The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 54

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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!
054.
“Your Majesty!”
A man’s dignified voice followed. There was no need to see his face to know he was the Emperor.
“How could you not recognize your own son?”
The Chief Advisor who had brought Lucian hesitated at the door. His expression clouded with uncertainty—whether to break this tension and enter, or hold back.
Lucian himself remained unmoved. That the Emperor had greeted him with unusual warmth was merely an exception; the indifferent reaction of the other imperial relatives felt far more natural.
He had fixed his mind on one thing alone: become Crown Prince, ascend to the throne as Emperor, and make Eloïse’s dream come true.
“Ah…!”
Lucian strode past the Chief Advisor and threw open the door.
The quarreling voices from within ceased abruptly, and the Emperor and Empress turned to regard Lucian.
Where the Emperor’s lips curved upward upon seeing his son, the Empress’s gaze turned glacial.
“Welcome. We have been waiting for you.”
At the Emperor’s words, Lucian bowed respectfully.
The Emperor gestured him closer, and Lucian walked to the seat of honor, standing beside him.
“Now, pay your respects to your mother. Empress, look closely. This is our son, Valensio Seth Florentine, the one we lost in childhood.”
…
The Empress regarded Lucian without a word.
For a moment, her piercing gaze sent a chill through him. Those eyes seemed to see right through him, as though they perceived he was a fraud.
He forced a smile and lowered his body in a bow.
“Valensio. It is my honor to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty.”
Before his greeting was complete, the Empress turned on her heel and departed. Her bearing suggested she had heard quite enough.
“Your Majesty!”
The Emperor called after her in anger, and Lucian slowly straightened from his bow.
Bang!
The Empress slammed the door shut pointedly behind her as she left.
“I… I…!”
The Emperor’s face flushed scarlet as he stared at the door she had closed. The Chief Advisor, who had approached, eyed him carefully before venturing a soft question.
“…Shall we bring the meal?”
A lavish spread was laid out along the long table. The Emperor, seated at the head, cast a sideways glance at Lucian, who sat nearby.
He cleared his throat with a slight cough and spoke with measured composure.
“Do not let it grieve you. The Empress simply needs time to accept this situation—it is not a rejection of you.”
At the Emperor’s words, Lucian quickly rearranged his expression. Until that moment, his eyes had been gleaming as he watched the succession of dishes arrive.
He turned to the Emperor with a sorrowful smile on his face.
“Please do not worry about me. I understand the Empress’s feelings well enough.”
“Valensio.”
“I shall strive all the harder to be recognized as the Empress’s son.”
The Emperor gazed at his son with an ache in his chest.
No matter what anyone said, the young man before him was indeed his son. His resentment at the Empress for failing to see this rose anew.
“Your Majesty, the food will grow cold. Do eat.”
When the Chief Advisor approached and prompted him, both father and son at last picked up their utensils.
“Even now, your palate remains unchanged.”
“Pardon?”
Lucian, who had been eating quietly, looked up in haste. The Emperor gestured with his chin toward the bowl before him.
Lucian had set aside all manner of delicacies and was instead savoring a chicken stew in clear broth made from vegetables.
“Even as a child, you were unusual in your taste for clean, wholesome food. Just like that stew there.”
“Is that so? How fortunate.”
It was merely coincidence. Lucian, who naturally favored simple flavors, absently stirred the broth with his spoon.
“I have been a bother. Eat freely.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Please, eat well yourself.”
The spacious dining room fell quiet once more.
Presently, a plate laden with thick slices of meat was offered before Lucian.
When he looked up again, he saw the Emperor piling more food onto his plate.
“Your Majesty?”
“Do taste this as well. I gave special orders for it to be prepared for you.”
When he glanced aside, he saw the Emperor’s own plate still untouched.
“Please eat, Your Majesty.”
Lucian pushed the plate back, but it was returned to his side.
“I am satisfied. You eat more.”
“But still…”
“Watching you eat is nourishment enough for me.”
The Emperor smiled warmly, and Lucian’s tension finally began to ease.
‘Is this what a father ought to be?’
The only father he had ever known was Brick’s, a man who had thought only of how to wring money from his children.
As a result, the Emperor’s affection felt both strangely awkward and tinged with envy for Valensio, who must have grown up receiving such love.
Lucian nodded and expressed his feelings by eating the food with genuine pleasure.
As dessert arrived, the Chief Advisor announced the schedule ahead.
“We are compiling a record of His Highness based on what was discussed in the first interview. We have also sent people to the region where Your Highness grew up.”
“See that it is completed as swiftly as possible.”
“Understood. After this, we plan to convene the Elder Council to relay the news. Once the Council votes its approval, we shall finalize the official procedures.”
“What do you foresee from the Elder Council’s response?”
“We anticipate it will be favorable, however…”
The Chief Advisor, who had been reporting without hesitation, trailed off. He cast a brief glance toward Lucian.
“I fear the factions supporting His Highness Camilo may raise objections.”
The Emperor, who had been resting his chin on his hand while listening, turned his gaze toward the Chief Advisor.
The warm expression with which he had been regarding his son vanished, replaced by a forbidding countenance.
“Objections? Preposterous.”
It was not only the Chief Advisor who startled at the killing intent that seemed to emanate from the Emperor.
‘Is he truly such a man?’
Lucian resolved to be cautious with his actions going forward.
“…After obtaining the Elder Council’s approval in this manner, we shall make an internal announcement within the Imperial Household, followed by an announcement to the nobility, and then formally notify the entire Empire of His Highness Valensio’s return.”
The Chief Advisor continued his report, beads of sweat forming on his brow.
“When would be an appropriate time for the official announcement?”
“If I may humbly suggest, the upcoming Harvest Festival would be fitting.”
“The Harvest Festival…”
The Emperor, who had been tapping his pudding with a small spoon, nodded.
“Yes, let us do so.”
The Emperor’s stern expression softened, and he turned a gentle gaze toward his son.
“Until then, rest well and live in comfort, Valensio.”
“Very well, Your Majesty.”
The evening meal between father and son, which had begun amid tumult, concluded peacefully.
***
“The Empress is an unexpected complication.”
The next morning, Eloïse and Princess Danae heard the entire account of the previous night from Lucian.
“But don’t worry too much. Father has more than enough power to seat your brother—I mean, him—on the throne.”
Danae, half-reclined on the hideout’s sofa, smirked at Lucian.
That was likely true.
Lucian agreed. From what he had observed, the Emperor seemed fully capable of simply sweeping aside any noble faction that opposed him.
His expression darkened unconsciously.
The Empress, Camilo, and the faction supporting him—there were still mountains to cross.
Eloïse, reading Lucian’s unspoken concerns, spoke with conviction.
“Don’t worry. No matter what anyone says, you are the Empire’s first prince, Valensio. I will make you Crown Prince by any means necessary.”
Eloïse rose from her seat and began preparing to leave, prompting him to tilt his head in question.
“It’s time for me to go.”
“Leave? Where to?”
“Home.”
At Eloïse’s matter-of-fact response, Lucian’s face darkened drastically. The Imperial Palace without Eloïse—the thought made his vision swim.
“Father—I mean, the Duke—is pestering me to return.”
Eloïse added her comment with the expression of someone thoroughly exasperated.
“The princess will stay in contact with me, so don’t worry.”
Even at the words of Princess Danae, Lucian’s crumpled expression showed no signs of brightening.
“You’ll come back, won’t you?”
At the Duke’s carriage, which had come to collect Eloïse, Lucian caught hold of her sleeve.
‘There might be people watching…!’
Startled by his careless gesture, Eloïse turned her head slightly and surveyed their surroundings.
Apart from the Chief Advisor standing at a distance, there was no one to be seen. Or so it appeared.
‘Better to be careful than regret it.’
Eloïse nodded with a smile, and Lucian managed to curve his lips in return.
Eloïse’s heart was equally unsettled. The prospect of leaving Lucian alone in this barren Imperial Palace made her feet reluctant to move.
“Will you help me up, Your Highness?”
At Eloïse’s request, Lucian took her hand. Between their joined hands, something crinkled.
A small note remained in Lucian’s palm. He quietly unfolded it.
<I’ve arranged a Carrier Pigeon. I’ll be in touch.>
Lucian gave a low laugh at her thoroughness.
“Take care.”
The princess exchanged a brief farewell audible only to him and closed the carriage door.
Lucian remained in place, watching the carriage bearing Eloïse fade into the distance until it became a mere speck.
“We have arrived, miss.”
After a lengthy ride, the carriage came to a gentle halt before the Duke’s Residence gates.
When the Coachman opened the door, the Butler of the main house stood waiting for Eloïse in rigidly correct posture.
“The Duke is expecting you.”
“Me?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Were they not supposed to pretend the other did not exist?
Eloïse, making no effort to hide her discomfort, followed the Butler toward the main house. Something had clearly transpired during her absence.
‘What on earth could it be?’
As she pondered the matter, the two of them arrived before the Duke’s study. The Butler knocked lightly, and a prompt reply came from within.
“Enter.”
The Butler opened the door himself.
“It has been a while, Eloïse.”
Eloïse’s eyes widened as she stepped inside. A face she had not expected awaited her.

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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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