Chapter 170

Chapter 170

“The Marquis was so earnest that he even bowed to me, an illegitimate child. But to think he was begging for an opportunity for a spawn like you?” Lucius looked at him disdainfully, then spoke as if he remembered something. “Oh, did you know. Your father sold his own wife just to see the marquisate glorious again? You were born in that manner too, so I don’t get why you’re acting all noble at me.”

Lucius said with a gentle smile.

Ingelman was visibly flustered at his words, “What?”

“I wonder, do you even know who your true father is?” Lucius glanced at him in mock pity, “I’m an illegitimate, but at least I don’t go around pretending I’m not. You, however… You’re lucky the Marquis still recognizes you as his son—”

“You bastard!”

Ingelmen threw his arm backwards, taking on a punching stance.

It was difficult to land a punch if one was inebriated. But since he was basically offering himself for a beating, Lucius knew that this time would come and after much consideration, he decided to take action.

He grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him, and then Lucius kicked Ingelman in the thigh.

The exhilaration that can only be felt when using violence entered Lucius’ bloodstream.

Slapping the face of the kneeling man one after another, he began to use violence to unravel the emotions he had accumulated since he was stuck in Carford and read that newspaper.

“Do you think the duke’s daughter will still look up to you if the prince comes back? Even if you weren’t an illegitimate child, but that Lucius Fenry from back then, there is still no possibility. But now? You have a dirty bloodline and shall soon be abandoned by his master.”

Recalling the words once more, Lucius kicked him in the spine and stepped on his back. Lucius released every anxiety and shame he had felt.

Lucius had long wanted to curse out loud, but he swallowed the irritation that had been on his mind all along and today all of those pent-up emotions came bursting out. Soon, he realized the man’s painful moans had stopped so he lifted his leg.

Suddenly, he recalled the promise he made to Deatrice that he would try to go back earlier today and became anxious.

Fortunately, when he glanced at his clock and confirmed that it was not too late, he let out a feeble sigh. He washed his hands again and cleared his head. He also didn’t forget to call the servant for the man who collapsed.

“There’s a man who fell down here.” Lucius uttered, handing over the man who seemed to have been beaten to the maid.

The man whose ears would probably be fine because he hadn’t hit his face would have understood Lucius’ words in moderation.

Lucius, who gave the maid his signature handsome smile, left the room. He headed straight to Deatrice and saw her in the distance talking with the nobles.

He knew how hard it was for her, so he tried to go to her right away. But after the violence, his hands still trembled a little bit with excitement and Lucius paused for a moment.

“The prince is visiting the palace for the emperor’s birthday.”

Swallowing the words, Lucius clenched his fist. It wasn’t until a little while later that Lucius was able to create an attitude that looked relaxed enough to face Deatrice.

***

The emperor’s birthday was only one day, but the festival to commemorate him lasted at least a month. Therefore, the phrase “a prince visits the palace in time for the emperor’s birthday” wasn’t very accurate.

Lucius had been feeling something dirty ever since the moment he moved into the palace in time for the celebration of the emperor’s birthday, and it was in tandem with the return of the prince.

Deer hunting in the cold winter, bear hunting, and a series of nightly dinners and balls made the palace all the more bustling. Lucius, as a close aide to the emperor, was at the center of all the clamor and busily fulfilled His Majesty’s orders.

Vassal states and guests from neighboring nations arrived one after the other bearing tributes. There were some occasional diplomatic disputes, but they were common enough and easy to resolve.

To deal with all the work piling up, Lucius was so occupied that he couldn’t even see Deatrice’s face to fill his heart’s content. But he always remembered the list of diplomatic attendees that had arrived so far in the corner of his head and calculated when the prince would arrive.

That’s why he didn’t know.

The fact that the prince crossed the border fifteen days before the emperor’s birthday and arrived two days ago. He had run fast toward the capital like a man on the verge of getting his hands on what he desperately wished for.

“It’s today.”

He heard the lady across the street whispering with a fan near her mouth. Not only he, of course, but all the nobles here were glancing at the door with similar expectations.

Panimer’s sword.

A prince revived from death.

Everyone must be wondering how he would appear. On the other hand, Deatrice was turning pale as the expectations of those around her increased.

The handle of the small bag, which was connected by a thin string, was pressed down. The hand holding the fan to which a shell was added had been hidden by the glove so it was not visible, but the end must have been white.

Lucius thought as he looked down at Deatrice’s profile with an outwardly nonchalant expression.

What was Deatrice’s expression two years ago when that door was opened and revealed himself?

Although it was a little less dramatic than the prince, Lucius had also gone through those doors after the war and appeared in the eyes of the expectant gazes of high society.

A castaway illegitimate child who saved the emperor’s life.