The Murderous Duke's Domestic Affairs - Chapter 50

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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 50
The Imperial Princess did not retreat even under that blatant gaze, as if I were being appraised. Her golden eyes simply gazed at me quietly. They resembled Abarid’s, yet held a composure that felt entirely different—a light that struck me as something altogether distinct.
I stopped and moved to stand beside the Imperial Princess. She seemed to have been waiting for this, resuming her steps. I walked alongside her in silence that stretched on for some time. What should I say? As I searched for words while looking down at this child who barely reached my chest, I finally managed to speak.
“I will send you medicine.”
Her disheveled hair and swollen crimson cheeks looked painful. Though her silver hair and golden eyes bore little resemblance to anyone, perhaps it was because this small child reminded me of Lauren—Lauren who had been struck across the cheek by that woman, Delania.
I drew a quiet breath. The shadow of Lauren bowing her head overlapped with the image of this small girl looking up at me. It was a scene I did not wish to revisit.
“The Duke…”
Her golden eyes fixed upon me. They sparkled with surprising clarity.
“It seems you are different from what you appear to be.”
I fell silent again. Because I harbored the same thought as she did. The eyes of this child who had always stood quietly in the background were not serene. They were like the dazzling light burning from the deepest core of a flame—eyes that should have been impossible to conceal for so long. As I gazed into her eyes, I found myself smiling faintly.
“Is that so?”
The Imperial Princess looked up at me and nodded. I recalled my own reputation. A man without humanity, a ruthless killer.
I remembered the first time I truly faced the Imperial Princess. How must my father’s command—to marry a man twice her age—have sounded to this child? She had simply accepted the Emperor’s decree as inevitable, bowing her head and clasping hands.
Since the Imperial Princess had not yet come of age, she resided in the Family Palace, situated behind the Imperial Palace. I could have simply passed her at the boundary between the Imperial Palace and the Family Palace, but Lauren had asked me to look after her. Recalling her voice, I walked in silence alongside the Imperial Princess. Only after we left the attendants guarding the corridor behind did she speak again.
“I know that you are a good person.”
Her voice was soft. I was puzzled—what could a killer possibly show that would warrant such a thought? I voiced this question directly. The girl smiled faintly, a smile that matched neither her age nor her burning eyes.
“One can tell with just a little observation. If you truly enjoyed harming others, you would not have worn such a pained expression every time you received orders to go to war.”
I had thought she accepted the Emperor’s commands without emotion. I had believed no one would concern themselves with my feelings. How old had she been when I first received orders to deploy? She must have been very young, barely more than a child. It was remarkable that a girl who should have been overwhelmed with her own affairs would take notice of another. Such keen observation from one so young was a rare thing indeed.
Suddenly, my gaze fell upon the girl’s crimson cheeks.
The way she bowed her head before Abarid, eyes tightly shut, standing quietly—she seemed far too accustomed to harsh words and violence. My brow furrowed. The Imperial Princess was only fourteen. She was far too young to be familiar with such things. How long had this child been living under the watchful eyes of others? Such a self-effacing demeanor could not be forged in mere days.
“If I offended you, I apologize. I did not mean to presume.”
“…No.”
I could barely respond to her hurried words. Even as I denied it, she bowed her head. Did she think I was lying? I smiled bitterly and spoke again.
“I am not offended, truly.”
Rather, I was surprised. The young Imperial Princess possessed far greater insight than I had anticipated. When was it? I recalled the Emperor muttering wistfully during a report on the last war’s achievements. How different things might have been if I were his son. How he wished the Imperial Princess had been born male instead.
The deployment orders had come first to the Crown Prince and the Imperial Princess. It was natural, given the Emperor’s concern for appearances. The Crown Prince was assigned to the front lines, though not the very vanguard where I fought, while the young Imperial Princess handled rear support.
Yet the Emperor had even attached the Iron Hammer, his personal knight order, to the Crown Prince, hoping he would gain renown on the battlefield. But Abarid, backed by the nobility’s support, withdrew to the very rear. And the Iron Hammer, tasked with protecting the Crown Prince, did likewise.
I never left the front lines. Even the young Imperial Princess moved freely between front and rear, providing supplies and medical aid. But Abarid cowered in the back. The Emperor saw it all.
Yet he could not punish the Crown Prince. Rather, he turned a blind eye to Abarid’s attempts to claim my military achievements. Because he was the Emperor’s only son. Because he was the heir to the throne.
Suddenly, I grasped a single truth and clenched my fists. No matter how keen her insight or how far she surpassed Abarid, the Imperial Princess could never become Emperor. Just as Lauren, Emel Siaz’s only daughter and his student in all things, could never become Marquis Siaz. Now I understood why I kept seeing Lauren’s shadow in this girl who bore so little resemblance to her.
I looked down at the small head of the girl walking quietly beside me. Lauren had chosen marriage to me to escape House of Siaz. What of the Imperial Princess? Had she not simply endured Abarid’s violence in silence, waiting for the day of escape? But the Imperial Princess could not escape. Because I had married Lauren. My brow furrowed deeply when she looked up at me and smiled.
“The Duchess also seems to be a good person.”
“She is far too good for me.”
The Imperial Princess straightened her posture and spoke while looking ahead. I nodded. Regardless of what I might be, I could say with certainty that Lauren was a good person. Wise, kind, strong. And more tender-hearted than anyone I knew.
Feeling a gaze upon me, I looked up and met the eyes of the Imperial Princess, her head tilted curiously to one side. Her round golden eyes blinked, and faint surprise crossed her face. Then she smiled brightly at me. That smile alone made her look her age.
“So the Duke does know how to smile.”
Did I smile? Flustered, I raised my hand and pressed it against my lips without thinking. Seeing my green eyes waver, the Imperial Princess laughed with evident delight, her shoulders shaking.
* * *
A loud crash echoed from the Reception Room of the Crown Prince’s Palace. The sound of a tea set shattering as it flew across the room made the attendants guarding the door flinch. There had been relative quiet in anticipation of the dinner with the Lilywood Ducal Couple, but it seemed that peace had ended today. I could only hope his anger would subside before he left the Reception Room. Otherwise, someone would bleed again.
Abarid paid no mind to the commotion outside, merely glaring with irritation at the figure kneeling before him. His eyes, flushed with alcohol, burned with savagery.
“There are limits to how far one can mock a person!”
At Abarid’s roar, Trace Siaz, who had been trembling, struck his forehead against the floor. The sound of impact echoed through the room. Watching the man crawl, Abarid clicked his tongue in disdain.
“Was it not you, Marquis, who promised to give me the Lilywood Ducal wife?”
“My sincerest apologies, Your Highness! Lauren appears to have grown full of herself! I am truly mortified!”
Abarid glanced at Trace, who continued to strike his forehead against the floor, then took a long drink. Blood trickled down Trace’s head from where the broken teacup had struck him, but that was of no concern to Abarid. If anything, the blood seeping from the man’s forehead only slightly mollified his irritation.
“How insulting. How do you intend to repay this offense?”
“I shall meet with Lauren and persuade her once more.”
“I doubt she would listen to you, judging from our last encounter.”
The wound on his forehead should have ached, yet Trace felt nothing. He clenched his teeth. That infuriating Lauren had acted on her own whims, and now he was in this predicament.
The wealthy old man who had intended to marry her off was growing impatient for his bride, and he had thought to gain favor by making her the Crown Prince’s concubine, only for her to refuse. He had expected that someone who would grasp the hand of a murderer in pursuit of power would gladly accept the position of Crown Prince’s concubine. How disappointing. Could she truly be in love with that killer? No sane person would be.
“I shall manage it somehow, Your Highness. Please, grant me another chance!”
“And if you fail again?”
This boy calls himself Crown Prince. Even Trace was beginning to feel irritation, though he dared not show it. He was merely a marquis from the countryside—something an ordinary nobleman could never achieve, to stand face to face with the Crown Prince.
In a sense, this opportunity existed only because Lauren was of House of Siaz, but Trace had no intention of stopping here. He could not afford to lose such an opportunity. He had to seize this connection by any means.
“What do you desire, Your Highness? I shall offer anything.”
“Is that so? Then perhaps I shall take your daughter.”
Delania, was it? That woman’s beauty was serviceable enough. Abarid smiled with a crude satisfaction and licked his lips. The more beautiful women, the better. Trace’s shoulders trembled slightly at the words laden with greed, which pleased Abarid immensely.
If one wishes to secure my favor, such resolve is necessary. He had heard she was still unmarried, but that mattered little. No one would believe that the Crown Prince himself would marry a mere marquis’s daughter.
Trace bit his lips and suppressed his emotions, but what he thought was of no importance. It never occurred to Abarid that he would refuse his command. As expected, Trace said nothing, bowed his head, and withdrew from the Crown Prince’s Palace Reception Room. Abarid watched his retreating figure in silence.
Because Trace Siaz’s blood had seeped into it, a crimson stain remained on the expensive carpet laid across the floor. The metallic scent of blood had even spoiled the taste of his drink. This will have to be discarded. Abarid clicked his tongue savagely and poured the remaining wine onto the floor.

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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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