Chapter 7 – Part 13

“So now I’m in a position where I have to beg you to meet Your Majesty.”

“No.”

Shannua shook his head.

“Because you never pestered me.”

“…….”

“Even when I’ve been angry.”

He stood up and walked over to Arlen.

“So, you were going to run an errand and invite a friend over because I didn’t come to see you?”

The conversation had come full circle.

“I told you earlier. Because I miss home… … .”

“If it’s home, you miss…… why are you looking for Eli?”

Shannua asked, interrupting Arlen. Her mouth remained slightly open as he continued to speak.

“If you had been thinking about inviting Eli to our wedding, I would have said I already did.”

Arlen was rolling her eyes. Her eyes flickered inexplicably, and she tried her best to look unconcerned.

“You’re still jealous, aren’t you?”

“Jealous? Jealousy…….”

A ridiculous laugh escaped Shannua’s mouth.

“I don’t think it’s something to be jealous of.”

Shannua pulled the letter from his bosom. It was from Arlen, sent through Petiz.

‘How, how, how did Shannua have that letter? ’

“I’m contacting you because I didn’t receive any letter. I need an explanation of the current situation. Have you dealt with Eli Grit? If so, send me a letter; if not, leave it untouched until I contact you again.”

He read the letter, looking at Arlen, whose face was now completely white, as if to say something.

“You…. are mistaken.”

Arlen mumbled, finally regaining her composure, but her gaze was still blank.

“That you sent the letter, or that you tried to kill Eli?”

Shannua’s eyes didn’t waver as he said it, and that was a sign of his conviction.

“Both…….”

Arlen tried to pull herself together. It was only a letter. She had to think, think, think.

“I heard Eli was in danger, and I needed to find someone fast to protect him. You know, people who do dangerous things are usually the fastest to information.”

Arlen tried to remain calm, but her anxiety made her speak faster.

“If that was the case, you should have told me. They can’t be faster than me.”

Shannua looked at her desperately and asked, “Are you sure?” Her face was expressionless, unmoved by his words.

“I didn’t have time to think. I was just thinking about rescuing him! You were worried too!”

Arlen swallowed hard, trying to calm herself.

“Arlen.”

The voice was low.

“Your letter didn’t say you were worried about Eli.”

“When I checked before…….you wrote, ‘I’ll give you what you want. I just want you to take care of Eli Grit.’”

Arlen blinked, trying to understand what he was talking about.

“I didn’t say anything like that!”

Arlen’s voice rose in frustration.

“There was. In the other letter you sent asking them to kill Eli Grit!”

Arlen stiffened at Shannua’s accusation.

How could he know the contents of her old letter?

“I found the letters you sent them, the jewelry you gave them in exchange, who you asked them to kill, everything.”

Arlen was stunned and took a step back.

“So, tell me, why did you do it?”

His expressionless face grew harsh as he approached her.

The vanity behind her prevented her from running any further, but Shannua didn’t stop approaching, and soon his grip was so tight that her shoulders ached as if they were being crushed by his vicious grip.

“How could you do such a thing? Tell me!”

Arlen’s body shook violently as she was startled by the roar of the man’s voice so close to him.

“I don’t know what you mean, but…… I only sent the jewels at the request of Lady Marie Grit. It wasn’t me.”

Arlen decided to deny it. She planned to keep denying it until the end, whether Shannua believed her or not.

This behavior drew a chuckle from Shannua.

He didn’t believe her either. He let go of her hand.

“I still have a long way to go. I almost completely gave my heart to someone like you and rushed you into a high position.”

“…….”

“You should have apologized first. Then maybe my heart would have moved even a little.”

“…….”

“I know. People don’t change easily.”

If you think about it, Arlen has always been selfish. In love, in her choices, in the moment, and now.

As he realized that she would never change, he also realized that he would never regret her choices.

“You can’t take another step out of this room, and there’s no point in trying to escape because the knights are already outside.”

With that, Shannua walked toward the door, and just before he stepped out, he added,

“Tomorrow, I’ll talk to Duke Miles and break off the engagement.”

With those words, he left the palace.

“Shannua!”

Arlen, who had been listening to him in a daze, rushed after him but was stopped by the knights at the door.

“You can’t leave this place.”

“Wait…….”

“By order of His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Shannua!”

Her desperate cry scattered helplessly through the hallway, where only the knights remained.

* * *

Ruby, Emily, and Leton made their way to the palace at the Emperor’s summons.

“The Marchioness of Grit, Lady Emily Grit, and Baron Bogar have arrived.”

“Let them in.”

With the Emperor’s permission, the doors opened, and the three entered.

“Greetings, Imperial Sun.”

Duke Miles, who had arrived first, was puzzled by the unexpected appearance of the three.

“Why have you summoned them? Isn’t this the time to discuss the wedding of His Majesty and my daughter?”

“They are necessary for the discussion. Please be seated.”

As the three sat down at the Emperor’s invitation, the Duke of Miles made no secret of his discomfort, his brow creasing in a fine line.

“I’ll get straight to the point. The wedding is canceled.”

“……What do you mean, you’re not going to have the wedding? Is that what Marquis Tules wants you to do?”

“No. I’m saying I’ll break off the engagement. It’s purely my decision.”

“What do you mean by that? Have you changed your mind about Arlen? Still, you cannot call off the marriage so suddenly; that would be too disrespectful of the Duke of Miles!”

Duke Miles exclaimed, his emotions rising as he spoke.

He looked at the people sitting across from him. His insult was compounded by the presence of the Ruby Grit.

“You will answer for my decision, Duke, only after you have heard what I have to say.”

Despite the Duke’s rant, Shannua remained calm. He had expected this reaction.

“Very well, I’ll listen, though I doubt it will change my answer.”

It would be difficult to change one’s mind without a very good reason. The Duke of Miles thought so.

“A few weeks ago, the Marquis of Grit was attacked on his way back to the capital, and he was wounded while fending off the attack.”

“…….”

“It wasn’t done by a single group.”

“You mean it was a massive attack?”

Duke Miles wasn’t sure why Shannua was telling this story at this point, but he decided to hear it anyway.

“Yes. I started doing some research to catch the culprit, and this is what I found.”

Shannua nods, and Leton opens the box, pulls out a letter, and hands it to Duke Miles.

“This is from the person who commissioned the murder.”

What does this have to do with his marriage to Arlen?

The Duke of Miles read it, his annoyance clear on his face. The contents were horrifying. It was a letter asking them to murder Eli Grit, no matter the cost.

“There are five such letters that were addressed in five different places.”

Shannua laid out four of the letters, not including the one the Duke was now holding.

“So, I had the letters analyze, and I found the jewels that were exchanged in exchange for them. Would you like to see them?”

Before the Duke of Mile could answer, Leton placed the papers on the table in time with his words.

“Next to it is a letter in the same handwriting as the commission. Do you recognize who it belongs to?”

The Duke of Miles’s expression changed as he studied the papers; his eyes were not the least bit interested. He read them all with quick eyes, and at the end, he looked at Shannua with trembling eyes.

“Who would have thought that Arlen Miles, who is said to be Eli Grit’s close friend in the Empire of Luben, would do such a thing.”

“Is this…… true?”

“The jeweler confirmed that the jewels used as payment for the transaction belonged to Arlen Miles, which were either from your family or gifts from Lady Marie Grit. He said that Marquis Grit took meticulous care of them when he ascended to the Marquisate, as if he knew something like this would happen.”

“…….”

“Then let’s hear from the Duke again, shall we?”

Duke Miles’s hand trembled as he held the papers. The evidence was clear, and it all pointed to Arlen.

Besides, the target was the Marquis of Grit. A nobleman of the highest rank.

Despite all this, Duke Mile knew how big of a favor it was to end it with just a breakup.

“I accept Your Majesty’s…… decision.”

“Then the break of engagement will be as agreed.”

Shannua knew the Duke of Miles would accept.

When he was finished, Shanua looked at Ruby as if to say something.

Ruby, who had been silently waiting for her turn, spoke up under his gaze.

“Breaking off the engagement won’t solve all the problems, Duke Miles.”

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories