The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 131

Chapter 131. The Night the Black Moon Rises (1)

“I pledge my loyalty to His Majesty, the new Emperor, the sun of the empire.”

Early in the morning, Asher, who met Louid in the audience chamber, knelt on one knee and lowered his head in respect.

“Welcome back. I’m glad you’re safe. And I haven’t held the coronation yet, so address me as Your Highness.”

Louid showed a warm smile to the friend he hadn’t seen in a long time. But Asher thought that smile looked sad.

Even without the coronation, Louid was already the Emperor of the Richert Empire. And yet he rejected the title of His Majesty, likely because the grief of losing the brother who had been like a father was too deep.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Sit over here. Have some tea.”

Louid pointed to the sofa across from him.

“Yes.”

Arriving at the capital late the previous night, Asher visited the underground tomb at Loren Palace where the Emperor’s remains had been laid to rest and paid his respects, then met Alex. It was to hear the full account of what had happened. There, he heard shocking news.

“His Majesty the Emperor was poisoned. The poison is called Serot poison. It is produced in the Kingdom of Billiot. Her Highness the Crown Princess has been falsely accused of poisoning His Majesty and attempting to kill Lady Carrion and has been imprisoned in Peric Prison.”

“Ha….”

Asher let out a deep sigh. Emilia imprisoned in Peric Prison. The situation was more serious than he had expected.

“But there is something strange about His Highness the Crown Prince. He is the only witness to what happened that day. That’s why there was nothing we could do.”

If I had been there, things would not have turned out like this….

If he had been there, he would have done anything to prevent Emilia from being sent to Peric Island.

Asher carefully observed Louid, who sat across from him. Outwardly, the Crown Prince looked the same as usual. The only strange thing was that his eyes, which used to shine like jewels, now looked slightly clouded.

“I heard about everything that happened from Sir Alex. What exactly took place?” Asher asked cautiously.

“There’s no one else here, so speak comfortably. I saw it myself that night. Lady Lina was bitten by the snakes Emilia released.”

Louid explained in a tone as if reciting lines from a play. Since he had dismissed the attendants, only the two of them were in the audience chamber.

“What about the tea His Majesty drank?”

“The attendant who prepared it knew nothing. One servant from the separate palace disappeared that day, and we’re tracking them. It seems they needed money urgently because of a sick mother.”

Asher looked at his friend with a serious expression. Louid was not someone who would be swayed by such uncertain evidence. But as Alex had said, the incident of Lina being bitten by a snake was the problem.

“If you saw the incident yourself, there’s nothing that can be done. But it doesn’t seem related to the poisoning of Her Highness the Crown Princess and His Majesty the Emperor. If you allow it, I would like to investigate again.”

Asher made the suggestion carefully. Even if she had attempted to kill a marquess’s daughter, imprisoning the Crown Princess not in the capital but on a distant island, and in a prison where people died after only a few months, was too harsh no matter how he looked at it. He needed to reinvestigate and at least move her to a prison near the capital. Only then would it be possible to get her out later.

“Emilia is Duke Berthe’s granddaughter. She’s second in line to the throne. There’s no reason she wouldn’t commit treason.”

But Louid only responded in a flat tone, like a puppet. When talking about other things, he wasn’t like this, but whenever the topic involved Emilia, he became like this.

“Her Highness the Crown Princess is not that kind of person.”

Asher, who had expected Louid to accept his words, felt flustered inwardly but soon spoke calmly.

“If she’s not that kind of person, then why did she release snakes and try to kill Lina? Even knowing that I like Lina.”

“…Do you truly love Lady Lina?”

Even Asher, who was eloquent, was momentarily at a loss for words at Louid’s answer. It was truly strange to hear him say he liked Lina. From what he had seen, Louid had always looked at Emilia with affectionate eyes. Even if he himself was unaware of it, the Crown Prince had never shown the slightest interest in any woman other than his wife.

“I think so….”

Louid’s tone, which had sounded like he was reciting lines from a play, slowed.

“You think so? Is that what it is?”

“Ha….”

Louid frowned, then grabbed his head with a pained expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“My head feels like it’s going to split.”

“I’ll call the physician.”

After checking Louid’s condition, Asher hurriedly left the audience chamber. He knew that the Crown Prince had long suffered from insomnia and headaches. But today, Louid’s condition seemed worse than before.

Was he fine for a while after getting married, and now it’s relapsed? And the fact that he says he likes Lina is strange….

There were too many strange things. Louid had never said he loved Emilia, but saying he liked Lina was something he simply couldn’t believe.

‘There’s something going on.’

He had a feeling that some huge secret was hidden between Emilia, Louid, and Lina.

“Sir!”

After telling Adam to call the physician, Asher went to his office, where his junior aide was waiting for him.

“Lucian, I told you to take a few days off. What’s the matter?”

He had given a belated Founding Festival holiday, telling everyone except a few who had gone to the Kingdom of Billiot with the delegation to rest at home. It was unexpected that the aide had come to the palace during his leave, and when he looked closely, his face was pale.

Damian, as soon as he arrived in the capital, fell into despair upon hearing news about Emilia.

‘I should’ve helped her escape instead of delaying it back then. This is all my fault.’

He had prepared everything perfectly, but because he suddenly had to go as part of the delegation, it had been postponed. He had never imagined it would turn out like this. He cried bitter tears all night.

‘Emilia didn’t even care about Lina!’

The claim that Emilia tried to kill the marquess’s daughter was a ridiculous false accusation, and the fact that she didn’t go through the secret passage to the place he had marked meant that something urgent must have happened that night. He had to save Emilia somehow.

Arriving at the palace early in the morning, he anxiously waited for Asher to return from meeting Louid. He closely followed behind Asher into the office.

“Sir, I will go see Her Highness.”

Before Asher could even sit down in the chair in front of his desk, Damian spoke abruptly.

“You? Why? I was planning to send someone to Her Highness soon….”

Asher stared intently at his aide. A man with a thin build and long blond hair tied back in one was looking at him with swollen eyes. No matter how loyal he was, was there any need to go that far? In truth, he and Emilia had no personal relationship and were practically strangers.

“Her Highness treated me more warmly than anyone. I believe it was thanks to Her Highness that I was able to become your aide.”

Just as he was feeling puzzled, even more incomprehensible words came out of his aide’s mouth.

“That may be so… but are you saying you’ll go check whether Her Highness is doing well?”

“Yes, that’s correct. If I say I came on your orders, they’ll let me see her.”

“Hmm….”

In truth, he also wanted to go to Peric Prison himself and see Emilia. He wanted to ask about what happened that day and hear her side of the story. But not long had passed since the late Emperor’s death, and he was also worried about Louid’s condition. Moreover, he had just returned from a foreign country and could not be absent for long.

Once the mourning period ended, the Emperor’s coronation would have to be held, so there was an overwhelming amount of work to do. Going to see Emilia would be best done in secret, so it seemed better to send his aide.

“Very well. Go with Leon.”

Leon was his long-time aide.

“I’ll go alone.”

Damian said with a firm expression. No matter how close he was to Leon, he could not share this secret with him. It would be dangerous for Leon as well.

“What? That place is dangerous.”

Asher, who had been about to look at the documents on his desk, lifted his head abruptly. He stared at Damian with a shocked expression.

“I know. But to meet Her Highness, I need to stay as unnoticed as possible and maintain secrecy, so I’ll go alone. Please grant me permission.”

Damian pleaded with a desperate expression.

Was he always this resolute….

Asher examined his aide with wavering eyes. Lucian had such delicate features and pale skin that he could be mistaken for a woman, and at a glance, he even resembled Emilia. Because of that, Asher had always thought of him as fragile.

Resting his chin on the back of his hand, he sank into thought. After a brief silence, he opened his eyes again.

“Very well. Go. Tell Her Highness that I’ll have her moved closer to the capital soon, so she should take care of her health. And you, be careful as well.”

Asking Emilia about the details of the incident could be done after she was moved closer to the capital. For now, what mattered was finding out how she was doing and whether she had fallen into despair. Asher decided to trust his seemingly delicate but strong-willed aide.

“Thank you!”