I Thought It Was the Monster Duke's Fake Sedative - Chapter 116

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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 116
Edward answered with a slight laugh, as though she’d asked something obvious.
“I couldn’t even see your face.”
“You’re more arrogant than the Duke. That’s not easy to pull off.”
“Hmm.”
“And you’re not even better than him.”
“Fair enough.”
For the past few days, Edward had been visiting the Imperial Palace as a kind of protest against the trial’s postponement.
The imperial court felt immense pressure simply from Edward sitting in the waiting room.
Palace bureaucrats and officials, regardless of gender or age, had taken to rubbernecking at him during work hours, causing minor disruptions to their duties.
Edward himself apparently enjoyed being such a nuisance when he went.
“…….”
Luciana felt slightly frustrated.
Waiting outside for someone who wouldn’t even appear held little joy for her.
Luciana took Edward’s hand, which had grown slightly cold from waiting outside, and whispered softly.
“Next time, let me come with you.”
“Luciana.”
“If you take me along and we just sit there kissing, the Emperor might do something so drastic that he’d come rushing out in a panic.”
Edward’s eyes had grown distant at the appeal of that idea, but he shook his head and regained his composure as Luciana giggled.
“I told you before.”
“Yes. You said I should stay here with Tepe and Gorgo.”
Edward felt a twinge of regret watching her.
‘I’d planned to bring you along wherever I went in the Capital.’
Yet each time Edward went to the Imperial Palace, he left Luciana at the Townhouse.
Ever since Gemini disappeared, his dormant worries had resurfaced.
‘What if that mad scientist was kidnapped by the Temple, like Gorgo suggested?’
There was no guarantee they wouldn’t kidnap Luciana as well.
And Gemini had vanished despite having Tepe and Gorgo with him.
Which made caution all the more necessary.
“Your safety matters above all else.”
“…….”
“I don’t want you going anywhere there’s even the slightest danger.”
Luciana rolled her eyes shyly at his words.
“But it’s the Imperial Palace.”
“Which is precisely why.”
“Hmm.”
“I don’t know what schemes the Emperor might cook up with the Temple.”
Edward shrugged and carelessly set the Invitation Card he’d been holding onto the reception room table.
He needed to put down these bothersome things and quickly take Luciana’s hand.
Thud.
That was when it happened.
One of the Invitation Cards fell beneath the table.
It was unusually elegant and refined—impossible not to notice.
Luciana felt Edward’s hand taking hers, and with her free hand, she reached down and opened the fallen Invitation Card.
And her brow furrowed.
“…Is this an Imperial court banquet invitation?”
“To be precise, a New Year Festival Banquet invitation.”
Edward was right.
The elaborately gilded Invitation Card bore the names not of the Emperor, but of the Empress and the Crown Prince.
The ornate invitation, stripped down to its essence, read like this:
‘Trial is trial, but if you’re coming to the banquet, come.’
Luciana deepened the frown she’d already been wearing.
“The Imperial family is absurd.”
“It’s nothing new.”
“The Emperor won’t even see your face, yet he sends an invitation? What does he plan to discuss when you meet there?”
“That’s why he sent it under the Empress and Crown Prince’s names. Cowardly.”
“…….”
“Besides, they’re probably counting on me not going anyway.”
“An invitation sent knowing you won’t come?”
“It’s been a while since I attended an Imperial court banquet. This is probably just a formality.”
Edward answered curtly, then shook his head.
“Regardless, there’s no need to worry. It’s just all sorts of people gathering together….”
He paused for a moment, then summarized the banquet.
“It’s a celebration of the new year.”
“…A celebration, you say?”
That word caught Luciana’s attention.
Edward himself seemed unmoved, merely shrugging his shoulders.
“Right. Everyone gathers at the Imperial Palace, and when the new year arrives, we set off fireworks.”
It felt similar to the New Year’s bells she’d heard in her past life, when the world had still been at peace.
“And what else is there?” Luciana asked.
Edward hesitated again.
She clearly wanted to go, but he worried that explaining too much would only inflate her expectations further.
In the end, however, he spoke honestly.
“The parade will cause the city streets to be cordoned off, so we’ll be able to visit date spots we haven’t been to before, the Crystal Banquet Hall in the Imperial Palace is magnificent, and there will be plenty of dishes from the Imperial chefs and fine wines.”
“Wow.”
“Since people decorate it lavishly, you’ll also be able to see all the jewels you love in abundance.”
At those words, Edward’s eyes grew heated as he recalled the indecent things they’d done with jewels, and Luciana’s cheeks flushed red in response.
Seeing that, Edward smiled ruefully.
“…Right. To be honest, I’ll find it tedious, but there will be so much for you to see.”
“I suppose so.”
“But….”
“But?”
“As I said before, the Imperial Palace does feel dangerous at times… and Sepina and other people will be at the banquet.”
Even as he spoke, Edward felt a stirring of unease.
Why wouldn’t he want to take her to such a grand and beautiful celebration?
He found such gatherings unbearable, but Luciana might well enjoy the glittering atmosphere and spectacle of the banquet.
She’d shown enough interest in it that she was helping prepare for it directly, after all.
For her sake, he would have gladly attended the banquet….
‘But this time it’s troublesome.’
Sepina, whom he’d rejected before, would surely be scheming in more ways than one, and he couldn’t let his guard down against the Temple either.
‘For safety’s sake, it would be better not to go.’
If Luciana really wanted to, he could always take her somewhere else instead.
Or perhaps avoid the New Year Festival altogether and go somewhere quiet.
‘There’s still so much to show her anyway.’
As he thought this and looked down at her, the moment came.
“But in any case, it’s a celebration, isn’t it?”
…….
At that moment, facing her with bright eyes.
Edward felt a sudden foreboding.
The same foreboding he’d felt when Luciana had said she wouldn’t refuse the banquet the Duchess Consort had suggested, but would hold it instead.
“Wait, Luciana.”
“I….”
Luciana opened her mouth to speak.
* * *
Pa-pa-pa-bam.
With the sound of trumpets echoing from a distance, the distinctive music of the New Year Festival filled the warm air.
In Luciana’s past life, such music would have been called carols—bright, spirited melodies.
Crowds of people poured into the streets, delighting at the sight of the bands parading through and busying themselves with street food.
With monsters appearing more frequently of late, lives had grown harder, and people were trying to enjoy themselves however they could.
“There are far fewer vendors than last year.”
“Haven’t you heard? Monsters are appearing on the roads leading to the Capital these days.”
“Ah, so that’s why some people couldn’t come?”
“Right. The Divine Incarnation really needs to put in more effort….”
While people whispered and fretted among themselves, they still shared what little food there was and enjoyed the performances.
Upon the air mingling excitement and worry, the gates of the Imperial Palace at the center of the Capital opened wide as well.
“Baron Varten and his wife are making their entrance!”
“Marquis Ilmoren and his daughter are making their entrance!”
On one side, attendants rushed to announce the arrival of the nobles, wiping their brows.
“Why are there so many guests today?”
“It’s the New Year Festival Banquet. Of course there are many.”
“No, thinking back to last year and the year before, there are definitely more guests this year. The Saint said she couldn’t attend, yet here she is….”
The new attendants chattered amongst themselves.
“Of course. They’ve all come to make an impression.”
One of the more seasoned attendants shrugged.
“An impression? Making an impression on His Imperial Majesty hardly seems novel….”
“Good heavens, you haven’t heard yet?”
“Heard what, sir?”
“She’s actually come to the banquet tonight.”
The attendant gestured vaguely toward the far corner, where crowds had gathered like clouds.
And there, predictably enough….
“Ha ha ha! Well then, well then! I needn’t worry about the trial at all!”
“Truly, Your Majesty? My, how different the true ruler of the empire is from the rest of us.”
The Emperor sat sprawled in his cups, while Luciana stood beside him, mixing his wine and offering it to him with her own hands.

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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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