Don't Keep a Dog in the Garden - Chapter 25

After hearing a brief account of the situation at the time, Cassia spoke with a frustrated expression, “It might’ve been better to reveal the truth.”

“Do you think the Emperor, who already lost two sons, would’ve believed my testimony and abandoned Jachim?”

“If I had testified with you….”

Cassia, who was about to argue, trailed off weakly and closed her mouth.

Accusing a member of the imperial family, the Emperor would’ve gladly cut off both her head and Whisker’s.

What the Emperor wanted wasn’t the truth, but a pretext to take her head.

Knowing what the Emperor wanted yet failing to ask for it, Whisker had nearly been killed.

It was only postponed because he took Cassia’s hand. Even now, the Emperor was likely waiting for a chance to capture and kill both the dog he had cast aside and that dog’s new master.

No, it wasn’t just the Emperor anymore.

What was she to Jachim, who killed his own blood to seize the position of Crown Prince?

A man whose thoughts couldn’t be read, more dangerous than the Emperor himself, was Jachim.

As complicated thoughts swirled in her head and Cassia’s expression gradually hardened, a naive voice came from across from her.

“Shall I kill them for you?”

When she looked up, Whisker was resting his chin on his hands, palms cupped like a flower, smiling brightly at her.

It was an innocent smile, untouched by any sense of timing, like that of a young boy.

With that lovely eye-smile, Whisker asked again, “The father? The son? Or shall I kill them both?”

Her muddled thoughts cleared.

First, she thought she needed to put a firm leash on that man, and Cassia spoke decisively.

“It’s a problem if the Grand Duchess of Diorent’s husband talks about assassinating the Emperor and the Crown Prince like he’s choosing dessert.”

At Cassia’s words, Whisker broke into a wide smile, revealing neat white teeth.

Such a sweet leash.

Even if it tightened around his neck and killed him, it would feel blissful. At that title, Whisker bit his lower lip with his upper teeth and looked at Cassia with heated eyes.

What should he do?

How could he become hers, how could he be used by her?

He was confident he could become the sharpest hunting dog in the world, yet Cassia wanted nothing, and it left him restless.

“Then what shall I do, my lady?”

Releasing the flower-like pose, he ran a hand over his neck once, lowered his arms, and asked seriously.

In any case, the deadly chase had ended with Jachim’s victory.

For a while, something like peace would come to Elium, but it wouldn’t last long.

Whatever Cassia’s next move was, Whisker had to prepare.

Cassia also needed to prepare.

She had one more person to protect now, so she had to become more agile.

From the moment she took Whisker’s hand, she spoke aloud the resolve she had made.

“I’m going to the Grand Duchy.”

“To Verdi?”

When Whisker asked as if surprised, Cassia nodded calmly.

It was in the Verdi region of the Grand Duchy where Cassia’s father, Hamilton, lost his life.

When his body was found in a back alley in Verdi, the Emperor dispatched imperial troops, claiming he would find the culprit who murdered the Grand Duke.

To avoid suspicion that he himself had ordered the Grand Duke’s death, the Emperor’s soldiers combed through the Verdi region thoroughly.

There was no way the culprit would be caught, and only the loyal retainers of the House of Diorent were killed or driven out.

Since then, imperial troops have remained stationed in the Verdi region to this day.

Cassia intended to take the Grand Duchy back from the Emperor.

Whisker stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said, “The Emperor won’t allow it.”

The Emperor was extremely wary of the descendants of Golden Dawn being anywhere beyond his reach.

It was because he obsessively believed they would plot rebellion beyond his sight.

Until now, she’d avoided anything that would put her at odds with the Emperor. She bowed her head and spent all that time proving she had no intention of opposing him.

Even so, if what the Emperor wanted was her death, she had no intention of meekly offering her neck.

“I don’t need anyone’s permission to return to my land,” Cassia replied, her golden eyes shining like the sun.

Whisker looked at her for a moment, then lowered his gaze and smiled faintly.

Her ambition was good, just, and pure.

Every victory he knew lacked honor, yet Cassia alone was always dazzling.

Noon without shadows was a fleeting moment that couldn’t be held, so he chose instead to be the one held.

That was what he decided on the day he turned away without taking Hamilton’s life.

Today, with the heat of last night still lingering in his body, it might be alright to imagine tomorrow.

Whisker lifted his head again, this time wearing a clearer smile as he spoke playfully, “I keep falling for you every time.”

At the sudden confession, Cassia narrowed her eyes, and Whisker let out a pleased laugh.

Then he raised his hand and called for the attendant waiting nearby.

“Clear away the Grand Duchess’s meat and bring potage or gratin.”

He changed Cassia’s untouched meal, the steak still glistening with red juices, and drained his wine glass.

***

Cassia wasn’t the type to hesitate over something she had decided.

That very afternoon, the same day she told Whisker she would head to the Grand Duchy, she repeated those words in front of the Emperor.

There was no issue with the Grand Duchess heading to Verdi with her household, but to withdraw the imperial troops stationed there, she needed the Emperor’s permission.

The Emperor Giiern, who had been listening with a blank expression, tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingertips before speaking.

“A Grand Duchess wishes to return to her own land, how could I stop you…. But since ‘that incident’ happened there, wouldn’t withdrawing the imperial troops be too rash?”

Mentioning Hamilton’s death, the Emperor revealed his refusal.

Even if he couldn’t stop her from returning, he intended to keep her within the reach of his blade.

“I already lost the former Grand Duke that way. If the same were to happen to you, how could I sleep in peace?”

Using Cassia’s safety as justification for stationing imperial troops, Giiern put on a deliberately concerned expression.

Cassia was so dumbfounded she couldn’t respond immediately, and he struck his knee as he continued.

“Right, the Bureau Chief can handle it. Have him find the wretch who murdered Hamilton Diorent.”

“Me?”

Whisker asked with a crooked smile, and Giiern nodded as if dignified.

“Who could be more suitable for such a task than the Bureau Chief? Once you resolve it, I will have the imperial troops withdraw at once.”

The Emperor issued an absolute imperial order, telling him to find the culprit of a case that happened six years ago.

Cassia and Whisker exchanged glances, sharing their confusion.

Because regardless of who struck down Hamilton that day six years ago, both of them believed the one who ordered the assassination was the Emperor.

In fact, nearly everyone in the Fedemillon Empire thought so.

After Hamilton was murdered, the rumor that the Emperor had vilely assassinated a descendant of Golden Dawn spread as if it were an established fact.

Public sentiment turned grim and seethed across the empire, and Giiern faced a backlash that nearly overturned the throne.

That was also why Giiern couldn’t send an assassin after Cassia and instead searched for a pretext to kill her.

Yet now, he was ordering an investigation into the case so boldly?

Did he think that, since it happened long ago, the full truth could no longer be uncovered? Or was the Emperor not the one behind it after all?

Or else….

For a brief moment, something dark passed through the golden eyes that turned toward Whisker.

Or else, did he believe Whisker would never be able to tell the truth?

The possibility she least wanted to imagine raised its head, and Cassia felt the blood in her whole body turn cold.

Sensing her gaze, Whisker turned to look at her.

Concerned by the unusual light in her golden eyes, he reached out a hand to her.

“Your Grace?”

Startled by his voice, Cassia avoided Whisker’s hand.

After instinctively stepping back, she recalled that she was standing before the Emperor.

There was nothing to gain from revealing her agitation.

Cassia lightly took Whisker’s hand that remained suspended in the air and lowered it, then gave a slight shake of her head in answer to his questioning look.

She immediately returned to a blank expression that feigned composure, but Whisker noticed her shoulders had gone stiff.

His cold, red eyes turned toward his former master.