I Won’t Pick Up The T*ash I Threw Away Again - Chapter 241

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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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#241

Duke Giltian’s face turned deathly pale as he struggled to breathe properly with his collar grabbed.

Even in this situation, the look in his eyes as he stared at Kalian was far from defeated.

He was so brazen that for a moment, Kalian almost doubted whether he had grabbed the wrong person.

If he hadn’t seen Empress Solia’s letter, Kalian would never have suspected Duke Giltian to the end.

Of course, he knew about the man’s dark ambitions to manipulate Hes, but that was separate from this.

No, he had thought it was separate.

Who would have thought he’d poison his own daughter to achieve his ambitions.

No matter how many times he thought about it, it was an insane act.

“It’s… fake.”

Though his gaze didn’t waver, his voice trembled. It was because his collar was being grabbed.

His voice was already unpleasant to hear, and the trembling made it even worse.

Kalian chuckled and released Duke Giltian’s collar.

He staggered back a step from the sudden pushing force, but only briefly.

Duke Giltian quickly regained his balance and spoke clearly, his snake-like eyes glinting.

“That letter was not written by Empress Solia.”

Was this pathetic excuse really all he had to offer?

It was so absurd that Kalian couldn’t even laugh.

“The handwriting was perfectly that of the Empress.”

“I can name ten scribes who could perfectly imitate it.”

“So the Duke intends to claim that letter is fake to the very end.”

“I’m simply calling a fake what it is. If such a letter existed in the first place, why would it only come to light now after ten years?”

That’s because Empress Solia had hidden it away carefully.

He was about to say that but stopped when he suddenly remembered what happened when Empress Solia died.

It was customary for family members to collect the deceased’s belongings.

Empress Solia was no exception to this, so Duke Giltian had come personally to take away every single one of her possessions.

Duke Giltian himself had come, not the Duchess.

At the time, Kalian had thought Duke Giltian truly cared for Empress Solia, but that wasn’t the case.

‘It was to eliminate any evidence that might have remained.’

Empress Solia had anticipated all of this and hidden the letter in the lake.

In a place where Duke Giltian could never find it.

This wasn’t even like peeling an onion—the more he uncovered, the more hideous deeds were revealed.

“That letter is fake.”

His stubborn insistence even in this situation was utterly disgusting.

“If that letter isn’t fake, then prove that it was written directly by Empress Solia.”

There was no way he could prove it.

Duke Giltian knew this fact and was being defiant because of it.

‘There’s no choice.’

He hadn’t wanted to resort to that method, but Duke Giltian kept resisting, leaving no other option.

Kalian smiled meaningfully and rang the bell.

Rahel, who had been waiting outside, entered.

“Are the preparations ready?”

“Everything is ready.”

What preparations were ready?

Since Kalian’s actions were so unpredictable, Duke Giltian felt somewhat anxious and glared at Rahel.

“Good.”

Kalian showed a very satisfied expression and rang the bell again.

This time, armed soldiers entered.

Was he planning to throw him in prison for now?

Duke Giltian’s face contorted with anger.

“Even if you are His Majesty the Emperor, you cannot do this to me.”

Duke Giltian spoke in a clear, ringing voice.

“If you put me in prison without proper charges, the Nobility Council will never stand for it.”

Even if a duke committed most crimes, they would be comfortably interrogated at their manor rather than going to prison—such was the privilege of that rank.

Things would be different if they harmed the imperial family or betrayed the Empire, but only after such crimes were clearly proven.

He couldn’t be detained on mere suspicion.

Of course, it would be possible if the Emperor forced it, but then he would face fierce opposition from the nobles.

Not only that, but it could leave a stain in the history books as a tyrannical emperor.

When Duke Giltian pointed this out, Kalian chuckled.

“I’m not particularly afraid of the nobles’ opposition.”

“The history books too…”

“That doesn’t matter either. It’s something that will happen after I die anyway, so whatever future generations say has nothing to do with me.”

This meant he would throw him in prison no matter what, so Duke Giltian gritted his teeth.

“Don’t worry too much, Duke.”

Meanwhile, Kalian spoke cheerfully with a smile.

“I really have no intention of putting you in prison.”

“Then why did you summon the soldiers?”

“That’s to conduct a divine trial.”

“…!”

A divine trial.

At the mention of torture used to extract confessions from vicious criminals, Duke Giltian gritted his teeth and spoke.

“If you conduct a divine trial and still uncover nothing, even Your Majesty will not remain unharmed.”

Since divine trials were vicious torture that could completely destroy a person’s mind, they shouldn’t be carelessly abused.

Therefore, various safeguards were in place, one of which was that if the person who underwent the divine trial was innocent, the one who proposed it would bear even greater responsibility.

For example, undergoing the same divine trial and having their mind destroyed.

Or handing over all their wealth and titles.

With various other safeguards in place, divine trials were best avoided unless one was quite certain.

“Don’t worry, Duke. That won’t happen.”

Though he couldn’t be unaware of this fact, Kalian didn’t bend his opinion.

Duke Giltian shouted even more fiercely.

“Are you suspecting me based on that fake letter!”

“Well, if this letter is really fake, and if you’re truly innocent, then I’ll give you this position.”

“!”

By “this position,” he meant the Emperor’s throne.

To give the Emperor’s position to a duke who wasn’t even a collateral member of the imperial family.

At this truly shocking proposal, not only Duke Giltian but also Rahel and the soldiers looked at him in surprise.

Even under all those stares, Kalian smiled unwavering and spoke to Duke Giltian.

“So go and undergo the divine trial.”

* * *

The news that Duke Giltian would undergo a divine trial spread throughout the Imperial Palace in an instant.

Though the reason wasn’t clearly revealed, I was certain it was related to Empress Solia’s matter.

That was because after finding Empress Solia’s letter, Kalian’s attitude had become strange.

No matter how busy he was, we had always eaten dinner together, but that day we ate separately and even slept apart.

We ate breakfast separately too.

While it was natural for this to happen when there was a lot of work, it was very different from his usual behavior, so I was worried.

In such a situation, when I suddenly heard that Duke Giltian would undergo a divine trial, my worry grew even more.

‘Could Duke Giltian be the one who poisoned Empress Solia?’

No way that could be true.

Empress Solia was Duke Giltian’s own daughter.

So there was no way that could be true, I thought there must be another reason.

“C-Count! Duke Giltian apparently poisoned Empress Solia in the past to assassinate her!”

Unfortunately, my ominous prediction was correct.

But it said he poisoned her to assassinate her, not that he actually assassinated her?

“Does that mean Duke Giltian wasn’t the culprit who killed Empress Solia?”

“Oh, is that how it works?”

Nes hesitated for a moment, then went out saying she’d find out more details.

Normally I would have stopped her, but this time I didn’t because I was curious too.

While I was waiting for Nes to return, an unexpected person came to see me.

“Count…”

It was Prince Hes. His eyes were swollen from crying so much, and tear stains were clearly visible on his face.

“Go bring a warm wet towel and tea. Chamomile.”

I gave Sara orders and seated Prince Hes on the sofa.

When Sara brought the warm wet towel and I offered it to him, Prince Hes buried his face in it.

Seeing his shoulders trembling finely, he seemed to be crying again.

It must be because of Duke Giltian’s matter.

Hes was too young to accept the shocking fact that his trusted grandfather had actually tried to poison his mother.

No, this would be hard to accept even if he weren’t young.

I silently patted the prince’s back. I didn’t offer the clichéd words that everything would be okay.

When Prince Hes finally raised his head after a long while, his face was stained with terrible emotions like pain, anger, and betrayal.

“To think that grandfather, Duke Giltian, would try to poison mother to fulfill his own ambitions.”

Prince Hes spoke while biting his lips so hard they might bleed.

“I never dreamed of it. I trusted and followed Duke Giltian without knowing any of this…”

“It’s not Your Highness’s fault.”

I comforted him with a gentle voice and firmly held his trembling hands.

“…If I had been as sharp and decisive as Elder Brother, would such things not have happened?”

Tears that had been gathering in his eyes rolled down his cheeks with a plop.

“If I had acted with determination, wouldn’t Duke Giltian have harbored ambitions to set me up as a puppet to control the Empire?”

“No. Duke Giltian would have harbored those ambitions anyway. He would have tried to achieve them through different means then.”

I wiped away the remaining tears from his eyes and continued speaking.

“So Your Highness need not feel guilty or depressed.”

“…”

“Rather, you should feel anger toward Duke Giltian for trying to use you, and think about what to do with him going forward.”

“Think about what to do with him…”

Prince Hes, who had been ruminating on my words like a cow chewing cud, soon nodded his head vigorously.

“Right, that’s what I should do.”

His eyes, which had been soft like jelly, suddenly hardened. It was an expression of firm resolve.

“Since this happened because of me, I should be the one to finish it.”

Prince Hes left only those words behind and stormed out.

People like Prince Hes, who were usually gentle but suddenly exploded, were more frightening than those who got angry easily.

I was worried he might do something rash in his anger, but fortunately he didn’t.

Instead, that evening, Kalian brought me other absurd news.

“Hes has decided to take full charge of Empress Solia’s case.”

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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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