Chapter 312 - TRAITOR

"IT WON'T work," Gavin said after having a lengthy discussion with Lukas regarding the fake prophecies that he wanted Lord Helstor to make. "Using a prophecy to make His Majesty do what I want might not work."

"Why wouldn't it work on the emperor?" Lukas asked curiously. "I understand that we have to be careful around Lady Roseheart since she's close to Nature. Therefore, she might easily spot a fake prophecy. But I don't believe that His Majesty has the same ability."

"Don't underestimate His Majesty's sixth sense," he scolded the elf. "His Majesty usurped the throne from the previous emperor when he hasn't even had his coming-of-age ceremony back then. Ever since then, he has been surrounded by people who wanted to bring him down thinking that a "child" like him didn't deserve to be the emperor. How do you think he survived all these years? His Majesty trusted his instincts, of course."

"Do you think His Majesty's sixth sense could detect the fake prophecy?"

"It's not that he could detect it," he said, then he sighed while shaking his head. "But I just remembered that His Majesty doesn't believe in gods."

"Unbelievable. Isn't he the descendant of Lord Yule, the Moon God?"

"When I said His Majesty doesn't believe in gods, I mean that he doesn't believe that the gods are better than him," he explained. He should have said that His Majesty didn't have faith in gods to be more precise. "He is that arrogant."

"I'm shocked that a mere human could be that arrogant."

He just laughed at the elf's reaction. "Because of that arrogance, I don't think His Majesty will believe any kind of prophecy. He only believes in Lady Roseheart's words."

"Then, how do you plan to scam the emperor?"

He flinched at the word 'scam' but in the end, he decided to ignore the iffy feeling he had. "His Majesty trusts me as much as he trusts Lady Rosehearet. I plan to exploit that."

"Are you certain that His Majesty trusts you that much?"

"Yes, and I can make him trust my words over Lady Roseheart's when it comes to the royal baby," he said indifferently. "His Majesty isn't that keen to keep his child with Lady Roseheart. After all, a royal princess can't be an heir to the throne anyway."

"Ah, that is correct," Lukas said while nodding his head. "The Rosehearts could only give birth to female children." The elf smirked as if he found something amusing. "Humans are really something, huh? The emperor is known for his great love for Lady Roseheart. But apparently, he doesn't care about the child that he conceived with his beloved."

"I feel bad for the royal baby but I could use the fact that His Majesty doesn't care about her to my advantage," he said. It was true that he pitied the royal baby. But he had already decided to be selfish this once. He had no intention of backing out now. "Our problem is Lady Roseheart. It would be hard to deceive her with a fake prophecy."

"But it's plausible," the elf said confidently. "The Cosmic Tree is in a deep slumber right now. Most of Lady Roseheart's visions were delivered to her by the Cosmic Tree."

"Wouldn't that actually put us at a disadvantage?"

"It's the opposite, Commander," the Messenger said with a smirk. "Now that the Cosmic Tree is out of the picture, no one could tell Lady Roseheart whether the prophecy that she received is authentic or not. Moreover, the prophecy that we will create will be sent by her."

""Her?""

"The nameless princess that Lady Roseheart met as a black tree."

"The one from the Forest of Impurity?"

"Yes, Commander," the elf confirmed. "She will lend us a hand."

"That's suspicious," he said with a frown. "The nameless princess is a de Moonasterio. Why would she help us?"

"Because she's a de Moonasterio," Lukas said bluntly. "Commander, you know how royal princesses are treated by the Royal Family."

He felt a painful squeeze in his heart when he remembered the former Princess Nichole's pitiful state after they had rescued her. "Yes, you are correct. I shouldn't have forgotten the fact that the royal princesses in our empire are barely treated as humans."

"She wholeheartedly wanted to save the royal baby," the elf said. "And she knows that Lady Roseheart has to be separated from the emperor first for her to succeed. Fortunately for you, the nameless princess doesn't trust male de Moonasterios."

Gavin smiled when he realized something. "It seems like the odds are in my favor."

Lukas let out a hearty laugh. "Yes, you lucky bastard."

***

"BROTHER…"

Gavin raised his head to meet Rufus's gaze.

Right now, he and his baby brother were having dinner in the Royal Palace. To be precise, they were in the White Lion House. It was the residence exclusive to the White Lion Knights only. Rufus was allowed to enter the residence because he was his guest.

As the Commander of the Paladins and the White Lion Knights, he had that much authority.

"What is it, Rufus?" Gavin asked indifferently. "Did Father send you here?"

Rufus flinched at his indifferent tone. "Father is worried about the rumors regarding you and Lady Roseheart," he said hesitantly. "Father demands that you come home and get married immediately, Brother."

He already expected that.

In fact, it was the very reason why he hadn't returned to the Quinzel Estate yet. He knew that his father would only force him to get married to kill the rumors of him being in love with Lady Roseheart.

[It has been two months since Lady Sera Wisteria unintentionally spread the rumor.]

All according to his plan, of course.

"I can't go home yet until I've completed my task," Gavin said, then he sipped his red wine. "Rufus, you don't believe that rumor, do you?"

"Of course, I don't," his brother said firmly. "But most people think otherwise, Brother. After all, you often go to the Royal Capital with Lady Roseheart."

It was true.

And this time, he didn't plan it.

He just had to naturally accompany Lady Roseheart every time she needed to buy Spirit Stones and other things in the Royal Capital. His Majesty trusted him enough to not care about the rumor. Both the emperor and Lady Roseheart believed that the rumor was spread by Lady Sera Wisteria out of jealousy.

Even though Lady Sera Wisteria had insisted that she didn't misunderstand his words, His Majesty and Lady Roseheart still believed him over the poor young lady.

"Rufus, I'm Lady Roseheart's personal knight," he reminded his brother. "It's my job to accompany her wherever she goes."

"But that only fuels that rumor even more…"

"His Majesty doesn't care about the rumor because we all know that it isn't true," he said, then he placed the wine glass on the table. "Rufus, go home and tell Father to not worry about me. I'm not doing anything that will tarnish our family name anyway."

His younger brother looked like he had something more to say. But in the end, he just let out a sigh and nodded. "Brother, why do I feel like you're cold these days?"

Ah.

He suddenly felt guilty.

It was true. He had been cold recently. But he had to toughen up or else, he was afraid that his resolve might waver.

"I'm just busy these days, Rufus," he said in a warmer tone this time. "I'm sorry."

His younger brother just nodded but it looked like he was still sulking.

It was cute though.

[Rufus is already married and he's going to be a father soon. And yet, he still acts like a baby around me.]

That made him smile.

He stood up and moved his chair next to his brother's. Then, he wrapped his arms around Rufus's shoulders while gently patting his head.

"There, there," he comforted his baby brother. "I'm sorry for making you feel lonely, Rufus."

"B-Brother, you're embarrassing me," Rufus complained but he didn't push him off anyway. "Why are you acting this way?"

He just laughed but he continued hugging his baby brother. Maybe it was him who was lonely and not Rufus. After all, he couldn't rely on anyone except Lukas right now. [I'm sorry, Rufus. This older brother of you has become a bad guy.]

"Rufus?"

"Yes, Brother?"

"Do you want to become the next duke?"

"Huh?"

"I know that you're doing well as the captain of the Black Hawk Knights," he told his younger brother. "But now that you're going to be a father soon, wouldn't you want your child to be born as the daughter of the duke?"

Rufus shared the news with him the other day that he was going to have a niece soon.

"Since we're a part of the extended Royal Family, your child is going to be a princess if you inherit our father's title."

"I don't want to be a duke, Brother. That title is yours," Rufus said firmly. "Brother, why do you talk like you'd abandon our family soon?"

Gavin could only smile sadly as he patted his brother's head.

***

"I HEARD Rufus was at the White Lion House earlier."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Gavin, who was sitting on the couch across from the emperor, said politely. "Rufus paid me a visit to deliver our father's message."

His Majesty laughed softly. "Is Uncle asking you to come home?"

The emperor would only refer to Duke Desmond Quinzel, his father, as 'uncle' when speaking to him privately. Since only the two of them were in His Majesty's office, he addressed the duke casually.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Father asked me to come home," he said while chuckling. "That's why please allow me to stay in the White Lion House a little bit longer. I'm afraid that my Father would marry off as soon as I returned to the Quinzel Estate."

The emperor smirked and sipped his red wine first. "You're the commander of the White Lion Knights, Gavin," he reminded him. "You're practically the head of White Lion House. You may stay as long as you want."

"Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty," he said with a smile. Then, he noticed that His Majesty looked like he was in a bad mood. He knew exactly why. "How is Lady Roseheart's condition?"

Lady Mona Roseheart fainted again this afternoon.

The lady was now six months pregnant and it looked like her health was deteriorating each passing moment. Thus, the emperor looked like his world would collapse anytime soon.

"It's not getting better," His Majesty said, his eyes were now glowing red. Since the room was dark, the glow of his eyes was brighter than usual. And the emperor also had a murderous look on his face at the moment. "Madam Hammock said that the more the royal baby in Mona's womb grows, the more it would eat at her Mana and life force."

"Hang in there, Your Majesty," he said carefully. "There are only three months left before Lady Roseheart gives birth."

"There are still three months left," the emperor corrected him sternly. "If something bad happens to Mona, I will never forgive that child."

Ah, this was the opportunity he was waiting for.

"But it seems like Lady Roseheart has prepared herself for the worst…"

His Majesty looked at him as if he just said something absurd. "Gavin, is Mona hiding something from me?"

He avoided the emperor's gaze on purpose to look guilty.

"Gavin Quinzel," His Majesty called his full name sternly. "Spill it out."

He turned to the emperor with hesitation in his eyes. Of course, that was all an act. "I promised Lady Roseheart that I will keep it a secret–"

"I'm the one you serve and not her, Gavin Quinzel," His Majesty said, his bloodlust now leaking and suffocating him. "If you don't speak, I will kill you."

If any other person was in his position, they would have collapsed now from the pressure coming from the emperor.

But fortunately, he was strong enough not to be affected by His Majesty's bloodlust.

"I'm not opening my mouth because I'm afraid of you, Your Majesty," he began carefully. "I'm doing this because I don't want Lady Roseheart to die."

The emperor's bloodlust in the air suddenly disappeared.

Then, his eyes returned to normal. Moreover, the murderous look on His Majesty's face earlier was now replaced by fear.

"Mona will die?" His Majesty asked worriedly. "Did she have a vision about her own death?"

"It's a combination of a vision and a warning, Your Majesty," he began his lie carefully. "Lady Roseheart didn't tell me the details. But apparently, she saw a vision where she has to choose between her life and the baby royal's. According to her, even the black tree warned her that carrying the child in her womb would put her life at risk."

The emperor looked devastated by his "revelation." "Mona didn't mention that to me…"

"Of course, Lady Roseheart wouldn't," he said sympathetically. "Your Majesty, this is merely based on my observation. But I believe that Lady Roseheart is preparing to sacrifice herself for the royal baby. It seems like she would choose the child over her own life."

His Majesty closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It's just my opinion, Your Majesty," he hurriedly added in an attempt to comfort the emperor. "I could be wrong."

"No, you're right," the emperor said, then he opened his eyes that had turned glowing red once again. "Mona would definitely choose the royal baby over her own life. That's definitely the reason why she's keeping it a secret from me."

He acted concerned. "Will you allow Lady Roseheart to sacrifice herself for the royal baby, Your Majesty?"

"Of course not," Emperor Nikolai said coldly. "I will get rid of the child if I have to if it means saving Mona."

Gavin had to stop himself from frowning. [You don't deserve to be a father, Your Majesty.]

***

A HORRIBLE vision.

Mona woke up in the middle of the night after having a bad dream. But her dreams were never ordinary dreams. They were visions.

She was glad that woke up alone in bed.

After all, she wouldn't know how to face Nikolai after seeing the terrible deed that he had done in her dream.

She badly wished that her vision this time was wrong.

"Nikolai, you're going to kill our baby?" Mona whispered to herself in disbelief. Then, she carefully hugged her now bulging stomach. "It's not true, is it?"

***

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