I Just Wanted Revenge, But Everyone Loves Me - Chapter 75

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 75
Every eye in the Banquet Hall snapped toward a single point. The Emperor, who had been observing this absurd spectacle from above, finally spoke.
In truth, there was one person who had not welcomed his arrival—the Emperor himself.
Both officially and privately.
Outwardly, he was the murderer of his own son. Privately, he was the target he’d nearly framed before that scheme collapsed.
Of course, the nobility—ignorant of those personal details—could hardly help but wonder if a war might actually erupt here and now.
“I sent no invitation. How did you come to be here?”
“You did send one, Your Majesty.”
“What—”
“A Wanted Poster.”
Rodrigo let out a soft laugh.
“I took it to be an invitation, I’m afraid.”
……
“After all, if I’m caught, I’ll have to come to the Imperial Palace anyway. So I thought I’d simply come of my own accord beforehand.”
He tilted his head, as if to say there was nothing wrong with that logic.
“Isn’t this actually the better arrangement?”
“Duke.”
That arrogant bastard.
The Emperor’s brow twisted as he took in the sight of him.
Whatever his reasoning for coming here, did he not understand that to appear uninvited like this, with no evidence in hand, would only work against him?
“Do not try my patience further.”
“My patience?”
“Have you forgotten what crime landed your name on the Wanted list?”
The grief of a father who had lost his son was etched plainly across his face as the eyes of the assembled nobility fixed upon him.
He appeared so fragile that the slightest touch might shatter him. Facing the murderer of his own child, his demeanor awakened not just sympathy but outright pity.
Even Decaron, watching from the side, now seemed the very picture of a parent tragically bereft of their son.
But one must play the part convincingly.
“Damn it.”
Rodrigo, observing the Emperor’s performance, spat out a single curse.
“Profanity! He must be mad!”
“How shameless—to murder the Crown Prince and show such brazen impudence!”
“Not content to destroy the Imperial Palace, he mocks the dead and disgraces Your Majesty! He must be seized at once!”
At a single curse word, the Emperor’s faction and the nobles bared their teeth like fighting dogs, their voices sharp with outrage.
Of course, it had no effect whatsoever.
“Duke, I truly believed in you. Were you not on good terms with the Crown Prince? Then why would you do such a thing…?”
Backed by his faction’s support, the Emperor intoned his words in a sorrowful voice. There was such profound grief in his tone that tears seemed ready to spill at any moment.
Of course, it had no effect whatsoever.
“Such a thing, you say.”
He, turning over the Emperor’s words, narrowed his gaze.
“Then I must ask—do you have any evidence that I murdered the Crown Prince?”
“The audacity!”
An Emperor-aligned nobleman pointed an accusing finger at Bangcadium. The others did likewise.
To add insult to injury when he should be begging forgiveness—it was unseemly beyond measure.
The nobility could not hide their shock at such an affront to common decency. Meanwhile, those closest to Bangcadium fell quietly silent. They believed in the Duke.
There had been some anxiety when they heard the explosion earlier, but now that the Duke had revealed himself in person, there was nothing left to fear.
A thousand years of Bangcadium.
The master of a fortress that had never crumbled.
‘Never.’
Rodrigo Bangcadium was not a man to act without certainty.
“The evidence is abundant, Duke. Blades bearing Bangcadium’s mark, not to mention witnesses aplenty. Everyone knows you were the last to spend time with the Crown Prince.”
“And therefore, I am the culprit?”
“I did not wish to believe it. How many years have Bangcadium and the Imperial Court coexisted? We were bound by the Founding Oath itself, and yet it has come to this…?”
The Emperor’s shoulders sagged with the weight of helplessness.
“I sought evidence of your innocence, but the more I searched, the more I found only the circumstances of the Crown Prince’s death.”
“So Your Majesty wishes to believe I am not guilty, but the evidence forces you to name me as the culprit regardless—is that what you’re saying?”
……?
The Emperor’s brow twitched sharply as he sensed something amiss.
The words were not entirely wrong, yet somehow the emphasis had shifted. But before he could correct it, someone lightly vaulted over the rubble of the broken building.
The assembled gaze naturally dispersed toward this newcomer.
Click, click.
With the sound of high heels, the arrival cast off her robe.
Beneath the bright chandelier, golden hair and golden eyes that seemed almost blinding in their brilliance.
Beautiful features that bore a striking resemblance to Rodrigo.
A nobleman gazing upon her let out a hushed, awestruck breath.
Others too were startled by an appearance that seemed almost inhuman.
As murmurs of surprise and admiration rippled through the hall, the Emperor’s expression hardened with sudden recognition.
A report from Iztail flashed through his mind—a woman said to be accompanying the Duke of Bangcadium.
‘Surely not.’
Another member of Bangcadium?
When he’d received the report, he’d only heard that a woman named Veronika existed. He’d assumed she was merely a servant or an advisor—one of the two.
Bangcadium was a faction shrouded in absolute secrecy.
No one was known save the current Duke.
Yet this appearance could mean only one thing……
“My lady!”
A Bangcadium retainer who recognized her cried out. Everyone here from the Duke’s house were his closest associates.
They all knew of Veronika’s existence.
“…A member of Bangcadium, you say?”
“Was there not only one Duke in Bangcadium?”
The nobles, upon grasping her identity, were seized with sudden unease.
Golden hair and golden eyes were the mark of the Direct Bloodline.
It was the first time a blood heir of Bangcadium had ever revealed themselves to the world, save for the current Duke.
“You said you wished to find evidence of my innocence.”
……
“In honor of Your Majesty’s birthday, I took the liberty of preparing something. It seemed improper to arrive empty-handed.”
Rodrigo flicked his eyes toward the blood relative at his side. Veronika drew a small sphere from within her robe.
It was……
‘An Orb of Images?’
Astonishment flashed across the faces of the assembled nobles.
Rodrigo, meeting the Emperor’s gaze, allowed himself a smile.
“I trust the gift pleases you.”
It ought to.
* * *
‘There was a crashing sound!’
And a deafening one at that!
I clutched Hyacinth tightly.
The sound came from the direction of the Main Palace Banquet Hall—precisely where I’d feared.
‘How badly are they hurt?’
The Duke… is she all right?
A thousand worries flooded through me.
Others said there was no need to worry about Bangcadium, but……
‘How could I not worry?’
They were precious to me.
Whether it was my sister holding me close or the Duke who had accepted me—they were both precious.
I didn’t want them to be hurt.
“Huh?”
Just then, as I was heading toward the Main Palace, I spotted a man not far away.
“What—”
Hyacinth too looked down and her eyes widened. She quickly changed direction and descended.
“You should surrender now. If you do, I’ll spare your li—” He choked.
“Eek!”
Hyacinth came down to earth, having easily trampled the man with her long legs.
I shuddered at the sight of him pinned to the ground. My gaze fell on the sword in my hand.
At that moment, Sis across from us contorted his face in fury.
“Why did you trample the boy! I went to all that trouble luring him here! You’ve ruined everything!”
“Hah, hah!”
Hyacinth let out an exasperated breath.
“Even when I save you, you find something to complain about!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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