I Won’t Pick Up The T*ash I Threw Away Again - Chapter 240

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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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#240

Splash, the sound of cutting through water was crisp. Kalian disappeared into the lake with bright blue spray.

“One, two, three…”

I counted numbers with my mouth while waiting for Kalian to return.

It was when I had counted to twenty.

Splash-

Again, fierce spray rose as Kalian stuck his head out.

Even without asking how the result was, I could tell from his bright expression.

“You found it.”

“Yeah, it was there.”

Swoosh, the hand that stretched up cutting through the water held a golden box. On the surface was a butterfly pattern, the symbol of Empress Solia.

As Kalian came out cutting through the gentle current, I wiped his body with the towel I had brought.

“To think it was really here.”

Kalian’s gaze was fixed on the box.

“I wonder what Her Majesty the Empress was thinking when she hid this here.”

“I heard that Empress Solia said this treasure was very important and to definitely find it, perhaps that’s why?”

“So she hid it well because it was an important item.”

Kalian muttered to himself, then snatched the towel away.

“I’ll dry myself.”

“You mustn’t use your abilities.”

When I cautioned him just in case, Kalian chuckled.

“I told you it’s fine now.”

“Still, you can’t.”

Kalian shrugged and placed the towel on his wet hair.

Then he sat carelessly on the ground and opened the box.

Inside the box was a letter envelope with a butterfly pattern drawn on it. Kalian, who checked the letter inside the envelope, said.

“It’s a letter left by Her Majesty the Empress.”

“Is this treasure a letter?”

“It seems so.”

Kalian read the letter with a serious face.

I silently waited for Kalian to finish reading the letter.

Kalian’s serious expression gradually crumbled. All sorts of bad emotions like bewilderment and betrayal appeared on his face.

His hand gripping the letter tightened, slightly crumpling the edge.

“What’s wrong?”

“…No, nothing.”

Kalian smiled as if he had never worn a dark expression, carefully folded the letter, and put it back in the box.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I found Her Majesty the Empress’s last treasure.”

I was curious about what was written in the letter to make him show such an expression, but.

“I’m just happy I could help.”

Even if I asked, he didn’t seem like he would tell me, and it wasn’t something I wanted to pry into that much, so I just let it pass.

* * *

The day after returning from finding Empress Solia’s treasure box at the lake, Kalian summoned Duke Giltian.

Duke Giltian was certain that Kalian would bring up the ridiculous story about wanting to take Leilah as his wife and empress since she was carrying his child.

Then he would have to tell him to abdicate to Hes immediately and step down from the throne.

He could become a grand duke and take Leilah as his wife or whatever he wanted to do.

Fortunately, Hes had done an excellent job as acting emperor when Kalian fell into a coma, so there wouldn’t be any problems.

That position was Hes’s to begin with anyway.

He was just trying to return everything to how it originally was.

“Did you call for me, Your Majesty.”

Duke Giltian hid his sinister intentions and politely greeted Kalian.

Kalian didn’t return the greeting and stared intently at Duke Giltian.

His darkly sunken blue eyes were unreadable.

That’s why Duke Giltian disliked Kalian.

If only Hes weren’t so young, if only the Empire weren’t in such a chaotic situation, he wouldn’t have made such a proposal to Kalian.

“Your Majesty?”

“…As you know, Duke, Leilah is pregnant.”

So he was going to talk about that after all.

He couldn’t read his thoughts from his eyes, but he was still in the palm of his hand.

Duke Giltian inwardly sneered while outwardly answering respectfully.

“Then you should take Count Aster as your wife.”

“Is that acceptable?”

“Of course. Though it would be after you abdicate to Prince Hes.”

Kalian’s head tilted slightly.

“Hes hasn’t come of age yet, and you want me to abdicate to him?”

“Yes. Though he’s still young, His Highness the Prince seems capable of fulfilling his role, so please abdicate to His Highness and step down, Your Majesty.”

“After that, you plan to use Hes as a puppet emperor while you seize control of the Empire?”

Even at this sharp observation that saw through his intentions, Duke Giltian smiled without wavering.

“I’m sorry, but I have no idea what Your Majesty is talking about.”

“Don’t you remember what you did while I was in a coma?”

“I simply helped His Highness the Prince and diligently attended to state affairs. Is that a problem?”

“There’s no visible problem.”

That made it even more problematic.

If Duke Giltian had done something obviously bad, he could openly criticize him.

Since that wasn’t the case, to people who didn’t know the inside story, he had simply worked hard for the country.

Until recently, even Hes thought it was right to do as Duke Giltian suggested and acted accordingly.

“Fine, whatever. Regardless of what you do, Duke, I promised to pass the throne to Hes, so I’ll keep that promise. So?”

“Pardon?”

“There should be something you promised to give me as a condition for me becoming emperor in Hes’s place.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Duke Giltian smiled as if he had just remembered.

“The evidence is stored in a secret location, so I’ll send it to you as soon as I return to the manor.”

“I’m looking forward to it. To see what kind of fake evidence you’ll make and send.”

“Fake evidence? What do you mean by that?”

“Ah, the evidence might be real.”

Kalian chuckled and leaned back crookedly against the backrest.

“Since you said that evidence couldn’t be used to find the culprit. There’s no need to go through the trouble of making fake evidence to give me.”

“I truly cannot understand what Your Majesty is saying.”

“Then let me ask directly.”

There was no point in asking roundabout questions when Duke Giltian wouldn’t reveal his dark intentions.

Kalian also wanted to stop this meaningless tug-of-war here.

“Why did you poison Empress Solia?”

For just a moment, Duke Giltian’s eyes hardened stiffly.

Kalian gazed at Duke Giltian with quietly sunken eyes and asked again.

“I asked why you poisoned Empress Solia.”

Duke Giltian replied as if somewhat incredulous.

“Today you keep saying things I cannot understand.”

“Are you saying you didn’t?”

“Of course not. Empress Solia is my own daughter, so why would I do such a thing?”

“Exactly.”

Kalian gripped the armrest of his chair tightly.

“I never thought the Duke would do such a thing to his own daughter either, so I excluded the Duke and searched for the culprit.”

Crack—the armrest broke under his strength.

Despite his blue eyes gleaming with murderous intent, the smile on his lips was terrifyingly gentle.

“But when I considered the Duke as the culprit and combined the few pieces of evidence I’d gathered so far, they fit together like puzzle pieces.”

Duke Giltian also smiled gently as he replied.

“That’s exactly what you’d call a conspiracy.”

“A conspiracy. Why do you think I would concoct such a thing?”

“Because Your Majesty wants to make Leilah Aster your Empress.”

Just as Kalian bared his teeth, Duke Giltian also bared his in response.

“You want to somehow separate me from Prince Hes’s side, then make Leilah Aster your Empress and crown the child to be born as Crown Prince, don’t you?”

“Thoughts are free, but that’s bordering on delusion.”

“Whether it’s delusion or not remains to be seen.”

Instead of responding, Kalian took out a letter envelope from his drawer.

Duke Giltian’s eyes narrowed as he saw the butterfly pattern drawn on the envelope’s surface.

“Empress Solia sensed her impending death and left letters for me and Esramel.”

“…Letters?”

“Yes. These letters detail why the Empress died and who the culprit is.”

Duke Giltian’s expression hardened.

“Ah, I shouldn’t say culprit.”

Meanwhile, a bright smile spread across Kalian’s lips.

“The Empress took her own life.”

“…!”

For a moment Duke Giltian’s eyes widened, but it was truly just an instant.

Duke Giltian quickly regained his composure and spoke in a deeply bewildered tone.

“The Empress took poison herself? If that’s true, then why did you ask me why I poisoned her?”

“Because it’s true that you fed poison to the Empress. You continuously fed the Empress small amounts of poison that wouldn’t immediately threaten her life.”

Duke Giltian denied it with an unwavering expression.

“As I mentioned earlier, Empress Solia is my own daughter. I have no reason to…”

Kalian cut off Duke Giltian’s words.

“You poisoned her because the Empress opposed you making Hes a puppet emperor.”

The reason he didn’t kill Empress Solia immediately was because Hes was still young.

If Empress Solia died, a new Empress would enter, and if that Empress bore a son, Hes’s chances of becoming Emperor would drastically decrease.

So Duke Giltian intended to keep Empress Solia alive only until Hes became Emperor.

In other words, he was using Empress Solia as a puppet to achieve his ambitions.

“The Empress knew this fact and took poison herself.”

The poison Empress Solia consumed was poison she had made herself.

That’s why they couldn’t find it despite searching the black market and making such efforts.

‘Why on earth did she make such an extreme choice?’

If he had known in advance, he would have stopped her.

If she was going to hide it, she should have hidden it to the end—why leave such a letter to confuse people?

Though he resented Empress Solia and countless thoughts wandered aimlessly through his mind, what angered him most was Duke Giltian’s attitude.

To make such a proposal so shamelessly after doing such things…!

Crash, thud—!

Unable to contain his surging anger, Kalian grabbed Duke Giltian by the collar.

“Gah!”

The old Duke’s body, smaller than Kalian’s, was lifted up.

“Well then, shall we hear your excuses, Duke Giltian?”

Kalian glared fiercely at Duke Giltian and spoke through gritted teeth.

“I have no intention of understanding whatever excuse you make, but I’m terribly curious what you’ll babble with that clever mouth of yours.”

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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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