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Chapter 49
His Only Weakness
The atmosphere in the room turned icy in an instant.
A golden aura surged around Veneruccia.
It meant that his emotional outburst had grown so intense that even as a Sword Master, he couldn’t fully control his aura.
“Speak clearly.”
“Ugh…”
“Gghk, Your Grace…!”
The butler, not being a knight, immediately dropped to his knees on the floor.
That didn’t mean Ardanate was faring any better.
All he could manage was to stand, body trembling violently.
Only when he saw this with his own eyes did Veneruccia realize that he had leaked his aura. He quickly reined in his force.
But the room remained chillingly tense.
“That information… came this morning from the emperor’s direct aide office.”
Just as Clifford monitored Veneruccia, Veneruccia kept an eye on Clifford too.
Though the brothers were each other’s only remaining blood relatives and cared for one another, they still couldn’t fully trust and often doubted each other.
So while Clifford kept Veneruccia under surveillance, Veneruccia had taken measures to ensure that any leaks from the imperial court would reach him first.
So, if Clifford planned to issue an imperial edict to select an empress, it wasn’t so strange for the news to reach Veneruccia.
“…Hah.”
Veneruccia raked his hand through his hair in frustration.
He ground his teeth and muttered.
“My brother is testing me again.”
He didn’t believe the news had reached him by coincidence.
To think it had come from the emperor’s direct aides.
Veneruccia knew better than anyone how strict Clifford was in managing his people.
If the aides had truly leaked the information, then surely he would’ve already heard that their heads were rolling this morning, right after Ardanate had delivered the message.
In other words, the fact that the news of the empress selection and the candidate had reached him—it was all part of Clifford’s plan.
“I’m going to the palace.”
Veneruccia gave the order to prepare.
But his steps were faster than even the butler who had just risen.
He was someone who had survived the battlefield before even reaching adulthood.
So, basic preparations? He could handle those on his own.
And the attendants couldn’t keep up with his urgency.
A Sword Master’s movements were on an entirely different level from ordinary people.
In the end, Veneruccia washed, dressed himself, and even went to fetch his horse from the stables—all by himself.
Everything was done so quickly that the servants barely had time to react.
The butler and head maid were the first among the staff to come to their senses—but by then, Veneruccia was already galloping toward the palace.
“Brother, what is your intent in doing this to me?”
Veneruccia cut straight to the point the moment he entered the audience chamber.
Not since the day Clifford had decided to send Lucalina to war had Veneruccia so completely discarded formalities.
“Your Grace! Even if you are His Highness’s brother, such disrespect toward His Majesty is—!”
“That’s enough.”
The emperor’s chief attendant tried to scold Veneruccia, but Clifford raised his hand to stop him.
“What could have made my dear brother so angry?” Clifford asked, feigning the tone of a benevolent sibling.
But the more he acted like that, the more furious Veneruccia became.
“I heard that you’ve named Selenia Daphnen as a candidate for empress.”
He pointed out Clifford’s audacity.
“I did,” Clifford replied nonchalantly, nodding as if there were nothing wrong with his decision.
“…She was my lover for six years.”
Veneruccia took a deep breath, struggling not to raise his voice.
Given Clifford’s personality, even Veneruccia’s disregard for imperial protocol was already testing the limit of tolerance.
No doubt Clifford was delighted that his provocation had worked.
If Veneruccia lost his temper here, he might not only fail to achieve his goal but be punished for disrespecting the emperor and thrown out.
“Haven’t you broken up with her?” Clifford said coolly.
Veneruccia’s effort to stay calm had been in vain.
It was as if Clifford was determined to stab where it hurt the most.
“Even if we’ve broken up…! How could you make your brother’s former lover your wife?!”
Veneruccia finally exploded with rage.
It was unbearable how Clifford acted like Selenia was fair game just because they were no longer together.
Bang!
Right on cue, Clifford slammed the armrest of the throne.
“Veneruccia Afron. Are you defying me?”
His voice dropped dangerously low.
Under normal circumstances, Veneruccia would have backed down by now.
But not this time.
“I am not defying Your Majesty. I am appealing to you as your brother. And if Selenia Daphnen, who was once my lover, becomes your wife, what will become of the royal family’s dignity in society?”
Veneruccia tried desperately to keep his emotions about Selenia out of it and speak only of practical consequences.
He’d already learned his lesson from what happened with Lucalina.
If Clifford found out just how much Veneruccia loved Selenia, she’d become his biggest weakness.
Of course, offering up that weakness meant little to Veneruccia himself—he knew how strong he was.
But Selenia was different.
It was because it was Lucalina that she could survive eleven years on the battlefield.
But if it were Selenia?
She wouldn’t last a month—maybe not even a week.
He couldn’t let that happen to her.
“Veneruccia Afron, do you think you can chatter on like this before me?”
As expected, Clifford wasn’t moved in the slightest.
And he wasn’t wrong either.
Clifford was a tyrant feared by all the nobles.
“If anyone dares utter nonsense before me, offering their necks like fools, I’ll simply make them an example.”
Even if they were half-blood brothers, Clifford was the man who killed his kin to rise to the throne.
No one dared to stop him—even if he now planned to steal his brother’s former lover as his empress.
Clifford’s word was law.
Those who disobeyed him never met a good end.
The nobles had already seen this enough times—and they would remain silent again.
“…Does it have to be Selenia Daphnen?” Veneruccia asked desperately.
He had spent a year living with her, a year sharing a bed, six years as her lover.
And yet he still didn’t know everything about her.
But there was one thing he knew for sure in this moment—
Selenia would never be happy at Clifford’s side.
If she became empress, she would wither away, as if all Veneruccia’s efforts to let her go had been for nothing.
“That’s true,” Clifford replied, surprisingly agreeable.
Veneruccia should have sensed something was off right then—but his mind was too full of worry for Selenia.
“But—as you know, the nobles are pressing me harder each day to take an empress.”
Veneruccia clenched his teeth, trying not to scoff.
Since when did Clifford ever care what the nobles thought?
This was blatant mockery.
“I don’t want my power divided. To avoid that, I need a woman from a prestigious and honorable family, yet without any real influence. You know why Selenia Daphnen fits that bill.”
Veneruccia gritted his teeth.
Three noblewomen in the entire empire met those conditions—including Selenia.
And so he was certain.
Clifford had set his sights on her from the very beginning.
“Is this… because of Lucalina?” Veneruccia asked.
His sharp mind had already reached the truth behind Clifford’s actions.
The moment Lucalina confessed her feelings, this happened.
It wasn’t hard to connect the dots.
Clifford was using Selenia as a hostage.
If Veneruccia accepted Lucalina’s feelings, Selenia would be doomed to misery.
“I’ve told you time and time again—keep your distance from the Marquis of Ellyhan.”
As expected, Veneruccia had guessed correctly.
Clifford feared Veneruccia gaining powerful in-laws.
And he didn’t even try to hide it.
This time was no different.
Veneruccia fell silent.
If he admitted here that he couldn’t bear to see Selenia suffer, then she would become his new weakness.
And then her peaceful life would be over.
“Of course, you’re old enough now. If you refuse your brother’s advice, there’s nothing I can do,” Clifford said, adding casually.
And with that—
Veneruccia had no choice but to make a decision.
