Chapter 150

Nerys stared up at the cloudy night sky and thought blankly.

The weather was perfect for someone to die.

To be betrayed and die miserably by the hands of someone you trusted without question—that was the most fitting end for the marquis. And if that was the case, Nerys didn’t even have to make a move herself.

Because it was obvious what Camille would do once she sent Adrian personally.

All Nerys had done was make sure that the poor guard on duty at the North Tower didn’t die needlessly by warning him to step away.

“Young Lady, the night wind is cold.”

Dora approached with a robe. Nerys let her drape it over her shoulders and stepped back into the room from the balcony.

The West Palace, with its few occupants, was completely quiet—aside from the light still on in Nerys’s room.

“Did Mother fall asleep comfortably?”

To Nerys’s concerned question, Dora answered cheerfully.

“Yes, Young Lady. I made sure she was at ease. Now it’s late, you should rest as well.”

“You’re right. I should.”

Tomorrow would be chaos.

‘It’s been peaceful for a long time.’

And she had waited for just as long.

Now, it was time to move again.

❖ ❖ ❖

“L-Lord! There’s been an incident!”

During the morning meeting, where the White Swan Castle’s key officials gathered, a soldier burst in.

Rex, who had been giving a dry report about the day’s affairs, frowned sharply.

“Do you know where you are? Do you not understand protocol?”

Faced with the stares of such high-ranking officials, the soldier shrank a little.

But it was an emergency. He straightened up and forced himself to report.

“Hudis Tipion, the prisoner in the North Tower, has been found dead!”

Murmurs spread across the meeting room.

Cledwyn, clearly displeased, tapped his finger on the table. ‘Tok. Tok.’ A simple gesture—but to the officials, it felt like their heads might fall off.

“Explain in detail.”

A clear voice broke the tense silence that had gripped the meeting. The imagined blade dripping with blood suddenly vanished from everyone’s mind at the sound of that calm, resolute tone.

All eyes naturally turned to the source of the voice with reverence. Nerys Truydd, the White Swan Castle’s advisor, had not flinched at the sudden death of the very man who had tried to kill her.

The soldier saluted and reported.

“Yes, ma’am! At approximately 7:27 AM, about 8 minutes ago, during the routine inspection, a guard found Hudis Tipion dead in Cell 302 of the tower! The cause of death is presumed to be strangulation by a fellow prisoner—specifically, a knight from House Tipion held in the adjacent cell! The suspect has fled!”

The officials clicked their tongues. Cledwyn spoke coldly.

“One prisoner killed another. In the North Tower of all places. At this rate, perhaps a thief will sneak into my chambers and lie in my bed in my place.”

His displeasure was evident. Cold sweat began to gather on the soldier’s face—and on the backs of the officials.

Then once again, Nerys’s clear voice changed the atmosphere.

“Right now, the priority is to apprehend the suspect, Your Grace. And to control the flow of information. Exaggerated assumptions won’t help the situation.”

Her pointed remark made Cledwyn go quiet. The officials were impressed. No matter how many times they witnessed it, it was remarkable—how their Duke, who listened to no one, would fall silent at her words.

Cledwyn, now scowling, gave the order.

“Nothing discussed here leaves this room. Issue a lockdown across the castle. If the escape occurred after last night’s inspection, he likely hasn’t left the gates.”

That reasoning was sound—castle gates were shut at night. The knight commander and the captain of the guards responded immediately.

“Yes, sir!”

“Aye!”

But the meeting didn’t proceed any further.

‘Bang.’ The door, closed after the soldier’s entrance, swung open with an unnecessarily loud slam. Adrian entered, swathed in fur.

He leisurely scanned the room and smirked.

“Busy bunch, aren’t we?”

Everyone glared at him with loathing. Undeterred by the unwelcome mood, Adrian clapped his hands.

“Oh, I usually sleep at this hour. Only commoners, worried about wasting candle wax, rise with the sun. But this was too good to sleep through. I mean—after a completed trial and prison sentence, the marquis!”

Aidan’s expression darkened. Talfrin, blending in as a servant, shared the same look.

‘He heard the news before anyone here even confirmed the body?’

Not even trying to hide it?

Adrian beamed with mock delight.

“The marquis was murdered, right? He may have been old, but he was healthy not long ago. If he suddenly died, obviously it was out of revenge, don’t you think?”

The officials were dumbfounded. Then panic began to spread.

Because Adrian’s suddenly serious gaze had turned to Nerys.

“In the name of the Imperial Family, I’ll be arresting the prime suspect for the murder of a high noble—our brilliant advisor. You had the clearest motive, after all.”

Murderous tension filled the room.

Adrian’s face paled slightly. But the thought of what he stood to gain kept his mood high.

‘Arrogant brat.’

Camille’s order to break Cledwyn’s pride was correct. Killing Tipion had been the right call.

But the part of Camille’s instructions Adrian didn’t like—“kill the jeweled-eye bearer if needed, or bring her alive”—was something he refused to follow. He had other plans for this girl.

Somewhere out there, someone would pay dearly for a sharp mind like hers.

If she were stupid, fine. But if she was smart—there would be buyers with deep pockets.

Camille would probably throw a fit, but—

‘She won’t kill me over it.’

“You must be joking. A parasite clinging to the Empire thinks they can exercise judicial authority on my land, over my people?”

The White Swan soldiers moved in perfect formation and surrounded Adrian. His men tried to enter the chamber, only to be blocked.

In the middle of the rising tension, Aidan looked toward Nerys.

She alone remained calm. Her steady gaze lowered slightly.

Adrian shouted,

“Opposing a knight of the Imperial Family is opposing His Majesty! Can Maindulante afford that responsibility?!”

“What nonsense—!”

Hilbrin lunged for Adrian’s collar—but then Nerys stood.

“Your Grace, please withdraw the knights.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, yet it quieted the entire room.

Cledwyn, seated in the innermost part of the room, looked at her wordlessly.

“Withdraw them?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“We cannot openly oppose the Empire.”

‘Clang.’

The atmosphere froze again.

Nerys met Cledwyn’s gaze. He surely understood the situation by now. She didn’t need to explain a thing—he would see it clearly.

That she had set the trap for Tipion to be killed. That Adrian was the true culprit.

That she had anticipated Adrian would pull something like this.

But he would not understand why she stood down now.

He couldn’t know that she planned to use this moment to settle a score from her past life.

‘What will you do?’

Cledwyn Maindulante wasn’t the type to hand over his people easily. But this time, he had to back off.

It would’ve been easy to convince him using her eyes. But…

She couldn’t do that.

Not to Cledwyn.

So Nerys broke their eye contact and stepped toward Adrian.

“You baselessly target a Maindulante citizen, and now you invoke imperial knights to arrest me? There’s nothing I can do. But let me say one thing—as the advisor of this land.”

The flame in her jeweled eyes made Adrian gulp, even as he forced a scoff.

“Go on, I’ll hear you.”

“If anything happens to me, it will be clear that it was by your hand, Lord Adrian. His Majesty would never punish someone like me without a fair trial.”

It was a warning: if something happened, he alone would take the fall.

Not that Adrian had intended to harm her. On the contrary—he would stop anyone who tried.

So he smiled widely, pleased.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course it’ll be a fair investigation. You’ll be safe.”

“If that’s the case.”

An advisor personally appointed by the duke, with proven service, dragged away by baseless threats under the Imperial Family’s name…

It would shake the proud officials of Maindulante to their core.

They needed to stop fighting amongst themselves and instead unite against the imperial threat constantly watching them.

Nerys had calculated as much when she painted this picture. She left the meeting, escorted by imperial knights.

She didn’t look back. Not once. She knew that if she did, she wouldn’t be able to keep walking.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Your Grace! You can’t just let them take her! How could our advisor be treated like this?!”

Hilbrin was red-faced and fuming. Rex, usually his rival, agreed with him for once.

“I feel the same.”

Cledwyn bared his teeth. He looked ready to rip Adrian apart.

“What if I don’t let her go? Shall I summon the knights and clash swords with the imperial guards? Detain a member of the royal family?”

Everyone present wanted to say yes. Detaining him? That arrogant brat deserved to be torn to pieces.

Talfrin clicked his tongue internally. If not for Nerys’s strange behavior, Cledwyn might have already killed Adrian.

‘What ridiculous charges.’

Adrian had been at the prison last night. That fact alone was enough to protect her. Enough for Cledwyn to protect her, too.

This was Maindulante. If they executed the real criminal here, what could the capital do?

War was possible—but Cledwyn wasn’t the type to fear that.

But Nerys clearly had something in mind. That’s why Cledwyn hadn’t acted.

He spoke with weight.

“She let herself be arrested to prevent exactly that. To keep the Empire from having any excuse.”

“But how can we just sit here and do nothing?! What kind of treatment will our advisor face at the hands of those southern devils?! You think the trial will be fair?! Alone, without connections—how much injustice—abuse—unfairness—?!”

“She’s not alone.”

Cledwyn spat the words like a curse.

The room went silent. Only Talfrin grumbled inside. ‘I knew it would come to this.’

Yet even as he grumbled, Talfrin felt his chest heat up.

‘I’m a damn Maindulante man too, I guess.’

Cledwyn stood and said,

“They kidnapped a Maindulante citizen and the advisor of the White Swan Castle. As her lord and superior, I can’t sit still. I’ll go to the capital and observe the trial.”

Everyone in the room stared at him.

Then cheers broke out. A passing servant stopped, wondering what was happening. And when the duke burst through the doors, the servant instinctively stepped aside.

Cledwyn strode quickly, his face a blend of killing intent and grief.

‘I won’t stop you.’

Because he wanted her to have everything she wanted.

‘But you don’t know when you’ll need me.’

So let’s go together.

He wouldn’t let anyone give her grief.

She had walked away looking lighthearted, but it was clear she wasn’t.

She always acted like she was fine on her own. Like she could handle anything alone.

And she could. He agreed with her there.

But sometimes, when someone insists they’re fine before you even ask…

‘It means they’re not.’

She was not okay. And neither was he—

Not without her.

(T/N: SHHEEEEEEEESSSSSSHHHHHH. Next arc is going to be epic! I can’t wait!!!)