Chapter 20

“This doesn’t seem to be the first time something like this has happened. After killing a noblewoman, the Crown Prince reported the women to the city guards.”  

“How did the women from Royal Charlotte die?”  

“When the guards arrived after the Crown Prince’s report, they found three women dead in the room. The women from Royal Charlotte had been beheaded, while the noblewoman appeared to have been strangled. Judging by the size of the handprints on her neck, it was determined that the Crown Prince killed her himself.”  

Ines handed over a document.  

“This is the profile of the Crown Prince, sent by an informant from the Kingdom of Lenin. It turns out he has sadistic tendencies. There have been unexplained suicides among palace maids within the royal palace, and it’s suspected that the Crown Prince was involved in their deaths.”  

There are men like that sometimes—those who find pleasure in choking women at the height of climax, watching them gasp for air beneath them.  

While there may be women who enjoy such sadistic acts, if the Crown Prince was drunk, it’s unlikely he was in his right mind.  

“The women from Royal Charlotte and Trisha have been detained for the crime of murdering the noblewoman.”  

“I’ll have to go.”  

Adrian had been working tirelessly to spend more time with Rivera, but of all times, such an incident had to occur now.  

‘At least the silver lining is that the Royal Charlotte situation will be resolved without much trouble…’  

There wasn’t a place in the Helios Empire that the Bartman family’s influence didn’t reach. All Adrian needed to do was inform the Emperor of the situation and have the women released, while also exposing the Crown Prince of Lenin’s crimes.  

‘This is a good opportunity to deal with the Kingdom of Lenin, which has been bothering me anyway.’  

Adrian left the study.  

“Are you heading to the imperial palace?”  

“Yes. If I try to negotiate with the city guards who handled the case by the law, the family of the murdered noblewoman will raise a fuss. Using the Emperor as a shield is the cleanest solution.”  

The Emperor, who often summoned Adrian for trivial matters, was a nuisance. If Adrian didn’t use him now, when else would he?  

“What about the Crown Prince of Lenin?”  

“Kill him.”  

There was no value in keeping him alive.  

* * *  

Crash!  

Raphael threw a bottle of liquor, clutching his head in frustration.  

“Damn it!”  

How could things go so wrong?  

After the ball, he had met a woman. She was quite beautiful, with an exceptional figure. The woman seemed interested in him, and after drinking together, she accompanied him to his room, where they slept together. But then, she said something he had never heard before.  

– Ha… So much for being strong at night… You’re worse than the rumors said.  

Hearing those words, Raphael’s anger surged to the point of snapping. Something inside him broke, and before he realized it, he was strangling her.  

“It’s her fault! That crazy woman wouldn’t have said such nonsense if she hadn’t lost her mind…”  

By the time he came to his senses, the woman was dead. Upon checking her identity, he discovered she was a noblewoman—the daughter of Marquis Harmon, an old general guarding the border.  

The area Marquis Harmon protected was near the Kingdom of Lenin’s borders, meaning he could either attack the kingdom or intercept and kill Raphael if he tried to flee there. Raphael had left the kingdom to expand his power, but the situation was turning against him.  

The only fortunate thing was that two women from Helios Empire’s Royal Charlotte came to his room. He had forgotten that he had told them to come every night.  

Usually, his knights would block women from entering his room when he was with someone else, but this time was different. The knights assumed the Crown Prince was trying something new and let the women in. They couldn’t act recklessly, knowing that the Crown Prince’s temper became violent when he was displeased.  

– Kyaaaa!  

When the women entered the room, Raphael was holding a sword, trying to deal with the noblewoman’s body.  

– Why are you screaming?!

As the two women screamed and tried to run, Raphael killed them without realizing what he was doing.  

Shortly after, the innkeeper, hearing the commotion, came upstairs, forcing Raphael to lie. He claimed that the women who loved him had dreamed of a romantic relationship but, out of jealousy, strangled the noblewoman together.  

“No one will ever find out… I’ve silenced everyone.”  

Raphael tried to reassure himself. He only needed to endure for a few days until the investigation ended, after which he would leave this wretched country.  

But he didn’t know. He didn’t know about the dark shadow looming behind him.  

【 Do you think I’ll let you get away? 】  

Raphael was gripped with fear, realizing someone had attacked him. His mouth was gagged with cloth, and a sack was placed over his head, leaving him unable to speak or see.  

‘Who would do this to me?!’  

He had thought kidnappings were things that happened to others. Having lived his life under the protection of knights, Raphael was terrified of what would happen next.  

Whoosh—  

The sound of wind echoed eerily, as if he were in a cave.  

“Mmm!! Mmm!!”  

He struggled, trying to call for help, but it seemed no one was around. Eventually, he heard the sound of several footsteps approaching.  

Realizing someone was there, he thrashed even harder.  

‘Save me! Please save me!’  

Perhaps his efforts paid off, as the sack covering his face was removed, allowing him to see his surroundings.  

‘That… that man!’  

Raphael tried to assess the situation. Standing before him was none other than the Duke of Bartman, known as the most powerful figure after the Emperor himself.  

“Duke Bartman! Why are you doing this to me?!”  

Having never been treated this way before, Raphael expressed his anger, but he had picked the wrong opponent.  

“You’ve taken the lives of innocent people and still don’t know why?”  

Raphael couldn’t believe it. Surely no one would kidnap the next king over the deaths of a few women.  

But as if reading his thoughts, the Duke of Bartman sneered.  

“So you’re not completely stupid.”  

“Is this all because of a few women?!”  

“Watch your tone.”  

Adrian swung his sword, slicing the corner of Raphael’s mouth.  

“Ah… Ah… Aaaaah!!”  

Raphael screamed in agony. Adrian considered cutting out his tongue but decided against it, as it would make questioning him difficult.  

“Isn’t this a bit dramatic? All I want to know is how you plan to compensate for the women you killed.”  

Perhaps because of the pain, Raphael lashed out like a madman.  

“Compensate? For some prostitutes?! How dare you treat me, the Crown Prince, like this over such women…!”  

Swish.  

The tip of Adrian’s sword pressed against Raphael’s throat.  

“Prostitutes?”  

How clueless could this man be?  

“Do you still not understand the situation you’re in?”  

Even in the face of death, Raphael failed to grasp the gravity of his situation.  

“W-was one of the dead women yours? If so, I didn’t do it on purpose! I had no choice at the time…”  

“Do you think I’m some lustful dog like you?”  

“T-then why…”  

“You touched what was mine. My people, the ones I cherished.”  

Adrian looked down at Raphael with disdain. The idea that someone like him was a candidate for the throne was laughable.  

“That’s reason enough for you to die. Not only did you try to toy with my woman, but you also attempted to use her to get close to me. Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”  

“No! It’s all a misunderstanding!”  

“Why are you fools always so pathetic?”  

Raphael’s face turned pale.  

“Do you think saying that will save you? Don’t get your hopes up.”  

“M-my father will send knights to rescue me! Once they come…”  

“Nonsense. No one can save you. This is my secret hideout, known only to me.”  

Fear flickered across Raphael’s face. His body trembled as if he might wet himself at any moment.  

“Still, consider yourself lucky. At least you won’t live to see your kingdom fall.”  

Adrian’s sword slashed across Raphael’s neck.  

Slash!  

This was always how it was meant to end. From the moment Adrian learned that Raphael had tried to use Rivera, he had been planning to kill him.  

However, knowing it would cause trouble, Adrian had intended to wait until Raphael left the empire and crossed the border. But Raphael had squandered his chance to live a few days longer.  

“This is why useless scum should be dealt with quickly.”  

Leaving them alive only caused more problems.  

* * *  

While spending a leisurely day in Adrian’s study, Rivera was startled by a headline in the day’s imperial newspaper.  

“Adrian, did you see this? The Crown Prince of Lenin has gone missing!”  

“Really?”  

“Yes. They haven’t been able to contact him for days. They’re even distributing wanted posters!”  

“Hm.”  

Adrian’s indifferent reaction struck Rivera as odd.  

“Aren’t you surprised? A Crown Prince has disappeared!”  

“So what?”  

“What do you mean ‘so what’? This is a huge deal… Wait, where are you looking?”  

Adrian’s gaze was fixed on her chest. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of how to remove her clothes.  

A few days ago, Rivera had grown frustrated and snapped at him, demanding that he let her sleep.  

– You! Make a choice right now.  

– …?  

– Either we sleep in separate rooms, or you cut it down to three times a week!  

There had been no other options for him. Rivera had been fully prepared to enforce separate rooms.  

“Be honest. Do you know where the Crown Prince of Lenin is?”  

Adrian shook his head, claiming he didn’t, but Rivera was suspicious.  

[It’s definitely his doing. But… he wouldn’t have killed him, right?]  

Not wanting to reveal that he had killed the Crown Prince, Adrian played along.  

“I don’t know where the Crown Prince is.”  

“Liar.”  

“It’s the truth.”  

“Then why did you react like you already knew when I first brought it up?”  

“It’s not that—I just don’t care about the Crown Prince.”  

Rivera’s disbelief was evident, but Adrian slid his hand under her skirt.  

“When I see you, I feel like I’m going crazy. How could I possibly care about anything else?”  

With the woman he loved most in the world by his side, why would he waste his attention on a dead man?  

“You…”  

Rivera felt herself melting, touched by his words. Or at least, she was about to.  

“In that case, let’s do it just once tonight.”