The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 51

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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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The slave is far too handsome!
051.
Everything happened in an instant.
The maid, who had been trembling with fear only moments before, wiped her expression clean and shoved the approaching Eloïse.
“Eloïse!”
While Eloïse staggered from the surprise attack, the maid flung the door open and rushed from the room.
“Stop right there!”
Eloïse moved to chase after the maid, but Lucian was faster. He reached the doorway just in time to catch her.
“It’s dangerous. Stay here.”
Lucian positioned Eloïse behind him and surveyed the corridor. His eyes met those of another maid who had been watching from the hallway.
The maid sent Lucian a silent signal, then suddenly shifted her posture and bolted down the corridor in pursuit of the fleeing servant—her movements decidedly those of a trained guard.
‘Eloïse’s escort.’
The corridor, which had been in brief chaos, fell silent as though nothing had occurred.
“Let’s go inside.”
Lucian left the rest to the escort, drew Eloïse back into the room, and closed the door.
He seated her flushed form on the sofa, and she followed his lead without resistance.
His gaze then turned to the table. The offending teacup still held traces of pale, diluted liquid at its base.
‘Not a fatal poison, then.’
Lucian inhaled the tea’s aroma deeply, then set the cup down.
Even if he had drunk it carelessly, the worst it would have caused was numbness to his lips and face—nothing that would have cost him his life.
“It was surely Camilo.”
His voice flat, Lucian turned to face her.
Eloïse, her head bowed low, repeated the Second Prince’s name over and over. Her small shoulders trembled.
“Eloïse, calm yourself.”
Lucian knelt to examine her pallor. His worried gaze fixed on her, then caught something that made him falter.
…….
Her eyes were rimmed with red, and their intensity burned as though she could tear Camilo to pieces on the spot.
For the briefest moment, Lucian felt a flicker of pity for Camilo. If he became Crown Prince according to Eloïse’s design, the Second Prince would likely never see another blue sky…….
He suppressed the unnecessary emotion and spoke calmly.
“It wasn’t a poison deadly enough to kill. Still, my carelessness was real—I’ll be more careful from now on.”
How could he be so composed?
Eloïse, suppressing her emotions, studied his serene face intently.
Looking into his quiet eyes, her hatred of Camilo and guilt over her own negligence gradually faded.
She had been biting her lip for some time when a knock sounded at the door.
“It is time to depart.”
A heavy male voice came from beyond. He was from the Special Task Force, it seemed.
“Don’t worry. I’ll finish well and be back.”
Lucian forced an awkward smile to reassure her, but her expression remained rigid.
“I leave this room as Lucian now, but I’ll return as a prince by evening.”
Finally, Eloïse smiled faintly and nodded. The fury that had been roiling in her chest seemed to settle.
‘Eloïse, you’ll be all right, won’t you?’
In truth, Lucian was more concerned about Eloïse left alone than he was for himself.
While he could not confirm whether Camilo was truly responsible as Eloïse believed, one thing was clear: someone in the Imperial Palace looked upon them with disfavor. His eyes sharpened.
Moreover, the image of Eloïse throwing herself before Camilo’s sword weighed heavily on his chest.
‘Frederick will be there, so it should be fine. Yes.’
He set aside his cold gaze and steeled his resolve. As he straightened, Eloïse seized his sleeve.
She had composed her expression, and now spoke.
“Be careful.”
Lucian answered with a faint smile, then stepped into the corridor.
***
At that same moment, the Special Task Force arrived at the Main Palace with Lucian, their bearing grave and purposeful.
Though he had spent considerable time at the Imperial Palace, this was his first entry into the Main Palace where the Emperor’s office and quarters lay.
“Wow.”
Lucian let out a small gasp of amazement before quickly closing his mouth.
The towering gates, so vast they seemed to pierce the heavens, opened onto an endless corridor. The Guest Palace where he was staying had been magnificent, but the Main Palace surpassed it entirely.
The delicate paintings on the ceiling inspired awe, and the artworks placed at measured intervals along both walls were so beautiful that they felt almost otherworldly.
‘The Main Palace is truly different.’
Lucian did his best not to appear unsophisticated, yet his eyes could not help but wander from place to place.
“Please wait here for a moment.”
Their final destination was the Reception Room in the Main Palace. In the center of the spacious interior stood a desk and chair.
When Lucian took a seat at the desk with good judgment, the Special Task Force members bowed lightly and departed.
The heavy door closed, leaving Lucian alone in the vast chamber. He drummed his fingers on the desk, trying to imagine what process awaited him.
Perhaps due to the assassination attempt that morning, he felt no tension about the final trial at all.
‘Which information was correct—Eloïse’s or Princess Danae’s?’
Lucian rapidly reviewed the details both had provided.
The night before, Princess Danae had secretly sent him an Encrypted Letter with information about the Third Trial, belatedly acquired.
‘What exactly did she write?’
Eloïse’s brow had furrowed as she read the princess’s letter. The handwriting was so hurried and illegible that the contents were nearly impossible to decipher.
‘Should I try to interpret it?’
After wrestling with the letter for some time, Eloïse finally surrendered and flopped onto the sofa. Lucian took the letter from her hands.
Studying the characters as though locked in a visual standoff, he at last succeeded in decoding the cryptic message.
Eloïse looked at him with an expression somewhere between amazement and exasperation.
‘An interview with the Nobility Council of Elders—that was what Eloïse provided, and the princess’s information was… a private discussion with the Empress and distant relatives.’
While mentally reviewing the anticipated questions, Lucian glanced at the wall clock.
He realized thirty minutes had passed, and his expression subtly darkened.
When exactly was the final procedure supposed to begin?
***
At that same moment, Eloïse sat on the sofa wearing a hollow expression.
“She’s dead.”
Eloïse’s tone carried no emotion whatsoever.
“She bit down on her tongue the moment we caught her after leaving the palace.”
…….
“That was my failure.”
The short-haired escort, dressed as a maid, bowed her head deeply. Eloïse, seated before her, shook her head.
“But we did discover this.”
The escort produced a small glass vial, which Eloïse took and examined carefully.
The embossed pattern on its surface was quite intricate.
“This is the vial that contained the poison. I removed it discreetly before the palace staff could find it.”
To the escort’s emotionless report, Eloïse gave a thumbs-up.
“It seems she was a recent recruit to the palace—only just arrived. Apparently, she worked at the Empress’s residence not long ago.”
“The Empress’s residence?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Not a maid of the Second Prince after all?
The escort spoke again, noting Eloïse’s dissatisfied expression.
“I found it strange as well and confirmed it twice, but there is no doubt—she did work under the Empress.”
Well, it was possible Camilo’s faction had deliberately recruited one of the Empress’s maids to avoid suspicion.
Unwilling to relinquish her suspicion of Camilo, Eloïse returned the vial to the escort.
“Find out where this poison came from. And dig deeper into the dead maid’s background.”
“Yes, understood.”
The escort bowed deeply and withdrew. In the silence she left behind, a heavy voice emerged.
“Young lady, should we increase your escort?”
Frederick, who had been leaning against the wall throughout the entire exchange, spoke for the first time.
“No, that’s enough.”
In the Imperial Palace, where private guards were forbidden, if she were caught enlarging her shadow escort, Camilo would seize the opportunity without hesitation. She did not want to contemplate what came after.
Faced with Eloïse’s resolute expression, Frederick said nothing more.
***
Something was decidedly wrong—very wrong.
An hour had passed, and Lucian remained alone in the Reception Room. He stood abruptly and walked to the door to summon someone.
“Hm?”
He turned the handle several times, but the door would not open. It appeared to be locked from the outside.
Hoping someone might hear him, he called out, but no answer came.
‘There’s no way there’s no one out there.’
His thoughts quickly converged on a single realization.
The trial had already begun.
With a soft sigh at his own complacency, Lucian rapidly surveyed the modest Reception Room.
He quickly scanned the wall-mounted clock, the framed paintings, and the decorative furniture, but found nothing of note.
‘The windows are all sealed shut. What remains is……’
His sharp gaze fixed on the desk where he had been sitting.
Lucian approached it swiftly and discovered a single drawer beneath the desktop, releasing a quiet sigh.
He had foolishly searched from afar when the answer lay right before his nose.
He opened the drawer slowly and found a sheet of Paper. Lucian withdrew it and began reading what was written there.
“This is……”
Both Eloïse’s information and Princess Danae’s information had been completely wrong.

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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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