CH 90

14. Escape

The last victim of the day was an apprentice servant who could not even hold a coming-of-age ceremony. It was the beginning of the misfortune that Deltinus caught the eye of while receiving education to serve the crown prince. Deltinus’s eyes flashed as he summoned the servant, and the servant roared and hung from his legs, but was thrown into the cage where the monster was crouching.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Please, anyone, help! Please take me out! Please save me! Please save me, save me… Aaaaah!”

Blood gushed out, and at the same time, a desperate scream broke out. Deltinus, who sat where the large cage could be seen, chuckled and held out a glass of wine. Count Enderk, who was standing behind him, followed. There was a rumor circulating that if you caught the eye of the emperor, you would be immediately taken to the monster cage, so no one wanted to take the lead. Fortunately yet unfortunately, Count Enderk, who was not touched by the emperor, had no choice but to take over.

Deltinus gulped down alcohol with the dying servant as a snack to the monster. Even Count Enderk, who did not blink at all as a close aide to the emperor, saw the terrible scene with a smile on his face, and Deltinus was like a monster wearing a human mask.

At the moment Deltinus emptied the glass in an instant and brought it out again, one of the servants who approached Count Enderk spoke in his ear and disappeared.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s the scorpion from Pionia.”

Deltinus threw the glass away. He had a glass of gold lying on the floor. He waved his hand to Count Enderk, telling him to come. Count Enderk approached and spoke quietly.

“It’s said that Rena Harrodsell’s existence is slowly becoming known in Pionia. She’s a noble girl who might be the second duchess. It seems that things are going smoothly as Your Majesty has planned.”

“Is it going well? Ha. Anyone can spread such a rumor. That’s not enough. I need something more definite. If it was really going well, Canaren would have pretended to run away.”

“Send it to Rena Harrodsell to pay attention…”

“No. I’ll have to go by myself.”

Deltinus ruffled his dripping hair. His hair, which had been cut short when he made a bet with Yulif, had grown long enough to prick his eyes.

He had to cut them off again to pretend to be Yulif. Deltinus rose from his seat, stroking the ends of his hair.

“Let’s go to the office.”

In the office, Estella was sitting on her knees. She was being punished for the absurd reason that she had dealt with her affairs without the emperor’s permission. Deltinus wouldn’t even allow her a cushion, so she had to lay her knees on her hard floor from early morning until Deltinus went to bed.

Count Enderk felt a mixture of guilt and anxiety whenever he saw Estella’s face drained of blood. The Duke of Theodore, who knew all this but remained silent, was suspicious.

“Empress, have you done any reflection?”

“I will reflect on it until Your Majesty says it’s okay.”

“Oh dear. When and why did you become so obedient when you took a stamp on behalf of Jim? No more rushing.”

Deltinus took out a sheet of paper from the pile of papers on the desk and placed it in front of Estella. And he put a seal on her hand.

“Come on, take a picture. It’s not something you’ve done once or twice, can you?”

“I was wrong. I was off topic. Please forgive me.”

“My words are law. Is the command funny? Or is it that a guy like me isn’t even an emperor? So who is the emperor you recognize? Is it Duke Rubius?”

“Your Majesty, I swear I have nothing to do with Duke Rubius.”

“You two were even going to get engaged at one time, but you can say that it is nothing. I think the Empress is really cool.”

Deltinus stepped on Estella’s hand holding the seal. Despite the pain of her fingers being crushed, Estella didn’t scream.

‘She’s like the damn woman.’

“I will be leaving the Imperial Palace for a few days. The Empress should take care of herself so that Duke Rubius does not notice my absence.”

Deltinus looked at Estella with cold furious eyes and then left her office. Count Enderk gave a worried glance and followed Deltinus.

“…Ugh.”

A moan escaped from Estella’s mouth, who was left alone. Her fingers swelled and complained of their pain, but she suffered more from her crushed pride than that, and she suffered. She thought she had adapted. She thought she was dull. However, Deltinus’ infinitely sharp abusive language was a kind of violence that no matter how much she heard it, she couldn’t get used to it.

Although it wasn’t a passionate love that gave up everything she had, Estella loved Deltinus. She had a child with him, and they lived as husband and wife for over 10 years. Still, Deltinus did not give his heart to her. He didn’t even recognize her as her wife or her empress. Although he was Lucian’s father.

“My daughter…”

She raised her head as she stared blankly at her red, swollen fingers. Her father, the Duke of Theodore, had a distorted face, like he was about to cry.

“Father.”

“I… I did this to you…!”

Duke Theodore could not finish his words and hugged Estella. His strong, warm, but now slowly senile hand brushed her back and caressed her cheek.

Father, father. Estella burst into tears that she had been holding back from his loving gaze. Duke Theodore held her in his arms with all his might.

“Hold on a little bit. It won’t take long. Your father will take you out of this hell.”

*******

‘It’s peaceful and easygoing to the point where I get annoyed whenever I come here.’

Deltinus, who had paid the coachman, looked around him.

Pionia in the morning, where daily life began, was full of lively and bustling air, no matter where it was. Recently, rumors circulated that the monster might appear anytime and anywhere, which was contrary to the market price, where few people passed by even during the day.

Everyone was arguing that it’s thanks to Yulif’s good rule over the territory or that he had the qualities of a monarch. Just imagining it made him feel bad, and Deltinus spit on the floor. Like incompetent scumbags. He will definitely get rid of it with Yulif that they love so much.

There was a long line at the entrance to the castle. Armed knights and wizards checked their identities and checked their luggage. After the wedding, it was said that the checkpoints on people entering and leaving the castle and carriages were strengthened, but it was not at the level of being taken lightly.

After receiving reports only from the mouths of others, seeing them with his own eyes, he can clearly see how much Yulif cared about Canaren. Despite this, word about the possible second duchess and rumors of all that she could believe were kept aside. After all, it was better for her to go out on her own in many ways.

“Show me your identity card and face.”

It was Deltinus’ turn. He showed a fake identity and a face disguised with magic. There was a way to sneak into a place with poor security, but Yulif’s barrier was hanging on the castle. If he made a fuss, his brother, who had a sixth sense more than an animal, would notice immediately, so Deltinus decided to act quietly until he entered the castle.

The knight tilted his head slightly and called the wizard. The wizard who had been summoned and approached, scanned the area around Deltinus with yellowish hands, and then nodded his head.

“You’re fine. Come in.”

Still, for a wizard who resided in the Imperial Palace, it was natural he passed this level.

As soon as Deltinus entered the castle, he took off his enchanted robe. With his hair cut just like the Yulif at his wedding, he looked exactly like Yulif.

“Oh… my lord, you’re back already?”

A passing servant mistook Deltinus for Yulif and talked to him. It seemed that Yulif had just left the castle.

How lucky. Deltinus answered the question by nodding his head roughly, keeping a grin inwards. The reckless behavior was similar to Yulif’s usual, so the servant remained silent for a while and went to find his job.

‘Where is Rena Harrodsell?’