what Reiffers was secretly preparing in hiding was clearly a force to oppose the imperial family.

“The largest recipient of funds is someone named ‘Eyl.’ Your Highness, do you know this name?”

Cyrone’s eyes sharpened at the name ‘Eyl.’ Even Camille, used to his sharp gaze, found it unsettling.

“Eyl?”

“Yes. But no noble uses that name in any registry, and commoners wouldn’t use it either. It might be an alias…”

Camille tilted her head. Cyrone, lost in thought, briefly furrowed his brows before speaking.

“Do you remember the late Crown Prince who committed suicide?”

“Mons?”

Camille’s eyes went wide. She wondered why the name of the Crown Prince who suddenly died came up during a conversation about the Reiffers family. After a moment’s reflection, she hurriedly added,

“If I recall, Duke Reiffers was a loyalist to the late Crown Prince.”

Mons Edelward, the late crown prince, was the elder brother of Emperor Mondol and originally the rightful heir. But after a crushing defeat in the Northern Invasion War, he was deposed and tragically took his own life.

Since suicide was considered an unforgivable sin for royalty, even the imperial histories barely covered his name or achievements. This was a story from when the current emperor Mondol was still a prince, so the name was unfamiliar to Camille.