~Chapter 62~
At those words, the Empress Dowager paused.
“What do you mean by that?”
Ares continued, speaking earnestly as if he were a loyal subject.
“I may call him my superior, but I truly cannot understand a baron who dared to involve Your Majesty in such chaos.”
“…Huh?”
“If you wish, I will capture both the arena’s manager and the baron who caused this matter and make them kneel before you.”
The Empress Dowager snorted as if it were amusing.
“Interesting. I feel as though I am seeing you for the first time… Will you take off your mask?”
At her words, Ares slowly removed his mask and revealed his face.
Seeing the handsome man, the Empress Dowager smiled crookedly.
“Such bloodthirsty eyes. But still, I don’t recognize you. What is your name?”
“Ares Hunt. I am from a noble family of a neighboring country.”
“Amelia, do you know this man?”
“…I believe he is the nephew of the former baroness of the Mowin family.”
At that, the Empress Dowager’s eyes gleamed.
“Ho, ho! So the baron who raised you for my sake will also kneel?”
Ares answered firmly.
“Yes. For Your Majesty, I would even punish the Grand Duke of Escalus, who held a wedding and dared invite Your Majesty in person.”
The Empress Dowager turned her head toward Ares.
“Ho?”
Even while cold sweat ran down her face from stomach pain, she looked at Ares with interest.
“Your Majesty. I speak boldly, but our arena has already caused great chaos due to the incompetence of its master and manager. The Grand Duke of Escalus has likely noticed the arena’s existence.”
Ares bared his teeth slightly, his eyes shining.
“Even if the identities of the noble guests are not fully exposed, rumors will spread.”
“And so?”
The Empress Dowager, being of high status herself, believed she could silence the matter even if her involvement was revealed.
However, if the Grand Duke of Escalus investigated directly, it would become very troublesome.
“There is a way to punish Baron Mowin and the Grand Duke, while preventing the Duke from focusing fully on this case.”
The Empress Dowager seemed intrigued that Ares even mentioned the Grand Duke.
“What would that be?”
“We could kidnap Nina Mowin, the Grand Duke’s fiancée.”
‘What?’
At that dark voice, Camilla covered her mouth. She felt she might scream.
“Ho. You mean your cousin?”
“Yes. She would be the sacrifice of my foolish uncle, who dared cling to the Grand Duke’s house to escape Your Majesty’s shadow.”
Ares whispered with the face of a sorrowful older brother.
“As her cousin, I have always pitied that child, swept up by my uncle’s greed.”
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
Clenching his fist, Ares shouted as if he were acting for Nina’s sake.
“She always said she would rather die than marry the Grand Duke’s son. Respecting her wish, kidnapping her would be my duty as her cousin.”
The man who had always looked down on Nina was now speaking nonsense as if he were a devoted family member.
Hearing his continued words, Camilla felt sick.
“If the bride of the wedding dies, the Grand Duke’s house, having lost its fiancée, will become a great laughingstock.”
Camilla’s hands trembled.
“It would also give Your Majesty the chance to choose a new mistress for the Duke’s house,”
Ares briefly glanced at Amelia.
“And with the bride gone, all attention would turn there, and this incident would quietly settle.”
‘No.’
Because he had followed the Empress Dowager through the northern passage, Ares did not know what Romulus was already doing outside.
‘Romulus has already caused a huge uproar. This chaos will only grow, not settle.’
Still, the Empress Dowager, who had been watching Ares silently, ordered,
“Bring me the medicine you gave me earlier.”
Ares knelt on one knee and respectfully handed it over.
The Empress Dowager frowned as she drank it.
“…It’s much better.”
“It is my honor, Your Majesty.”
“Not a bad plan, but it is not enough.”
The Empress Dowager smiled with bloodthirsty delight.
“If you want to become my new dog, then kill your cousin outright.”
“…What?”
“That would be cleaner. Only then could you be called the new master of Glamis. Ho, ho, ho!”
Hearing all of this, Camilla felt her mind freeze.
“What do you say? Will you seize this chance?”
At the Empress Dowager’s gaze, the silent Ares lowered his head with a sinister smile.
“Yes. Everything will proceed according to Your Majesty’s will.”
‘No!’
Camilla screamed inside.
She bit her lips tightly so not even a breath escaped.
Removing her shoes, Camilla quietly slipped away.
Tap! Tap!
Only after reaching the secret passage did she allow herself to make noise.
Running at full speed, Camilla calculated the shortest route to the cathedral.
‘Nina is in danger.’
She no longer cared if all her family’s crimes were exposed and she was judged for them.
‘Sister!’
She wanted to protect the one child who had called her that.
Running until her feet burned, Camilla headed for the cathedral.
It was fortunate that Nina had chosen this very day to meet.
She had to reach Nina before Ares did.
Running without stopping, she tasted blood in her throat.
As she was about to push open the cathedral doors, someone called out to her.
“Lady Camilla?”
“Miss!”
“Dylan! Howin! You were waiting.”
Camilla had asked Howin to wait near the Escalus Cathedral and pass a message to Nina if Camilla did not arrive on time.
“Did it succeed, miss? It’s very noisy outside.”
“Yes. Fortunately.”
She had also asked Dylan to guard Nina.
“Howin, did you finish delivering the letter to the Grand Duke?”
“Yes, miss.”
“Then return what I entrusted to you, and go check whether the Duke’s investigation is properly closing in on the baron.”
“I will!”
When Howin handed her the bundle, Camilla took it and ran with Dylan toward the cathedral cloister.
Because it was festival time, there was no one inside the cathedral.
After asking Dylan to guard the cloister entrance, Camilla finally entered the garden.
“…Sister?!”
“Nina.”
In front of the cloister fountain, Nina smiled brightly when she saw Camilla.
Behind her stood Drake.
‘As in the original story, Nina must have called Camilla to be a witness to her secret wedding.’
And then she planned to run away.
“I’m sorry for making you come out like this. But there’s something I want to say.”
Camilla looked at Nina, who whispered with her hands tightly clasped.
“I want to run away with the person I love.”
Her younger sister.
The main character of this world.
“I’m not trying to deceive you, Sister. But, but…!”
With tears in her eyes, Nina cried out,
“I want to live with the person I love.”
“…Nina.”
“As I said, I’m going to run away. Before that, will you be a witness to the marriage vow between me and this man?”
Camilla bit her lip as she looked at Nina.
The situation was urgent.
If Nina was going to run, Camilla should have told her to flee immediately.
But instead, Camilla asked a question.
“What do you trust in me? You know I haven’t treated you as a sister for five years.”
“Yes, I know. Sister… you don’t like me, right? I know. I know I was a foolish sister who kept bothering you.”
Nina bit her lip as she spoke.
“But to me, Sister, you are someone very precious.”
Camilla felt her chest tighten.
With emotions she could not name, she pointed at Drake.
“Do you know who this man is?”
While planning everything with Camilla, Drake had never once spoken about his relationship with Nina.
He had only said—
‘If the plan succeeds, Romulus will be able to support the family.’
Hinting that he would run away after entrusting the family to his brother.
But now, Nina was facing Drake in front of Camilla.
Camilla wanted to know whether Nina knew the true identity of the man she thought was just a servant.
And Nina, though always innocent, was never foolish.
Nina answered quietly,
“…Drake Everett. The man I love.”
