Chapter 95
“What?”
This was the Marquis of West’s villa.
And Claudio hadn’t told anyone he was coming here.
…
Remembering the eyes that had been watching him the night he left for this place, Claudio stepped out onto the terrace.
Just then, a woman pulled back her hood and lifted her head — Beatrice.
Her face bloomed into a smile as lovely as a flower in full bloom.
“Ha.”
A cold laugh escaped Claudio’s lips.
You followed me all the way here?
Fine. It’s better this way. Thanks to you, I can end this tiresome situation a little sooner.
***
“Your Grace…!”
When Beatrice saw Claudio waiting for her in the drawing room, her eyes grew wet, as if she were seeing a long-lost lover again.
“Have you been well? You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”
“You didn’t follow me here just to say that, I assume.”
Even his cold, unwelcoming tone didn’t bother her.
Ah, that voice — the voice she had only ever heard in her dreams, now right before her.
Beatrice covered her lips shyly, lowering her gaze.
“Actually, I came because I have something urgent to tell you. It’s a matter of great importance, and I was so afraid Your Grace wouldn’t agree to meet me.”
“What is it?”
Beatrice hesitated before speaking.
“I know who’s behind the people who did those terrible things to you recently.”
She tried to sound grave and sincere, though her eyes gleamed like a child expecting praise or reward.
“Really? Who?”
Claudio asked with a casual air, as though it were a trivial matter.
Normally, he would have pressed her hard about how she came by such information — after all, he’d made it public that his injuries were from a hunting accident.
But Beatrice, entranced by his faint, languid smile, failed to notice the oddness of his reaction.
“Ah… I never imagined I’d be the one to tell you this.”
After hesitating several times, Beatrice finally spoke carefully.
“His Majesty the King…”
She covered her lips again, whispering like one uttering something forbidden.
“His Majesty tried to have you killed.”
She sighed like a tragic heroine recounting a horror she’d witnessed — yet her eyes flicked up, gauging Claudio’s expression.
Why wasn’t he reacting? Why did he look so indifferent?
Did he not believe her? Then she would make him believe.
“His Majesty has not been in his right mind for some time now.
He’s forgotten that your loyalty has kept the royal family safe and has instead fallen into the delusion that you intend to kill him.”
“…”
“I hoped time would heal his madness, but to think he would actually try to harm you… If only I had known his plan sooner, Your Grace would never have been hurt.
But I only learned of it after it happened. I feel so ashamed…”
She placed a trembling hand over her heart.
“Your Grace, if this continues, His Majesty will keep coming after you.
Neither I nor my father can stop him.”
“And so?”
“You must be the one to stop him.”
“You want me to draw my sword against the king?”
“There’s no other way. His Majesty has already crossed the line!”
Her eyes flared wildly.
“Whether he’s right or wrong — if I touch the king, that’s treason.”
“Then become king yourself.”
“You make it sound easy.”
“But it is easy for you, isn’t it? And it’s the right thing to do.”
She spoke earnestly, almost reverently.
The current king lacked both bloodline and ability, while Claudio was the most capable man in the entire continent. Was it not natural, then, that he should be king?
“If I become king, the Marquis of Hermes’s grand ambitions vanish like smoke.”
“…Oh, Your Grace…”
Beatrice sniffled, wiping her tears.
“Do you know how much I risked just to stand here before you?
I’ve been branded a traitor by the King himself — I could have been executed.
But I came here thinking only of your safety.”
“So you’re asking me to make you queen?”
“At the very least, I’d make a far more fitting queen than that Lady Railford.”
Her tear-filled eyes curved into a soft, self-assured smile.
“Of course, I know your feelings for her aren’t real.”
Claudio raised an eyebrow.
“If there’s one thing in your story I can agree with… yes. The young lady will be queen.”
“!”
Her face lit up as if sunlight had suddenly broken through clouds.
All her suffering seemed to melt away in that single moment.
“Ah, Your Grace! I knew it! I knew one day you would accept me!”
“Accept you? What do you mean?”
“Pardon?”
Beatrice tilted her head with innocent confusion.
“I only said she will be queen.”
“Exactly! Because you’ll be king, won’t you?”
“No. The Marquis of West will be king.”
Beatrice’s face turned deathly pale.
“What—what are you saying? The Marquis of West has no legitimate claim to the throne! Only you have the rightful grounds to dethrone His Majesty!”
Claudio chuckled quietly.
Normally, Beatrice would have been entranced by that beautiful face, but not now — not when her entire plan was crumbling.
“You’re right. No central noble, no matter how incompetent, would support a claim like his. It could even lead to civil war.”
“Exactly, so—”
“But His Majesty has already abdicated.”
“…What?”
Beatrice’s eyes narrowed in disbelief.
“The King confessed all his wrongs and begged me for forgiveness.”
He stressed the words all his wrongs.
Beatrice’s lips twitched faintly.
“He told me how you warned him that I’d one day covet the throne — that if he didn’t eliminate me first, we’d both die.”
Her heart pounded violently.
He actually confessed everything? That pathetic fool!
Beatrice clenched her fists beneath her gown, forcing a blank, innocent expression.
“Your Grace, I—I don’t understand what you’re saying…”
“The King said you urged him to act quickly while I was away on inspection.
That you’d already found someone trustworthy to handle it.
That it was the only way to save you both.”
“Your Grace, no! Don’t believe such lies—!”
Her voice rose shrilly as she insisted the King had lied to save his own skin, but Claudio barely heard her.
All he could see was the frail, guilt-ridden monarch who had begged him for mercy.
I was too weak… That’s why she panicked. Beatrice thought if she kept showing you affection, maybe you’d pity her enough to spare her life someday.
[ … ]
If I’d been stronger, she wouldn’t have been so afraid. But I wasn’t. Not that it excuses what she did — after all you’ve done for me… I should’ve stopped her, but I didn’t. I forgot every debt I owed you…
The King had shaken his head violently, eyes full of shame.
It’s all my fault. She did nothing wrong.
Claudio had only sneered.
The King was too much of a coward to lie — which meant everything he’d said was true.
So the fool believed every word that woman said.
Still, it was strange. Why had Beatrice told such lies?
It wasn’t fear anymore; she must have something else in mind — some plan the King never realized.
Unexpected, he thought.
Even knowing Beatrice’s love for him, the King had made her his queen out of desperate longing. Claudio had assumed the woman and her father, the Marquis of Hermes, would never overstep their authority.
But they had — and caused something far worse.
“So what now? You expect me to forget it all because you apologized?”
Claudio’s smile had been razor-sharp.
“I’m afraid even if Your Majesty had kept silent, I’d still hunt down whoever dared to bare their fangs at me.”
“I know, I know! You think I don’t know you?”
“Judging by your tone, I’d say you don’t. You should’ve made sure I was dead. Because what comes next… won’t be something you can endure.”
When Claudio turned to leave, the King gasped and reached out to him.
“W–wait! I’m not asking for forgiveness!”
The King leaned forward too far and fell to the floor.
He crawled at Claudio’s feet — a pitiful sight.
But humiliation no longer mattered to him.
Even shame was a luxury now.
UNLOCK SOON!~