Chapter 103: [Chapter 103] Roardnes's despair
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The necklace was quickly passed into my hand.
Noevian, his eyes bloodshot, charged at the Crown Prince with no mercy. The Crown Prince resisted fiercely but stumbled and fell, and Noevian seized the opportunity to snatch the necklace.
Ignoring Noevian's pleading eyes, I examined the necklace.
When I opened the plump golden pendant, my mother, with eyes identical to mine, was smiling.
There was no key anywhere. But even without a key, this was the only relic of my mother that I had, and it was precious.
I put the necklace around my neck and held it close.
"Are you trying to save that woman? Uncle, are you out of your mind?"
Was anyone here in their right mind? The Crown Prince, who still didn't seem to realize he was insane, was feeling insecure about being left out.
I wouldn't give the necklace to someone I was going to kill.
With the necklace around my neck, the Crown Prince, whose eyes were bloodshot, tried to get up.
"Why are you explaining everything to this woman? I thought you were going to kill her soon, but you seem to genuinely love her!"
The Crown Prince, his legs weak, gave up trying to stand and leaned against a pillar again.
I frowned. The Crown Prince smirked at me.
"Well, it seems like she's going to die soon."
The Crown Prince's gaze gradually moved down from my face.
The place where his gaze landed felt like it was on fire.
The wound on my side, which had barely healed from the scuffle with the Crown Prince, had definitely reopened.
I hastily tried to stop the bleeding.
"Adrien!"
"Ah-. Crazy. Even in death, she's mine, so he calls her name so naturally..."
The Crown Prince's complaint erupted as Noevian tried to come to my side in surprise.
My side throbbed, and my head spun. The ornate chandeliers around me seemed to overlap and blur repeatedly.
I had been on the verge of death for nearly a week due to blood loss, so it was no wonder my head was spinning.
But my mind was clearer than ever.
I avoided Noevian, who was trying to approach me, and the Crown Prince, who seemed ready to grab my neck at any moment, and hid behind the glass case containing Adrien's body.
Fortunately, Noevian was too busy watching the agitated Crown Prince to follow me.
I glared directly at the reckless Crown Prince.
"Did you... love Roardnes?"
His wild eyes, which had been scattered, focused for a brief moment, then distorted.
"Of course. More than anyone in the world..."
The Crown Prince raised the corners of his lips like a demon.
"...And the person I hate most in the world."
The only sound in this underground chamber was the dripping water from the beautifully decorated fountain.
It was a short silence, but it left a long, unbearable aftertaste.
"...Brother."
And then a familiar voice sounded.
Startled, I instinctively looked straight ahead. Even as I did, blood gushed out of my side, and I had to clamp my hand over the wound.
Roardnes, with sweat on his forehead, looked at Bardenaldo, me hiding behind the glass case, the corpse of Countess Kuroseda, and Noevian in turn.
"What is all this?"
"Ah..."
The ruined face of Roardnes, who had emerged from the darkness, was more hellish to me than the corpses lined up behind me.
****
Roardnes, waiting for Noevian Trovika, noticed several guards rushing around.
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They said they were searching for Duke Noevian, who had injured his comrade and fled.
Roardnes thought that the only person Noevian would seek out was Adrien, so he joined them immediately and frantically searched for Adrien and Noevian.
He gritted his teeth, vowing to himself that no matter what Adrien said, he would never let her go.
The imperial palace, illuminated for the emperor's birthday, was not difficult to search. And near the crown prince's palace, he met Bardenaldo's escort, who had come to find him.
"Countess Acacia said she has an urgent matter to discuss with His Highness the Second Prince."
"Did you hear it directly?"
"Yes. There is something to be conveyed directly to His Highness the Crown Prince regarding Duke's matter..."
If someone had played a trick, Adrien would not have spoken directly.
Strongly believing that Adrien needed him, Roardnes followed the escort hurriedly to the Crown Prince's palace.
Most of the knights had been dispatched to guard the Atilchad Hall, so the Crown Prince's palace was quiet.
"The bedroom?"
"Yes, Your Grace, the Duke has also arrived."
Roardnes quietly cursed, and the door opened immediately.
With three doors wide open, even Roardnes, who had never been to Bardenaldo's bedroom before, found it to be a complete mess. Vases and glass ornaments that had been placed everywhere were broken.
"My lady!"
This wasn't a game of hide-and-seek.
He couldn't believe that Adrien would come to the Crown Prince's bedroom in the middle of the night, but the empty room, which was completely disheveled, was even stranger.
And the fact that Noevian Trovika had entered here gave him a bad feeling.
Roardnes searched everywhere, from the closets to under the bed, and even checked the locked windows, but he couldn't find any trace of a person.
Then, suddenly, he felt a gaze on him and turned his head.
The huge portrait of Empress Retinia was smiling benevolently at him. He was drawn to the portrait.
As he approached, he noticed that the portrait was slightly crooked, as if it were a door that hadn't been fully closed.
"...A door?"
Roardnes stepped into the entrance of the suffocating underground world and encountered a familiar yet strange voice.
"Did you... love Roardnes?"
"Of course. More than anyone in the world..."
The voice he had been searching for all his life.
"...And the person I hate most in the world."
A voice he had protected all his life.
****
"Oh, Roan!"
The Crown Prince got up and staggered towards Roardnes, welcoming him.
Roardnes's eyes scanned his body repeatedly. It wasn't a look of concern.
"What is all this, I asked."
"Can't you see? Your uncle and his mistress have conspired to create this mess!"
His lips, unable to even sneer, were tightly closed.
The Crown Prince began to pour out words. His face showed no doubt that he had gained the upper hand.
"Hurry, hurry and dispose of those bastards! Roan! I thought I was going to die of fear."
"What are all these corpses? And Adrien's corpse..."
His voice, barely suppressed by the unbelievable sight, began to waver as his eyes met Adrien's.
His Adam's apple bobbed as if he were swallowing something hard.
Due to the tall coffin, the bleeding side of Adrien was hidden from him. Adrien was grateful for that.
"Why is Countess Kuroseda's corpse with you, Your Highness?"
"It's not me! Noevian Trovika, our uncle, created this space for me, saying he was doing it for my sake! Isn't it a strange hobby? Oh my God, how surprised I was! That woman approached me intentionally too! I was just tolerating her because she was the woman you liked!"
How disgusting. Adrien wanted to scream, but she remained silent and looked at Roardnes.
Roardnes's face was crumbling miserably with every word Bardenaldo uttered.
Bardenaldo, who had been trying hard to explain himself, suddenly lit up when he realized that Roardnes didn't believe him.
"What, you don't believe me now, Roan?"
"I wished it wasn't you, Your Highness."
"What?"
"No matter what that bastard, Noevian Trovika, says about you. Even if he testifies that you ordered the Duke to deceive Adrien. The brother I know isn't like that. At least not this bad. I was sure there must be some misunderstanding."
"It's not me!"
"Then what is all this? How are you going to atone for this sin?"
"It's not my fault! I told you it was Noevian Trovika's doing! Roan, Roan, please..."
"I've lived my whole life for you, Your Highness. I never expected any reward."
A distorted voice fell like a spit of blood in front of Bardenaldo.
"I loved you, and I loved Mother, so I just lived according to your wishes."
Unlike his sorrowful voice, his scarlet eyes burned quietly.
"Wasn't it enough that you sent the only person I wanted to someone else? What about that corpse? How could you have Countess Kuroseda's corpse, you who watched me work tirelessly to get that person?"
He should have shouted and shaken his shoulders.
But Roardnes gritted his teeth and tightly gripped the Crown Prince's wet shoulder.
His face and upper body were abnormally wet. His feverish face was visible to him.
This wasn't Bardenaldo.
There was no way the person who looked like this in this situation, among these corpses, was his brother. He denied it, and denied it again.
"...You're insolent, Roan."
Roardnes's bloodshot eyes clashed sharply with the deep blue eyes he had always wanted.
"I've faced countless enemies and stared them down, but this is my first time with you, Bardenaldo."
The heat gradually faded from Roardnes's face, which had been flushed with anger. It was like seeing a monster he had never experienced before.
"You said it yourself, Roan. When you came to me, saying you wanted Adrien Pireta."
His lips, which had been neatly shaped, twisted with a hint of sensuality.
Roardnes's face hardened instantly at the sight of a face that seemed to mock the most lowly enemy in the world.
"I can give up everything else, but I can't give up Adrien Pireta."
Bardenaldo raised his eyebrows, narrowed his forehead as if recalling that moment, and laughed as if he was dumbfounded.
"Give-up-?"
"..."
"Who are you to give up to anyone?"
It was clearly mockery.
There was no other way to explain it than mockery, with his exaggeratedly stretched lips and his shining eyes that seemed to be angry instead.
"You've always been like that. Always. Didn't you know? You always gave in to me, even though you shouldn't have."
Bardenaldo gritted his teeth and shrugged off the hand that was holding his shoulder. Roardnes lowered his arm and stared blankly at him.
"You don't even know who's really letting you off."
"I never let you off. I just didn't have the desire to win. There was no malice, was there? What does that have to do with Adrien?"
"Adrien Pireta is mine!"
Bardenaldo screamed. The emotions that had piled up were a metallic sound that scratched his throat.
"Whether she's the daughter of Castagna or Pireta, she should rightfully be mine. How could I stand it that one of them likes you?"
The Crown Prince's face, which was smiling as if it didn't matter, was like that of a demon.
"It's not you who should be giving up, but me, and you don't even know that, so is it a crime that I had my dog keep you for a while?"
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