Sunlight came through the large window and landed on his long, dark silver hair.
His glasses, without a speck of dust on them, were neatly placed on the bridge of his nose.
Perhaps, if it weren't for his glasses, he looked like a saint so faithful and noble that one would have believed that this was not the imperial palace, but a temple to pray to God.
It was Illeon.
He sat down on the soft sofa, took a sip of chamomile tea, and looked down at the gray-haired man with his knees bent on the cold floor.
“How did things go?”
Ben's body trembled at Illeon's question. The large man lowered his head deeply and answered.
“He drank every drop.”
“You probably burned the letter, right?”
"Yes, Master."
“It will take effect in two hours.”
Illeon laughed softly.
When he handed Erphia the poison, he did not tell her all of his precautions.
The poison did not take effect immediately after drinking it, and the pain as the skin melted and thr face distorted strangely was on par with the pain of being stabbed with a knife.
Although his life is not in danger, he suffers terrible pain and eventually, his face turns into a monster.
"I... What did you promise...”
Illeon narrowed his eyes at Ben's cautious voice.
“Since you have done a good job, as promised, I will give you a ship to another country and enough money to last you a lifetime. It was a long time and a lot of hardships by the Empress’s side.”
“...Thank you."
Ben bowed his head repeatedly. He asked carefully, looking at Illeon's eyes.
“Master, are my relatives in the estate doing well?”
“Your son married a good wife and had two children. His daughters and sons are all very cute, just like you.”
Tears welled up in Ben's eyes at Illeon's words. He was originally a first-class knight of Duke Gregrick's family, and when Erphia came to the imperial palace, the father of the previous Duke, sent him to the imperial palace to watch over Erphia.
- My half-sister might have other thoughts, so keep a close eye on her at the imperial palace.
More than twenty years passed and Ben succeeded in gaining Erphia's trust, but he never once set foot on the territory.
He wanted to run to his family right away, but the reason he could not do so was that the previous Duke had ordered him to watch over the Empress until the end of his life and gain her trust, as the lives of his relatives depended on him.
He really did it because he was worried about his people.
He silently killed the person the Empress ordered him to kill, and gained her trust by staining his hands with dirty blood.
Following the previous Duke, Illeon, a direct lineage, inherited the dukedom, and unlike the previous Duke, Illeon kindly informed Ben about how his relatives were doing every time he visited the imperial palace.
Let him know how his wife is doing, how old his son is, how he misses his dad, etc.
Illeon told Ben a story that he was so curious about that he thought he was going crazy.
Only Illeon, to him.
So Ben swore allegiance to Ileon.
- I will get you out of the imperial palace. Along with the ship to another country, you will bring your family.
Ben's eyes widened. Seeing his hopeful face, Illeon rolled his eyes at him and added,
- Empress Erphia will most likely give you poison and tell you to feed it to a woman named Seliya. At that time, pretends to follow orders and drug the Crown Prince. I will write the entire script.
Ben was surprised. This is because he did not know that Illeon would directly tell him to harm the Crown Prince.
He was even more unbelievable because it was Illeon, who had secretly helped the Empress.
However, he should not wonder about the reasons of the higher-ups.
He just needs to remain silent and do what he is told to do as he always has.
Ben's heart swelled with anticipation that he would soon be able to meet his family.
“I made the security lax under the pretext of preparing for the Crown Prince’s coronation ceremony as Emperor, so you can leave now.”
Illeon handed Ben a gem. The ruby gem, which boasted a brilliant luster, was expensive enough to buy two mansions.
“I was originally going to give it to Her Majesty, but I think it would be much better to give it to you.”
"Master!"
Ben, moved, shrugged his shoulders, and swallowed his tears. Illeon patted Ben on the shoulder and spoke in a soft voice.
“Leave the imperial palace right now and go to the nearest port. If poison spreads to the Crown Prince, it is difficult for me to guarantee your life.”
“Oh, I understand.”
"Wake up. Your family is waiting impatiently at the port with the ship I gave you.”
Ben stood up, putting the jewels in his arms. Just before leaving the room, he looked back and said his final goodbye to Illeon.
"Thank you! Master, you are my lifelong benefactor.”
Illeon smiled brightly at him.
Even though he was old, Ben was indeed a first-class knight of the Gregrick family, so his movements were very quick.
As soon as Ben left the palace, a man in black robes hiding behind the bookcase in the room appeared.
“Your Excellency, shall we leave now?”
Illeon had excellent assassins at his command, and he was one of those subordinates.
Illeon took a sip of chamomile tea. The ending taste was bitter, perhaps because it had cooled down.
"Yes. Keep a reasonable distance and eliminate him when he reaches the port.”
"All right."
His subordinate disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Illeon smiled as he looked at his face reflected in the chamomile tea.
Ben, the knight's family had already passed away more than two decades ago.
Not long after being sent to the imperial palace with Erphia, Ben's family suffered and died.
Of course, the previous Duke kept this matter secret.
Illeon's father, the previous Duke and former head of the Gregrick family, informed Illeon of this fact when he handed over the position of head of the family.
- I know more about that knight, so dealing with it will be good for your future, Illeon. The important thing is that he has the full trust of Empress Erphia...
His father's worries were truly unnecessary.
'All you have to do is give the other person what they want.'
Even if it is a false hope, the other person is struggling in a dream without knowing anything and dies in a swamp of his own making.
Illeon muttered to himself.
“..You also need something to help you have good dreams. If people have no hope, what can they do to survive?”
***
Seliya hid behind the stone wall and carefully looked around.
She didn't like the sight of herself in a white mermaid dress, so she wrapped herself in the robe that Dietrich had given her.
Not long after leaving the stable, the sight of knights busily moving around came into view.
They were digging through the grass or looking behind pillars as if they were looking for someone.
'Are you looking for me?'
Seliya clutched her dagger and shook her head.
When she got up from the bed, she didn't know that someone as high as the Crown Prince would make such a fuss about her just because he couldn't see her.
Seliya found men very annoying.
At that time, a knight who was searching behind a lion statue approached the stone wall where Seliya was hiding.
Seliya thought for a moment.
Would it be better to turn away and go back to the stall? Or would it be better for her to be caught by a knight and taken to the Prince's palace?
'It would be strange if I was walking around fine when no one saw me go out the front door. However, if I say I was kidnapped by a gunman, it doesn't explain why I was fine without any scratches.'
Seliya held her breath and shook her head vigorously.
The knight was closing the distance to her at this very moment.
“I definitely think I saw a person’s shadow.”
‘Are I using this ability? Or would it be better to use a dagger?'
Seliya grabbed her dagger.
Just as the knight was about to check the stone wall where Seliya was, a familiar bass sound landed in Seliya's ears.
“That’s my area. What’s the matter?”
It was Dietrich's voice. The knight, startled by his voice, lowered his head towards Dietrich.
“Your Excellency Duke Calypso.”
Dietrich was wearing black armor and had a sword strapped to his waist.
The clear facial features beneath the straight eyebrows were as dazzling as the sun in the sky.
Blood-red eyes stared at the knight.
Dietrich looked down at the panicked, helpless knight with a cold gaze.
“That is a stable with horses that, although old, were once famous horses. By any chance, are you planning to rob the imperial family’s war horses?”
"No! Well, well, it can’t be like that!”
The knight gesticulated with his hands and feet and strongly denied his words.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has given an order to find his mistress, Selya Brillion. I understand that His Highness is worried because she went missing last night.”
“But as soon as His Highness wakes up, he starts to raid my mansion.”
“...Oh my god, that just happened!”
The knight fidgeted and kept looking at Dietrich.
“Go now.”
"Yes, yes! Thank you!"
The knight left the scene as if he was running away with his life on his face.
After chasing the knight away, Dietrich went straight to find Seliya on the stone wall.
He carefully looked at Seliya's face as she clutched the dagger.
An extremely dry voice flowed from Dietrich's mouth.
"I knew it. You tried to run away.”
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