My Ex-Husband Came Back as the Emperor

Chapter 7: Rui’s Secret (2)

Gafel had disappeared.

“The young master’s whereabouts are still unknown, even in the other alleyways…”

“Do you want to die, you fool?!”

“Please, calm down, my lord.”

Despite being ordered to find the young master, the family’s servants could only stutter with useless words. Unable to control his anger, the Baron swept everything from the desk to the floor.

“Find him, now!”

The Baron, having searched the gambling house his son frequented, found it empty. Only then did he begin to feel the foreboding sense of dread and started asking around desperately.

Then, he belatedly discovered that the assassins he had stationed in the capital had disappeared.

“Damn it, damn it all!”

The sight of the trembling servants cleaning the room disgusted him. Unable to control his temper, the Baron harshly kicked one of the servants who had been lying on the floor.

“Ugh!”

“What about the Imperial Palace?!”

“W-We can’t just send people recklessly into the Imperial Palace…”

With a sharp sound, the butler’s face turned pale as he spoke. But the Baron didn’t stop there; he began punching the butler’s face with his fists.

“S-Save me… cough…”

“Ha…”

Only after some time did the Baron calm down, slumping heavily into a lavishly decorated chair. He didn’t even spare a glance at the butler, who was now groaning on the floor.

He had managed to find out that the assassins had foolishly infiltrated the Imperial Palace. It was obvious that it had been Gafel who had sent them to act recklessly.

And yet, nothing had happened.

“…”

It should have been the perfect opportunity, but why was the Emperor staying still? What had happened to Gafel, who had ruined everything?

“Master, there’s a message from the nobleman.”

At that moment, a servant rushed through the chaos and handed the Baron a letter, sealed in several layers.

The word “nobleman” caused the Baron’s eyes to light up. Finally, a response had arrived from his contact in Shupetania.

There would surely be a clever strategy in the letter on how to use Coal again. With his eyes burning with anticipation, the Baron snatched the letter.

“Give it to me now!”

For years, the Baron had paid huge bribes to the nobles inside Shupetania. However, as the war dragged on, his connections had started to slowly weaken.

The borders of Shupetania had been tightly closed, and the Baron’s wealth had gradually started to dwindle. Still, he maintained his connection with Marquess Brenton, who played the biggest role in Shupetania’s Coal business.

Marquess Brenton was a trusted confidant of the Emperor of Shupetania. Now that the Alfrang War had ended, the Baron had hoped to once again count on his influence.

“Money…”

However, much to his disappointment, the letter did not contain the positive response he had hoped for.

[“I cannot grant the noble’s request. It is a regrettable matter.”]

“What is this?!”

“Excuse me? Is something wrong?”

The servant, who had risked his life to bring back the spy’s message near the border, had a confused look on his face. Despite his exhausted appearance, the Baron raised his foot without hesitation and kicked him.

“Did you steal something in the middle of this?!”

“No, I didn’t. Ugh!”

No matter how many times the Baron kicked him and interrogated him, the servant’s answer remained the same. In truth, the Baron had already realized it himself. The seal on the letter and the handwriting were unmistakably from Marquess Brenton.

After the violence, the Baron came to a bitter realization. Shupetania no longer needed the Tromperie family.

He had been used up and ultimately abandoned.

“Damn it!”

It was something he had expected to happen eventually, but what the Baron hadn’t anticipated was how the family’s situation had deteriorated so uncontrollably in just two years.

It was all the work of that bastard from the Avnir family. Whether he had anticipated it or not, during the Coal exports, he had sabotaged Tromperie’s operations at every turn.

This strange peace only made him more uneasy. After seeing what Gafel had done, he couldn’t understand why the Emperor remained passive.

From the circumstances, it seemed Gafel had been caught, but there were no traces left. Because of this, the Baron couldn’t file an official protest. He needed to know exactly what had happened before he could prepare any sort of explanation.

Upon hearing that their precious son was missing, the Baroness collapsed. The thought of what her son might be going through made her blood boil. Despite his foolishness, he was still her son and the heir.

“What should we do? What should we do…?”

He racked his brain in frustration, but no clever solutions came to him.

All he had relied on was the wealth and power he hoped to gain from the resumption of Coal exports. But now, everything was falling apart. The one method he had to retrieve Gafel was gone.

“…”

The butler, lying flat on the floor, quietly observed the Baron’s behavior. His reaction was completely different from when Larie had disappeared. The Baron’s reaction this time only raised suspicions in the butler’s mind.

With his face swollen from the violence, the butler’s eyes gleamed strangely.

❖ ❖ ❖

“I see the glorious lake of the Empire.”

“What brings you here personally?”

In the Imperial Palace’s office, Terian greeted his mother. The conversation they were about to have was not one that could easily be shared with the outside world.

It had barely been two days since the Grand Duchess of Avnir had contacted the palace, requesting to meet.

Though it was a meeting with his mother, Terian’s eyes were as cold as ever. The Grand Duchess swallowed nervously at the Emperor’s distant demeanor.

“…There is something I didn’t say back then.”

After the Grand Duchess disappeared, she had been furious.

All the time spent trying to trust Larie had been in vain. Even when she had finally let go of all expectations, the anger had remained, simmering quietly within her.

Then, two days ago, the butler from the Grand Duchy brought her a shocking report.

The butler, having received word from the Captain of the Guard, had brought strange documents with him. The materials suggested that Larie might have been involved in something that could be construed as embezzling the Grand Duchy’s wealth through Tromperie.

But that wasn’t the case.

Terian, having been in contact with the Grand Duchess, revealed some confidential information to her. Each piece of information seemed almost impossible to believe.

That Larie was currently in the Empress’s palace and had borne Terian’s child. That Tromperie had abused Larie for years.

As the Emperor’s son, Terian was not someone to make such claims lightly. Moreover, the butler, who returned with a pale face, reported the results of the Captain’s investigation.

The truth that was emerging left the Grand Duchess feeling a sense of vertigo. The thought of what Larie and the child had endured flooded her mind.

And then, she questioned herself. What had she done?

‘Yes. It was… it was a medicine to prevent pregnancy… and, that day… my brother… he climbed over the balcony and…’

Larie spoke in a faint voice, the words tumbling out as if they were still a burden on her heart. Terian had called her to confront the accusations during the banquet, expecting her to act arrogantly like the other members of the Tromperie family. But instead, Larie spoke with a pale face, revealing the painful truth.

If all of this was true, and if the child was truly a cry for help…

“I met with the Grand Duchess… No, I met with the Empress, together with my brother.”

Then, this was something he had to take responsibility for.

That was why the Grand Duchess of Avnir had come directly to the Imperial Palace.

“I heard the story. That her family had been giving her medicine to prevent her from having a child. And… that the assault at the banquet was committed by her brother Gafel.”

“…”

“I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it. I’m sorry, but it was hard to believe.”

At the Grand Duchess’s confession, Terian slowly lowered his gaze to the floor.

While Gafel had been quick to speak during his interrogation, the knights had mentioned that there was still something he was hiding. Perhaps this was it. The way Gafel had moved at the banquet, they would need to investigate, but one thing was clear—what happened that day was not part of Larie’s plan.

Terian recalled the expression Larie had worn when their eyes met across the banquet hall. Now that he thought about it, the emotion behind her gaze was the truth.

His anger over the child issue had been foolish. He had no idea what her family had done to her.

“It’s all my fault… I should have listened to her words… the child’s words…”

“No.”

At the Grand Duchess’s self-reproachful words, Terian spoke, almost as if in a trance.

Not just him, but anyone from the Grand Duchy had ample opportunities. Opportunities to truly understand her.

“It’s not just your fault.”

The one most incompetent and most responsible for all of this would, without a doubt, be himself.

“…”

A deep silence passed between the two. The truths that kept emerging were now starting to hurt the people around them.

“…May I meet the Empress?”

“Well…”

The Grand Duchess hesitated before cautiously asking.

However, Terian could only avoid her gaze and give a vague answer. He wasn’t sure if Larie would even want that, and he hadn’t even been able to tell her yet that he had uncovered all of these truths.

“By the way, how has the Empress been doing? I thought the Baron had hidden things, but… was it not the case?”

“…”

The Grand Duchess had always thought that the Baron had concealed everything. When the conclusion came naturally, Terian fell silent for a moment.

Perhaps sensing the shift in atmosphere, the Grand Duchess’s face hardened.

“Your Majesty… Did you… force the child to come back, despite not wanting to?”

It was a valid accusation. Knowing full well the mistakes he had made, Terian simply met his mother’s gaze calmly.

“I will ask the Empress later what should be done.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

Though her expression remained doubtful, the Grand Duchess nodded.

Her gaze seemed heavy, as though it were sinking into the ground. Her gloved hands rested helplessly on the armrests of the throne in the office.

Even this golden, embellished seat now felt like it was drenched in filthy muck, making it seem repulsive.

❖ ❖ ❖

Once the matter was settled, the Grand Duchess stood up. It was clear that she didn’t want to disturb someone as busy as Terian.

Since Terian had to go to another office anyway, he followed her out to see her off.

“I have something to give you.”

The Grand Duchess, standing in the Imperial Palace’s garden, hesitated for a moment before handing something over. It was a bundle she had been holding close to her chest since entering the office.

Terian took it, looking puzzled. The bundle was light, and it felt as though soft items were inside.

“These are the clothes Your Majesty wore when you were young.”

“…”

The mention of his childhood clothes caught Terian’s attention. In the Laxtreen Empire, there was a belief that if parents passed down their childhood belongings to their children, the child would grow up healthy.

“I brought them because you said you had a child…”

The Grand Duchess, who had only heard bits of information, seemed to have brought the bundle just in case.

Despite the bundle being small and light, Terian felt an inexplicable weight as he held it.

“If you need them, please use them.”

Since only royalty could ride in the palace’s carriages, the Grand Duchess prepared to walk to the entrance of the palace. As she was about to leave, she turned to Terian and spoke with a steady tone.

“I truly hope the Empress will no longer suffer.”

“…”

A wave of discomfort grew inside Terian as he looked down at the bundle in his hands. He was overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling.