CH 96

“My head hurts.”

The magic powder issue was somewhat solved, but another problem remained. It was about the Rusti Family’s head. Although it was said that he was being manipulated, he couldn’t just be forgiven and move on.

The duke’s ideology, which has been maintained from generation to generation, was far from forgiveness or reconciliation. Besides, the Rusti family was also a family that was annoying all the time. Just in time, the situation hit the mark, and Luana went as an adopted daughter, but he wondered if there was a need to stick to it. Now that he was about to become emperor, many families would claim to be Luana’s patrons. Therefore, there was no need to carry those who were dissatisfied.

Above all, since they had decided to join hands with the witches, their abilities should not be exposed negatively. So there was only one way left. The Rusti Family news will cover everything.

‘There is no need for consideration.’

The conclusion was reached shortly after that.

“Now, let’s move on.”

As soon as those words fell, the power of the duke, who had been crouching all along, began to move. Legion was always loyal to the emperor, but that did not mean that he remained calm. He became the duke, knowing his duty well.

And the results are now showing up here.

The news about The duke canceling Marquis Rusti to enter the duke’s house was spread. Surprised by this fact, the Rusti family asked the duke, but no answer came. And a few days later, rumors began to circulate. Rumor had it that the Marquis Rusti had failed in trying to harm the soon-to-be emperor.

“No way!”

Bewildered, the vassals of the marquis shouted, but the rumors had already spread widely. Moreover, as the duke began to move, they quickly became cornered rats. Rats in the corner bite cats, but they couldn’t even do that. It was because the opponent was not just a cat. The duke was a beast. No matter how hard the mouse tried, the beast could not lose.

When the situation became like that, some vassals began to rack their brains to survive and chose to betray the marquis family. It didn’t take long for the Marquis family to crumble once the few began to escape. He was about to assassinate the soon-to-be emperor, so there was no place for help.

Under these circumstances, Albert tried to leave the family at least, or at least save Safia. But the situation was not easy.

The exact person who sprayed the poison was still unknown, but Albert assumed it was Safia. She was the person who did the work, not the person who helped; she could not have been saved. He sighed deeply and sat down slowly in his chair. They weren’t married out of love but had been living together ever since. He didn’t want to let her go in vain like this. But how? Was there any way to save her? He lowered his head and covered his face with his hands.

‘I’m tired.’

Suddenly he felt heavy fatigue. And when he came to his senses, a person was standing right before him. She had dark blue hair, and she looked like she was in her late twenties. Standing with her arms crossed, she smiled and looked at Albert.

“Who are you?”

He didn’t even have the strength to draw his sword. So when he asked her helplessly, she said.

“Don’t you want to save your wife?”

“Can she be saved?”

Albert asked with a low sigh.

“It is possible. Instead, we should have a simple contract.”

Then she held out a thick piece of parchment. It was a rare thing in the world today.

“In exchange for loyalty to the Duke.”

“The new emperor, to be exact.”

“I’ve never given my allegiance.”

“No, we don’t want loyalty that changes when people change. It is a form of loyalty to die when he dies. That’s what he wants. Here, write your name with blood will solve everything. Your wife will come back safely.”

Sarah said that with a smile. At the seductive voice, Albert stared at the parchment. And he bled on his finger and wrote his name. He already had nowhere to go anyway.

“Alright, the contract is complete.”

“You’ll keep your promise, right?”

“Of course. Your wife will be back soon.”

As soon as she finished talking, Sarah disappeared again. The whole thing went by in a flash.

“Is this a dream?”

No, it wasn’t a dream. There are blood stains on his fingers. Then the answer was one.

‘It seems that the duke has acquired new powers.’

Albert smiled and leaned his head back. Now, how will this empire change? I’ll watch it by his side even if I don’t like it.

***

A woman was passing through the long hallway, pushing a tray. With her grayish-beige hair, she stopped her steps until she stood in front of the duke’s office.

Knock knock.

When she knocked, a voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

She didn’t even say her name every time, but he knew it was her. Luana pulled up the corners of her mouth, smiled, and went inside. Inside, Legion was working, and a butler was standing beside him, reporting to the duke.

“I brought snacks!”

“I think it’s only been a while since I had lunch?”

“So you don’t like it?”

“No, I like it. So, what’s the menu this time?”

“Cheese tart and egg tart! Does Kane also want some?”

“I’m fine. I’m full. You two can have it.”

“I brought a lot.”

At the same time, Luana opened the lid that had been tightly closed. Then he saw a large number of tarts on the plate. When she saw him, Legion’s eyes seemed to shine. He immediately asked Luana.

“What about the tea?”

“The dessert is sweet, so I prepared something slightly bitter.”

“Great.”

Legion naturally approached Luana and poured tea. And after putting the tart on the table, he sat on the sofa and stared at Luana. The gaze lasted until Luana sat right next to him.

‘There is also a seat on the other side.’

But for Luana, this was better. After confirming that Luana was sitting next to him, Legion immediately picked up a tart. The bite-sized tart shone brightly, wrapped in a thin crust.

Crisp-

The crispy pie was crushed, and the flavor of the cheese in it spread in the mouth. While keeping the taste of cheese, he licked his lips with his tongue at the sweet end.

“It’s delicious.”

“Right? It’s my masterpiece!”

Why does she have so many masterpieces? He wondered, but Luana, who was elated, was cute, so Legion just laughed it off. Then he picked up another one and put it in Luana’s mouth. Then, without question, she immediately opens her mouth and takes a large bite.

He only gave her for fun, but the way she ate was pretty cute. So Legion moved his hand nonstop. He feeds her a cheese tart and an egg tart. When she felt thirsty, he brought a cup of tea to her mouth.

At first, the butler’s expression, who had stepped back into the corner and remained calm, began to get bizarre. He was one of the few people who knew the whole story now, especially about Legion losing his feelings due to the witch’s powder. That’s why he was very worried about his relationship with Luana, but he guessed he was worried for nothing. When he asked him earlier while reporting the situation, he said that his feelings hadn’t returned yet.

‘If all that didn’t come back, how was his feeling in the first place?’

He was astonished.

He can’t believe Legion, who the butler has seen so far, was able to do such a thing. They were just talking about weakening the Marquis and using Albert to cover the whole thing. It was thrilling but also surprising. Now it seemed that Legion was also looking for happiness.

“Legion, eat more!”

Luana, who was eating tarts with both cheeks full, gulped it down, and this time she began to feed Legion. Legion ate everything that gave him a good appetite. And he looked satisfied. He seemed to like the act of feeding each other.

The tart, which she thought she had baked a lot, quickly ran out. Luana smiled proudly at the empty plate. After that, the butler arranged the dishes. Luana looked at him and didn’t help him to arrange the dishes because she was learning that it was important to do everything on her own, but sometimes she had to leave it to others. It’s okay now, but she had to leave more to others after becoming an empress. Then she went back to the kitchen in the annex.

She felt the need to bake more tarts before class, and it’s because…

“Ah! I’m tired!”

It was because she knew Sarah would come.

“Why the hell is the duke trying to make me do this?”

“Aren’t the other witches busy too?”

“Busy!”

After some talk with the Duke, the first thing Sarah did was hold a witch conference. After the meeting, they considered returning to the human world, and most agreed. It was because Sarah’s words moved their heart to see more of the future.

‘And this time, a lot of little witches were born.’

She would have wanted to give the children a brighter future. It wasn’t something she couldn’t understand. After that, Sarah, the Great Witch, entered into negotiations with the Duke to be more certain.