Chapter 6 (Part 11)
Yuliana’s reputation was damaged due to the glasshouse incident. Because of this, Anthus, who was furious, had begun to take action, and this complicated things for Cloud. On top of that, there was the matter of sending a marriage proposal to Grand Duke Florence involving Ophelia.
<Don’t you feel sorry for the former Grand Duke and Duchess of Florence, and have you forgotten that Theo, the Grand Duke of Florence, and I are like blood brothers? How could you even think of sending Princess Ophelia to Florence? Isn’t that too harsh for a child who has already closed off his heart?>
<Yan, listen to me. Grand Duke Florence is coming of age soon. He needs a Grand Duchess, so I just asked if he was planning to marry. Don’t misunderstand. And he replied that he has found a woman he likes. Would you like to read it?>
By showing Anthus the reply from Grand Duke Florence, Cloud managed to escape his scolding. Just thinking about it made him shudder. Cloud sighed deeply and frowned.
“Ophelia, do you even realize what you’ve done?”
“…Yes.”
“How do you plan to handle the Duke’s anger… Why didn’t you listen to me?”
Cloud had seriously warned Ophelia not to mess with Yuliana. But Ophelia ignored everything he said. She thought and acted on her own whims.
“Brother, Duke Anthus destroyed the glasshouse that I, a Princess, cherished! Shouldn’t he be punished for that?”
“Ophelia! Do you even understand what you’re saying right now?”
Cloud shouted at Ophelia, his veins bulging in his neck.
“Everyone knows that Lady Yuliana hasn’t forgotten Young Lord Beonar.”
“Everyone… Who said that? Who judged that?”
“Everyone said so!”
“Is there not a single person around you who believes that Yan and Lady Yuliana are seriously dating?”
“That is…”
“The truth for me, Ophelia, is that you didn’t listen to my warnings and went off on your own.”
<Princess Ophelia invited Lia to a tea party.>
<A tea party?>
<Yes.>
The cold feeling he had at that moment was enough to chill his neck.
<On the first and second days of Crown Prince’s birthday and the hunting contest, Princess Ophelia and her aides harassed our Lia. So, I’m worried about why she invited her to a tea party. It’s so worrying that I can’t focus on anything.>
Cloud thought it was strange that Anthus had visited him in the morning. He could have sent a letter, but he came in person. Although it was sudden, Cloud accepted Anthus’ urgent audience.
At that time, Anthus had said, “I will cause an incident.” It wasn’t until the glasshouse was destroyed that Cloud understood what Anthus meant by “causing an incident.”
Cloud rested his forehead on his clasped hands and let out a loud sigh that everyone could hear. Ophelia had sent invitations to Beonar and Yuliana, left them alone in the glasshouse, and then left. Anthus had a clear reason to be angry.
“To trap Young Lord Beonar and Lady Loengrin alone in the glasshouse…”
Ophelia flinched at Cloud’s cold gaze.
“Do you know what happens to a dog that doesn’t understand its master’s words?”
Ophelia realized that the dog Cloud was referring to was herself.
Bang!
Cloud slammed his fist on the desk and glared at Ophelia. Seeing Ophelia’s obvious lies, Cloud’s irritation soared.
“I’m sorry, Brother. I just loved Duke Anthus so much… I did it out of jealousy. Please forgive me. I did it out of love.”
“You did that to Lady Yuliana because you loved him?”
“What do you mean by ‘that’?”
“I mean trying to have her kidnapped.”
“Kidnapped?!”
Ophelia bit her lower lip hard.
“Come to think of it, you are very different from Seria.”
“Brother. Seria is Seria, and I am me. I could have killed the mother who gave birth to me like Seria did… but… I was too scared to kill someone back then.”
“That’s why you are different from Seria.”
“I gave my mother and my brother’s location, and Brother, I was loyal to you too.”
Not all of Rezeph’s concubines had good personalities. Among them, Seria’s biological mother, who did not receive the Emperor’s favor, took out all her frustrations on the young Seria. So, Cloud took care of Seria, who had no one to rely on, by giving her food and keeping her company. As a result, Seria followed him blindly.
“When I say you are different, I mean Seria was loyal to me, so she poisoned the food of the mother who gave birth to her on my orders, while you sold your family to me to survive. Why don’t you look in the mirror, Ophelia? Think about whether your eyes show loyalty or not.”
Cloud said with a smile. But his eyes showed cold disgust rather than laughter.
“Then let me ask you one more thing. Why did you put surveillance on Lady Yuliana and instigate her kidnapping? Laon said you instructed him to kidnap her.”
Cloud didn’t miss Ophelia’s startled expression at the word “surveillance.”
“I don’t know anything about that. Lara acted on her own, thinking it would ease my worries.”
Ophelia deliberately tried to hide what she had done. That made Cloud even more annoyed.
“Maid Lara confessed everything.”
“What are you talking about!”
“She said you instructed her to kidnap Lady Yuliana, and she gave a magic suppression bracelet and a large sum of money to Laon on your orders!”
“No! I didn’t ask for that!”
“You even have a record of purchasing the magic suppression bracelet with your expenses, yet you keep lying.”
“Brother! It’s unfair! No, it’s not true!”
“Whatever happens next, if you stay quiet, you won’t die. This is my last kindness to you.”
Listening to Cloud, Ophelia’s anxiety and nervousness grew.
“Ophelia, you are not to leave the palace! And prepare for your marriage.”
Ophelia blinked at Cloud’s thunderous words. Marriage… It was unthinkable.
“What do you mean by marriage?”
“I sent a letter to the Grand Duchy of Florence…”
“No!”
Ophelia had heard that the Grand Duke of Florence had become a recluse after the deaths of the previous Grand Duke and Duchess due to mental illness. She resented Cloud for trying to marry her off to such a madman and began to cry.
“Brother, I don’t want to! No! You can’t send me to that madman!”
Ophelia thought it would be better to die than to marry the Grand Duke of Florence, who was rumored to be insane.
“Whether you want it or not is not for you to decide, Ophelia. Today will be the last time you see my face.”
“Please don’t send me to such a man! I was wrong, Brother.”
The warm and caring Cloud she had known was gone. Only the cold Emperor of the Sirius Empire remained.
“Make sure Princess Ophelia does not take a single step out of the palace.”
Ophelia bit her lower lip hard. She hated Anthus, who had crumpled her heart like paper, Yuliana, who had taken the man she liked, and Cloud, who was trying to get rid of her.
“If you think I’ll stay still like this…”
If she couldn’t have it, she would destroy it. Just like she had broken the joints of the dolls she couldn’t have to render them worthless.
“I won’t go down alone! Aaargh!”
Ophelia’s voice, filled with rage, echoed throughout the room.
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VeeQuo
I noticed the crossover earlier, but for whatever reason I JUST realized the Grand Duke of Florence is talking about THEODORE ooh the plot twist (s) and crossovers continue 🫢 Theo is just as crazy about his woman as Anthus, this does not bode well lol