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Chapter 46
A sudden force made me lose my balance and stagger. But thanks to Saint catching me before I could fall, I avoided a real accident.
“You shouldn’t grab people so roughly,” Saint said.
At his words, Abel gave a derisive snort.
“A bug-faced bastard lecturing me, huh…”
Abel looked at Saint with eyes full of disgust.
“I don’t know who you are, but you should know your place.”
His words, utterly devoid of courtesy, dripped with irritation.
I glanced nervously between them, worried that Saint might lash out. But to my surprise, he remained calm.
That was—until Abel forcibly shoved between us to push him aside. Saint’s blue eyes then gleamed with a chilling light.
Seeing it, I involuntarily sucked in a thin gasp.
Abel didn’t notice, but I could see it clearly—his eyes were filled with unmistakable murderous intent.
No, don’t!
I silently mouthed the words to him, shaking my head for emphasis. Abel might be a thoughtless brute, but the last thing I wanted was bloodshed here.
Thankfully, Saint calmed himself. He still didn’t seem to accept the situation, but at least he didn’t look like he was about to cause trouble.
Phew.
I pressed a hand to my chest in relief.
Abel, oblivious to it all, gripped my arm hard. I winced at the pain, then quickly straightened my face and glanced at Saint.
Please, just stay put!
Even as I was dragged away, I kept urging him silently. I didn’t know if he understood, but I could only hope he would.
Abel took me out to the terrace.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Once he confirmed we were alone, he immediately lashed out.
“Now and earlier too—why are you meeting every shady guy out there? Are you out of your mind?”
Abel launched into another tirade.
“Father spoiled you too much, that’s why you can’t even handle your own business properly!”
It was all useless, empty nagging.
I pretended to listen but let his words go in one ear and out the other. I had no intention of wasting my emotions on something so pointless.
“Get a grip. Do you want to marry some half-wit prince and see our whole family beheaded? You know the only place you should be is the empress’s seat!”
Abel roared, gripping my shoulders so hard the pain sank to the bone. My face twisted involuntarily.
“If you’re going to keep this up, come back to the main house.”
“…What did you say?”
The words startled me so much that my question slipped out reflexively.
“How dare you talk back?”
That only made Abel blow up even more.
“Listen to me before I send you back to the imperial palace!”
He was almost shouting at the top of his lungs. I wanted to cover my ears from the piercing voice.
Ugh, this damned family!
I could finally understand why Lilith had left the house to live in a separate residence.
My only brother was like this, and the duke had his own subtle way of pressuring people.
And Abel—judging by how consistent his attitude was—clearly wasn’t intimidated by Lilith’s temper either.
I’m so sick of this.
There’s only so many times I could listen to childish, unreasonable complaints.
Who did he think he was to treat me like this? He never visited where I lived, never even sent a letter.
And from the sound of it, he wasn’t even worried about me—he was just using “family” as an excuse to worry about himself.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
I cut him off coldly. I didn’t expect him to take it quietly.
“This was all approved by Father,” I added, using the duke as my shield.
It wasn’t a lie. The only reason Lilith could leave the imperial palace and live in a separate house was because the duke had given permission.
“So stop giving me orders.”
It wasn’t fear of Abel that made me sidestep the argument—it was just to avoid unnecessary noise.
What could he do to me anyway? Kill me? If he did, he’d lose all the luxuries he enjoyed.
“You’re not even the duke yet, are you?” I said, deliberately poking at his pride.
His face flushed crimson.
“If you’re so dissatisfied, go tell Father yourself. If you can’t even do that, do you really have the right to come at me like this?”
I stared him straight in the eye.
“Or should we make a bet? Let’s see whose side Father takes.”
Abel looked ready to explode, but he couldn’t refute me—because it was obvious the duke would take my side.
Instead, he shoved my shoulders back so abruptly that I almost fell, barely catching my balance.
“Fine, do whatever you want! Let’s see if I let you get away with it!”
With that, Abel stormed back into the ballroom.
“…Ha.”
Once he was gone, I brushed off my shoulder where he’d grabbed me. I could still feel the ghost of his touch, and it made my skin crawl.
“I told you I didn’t want to come to this ball…”
It was a complaint I’d already made a hundred times, far too late now.
From start to finish, this event hadn’t given me a single moment’s peace.
I shouldn’t have lost my temper, Reshel thought.
There had been plenty of unrelated priests present. One could never have too much of a good public image, and he now regretted what had happened.
But the temple trying to use him like this was infuriating.
If it were up to him, he’d carry out a bloody revenge. But he was still just a prince, not yet the crown prince.
The current emperor—Reshel’s father—was so devout his piety overflowed. Among all the emperors in history, none had favored the temple more.
Which is probably why the temple acts so arrogant.
No matter how much they claimed to speak for the gods, the center of the empire was the imperial family. Yet the high priest had begun to cross that line.
Once Reshel took the throne, he would crush them—even if he became ashes under divine punishment.
He rubbed his throbbing temple.
There was someone else who bothered him almost as much as the temple: his elder brother and eternal enemy, Calix Robrant.
The elderly empress dowager didn’t have the stamina to host a ball on her own, so in Reshel’s absence, Calix would certainly take over.
If Lilith returned to the ball in that situation… there would be no one left to stand between the two of them.
Damn it…
And there was the incident with the lake bridge, too.
Reshel had been looking forward to the five days of the ball, hoping to spend them with Lilith. But the accident had left her confined to her room.
Now, his only wish was to settle the disturbance in Ocusis and return before the ball ended. That was all.
…But he didn’t reach the palace until dawn. It was expected, but the frustration still made his teeth grind.
He handed the holy sword—foisted on him against his will—to the emperor’s secretary, then made for his own quarters.
On the way, he spotted a gray-haired priest emerging from the emperor’s audience chamber.
“Flood.”
“The servant of God greets His Highness, the Second Prince,” Flood said, bowing.
When he straightened, his closed eyelids lifted, revealing dull gray eyes with no focus.
“Have you completely lost your sight?” Reshel asked.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“About ten years ago.”
“It’s been that long?” Reshel tilted his head, surprised, but didn’t press further.
“Father’s illness must be keeping you busy. Go on, then.”
“May Your Highness also be in peace.”
Reshel stood watching Flood’s retreating figure disappear down the corridor.
“Isn’t he just unpleasant?” he muttered.
Cain, following behind him, gave no reply—he’d always been reserved when it came to badmouthing others. Reshel didn’t push him for one.
Flood had been in the imperial palace for as long as anyone could remember, said to possess the greatest divine power on the continent, serving as the royal family’s personal priest.
He claimed to be closer to God than anyone else, and his unchanging appearance over the years was supposedly proof of divine blessing.
Anyone thinking logically would find him trustworthy. But Reshel had never trusted him—not for a single moment.
Back in the Second Prince’s palace, Reshel immediately listened to the backlog of reports from Cain.
“Count Return’s plan was foiled by Gilliante,” Cain said.
Count Return was one of Reshel’s supporters; Gilliante was part of Calix’s guard. Reshel didn’t need more details to know it was bad news.
“I wonder what’s gotten into my dear brother.”
Since Reshel had returned to the public eye, Calix had been living quietly, like a mouse. After the fiasco with Estella, he’d holed up in his room and barely came out.
Even as the firstborn, he’d never shown interest in the throne. Reshel had never seen him as a rival.
So why now?
Why try to hinder him just when the succession struggle was drawing near?
At present, Calix’s faction wasn’t strong enough to pose a real threat. But in six months, it would be.
“And… Tane Broc has been released from prison.”
“…What?” Reshel’s voice trembled faintly.
“Why?”
It was unbelievable. Unthinkable.
“Well…”
When Cain told him the reason, Reshel seethed—but there was nothing he could do.
“By the emperor’s order, huh…”
It was a bitter, hollow end.
