Chapter 115

Robert Fame’s madness-filled eyes caused Duke Dinever to glance at Louis. Louis withdrew his gaze from Robert and slowly strolled down the narrow corridor.  

This was the place for traitors of the highest order, a place where no one could leave alive.  

Prisoners reduced to skin and bones drooled helplessly, others banged their bald heads against the walls, and some cowered and trembled under Louis’s gaze.  

Not a single person here was normal.  

Louis glanced briefly at the cell where Robert was confined, then slowly moved back to stand in front of the iron bars. As Louis approached, Robert, who had been sitting on the cold floor without even a thin blanket, slowly stood up.  

He grabbed the iron bars with his hands.  

“There’s no need for t*rture. My goal has already failed miserably, and it’s too unjust for me to die silently like this.”

Louis gazed at Robert intently. After staring into his piercing eyes, Louis gave a small nod.  

“It’s an old story. For some, it’s something they’d rather not recall, but for me, it’s something I’ve never been able to forget—not even once.”  

Looking up at Louis, Robert began to speak.  

“I had an older sister. She wasn’t my real sister, but in this cursed world, she was the only one I could call family.”  

Robert’s expression softened momentarily, but the softness soon vanished, replaced by a deep sadness.  

“Your Highness, you must know as well.”

At Robert’s words, Duke Dinever’s brow furrowed deeply. No matter how much he tried to think of who Robert’s sister might have been, no one came to mind.  

“Violet Rewalet.”  

At the name that came out of Robert’s mouth, Louis’s pupils shook violently. Violet Rewalet. She was the woman the Emperor had loved—Consort Violet.  

“Do you know how she died?”  

“Shut your mouth! Consort Violet passed away due to illness. If you’re going to spout nonsense, keep your mouth shut!”  

“Duke Dinever! You know the truth as well, don’t you?”

At Robert’s outburst, Duke Tereon’s eyes widened in shock, and Robert pressed his face closer to the iron bars.  

“When my sister became pregnant, Marquis Cloak clung to her, hoping to gain some scraps of power. The Empress’s people, fearing that the Crown Prince’s position might be threatened, desperately tried to get rid of my sister’s child and drive her out of the Imperial Family!”  

His bloodshot eyes, filled with broken capillaries, were a grotesque mix of madness, anger, sorrow, and longing—so much so that they no longer seemed human. His lips, torn and bleeding, twisted as he glared at Duke Dinever.  

“Shouldn’t they all be punished?”  

“What nonsense is this!”  

“And the one who deserves the greatest punishment of all is…”  

Robert Fame’s eyes slowly shifted to Louis.  

“The Emperor.”  

Louis’s heart pounded uncontrollably. Everything he was hearing was new. The pregnancy of Consort Violet, the vile struggles over her unintended child—it all unfolded vividly in his mind.  

“Duke.”  

Louis called Duke Tereon Dinever in a low voice.  

“Is there any falsehood in what he says?”  

At Louis’s question, Duke Tereon could not answer. There had been strict orders from both the Emperor and the Empress not to let the young Crown Prince know.  

The nobles had kept their mouths shut, and naturally, the Crown Prince had remained unaware.  

The Duke’s silence was an affirmation. Louis’s throat moved as he swallowed hard.  

“Continue… continue speaking.”  

Robert Fame, smiling faintly as he looked at the Crown Prince, continued in his cracked voice.  

“My sister, Consort Violet, did not want to be pregnant. She already knew that her existence had caused enough turmoil in the Imperial Family, and she could easily imagine what chaos would ensue if she were to have a child.”  

Nevertheless, she became pregnant and tried to escape. She sought help from Robert and the mage Caspian to flee the Imperial Family and live with her child.  

Mages and physicians were scarce, and only a few nobles could afford to receive their care without worry.  

Caspian, who had always lamented this, often discussed the empire’s medical system with Consort Violet.  

Caspian, who respected Consort Violet’s kindness and intelligence, couldn’t bring himself to refuse her request.  

After much hesitation, Caspian decided to help her. But the result was failure.  

Caspian incurred the Emperor’s wrath and was exiled from the Empire without trial, while Consort Violet was dragged back to the Imperial Family.  

“When my sister tried to escape with Caspian, she looked utterly desperate. When she encountered the Emperor and his knights in a small, nameless village, she clutched her belly in despair.”  

It was said that once the Emperor learned of the pregnancy, he and Consort Violet often argued about the child.  

Consort Violet suffered from guilt over Caspian’s disgraceful exile and anxiety over the impending tragedy, which kept her from sleeping properly.  

Although Robert was not punished for being Violet’s relative, he was strictly barred from entering the palace.  

There were no secrets in the Imperial Family.  

When Consort Violet’s pregnancy became known, the nobles immediately split into factions. Some sought to use her and her child to establish a new Crown Prince.  

Robert, filled with hatred, recounted that Consort Violet had faced three assassination attempts after her pregnancy became public knowledge.  

In the end, Violet lost her child, her health deteriorated, and she became bedridden until her death.  

“Marquis Cloak and his followers called for a proper investigation and appropriate punishment. But what did His Majesty the Emperor do?”  

Saliva mixed with blood dripped from Robert’s lips. Yet he continued speaking, spitting blood as if he didn’t care.  

“For the stability of the Imperial Family… he turned a blind eye, didn’t he? Ha ha ha. Ha. What does it even matter… when the child is dead, and the woman he loved is dead? What does it even matter!”  

Laughing maniacally, Robert screamed. He clung to the iron bars and collapsed to his knees on the cold floor.  

“My sister, who was always kind and thought of others before herself… was a victim. She never wanted to be a consort .”  

A strange sound, neither a sob nor laughter, escaped Robert’s lips. After convulsing for some time, he lowered his head and spoke.  

“I wanted to kill them all. If I couldn’t kill them, I at least wanted to rob them of their happiness. I wanted to destroy and trample on the empire that the Emperor loved so much.”  

Robert had supported anti-Imperial mages, contributed to their cause, and even planned a war. Hearing this, Duke Dinever kicked the iron bars hard and hurled curses at him.  

“Marquis Cloak was an excessively greedy man, so it was easy to drag him down to ruin.”  

Robert calmly listed the plans he had carried out.  

The strength drained from his hands, and they fell limply to the floor.  

“If my sister could see me now, she would glare at me with her sharp black eyes and scold me. Soon… I’ll be able to see my dear sister again.”  

A shadow of death loomed over Robert’s face, but he wore a serene expression, as if welcoming it.  

“Do you think someone who threatened the empire and insulted the Imperial Family will die so easily?”  

At Duke Dinever’s words, Robert chuckled, his shoulders shaking.  

“Did you think I hadn’t prepared for that? I always planned for the worst. Though I didn’t expect to fall apart this easily…”  

Robert slowly lifted his head.  

His face, which had looked different when he first arrived here, now appeared as though he had aged ten more years. For a brief moment, a sorrowful expression crossed his face.  

“I have never regretted anything. Not even now. But… I do regret involving Caspian Turner’s son.”  

His eyes shifted upward. Staring at Louis, Robert studied his face carefully, as if engraving it into his memory.  

“May I ask one favor?”  

At Robert’s words, Duke Dinever scoffed and curled his lips in disdain. Robert opened his mouth again as Louis silently looked down at him.  

“Please protect him. At least Caspian’s son… please protect him.”  

His voice, dry and cracked like parched earth, was filled with sincerity.  

“…How presumptuous. Aitor is my man. Whether or not you ask, I protect my own.”  

At Louis’s response, Robert lowered his head and began laughing hoarsely. Spitting blood onto the floor, he laughed like a madman before collapsing to the ground.  

Leaving Robert behind, still laughing, Louis turned his back.  

As Louis walked away, Duke Dinever followed, leaving Robert, who now seemed completely deranged, lying on the floor.  

As Louis ascended to the first floor, Daniel, who had been waiting, bowed and returned to lock the underground prison.

Outside the underground prison of Dovelia Palace, Louis looked up at the overcast sky. When they had entered, the sky had been clear, with only a few clouds. Now, the sun was hidden, and the sky had grown dark.

“The weather is fickle.”

Duke Tereon took out his pocket watch and realized they had spent quite some time in the underground prison.

“Duke.”

Louis called Duke Tereon. Tearing his gaze from the watch, Duke Tereon looked at Louis, who was staring at the sky.

“Confirm whether that man is truly Consort Violet’s family.”

“……Yes, understood.”

“Until everything is verified, do not report this to His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Yes.”

As Duke Tereon watched Louis’ heavy shoulders, he recalled Robert Fame’s earlier words.

—There’s nothing……. nothing you can do. All you’ll feel is your own helplessness.”

He was right. Even if Crown Prince Luideos learned the tragic truth, there was nothing he could do.

Even if he eradicated Inferna down to its roots, even if he rejected the anti-Imperial mages that Robert had supported, the deeds of those who had backed Luideos, his mother’s family, and the Empress’ faction would not disappear.

The Crown Prince could not overturn what the Emperor had covered up, nor could he wield a blade against the neck of a maternal grandfather who no longer existed in this world.

It had been over ten years since Consort Violet had died. Once closely monitored and constantly watched in Dovelia Palace, she had gradually faded from memory, eventually being forgotten by the people.

The woman the Emperor had loved. Wise and beautiful, yet unable to ever hold her head high before the powerful Empress’ family and the great nobles.

Duke Tereon thought of Consort Violet, whose face had grown faint even in his own memory.

Her family, who had left the Empire long ago, had sharpened their swords while avoiding the eyes of the Imperial Family and the great nobles. If Aitor had not kidnapped Vivian, if Louis had not recklessly gone to Palterno to search for her, perhaps Robert’s plans would still be progressing steadily even now.

“Your Highness.”

As Duke Tereon watched Louis’ heavy shoulders, he called out to him and took a step closer.

“Your Highness, Crown Prince!”

From afar, Rayden was running toward Louis, calling out urgently. Louis, who had been gazing at the sky with dry eyes, and Duke Tereon, who had been looking at Louis with pity, both turned to look at Rayden.

Before Rayden could even catch his breath after running up to them, he spoke to Louis.

“Aitor…… Aitor has been captured along with Marquis Cloak.”

From the dark sky above, a single heavy raindrop fell onto Louis’ shoulder with a ‘plop.’