TPWSM 56

Chapter 56

“Grand Duke…!”

I hastily grabbed his arm and helped him to his feet.

He’s alive. At least his limbs seem intact.

I checked his face, shoulders, forearms, and hands for injuries. There didn’t appear to be any.

So he ended up in front of me like this. But…

There was a shackle-like necklace around his neck, with a chain running from the ring at its edge.

Prisoners usually wear shackles on their ankles. They’d put it on his neck instead—treating him like a dog.

There was an even bigger problem. The Grand Duke’s eyes were dead black. His violet irises were completely unfocused.

Even with me standing right in front of him, he was staring into empty space. Though his eyes were open, he didn’t seem to recognize anyone nearby.

I waved my hand in front of his face. No reaction. A chilling sensation ran down my spine. The Crown Prince must have drugged him.

“So, Alisa, how do you like my uncle’s little surprise?”

The Crown Prince’s voice slithered like a lizard’s. Tiny goosebumps broke out on my skin, as if a reptile had brushed past.

“A ‘surprise’? You made a human… unconscious?”

“Oh, you should at least say thank you. I’ve tamed the brat who kept running away and causing a fuss.”

The Crown Prince smugly lifted his chin. I was furious. “Tamed”? What do you call this?

“What drug did you give him?”

“You’re quick to catch on.”

“……”

“From my perspective, he was already insane. Maybe he inherited some madness from his father. I had to calm him down before he tore through everything like a trapped beast.”

“The knights beheaded the horse the Grand Duke was riding. How could anyone stay calm about that?”

I deliberately left out the story from the slave girl—it was worthless to the Crown Prince.

He raised an index finger and wagged it side to side.

“You’ve got it backwards. The Grand Duke was already mad. The knights cut the horse’s neck to stop a madman from recklessly charging forward. Seven of my knights were injured just fighting him. Including the soldiers, the number of wounded would exceed ten. You have no idea how hard it was to capture him without hurting him. Is a noble’s life less valuable than a beast’s?”

So he says, while he had been mercilessly trampling D’Borcain until now.

“I’ll compensate the wounded… sufficiently.”

“Fine. Even if it was a tiny island, it seems he was a skilled knight. He avoided the vital points and only inflicted injuries with precision…”

The Crown Prince glanced sideways at the Grand Duke, sneered coldly, then spoke again.

“He reeked of rebellion from the start. He should have been grateful to be treated leniently, yet he was insolent. I was about to snuff him out when Lizel came running, demanding he be handed over as her plaything.”

…Crazy.

How dare he toy with someone else’s husband.

Lizelotte’s bold request made my teeth grind.

“That’s unacceptable, even for your daughter’s reputation.”

Lizel’s audacity was unbelievable. Did she want the stigma of being involved with her cousin’s husband?

“Yes, it’s unacceptable. I benefitted greatly from the plan of a beloved niece, but I had to maintain some minimal human decency.”

“Benefitted? What do you mean?”

“Alisa, thanks to your advice, I elevated this shiny-faced brat to a ruler. Resistance across D’Borcain vanished as if by magic.”

“……”

“Soon, the peace and prosperity you desire for this colony will arrive. This time, I had to forgive completely. Isn’t he a fairly competent puppet?”

The Crown Prince reached out and stroked the Grand Duke’s silver hair. The touch, like petting a large dog, made my skin crawl.

I quickly pulled the Grand Duke to my side to prevent the Crown Prince from touching him further.

Perhaps it was fortunate that the Crown Prince had acted with rational judgment this time.

The Grand Duke’s existence was useful not only to me but also to him.

King Salesio had assigned D’Borcain to Crown Prince Daimon to test his abilities.

The intent was to see if he could stabilize a colony devastated by postwar chaos and poverty. As usual, the Crown Prince acted in his own way. Brutal suppression would have only provoked greater resistance.

If the Crown Prince’s policies had been left unchecked, the governor’s administrative power would have collapsed, leaving no laborable population in D’Borcain. This was why the anguished King even sought my advice. He refused to acknowledge the results of his son’s five-year-long tyranny.

If the pacification of the protests was truly thanks to me… isn’t it wrong that the Grand Duke is treated like this?

I pointed to the shackle around the Grand Duke’s neck.

“If you really think he’s useful, remove that immediately.”

I didn’t want to struggle with the Crown Prince further. The Grand Duke needed an antidote or for the drug to wear off so we could communicate properly.

“Oh, my uncle hasn’t finished speaking.”

The Crown Prince drew near, licking his lips. A pungent stench enveloped me. I instinctively wanted to retreat but forced myself to stay.

“What more could you possibly have to say?”

“I am profoundly disappointed in you, Alisa Lasantia.”

“……”

Was he lecturing me to then release the shackle?

“You were once the red rose of society. I thought you knew how to tame men, yet you cannot subdue a dog even abandoned by the queen of a fallen kingdom. Perhaps age has dulled your charms.”

What nonsense. I haven’t focused on such things for a long time.

“No matter your highness, I cannot tolerate you treating my husband like a dog.”

“Haha, I tried to resolve this through dialogue. Yet he didn’t answer questions and caused a ruckus insisting on returning to Fadon Isle—like a mad dog. I wanted to torture him so badly my hands itched.”

“Torture? Just capturing a ruler like this is already a major diplomatic offense.”

“Haha. He is just the illegitimate son of a fallen kingdom. What use is diplomacy on Fadon Isle?”

Sheer truth—I couldn’t refute it. Even if word got out, Queen Elizabeth of Fadon Isle would not protest. She probably didn’t care much for the Grand Duke.

“…Here, take this.”

The Crown Prince tossed something from his jacket pocket.

I caught it reflexively. A small translucent brown vial, just enough to fit in my palm. Perhaps the drug the Grand Duke had taken.

I recalled the vial Mikel had recently brought from Princess Lizelotte’s hideout.

“What is this?”

“Mix it with food or wine, and he’ll remain obedient for a while.”

Even if he resisted, control him with the drug.

Unbelievable. Treated worse than a beast. I stared at him, holding the vial.

“Your expectations of me are high, Alisa.”

“……”

The Crown Prince rested his hand on my shoulder. The touch was unpleasant, like a toad crawling onto me.

This man knew exactly that my mother’s gaze weighed heavily on me.

My mother had long refused to recognize me, her only daughter, as her heir.

To become a duke as a woman, I had to prove my abilities. Even after successfully commercializing the Moonstone mines, dominating high society with eloquence, and graduating top of my military academy class—my mother remained unsatisfied.

She only granted me the minor ducal title after being diagnosed with menopause. Both my parents firmly expected a son to come eventually.

Even securing the sole heir position brought no joy. It was merely the absence of alternatives.

Being endlessly tested by parents—both the Crown Prince and I shared that fate. No wonder he might feel some pity toward me.