Chapter 77
Drip. Drip.
Shevus awoke to the sensation of cold water droplets falling on his cheek.
When he regained his senses, he realized that his hands and feet were bound and that he was trapped inside a dungeon cell.
“Hah…”
A hollow laugh escaped his lips.
For a while, he had been swept away by desire and inflated with hope, but in truth, he was a rather objective man.
Now that his reason had finally returned, he coolly assessed his situation.
“It’s all over.”
As one who had once been recognized by the Emperor, Shevus knew his sovereign’s character all too well.
The Emperor never forgave anyone who dared covet what belonged to him.
Was it not a well-known tale that, in order to secure his throne, he drove all his blood relatives to death—save only for his full-blooded sister, the Grand Duchess of Tellum?
That was why I tried to crawl low and approach him.
I will never covet what belongs to you.
All I seek is a little generosity from Lord Rornode.
That was how Shevus had planned to slowly persuade the Emperor.
And to satisfy that greedy monarch, he had been prepared to hand over everything he could.
The Zelauer family’s wealth, its honor, even its lands—everything.
After all, he had never truly thought of them as his own. To gain the name of Rornode, he judged that such a price was necessary.
But things went awry midway.
Somehow, the Emperor learned something that enraged him. Without even giving Shevus a chance to explain, he had him thrown into this cold prison.
The charges? Whatever the Emperor wanted them to be.
All the more since I ran a newspaper and committed plenty of shady dealings.
And to make matters worse, the aide he trusted turned out to be one of the Emperor’s secret police. Surely, then, the Emperor knew everything.
What weighed most heavily on Shevus was the look in the Emperor’s eyes when they last met—eyes that filled him with crushing defeat.
Dark flames flickering as if declaring there would be no compromise.
Anyone who had met those eyes would have lost all will to resist, just as he had.
Where did the leak come from?
The Third Empress? Or Brindel Zelauer Rornode?
Instead of making excuses or panicking, Shevus quickly turned his mind.
How do I get out of here alive?
Just then—
“Finished thinking?”
The clear voice was completely unsuited to the damp, gloomy dungeon.
Shevus jerked his bowed head up.
Beyond the bars stood a figure cloaked in a heavy robe.
“I didn’t want to disturb you since you seemed deep in thought. But now it’s fine, isn’t it?”
“You are…”
That voice was all too familiar.
Even in the noisiest banquet halls, it always managed to capture his ears.
The figure slowly pushed back her hood.
Silvery-platinum hair shimmered in the torchlight, tinged with red.
“Princess Neroli…!”
“Good evening, Count Zelauer.”
Neroli curved her golden eyes into a smile.
Her appearance, so out of place in this dungeon, struck Shevus with a jarring sense of disconnect.
But right now, she was the only one he could rely on.
“Your Highness, something has gone terribly wrong. Do you know what is happening? Do you know the charges I face?”
“As I thought. You’re more interested in that than why I’m here. A rational choice.”
The Princess clapped her hands together lightly and laughed.
Her laughter made Shevus’s face involuntarily twist into a scowl.
“Your Highness, I don’t have much time. If you know anything…”
He broke off mid-sentence, staring hard at Neroli.
Only three people knew of his secret marriage proposal: the Third Empress, Brindel, and Neroli.
And now, the one standing before him so calmly was…
“Surely… was it you?”
His voice trembled with disbelief.
“Your Highness, did you tell His Majesty about my proposal?”
“I didn’t just tell him. I added a bit of exaggeration and falsehood as well.”
“…Why?”
Oddly enough, he wasn’t entirely shocked.
Perhaps because his aide had already betrayed him, Neroli’s unexpected turn did not shake him as much.
That did not mean it didn’t sting. Suppressing the surge of emotion, he asked:
“Did you despise me that much?”
“Do you think this is simply about liking or disliking you?”
“Then what’s the reason? As I said, if this marriage had gone forward, no one would have been harmed. It was a deal with no losers.”
Neroli stepped closer to the bars.
The smile had vanished from her face, shadows from the torch making her expression seem darker.
Shevus thought that perhaps this was her true face.
“It wasn’t a deal with no losers. It was a deal where you stood to gain greatly.”
“And that’s what you fault me for?”
“No. I respect your choice. In this palace, one must always make the choice that profits oneself the most.”
“Then why—”
She answered with a voice as dry as sand.
“Because I too made the choice that profited me the most. Just as you did.”
“…Is that truly your honest choice, Princess Neroli?”
“Who knows? Does it even matter now?”
Her eyes flicked briefly toward the dungeon steps.
“There isn’t much time. Soon, the guards stationed above will come down to check on you. They mustn’t know I was here.”
“You snuck in? How…?”
It was possible—using Modway’s short-range teleport and Marin’s sound barrier.
But Neroli had no intention of revealing her secrets. Instead, she quickly said what she came to say.
“Shevus Zelauer. The Emperor has declared two charges against you: tax evasion and property concealment, and deceiving the royal family.”
Of course.
Shevus, who had already predicted as much, only gave a hollow laugh.
“The latter is difficult to admit. I’m curious how exactly you explained it to His Majesty.”
The charge of deceiving the royal family weighed on him. Still, with enough bail money, he could get out of prison.
The sum would be astronomical, but that was for Prince Brindel to arrange.
After all, the greatest strength of the Prince lies in the Zelauer intelligence network—and I alone control it.
The spies, the operatives, the classified files—only Shevus knew everything.
It was his most valuable resource, one he never shared, not even with his closest allies.
Even in marriage, that was something he had intended to keep solely his.
Prince Brindel knows this. He won’t leave me to rot here.
And what about Neroli Mivan Rornode, standing before him now?
Why had she ever agreed to the marriage in the first place?
“Princess, aren’t you afraid?”
Afraid that if she betrayed him like this, he might no longer keep her secret.
“Why should I protect your secret if you won’t protect mine?”
Surely that was why she had come to see him—to make sure.
Shevus fixed her with a steady gaze.
Her golden eyes did not waver in the slightest.
“No, Count. You’ll remain silent for now.”
“And why would I?”
“Because just as you keep my secret, I am keeping yours.”
“…My secret?”
She tilted her head slightly.
“You finally found them, didn’t you? The mother and younger siblings you lost in childhood.”
At those words, Shevus’s heart lurched.
He should have denied it outright—but it wasn’t easy.
Neroli’s gaze felt as if it pierced straight through him.
“Truthfully, even if you exposed me, it wouldn’t matter much. As you’ve seen, His Majesty’s obsession with me runs far deeper than something as simple as my birth.”
“…”
“But… I can’t say he’d overlook your secret as easily.”
Shevus gave up on asking how, when, or how much she knew.
He could already guess what her answer would be.
Did Princess Neroli really have such an information network?
Or had the Emperor himself told her?
If the Emperor could plant a spy in his side, then surely he knew everything already.
Wait… then who is supposed to be the one ‘turning a blind eye’?
The Emperor already knew of his origins.
Shevus’s brow furrowed in confusion.
Watching him closely, Neroli whispered kindly:
“The Third Empress.”
“!”
“She deserves to know, doesn’t she? That a common orphan with not a drop of Zelauer blood enjoyed the family’s glory all this time.”
“S-stop.”
“And that with the power of Zelauer, you tracked down your lost kin and secretly supported them under the pretense of noblesse oblige.”
“Enough!”
“What do you think the Third Empress will do once she learns all this?”
“Your Highness!”
“What punishment will she mete out to the despicable thief who stole her family’s legacy?”
Neroli smiled sweetly.
It was the very smile that, at times, buried amidst the crowd of banquets, he had once thought as radiant as sunlight.
“Count, let’s make a new deal. This time, one that benefits only me.”
Never realizing what might be hidden behind that sunlight.
