CHAPTER 180…………………………………………
At this point, it was clear that Elforten was the culprit.
Yet, Repeinon, who was supposed to give me a signal, hadn’t sent me anything.
Watching that, Elforten laughed mockingly.
“Don’t tell me… you’re waiting for His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Startled, I hesitated, and Elforten pulled a small orb from his robe.
Could it be that Elforten, who I thought had fallen into Repeinon’s trap, had actually come here deliberately to deceive everyone?
“…….”
“You really think I’m that stupid? That’s why you’re the one getting played.”
Repeinon snorted as he toyed with the orb.
“Planning to run away, are you?”
“Seems like you want to hold me back in this wretched prison. Sorry, but that won’t work. You and I are worlds apart.”
Repeinon, so full of arrogance and confidence, then suddenly threw the orb to the ground.
When it shattered, Elforten disappeared.
‘Teleportation can’t be this easy…’
Click.
The door opened, and a frantic Repeinon stepped in with a blank expression.
“What happened?”
“I’m not sure. He shattered the orb and vanished.”
“Sorry I’m late, my lady. There was a sudden council meeting, and I got held up.”
The Crown Prince Repeinon was usually meticulous and precise, never someone to irresponsibly ruin things like this.
Then the fact that Elforten’s faction had moved must be true…
“Do you know who actively requested the council meeting?”
“It was the Emperor faction, led by Duke Slrent.”
I closed my eyes tightly to suppress my anger as Repeinon said this somewhat reluctantly.
I had thought that Duke Slrent, whose influence had waned, would no longer intervene in the royal court.
So the story in the original events had to play out as it was.
‘It’s like I’m the real villain, and Duke Slrent is the loyal one…’
Repeinon, having returned from the underground prison, sighed when he saw Rekanon waiting for him.
He had said he had come to terms with his feelings, yet seeing him unable to focus whenever it involved Elrupe made him feel both distressed and worried for his younger brother.
“Brother, how is Elrupe?”
“If you’re so curious, why not go see for yourself?”
“…She’s a woman with a fiancé. Wouldn’t it be troublesome if unnecessary rumors spread?”
Rekanon’s drooping voice immediately made it clear who he was worried about.
It wasn’t that he feared rumors about himself, the prince of the empire, but that unnecessary gossip might attach to a friend’s name.
“Her condition isn’t bad. She hasn’t skipped meals. If you’re asking about her dignity, I ordered the soldiers to keep her well protected.”
“…I don’t understand why something like this had to happen while the guardian was absent.”
Seeing Rekanon’s frown, Repeinon also felt the frustration.
“Are you certain she’s not the culprit?”
“Of course. She’s the woman I loved with all I had. She’s not someone who would do such a thing to Lin. I guarantee it.”
“Well… you can’t deny how dearly she cared for Lin. The problem is, the real culprit isn’t just one person, right?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Although I had arrived too late to witness the scene Elforten mentioned, the story I heard through Elrupe was shocking: there was someone backing him.
“Right. Targeting the moment when Duke Obern is away means they’ve been planning this for a long time.”
“If you leave it to me, I’ll find the guardian even now.”
“No need. He’ll return soon, and you can confirm it yourself then.”
It wasn’t time to search for the guardian.
Tracking the person backing Elforten was a more urgent task.
If that backer was my father, the Emperor…
‘The empire would no longer be under the guardian’s protection.’
The impact this would have on the empire, and what someone like Elrupe Inferna meant to the guardian…
I could only hope my foolish father would realize it.
“For now, let’s prepare for the council meeting. That’s the priority.”
Holding a council meeting without even catching the real culprit…
This was clearly meant to frame me as the criminal.
Until now, I had avoided using dark magic as much as possible to prevent the current situation, but it was no longer feasible.
To have the power and not use it would be foolish.
‘Some might call it reckless, but if I don’t act, nothing will get solved.’
I bit my tongue lightly to draw a small amount of blood for the dark magic.
Then I subdued the watching soldiers to avoid attention.
Biting my lips for more blood, I released the handcuffs and shackles binding me. Biting my fingers, I unlocked the padlock securing the cage.
Step by step, I stepped out of the cage and grabbed a supply sword from the soldiers’ waists.
It gleamed, well maintained.
‘Just need to endure once more…’
Using dark magic this strong required more pain than merely biting my tongue.
I slashed my arm to draw blood, forming a figure resembling Elforten’s face with the massive amount of blood.
Then, needing even more blood, I attempted teleportation, something I had never tried before.
Whoosh.
The wind carried the image safely to the Count’s estate, where I would meet my father.
I wondered if pouring out so much blood would be okay, but I had to inform Count Inferna of this matter.
Even if Elforten had a backer, would he abandon me?
‘A count who wants to rise above the royal family isn’t likely to protect a compromised Elforten.’
My limbs grew cold, and my body began burning with fever. Was this a side effect of excessive blood loss?
‘Quick, stop the bleeding…’
But strangely, dark magic wasn’t healing the wound.
Until now, dark magic had solved everything. Why wouldn’t restorative magic work…?
‘Could it be?’
I realized that Elforten, afraid of dark magic, must have poisoned me.
If I had overcome the poison with dark magic, it would have been meaningless. He must have used a substance preventing the wound from healing with dark magic.
‘My head… I can’t think anymore…’
If dark magic failed, I could summon Risma.
I urgently called out to Risma, knowing she would come as long as she saw me.
“…Risma.”
But no matter how many times I called, she did not appear.
Wasn’t a summoned spirit supposed to stop whatever it was doing and come immediately?
“I’m in so much pain, Risma. Please…”
My vision blurred as if shrouded in fog, and hot tears streamed down my cheeks.
Everything had gone differently than I had imagined.
Roelin, the person I wanted to protect most, was now in critical danger because of me, and Elforten, whom I had dismissed as a foolish supporting character, had locked me in this prison.
And now, as if he never existed, the spirit didn’t appear.
Creak.
I heard the door open outside, but I could do nothing.
I was practically at death’s door.
“Elrupe?”
Fortunately, the voice I heard belonged to Rublion.
Had the gods wished for me not to die like this?
“Why are you in this state… wait a moment.”
Rublion hurriedly took out vials from his robes.
‘Did he usually carry this many?’
As if he had anticipated this situation, he poured out an enormous amount of vials.
The bleeding stopped, but my strength had not returned.
Seeing me so weak, Rublion laid down his coat on the floor and gently carried me to lie on it.
“You need to rest. Your health is the most important thing right now.”
“Hah… Rublion is a funny man. What can a criminal do by being healthy?”
“Have you already heard?”
In his careful question, I instinctively sensed there was a truth I needed to know.
I tried to calm myself internally before looking at him.
“Has the council’s decision already been made?”
“…Yes.”
“Then I’m curious… what was my punishment?”
If the result had already come out, there was nothing left to reverse. Even if I died now, nothing could be done…
“They decided unanimously to execute the culprit.”
‘It’s unfair. I’m not even the real culprit.’
“…….”
“If you want, I can go with you. It would be an honor to accompany you on your path, Elrupe.”
Rublion extended his hand to me.
He was ready to escape at any moment, inviting me to go together. But my mind was conflicted.
Rublion could also die because of me, and I couldn’t allow that.
“I’ll go to the temple when I need your help. We’ll meet there again.”
I wondered if we would ever truly meet again.
If I were executed now, I might never have the chance to find the temple.
Yet Rublion looked at me as if he believed it.
“I believe it. I dreamed that you would come to find me at the temple, Elrupe.”
His hands, holding mine tightly, felt warm.
