I Won’t Pick Up The T*ash I Threw Away Again - Chapter 191
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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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#191
The next day, morning.
“May I meet with Sisly?”
After finishing the morning report, I asked Kalian.
Kalian thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Go ahead. You must have a lot to say.”
“Thank you.”
Kalian wrote on parchment granting permission to enter the underground prison and stamped it with the Emperor’s seal before handing it to me.
“But promise me you absolutely won’t go inside the prison cell.”
I received the permit and carefully tucked it into my clothes.
“Keep the guards with you at all times.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
After leaving the study, I immediately headed to the Imperial Palace underground prison where Sisly was confined.
The security of the underground prison was extremely tight. Everyone was guarding it like an impenetrable fortress without even a gap for a needle to pass through.
“I am Leilah Aster, aide to His Majesty the Emperor.”
I showed the permit and my family crest to the guard stationed at the entrance of the underground prison.
The guard who checked the permit signaled to another guard behind him.
Creak, the thick iron door opened. It must have been an extremely heavy door as it took quite a while to open.
“The visiting time is 10 minutes. Please understand that we cannot allow any longer.”
“That’s fine.”
Ten minutes was enough. I went down underground with the guards.
Sisly was confined on the 4th basement level. It was a place where heinous criminals who committed serious crimes were imprisoned.
The security there was even tighter than other places. Throughout my walk down the stairs and along the long corridor, menacing gazes clung to me.
The air was humid due to poor ventilation. There was also a slightly rotten smell coming from somewhere, perhaps from mold.
Since the underground prison had no windows, the only light illuminating the corridor came from torches hanging on the walls.
Even those were dim, making the surroundings dark and gloomy.
I might trip if I’m not careful.
I felt along the wall and slowly moved forward.
Sisly was confined in the prison cell at the very back.
Perhaps hearing the sound of footsteps, as soon as I stood in front of the iron bars, Sisly, who had been sitting slumped on the floor, raised her head.
Her once lustrous hair was a complete mess, as if struck by lightning.
Wounds were visible all over her face, and her eyes were swollen.
She must have cried a lot. Though her face looked pitiful, I didn’t feel even a bit of sympathy.
“I thought you’d come, and you really did. Aren’t you moving too predictably according to my expectations?”
“I don’t think so.”
I deliberately smiled brightly as I answered.
“Since you couldn’t predict how I’d move, that’s why you’re locked up in prison looking like that now.”
“….”
Sparks flew in her previously indifferent eyes.
“Why did you come here?”
Sisly glared at me as if she would devour me right away, but I wasn’t scared at all.
“Ah, did you come to mock me? To point fingers and giggle while watching me despair?”
A laugh escaped me at her words.
“If that’s what you’re thinking, you’ve got the wrong address. I’ve already despaired as much as I can despair, so there’s nowhere left to despair further.”
“How unfortunate.”
I threw out a dry expression of sympathy without a spoonful of sincerity.
“And the one who got the wrong address isn’t me, it’s you. I didn’t come here to mock you.”
Sisly snorted.
“Then why did you come?”
“To express my gratitude to you.”
“What?”
Sisly frowned deeply like someone who heard something they shouldn’t have.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Why would you express gratitude to me?”
“There are many reasons I should.”
I smiled provocatively on purpose.
“First, thanks to you dragging Andante into your revenge scheme, I was able to completely get rid of him. Thank you.”
The sound of grinding teeth reached me vividly even from outside the iron bars.
She’s already grinding her teeth when I still have more to say. It was somewhat disappointing.
A guard from behind informed me that there were 5 minutes left for the visit.
“There are many other things to be grateful for, but since there’s no time, I’ll just say one more thing.”
This was also what I most wanted to say.
“Thank you for helping me break off my engagement with Duke Williot.”
Sisly’s eyes widened as large as snowballs.
I stared directly into Sisly’s wavering eyes and continued speaking.
“Thanks to you, I was able to leave the Williot Duchy and finally find where I truly belong.”
If Sisly hadn’t rushed into Fillen’s bedroom.
If Fillen hadn’t brought Sisly with him, I would have become Fillen’s wife as planned.
Then I wouldn’t have been able to live freely doing what I wanted like now.
As Fillen wanted, as Countess Tebesa said, I would have borne his children and supported him, living like a well-made doll.
Back then I thought that was natural, but thinking about it now, it was horrifying. It would have been no different from hell.
So I sincerely expressed my gratitude to Sisly, who had pulled me out of hell.
“Thank you so much.”
* * *
“Who came?”
Kalian, hearing unexpected news from Rahel, put down his quill pen and asked again.
Rahel bowed deeply and repeated his words.
“Countess Tebesa has requested an urgent audience.”
To meet Kalian, one had to apply for an audience at least 5 days in advance.
Even then, it was often postponed when Kalian was busy.
However, if there was an urgent matter, one could apply for an emergency audience and meet immediately.
For example, when foreign armies invaded, or when riots or disasters occurred somewhere – cases of nationally serious problems.
I could guarantee that Countess Tebesa didn’t apply for an urgent audience for such reasons.
‘It must be because of Andante Tebesa.’
Tomorrow Sisly would be executed, and the day after that, Andante would be exiled to Aobis Mine.
So she couldn’t wait for the audience waiting period and anxiously applied for an urgent audience.
“What should we do?”
Normally it would be right to refuse, but in this case, let’s make an exception and accept it.
“Bring the Countess to the drawing room.”
I was curious to see how far the bug would struggle.
After waiting briefly in the drawing room, Countess Tebesa arrived.
“Your Majesty!”
As soon as Countess Tebesa saw Kalian, she called to him pitifully and fell to her knees.
“Madam.”
The attendant who brought her called to Countess Tebesa in confusion.
“Leave us.”
Kalian dismissed the attendant.
Then he looked down at Countess Tebesa, whose cheeks were soaked with tears.
“What’s going on?”
“My son was deceived!”
It was ridiculous nonsense from the very start.
Everyone who knew the facts was aware that Andante Tebesa had led the cultivation and purchase of drugs, yet it was amusing that his closest family member didn’t know this fact.
Or perhaps she knew but was lying to cover up her son’s crimes.
I couldn’t tell which it was, but I wasn’t curious either.
What mattered was that Andante Tebesa had committed a serious crime, and that I had not even a speck of intention to forgive such an Andante Tebesa.
“My son, Andante has been innocent since he was young!”
Still, listening to Countess Tebesa’s nonsense was a final courtesy.
“He’s so innocent that he’s never even properly held a woman’s hand. He’s a son who always sacrificed for me and our family!”
Since she would never see her beloved son again, shouldn’t she be allowed this final venting?
“This time too, he was innocently deceived! So please, please forgive my son, my poor son!”
“She should seek forgiveness from those who suffered because of Andante, not from me.”
Kalian answered indifferently.
Countess Tebesa bit her lips tightly, tears streaming down her face, then grabbed Kalian’s trouser leg.
“Then at least reduce his punishment, Your Majesty! Aobis Coal Mine—that’s basically telling him to die quickly!”
“The medical standards at Aobis Coal Mine have improved considerably, so if he’s lucky, he could live for 10 years.”
“Only 10 years!”
Even after pouring out so many tears, Countess Tebesa continued crying as if she still had more left to shed.
“Andante is only in his mid-twenties now. He hasn’t even gotten married.”
This is getting annoying.
Kalian looked down at Countess Tebesa with irritated eyes, but she didn’t care and continued speaking.
“To completely ruin a person’s life over just one mistake. This is too much!”
“Too much?”
Kalian twisted his lips.
“Exactly how is this too much?”
Under the oppressive pressure weighing down on her shoulders, Countess Tebesa opened and closed her mouth like a carp.
“Do you know how many people suffered because Andante Tebesa cultivated and sold Molentze?”
“…”
“A full 200 people.”
And that was just a rough estimate—there could be even more.
Among the estimated victims, one-third were children who hadn’t even had their coming-of-age ceremony yet.
“And you say it’s too much to ruin one person’s life over just one mistake?”
Kalian snorted and shook off Countess Tebesa’s hand.
“Over 200 people’s lives were ruined because of that one person, and you’re saying something amusing.”
“Th-that’s…”
After stammering, she soon covered her face with her hands and cried like a child.
“Andante, Andante…”
It was truly tearjerking maternal love.
If a child is so precious, why not raise them properly instead of raising them like that?
Well, there were children who grew up properly even under rotten parents, so Andante’s poor upbringing couldn’t necessarily be blamed entirely on the Countess.
‘It was also a family environment where he couldn’t grow up properly.’
Count Tebesa’s womanizing.
The eldest son’s gambling addiction.
And Countess Tebesa was a shopping addict.
On top of that, Andante Tebesa had sexual violence and drug dealing.
It was simply amazing that Leilah had grown up upright among such family members.
“Please have pity on Andante, Your Majesty…”
How could I pity him when there’s nothing pitiful about him?
Staying here any longer would only bring irritation.
Kalian, who was about to leave, suddenly had a thought and put his raised foot back on the ground.
Then he looked down at Countess Tebesa, who was still crying, and asked.
“Do you want to save your son that badly?”
Countess Tebesa nodded vigorously.
“I want to save him!”
“No matter what price you have to pay?”
“I’ll give you anything! Anything I can offer!”
“Is that so.”
Kalian smiled languidly like a predator who had found its prey and continued speaking.
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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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