Chapter 22
A few seconds after Masha left, Claudio finally spoke.
“How have things been while I was gone?”
Urian explained that on the day Sean returned alone, the First Knights, led by Visd, had arrived at the villa sooner than expected.
“We immediately caught the man who hurt you, Duke. But… It took us a long time to find you. I’m ashamed of that.”
“Good that you stayed cautious thinking about the western guys. If you had made a fuss, I would’ve dealt with you first.”
Claudio’s red eyes glinted fiercely.
Urian, knowing this was no joke, felt a chill run down his spine.
“So, have you identified that guy?”
“He was the brother of a smuggler we took care of here four years ago. He had the same tattoo as those guys, so I don’t think he was lying.”
“Tattoos…”
Four years ago, they believed the smugglers to be merely small-time criminals posing as a gang.
Claudio rubbed his chin and asked,
“Is that guy still alive?”
Urian shook his head.
“Sorry. We couldn’t stop him from taking his own life.”
Claudio nodded.
“Judging by this, the group he belonged to must be quite large. We need to find others with the same tattoo.”
“I’ll report this to the knights immediately.”
Claudio lazily tilted his head.
“And any unusual incidents while I was gone?”
“Fortunately, there were no special events.”
“So my disappearance was the biggest problem, huh?”
Claudio smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth.
Then Urian clasped his hands together and asked,
“My Duke, how have you been? Why have you been staying here all this time? And why hide your identity?”
“I understand your concerns, but ask one thing at a time.”
“Ah.”
Urian shifted awkwardly.
Claudio clicked his tongue and placed his hand on his aching wound.
“I only recently regained consciousness. Until then, I was lying down all the time.”
Urian’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.
“Wh-What?!”
He had seemed fine—walking, talking, and looking healthy.
Urian had thought maybe Claudio was hiding for another reason— but the wound must have been severe!
“It’s not a major injury. The bullet didn’t pierce any organs. It’s hard to believe he was unconscious for so long.”
“But he was shot! That’s normal!”
Yurian hurriedly stood up.
“I shouldn’t just stay here. I’ll get a carriage immediately. And a doctor…”
“A carriage on this mountain path? Impossible.”
“Then I’ll bring a doctor!”
“No need.”
Claudio stared at the firmly closed front door as he spoke.
“That woman treated me well. I’m healing.”
“You still need to see a doctor.”
Looking at the state of this house—it’s worse than the storage shed at the Gloria Dukedom—it was clear the treatment had been only basic.
“I know my wounds best.”
Claudio replied coldly.
Urian flinched, swallowed his worries, and stayed silent.
“And don’t pry any more into that woman’s private life.”
“You do know she’s an illegal resident, right?”
Claudio nodded lazily.
It was harder not to notice what was going on.
“So, you’re just going to pretend you didn’t see anything?”
Most illegal residents in Gloria came from the Domique Duchy.
Domique was a politically peaceful country, with no natural disasters for years and fertile land producing plenty of food.
There was only one reason people would flee from such a country to Gloria:
They were criminals.
Whether they had killed someone or stolen something, most of them had no choice but to run.
Claudio sighed, clearly seeing what Urian was thinking.
“It’s hard to say ‘she’s trustworthy’ when you’ve only known her a few days.”
“So you’re saying you’ll overlook it even though you don’t trust her?”
“I can’t overlook it. She saved my life.”
Claudio closed his eyes tightly and smirked.
“Well, she did do something worthy of a pardon. But in that case, shouldn’t we reveal the truth?” That way, she could get citizenship.”
Then Claudio shook his head lightly.
“I’m not talking about giving her a pardon. I just mean pretending not to know.”
Urian, about to say something, nodded instead.
“Understood.”
It felt a bit sad.
Honestly, having citizenship would help her more than just being overlooked.
And not even knowing that the person she saved was the Duke of Gloria.
“But since that’s the Duke’s wish, I won’t say more.”
Urian smiled faintly.
“Anyway, I’m really glad the Duke is safe. I was so afraid something terrible might happen.”
“Why worry about that? I’m not so easy to kill.”
“Pardon?”
“They say the ones who get cursed live the longest.”
“Please disappear! Do you know how miserable I feel every time I see those red eyes of yours…?”
Many probably hated Claudio, but only his mother dared openly criticise him.
She ignored him, hated him, reached out to care for him, then slapped him with that hand.
She cursed him so fiercely.
“So I have no choice but to live long.”
“Who dares speak ill of the Duke?”
Urian’s expression stiffened.
“Not many say it openly, but I bet many envy me in secret.”
Claudio didn’t want to talk about his mother more than necessary, so he said this.
“Ah, Marquis Hermes. He can’t hide his dislike for me. Well, he must be hoping I’m gone, so it’s hard to hide those feelings.”
The Hermes family was once prestigious, but a reckless business expansion by the previous marquis caused their fall.
The former marquis almost lost everything overnight and had to beg nobles for loans to save the family.
The current Marquis Hermes seemed traumatised by that and craved power strongly.
But he wasn’t very smart and couldn’t hide his greed.
“Everyone knows. He has the ambition to make his daughter the queen.”
Born as the son of a lowly maid, the current king had the weakest support.
If this king became his son-in-law, he believed he could become the true power behind the throne.
But there was one obstacle to his dream: Claudio.
The West Marquis, who had strong support from the western region, was the half-brother of the previous king.
Like the current king, his mother’s bloodline was weak, but he had firmly kept his position for a long time.
If he started a civil war, the weak king would quickly lose his throne.
“I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.”
Terrified and unable to sleep, the king finally begged Claudio.
“Duke, if you stand by my side, the West Marquis wouldn’t dare start a war.”
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that more than half of the kingdom was under Claudio’s influence.
If he wanted, he could overthrow the king and start a new royal dynasty.
That’s why even the West Marquis didn’t dare challenge the Duke of Gloria.
It was like disturbing a peaceful lion’s whiskers; once the lion roared, no one could stop it.
“Please, please help me!”
“Your Majesty, with all respect, what benefit would I gain by helping you? I only wish for peace, no matter who sits on the throne.”
Claudio smiled calmly.
Though his tone was arrogant, the king didn’t feel insulted; he thought it was natural.
“I will follow all the Duke’s wishes. If he wants, I could even support him to become the next king.”
“I’ll do anything you say. If you want, I can name you as my successor.”
It wasn’t just a desperate lie.
The Duke of Gloria had royal blood, and since the king had no children, if the king chose Claudio as heir, no one could oppose it.
Claudio didn’t particularly want to be king, but he didn’t like how fast the Western power was growing.
So Claudio took the desperate king’s hand.
The king was protected by Claudio but lived in constant fear that Claudio might abandon him, always watching Claudio’s reactions while managing the kingdom in a submissive way.
Therefore, to Marquis Hermes—who dreamed of making his daughter queen and becoming the most powerful man in Stravin—the Duke of Gloria was both an annoying and frightening obstacle.
