Chapter 109: [Chapter 109] Real Enemy
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A smile as sweet as an angel appeared on her face as she called me, "Aunt," in a clearly mocking tone.
I had to clench my fists to keep from scratching that face.
For a brief moment, as if a sharp pain had struck my heart, Bardenaldo clutched his chest.
"Now, huh, gasp. What am I trying to hide?"
****
Bardenaldo had chosen two candidates for his future empress.
Adrienne Pireta, a noblewoman from the Pireta territory, which was the capital of the Ronta Kingdom in the past.
And Doris Castagna, the daughter of the prestigious Castagna Duke.
Unlike Doris, who was favorable to him, Bardenaldo felt an unbearable anger towards Adrienne, who was interacting with Roardnes more than the crown prince himself.
It was because he felt like Roardnes was mocking him, saying that he was better than Bardenaldo, who was always suffering from insecurity and inferiority complex.
In the end, he decided to marry Doris Castagna and give Adrienne Pireta the position of "the crown prince's mistress."
He was proud of himself, thinking that the decision was a punishment for Adrienne.
Just imagining himself toying with the woman Roardnes so desperately wanted as his mistress made him grin with glee.
When the Duke of Pireta was first summoned, he immediately realized that the relationship was clearly one of superior and inferior.
The Duke of Pireta's family had the legitimacy of being the ancient capital of the empire, but because of that, they were under the scrutiny of countless other families.
Their geographical location adjacent to Elacon also played a part.
The empire, which both despised and feared Elacon, was wary of any Pireta territory people gaining power, fearing they might forge a friendly relationship with Elacon.
Therefore, despite their noble title, the eastern territories, especially the Duke of Pireta, were unable to enter the central social circles or hold important positions.
That was why the Duke of Pireta was overjoyed when Bardenaldo chose Adrienne Pireta as a candidate for the empress.
He knew that for Bardenaldo to ascend to the throne without incident, the empress's family had to be strong.
The western Castagna, who were also under scrutiny by a large force, albeit not as much as Pireta, joined the selection war, dreaming of gaining access to central positions. In the end, the winner was Castagna, who had a slightly stronger foothold in the center.
The Duke of Pireta was deeply humiliated and was reluctant to respond to the crown prince's summons.
However, on the last day of returning to the east, Crown Prince Bardenaldo made the following proposal.
"Actually, the one I love in my heart is Adrienne Pireta."
At the word "love" from the crown prince's mouth, the Duke of Pireta was momentarily stunned.
But Bardenaldo on that day had a more serious and pure expression than any other day, so the duke could not help but believe the words of the crown prince, who was called the saint of Ronta.
"... If you intend to offer her the position of empress, I refuse. I don't want the daughter of Pireta to lose her marriage without any documented promise."
"Is that so?"
"Besides, won't Castagna be quiet? Even if Your Highness safely ascends to the throne and welcomes Adrienne in the future, I find it difficult to see a daughter under an empress from Castagna externally."
"How about the position of Grand Duchess of Trovica?"
It was the next best match in the empire after the crown princess. It was a much more valuable and promising future than the second prince Roardnes, who was called a troublemaker, or the ninth prince, who was virtually held hostage in Elacon.
"... Can you treat the woman you love as an aunt?"
"No, no."
Bardenaldo smiled sweetly, his eyes narrowed.
"Adrienne Pireta will be the mother of my future child."
"!"
The duke, who had stopped moving for a moment, stared at the crown prince, who showed a stronger will than ever before.
"Externally, her position is the Grand Duchess of Trovica. But in reality, she will be my woman."
Bardenaldo whispered as sweet as honey.
"It means that your daughter will control the two most powerful men in this country. Wouldn't the position of grand duchess, rather than the always scrutinized position of empress, be better for your daughter's future?"
"That, how could that be...?"
"There's only one way I can trust the Duke."
"..."
"I won't have a child with Doris Castagna. Do you understand what I mean?"
Bardenaldo was confident of his victory.
Because the Duke of Pireta's desire, which he had tried to hide deep in his heart but could never be hidden, was clearly reflected in his purple eyes.
****
"Your father wanted to come to the center at any cost."
"..."
"I firmly believed your words that I was the one you truly loved. I was even grateful because I sent you all sorts of precious medicines to save you."
She remembered.
The voices of the maids who told her to drink every drop of the precious medicine sent directly by His Highness, the Crown Prince.
Annie's particularly sharp voice must have been because she was a person of the Duke of Castagna.
"...Did you kill me with that medicine?"
"Ah, I've always been curious. How did you die?"
Cough, cough, cough.
The crown prince spat out a mouthful of blood. I took out a handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to him.
"Originally, I was going to watch you a little longer. But on second thought, I thought it would be a waste if you became withered and lost your beauty before I got you."
Cough-.
The crown prince, who was coughing and laughing like a broken door, had already returned to the devil of the previous night.
"But there are many people who will gladly step in without me having to get my hands dirty."
"..."
"I would like to invite Your Aunt for dinner when she gets well."
"I hear Your Aunt is so elegant and beautiful, but it's a pity that she's sick."
Bardenaldo smiled brightly, wiping the blood from his handkerchief.
"There's someone who gets so angry at that one word that they wish you were dead as soon as possible."
Bardenaldo's focus slightly blurred as he recalled one of the countless days he had provoked Doris.
"It's thanks to the precious medicine we sent that you were able to survive for two years, so don't be too grateful."
"Us?"
"Even Roardnes, despite being so betrayed, always sent you rare medicines whenever he found them on the battlefield. Didn't you know yet? Most of the precious medicines that your uncle always sent you were sent by Roardnes."
"It can't be."
"I sent it as a gift to your uncle under another noble's name. Since it was well-known that the Grand Duchess was ill, people always tried to win your uncle's favor in that way. Cough! Your uncle, who rejected most medicines, couldn't refuse the medicines that Roardnes had obtained even if he had to pay for them. It was funny. I knew, but I didn't tell your uncle on purpose. It seemed like he had figured it out at some point, but he couldn't help but accept it. He must have wanted to save you."
Ah, Roardnes!
Trembling with betrayal.
Despairing of heartbreak.
And finally accepting reality, even in the midst of wandering the battlefield...
"How about it? Now do you know who your real enemy is? Doris killed you, and your father, knowing that I wanted you, forced you into such a marriage. Your father is really stupid. He's so greedy. He's just like Doris Castagna."
If what Bardenaldo said was true, my father had used me to advance to the center.
Externally, as the Grand Duchess of Trovica. And behind the scenes, as the lover of the crown prince.
While thinking of surrounding two men with a woman's skirt and eventually giving birth to Crown Prince Bardenaldo's child to strike a blow to Castagna.
On the day I was finally excluded from the candidate for the crown princess, I thought my father was as indifferent as I was.
On the day I received a proposal from Noevian Trovica, I thought my father was cheering for my first love to come true.
'You knew everything and turned a blind eye.'
My mind went blank, and I was silent for a moment.
"You want to see my child in your body? Kuk... Cough! If my father had seen me waiting for Doris to kill you, he wouldn't have had such vain desires."
Bardenaldo, who was coughing badly, naturally reached out to me as if asking for another handkerchief.
I didn't give him a new handkerchief.
The crown prince, who threw the blood-stained handkerchief on the floor, looked at me with a curious expression, as if I were a worthless beast rebelling against him.
"You were so foolish to be deceived. Really, you were so foolish. You and your father are both so foolish, it's been so funny. Kuk. Cough, kukkuk..."
Sickened by Bardenaldo's evil nature, I felt my heart twist as I saw him looking so relieved.
"...Is that all?"
I felt a betrayal on a different level than the shock I felt from Noevian or the crown prince.
But I stood firm.
Because I was sure that the sight of me being shocked and falling down here was what that devil wanted most.
Bardenaldo laughed for a while, recalling the past, then slowly erased his smile when he saw me standing firm.
"Is that all?"
"Yes."
It was a lingering answer, but I didn't ask any further.
"I don't know how much of what you said to believe, but it's true that some of the things I've been wondering about have been cleared up if what you said is true."
"I swear by the gods, I told you the 'truth' you wanted without a single lie. Cough, cough! Huff, huff. So... now go and make that damn testimony. And don't show up in front of me anymore."
"...What testimony?"
"!"
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"Foolishly."
A fit of coughing began. A clot of blood poured out onto Bardenaldo's pale hand, which was without a handkerchief.
"You foolishly believed me and talked too much. Thank you, it was quite fun."
"This, mi, chin..."
"You're going to die soon, Bardenaldo."
Cough! Cough, cough!
"Like me, there are people who get so angry with just a few words that they want to kill you."
"Wait, wait! Where are you going! Kreek... Call a doctor! Cough, cough! Damn it! Blood..."
My heart was as black as charcoal, but in front of the devil who had no chance of redemption, I smiled as wickedly as he did.
Click.
I closed the bedroom door, leaving behind the devil who was screaming weakly, telling me not to go.
The moment the cold bedroom door touched my back.
I saw another devil, accompanied by a line of attendants as if he were going to a fight, walking from the far end of the corridor.
"Your Highness, the Crown Princess."
Doris Castagna, who hadn't shown her face all day.
A person who could kill someone with just a few words.
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