🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 41
“Do you know what it is that I’m looking at right now?”
The Grand Duke paused for a moment. He had expected to be told to sit first.
“Well, I’m not quite sure—”
“It’s an indictment from the council demanding that Bella Ariana be put on trial. And this is the verdict that will be handed down at that trial. If you’re curious, read it yourself.”
Startled, the duke hurriedly picked up the documents. The trial had not even begun yet, and the verdict already bore the judge’s signature. In other words, the empire’s judicial system lay quite literally in the palm of the Grand Duke’s hand.
“Th-This is…!”
The verdict stated that Bella was to be imprisoned in Dip Prison, notorious for its infamy. Not only that, but it also decreed collective punishment against the Ariana family, stripping them of their title and confiscating their assets.
“If I give my approval, this will soon become an official imperial document.”
“Why on earth are you doing this?”
Ignoring the duke’s protest, Cartan addressed Bella instead.
“Bella Ariana.”
“……”
Unlike the duke, who was pale with shock, Bella maintained a calm demeanor.
“I’m sure I warned you clearly. The moment you laid a hand on my people, you’d lose everything you had.”
Then, rising leisurely to his feet, Cartan looked down at Bella and said,
“Your marriage to His Majesty the Emperor is off, so don’t even dream of it. From now on, I’ll do everything in my power to block your path.”
When Bella remained tight-lipped, the duke stepped forward to protest on her behalf.
“No. Whatever grudge Your Grace may be harboring, that alone is unacceptable. His Majesty the Emperor has already issued a formal proposal. No matter that you are the Grand Duke, you cannot stop it.”
At that moment, Cartan let out a cold laugh.
“What can you do with a mere piece of paper? Do you think you’ll be able to get the council’s approval?”
“……!”
“No—there’s no need to even go that far. All I have to do is persuade His Majesty the Emperor to annul the engagement.”
“Grand Duke!”
Bella was the greatest prospective bride in the empire. For someone like her to gain a broken engagement on her record would be fatal.
“Then how about this?”
Cartan curled the corner of his lips as he looked at the rigidly standing Duke Ariana.
“Bella Ariana dared to use my lover to seduce the Emperor in order to drive a wedge between His Majesty and me. On top of that, after accepting the Emperor’s proposal, she shamelessly confessed her love to me. All of this was a scheme devised by Duke Ariana to seize control of the empire.”
“……!”
The duke’s eyes widened. If this were made public, not only he but everyone belonging to his family would be doomed.
In the end, Duke Ariana had no choice but to kneel before Cartan once more.
“Please spare us. I’ll do anything you ask.”
“Well, there’s no need for everyone to die.”
At those words, the duke, who had been bowing his head, looked up at Cartan. His eyes, as though pleading for salvation, appeared almost naïve.
“In consideration of the merits you’ve accumulated through your loyalty to the empire, I’ll spare one of the two. You choose—save your daughter, or save your family.”
“…….”
The duke did not answer. Growing anxious, Bella’s voice rang loudly through the room.
“Father, what are you hesitating for? This is all the Grand Duke’s scheme. You mustn’t fall for it!”
“…….”
In the end, the duke turned his face away from Bella. Shocked, Bella grabbed his body and shook him violently, screaming.
“How can you do this? I’m your only daughter!”
Cartan returned to the sofa and folded his arms. He watched with interest, as though observing a play on stage.
“Bella… I told you again and again to be careful. Because of you alone, everyone cannot die. I have a duty to protect the Ariana family.”
“You’ll regret this, Father.”
“…….”
But the duke did not change his decision. Soon, guards seized Bella by the shoulders and forced her to stand. She shook them off and said,
“I am Bella Ariana, the only daughter of Duke Ariana. So I will go on my own feet, with dignity, to the very end.”
The guards holding her flinched. In that moment, Bella drew the sword from the guard’s waist.
“No matter what happens, I will never forgive you, Cartan!”
She lunged at him. But an attack from Bella, who had never learned swordsmanship, could not possibly reach him. Cartan dodged effortlessly and subdued her in an instant.
“How trivial.”
“At least toward you, I gave it my all. I truly loved you! And now you’re going to throw me into a cesspit like that?”
Cartan released Bella with a bored expression. The guards rushed in at once and dragged her away again. Struggling, Bella cried out in a plaintive voice,
“Will I never be able to have you, until the very end?”
Then she raised the sword she was clutching and aimed it at her own neck. Cartan did not stop her, as if daring her to try.
“Bella!”
The one who stopped her was Duke Ariana. As he grappled with her to take the sword away, he suddenly collapsed.
“Father!”
Bella’s piercing scream echoed through the room.
“Hah.”
Cartan pressed his temple.
“Take him to a doctor at once. The duke must be saved.”
At the order, the guards hoisted the duke onto their backs and left the office. Bella dropped the sword from her hand, her expression hollow.
Clang.
“This can’t be… You abandoned me, so why…?”
Cartan gestured with his chin toward her.
“Remove her.”
Only then did the guards, who had been standing around blankly, drag Bella away.
Before being sent to Dip, the land of eternal cold, Bella was confined in the underground prison of the imperial palace. Having eaten nothing all day, she muttered repeatedly.
“No… I didn’t do that…”
That was when someone came to see her. Recognizing the man in a black robe, Bella ran to the bars and begged him.
“You… you’re a dark mage, aren’t you? The potion you gave me, the one you said was a love potion—what was it really? It didn’t work at all!”
The robe worn by the dark mage swayed from side to side.
“Hm, it seems you didn’t like the gift I gave you. That shouldn’t be possible.”
“Yes, this is all your fault! Take responsibility! Bring my father back to life!”
“My lady, such a potion does not exist in this world. Ah—though perhaps there was one.”
“……!”
Bella’s eyes flew open as she reached her hand through the bars.
“Give it to me. This time, give me a proper potion.”
“Of course there is one. A miraculous medicine that can revive even the dead. However…”
The dark mage trailed off. Growing impatient, Bella urged him on.
“However, what?”
“However, that potion has one problem, so it would be difficult to give it to you. Instead, there is another potion. One that can revive a person by sacrificing another. Is there someone you desperately wish to kill?”
At that moment, one person surfaced in Bella’s mind. As much as she had once loved him, she now desperately wanted him dead.
“Is there really such a potion?”
“But if you use it, my lady, you too will have to pay a price. Are you all right with that?”
As the robe lifted slightly, the dark mage’s lips came into view. They curved into an unnervingly vivid smile.
“There’s nowhere left for me to retreat. I don’t care what the price is, as long as I can kill Cartan.”
“Understood, my lady.”
The dark mage soon pulled a vial from within his sleeve.
“Here. Drink this, and things will turn out exactly as you wish.”
Before he even finished speaking, Bella snatched the vial and drained it in one gulp.
Moments later, Bella felt all the strength drain from her body.
“Hah… this… my body… feels strange…”
She sank to the ground and, without realizing it, grabbed the dark mage’s robe. When the man’s appearance was revealed, Bella was reminded of someone.
“Who… are you really…?”
The man let out a grotesque laugh.
“Bella, you truly are just as foolish as your father.”
