The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 77

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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!
077.
The Emperor, consumed by rage, clawed frantically across the desk of his study, searching for something to hurl.
Objects flew at Camilo in an endless barrage.
“How dare you conduct yourself that way in front of me!? Are you truly showing me such disrespect, or do you take me for a fool?!”
……
“Don’t you know that insulting your brother is insulting me?!”
The whispers of the gathered nobles burned vividly in the Emperor’s eyes.
Camilo, as though he had done nothing wrong, simply pivoted to face the oncoming barrage, absorbing each blow with unflinching silence.
The Aide, accustomed to such spectacles, remained at a distance, his head bowed low, hoping only for the storm to pass.
Then, when a sharp pen nib grazed across Camilo’s cheek and clattered away,
“Your Majesty, I beg you—compose yourself.”
Unable to bear it any longer, Lucian moved to restrain the Emperor. At last the Emperor lowered his raised arm and drew a steadying breath, attempting to regain control.
“Playing the good man. How repugnant.”
Camilo brushed at the blood beading on his cheek, his voice dripping with contempt. Then, with a hard gaze, he stepped forward toward the Emperor, one measured pace after another.
“The nobles deserve to know the truth. Tell me—is there not a more fitting candidate?”
“This wretched creature—!”
“Your target for anger is not me, but that bastard! You mean to hand over the Imperial Throne to some rootless wretch who crawled in from who-knows-where, and yet you fail to see my deeper purpose? Have you truly become so blind?”
The Aide’s face drained of color. The tension hung so thick that a blade might have fallen without surprise; hair rose on his arms.
The Emperor stared at his son—this child continuing his insubordination as though he wielded a knife—with eyes where burst vessels branched like scarlet rivers.
“You, you wretched thing, still you do not come to your senses—!”
“Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty!”
The Emperor staggered and collapsed. Lucian and the Aide rushed to steady him, lowering him onto the sofa.
Half-closing his eyes, the Emperor trembled as if seized by chills. His chest tightened; he gasped for breath.
Cold sweat streamed down his face. While Lucian wiped the Emperor’s brow with his sleeve, the Aide hastened to fetch a cup of water and poured it between his lips.
Only Camilo stood apart, watching the scene with utter indifference—not a flicker of concern, only a sneer of satisfaction playing at the corners of his mouth.
“Go ahead, Father, play your hand. If you wish to see a Crown Prince mocked and despised by the nobles, then by all means—proceed.”
“That’s enough!”
Unable to bear it further, Lucian seized Camilo by the collar. The two glared at each other with murderous intent.
“What? Are you afraid he won’t become Crown Prince after all?”
“Afraid? It’s far more hideous to imagine a vicious brute like you wearing that crown!”
“What? A common slave with nothing but a pretty face—!”
With a sharp crack, Lucian’s head snapped to the side from the blow.
“There. You’ve proven it yourself. You are precisely why you should never be Crown Prince.”
Lucian rubbed his struck cheek and let out a bitter laugh, but Camilo struck again. This time, Lucian did not stand passively.
Sidestepping Camilo’s fist with ease, Lucian threw his own punch in return.
The eruption into a full brawl was swift and inevitable.
Within moments, the two grappled across the floor, rolling and tangling in a frenzy of limbs.
Ragged breathing and dull thuds filled the study until the firmly shut doors suddenly burst open.
“Your Highness!”
“Your Highness!”
The violent struggle ended abruptly when the retinues of both princes rushed in and barely managed to tear the two men apart.
As the two bloodied men panted and fought to steady themselves, the Emperor finally regained his senses and slowly sat upright.
“Camilo, you will be confined to your palace for the time being.”
“……I refuse.”
Camilo’s Aide sent him an imploring look, begging him to reconsider, but Camilo remained resolute.
“I have no reason to be confined. If anyone deserves confinement, it is that one.”
With those words, Camilo turned and stormed from the Emperor’s study. His Aide, after several deep bows, hurried after him.
“That—that—!”
The Emperor’s face flushed red again as he pressed a hand to his forehead. The room spun. Once he steadied his breathing, he called out to Lucian.
“Valensio.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Lucian approached, his expression sheepish. He was ashamed at having shown such an ugly struggle before the Emperor, and uncertain of what countenance to wear, given that he now stood at the center of controversy.
As Lucian drew near, the Aide quietly ushered the others from the room.
Thus, only the Emperor, his Aide, and Lucian remained in the study.
“If there is anything you have kept hidden from me until now, speak it all.”
The Emperor’s gaze was sharp as a blade.
……
“Well?”
Bang! The Emperor struck the armrest with his fist, his temper flaring. The anger he had not fully vented on Camilo now turned its full weight upon Lucian.
“……There is nothing. What I told you before was all of it.”
Despite the composed answer, suspicion never left the Emperor’s face. His piercing eyes remained fixed on Lucian.
“Can I trust those words?”
“Of course.”
Lucian met his gaze unflinchingly. The Emperor exhaled deeply, muttering as though to himself.
“I would rather die than see that wretched fool inherit the throne.”
……
“Given the circumstances, you must now demonstrate something worthy of being recognized as Crown Prince, Valensio.”
The Emperor had clearly not abandoned Valensio.
Even as Lucian struggled to understand why the Emperor clung so fiercely to Valensio, regardless of his distaste for Camilo,
“Do you understand? You must become an Emperor acknowledged by all, no matter the cost! That is what your father desires!”
Rising from his seat, the Emperor gripped Lucian’s shoulders tightly, his voice a shout. In his eyes blazed something almost like madness, and Lucian’s face darkened.
“……I understand, Your Majesty.”
In any case, this aligned with what Lucian himself desired.
Becoming Crown Prince was not the end. To become Emperor and freely promote Eloïse, he needed an unshakable foundation of support.
‘But how?’
It was then that a dull ache began to throb behind Lucian’s eyes.
Knock, knock. A door opened, and a Diplomatic Official cautiously poked his head inside.
“Forgive the intrusion, Your Majesty…… but I bring urgent news. Duke Dominic Essen of the Essen Duchy has just arrived at the Imperial Palace.”
The moment the Essen Duchy was mentioned, the gazes of the Emperor and Lucian intersected.
‘This is it……!’
The Emperor’s eyes blazed with intent: he would use the duchy to solidify Valensio’s position.
Lucian, grasping his design in an instant, nodded with a somewhat darkened expression.
“Where is the Duke now?”
“He awaits in the Audience Hall, Your Majesty.”
“Tell him I shall not tarry in coming.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
Once the official departed, the Emperor brushed off Lucian’s shoulders.
His eyes took in the ruined state of the young man’s clothes and disheveled hair, his split lips and the small cuts marking his skin.
“Go. Repair your appearance and proceed to the Audience Hall.”
Lucian nodded with grim resolve and rose to leave.
***
“What in heaven’s name has happened here? This beautiful face, ruined like this…….”
Lucian’s Aide fussed over the damage, venting his displeasure at Camilo, though Lucian himself let the words pass without concern.
Back in the Prince’s Palace, Lucian changed his clothes and submitted to basic wound treatment.
Each time the Maidservant applied salve to a minor cut, he winced slightly.
“All done, Your Highness.”
Lucian rose and checked his appearance in the mirror one final time. It was time to meet with Duke Essen.
Stepping into the corridor, a silhouette across from him immediately captured his attention.
‘Eloïse?’
Against his expectation, Lucian’s hope proved misplaced.
“……Monica.”
Monica of the Miller County Family stood before him, her expression melancholy and uncertain.
“Were you perhaps waiting for me?”
Monica nodded. With so much seeming to weigh on her mind, Lucian added,
“I’m on my way to see His Majesty at the moment…… If you don’t mind, shall we speak another time?”
“It will only take a moment.”
At her pleading tone, Lucian signaled silently to his Aide with his eyes.
Finally alone in the corridor, Monica stepped close, her eyes shining. She reached out and took his hand.
“Whatever my father may think, I believe in you, Your Highness.”

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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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