Episode 14: The rat lies prostrate beneath the yellow curtain
In the deepest corner of the Duke of Castillo's estate, a foul-smelling, dilapidated warehouse where even light barely penetrated. Two men who had once roamed high society clad in the Empire's most splendid silks were now covered in dust, clutching iron bars and panting like beasts.
"Ah, Father! What on earth is this! Why must I be locked up in a place like this pigsty!"
Claude, his shoulder blade roughly bandaged, screamed and kicked the wall.
"Shut up, you fool! If you hadn't staged that farce at the Imperial Ball, I wouldn't have lost my Knights!"
Valdemar, too, veins bulging, shifted the blame onto his son. The two were busy tearing at each other, blaming one another.
In the eyes of Valdemar, who had lost his source of wealth, power, and even his wife and Knights, completely isolated a terrible despair and venom were etched.
'I cannot die like this.'
"Eleanor, I cannot let that wicked witch snatch my Castillo away completely!"
Valdemar fumbled in his bosom and pulled out a key to the "family's emergency vault" that he had secretly inherited from the previous Duke. Then, carefully observing the faces of the knights on night patrol beyond the bars, he spotted a corrupt low-ranking knight who owed him a debt at the gambling den and secretly summoned him.
"Listen. I will give you this key; please run just one errand for me."
"Y-Your Excellency, if I obey your orders now, my head will be on the chopping block by Lady Eleanor."
"This is my secret letter to be delivered to the Commander of the First Knight Division of the Imperial Palace. Once this letter reaches His Majesty the Emperor, His Majesty will send troops to rescue me! At that time, I will appoint you as the Commander of the Knights of Castillo and forgive your entire debt!"
The low-ranking knight's eyes trembled with desire. Valdemar forcibly thrust a secret letter, written with blood on his trembling hands, into his hand. Inside the letter lay the most pathetic and horrific act of treason, unimaginable for a high-ranking noble of the Empire.
[Your Majesty the Emperor, like the sun.
My wife, Eleanor, has plotted treason, turned the family's knight order into a private army, and usurped real power. Please send the Imperial army to rescue me and my son, and if you grant me a divorce, I will surrender half of the ownership of the northern iron mines held by Castillo and 40 percent of the merchant guild's funds to the Imperial Household.]
Accusing the wife, who had shed tears of blood to protect the family, of treason, and intending to sell off the family's territory and honor entirely to save his own life the worst kind of patricide. The corrupt low-ranking knight took the key to the vault and vanished into the darkness like a rat.
"Hahaha. Eleanor. No matter how much mana you spew and how impressive you may seem, before His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, who stands at the pinnacle of the Empire's power, you are nothing but a mere woman."
Valdemar burst into maniacal laughter on the stench-filled warehouse floor, completely unaware that the secret letter was the perfect invitation to lead him to the guillotine.
***
That night, in the deepest and most secret office of the Imperial Palace.
"Hmm..."
Atop the throne where a golden brazier blazed, Alexander III, the young Emperor in his 40s and the absolute ruler of the Empire, let out a deep laugh as he read the blood-stained letter in his hand.
"You scoundrel, Valdemar. I knew you were all talk and no substance, but to think you've been stripped of all power by your own wife, locked up in prison, and begging the Imperial Household. The title of Duke is wasted on you."
Standing beside the Emperor, the Commander of the First Knights and the Minister of Internal Affairs cautiously began to speak.
"Your Majesty, there were intelligence reports that Duchess Eleanor's recent moves were alarming, but I never imagined she would seize control of the family's knight order by force. Considering the subtle tension she exchanged with the Grand Duke of the North at the ball, if left unchecked, Castillo might slip out of the Imperial Household's control."
The Emperor's eyes narrowed sharply like a snake. He had always resented the Castillo family or, to be more precise, 'Eleanor Castillo,' the woman who had single-handedly dragged the family along by the scruff of the throat. She was an iron-willed woman who had amassed immense wealth and brought prosperity to the estate in place of her incompetent husband.
To the Emperor, who had to borrow money from her treasury whenever the Imperial treasury ran low, Eleanor's arrogant red eyes were a haughtiness he had always wanted to crush. Yet, the head of that seemingly impregnable family had thrown open the doors himself, prostrating himself at his feet and offering half of the family's assets.
Half of the Northern iron mines and 40 percent of the merchant guild's funds. A greedy smile spread across the corners of the Emperor's lips.
"The treasury was already running dry, and now that stupid rat has brought back a slab of fat meat. Now that I have even obtained the clan head's handwritten accusation that Eleanor is plotting treason, the Imperial Household has secured the perfect justification to intervene in Castillo by force."
The Emperor rose from his seat and slammed his staff down on the floor
"Minister of the Interior. And Commander of the First Knights."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"As soon as dawn breaks, lead the Imperial Special Investigation Team and two battalions of elite knights into the Duke of Castillo's mansion immediately. Rescue the imprisoned Valdemar, and arrest Eleanor and her henchmen, who have illegally seized control of the clan, on charges of 'treason and insult to the Imperial Household. Ah, if they resist, you may cut them down."
"I obey your command!"
The hounds, having received the Emperor's order, glared with merciless teeth and fled the palace. The Emperor tossed Valdemar's secret letter into the blazing brazier and muttered coldly.
"Eleanor Castillo. No matter how clever you are, before the Imperial command, you will eventually kneel and hand over the key to your vault."
***
At the very moment a massive storm was being prepared in the Imperial Palace, at the Duke of Castillo's residence, Eleanor was busy working on paperwork in her office alongside Liliana, despite the late hour. Although she likely hadn't fully recovered from the fatigue of the ball, Liliana showed not a hint of tiredness as she meticulously separated and compared the estate's legitimate tax payment records with the illicit ledgers stolen from the Black Rose Guild.
"Mother."
"We have perfectly documented the details of the slush funds that flowed into the Duke's nominee accounts. Now, no matter when the Imperial Audit Board raids, there is not a single penny of error in the 'superficial ledgers' we submit."
"Well done, Liliana. Your skills are impeccable enough to be appointed the Imperial Finance Minister."
Eleanor nodded in satisfaction and pushed the freshly brewed tea toward Liliana. Liliana carefully held the teacup with both hands and looked up worriedly at the dark night sky outside the window.
"But Mother, if the matter of imprisoning Valdemar in the Knights' Prison reaches the Imperial Household, the Emperor will surely use this as a pretext to seize the family's assets. I feel uneasy, as if a storm is approaching."
"It is only a matter of time before the Imperial House takes action."
"..."
"No, rather, that piece of trash might have hastened this situation by wagging his tail at the Emperor just to survive."
Eleanor smiled languidly, as if she had already read every variable.
"There is nothing to fear, Liliana. If the Emperor sends an investigation team, it will not be a crisis for me, but a 'legitimate justification' to completely cut that trash out with my own hands."
Eleanor rose from her seat and walked slowly toward the balcony. A cold, chilly autumn breeze rustled the thin curtains as it entered.
Looking up at the night sky, she recalled the deep body heat of the beast that had wrapped its arms around her waist at the ball.
'If the Emperor draws his sword, I too will need a massive shield to break it.'
"Liliana. Go back and rest for today. We might have to greet some rather noisy guests tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Mother."
"Good night."
Liliana left the room, leaving Eleanor alone in the office. Without closing the balcony door, she opened the door leading to the bedroom with a meaningful smile.
It was the eve of a massive storm. Yet, Eleanor was waiting for a ruthless and blind beast to break through the storm and leap onto her balcony.
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