Chapter 53
Could that be the being the Duke summoned? But if he could control such a creature at will, then what on earth had he been doing five years ago when Osbrandt’s soldiers invaded Quillan, instead of calling it forth?
After all was over and the couple confirmed it was safe, they returned to the mansion and found the Duke collapsed, vomiting blood, his body cold like a corpse.
‘Your Grace, please, come to your senses, Your Grace!’
He had been nothing but an arrogant scoundrel until now, but the man who had given them a deadly secret to save their lives could not be ignored, not after when the Empire itself had abandoned them.
The caretakers carefully wiped away the blood he had coughed up and dressed him in the finest clothes they had. They filled leather pouches with warm water and pressed them against him to raise his temperature.
Yet even after they had restored his ashen complexion to nearly snow-white, the Duke did not wake for days.
“His body’s still cold as ice…”
While the caretakers fidgeted anxiously, wringing their hands, a small boat making its way between the island of exile and the mainland gradually approached the fortress.
So focused were they on watching over the seemingly lifeless Duke, who slept as though he had already drawn his last breath, that they failed to hear the knocking when someone landed on the island.
“Is anyone here?!”
Only when Marcel’s startled voice rang out did they realize a visitor had come and hurried down to the entrance.
“…What brings you here?”
Their response was now openly cold and distant, and Marcel’s chest tightened at the chill.
These people too had surely once watched the miasma rise and swell from the monster lairs, expecting as a matter of course to request aid from the Imperial Palace. He didn’t know exactly what method the Crown Prince had used, but judging from their icy demeanor, their pleas must have been ignored.
“We received word there was a dungeon break in Belgorg. We came to confirm whether the exile estate on the Ice Lake suffered any harm.”
Even though Marcel explained with as much courtesy as he could, the caretakers’ attitude remained frigid, like thin ice ready to crack.
“As you can see, we’ve come through safely. I hear Quillan’s local forces succeeded in subjugating the monsters on their own while the Imperial Palace looked on without sending a single soldier.”
So that was the version told to outsiders living in exile? Marcel simply nodded once and stepped cautiously into the building.
“I received the same report. I’m glad to know you’re unharmed. Then, if you’ll permit me, I’d like to check on the Duke’s condition before leaving.”
Marcel tried hard to soften the mood, letting out an easy laugh, the smile of a good-natured man. But his effort failed completely. Behind him, Mikhail, his imposing frame not even fully hidden, merely gave a quiet nod. At that, the caretaker shook his head firmly.
“No. The Duke is in deep sleep right now. Do not disturb his rest and go back. Or stay and wait until he wakes, it’s your choice.”
From the caretakers’ perspective, the Empire had abandoned them to die, and now these envoys returned only to see if the Duke had done something suspicious. Of course it was infuriating. So the man spoke pointedly, as if to say, Suffer a bit here in the land you cast aside.
Marcel glanced toward the prince, silently asking his will. Mikhail slowly nodded.
“Understood. Then we’ll wait in the drawing room.”
“As you please.”
With the wife’s curt reply, the waiting began… but it ended far sooner than the caretakers expected.
“What in the world… But he’s been lying unconscious for days…”
The moment one of the Emperor’s dispatched agents—those loathsome investigators from the very palace that had once sent him to this hostile land and then abandoned him—set foot quietly in the Duke’s bedchamber, the man awoke from his long sleep.
The prince’s party, half turned away at the door, had been sitting in the drawing room for hours. They were restless, knowing they must return to the Imperial Palace before sunrise the next day, yet what could they say when told the Duke was asleep?
They had no idea he had been unconscious for days. As uninvited guests, all they could do was wait until the master of the house rose.
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.