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Chapter – 31
As with most humans in the end.
He had to direct his anger at a different target—not at the woman he had loved, or rather, still loved, but who had cruelly left him.
If he didn’t, the turmoil inside him would have flipped and twisted, threatening to explode at any moment.
“I’ll save her, no matter what!”
He made that resolute decision, certain that if she heard it, she would have given him a look saying what nonsense he was talking about. He clenched his fist tightly and stood up.
“I have to see the Crown Prince.”
The only one capable of dealing with the heinous acts attributed to the Duke was none other than the Crown Prince himself.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince was adjusting his ears.
“Why are my ears so itchy?”
“Pardon? What did you just say?”
“Nothing.”
“No. That’s not nothing. Your Highness! This is truly absurd!”
The Crown Prince barely paid attention to the passionate rant of his aide, hearing it with one ear while letting it slip from the other. After all, it was probably the same speech the aide had given during the Duke’s consort selection party.
And as expected, he was right.
“Why is it that this time, His Majesty himself is to preside over the competition and even issue the assignments?”
“He must have been moved by something.”
“Your Highness! This is no trivial matter! It’s not about the Crown Princess, but selecting a Duke’s consort, and yet such—such!”
The aide’s face turned bright red like a ripe tomato, puffing with frustration, adding indignantly:
“And recently, the Duke has even done things like this!”
Who could even place the word things alongside the Duke’s deeds? Even the Emperor would not use such a word unless it were not treason.
But since the aide’s words came from loyalty, the Crown Prince simply patted his shoulder without reproach despite the exaggerated expression.
“No need to get so worked up. You’re older than me, right? Naturally, the Duke’s consort comes before the Crown Princess.”
“It’s not about age!”
“Either way, His Majesty has decided this, so let it go.”
Though the aide was clearly still struggling to contain his anger, he could not argue further once the Emperor was mentioned.
Nodding as if understanding his subordinate’s inner turmoil, the Crown Prince spoke.
“By the way, you mentioned it earlier.”
“Pardon?”
“That deed I referred to… What mistake did Your Highness’s elder brother make this time?”
“Your Highness. As I’ve told you before—”
“No, not the elder brother, the Duke.”
The Crown Prince took a step back graciously, but the aide shook his head.
“That’s also correct, but it wasn’t a mistake.”
“Hmm?”
“Duke Caliente wouldn’t commit such vile acts by accident.”
“Not a mistake?”
“Yes.”
The Crown Prince recalled some of the rumors circulating around Ludwig.
“Kidnaps children for experiments.”
“Drains women’s blood.”
“Built strange facilities underground.”
All acts so cruel that even inhuman villains would shake their heads.
The Crown Prince fell silent for a moment, then chuckled lightly and shook his hand.
“It must have been a mistake. My brother wouldn’t deliberately do such things. Most were just rumors anyway.”
Whenever grisly rumors spread about Ludwig, the Crown Prince had never merely watched.
If his elder brother strayed onto the wrong path, it was his duty—as both a younger brother and Crown Prince—to correct it.
He never delegated the investigation or resolution to others. He personally went to the places where the rumors arose, confirmed the truth with his own eyes, and dealt with any problems directly.
Thanks to this, the noble families that supported the empire slowly changed their view of the Crown Prince, who had once been treated as a troublesome outsider.
It was all exactly as the Emperor wished and as Ludwig intended.
Yet the truth of these matters would remain forever unknown to everyone—Crown Prince included—until the results alone were visible.
“Recently, even the rumors about him drinking women’s blood were simply the schemes of those trying to steal the Duke’s wine.”
“Of course, some of these rumors remain unverified, right?”
“Haha, my body is only one, you see.”
The Crown Prince’s pointed remark immediately made the aide bow.
“My apologies. That was not my intention.”
“Good. And don’t bring up the Crown Princess again.”
“Your Highness!”
“Ah, it’s a duty to produce an heir to continue the imperial line. I know, I understand.”
The Crown Prince nodded with a frank smile, while the aide, still in disbelief, asked quietly:
“Surely Your Highness still intends to choose a bride who makes your heart race, as you said years ago?”
No answer came. The aide could only flounder, speechless.
Years ago, on a certain day:
“Your Highness, it’s time we should begin looking for a bride candidate—”
“No!”
“Pardon?”
“The woman by my side must be one who makes my heart race!”
At the time, it was indeed necessary to find a proper Crown Princess, but the aide, knowing the Crown Prince’s peculiar temperament, kept silent. Had he argued over suitable qualifications, the Crown Prince might have refused to take any consort at all.
And now, years later, the Crown Prince had grown into an even more troublesome human being, confidently asserting:
“The woman who makes my heart race will naturally suit the role of Crown Princess.”
The aide could not respond.
If he said yes, some commoner from a rural village might become the Crown Princess.
If he said no, he would contradict a decision he had devoted his life to serving.
Caught between these impossible options, the aide could only blink in helplessness.
Anticipating this reaction, the Crown Prince grinned.
“So, let’s drop the Crown Princess talk.”
Though he had much to say, the aide bowed his head, silenced.
“And don’t underestimate my brother either. You know how remarkable he is.”
“Your Highness, to stand above all others—”
“Yes, yes. I know. One mustn’t see only the good points of everyone.”
The Crown Prince shrugged.
“Yet finding a flaw in Duke Caliente is harder than finding a good one. He just makes some mistakes now and then.”
That was why the Emperor said he wasn’t fit to become Emperor himself.
A trace of superiority crept onto the Crown Prince’s lips as he smiled.
The aide, oblivious to that smile, exhaled and handed him a thick stack of documents.
“Surely, he didn’t commit such acts by accident.”
The Crown Prince took the documents, skimming through them with a puzzled expression.
“This is about the theft and murder case after the Duke’s consort party, isn’t it?”
“Yes. The young lady accused claims she was unjustly treated.”
“What? Was there any injustice?”
The case had been concluded so cleanly that there seemed no reason to claim injustice. Both circumstantial and material evidence were perfectly aligned.
The aide pulled a document from the middle of the stack and tapped it.
“It was unavoidable due to extremely difficult circumstances, yet the punishment seems overly harsh. She even had to act against her own elder sister. And she insists it was self-defense.”
“Hmm, I should look into it. But for now, I must go.”
“Your Highness, please! Today! You must approve these documents!”
The aide’s desperate protest was waved off by the Crown Prince.
“Ah, I know, I know. When the Emperor calls, one must go immediately, no matter the situation. That’s why I’m going.”
“Isn’t this just because you don’t want to process the documents?”
“Of course, that’s the main reason.”
Ignoring his boiling aide, the Crown Prince walked lightly.
Soon, he was entrusted with full authority by the Emperor, and for the first time in his life, nodded without any resistance.
Looking eastward from the Imperial Palace, toward the Mist Garden, the Crown Prince’s face was full of anticipation.
“I wonder how I’ll restore that beautiful garden.”
On the second day of the Duke’s consort selection contest,
Asirly stood in the jungle-like overgrown garden, massaging her jaw as she pondered.
“Should I restore it after all?”
She nodded to herself and looked up at the sky.
A few clouds floated by, but the sun shone brilliantly.
She returned her gaze to the jungle before her, scrutinizing it carefully.
“Even upside down, it’s in terrible shape.”
She shook her head, but her resolve to restore this jungle to the Mist Garden remained unbroken.
In truth, how beautifully the garden was maintained was merely a formality.
Ludwig had repeatedly emphasized this.
This was not about choosing a Duke’s consort—it was about choosing a Crown Princess.
Even if Asirly left the garden untouched, no one would care.
“But still…”
He had spoken casually once, about memories that would never return, about memories shared with people no longer in this world.
She too had such memories.
“After hearing that, I can’t just leave this garden in its current state.”
