Chapter 285

Where Lloyd is flabbergasted and the Duke of Toulouse bares his fangs...

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Episode 285. About 5 months (8)

The Count, now relieved to be off the heavy topic, immediately asked what he had been curious about all along.

The Second Prince wasn't the type to give straightforward answers, but Lloyd didn't care. Since the Prince was acting a bit differently today, he lifted his teacup and asked for more details.

"As I was saying, the marriage ban issued following the announcement of the Consort Selection has affected my Tara. The second son of House Stuart has also been waiting this whole time. Hahaha! Since Your Highness's status has risen, I hear there is a long line of young ladies waiting for the date of the selection to be announced."

“......”

Lloyd's laughter filled the drawing room.

"Your Highness, please tell me so that we can proceed with Tara's engagement.... Did I say something wrong?... Your Highness, your expression is..."

“Does my expression look strange?” Kyle asked in a rather stiff voice.

For flow

“No. You seem a little upset, Your Highness.”

“I see.”

‘What? Suddenly? Why? What's wrong?'

Lloyd was taken aback, wondering what he had done to offend the Second Prince.

But he couldn't think of anything that would have made him angry. Then it occurred to him that the subject matter itself could be the issue.

‘Discussing the Consort Selection? Is that what has offended him? He's such a brat. Why is he getting angry over this?'

Lloyd continued to apologize, thinking to himself that the Second Prince was tricky to deal with.

"Are you angry the Consort Selection hasn't been arranged yet...?!"

"That's not why, Count. I've been here a while now. I must leave for the Palace."

Rising from his seat, the Second Prince bowed lightly and turned away.

‘If not that, then what? This man, who rarely smiles, came to talk to me in an intimate fashion and then suddenly turned solemn and decided to leave? Isn't that a little strange??'

Lloyd, who had been following the Second Prince to see him off, stopped dead in his tracks.

Fragments of their conversation flashed back in his mind.

[It’s rare to find someone as talented as Second Aide Tara.]

The faint smile on his face when he said it.

[Your Highness, please tell me so that we can proceed with Tara's engagement.]

When he talked about Tara's marriage, the Prince immediately became angry.

Suddenly, Andrei's strange comment resonated in the Count's ears.

[Second Prince Kyle Amure…. in my disciple. I’m saying that he sees your daughter as a woman, Count.]

As the footsteps following him suddenly stopped, the Second Prince, who had been walking toward the entrance, halted and turned around.

“Count...?”

“Andrei said....”

“What?”

“He said something strange.”

“....”

The Second Prince's face was only half visible in the light from the entrance, making it difficult to see his expression, but Lloyd definitely saw his jaw tense.

“My daughter. Do you have Tara in mind?”

“....”

"When Andrei told me, I got angry and asked what kind of nonsense he was spouting... Your Highness?"

Neiiiigh!

The butler rushed over and reported that the horse was ready.

The Second Prince's horse, which had been waiting for its master at the mansion's entrance, reared and trotted in place as if to urge Kyle to hurry up.

"... It seems I won't be leaving immediately. Tell my escort to wait a bit longer."

“What? Ah. Yes, Your Highness.”

The Count’s eyes widened as Kyle, who had been angry moments before, approached him briskly and politely paid his respects.

“Please spare me a moment of your time, Count.”

The Count gaped and stammered, words failing him.

“That… That. Just now. Do you mean...?”

"Butler, call for the physician and bring him cold water. I'm afraid he'll collapse under the shock."

Stunned, the butler quickly ordered a maid to bring water and left hurriedly to get the doctor while the Second Prince waited patiently for the Count to return to the drawing room.

"Whoa... This is… madness."

After a while, Neils, who had been holding his breath, vowed a thousand times over that he would never forget what he was witnessing.

The Second Prince closely followed the Count as he staggered slowly into the drawing room and closed the door behind them.

Even more remarkable, when the Count faltered halfway through, the Second Prince put his hand on his back and grabbed his arm to support him.

Neils, being the intelligent man that he was, had been vaguely aware of what was happening—the Second Prince's behaviour simply confirmed his thoughts.

"Oh my! I knew the lady was good-hearted, but who would have thought she would capture the Second Prince’s affections... Oh, my."

***

Duke of Toulouse. Noon.

After riding through the night, the Commander of the Toulouse Knights paid his respects to the Duke and made his report.

"By the time I arrived, all the villages had been suppressed."

The Duke paced back and forth in his office. He had never been so angry in his life.

“What kind of a madman creates such a filthy village and then claims it’s a nursery and shelter for his wounded and sick servants? It will surely be revealed that the Toulouse Duchy has sent them funds. Ha... I'll be sure to rip his throat out so thoroughly that he'll never be able to use such tricks again!”

However, even as he said this, the Duke knew that he would never be able to rip Hans’s throat out. Not right away, at least.

But in the near future when all of their great undertakings had been accomplished and Hans had become complacent, thinking,'It's finally done,' then he would snap his neck without a moment's hesitation.

“....”

As the Duke shouted in anger, the Knight Commander quietly waited for his next orders.

In the eyes of the Knight Commander, both Hans Button and the Duke were plotting against each other.

“What of the people in the villages? Have they been sent to the Capital?”

"No. We can't find any traces of them. The operation had already been underway long before our knights arrived, so the villages were empty. If we figure out their paths and deploy a large number of knights, we should be able to find them."

"...Yes. The Second Prince is quick to act. Soon, he will bring them all to the Capital and use them to arrest my family and the Third Prince."

“Should we continue to pursue them, Your Grace?”

The Commander's question made the Duke ponder.

The townspeople had been used and abused by Hans, but Toulouse had also taken advantage of these people by sending them funds.If they came to the Capital to testify against them, the Duchy would have to pay for their crimes.

However, Hans had run away and asked him to carry out the next operation in the plan.

Since the groundwork had already been laid, it shouldn’t be too difficult to carry out the operation, but it was difficult to execute this part of the plan so suddenly since they had intended to wait a few more months.

‘When our plans come to fruition, their confessions will be meaningless. There’s no use worrying about what we've lost, so I should focus more on future operations.'

"Forget it. We'll find out when they’re brought back to the Capital, anyway. We shouldn't spend manpower on that but on the next operation. Depending on its success or failure, soon enough the..."

The Duke swallowed the last words deliberately.

"The rise or fall of the family will be decided."

"Where are our knights right now?"

"On standby at the Capital's training grounds. When the order is given, we will move to the border of the Principality. We will also issue summons to the knights scattered throughout the Empire and have them all gather there."

The Duke's eyes immediately turned fierce.

“That won’t be enough. It's not enough....”

“Not enough?”

The Duke, who had been serious the whole time, smiled wryly as if he had found the answer.

"The Second Prince is no ordinary man. So we need to strike before he moves the army. Of course, it would be advantageous to have a larger number of people."

“....!”

“Recruit mercenaries now! Have them converge where the knights are gathered.”

“And if things go wrong....”

The Knight Commander gulped but couldn't bring himself to answer.

It was one thing to move the knights, but quite another to recruit mercenaries. Recruiting mercenaries could easily be construed as premeditation.

If things went wrong, the excuse that they were there for training and got caught up in the action would be eliminated.

In other words, if the operation failed and they were caught, the Knight Order of Toulouse would be finished.

“That's why we must put everything on the line. Gather enough mercenaries to make sure it doesn't fail, and don't worry about funding.”

“.....”

When the Knight Commander didn't respond, the Duke's eyes turned extremely dark.

"Why? Did you mean to enjoy everything Toulouse has to offer as a Knight Commander without getting your hands dirty?"

The Knight Commander inhaled sharply at the Duke's insult to his chivalry.

"I have never once thought such a thing since I swore allegiance to Your Grace. I was simply slow to respond because it was an unexpected order."

“I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. As soon as the mercenaries are assembled, we will start the operation!”

“We will move tomorrow, Your Grace!”

The Duke, who was about to turn away, jerked his head back at the Knight Commander's words.

“Why tomorrow?”

"An Imperial Edict was delivered before I came to the mansion."

“To the knights?”

“Yes. A messenger from the Imperial Palace came directly to the Toulouse Knights’ training grounds. Here is the edict from His Majesty.”

He pulled out the gleaming golden edict from his bosom and handed it respectfully to the Duke with both hands, who snatched it up and read it quickly.

"The knight commanders of each family stationed in the Capital must attend without fail?"

The Duke's brow furrowed.

"Yes. If you are unable to attend, you must submit a written explanation."

"They’re suddenly announcing that they're holding a banquet for mid-level officers of the Special Weapons Forces today. And they even sent this letter to the Knights...?"

"Do you think it's related to yesterday's crackdown?"

“Yes. The Second Prince is a master of such maneuvers.”

"It would have been better to have stopped the knights from moving yesterday, so why do this today? …. Could it be that he is trying to stop the villagers from being pursued any longer?"

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