How the Villainous Consort Avoids His Death Ending - Chapter 123.1
In the deepest reaches of the Imperial Palace of Belforte, the Emperor’s bedchamber was filled with a heavy silence and tension.
The inner walls, decorated splendidly with gold, and the silk curtains embroidered beautifully with silver thread had long since lost their luster. In the dark shadows cast across the bedroom, the master of the empire sat leaning against his bed, exhaling shallow breaths.
The deep wrinkles on his haggard face were prominent. However, only his eyes, tracing the past from long ago, remained intensely alive.
“Is there no word from Everett?”
“It is said that the Prince has crossed over to the vicinity of Hezekia. He went to inspect it himself, concerned that the plague occurring within Hezekia might spread to the bordering territories.”
“I see… That child is diligent.”
“You have a sincere and kind Prince, Your Majesty.”
The attendant bowed his head and offered a flattering remark. A melancholy smile brushed across the Emperor’s wrinkled lips.
“A Prince… Yes, he is my son.”
In the single word that leaked out like a self-muttering, suspicion, regret, anger, and sadness were mingled together.
Quite some time had passed since he ordered the Lord Chamberlain, Count Cassel, to investigate Dearsby.
The time spent waiting for the results was long and arduous. The Emperor looked out the window and thought bitterly. The space that a low-born woman had occupied in his heart was quite large.
It was exceptional from the start, bringing a street worker into the palace and even providing her with a residence. His favor reached its peak when she bore him an Alpha son. He already had an Imperial Crown Prince between him and the late Empress, but it was a relationship formed by a political marriage. Neither the first son nor the first grandson meant much to the ruthless Emperor. Surprisingly, the street woman had filled that void.
Liander had taken root that deeply.
Because of that, even just doubting Everett’s birth was a mental blow to the elderly Emperor.
Perhaps that was why. Every day, the Emperor’s health deteriorated rapidly. Now, even moving was uncomfortable, making it difficult for him to walk properly without assistance, and there were increasingly more days when he lay in bed, unable to rise.
The physician kept repeating that there was no specific illness, but that the Emperor was growing weaker by the day, and that he should just keep his mind at ease. However, how could his heart be at ease?
“…I must be old, too.”
The Emperor often felt that perhaps he did not have much time left to live.
The Emperor gasped in painful breaths and closed his eyes. If he were to leave this world as he was, Everett, the Imperial Crown Prince, would inherit the throne. If that report… if even by the slightest chance it were true, he would be essentially handing over the entire empire to the seed of a pirate.
‘No, no. That cannot be. I just need to uncover the truth.’
The Emperor sighed and pressed his throbbing forehead. How did things end up like this? The further back he looked, the more astounding it was. He should not have entrusted his mistress to a pirate in the first place. That was why Liander and her son came under such unnecessary suspicion.
The Emperor struggled to deny the fact that his beautiful mistress might have deceived him for decades, and instead directed his arrows at Dearsby.
That report must not be true.
“Your Majesty. The Lord Chamberlain has arrived.”
Suddenly, a voice announcing the arrival of Count Cassel was heard from the doorway. The Emperor suppressed a rough cough that was bursting forth and gestured toward the Lord Chamberlain. In the deeply settled silence, only the sound of heavy footsteps rang out quietly.
“Your Majesty.”
Count Cassel, having dismissed everyone around them, opened his mouth with a hardened face. The report in his hand must have contained the results of the instructions the Emperor had given earlier.
What did you find? The Emperor should have asked that. However, he could not ask anything at all.
He merely lifted his head and stared at Count Cassel with sharp eyes. Cassel lowered his gaze, unable to face him.
“I have thoroughly investigated the area suspected to be Dearsby’s hometown. And…”
His voice shook with tension and fear. The Emperor still said nothing. In the end, Cassel had no choice but to continue slowly.
“I found his marriage certificate at a monastery in one of those places. The name of the woman recorded as his spouse on the certificate is…”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
