Episode 118
Cyril bit her lip softly and asked.
“Are you telling me to run away? Then I will never be forgiven. I would be a fugitive for life… are you speaking sincerely?”
“Your parents went mad side by side, your maternal family was reduced to beggars and lost even their name! Are you satisfied sitting in a monastery, eating plain porridge?”
Gideon finally revealed his true colors, his Damiani golden eyes flashing.
“Unlike Princess Louise, who lives in luxury as the Grand Duchess, you will grow old and die without even holding a baby!”
All of this was too much for her, who had grown up like a greenhouse flower.
She only knew exploding anger and seething jealousy; she didn’t know how to cleverly and lawfully exact revenge on the one who caused these feelings.
Once she held a grudge, her brother or mother would effortlessly have the person expelled.
Only Louise had survived until now, leaning on the Emperor’s minuscule sense of responsibility.
Cyrilah, unable to contain her anger, breathed so heavily she seemed about to faint, forcing Gideon to coax her gently so she wouldn’t completely break down.
“Chirilla, think about it. Your youth and beauty are too precious for this. You know well the Grand Duke’s compassionate nature, don’t you? Moreover, he is a knight by origin. He cannot mistreat a pitiful woman.”
Cyril pursed her lips.
“…What are you really telling me to do?”
Gideon’s eyes flashed fiercely.
“Approach your half-sibling through the Grand Duke. That child is the flesh and blood the Emperor cherishes most, isn’t it?”
If someone made others weep tears of blood, they should rightly pay the price.
Cyril’s filial piety and resentment were slightly insufficient to move her, but jealousy was clearly a different matter.
She finally glared, speaking as if growling.
“If it’s about sneaking into the inner chambers like a rat, I can do that too. The Grand Duke is always a gentleman before women. I know his nature, that he cannot pass by a pitiful thing… I will find a way to use it.”
Gideon finally gave a firm nod toward his determined niece.
“I will help you with all my strength.”
A fortnight later, Babenberg
The Grand Duke’s castle was in full swing preparing for the royal marriage.
The master of the Duchy, fulfilling a long-held dream from his boyhood with a bright face, led the way, so everyone worked joyfully for the wedding.
The Grand Duchess’s chambers, left empty since the late Grand Duchess’s passing, were completely renovated with new wallpaper and all furniture replaced.
The gallery, the pride of Babenberg Castle, already displayed a portrait of the new mistress, and every corridor and staircase was polished to a shine.
The gardens underwent extensive work, replacing several tree species with flowering ones, and even an extravagant fountain, usable only for the summer season, was installed.
It was a waste that would leave no trace once the flowers wilted and the fountain froze months later, but no one dared point it out.
The garden where the wedding would be held had to be perfect.
No, the castle where the new mistress and the heir of Babenberg would reside had to be complete, safe, and beautiful.
Everyone followed the Grand Duke’s command with a dedication that seemed willing to stake their lives.
Amidst all this, Callisteon never forgot to contact Edessa each evening.
It was an extravagant waste, using expensive one-time communication orbs just to say goodnight, enough to make one click their tongue, but even the strict steward couldn’t scold him.
He wondered how the Grand Duke must feel, leaving behind his lover, who had just given birth to his child, and the baby who would be his heir, due to the Emperor’s edict.
Since he had returned quietly without causing a bigger scene at that moment, the Grand Duke had already fulfilled his duty as the leader of a nation.
“So, you return to the Imperial Capital in five days?”
Louise in the video image had already changed into her nightclothes.
Callisteon felt his mouth go dry just looking at her slightly more exposed neckline than usual, but Louise answered nonchalantly.
—Mhmm, it’s been a while, but honestly, I’m not looking forward to it at all… Just thinking about parting with Frilis makes me so sad.
Callisteon looked lovingly at his soon-to-be bride, who was already on the verge of tears.
“It’s alright, we’ll all be together soon. The 2nd Captain seems to have already fallen head over heels for Frilis. What an enviable fellow.”
Louise erased her gloomy expression and burst into cheerful laughter.
—The Captain is there to work.
“But he gets to see my adorable daughter morning and night.”
Callisteon pretended to sulk, then said.
“Then, we’ll be able to see each other in just a week.”
—That still feels like too long.
He felt the same.
But Callisteon spoke calmly to comfort Louise.
“I feel that way too, but time passes regardless. More than that, I hope you like the newly decorated room.”
—I liked the hotel room Karl decorated, so Babenberg Castle must be even better, right?
“With such high expectations, I must strive even harder.”
Callisteon smiled, his lips curling as he watched Louise’s eyes flutter.
“Sleep well, Lou. I miss you.”
—Me too. I miss you too, Carl.
After the happiest time of his day concluded, Callisteon rose from his desk.
Around this time, when Louise was falling asleep, he usually did his evening training.
But just as he was preparing to go to the training room, a hurried knock came.
—Knock knock.
For some reason, the voice continued without waiting for his answer.
“I apologize for disturbing you at this late hour, but there is an intruder claiming to be Your Excellency’s academy classmate.”
The intruder was a petite woman dressed in shabby maid’s attire, caught sneaking up the top-floor staircase, which was off-limits to regular staff.
The guards speculated that, being an outsider, she probably couldn’t find the staff staircase.
They reported that she gave several false affiliations, and when that didn’t work, she started causing a disturbance, claiming to be the Grand Duke’s academy classmate and demanding to see him.
Frostily sharp blue eyes stared down the intruder.
She had struggled so much that her red hair was disheveled and hanging loose.
‘Red hair?’
It was not only a strangely familiar color but also a hair color rarely seen here in Babenberg.
Callisteon tilted his head slightly and said.
“Remove the gag.”
The moment the guards removed the gag and lifted the intruder’s face, he could recognize her.
Because within the shabby face, the distinctive, gleaming golden eyes of the Damiani family shone.
That didn’t make it any less astonishing.
“…Second Princess?”
The guards who had brought her in froze in surprise.
They knew the Second Princess had been expelled from the Imperial Palace and was living in a monastery.
So, they had no regret for not respecting her royal status.
They only feared repercussions for failing to recognize the exiled princess and daring to make the Grand Duke come before her.
Even the youngest member of the Babenberg guard knew that the current Emperor had lived his whole life under the oppression of the previous Emperor and Empress, and unable to bear their injustice, had staged a coup.
If this intruder was the biological daughter of that very Emperor and Empress, this incident could lead to misunderstandings with the Emperor once known.
Meanwhile, Chirilla was already hurt that he had merely called her ‘Second Princess’.
Unaware that Callisteon was showing her the utmost respect possible in a situation where there was no reason left to even call her a princess, and completely unaware of the tragedy about to befall her…
“…Carl.”
Cyril was kneeling, her wrists bound behind her back.
With her hands tied, she couldn’t smooth her disheveled hair, nor could she clutch at his trouser legs.
She had thought things would work out if she could just meet Callisteon, but even though he recognized her, he just stood tall like a pillar, looking down at her, let alone embracing her.
Cyril shuffled forward on her knees and bowed her head at his feet.
It was utterly humiliating.
It was fortunate she could at least hide her shame-flushed face with her messy hair.
“I really wanted to see you, but there was no way….”
Cyril was ashamed enough to die, resenting the uncle who had driven her to this path.
Then, she continued whispering in a voice so small only he should be able to hear.
“You… you never sent any replies….”
Callisteon watched her, dumbfounded, then briefly pressed his fingertips to his temple.
It was so absurd he had to choose his words carefully for a long moment.
“…His Majesty.”
He shook his head briefly and corrected his words precisely.
“His Majesty, who will soon be my brother-in-law, is he truly so generous to you? An imprisoned princess, leaving the Empire, coming and going to the capital and royal castle of another nation?”
Cyril, shocked as if struck on the back of the head, finally lifted her head.
Only then did she recognize the coldness in Callisteon’s blue eyes.
He did not pity her.
