Chapter 232
“Oh my, Your Highness. Did you win today? You must be lucky today.”
Abelus laughed at the gambler’s joke, and his friends sitting next to him laughed along.
The Finito Club’s gambling den was as lively as ever. At first, Abelus would come alone, or with his close aide Ralph, or with Megara, who had introduced him to the place. Now, he brought along newly acquainted lower nobles or the obedient sons of high-ranking nobles.
“Doesn’t that guy come around these days? The one who won a ton of money at the ‘Horse Race’ game last time.”
At Abelus’s question, the Finito Club’s gamblers exchanged glances. After a brief silent struggle, the one who lost took on the role of offering a suitable lie.
“No, he hasn’t been around lately. He’s not a regular at the club, just a passerby, so we don’t know anything about him.”
“Really? Then he got lucky. He only drops by occasionally, but he always manages to make a little money each time. Aren’t you guys being too harsh on me?”
The gamblers, who knew the truth, laughed and pretended to be distressed.
There really were a few lucky passersby like the man Abelus was referring to. People who managed to win quite a large sum in front of professional gambling swindlers and then leave. Abelus, oblivious, simply thought of them as lower nobles with both skill and luck, but the club’s gamblers knew the situation was not normal.
So they had reported it to Nellusion, the owner of the club. However, Nellusion had told them to leave them alone. The Crown Prince’s mistress was demanding her share, or something along those lines.
The money that the fake passersby were taking was a large tip, but they had no choice, as they had been instructed not to interfere. The gamblers even had to shield the fake passersby from suspicion in front of the Crown Prince, which was absurd. If the Crown Prince ever doubted the fairness of the games, the club would face serious consequences.
After a few more rounds of cards, Abelus set his hand down.
“I should head back now. I have a lot of state affairs to attend to.”
After confining his sister Camille, Abelus had been assigned several times more work than before. When she had been freely meddling in everything, he had thought she couldn’t possibly be doing that much, but once she was gone, complaints erupted from everywhere.
‘It’s all a sign of rebellion. Ignoring me, the Crown Prince, and holding that much power over state affairs.’
Cute Megara had been right. Abelus now viewed everything Camille had done with suspicion. He couldn’t trust any of the people she had planted either. That was why he conspicuously promoted the lower nobles who frequented the club. It was an example, to show that anyone who relied on anything other than the Crown Prince’s favor would amount to nothing.
Yet those fools said that he was not handling things properly. That things were not running as smoothly as before.
‘Will showing them my skill shut them up? The way that monster did.’
These days, Abelus often thought of Maindulante. He was annoyed by the nobles’ constant chatter, and resentful that their solidarity ran so deep he couldn’t simply silence them at will. He even felt the urge to behead them all in one stroke.
But he couldn’t truly behead them all. He was not a monster, and what he wanted was not their deaths, but for them to quietly praise the Imperial Family…
Lost in thought, feeling a sense of duty toward national affairs, Abelus put on the coat his close knight Ralph brought him and pulled a promissory note from his pocket.
“How much did I lose and win today?”
“Yes, Your Highness. I have it all written down.”
A club employee, skilled at subtly altering records, fawned over him and showed Abelus the record of his wins and losses for the day. Without a word, Abelus wrote the amount he owed on the promissory note.
“Divide it among yourselves.”
“Yes, I will. …Ah.”
The employee, who had checked the promissory note, looked uneasy.
“What is it?”
“Your Highness, we cannot accept this promissory note.”
“Why? You accepted it just a few days ago.”
“Yes, we could accept it until then. But rumors have spread that this Morier Trading Company’s, well… credit rating is not very good. Our boss told us never to accept it…”
“Is that so?”
Abelus was troubled. As the Crown Prince, he normally never had to pay directly, so he naturally didn’t carry money. He only carried a few blank promissory notes from Megara in his pocket to pay his gambling debts at the club. He would roughly write down the money he lost that day and leave it with them, and Megara would take care of the rest…
His friends, quickly sensing the Crown Prince’s discomfort, immediately stepped in.
“Ah, then I will pay it for you, Your Highness.”
“This is nothing.”
“Will you? If you come to me tomorrow, I’ll pay you back right away.”
Thanks to his friends’ quick appeasement, his expression eased, but Abelus felt deeply humiliated. The Crown Prince had lost in a game in front of his friends and had to borrow money to pay. He already dreaded how the underlings, who were always looking for faults, might report this in the newspapers.
‘Because of that novel called “Betrayal” or whatever, more nobles are reading the underlings’ newspapers.’
That ridiculous novel featuring a character with Ja’an eyes. Abelus intended to be a benevolent Monarch, so he could overlook the foolish commoners for making up stories with Ja’an eyes. The Grand Duchess’s purple Ja’an must have inspired them, and sooner or later the fuss would die down.
But articles mocking him were a different matter. Those were absolutely intolerable.
Someone had to be held responsible. And Abelus knew exactly who would be easiest to blame.
❖ ❖ ❖
Megara, beautifully adorned as always in her luxurious room, stood up with a bright face when Abelus entered.
“Your Highness! I heard you’d be late today because you had a lot of work.”
She was about to add a few affectionate words when she faltered at the sight of Abelus’s flushed face. After he had made her his mistress, and after she had ‘saved’ him from ‘assassination’ and had been ‘nearly poisoned’ as a result, Abelus had devoted himself completely to her. He cherished her as his destined partner, doted on her, and treasured her…
Because of that, her life in the Imperial Palace had been very comfortable lately. No one dared treat her carelessly in front of her, except for the Emperor and Empress. She had gotten what she wanted, even going so far as to drink poison herself.
Megara cautiously wondered if something serious had happened, but Abelus suddenly snapped in irritation.
“Do you know how humiliated I was today? Meggie, how could you not have checked properly?”
“Yes? What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“The promissory note, the promissory note! I lost a game at the club and tried to pay with the Morier Trading Company’s note you recommended, but they refused it.”
If it had been any other day, Megara would have immediately focused on calming Abelus, apologizing and asking if that had really happened. She knew his anger passed quickly, like a sudden shower.
But her reaction was a beat slow this time, because she was taken aback by how abruptly Abelus, who had been listening to everything she said lately, had changed his attitude. On top of that, it was an issue related to the club, which she had already been thinking about.
Megara had clearly demanded from Nellusion some time ago that a portion of the money taken from Abelus be given to her. As his accomplice, it was only natural she receive that much. Nellusion had said “as you wish” with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, and then done nothing. As if he had already given her the money, shamelessly.
And yet now he was refusing the promissory note? Was this his way of protesting because she had asked for a share of the winnings? The more Megara thought about Nellusion, the more irritated she became. Seeing her briefly flustered face, Abelus grew even more annoyed.
“Tomorrow’s newspaper will be quite a spectacle. What will they say? Those ignorant fools who still want my sister back will say I’m foolish and incompetent, and that’s why I’m acting like this! They’ll say I’m so infatuated with you that I’ve ruined myself! Meggie, say something. You should have handled this properly!”
Only then did Megara snap back to her senses. She quickly put on a pitiful expression and approached Abelus.
“Oh no, Your Highness. Did that really happen? I’m so sorry, I had no idea. I’ll look into it and take care of everything right away.”
“Yes, handle it properly! Ahem.”
The shower had passed. Once he heard that everything would be dealt with, Abelus felt ashamed of having snapped at the woman who had saved his life. He switched to a very gentle tone.
“I’ll come back here after work later, so have dinner ready. Oh, right. You said you wanted pearl earrings before, didn’t you? Shall I buy them for you?”
“Really? I’m so happy. You’re the best, Your Highness.”
Abelus hugged Megara, who was flattering him with childish, insincere words, without a second thought. Even as she returned his embrace, Megara felt a faint chill inside.
She had believed that Abelus loved and truly valued her. They had only recently become lovers, but she was sure she held his heart firmly. She had used every means possible to become a truly useful woman to him.
But was that really so? Perhaps he…
Saw her as lightly as something picked up off the street. Was that why he could change his attitude so quickly whenever his mood soured?
Was this love nothing more than rebellious entertainment for him—and an excuse to fully wring out the remaining power of the Marquess of Lykeandros’s family as a bonus…?
No, there was no point in thinking like that. If Abelus’s feelings were less than what she wanted, she simply had to gain more from him. There was no turning back now; all she could do was harden her resolve.
Megara clenched Abelus’s sleeve, repeating those words to herself.
❖ ❖ ❖
Camille, who had been shut away in her bedroom, cut off from the outside world, heard a little late that a novel with strange content was popular in the Imperial Capital. She flung the newspaper to the floor in a rage.
“What are you all doing, letting this kind of slander against the Imperial Family circulate so openly!”
The Emperor’s maid, who had been somewhat relieved by the Princess’s recent quiet, flinched. But Camille was in no state to worry about what might reach her imperial father’s ears.
She had believed the misunderstanding would be cleared up in time. After all, Silver Moon was diligently investigating the assassination attempt, that absurd play-acting. She hadn’t thought it would be difficult to uncover the truth, since it was all the work of that hateful Megara.
So what was the problem? They had yet to uncover the trail of those who attacked Abelus’s carriage that day. Had too many of Silver Moon’s elites died at the hands of the Grand Duke, leaving only fools behind? Or was that thing’s accomplice more capable than she had thought?
With Silver Moon’s level of skill and Camille’s own analytical abilities, they should have reached the truth long ago. But Silver Moon’s numbers had been drastically reduced, and the nobles who could have reinforced them had been cut off. Camille herself was confined, unable to move an inch, as if her eyes were covered and her limbs bound.
“Your Highness, if you don’t like the newspaper, I’ll take it back.”
The maid, who had been kind enough to bring the Princess the latest trends, spoke with a displeased look. She picked the newspaper up and went toward the window.
Camille sat on the bed, gasping. All the emotions she had recently been forced to grow used to surged through her again. Anger, fear, disappointment, despair… Yes, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess knew everything.
‘How?’
Did Maindulante have records of the past? Or had someone told them the truth? If so, who? The Eye of Pheros sealed in the secret chamber certainly couldn’t speak…
‘I have to stay calm.’
A novel could do nothing. The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess were not trying to overthrow the Imperial Family with some cheap story. The real problem was that trapped like this, she had no way of knowing what they truly intended.
‘Therefore.’
Camille’s face, which had been contorted with agitation, hardened with a cold resolve.
A resolve she should have come to long ago.
Perhaps the very destination everything she had done so far had been pointing toward.
‘Everything for the sake of the Imperial Family.’
A short time later, a servant of Silver Moon slipped out of the Princess’s palace with a pale face. He glanced once toward the distant Emperor’s Palace, then hurried away.