TMHR 22

Episode 22: The Mud Where the Love of the Century Is Buried

2026.03. 12

+ In the deepest dungeon of the Duke of Castillo's estate, where not a single ray of light penetrated, Claude, the Young Duke-once of the highest rank in the Empire-stood trembling like a beast in the stench of damp moss and straw gnawed by rats. What drove him madder than the pain of his dislocated shoulder blade was the single remark his mother, Eleanor, had tossed out yesterday with a cold smile. "Your lovely mistress sold the secret you blabbered about to the old Marquis and became his concubine." "No... that can't be true. Mother lied to torment me." Claude muttered, biting his nails until they bled. "My Vivian wouldn't do such a thing. She is a pure, angel who shed tears for me and was the only one to understand my wounds. She must be unjustly imprisoned in the Imperial dungeon, desperately calling out for me...! I, I must go save her!" It was at that very moment, while he was escaping reality and lost in a terrible delusion..... Creak the heavy iron door of the dungeon opened with a sharp friction. Torchbearers from Castillo were dragging a tattered prisoner, tightly bound with ropes, down the stairs. "Go in, you traitorous bitch!" "Thud!" A guard roughly slammed the prisoner into the cell opposite Claude. Rolling across the floor, the prisoner let out a pained groan, her blonde hair trailing in the dirt and bloodstains. It was Vivian, who had been abandoned by the Marquis of Morté and taken into custody when she was intercepted by Caeln's intelligence guild and dragged to the Castillo basement. "...Huh? V-Vivian?" Claude pressed his face against the iron bars, groping in disbelief.

"Vivianl You are Vivian, right? Oh, God! How did you end up here...I" At Claude's voice, Vivian, who had been slumped on the floor, snapped her head up. Her blue eyes were no longer the affectionate gaze that had once shyly smiled at Claude. They gleamed with a ferocious and cruel light, like a viper brimming with venom. "Claude. ?" Vivian growled in a cracked voice. Claude burst into tears at the sight of Vivian's horrific appearance The fact that she had been dragged here as a traitor did not matter. He was merely seething with a shallow sense of heroism at the sight of his 'pure angel' being persecuted. "Oh, my poor Vivian! How brutally tortured must you have been by those men instigated by your mother! When your mother framed you as the Minister of the Interior's concubine, I never once doubted you! Don't worry, once I become the head of the family, I will rescue you immediately and make you a Duchess...!" "Shut up, you stupid bastard!!!" A tearing scream burst from Vivian's lips. Claude froze as if struck on the head by a hammer at the foul language spewing from the mouth of the woman who had looked like an angel. "V-Vivian...? You, what did you just say...?" "Are you deaf? I told you to shut up, you useless, pathetic bastard! Just looking at your face makes me nauseous!" Vivian screamed like a beast while gripping the bars of her cage. Having been mercilessly abaridoned and dragged there by the Marquis of Morté, she had lost her reason at the thought that the incompetent man standing right before her was the root cause of all this terrible suffering. "You, the head of the family? Even a passing dog would laugh! You're just a parasite hiding under your mother's skirt to get pocket money, yet you dare talk about the position of Duchess?! It's because you messed with your tongue in bed that I ended up like this!" "In bed... messed with your tongue? Th-then you're saying Mother's words are true? You're saying you really sold my secrets to the Marquis of Morté and became his concubine?!" Claude's pupils darted wildly. It was the moment his last shred of denial shattered into pieces. Vivian twisted her blood-stained lips upward and snorted viciously. "Finel I sold everything off, so what? Did you think I'd rot away my whole life next to a loser with no money and no power? I only used you as a stepping stone to become the mistress of the Imperial faction! But the information you gave me was such trash that I was abandoned by the Marquis and ended up like this!" "Th-th-this you whore-like bitch!!!" Claude's eyes rolled back. The raw truth was that the woman he believed he had loved his entire life had only coveted his money and status from the start, and had even voluntarily crawled into another old man's bed. Forgetting his injured shoulder, Claude reached through the bars and thrashed about toward Vivian. "I abandoned my family for you! I endured that humiliation from my mother and Liliana! How dare you betray me?! You vulgar bitch! I'm going to kill you right in front of my eyes!!" "Try killing me! I'd rather bite my tongue off than die at the hands of a bastard like you! You piece of shit stuck in prison for failing to control a single Knights Order!" Separated by iron bars, the two hurled the lowest of the low at each other and spat phlegm. The 'Romance of the Century,' which had once rocked high society, was wallowing in the gutter floor, emitting a stench worse than animal excrement. The place where that vicious and wretched mud fight echoed vividly. The secret surveillance zone on the first floor of the main building, connected to the ceiling of the dungeon. Eleanor leaned lazily back on a high-end velvet sofa, watching the horrific scene of the basement illuminated by the magic stone as if it were a comedy. "That is a pleasant scream to hear." Standing beside her, Caeln whispered softly as he filled Eleanor's crystal glass with red wine., "Fools. Now that the shallow greed wrapped in love has been exposed, they tear each other apart so easily. The fact that he was once Castillo's heir is my only shame." Eleanor lowered her gaze with a cold, mocking sneer. A subtle weariness washed over her as she recalled the years she had sacrificed herself for that foolish son in her past life. At that moment, Caeln's large, hot hands gently and heavily wrapped around Eleanor's white neck and shoulders as she leaned against the sofa. "They are not a disgrace to you, Madam. They are merely vermin destined to be trampled at your feet." Caeln lowered his head and breathed a thick, affectionate breath into Eleanor's ear. His rough yet delicate touch carefully loosened the tight muscles in her shoulders.

"The trash within the family is now going mad, hating each other as if to kill, and Marquis Morte, once an external enemy, has been trampled to ruin by your daughter-in-law. The obstacles that bound you are being completely cleared away, one by one. Just hold on a little longer." It was the low, deep comfort of a beast watching over her safety. Eleanor smiled languidly as she placed her hand over the back of Caeln's rough hand gripping her shoulder Amidst this vicious drama of revenge, this man's warmth was becoming the only comfortable sanctuary. However, on a peaceful night where the two were ripening for a perfect victory, the most vile and deadly trap to bring down Eleanor was being newly woven within the Imperial Palace, the heart of the empire. *** At the same time, in a secluded office within the palace. Clang! Emperor Alexander III was raging in fury, throwing the precious porcelain in his office. "Arrogant women of Castillol First Eleanor, now even the daughter-in-law steps forward to swallow up the Minister of the Interior's trading company entirely?! Holding the Imperial supply network hostage to toy with me?!" "Please compose yourself, Your Majesty!" The remaining nobles of the Imperial faction turned pale and prostrated themselves. Marquis Morte's bankruptcy was a fatal blow to the Imperial treasury. If they failed to prevent the combination of Castillo's immense wealth and the Grand Duke of the North's military power, even the imperial authority itself would be in jeopardy. "What am I to dol The plan to frame a rebellion using Valdemar's secret letter has fallen apart, and economic power has completely fallen into Eleanor's hands. Is there no way to put that arrogant vixen on the leash?" As the Emperor fumed and pounded his fist on the throne, a nobleman cautiously opened his mouth with a sinister smile. "Your Majesty Duchess Eleanor now has only one weakness. It is the daughter-in-law chosen as the family's new heir, Lady Liliana von Werner" "Liliana? You say that audacious girl is her weakness?" "That is correct. Lady Liliana's cunning combined with Castillo's immense capital has created the current threat. In that case. wouldn't it be enough to take that daughter-in-law away as a hostage for the Imperial Household?" At the nobleman's words, the Emperor's eyes snapped. "Explain it in detail." "It happens that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince lacks a suitable concubine by his side. I am issuing an imperial decree to take Lady Liliana as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's 'First Concubine. If we snatch the heir of Castillo to become an imperial concubine, Eleanor will be rendered helpless and unable to resist, and Castillo's massive dowry can be legally reclaimed for the Imperial treasury." It was a terrible and petty scheme to abduct another man's daughter-in-law and the family's heir as a concubine, using the authority of the Imperial family. However, the Emperor, blinded by greed, slammed his hand on the table and burst into a wretched laugh of jubilation. "Hahahal Excellent! Eleanor, no matter how much money you have or how much you have the backing of the Grand Duke of the North, you cannot defy the solemn imperial command! Send an imperial envoy to the Duke of Castillo's residence tomorrow morning!" In the darkness of the calm before the storm. The worst imperial decree that would bring about a bloodbath, ordering the daughter-in-law Liliana to be offered as prey to the imperial family, was being finalized. "Liliana? You say that audacious girl is the weakness?" "That is correct. Lady Liliana's cunning combined with Castillo's immense capital has created the current threat. In that case. wouldn't it be sufficient to abduct that daughter-in-law and take her as a hostage to the Imperial Family?" At the nobleman's words, the Emperor's eyes snapped. "Explain in detail" "Fortunately, there is no suitable concubine by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's side. I am issuing an imperial decree to bring Lady Liliana in as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's 'First Concubine ' If we take Castillo's heir as a concubine to the Imperial Family, Eleanor will be stripped of her limbs and unable to resist, and Castillo's massive dowry can be legally recovered and returned to the Imperial treasury." It was a terrible and despicable scheme to abduct another man's daughter-in-law and the family's heir as a concubine, backed by the authority of the Imperial Household. However, the Emperor, blinded by greed, slammed his fist on the table and burst into a wry, ecstatic laugh. "Hahaha! Excellent! Eleanor, no matter how much money you have or how much you have the backing of the Grand Duke of the North, you cannot defy the solemn Imperial command! Send an envoy to the Duke of Castillo's mansion tomorrow morning, immediately!" In the darkness of the calm before the storm, the worst imperial decree that would bring about a bloodbath to offer his daughter-in-law Liliana as prey to the Imperial Household was being finalized. "Liliana? You say that audacious girl is the weakness?" "That is correct. Lady Liliana's cunning combined with Castillo's immense capital has created the current threat. In that case. wouldn't it be sufficient to abduct that daughter-in-law and take her as a hostage to the Imperial Family?" At the nobleman's words, the Emperor's eyes snapped. "Explain in detail." "Fortunately, there is no suitable concubine by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's side. I am issuing an imperial decree to bring Lady Liliana in as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's 'First Concubine.' If we take Castillo's heir as a concubine to the Imperial Family, Eleanor will be stripped of her limbs and unable to resist, and Castillo's massive dowry can be legally recovered and returned to the Imperial treasury." It was a terrible and despicable scheme to abduct another man's daughter-in-law and the family's heir as a concubine, backed by the authority of the Imperial Household. However, the Emperor, blinded by greed, slammed his fist on the table and burst into a wry, ecstatic laugh. "Hahahal Excellent! Eleanor, no matter how much money you have or how much you have the backing of the Grand Duke of the North, you cannot defy the solemn Imperial command! Send an envoy to the Duke of Castillo's mansion tomorrow morning, immediately!" In the darkness of the calm before the storm, the worst imperial decree that would bring about a bloodbath to offer his daughter-in-law Liliana as prey to the Imperial Household was being finalized.