Chapter 248

“Your Highness! Sob, Your Highness!”

Thud. A tear-soaked beauty burst through the wide-open door. Abelus, who had been in discussion with the Minister of War, wore a weary expression.

He knew this would happen, so he tried to control the news.

“Your Highness, is it true that my father has gone missing?”

“Yes, it’s true.”

Abelus spoke softly to Megara, who was sobbing in his arms. He gently patted her back and gestured for the Minister of War to step aside.

To think the Crown Prince’s mistress—not even the Crown Princess—would barge in and disrupt important state affairs. The Minister of War was displeased, but he retreated as instructed. Abelus led Megara to a sofa on one side of the office and sat her down.

Her beautiful face was a mess from crying for so long. With so many troops deployed, a total defeat followed by a disappearance was not good news for Marquess Lykeandros or his family.

Abelus sighed, wiped Megara’s cheeks, and said, “Meggie, listen carefully. I’m also saddened by the Marquess’s disappearance. Losing such a talented person is a great loss to the country. But…”

I will search thoroughly, so wait patiently. Such sorrow is inevitable in times of war. Abelus was about to say that, but Megara—seizing on the careless word he’d used—widened her eyes.

“‘Losing’? Your Highness, if my father is missing, doesn’t that mean he can still be found?”

Oops. Abelus clicked his tongue. He withdrew his hand from Megara’s tear-stained cheek and stayed silent for a moment.

In that brief silence, Megara couldn’t even breathe.

Finally, Abelus spoke.

“The fortress wall collapsed. Unfortunately, the Marquess was beneath it. We call it a disappearance because we haven’t confirmed the body, but the chances of him surviving are low. I’ll call the Junior Marquess later to temporarily succeed the title and attend the state council.”

Megara’s beautiful face filled with horror. Explanations like, If the Marquess returns, everything will go back to normal, didn’t even reach her.

It felt as though the sky had fallen. Her father had been especially fond of her since she was young. He treated her brother, the heir, appropriately, but both siblings knew he loved her far more. In a childhood without a mother, her father had been her whole world.

When Megara remained silent for a long time, Abelus started to rise. This defeat was painful for him too.

Megara quickly grabbed his sleeve.

“Your Highness, my brother is still too young. How can someone like that attend the state council…?”

The Lykeandros family had been somewhat ostracized in aristocratic society due to the issue of Megara’s concealed birth, but Abelus favored her and had placed his people in key positions, so outwardly they still looked as confident as before.

But power ultimately depended on recognition. Wasn’t the Elandria family the perfect example? How easily honor passed down since the founding of the nation had been sullied.

In the current turbulent court, could a young Junior Marquess protect even half of what was his? Megara feared he couldn’t.

Her brother didn’t even listen to her anymore. He had come to the Marquess’s residence for vacation, but he hadn’t spoken to anyone in the family…

Abelus’s attitude also made her uneasy. Just yesterday, he hadn’t let Megara out of his arms. He had whispered “I love you, I love you” with every breath, so at a time like this, he should have been crying with her. He should have praised the Marquess’s courage and said they should wait for the Marquess’s return.

But now, in his eyes, she saw clear annoyance.

It felt like she was being strangled. Megara widened her eyes and listened to Abelus’s perfunctory words as if she were dreaming.

“Too young? The Junior Marquess must have received some education from the family so far, right? Historically, there have been emperors who ascended the throne at six months old…”

He patted her shoulder as if to say, Do you understand now? That careless touch felt like a club to Megara.

“Anyway, I’m in a difficult position because the Marquess was defeated. So, Meggie—does your family have any money? Even though I trusted him so much, he suffered a major defeat. It would be good to show some sincerity for the sake of the Lykeandros family’s standing.”

The words that followed felt like slaps.

Megara was so dumbfounded she blurted it out. It contradicted the way she usually pretended she understood Abelus better than anyone, but she couldn’t stop herself.

“Excuse me?”

“Money, Meggie. I know your family has been working hard. But the trust I’ve placed in the Lykeandros family might look bad to some people. They might say I gave you a political position that doesn’t suit your station because I cherish you too much. It would have been different if the Marquess had won this time and proved my judgment, but that’s not the case, is it?”

“I… Our family doesn’t have any spare funds right now, Your Highness. You know that. That bad woman from the Morier Trading Company took a lot of our family’s wealth, and we gave all the remaining funds as military expenses…”

“Come on. Surely a distinguished noble family like yours has something left. What are you saving it for? You know you can get much more back if you invest a little in a crisis like this, right?”

Invest. Saving. Get back.

Megara’s head spun.

The Lykeandros family really didn’t have money. Her birth mother, once a prominent commoner tycoon, had already sold off a significant portion of her assets, and the remaining specialty products from the territory weren’t selling because the McKinnon Trading Company had taken over the distribution network. The Marquess’s own assets were the same.

They had spent it all. For Abelus. Or to secure Megara his favor.

She had believed that if everything went well, they would truly “get much more back.”

She felt like throwing up, but she couldn’t show it. Megara knew better than anyone how sensitive Abelus had become these days.

So she forced a smile—perhaps using every shred of strength she had left.

“We really don’t have any spare funds, but… I’ll look into it. It’s right to do everything I can to please Your Highness, even if it means sacrificing everything our family has.”

“I’m glad you said that, Meggie. You truly are the most perfect woman for me.”

Megara smiled, kissed him, and left the office at Abelus’s praise.

Even the Minister of War could see her back trembling as she went. At Abelus’s gesture, he sat down at the table and asked,

“Shouldn’t you comfort her more? She lost her father.”

“State affairs are more important now. The Crown Prince’s woman should know how to accept that much.”

When was it that he kept saying she was his beloved woman, taking her everywhere in the court, and doing everything she told him to do? The Minister of War was taken aback, but he didn’t want to look like he was meddling in the Crown Prince’s mistress, so he kept his mouth shut.

Abelus, instead of focusing on “state affairs” as he’d claimed, simply sat there blankly for a moment.

Then a maid with a pretty face approached. Abelus’s expression brightened when he saw her.

“Ah, you appeared just when I needed you. Would you bring me some tea?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The maid’s voice was coquettish, as if she assumed the other person already knew how charming she was. Abelus’s glance at her retreating figure made everything plain.

The Minister of War couldn’t hide his surprise. Abelus saw his expression and burst into laughter.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no.”

In truth, Abelus had begun to feel bored with Megara some time ago. He admired her for saving his life, and he’d kept her close because he found the things Marquess Lykeandros brought him amusing.

‘If that Marquess is gone, then so be it. She’s a life-saver, so I’ll maintain her status, but there’s no reason I should only meet one woman.’

When he had been dating Natasha, Abelus had briefly met a few women as a joke. It wasn’t because he wanted to break up with Natasha—he was just bored of seeing one woman faithfully. And it had been fun when Natasha found out and came to nag him.

Megara was different from Natasha. When Abelus flirted with low-status women for amusement, Megara quietly got rid of them. Then, in front of him, she acted like an angel—innocent and gentle.

At first, Abelus found it somewhat amusing. He hadn’t cared much because he’d been deeply in love with her. But he still hated being controlled. And it was ridiculous how she pretended not to be jealous. In truth, she was greedier than Natasha.

Even now, she’d somehow heard news he told her not to spread, and she’d dared to barge into the Crown Prince’s office.

That meant she had planted her people around him. A mistress of commoner status couldn’t do that on her own.

‘It might be good to teach her some manners.’

He had no intention of bringing in another official mistress. She had saved him from assassination, and he did feel sorry for her.

But for that very reason, Abelus wanted Megara to behave more to his liking.

Since that matter wasn’t urgent, he spoke to the Minister of War with a cold expression.

“So, what else do we need to stop that Cledwyn bastard? Scrape together everything we can. Joyce McKinnon happens to be in the Imperial Capital, so the McKinnon family won’t be able to think of anything else. They’re just merchants, so they must have distribution networks they use. Tell them to hand over everything—we’ll use it for supplies!”

❖ ❖ ❖

Valentin was afraid of her brother’s office.

It wasn’t because there was anything terrible inside Duke Elandria’s dignified office. It wasn’t because she feared being caught sneaking in, since she’d already confirmed her brother had left.

It was simply—

When she was young, she had once been playing in her brother’s office and accidentally read an important document. The face Nellusion had shown her then had been terrifying.

After that, Valentin couldn’t bring herself to enter her brother’s office carelessly.

He was a handsome, kind, dreamlike brother who indulged his sister’s whims, but Valentin was always a little afraid of Nellusion. It felt as though something was hidden behind his gentle smile.

As if he called them beloved family with his mouth, but didn’t truly love anyone.

Valentin didn’t want to summon a monster that loved no one. So she had always known where the line was—one she never bothered keeping with anyone else—so that the world of happy Valentin Elandria wouldn’t break.

The office she entered now wasn’t the one from her childhood. That mansion had burned down and vanished, and this place was a small house—unfamiliar to Valentin. Back then, the office Nellusion used had belonged to the Junior Duke, and in this house there was only one room suitable as an office, belonging to the Duke.

But despite those differences, the familiar fear returned the moment Valentin stepped inside.

‘There’s no need to be afraid.’

The servants had been dismissed. And Valentin had a reason she had to enter her brother’s office.

When Alecto told her the Imperial Family wanted her as Crown Princess but her brother had refused, Valentin had been shocked.

‘I have to create my own place.’

Yes. If evidence like what Alecto described surfaced, and she showed it to Abelus… her childhood grudge with Megara would finally end. Valentin would rise to the position she’d dreamed of.

No matter how involved the Elandria family had been when Megara framed Princess Camille, she only had to hide that part…

Having made up her mind, Valentin began searching everything in Nellusion’s office. Books, boxes, drawers, cabinets…

The organization was so meticulous that the number of letters Valentin had to read was small. There were plenty of formal ledgers she’d never been curious about, but there were no documents with truly interesting contents.

Then, irritated, Valentin carelessly struck one of the sculptures on the desk.

Creak. Clunk, clunk. Several small pieces of metal meshed and turned, and part of the desk’s surface flipped upward. Inside, several letters were revealed.

Letters with the sender’s initial: M.

Valentin’s hand trembled with excitement as she snatched them up. She began reading from the first page, almost frantically.

The man with the monocle, watching from beyond the glass window, vanished with a smooth, satisfied motion.