I Got Engaged To The Blind Duke - Chapter 219
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke Episode 219
* * *
[Your Majesty, your eyesight must have greatly deteriorated. To send such nonsensical drivel in writing. As a subject, I am deeply concerned, so I shall pretend I never saw this letter.]
“Insolent!”
The letter was short, but utterly disrespectful.
He wanted to drag the Western Duke here immediately and make him prostrate himself flat, but it was frustrating that he couldn’t do so.
The Emperor crumpled up the letter violently and ground his teeth.
He was offering to proclaim his fiancée as a saint in the Emperor’s name. He was offering to make everyone in this Empire revere her.
How dare he refuse my proposal? Kick away that honor?
“Should I imprison the Western Ducal Residence again?”
As the Emperor muttered with an irritated expression, the Chief Attendant standing behind him advised in a low voice.
“Since the Western Duke is not making any moves, it would be best to observe the situation for now.”
“Why hasn’t the Crown Prince’s abdication proposal come up yet?”
The Chief Attendant’s face naturally darkened.
“Well… the Prime Minister says he is persuading the nobles.”
“What? I commanded it, so why is persuasion necessary!”
“My apologies.”
“Tell the Prime Minister to quickly submit the Crown Prince’s abdication proposal.”
“I shall convey that message.”
As the Chief Attendant bowed and answered respectfully, the Emperor added.
“Since the West is being so stubborn, there’s no choice. Bring Lady Adriana here.”
The surprised Chief Attendant’s eyes widened.
“Your Majesty, that will not be easy.”
“Drag her before me by any means necessary!”
“…Understood.”
The Chief Attendant answered weakly and withdrew.
* * *
On a quiet night when the moonlight hid away and even the sounds of insects had subsided.
Alexpert looked up at the night sky, black as an abyss, and swallowed his contemplation.
No matter how powerless a Crown Prince he might be, wouldn’t he have at least one person in the Imperial Palace?
Information that the Emperor wanted Lady Adriana had quickly reached his ears.
Until now, he had endured even when ignored. Because he was his father. Because he was the Emperor of the Empire.
But now he was trying to touch even Dia, whom he had resolved to protect with everything he had.
“Haah…”
A complicated sigh escaped from his lips.
The Emperor had lost his judgment, the nobles were divided, and the Empire was in danger.
He was the Crown Prince. He could no longer just cower and do nothing.
If he continued to do nothing and just watch the situation unfold, he would be no different from the Emperor.
Alexpert slowly closed and opened his eyes to bid farewell to his past self who had only hesitated.
His golden eyes, which had always rippled warmly, now shone with strength.
“Summon Director James Miller.”
“Yes.”
The attendant bowed deeply in response to the Crown Prince’s unfamiliar demeanor and withdrew.
Shortly after, James, the Director of the Imperial Guard, entered.
“You summoned me?”
“Director.”
“Yes.”
James responded with a tense expression at being addressed by his title.
In private settings, the Crown Prince had always called him Master.
But calling him Director meant this was an official occasion.
“His Majesty the Emperor’s reason has been clouded by illness.”
A shadow fell across James’s face.
He too had sensed the Emperor’s abnormality, but having it confirmed by the Crown Prince weighed heavily on his heart.
“I will be leaving my quarters for a while.”
James’s face hardened at the words indicating he would disobey the Emperor’s orders and escape confinement.
“Do you understand why I’m deliberately telling you this, Director?”
“…Yes.”
It meant he had to decide whether to follow the current Emperor or follow him as the Crown Prince.
He had no doubt that if His Highness the Crown Prince inherited the throne, he would become an excellent ruler.
However, he had not yet legitimately inherited the throne.
The Crown Prince rose from his seat and slowly moved forward.
As if saying, if you’re going to stop me, stop me now.
James stood there blankly for a moment, then soon blocked the Crown Prince’s path.
“Is this the Director’s will?”
Under the Crown Prince’s cold gaze, James shook his head slightly with a sad expression.
“I will handle the knights. Please wait just a moment.”
“Understood.”
James swallowed a bitter smile and hurriedly left.
* * *
The moonlight was still hidden behind black clouds, making it a pitch-dark night.
Alexpert secretly entered the Western Ducal Residence using the route he had snuck through before.
Previously, he had come this way to meet the Western Duke and overheard a conversation between Marine and Dia.
As the past came to mind, his tense expression softened slightly before hardening again.
Today, he had also come to meet the Western Duke, but his mindset was worlds apart from that time.
The moment he carefully stepped into the garden, he sensed a presence.
When he quietly looked straight ahead, a blurry silhouette was already standing before him.
“I greet the Crown Prince.”
The Western Duke’s voice reached him as if he had been waiting for him.
His form seemed to have melted into the dark night, but only his gray eyes were vivid.
Did the Western Duke guess what intentions had brought him here?
Alexpert took a deep breath. The humid summer air entered deep into his lungs and then escaped.
And he carefully chose the words he would speak next, selecting them before releasing them with his warm breath.
“Western Duke. I want to protect Dia.”
“….”
“But I am foolish and can only think of one way to protect her….”
Alexpert boldly extended his hand toward the Western Duke.
Just then, the moonlight that had been hiding behind black clouds revealed itself, illuminating the Crown Prince’s white hand.
The Western Duke slightly lowered his head and looked down at his hand.
“…I extend this hand to you.”
The Western Duke silently raised his gaze and met his eyes directly.
Alexpert spoke again without withdrawing his extended hand.
“I intend to become Emperor. Will you help me?”
“Is that decision solely His Highness the Crown Prince’s choice?”
It was a question asking whether it wasn’t a choice being pushed by the nobles.
A cool breeze blew behind his back, which had been soaked with tension. Alexpert smiled, his eyes crinkling.
“It is solely my choice.”
Only then did the Western Duke raise his hand and firmly grasp his.
“I have been waiting for that answer.”
Alexpert smiled faintly. His heart, which had been tightly constricted with tension, relaxed with relief.
The Western Duke did not rush him like the other nobles. Instead, he waited until the end for him to make his own choice.
Alexpert pressed down the hot emotion rising from deep in his chest and spoke honestly.
“Thank you.”
He could realize once again that the Western Duke’s crouching in the Duke’s estate all this time had been solely for his sake.
“I will hear that gratitude later.”
The moonlight hid behind black clouds again, and their hands, firmly clasped together, were also concealed in deep darkness.
* * *
The noble houses of the capital secretly mobilized their private soldiers.
They had no time.
If the impatient Emperor should forcibly decide on the Crown Prince’s abdication, their plan to enthrone the Crown Prince as the new Emperor would be disrupted.
They had to drive out the Emperor while the Crown Prince still preserved his position.
Fervent tension circulated on the faces of the nobles who had even stifled their breathing.
Soon, the Empire’s history would change because of them.
Edena sternly instructed the Eastern Knight Order Captain with a strict expression.
“Depart at dawn.”
“Yes.”
Smith slightly furrowed his brows apologetically as he looked back at the Southern Knight Order Captain.
“To meet after so long and ask you to do such a thing.”
“We only follow our Lord.”
The Southern Knight Order Captain bowed his head and answered.
“Thank you.”
“My guilt is great for failing to protect our Lord all this time. I will stake my life to make this mission successful.”
The Southern Knight Order Captain swore with a resolute expression.
* * *
The Emperor’s Office.
The Emperor cast his gaze outside the window with irritated eyes.
It wasn’t just one or two days of sleepless nights, but today he especially couldn’t fall asleep. Even the path to his bedroom felt distant, so he sank deeply into his chair.
Looking at the black night sky, his chest felt stuffy as if he had fallen into the depths of the ocean.
When will the sun rise?
Strangely, he longed for the sun today. It felt like he could only breathe once the sun rose.
As the Emperor raised his hand to rub his chest that felt completely blocked, the Chief Attendant entered with a knock.
“Your Majesty.”
“What happened with Lady Adriana?”
The Emperor asked while still keeping his gaze outside the window.
“We have not been able to bring her yet.”
From the beginning, persuading Lady Adriana with a letter was an impossible task.
“Tsk. How can work be delayed like this. Where is the Director? Tell the Director to drag her here if necessary!”
Sparks flew from the Emperor’s eyes. It felt like he needed to grasp at least one weakness of the Western Region in his hands to survive.
The Chief Attendant looked at the Emperor, who was obsessed with the Western Region, with pitying eyes and lowered his gaze.
“Yes, I understand.”
Forcibly bringing Lady Adriana while avoiding the Western Duke’s eyes?
That also didn’t make sense, but when the Emperor came on this strongly, he had to at least pretend to agree.
“I will go look for Director Miller-”
Just as the Chief Attendant was about to report to the Emperor that he would go look for the Director, the office door suddenly opened.
The Chief Attendant turned his head, opened his eyes wide, and looked at the person who entered the office.
“…His Highness the Crown Prince?”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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