The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 75

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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 was far too handsome!
075.
Eloïse raised her head quickly and cried out toward the Emperor.
“None of it is true, Your Majesty!”
“My lady!”
As Lucian stepped forward to approach Eloïse, Camilo blocked his path once more.
“Careful now—are you two planning some conspiracy right before everyone’s eyes?”
“Don’t you dare defame my lady by calling her a conspirator!”
Lucian seized Camilo by the collar. The Emperor himself brought the fierce standoff to an end before either could draw steel.
“Enough. Enough!”
The Emperor rose with the Advisor’s assistance and approached his two sons. At the firmness in his gaze, Lucian reluctantly released the grip he’d been holding.
The Emperor exhaled deeply and fixed his eyes on Lucian. His expression was cold, inscrutable, and Lucian felt a flutter of unease. The Emperor’s mind remained utterly unreadable to him.
“Whatever his reasons for defaming me, Your Majesty, that man’s words are false.”
…….
Lucian spoke earnestly, but the Emperor offered no reply. Instead, he turned his gaze to Camilo.
“Camilo, can you take responsibility for what you’ve just done?”
“Why would you ask such an obvious question? I myself feel fortunate to be able to reveal the truth at last.”
Camilo laughed with unbridled confidence, his eyes sweeping across the assembled nobles.
“Isn’t that right? We nearly all fell for this deception without question.”
Those who had been swayed by his words nodded their heads and subtly sided with Camilo.
A slave, no less. And of slave origin in the imperial house of a great empire, no less. Already, many of the nobles wore expressions of revulsion.
“Do you have proof?”
At Eloïse’s sharp cry, Camilo seized her by the jaw. As Lucian scowled and moved to intervene, the Emperor extended his arm to hold him back.
“My lady, haven’t you grasped the situation yet? I thought you were clever, but I’m deeply disappointed.”
“Never mind your speeches—tell me one shred of proof that His Highness Valensio was a slave!”
“Proof, you say…….”
As Camilo muttered low in his throat, Eloïse turned and cried out to the Emperor.
“Your Majesty! I have never once spoken falsehood to you! The abduction, my rescue—all of it was done by His Highness Valensio… Mmph!”
“How talkative for a criminal.”
Camilo cut off Eloïse’s words as if she weren’t worth hearing further. Then he turned to the Emperor.
“I have proof, Your Majesty.”
“You have proof?”
“I am the living proof, Your Majesty.”
The Vice-Captain, who had been watching this spectacle with keen interest, interjected once more.
“I personally purchased him from the Slave Market on this lady’s orders. Afterward, she herself educated him—so he could become His Highness Valensio.”
At this unexpected revelation, the Emperor’s face grew increasingly grave.
Eloïse, still held by Camilo, thrashed and denied it. She had to break free from this situation somehow.
The only consolation was that, for all his triumphant air, Camilo had failed to produce any physical evidence.
After a long silence, the Emperor addressed the Vice-Captain.
“So you’re telling me you orchestrated this scheme under the Lady of House La Croix?”
“Precisely, Your Majesty.”
“Then why reveal the truth now? And if everything you’ve said is indeed fact, surely you understand that you too must answer as an accomplice?”
“That… well….”
The Vice-Captain’s confidence visibly faltered for the first time. It seemed he had never anticipated being implicated as an accomplice.
As the Emperor’s eyes widened, the Vice-Captain’s tongue tied itself further.
“That is to say… the reason I’m only now revealing the truth is… well….”
“Because it’s all a lie. Whatever arrangement he’s made with Camilo, he clearly wanted to entrap me by any means.”
Lucian cut through the Vice-Captain’s stammering and took control. He approached the Emperor’s side slowly and spoke with measured calm.
“If I were a forgery, how could I have passed the entire Imperial Prince Verification Procedure?”
“That’s easy enough—with advance information, one could prepare for almost anything!”
“Could one really? Would the procedure devised by the finest minds in the Imperial Palace be so flawed? Would it be the sort of thing mere preparation could defeat?”
The momentum had already shifted to Lucian’s favor.
“Well… I suppose not.”
“Moreover, His Highness Valensio bears such a striking resemblance to the Emperor in his youth….”
The nobles who had wavered toward Camilo now felt their hearts turning back to Lucian. Above all, they found it difficult to believe that even the young lady of House La Croix, brilliant though she was reputed to be, could have undertaken such a scheme.
As the Vice-Captain’s face fell into despair, Camilo clicked his tongue.
“It’s all clever wordplay, Your Majesty. The one certain fact is that this lady and a man of unknown and obscure origins have conspired to deceive you—to deceive all of us.”
…….
“Is it fitting that a man of unknown past, whose very identity cannot be verified, should sit in the seat that commands the empire?”
Camilo pressed his case with undiminished force.
“Camilo’s words have merit.”
Camilo’s faction nodded in agreement, reinforcing his point.
“……I shall ask the lady directly. Is his claim truly false?”
When the Emperor granted Eloïse the right to speak, Camilo’s eyes narrowed.
“Your Majesty, why would you listen to the words of one who attempted to deceive the imperial house?”
“I asked the lady, Camilo.”
“Ha…….”
Camilo had no choice but to withdraw, and Eloïse quickly escaped his grasp. Then she turned her gaze toward the Vice-Captain.
“It is all lies. This man once worked under me, but as you can see, he is skilled at falsehood and spreading discord—he has caused trouble many times. Therefore, I dismissed him with my own hand.”
“You… damned wench…!”
The Vice-Captain, now seeing red, lunged at Eloïse—but Lucian was faster.
“Aaaah!”
Lucian cut off the Vice-Captain’s advance and subdued him with ease, bending his arm at a sickening angle.
Only when no further screams issued from his lips did Lucian release the arm he’d been holding. The Vice-Captain crumpled to the ground in disgrace.
Camilo, watching the worthless creature with contempt, pressed his attack.
“Empty words, my lady. Do you have proof for your claims?”
“Your Highness’s words are equally unsubstantiated.”
“Enough! Enough of this!”
The Emperor shouted to cut short the petty bickering. The exertion had left his head throbbing, and his body swayed. Lucian quickly steadied him.
“Are you well, Your Majesty?”
No answer came. For now, he had no desire even to look upon the Valensio he cherished so deeply.
“Let go.”
The Emperor pushed his son’s hand away.
The Crown Prince Investiture he had so eagerly anticipated was now out of the question. He had been humiliated before the entire court—a thing unthinkable for an emperor who valued his dignity above all else.
In short, everything was in ruins.
Just as the Emperor was about to summon the Advisor to salvage what he could of the situation,
“Might I also say a word?”
All eyes turned to the source of that solemn voice.
Duke La Croix stepped forward slowly. Eloïse’s eyes sharpened with wariness.
‘Whatever could he possibly mean to say….?’
The Emperor glared at the Duke, who now stood close at hand.
“Speak, if you have something to say.”
Beneath the Emperor’s words lay the clear implication that the Duke ought to clean up after his daughter’s mess. The Duke understood this well enough.
He cast a brief glance at the Vice-Captain, who sat pathetically crumpled on the floor. Cowed by the Duke’s presence, the Vice-Captain quickly averted his eyes.
“My daughter’s words are truthful, Your Majesty.”
“Then what, exactly, is truthful, sir!”
The Emperor’s pressing question did not rattle the Duke in the slightest. Rather, it was Eloïse who was taken aback.
“This Vice-Captain was indeed a problematic man in my household. He has previously committed fraud by trafficking on the name of House La Croix, and acting on my orders, Eloïse had him dismissed.”
At the Duke’s words, the nobles exchanged glances rapidly. They scrambled to determine which side spoke truth, but on the whole, they proved more inclined to trust the Duke’s words than those of the arrogant prince.
“Moreover, however exceptional my daughter may be, she is still but an innocent young maiden who knows little of the world. The notion that such a girl would involve herself with a slave market is utterly absurd.”
At the Duke’s words, the noblewomen nodded their heads.
“Most importantly, this man was dismissed before Eloïse’s abduction. Therefore, his claim to have met His Highness Valensio makes no sense in terms of timing.”
The Duke now turned his gaze to Camilo. Camilo met his eyes without flinching, his face clouded with displeasure.
……?
Then Camilo’s expression shifted to shock, and he blinked rapidly.
“My apologies, Your Highness Camilo.”
“What is the meaning of—”
The Duke lowered himself onto one knee before Camilo and bowed deeply.
The Emperor, Lucian, the imperial family, and the other nobles were equally stunned.
Of all of them, none was more shocked than Eloïse herself.

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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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