The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 76

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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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What a slave — far too handsome!
076.
The La Croix Family patriarch, the father Eloïse knew, was a man whose pride ran nearly as deep as that of the imperial house itself.
To see such a man kneel before everyone’s eyes — Eloïse could scarcely trust her own vision.
“It is entirely my fault. That I, a worthless fool, dared attempt to deceive even you, Camilo — I am utterly ashamed. Had I punished that wretch severely then rather than merely casting him out, you would never have been drawn into this chaos.”
‘Remarkable political acumen.’
Lucian, the first among them to regain his composure, marveled inwardly. By lowering himself, the Duke had preserved both Eloïse and Camilo’s dignity.
One beat behind Lucian, Camilo’s face stiffened as he grasped the Duke’s intent.
“……Very well, rise, Duke. That will suffice.”
Only then did the Duke slowly lift his head to meet Camilo’s gaze.
“Then — you forgive me?”
“It is not I to whom apologies are owed.”
Camilo’s eyes fixed upon the Vice Commander. The man’s face drained of color.
“I— I— I……”
As the situation seemed to reach its conclusion, the Emperor gestured to the Imperial Guard.
“What are you waiting for? Take him at once.”
“Yes, understood.”
As the Guard knights shackled the Vice Commander, a sound like a beast’s roar echoed to the very ceiling.
“No— I am innocent! I spoke only the truth——!!!”
He was dragged beyond the palace gates before he could finish his words.
And so the tempest that had raged subsided by degrees.
An Advisor approached the Emperor and whispered in his ear; the Emperor nodded. The Advisor raised his voice to the assembled nobility.
“Ahem. The major announcement scheduled for today shall be postponed. We beg the indulgence of all distinguished guests present.”
The Advisor’s announcement brought opposite fortunes to Eloïse and Camilo.
Eloïse’s face bore the mark of disappointment, while Camilo’s glowed with satisfaction. In any case, he had half-achieved his purpose — preventing Valensio’s investiture as Crown Prince.
“Furthermore, regarding all that has transpired today……”
“I trust it shall remain in strictest confidence.”
The Emperor cut off the Advisor’s words, his fierce gaze sweeping across the nobility.
“Should even a whisper of this affair reach my ears in a manner that tarnishes the honor of the imperial house, I myself shall exact the price.”
It was a warning to guard their tongues. His message delivered, the Emperor turned his attention to his two sons.
“Valensio, Camilo. Come with me.”
The Emperor, his expression grim, swept his cloak behind him and rose. The Empress and Imperial Concubine followed suit. The nobility bowed their heads in deference.
‘Do not worry.’
Lucian conveyed his reassurance to Eloïse through a glance before turning to follow the Emperor.
With the imperial family departed, the remaining nobles exchanged glances. They had much to discuss, and moved busily about.
Eloïse, too, meant to observe their reactions and reshape the narrative to her advantage.
That would have been her plan — until the Duke called her forward.
“Eloïse, come with me.”
“……”
Eloïse’s eyes betrayed her reluctance to obey.
The Duke tapped his walking staff sharply against the floor once. The unspoken command: do not make me repeat myself.
Eloïse followed him like a war captive dragged before the enemy.
The surrounding nobility watched the two with murmurs.
“Your Grace!”
As they exited the palace, the Duke’s Advisor, who had been waiting outside, approached them.
“We shall need a place for private conversation.”
At the Duke’s word, the Advisor hurriedly led father and daughter to an empty reception room in a nearby Noble Palace.
Eloïse entered the reception room behind her father, and the door swung shut with a heavy thud.
Before Eloïse could even register the sound, her father turned on her.
“What in Heaven’s name have you been doing?”
“……”
Eloïse averted her gaze.
She knew it too — that she had only managed to extinguish the immediate fire because her father had lent his strength.
Yet words of gratitude or apology would not come.
“Acting so clever all on your own, and for what? This? Is this all you’ve achieved?”
“……”
“You’ve surely set your mind to dragging our family’s honor into the gutter. I have never been more ashamed that you bear my name.”
“I did not expect to hear such things from you, Father.”
Eloïse, unable to contain herself, glared at the Duke. He sat upon the sofa with a weary expression.
“Dragging honor into the gutter? I did? And what of handing the family name to some debased bastard — is that not dragging it through the mud?”
Eloïse’s flushed face burned with indignation.
Through the chaos she had just witnessed, she had come to understand it viscerally. How perilously close she had come to setting a false prince upon the throne.
Had fortune turned even slightly, she, Lucian, and her entire house could have forfeited their lives under the Crime of Deceiving the Imperial Family — and far worse would have been warranted.
While the Duke had grown calm, Eloïse still trembled with emotions not yet spent.
The dizzying brush with death, the helplessness of relying on her father, the shame of her own miscalculation — all churned together, tormenting her.
“And you imagined that by insisting the boy was Valensio, you could claim the title for yourself?”
Just as she’d feared. The Duke had already seen through her intent. At his contemptuous gaze, Eloïse’s eyes narrowed.
Fighting to steady her voice, Eloïse answered.
“……He truly is the real Prince Valensio.”
“Yes, and at this rate, he shall remain Prince forever — the Emperor is unlikely to cast aside his own son.”
Understanding her father’s meaning, Eloïse’s expression hardened.
“No — Valensio will become Crown Prince.”
“A prince now branded, perhaps, as having sprung from low-born slave stock?”
“……”
Eloïse’s legs weakened; she grasped the door handle to steady herself. She would not show weakness before her father, not here.
Unbidden, Camilo’s face flashed through her mind — sneering with contemptible laughter as he’d risen.
‘So that was Camilo’s design all along.’
Whether Lucian was truly of slave birth mattered not at all. The true aim was to sow dissent among the nobility, to give them grounds to oppose him — or better yet, fodder for mockery.
Only now did Eloïse grasp Camilo’s true purpose.
This time, she had suffered defeat. She could not deny it.
“Do you understand the situation now?”
“……I will make Valensio Emperor, no matter what it takes.”
“You may well do it, I grant you.”
The Duke’s mouth curved in a smile — not one of mockery. For a moment, it seemed almost to encourage her resolve.
‘What does he mean? Could it be……’
Before Eloïse could decipher his intent, the Duke offered his explanation.
“If you — the legitimate heir of the La Croix Family — stand beside him as Crown Princess.”
“……”
Eloïse felt as though she’d walked into a trap of her own making. Her grip tightened on the folds of her dress.
“Whether Valensio or Camilo — I hold no preference. In this, I shall respect your choice.”
The Duke smiled with infuriating ease, clearly delighting in having turned her own thoughts against her.
“Should neither suit you, I am prepared to arrange your marriage to Yeong-sik of another house. Speak freely if you have a preference.”
“That will not be necessary.”
Eloïse spoke with forced conviction.
‘How could I possibly turn back now……’
She could not retreat, not after coming this far.
“Good. Show me what you can do, then.”
The Duke rose from the sofa as if his business were concluded.
The expression on his face as he departed the reception room was almost serene — the certainty of one who knew that no matter how hard his daughter struggled, things would unfold as he intended.
“……”
Left alone, Eloïse sank into the nearest chair.
Helplessness washed over her. She understood it now, despite all her pretense at cleverness — if her father chose to marry her off, she would go. Her will as a mere noblewoman held far less weight than the word of the Duke.
‘Do not grow weak, Eloïse.’
Eloïse stood, brushing off her skirts.
And in that moment, a face surfaced in her mind — one who could help her, if only she had the courage to ask.
***
The situation in the palace proper was little different. Lucian and Camilo, two brothers, had been summoned to the Emperor’s office.
Scarcely had the office door closed when something flew toward Camilo. It was an inkwell.
As though accustomed to such displays, Camilo evaded the projectile with ease. The inkwell struck the wall instead, shattering with a sharp, violent crack.
It was Lucian who recoiled in shock.
“Have you truly lost your mind!?”
Though the Emperor showed flashes of temper on occasion, Lucian had believed him fundamentally kind-hearted……
The Emperor stood with murder written across his face, staring at Camilo.

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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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