Chapter 131

To everyone else, it was an unexpected disruption.

The actors suddenly interrupted and all looked at me. I signaled them briefly: Stop, but do not leave the stage. Maintain your positions so that the play can resume at any moment.

The well-trained actors of the Balthus troupe faithfully followed my instructions.

Meanwhile, Rudolf was in the midst of a meltdown.

“King Arlo, is this what you wanted to show me? Such… disgrace… humiliating me!”

He shouted so loudly that it echoed throughout the entire theater.

“This is a great diplomatic insult!”

“What are you saying, Duke Rohitham? Accusations of conspiracy are going too far.”

King Karl maintained his composure, not getting drawn into Rudolf’s rage.

As expected of our king. He was reassuring.

“The play is just a play. To stop the performance because of excessive suspicion.”

The king even threw in a touch of sarcasm.

Using the phrase “excessive suspicion” in a meeting between heads of state to foster friendship was quite strong.

But it was merely a response to Rudolf’s accusation of a “great diplomatic insult.”

“Just a play? I should have known from the start. You set a trap and invited me to it!”

Rudolf’s guess was rather accurate.

However, the king kept his poker face until the end.

“A trap? The Mousetrap is just a play within a play. It seems you are overly immersed in it.”

Even then, he didn’t miss the opportunity to be sarcastic.

Meanwhile, I imagined what was happening outside.

During the play, the royal guards were supposed to surround our theater.

As soon as the news of the play stopping reached them, they would be subduing Rudolf’s followers.

All preparations for capturing the usurper were complete.

Rudolf was overly excited.

And with good reason.

The situation was cornering him more and more.

He had completely lost it, realizing that the king had orchestrated this and was now ignoring him.

Eventually, Rudolf crossed the final line.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know? Bringing that brat here was all part of your plot, wasn’t it?”

As he said this, he pointed accusingly towards our box seats.

At that moment, Ludwig’s hand trembled. Whether from anger or tension, I couldn’t tell.

I quietly looked towards Rudolf and firmly held Ludwig’s hand. Soon, he also tightened his fingers around mine.

His hand felt hot and dry.

“Amnesia, ha! Ridiculous. Take off that mask of innocence, Ludwig! Who would have thought you plotted to usurp the Grand Duchy!”

He lashed out at Ludwig with what sounded like a dying man’s scream.

“A parricide!”

Yes, it was said that Ludwig had killed his father and fled.

Though it wasn’t a new revelation, a flash of light flickered in Ludwig’s eyes.

“An ambitious parricide who murdered his father for the grand duchy! You should have painted him as the killer, not this innocent uncle!”

Rudolf had lost his mind and seemed unaware of what he was saying.

He spoke as if that lie were the truth.

He was desperately trying to defend himself as he was cornered.

Rudolf theatrically spread his arms wide.

“Well, everyone! That man is Ludwig of Rohitham. He murdered his father for the grand duchy and fled! I am not like Claudius or Lucianus. I am as pure as the white snow!”

He appealed to the theater audience.

But this was as much as anyone could tolerate.

“I don’t think so.”

“What!”

Amid the startled murmurs of the audience, someone abruptly stood up.

A red-haired young man.

My admirable younger brother, Ernst.

“Isn’t the current leadership of the Grand Duchy of Rohitham connected to the Red Crows?”

Ernst’s face was as red as his hair.

Being shy, he must have been quite uncomfortable with all the eyes on him.

Still, he continued speaking quite maturely.

“Last summer, the Red Crows invaded the Marquisate of Rowissum. Typically, their goal was to abduct civilians to use as ‘sacrifices.’ So usually, our confrontations with the Red Crows were like a game of hide and seek.”

Indeed.

The Red Crows had to strike and retreat quickly before the Rowissum army arrived, and the police had to rescue the civilians before they were harmed.

Guerrilla warfare, hide and seek.

It naturally went in that direction.

“But that time, their actions were very suspicious. They engaged us head-on. Unexpectedly, the Rowissum army struggled.”

A sudden change in the Red Crows’ behavior.

And what happened after that?

“But that wasn’t the only unusual thing. Even though we hadn’t requested assistance, the Grand Duchy of Rohitham sent knights to support us.”

Yes, it was truly strange.

That was the first time I reported something suspicious to my father.

Ernst had almost finished his part.

“As if they knew in advance, we would struggle against the unusual behavior of the Red Crows!”

“….”

Rudolf’s face had gone pale, and he was speechless.

“Didn’t you collaborate with the Red Crows? Creating a scenario where the Grand Duchy of Rohitham knights could appear as saviors to the Marquisate of Rowissum, thereby interfering in the affairs of the Kingdom of Arlo!”

Ernst’s final words caused a stir among the audience.

If what he said was true, it would be a significant scandal.

“And it was this young man here who prevented that situation.”

Ernst slowly raised his hand and pointed toward us.

“He defeated the Red Crows before the Grand Duchy knights even arrived!”

Ludwig had been silently watching Rudolf’s downfall until then.

Rudolf seemed to be at a loss for words, his mind going blank after Ernst’s accusations.

Then he let out a long groan.

“You are the one who killed Duke Wilhelm, aren’t you?”

Finally, Ludwig spoke.

His low, melodious voice carried effortlessly to every corner of the hall, even without force.

Rudolf’s face had turned almost blue.

“You were the one allied with the Red Crows, weren’t you?”

Ludwig pressed on without hesitation.

“The Red Crows have grown remarkably in recent times, but their leader’s whereabouts remain unknown. Why is that?”

Rudolf attempted to refute it but found it difficult.

After being attacked from all sides, his fragile mental state must have been shattered.

“Isn’t it because the Grand Duchy of Rohitham has been supporting the Red Crows?”

The people’s gaze towards Rudolf turned severe.

Anyone from the Kingdom of Arlo loathed the Red Crows.

Given their recent rampage through the capital, the hostility towards them was at an all-time high.

Rudolf seemed unaccustomed to bearing the brunt of such critical stares.

As Ludwig had said, he was a small-minded person.

He raised his arms to cover his face, as if that would shield him from the hostile eyes.

“I shouldn’t have come here….”

A pitiful mutter escaped through his gritted teeth.

At that moment, Ludwig’s voice rose a pitch.

“Ludwig Rohitham, the legitimate first heir to the Grand Duchy of Rohitham, demands the arrest of the usurper, Rudolf. He shall be extradited to the Grand Duchy of Rohitham for trial!”

“He’s the real Duke?”

A murmur spread through the crowd.

Most had guessed that our ‘Adonis,’ who had lost his memory, was not from the Kingdom of Arlo.

But no one had expected him to be the ‘Duke’ of the neighboring country.

After all, he was presumed dead.

Ludwig declared, before many witnesses, that he was alive and that there were serious doubts about his uncle’s actions.

With Ludwig’s request being smoothly accepted by our King, it seemed the matter was resolved.

* * *

That night.

The underground prison of the royal palace.

Rudolf was almost out of his mind.

When he first came here, he hadn’t imagined this outcome. Not at all…

If only he could turn back time.

If he could go back, he would not covet the grand ducal title and live quietly instead.

His greed had ruined everything.

Even after usurping the Grand Ducal title, he had always felt uneasy.

And so he fell into the ‘trap.’

As Rudolf lamented his fate, a shadow flickered through the prison bars.

Rudolf flinched and looked up.

When he saw who it was, his eyes widened in shock.