Episode 130. New Member of Marvel Palace
Mark opened his eyes early in the morning and heard the footsteps of approaching soldiers.
He felt fearful without realizing it.
Yesterday, the torture stopped, and he received treatment under Christine’s instructions, but he didn’t know what would happen today.
He heard that most rebel priests and those who helped them were executed within a day or two. And Mark was accused of being in cahoots with the rebel priests.
Creak!
The iron door inside the prison opened with a creepy sound.
“Count Mark Castler, come out.”
Mark asked nervously.
“Where are you taking me?”
“You can go home now.”
“Home?”
“Yes. Home.”
The soldiers smiled and said something as they watched him, puzzled.
“Do you think it’s because you have a good wife?”
“...!”
Mark remembered what Christine had said last night.
“So I’m going to make a good offer to Adele. Have her give birth to my successor. Then I might be able to spare even a traitor once.”
Adele and him?
The moment Christine appeared, he thought Adele would return to him.
But he must have believed it in his heart. That she would stay by his side and with the children.
Didn’t she say that when they spent happy times together on his birthday? She liked Christine, but that feeling wasn’t everything in her life.
She was Christine’s lover, but she had lived as his wife and the mother of his children for quite some time.
It was foolish to think that would settle things.
The other person was the bloody Emperor who had killed countless people and conquered the world.
There was no way Adele would understand such a person.
Maybe he was the one who created this whole situation...
“Thank you for your hard work, Count Castler.”
Mark, who had been lost in thought, raised his head at the polite voice.
When he climbed the stairs to the basement of the Black Castle and arrived at the surface, Zimmer was standing there. He bowed his head politely when he met Mark.
“I’ve prepared a carriage to take you to the mansion. I’ve also prepared extra clothes, so please change.”
Although he had received treatment, Mark’s appearance on the day he was arrested after being tortured was beyond words. In particular, the clothes he was wearing were torn and stained with blood.
“Am I cleared of treason? Or was it his order?”
“The Count’s treason charges are still under investigation. So, when you get home, keep quiet.”
Mark couldn’t hold back his feelings of anger at that moment.
In the end, he...
“So, you’re saying that you’re just going to let someone accused of treason go? Why? It seems like there’s something fishy about the Emperor.”
Mark’s voice rose involuntarily. So much so that everyone around him could hear. He knew it was useless, but he couldn’t hold back the anger welling up deep in his chest.
“Be careful, Count!”
Zimmer warned softly but coldly.
“Let me meet His Majesty!”
“Please schedule an audience according to the proper procedures. Then, be careful on your way back, Count.”
As Zimmer turned around, the WG knights guided Mark to the carriage. Unlike when they had arrested him a few days ago, their attitudes were polite.
“Father!”
“Mark!”
When Mark got out of the carriage in front of the mansion, the children, Mia, and Tanya ran to greet him.
“Oh my god! What on earth did they do to you after being dragged away?”
Mia said with a face as if she was about to cry when she saw Mark’s face. Even though he had changed into clean clothes, he couldn’t hide his bruised face and scabbed lips.
“Is His Majesty the Emperor like that?”
“His Majesty should freeze to death! That bastard, the Emperor!”
Pauline shouted angrily at Jade’s question. The eldest child, who knew the ways of the world, thought that all of this was the Emperor’s doing.
The Emperor had imprisoned Mark and taken Adele and Aaron away.
“But what about Adele and Aaron?”
Tanya answered Mark’s question carefully.
“They entered the palace.”
Mia felt that Tanya’s answer alone was not enough, and she vented her anger.
“Adele entered the palace yesterday and didn’t come back, and this morning, people came and took Aaron away.”
Tanya quickly added so that Mark wouldn’t misunderstand.
“Madam couldn’t help it. She had to protect the people here.”
“Protecting the people here?”
Tanya sobbed as Mark looked puzzled.
“The thugs were causing trouble in the store, saying that it was a family of traitors. No one helped them. If His Majesty hadn’t come then, Madam and Aaron would have been in big trouble.”
“If the Emperor hadn’t framed my brother from the beginning, that wouldn’t have happened!”
Jade cautiously stepped forward at Mia’s words.
“My father was indeed framed, but we don’t know who set it up.”
“Jade, whose side are you on! It’s not unfair that your father ended up like that!”
However, he kept his mouth shut at Pauline’s shouting.
In the end, Mark calmly sorted out the situation.
“Yes, Jade is right. It would be best not to say anything rash until it’s revealed who set it up. Besides, slandering the Emperor won’t do any good for our family, who is accused of treason, so be careful what you say. Yes?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll take a break. Everyone go about your business.”
Mia followed Mark as he entered the house, supporting him.
“Are you seriously injured anywhere?”
“Yes, fortunately.”
“I’m really upset. This is the price you paid for sacrificing yourself for six years to protect two people.”
Mia grumbled as she wiped Mark’s scabbed face with a handkerchief.
“I didn’t do it for a reward. I didn’t sacrifice anything. Adele and Aaron were like gifts to me for six years. I enjoyed it so much that I should return the favor.”
“Oh, I’m going crazy! This is really messed up, messed up!”
Mark smiled bitterly as he watched Mia getting angry.
Maybe Mia was more honest and pure.
He said that they were like gifts, but he was angry like a child whose gifts had been taken away.
His head was filled with anger at the person who had taken his gifts away.
It was the first time he had felt such uncontrollable emotions.
“Hello, Your Majesty.”
Aaron, getting off the carriage, quickly bowed to Christine.
The sight of the little child wearing a blue tuxedo and a ribbon tie was incredibly cute. On the other hand, he also thought that he must have been very uncomfortable.
“Yes, you’re here, Aaron.”
“...”
But the child’s face hardened, and he just looked around.
Christine, who had been unable to sleep all night due to heart pain, was on his way back from hunting at dawn. Behind him, Paulo, a member of the Wolf Clan, and a dozen or so WG knights followed.
It seemed that the child was frightened by their cold swords and the smell of blood.
“Everyone, back off.”
At Christine’s order, they all backed off.
At the same time, he quickly smiled gently and jumped off his horse.
“You must have had a hard time coming so early in the morning.”
The child shook his head.
“No, it’s okay.”
“Really? You’re diligent.”
Then the child answered cautiously.
"That way... I can quickly tell you to let my father go.”
When Christine’s expression turned cold, Aaron’s face turned frightened and hesitant.
“My father... You will save him, right? Because you’re a good man.”
“Why? Because I have the same color eyes as you?”
The child shook his head again. Then, looking at him with the same eyes as Christine, he answered,
“I thought about it, and Aaron likes being with His Majesty. My mother says that good people make the people around them happy. That’s why there are many people around good people. Your Majesty, there are many people around you, too.”
Christine snickered in disbelief.
“That’s because I’m the Emperor. People like you who ask for favors or wish for things constantly come to me.”
Was it because his sincerity was being questioned? The child pouted and replied,
“Aaron likes being with you even if he doesn’t have any favors to ask. When I'm with you, it feels like the night before going fishing with Dad.”
“Like the night before going fishing?”
“Um... It’s like I can’t sleep because I’m thinking about what kind of fish I’m going to catch tomorrow.”
Christine stared at the child. Thinking about it, he felt strangely excited and warm-hearted when he was with the child.
No, it felt like it was getting hotter now.
He crouched down to get eye-level with the child.
“Daddy... will be on his way home already, Aaron.”
At that moment, the child’s expression brightened.
“Wow! Really?”
Then he spread his arms and hugged Christine’s neck tightly.
“See, Aaron said something. You’re a good person, aren’t you? If you had hurt Dad, I would have been very sad.”
As she smelled the sweet, soft scent of those small, delicate arms and the child, Christine felt an unbearable tingling in his chest. And without realizing it, his nose started to tingle...
Damn it!
There was another person he wanted to please, even if it meant doing something stupid. He thought it would end with Adele for the rest of his life.
But he felt like he would do anything to protect this small hand, this lovely creature.
“Aaron!”
At that moment, Adele’s voice was heard.
The child quickly released his arm and ran towards Adele.
“Mother!”
Was it because of the warmth he had felt just a moment ago? The chill after the child’s disappearance chilled his bones.
Christine got up and approached Adele.
“I sent Castler home.”
“See, mother, what did I tell you! Didn’t I tell you that His Majesty is a good man?”
Adele bowed politely to him.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Wasn’t your sleep uncomfortable last night?”
“Thanks to you, I was able to rest comfortably.”
At that moment, Christine felt an inexplicable irritability. Adele was hiding Aaron behind her skirt as if she were afraid of being taken away.
What on earth do you see in people...
“Maybe not today.”
“...!”
“I’m hot after going hunting.”
Ignoring her tense expression, Christine smiled at Aaron with an overly gentle smile.
“Aaron, since you couldn’t go fishing with Dad, should I take you fishing?”
“...”
However, the child only glanced at his mother and didn’t answer.
“I guess I need your permission.”
Adele sighed softly and nodded to Aaron.
“You can go if you want, Aaron.”
The child still didn’t answer easily.
Christine asked as gently as he could.
“Why don’t you want to go if it’s not Dad?”
“No. That’s not it... I made a promise with Dad first.”
“Yeah, I guess you’ll have to go fishing with Dad first. I didn’t think of that.”
Aaron felt sorry for disappointing him, then smiled brightly.
“Then, when I go fishing with Dad, will you come with me?”
“Thank you, but I have to decline.”
Aaron tilted his head at her firm answer.
“Why? Do you want to go alone with Aaron?”
“What?”
“Then I’ll go if I get Dad’s permission. I have brothers, but you’re not.”
Christine was shocked.
“Are you feeling sorry for me right now?”
Aaron grinned.
“Don’t be angry, Aaron will play with you.”
“Yes, oh. So. Exciting.”
The little creature really was making him feel like a kid. Christine didn’t feel bad just having Adele standing behind him in silence.
At least they had some semblance of a family.
Mark opened his eyes early in the morning and heard the footsteps of approaching soldiers.
He felt fearful without realizing it.
Yesterday, the torture stopped, and he received treatment under Christine’s instructions, but he didn’t know what would happen today.
He heard that most rebel priests and those who helped them were executed within a day or two. And Mark was accused of being in cahoots with the rebel priests.
Creak!
The iron door inside the prison opened with a creepy sound.
“Count Mark Castler, come out.”
Mark asked nervously.
“Where are you taking me?”
“You can go home now.”
“Home?”
“Yes. Home.”
The soldiers smiled and said something as they watched him, puzzled.
“Do you think it’s because you have a good wife?”
“...!”
Mark remembered what Christine had said last night.
“So I’m going to make a good offer to Adele. Have her give birth to my successor. Then I might be able to spare even a traitor once.”
Adele and him?
The moment Christine appeared, he thought Adele would return to him.
But he must have believed it in his heart. That she would stay by his side and with the children.
Didn’t she say that when they spent happy times together on his birthday? She liked Christine, but that feeling wasn’t everything in her life.
She was Christine’s lover, but she had lived as his wife and the mother of his children for quite some time.
It was foolish to think that would settle things.
The other person was the bloody Emperor who had killed countless people and conquered the world.
There was no way Adele would understand such a person.
Maybe he was the one who created this whole situation...
“Thank you for your hard work, Count Castler.”
Mark, who had been lost in thought, raised his head at the polite voice.
When he climbed the stairs to the basement of the Black Castle and arrived at the surface, Zimmer was standing there. He bowed his head politely when he met Mark.
“I’ve prepared a carriage to take you to the mansion. I’ve also prepared extra clothes, so please change.”
Although he had received treatment, Mark’s appearance on the day he was arrested after being tortured was beyond words. In particular, the clothes he was wearing were torn and stained with blood.
“Am I cleared of treason? Or was it his order?”
“The Count’s treason charges are still under investigation. So, when you get home, keep quiet.”
Mark couldn’t hold back his feelings of anger at that moment.
In the end, he...
“So, you’re saying that you’re just going to let someone accused of treason go? Why? It seems like there’s something fishy about the Emperor.”
Mark’s voice rose involuntarily. So much so that everyone around him could hear. He knew it was useless, but he couldn’t hold back the anger welling up deep in his chest.
“Be careful, Count!”
Zimmer warned softly but coldly.
“Let me meet His Majesty!”
“Please schedule an audience according to the proper procedures. Then, be careful on your way back, Count.”
As Zimmer turned around, the WG knights guided Mark to the carriage. Unlike when they had arrested him a few days ago, their attitudes were polite.
***
“Father!”
“Mark!”
When Mark got out of the carriage in front of the mansion, the children, Mia, and Tanya ran to greet him.
“Oh my god! What on earth did they do to you after being dragged away?”
Mia said with a face as if she was about to cry when she saw Mark’s face. Even though he had changed into clean clothes, he couldn’t hide his bruised face and scabbed lips.
“Is His Majesty the Emperor like that?”
“His Majesty should freeze to death! That bastard, the Emperor!”
Pauline shouted angrily at Jade’s question. The eldest child, who knew the ways of the world, thought that all of this was the Emperor’s doing.
The Emperor had imprisoned Mark and taken Adele and Aaron away.
“But what about Adele and Aaron?”
Tanya answered Mark’s question carefully.
“They entered the palace.”
Mia felt that Tanya’s answer alone was not enough, and she vented her anger.
“Adele entered the palace yesterday and didn’t come back, and this morning, people came and took Aaron away.”
Tanya quickly added so that Mark wouldn’t misunderstand.
“Madam couldn’t help it. She had to protect the people here.”
“Protecting the people here?”
Tanya sobbed as Mark looked puzzled.
“The thugs were causing trouble in the store, saying that it was a family of traitors. No one helped them. If His Majesty hadn’t come then, Madam and Aaron would have been in big trouble.”
“If the Emperor hadn’t framed my brother from the beginning, that wouldn’t have happened!”
Jade cautiously stepped forward at Mia’s words.
“My father was indeed framed, but we don’t know who set it up.”
“Jade, whose side are you on! It’s not unfair that your father ended up like that!”
However, he kept his mouth shut at Pauline’s shouting.
In the end, Mark calmly sorted out the situation.
“Yes, Jade is right. It would be best not to say anything rash until it’s revealed who set it up. Besides, slandering the Emperor won’t do any good for our family, who is accused of treason, so be careful what you say. Yes?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll take a break. Everyone go about your business.”
Mia followed Mark as he entered the house, supporting him.
“Are you seriously injured anywhere?”
“Yes, fortunately.”
“I’m really upset. This is the price you paid for sacrificing yourself for six years to protect two people.”
Mia grumbled as she wiped Mark’s scabbed face with a handkerchief.
“I didn’t do it for a reward. I didn’t sacrifice anything. Adele and Aaron were like gifts to me for six years. I enjoyed it so much that I should return the favor.”
“Oh, I’m going crazy! This is really messed up, messed up!”
Mark smiled bitterly as he watched Mia getting angry.
Maybe Mia was more honest and pure.
He said that they were like gifts, but he was angry like a child whose gifts had been taken away.
His head was filled with anger at the person who had taken his gifts away.
It was the first time he had felt such uncontrollable emotions.
***
“Hello, Your Majesty.”
Aaron, getting off the carriage, quickly bowed to Christine.
The sight of the little child wearing a blue tuxedo and a ribbon tie was incredibly cute. On the other hand, he also thought that he must have been very uncomfortable.
“Yes, you’re here, Aaron.”
“...”
But the child’s face hardened, and he just looked around.
Christine, who had been unable to sleep all night due to heart pain, was on his way back from hunting at dawn. Behind him, Paulo, a member of the Wolf Clan, and a dozen or so WG knights followed.
It seemed that the child was frightened by their cold swords and the smell of blood.
“Everyone, back off.”
At Christine’s order, they all backed off.
At the same time, he quickly smiled gently and jumped off his horse.
“You must have had a hard time coming so early in the morning.”
The child shook his head.
“No, it’s okay.”
“Really? You’re diligent.”
Then the child answered cautiously.
"That way... I can quickly tell you to let my father go.”
When Christine’s expression turned cold, Aaron’s face turned frightened and hesitant.
“My father... You will save him, right? Because you’re a good man.”
“Why? Because I have the same color eyes as you?”
The child shook his head again. Then, looking at him with the same eyes as Christine, he answered,
“I thought about it, and Aaron likes being with His Majesty. My mother says that good people make the people around them happy. That’s why there are many people around good people. Your Majesty, there are many people around you, too.”
Christine snickered in disbelief.
“That’s because I’m the Emperor. People like you who ask for favors or wish for things constantly come to me.”
Was it because his sincerity was being questioned? The child pouted and replied,
“Aaron likes being with you even if he doesn’t have any favors to ask. When I'm with you, it feels like the night before going fishing with Dad.”
“Like the night before going fishing?”
“Um... It’s like I can’t sleep because I’m thinking about what kind of fish I’m going to catch tomorrow.”
Christine stared at the child. Thinking about it, he felt strangely excited and warm-hearted when he was with the child.
No, it felt like it was getting hotter now.
He crouched down to get eye-level with the child.
“Daddy... will be on his way home already, Aaron.”
At that moment, the child’s expression brightened.
“Wow! Really?”
Then he spread his arms and hugged Christine’s neck tightly.
“See, Aaron said something. You’re a good person, aren’t you? If you had hurt Dad, I would have been very sad.”
As she smelled the sweet, soft scent of those small, delicate arms and the child, Christine felt an unbearable tingling in his chest. And without realizing it, his nose started to tingle...
Damn it!
There was another person he wanted to please, even if it meant doing something stupid. He thought it would end with Adele for the rest of his life.
But he felt like he would do anything to protect this small hand, this lovely creature.
“Aaron!”
At that moment, Adele’s voice was heard.
The child quickly released his arm and ran towards Adele.
“Mother!”
Was it because of the warmth he had felt just a moment ago? The chill after the child’s disappearance chilled his bones.
Christine got up and approached Adele.
“I sent Castler home.”
“See, mother, what did I tell you! Didn’t I tell you that His Majesty is a good man?”
Adele bowed politely to him.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Wasn’t your sleep uncomfortable last night?”
“Thanks to you, I was able to rest comfortably.”
At that moment, Christine felt an inexplicable irritability. Adele was hiding Aaron behind her skirt as if she were afraid of being taken away.
What on earth do you see in people...
“Maybe not today.”
“...!”
“I’m hot after going hunting.”
Ignoring her tense expression, Christine smiled at Aaron with an overly gentle smile.
“Aaron, since you couldn’t go fishing with Dad, should I take you fishing?”
“...”
However, the child only glanced at his mother and didn’t answer.
“I guess I need your permission.”
Adele sighed softly and nodded to Aaron.
“You can go if you want, Aaron.”
The child still didn’t answer easily.
Christine asked as gently as he could.
“Why don’t you want to go if it’s not Dad?”
“No. That’s not it... I made a promise with Dad first.”
“Yeah, I guess you’ll have to go fishing with Dad first. I didn’t think of that.”
Aaron felt sorry for disappointing him, then smiled brightly.
“Then, when I go fishing with Dad, will you come with me?”
“Thank you, but I have to decline.”
Aaron tilted his head at her firm answer.
“Why? Do you want to go alone with Aaron?”
“What?”
“Then I’ll go if I get Dad’s permission. I have brothers, but you’re not.”
Christine was shocked.
“Are you feeling sorry for me right now?”
Aaron grinned.
“Don’t be angry, Aaron will play with you.”
“Yes, oh. So. Exciting.”
The little creature really was making him feel like a kid. Christine didn’t feel bad just having Adele standing behind him in silence.
At least they had some semblance of a family.
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