159 Chapter 159. Preparation Is Completed, Part XVIII

Chapter 159. Preparation Is Completed, Part XVIII

Translator: Khan

Editor: Aelryinth

The Duke, a cousin of the current Emperor, was born to the family of Kiellini, and had been fighting for the first and second ranks of Austern's aristocracy for generations. No matter how bad he was, he could not curry favor with the Prince, his nephew.

And anyway, he was the Prince's uncle. He thought that the Prince wouldn't be able to do anything about him if he came out like that. The Duke managed to straighten his face, and entered the Oval Office, but the Prince relaxed and enjoyed the tea, as if he had no idea of his nervous thoughts.

"Your Highness, you said you'd give me a choice, right? I don't know what the offer is, but I'm not willing to accept it."

At the Duke's words, Killian looked at him without a word. "You don't even want to hear what my offer is?"

"No, Your Highness." The Duke added his words, staring at the Prince as if he was asking what the Prince could do though he knew it.

"The other day, when Count Adam came to visit, I said I would withdraw my support for you. But when I think about it again, I don't think it would be good for Prince Francis to succeed the Emperor. What do you think?"

Killian burst into laughter as the Duke smiled leisurely and looked at him. "The Duke, do you think I sincerely want the Duke's support, so I'm here to blackmail you with the princess's secret?"

Duke Kiellini's face grew stiff with Killian talking as if it was so funny.

"The Duke, why are you so stupid? You're trying to negotiate with me! Did I look so sloppy?"

Killian raised his hand and called the butler to point to the empty teacup. "It's getting boring. The Duke, in fact, you have one choice. Choose death, or choose another offer I propose."

After a long silence on Killian's words, the Duke finally opened his mouth, "Please tell me what you want."

"Julietta will be Princess Iris Kiellini. She will be the next Empress of Austern. When the Duke of Kiellini, who lost his heir by her becoming the Empress, attempts to make his distant relative Sir Raven his successor, your illegitimate child appears that you didn't even know existed. The bastard who was born by a woman who you briefly loved goes to Vicern and is proved to have a blood relationship with you, so she becomes the next successor."

"... Are you telling me to make Iris an illegitimate child?"

"If you don't like it, you can choose the second one."

The Duke asked in Killian's cold words. "Please tell me the second choice."

"Death. The Duke will die in a sudden accident today. What if you went out for a walk in the middle of the night and died? Anyway, the princess, shocked by the Duke's death, relies on me. Eventually, when the princess marries me, the family of the Duke has no successor, and it falls to the hands of Sir Raven."

"What about Iris?"

Killian laughed as the Duke cried out.

"Princess Iris Kiellini will marry me in Dublin. Is there another Iris? There can't be two Irises under the sky."

Watching Killian smiling brutally while ignoring his daughter's existence, the Duke realized that he had no choice. "... I'll take the first option."

Killian spoke softly to the Duke who had given in. "You have a good choice, the Duke. Actually, getting rid of you all today would be the cleanest thing, but I hate seeing useless blood. That's the difference between Francis and I. Ian, bring the wizard's watch."

Killian gave the Duke an Oathwatch. "The moment you tell anything about what happened today, you'll die right there. Adam, go get the Duke's bastard. I have to make her give her oath. If necessary, kill those who know the truth."

The cruel order fell from the mouth of Killian, who did not want to leave even a little uneasiness in Julietta's safety. The Duke of Kielini glared at the Prince who had called Iris a bastard, with hateful eyes.

'Yes, I have to get over this crisis for now. I'm sure I'll have a chance if I wait expectantly and look at the right time.'

Looking at the Duke grinding his teeth, Killian smiled stealthily. 'The Duke, be more angry and hateful so that I can kill you without remorse.'

Leaving behind the silent war of words between Killian and Duke Kiellini, Adam left the office to bring Princess Iris, who would henceforth be called a bastard. He began to search the mansion under the guidance of Sir Caden, along with Valerian, who had returned after locking up the knights of the Duke. The people of the mansion were woken up one by one in an unusual uproar.

"Wake the young lady up."

Regina was dragged out of bed at the hands of the mansion's attendants by Adam's order, and with little consideration. She was taken to the parlor where Killian and the Duke were, wearing only a gown over her pajamas and not hearing any explanations on the way.

"What's the matter, father?"

With a glance at the Duke's look of despair, and a black-haired man looking coolly at him, Regina realized that her secret had been revealed. 'You stupid little bitch! I can't believe you didn't do this right.'

Regina felt more anger at Julietta than the situation she was in now. Then suddenly, when she thought about something, she couldn't suppress her smile. Now that she was found out, the girl must be dead. Of course, her father was going to kill the fake after her work, but now she felt great joy that the girl was not breathing in this world.

In the meantime, Adam has begun comparing the list handed by Simone with the attendants kneeling on the hall. The lord ordered him to get rid of those involved in the affair in order to make the Duke feel more pressure, but it was not possible to kill all those innocent attendants who only followed the orders of their master.

Adam slowly walked back and forth in front of the attendants. "Take them out."

Only three people knew the secret of the Duke of Kiellini: a butler, a private servant of the Duke, and the princess's private maid. The rest were just going back and forth between the annex and the main house with Iris. But he couldn't let them go because they knew who the real princess was. Unfortunately, he couldn't leave their memories behind. If he sent them to Bertino, Coupe would erase their memories and they would return to Tilia and work as usual.

Adam's mood subsided, looking down at those who had to forcibly lose a part of their memory for no reason. The world was really unfair, and it was very unpleasant that there was nothing he could do. He just stared silently at the sight of Valerian and Sir Caden dragging out the attendants.

Sir Caden handed over them to the knights waiting outside the mansion and approached. "One of them, Dian, is the one who told me what was going on inside the mansion of the Duke."

"Is that the maid that Maribel said?"

"Yes, she is."

At the reply of Sir Caden, Adam shouted, "The maid named Dian, come forward."

Diane was being dragged out without knowing why, and looked back when her name was called. When Adam saw Dian, he ordered her to be brought in.

"Are you Dian?"

"Yes, sir."

"I heard from Sir Caden. Go up and get your stuff. I'll discuss your place with Sir Caden."

Adam asked Sir Caden, who was watching Dian hurrying up the stairs. "If you want to protect her, I can tell His Highness not to take away her memories. But you know that she has to swear allegiance, right?"

Sir Caden nodded at Adam's words. "It's a matter of course. Thank you for giving the maid that kind of consideration."

"You're welcome. You've been working hard, but this is nothing. But it's not something that we can trust unconditionally, so you have to understand that we will use magic. Mrs. Raban and troupe leader Maribel went through it, too."

At Adam's words, Sir Caden nodded. "The moment I found out what this was about, I wanted to kill my maternal grandmother. I was so embarrassed by what got me involved. But I've already put my foot in it. I understand that you'll feel uneasy even if I ask you to believe me. I'm just truly happy to be loyal to His Highness in this way."